Venezuela will receive 6.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the global COVAX initiative in the coming days, Reuters news agency reported on Monday.

President Nicolas Maduro had reportedly given COVAX an "ultimatum" to send the doses or return the funds Venezuela has already paid.

This announcement comes after the GAVI alliance, which co-runs the COVAX facility along with the World Health Organisation (WHO), said in early July 2021 that COVAX had received payments from Venezuela after the country's officials said some payments were blocked by a bank due to US sanctions.

According to the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), the regional arm of the WHO, Venezuela will receive doses of Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm (HKG:1099) and biopharmaceutical Sinovac Biotech Ltd(Nasdaq:SVA) vaccines through the initiative.

The country has so far been administering Sinopharm, Russia's Sputnik-V and Cuba's Abdala COVID-19 vaccines, Reuters added.