A new batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine arrived Tuesday in Bolivia's third largest city Cochabamba, with Bolivian officials and the country's Chinese Ambassador at the airport waiting to receive the shipment.

Jeyson Auza Pinto, Bolivia's minister of health and sports, said the country began its mass vaccination rollout in February thanks to the vaccine that had been provided by China, while the new batch will be given to the elderly over 60 years old as well as the border residents who are facing an increasing threat of the new variants.

The Bolivian national television station broadcast the handover ceremony live, which was attended by about 100 people, including medical workers and media reporters.