TUNIS -- Tunisian Ministry of Health announced on Monday that China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine has been officially approved for marketing in Tunisia.

"The Ministry of Health has granted an exceptional and provisional marketing authorization in the Tunisian market for China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine," said a ministry statement.

"The marketing authorization was granted after the issue was evaluated by the specialized committee in the field of virology, toxicology and the Technical Committee for Pharmaceutical Specialties," it added.

Since the start of the national vaccination campaign against the coronavirus on March 13, a total of 2,156,240 people have received the vaccines, with 631,083 taking two doses, according to the latest figures published by the ministry.