Afghanistan gets 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine from India

KABUL (Pajhwok): India has provided 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine to Afghanistan in aid to vaccinate about 250,000 people, the Ministry of Public Health said on Monday. Dr. Bashir Noormal, deputy public health minister of planning and policy, made the announcement in a meeting with representatives from the World Health Organization and UNICEF and discussed how to implement the made-in India vaccine.

Noormal appreciated the assistance of India and called on relevant departments to take necessary measures regarding how to implement this vaccine. He stressed that people at risk were a priority and they would be vaccinated in the first stage.

The World Vaccine Union (Kwax), World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have also pledged to assist the Afghan government in developing the coronavirus vaccine, Noormal informed. However, some countries around the world, after a year of coronavirus outbreak, were able to produce the vaccine.

Earlier, the International Coalition for vaccines and the WB promised to provide some vaccine to Afghanistan, and the first shipment of vaccine is expected to arrive in Afghanistan in seven months. Since the beginning of the virus outbreak, at least 54,750 positive cases, 2,390 deaths have been registered and 47,365 people recovered from the virus in Afghanistan.