Iraq is expected to receive its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines on Monday as it tackles a second wave of infection.
Public anger has been mounting over the delay in securing doses compared with other countries in the region.
Health Ministry spokesman Said Al Badr said on Sunday that an Iraqi aircraft landed in China and was scheduled to return to the country on Monday with a shipment of the Sinopharm vaccine.
Mr Al Badr did not say how many doses would be arriving, but said Iraq agreed with China to supply millions.
To alleviate public anger, the ministry published pictures of the shipment being loaded on to the aircraft in China.
Along with the Sinopharm shot, Iraq also approved the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.
In December, the country signed an agreement to reserve 1.5 million doses from Pfizer-BioNTech and paid the company $169 million.
The shipment was supposed to arrive this month but have been delayed because of a request from the company for protection from any legal action that might be taken in connection with the doses, a process that needs parliamentary approval, Mr Al Badr said.
Early last year, Iraq joined the Covax initiative for low and middle-income nations to secure enough doses of Covid-19 vaccine for 20 per cent of its population of about 38 million people.
Iraq is facing a second wave of the virus, with new daily case totals of more than 3,000 this week.
A prominent aide to top Iraqi Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, tested positive for the virus last week. Ahmed Al Safi is in a stable condition after having the infection diagnosed on Tuesday, his office said.
The news caused some concern before the visit of Pope Francis to Iraq from March 5 to 8, during which he plans to meet Mr Al Sistani.
The Vatican ambassador to Baghdad also tested positive after touring Iraqi cities to prepare for the visit and meeting senior officials, including Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi.
To help contain the spread, authorities reimposed strict measures, including a stay-home order on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
For the rest of the week, there are restrictions on movement between 8pm and 5am. Schools are suspended until further notice.
The infection rate peaked in late September, when the country registered 5,025 cases in a day.
The highest number of daily deaths was recorded in late June, when 122 people died, ministry figures show.
Iraq's infection rate dropped to about 600 cases a day in early January and less than 10 deaths a day.
On Sunday, the ministry reported 3,248 new cases and 23 deaths, bringing the overall number of confirmed cases to 695,489 and the death toll reached 13,406.
-
The statue of the Virgin Mary at the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, or Al-Tahira Al-Kubra church, in the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh in Iraq. AFP -
A nun adds a coat of paint to the crucifix at the Immaculate Mary Convent in Qaraqosh, in preparation for the visit of Pope Francis in March. AFP -
Policemen stand guard as maintenance work is carried out at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh before the Pope's visit. EPA -
A fighter from the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, an Assyrian Christian militia, stands guard outside the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh. AFP -
Iraqi and Vatican flags and a picture of Pope Francis in Qaraqosh, about 30 kilometres east of Mosul in northern Iraq. EPA -
A sign welcoming Pope Francis hangs outside the Syriac Catholic Church of St Thomas in Qaraqosh. AFP -
Father Ammar Yako, head of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, walks past a poster of Pope Francis days before his historic visit to Iraq. Getty -
Workers prepare a path at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq. AFP -
Iraqi men print a banner of Pope Francis and Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani at a factory in Najaf, before the first papal visit to Iraq. AFP -
Municipal workers pave the road outside the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in preparation for the Pope's visit to Baghdad. AFP -
Members of a Christian choir rehearse at the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph before the visit of Pope Francis. AFP -
Workers prepare Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil for the arrival of Pope Francis. AFP -
A stage has been set up at Franso Hariri Stadium in preparation for the papal visit to Iraq. AFP -
A poster of Pope Francis on the wall of the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in Baghdad. AFP -
Al Tahera Syriac Catholic Church in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which was severely damaged by ISIS in 2017. Pope Francis is expected to pray there during his March visit. AFP -
Al Tahera Syriac Catholic Church in Mosul was damaged by ISIS as the extremists were forced out of the city. AFP -
The Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in Iraq's capital Baghdad. The Pope will visit the city in March. AFP -
Inside the Chaldean Catholic Church of St Joseph in Baghdad. AFP -
Workers at Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region. The Pope will hold a Mass at the stadium in March. AFP -
Workers finalise preparations for the Pope's visit to Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil. AFP -
Pope Francis will hold a Mass at Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region. AFP
