The Senegalese government will receive this weekend 300,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine and 300,800 syringes with needles from China.
By Ibrahima Dione
This is a significant boost from China, which declared, in a statement shared with APA, that it wanted to support Senegal’s fight against the pandemic.
Through “this important donation,” the world’s second most powerful country “reaffirms its friendship and solidarity with Senegal, as well as its commitment to cooperation” between the two countries.
On Twitter, President Macky Sall hailed “this gesture from China,” and warmly expressed gratitude towards his counterpart, Xi Jinping.
In February 2021, China was the first country to provide Senegal with a batch of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, according to the statement.
This enabled the West African country to launch its vaccination campaign on February 23.
On May 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the vaccine produced by the Beijing-based laboratory, Sinopharm.
According to WHO “additional donation has the potential to rapidly accelerate access to vaccines against Covid-19.”
Sinopharm is the sixth vaccine recommended by WHO, after guaranteeing “its safety, efficacy and quality.”
To date, Senegal has recorded 40,762 cases of coronavirus and 1,121 deaths from the respiratory illness.
The number of people vaccinated stands at 431,468..
ID/fss/as/APA