Colombian President Ivan Duque announced on Wednesday that the country's National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute has authorized the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech.
The approval was made following experts' evaluation of the vaccines, Duque said during a daily television program on COVID-19.
According to the Colombian government, the country will launch a mass vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic on Feb. 20.
Colombia has registered 2,125,622 COVID-19 infections and 54,877 deaths as of Wednesday, said the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
The government has extended the health emergency over COVID-19 till Feb. 28, urging people to avoid crowds and observe safety measures to curb the spread of the virus.
