Iraq receives its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines

Iraq received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

An Iraqi Air Force plane C-130 landed in Baghdad with 50,000 Sinopharm shots from China.

Iraq is facing a second wave of the virus, with new daily case totals of more than 3,000 this week.

Along with the Sinopharm shot, Iraq has also approved the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.

But many Iraqis are angry at the government's slow start in securing the jabs.

And experts are concerned that the renewed rise in infections could be compounded by the Pope's visit to Iraq later this week, an event that's expected to draw large crowds.

On Monday, Iraq's ministry of health reported 3,599 new cases and 22 deaths, bringing the total of confirmed cases to just under 700,000, with a total death toll of 13,428.