Argentina to send 1 million vaccine doses to Bolivia next week

By Bala Chambers

LONDON (AA) - Argentina announced on Friday that one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be sent to its Andean neighbor, Bolivia, on Monday in a bid to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "free donation" of vaccines to Bolivia will be "the largest donation of doses between countries in South America since the global pandemic was declared,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.

It also said the "pandemic is a global challenge that requires a solidarity strategy aimed at equitable access to vaccines designed to generate immunity against COVID-19."

An Argentine delegation headed by Health Minister Carla Vizzotti and Sabina Frederic, the president of the White Helmets Commission will depart for Bolivia on Monday to deliver the donation and "to share experiences on vaccination strategies".

The vaccines will be sent by the Argentine Air Force in a special Hercules C-130 airplane.

Argentine officials have highlighted the importance of equitable access to vaccines, saying this donation is a collaborative effort between Argentina and Bolivia to bolster quick and safe access to vaccines in order to fight the spread of the pandemic.

To date, Argentina has donated more than 1.7 million vaccine doses to different nations from South America to Africa, such as Angola and Barbados, among others.

Argentina, with a population of over 45 million, has registered more than 5.37 million coronavirus cases, 116.874 deaths according to data from the Health Ministry.

Bolivia, with a population of more than 11 million, has registered 559,000 COVID-19 cases and 19,372 deaths, according to US-based John Hopkins University.

Bolivia's Health Ministry says more than 4.35 million people older than 16 years old have received first dose of the vaccine while 3.44 million have received both doses.