Moscow, Jan. 23 -- Mali is going to purchase 8.4 million doses of vaccine against the coronavirus, media reported.

The first deliveries of the vaccine doses are scheduled for March, while the vaccination campaign is to be started in April, the Essor newspaper reported on late Friday.

According to other media reports, the country like most other African nations opted for the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca as it does not need to be stored under very low temperatures.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. To date, more than 98.1 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 2.1 million fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Mali has confirmed...