China has decided to donate an additional 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, in their efforts to support the Maldives in its economic recovery.

According to a tweet by Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, the decision to donate further 100,000 doses apart from the already pledged 100,000 doses was revealed during a meeting today with Ambassador Zhang Lizhong today.

In his tweet, the Foreign Minister also thanked China for their continued support in the vaccination efforts of the Government of Maldives.

China had also pledged 100,000 doses of vaccine in early February. However the doses are yet to arrive in the country.

China has developed the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccine to battle the coronavirus. As of now, it remains unclear which of the two vaccines will be donated to the Maldives,.

Previously 10,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine have been brought to the Maldives. However, relevant authorities have not given the green signal to start vaccinations yet.

Currently, the 'Covishield' vaccine by Oxford-AstraZeneca is being used to vaccinate Maldivians. 200,000 doses of the vaccine were generously donated by India.