BAGHDAD, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health said on Sunday underscored the need to boost the COVID-19 vaccination campaign to control the spread of the pandemic.

The ministry's spokesman Sayf al-Badr told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) that there is a gradual increase in demand for vaccines, but "what has been achieved so far is about half a million, which is very far from what was determined by the World Health Organization."

Iraq needs to vaccinate at least 20 percent of its 40 million population by the end of this year, al-Badr said, adding that the ministry has ambitious plans to exceed this vaccination percentage to 40 or 50 percent of the population this year.

"I can say that this is possible through intensifying health education and awareness efforts to give a push to the vaccination campaign," he said.

Meanwhile, the health ministry reported 2,456 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising the total nationwide tally in Iraq to 1,139,373.

The ministry also reported 24 new COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll in Iraq to 15,954, while the total recoveries climbed by 5,624 to 1,045,240.

It noted 4,093 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 475,381.

Iraq has been pushing forward its vaccination drive after its drug authority approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm vaccines and other COVID-19 vaccines. Enditem

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