The Dominican Republic on Wednesday received the first batch of 768,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac.

Vice President Raquel Pena, Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas and the head of public health welcomed the shipment at the airport.

Pena, also the coordinator of the Health Cabinet, extended sincere gratitude to the Chinese government for the supply, saying China's move has set an example for the mankind.

Chinese Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Zhang Run, who also attended the ceremony, said the smooth handover of the vaccine has opened a new chapter in the joint fight against the virus.

Zhang reiterated Chinese President Xi Jinping's pledge at the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly to make Chinese vaccines a global public good, which will be China's contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

More than 20,000 people in the Caribbean country have been vaccinated under the national vaccine rollout.