The Chinese government has donated 400,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help the country curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation, which DRC Health Minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani received on Wednesday, comes amid a slow uptake of COVID-19 vaccines across the central African nation. 

The DRC has been struggling to vaccinate its population because of misinformation and widespread skepticism about the safety of vaccines. From April to August, the DRC only had the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it had received from the global sharing facility COVAX.

But many Congolese were unwilling to get the jabs because of fears about negative side effects. The situation was made worse when European countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot fears.

The DRC ended up redistributing 1.3 million doses of the vaccine to other African countries because their expiry date was drawing close and the uptake was very low. 

According to government figures, only 87,000 people out of the country's population of 90 million have so far been vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the DRC has recorded 56,000 COVID-19 cases and over 1,000 deaths since March last year. 

Congolese health officials commended the Chinese government for supporting them with the COVID-19 vaccines.

One of the main advantages of the Sinovac vaccine, which was approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization in May, is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius, which meets the DRC's existing storage capabilities.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this month showed that the Sinovac vaccine is effective in preventing hospitalization and death.

China's ambassador to the DRC Zhu Jing described the donation as a demonstration of the strong bond between the two countries.

China is the DRC's largest trading partner, and Chinese enterprises have invested a lot into the country's mining sector.

(Cover photo: China's ambassador to the DRC Zhu Jing and DRC Health Minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani hold a placard to illustrate the friendship between the two countries after the arrival of 400,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine in Kinshasa, the DRC, September 29, 2021. /CGTN)