Iraq launches vaccine program after arrival of China doses

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq launched its coronavirus inoculation program Tuesday just hours after the first doses of vaccine arrived from China, a Health Ministry spokesman said, amid a spike in infections across the country.

The program kicked off as Iraq comes to grips with a second wave of the coronavirus, and got underway days before a much-anticipated visit by Pope Francis. It will be his first foreign trip since the pandemic erupted last year.