BBC. Senegal to share vaccines with neighbours BBC Senegal is offering The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau 10,000 vaccines each "as a form of African solidarity" with its smaller neighbours, President Macky Sall has said. Senegal recently purchased its first 200,000 doses from Sinopharm and national rollout began on Tuesday. In The Gambia, more than 4,500 people are known to have contracted coronavirus since the outbreak began. In Guinea-Bissau this number is just over 3,000. Coronavirus in Africa tracker 3:40 Senegal starts vaccinating against coronavirus Seydina Alioune Djigo BBC News, Dakar Getty Images The health minister had country's first Sinopharm jab to prove its safety to the public The authorities in Senegal have said fighting misinformation and Covid-19 vaccination reluctance will be key in the campaign launched on Tuesday. Senegal's Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr was first in line to be vaccinated and said he wanted to serve as as an example and reassure the public on the safety of the vaccines. The country purchased its first 200,000 doses from the Chinese Sinopharm. Frontline health workers and vulnerable groups will be prioritised in the vaccination across different parts of the country. Health experts say the challenge of identifying people with underlying health conditions must be tackled quickly especially since medical records are not necessarily digitised. To overcome this difficulty, the government has launched an online registration form with priority criteria to be assessed for any person registered before vaccination. Authorities say the country is expected to begin a mass vaccination campaign in the coming weeks with a second batch of more than six million doses. The West African nation is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases despite restrictive measures and a curfew in Dakar and Thiès regions. Last week saw the total number of Senegal's coronavirus-related deaths reach 800. 2:33 18 Feb Senegal receives China's Covid vaccine Seydina Alioune Djigo BBC News, Dakar Getty Images A night-time curfew is in place in Senegal's capital, Dakar Senegal has received 200,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Chinese company Sinopharm. President Macky Sall said the government bought the vaccine, and did not wait to receive doses from the World Health Organization's Covax scheme, which aims to make it easier for developing nations to buy them. Frontline health workers, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are first in line for the shot. Mr Sall said that Senegal aimed to get another 6.5 million doses in the coming weeks to widen its vaccination campaign. Senegal has seen a spike in Covid cases and deaths in recent weeks. To date, the country has recorded 31,771 confirmed cases and 769 deaths. To curb the second wave, the authorities have tightened restrictions, including banning gatherings, requiring people to wear masks in public places and imposing a curfew from 21:00 to 05:00 in the hardest hit areas - the capital, Dakar, and the city of Thies. 6:55 17 Feb "Museums must own up that these objects were stolen" 11:29 African artists and curators want to take control of their own cultural narrative African artists and curators want to take control of their own cultural narrative