Kabul (BNA) Afghanistan received its first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines on Sunday, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) confirmed. The shipment was transported from Mumbai, India to Kabul by Air India early Sunday morning.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in a statement welcomed and thanked government and people of India for their timely assistance to Afghanistan, instructing Ministry of Public Health to prioritize the vaccines for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces personnel, health workers and other vulnerable strata of the society.
Wahid Majroh, Acting Public Health Minister said that Afghanistan received 500,000 doses of the Indian-made Covid-19 vaccine. Majroh told reporters that health and frontline workers will be the first to get the vaccine.
“Senior citizens and patients with chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes will receive the vaccine from this batch in the second phase,” Majroh said.
Meanwhile, Charge d’ Affairs of the Indian Embassy in Kabul appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Public Health to combat Corona and said that the vaccine had been donated by the Indian people to the Afghan people, adding that the aid would continue.
Afghanistan has recorded 24 new COVID-19 active cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of affected people to 55,359.
