A batch of 3.58 million doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 made by Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd of China, and ordered direct from the maker by the Angolan government, has reached Luanda, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency quotes an Angolan official, Leonardo Inocêncio, as saying when the shipment arrived on Monday that the government expects to have received 32 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 by the end of next March.

Separately, the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, quotes Mr Inocêncio as saying his country has so far received 8.5 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, and that the latest batch will speed up the drive to inoculate at least 60 per cent of Angolans by December 31.