LOME - Togo received 702,000 doses of Chinese Sinovac vaccines on Tuesday through the COVAX facility, the Togolese Ministry of Health announced on Twitter on Tuesday.

The new batch of vaccines was received at the Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport by the Togolese Minister of Health Moustafa Mijiyawa in the presence of the representatives of WHO and UNICEF in Togo.

"The 702,000 doses constitute the largest batch of vaccines received by the country though COVAX since March 2021, the start of vaccine supply in Togo. It brings the number of doses of Sinovac received directly through the COVAX initiative to 1,027,000," according to the ministry.

For the Togolese health authorities, it is a major boost to the vaccination strategy deployed by the government, which planned to immunize at least 60 percent of the target population.

So far, Togo has reported 26,000 COVID-19 confirmed cases with a death toll of 242 since it recorded its first case on March 6, 2020.