The Covax vaccine sharing platform expects to have 25 million coronavirus vaccine doses for the Eastern Mediterranean region in March, rising to 355 million doses by December, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said.

The first doses provided for the region through Covax will arrive in February, WHO official Yvan Hutin told reporters.

The WHO's Eastern Mediterranean region includes Middle Eastern countries as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Djibouti.