Guinea launches vaccination campaign with Chinese vaccines

CONAKRY - Guinea launched its official vaccination campaign against COVID-19 with Chinese vaccines on Friday here in its capital.

Medical and health personnel, religious workers, people in key positions and over-65 elders will get vaccinated first, Health Minister Remy Lamah said.

Vaccination with Chinese vaccines will bring greater convenience to medical work and more hope to the fight against the epidemic, said Mohamed Conde, the first health worker in the country to receive the Chinese vaccine shot.

As of Friday, the country has recorded 16,420 COVID-19 cases with 93 deaths and 15,091 recoveries.

A batch of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Conakry on Wednesday.

Guinean Minister of Foreign Affairs Ibrahima Khalil Kaba, Guinean Minister of Health Remy Lamah and Chinese Ambassador to Guinea Huang Wei attended the handover ceremony held at the airport.

Kaba expressed his heartfelt thanks to the Chinese government and people in his speech.

He said that after Guinea raised its demand for vaccines to China, the Chinese side responded quickly and actively and offered help as soon as possible.

"I believe that with the support of China, Guinea will surely overcome the epidemic," said Kaba.

Huang Wei said that the COVID-19 epidemic is still spreading, and vaccines are an effective "weapon" for mankind to overcome the epidemic.

Although the current global supply of vaccines is tight and China is facing huge demand for vaccination, China is doing everything to promote the availability and affordability of vaccines for developing countries, said Huang.

Guinea is one of the first countries to receive vaccine assistance from China. It is China's latest concrete measure to actively implement the declaration of vaccines as a global public product, which can help Guinean people to overcome the epidemic as soon as possible, said Huang.

It is also another vivid interpretation of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Guinea, said Huang.

科纳克里-几内亚周五在其首都启动了针对新冠肺炎的官方疫苗接种运动。卫生部长雷米·拉马赫说，医疗卫生人员、宗教工作者、关键岗位人员和65岁以上老人将首先接种疫苗。中国第一位接种中国疫苗的卫生工作者穆罕默德·康德(Mohamed Conde)说，接种中国疫苗将为医疗工作带来更大的便利，并给抗击疫情带来更多的希望。截至上周五，中国已记录了16420例新冠肺炎病例，其中93例死亡，15091例痊愈。2021年3月5日，几内亚首都科纳克里，一名男子接受中国援助的疫苗注射。[图片/新华社]周三，一批中国捐赠的新冠肺炎疫苗抵达科纳克里。几内亚外交部长易卜拉欣·哈利勒·卡巴、几内亚卫生部长雷米·拉马赫和中国驻几内亚大使黄伟出席了在机场举行的交接仪式。2021年3月3日，几内亚外交部长易卜拉希马·哈利勒·卡巴(左一)、几内亚卫生部长雷米·拉马赫(左三)、中国驻几内亚大使黄伟(左二)在几内亚科纳克里国际机场出席交接仪式。[图片由中国驻几内亚大使馆提供]卡巴在致辞中对中国政府和人民表示衷心感谢。他说，几内亚向中国提出疫苗需求后，中方迅速积极回应，并尽快提供帮助。卡巴说:“我相信在中国的支持下，几内亚一定能战胜疫情。”。2021年3月3日，中国驻几内亚大使黄伟在几内亚科纳克里国际机场向媒体发表讲话。[图片由中国驻几内亚大使馆提供]黄伟表示，新冠肺炎疫情仍在蔓延，疫苗是人类战胜疫情的有效“武器”。黄说，尽管目前全球疫苗供应紧张，中国面临巨大的疫苗需求，但中国正在尽一切努力提高发展中国家疫苗的可用性和可负担性。几内亚是最早接受中国疫苗援助的国家之一。黄说，这是中国积极实施疫苗全球公共产品申报的最新具体措施，可以帮助几内亚人民尽快克服疫情。黄说，这也是中国和几内亚全面战略伙伴关系的又一生动诠释。