Argentina receives Chinese Sinopharm vaccines to combat COVID-19

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina received the first batch of vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm on Thursday night.

Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers Santiago Cafiero was on hand to receive the shipment at the Ezeiza International Airport on the southern outskirts of the capital Buenos Aires.

Accompanying Cafiero were Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Sola and Health Minister Carla Vizzotti, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Argentina Zou Xiaoli.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernandez, have reached an important consensus on cooperation in the development and use of vaccines, said Zou.

"This consensus has become a reality" thanks to the joint efforts of Argentina's foreign affairs and health ministries, ANMAT (Argentina's National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Devices) and the Sinopharm group, Zou told reporters at the airport.

The Chinese ambassador highlighted China-Argentina cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including exchanges among medics of diagnosis and treatment experience, institutions' cooperation in vaccine clinical trials, as well as the acquisition and transportation of vaccines.