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.