Earlier this month, the south Asian country torn by decades-long war and violence which have devastated its healthcare infrastructure received 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine developed by Serum Institute of India for low- and mid-income nations.
The vaccine shots were first in the country which will immunize 250,000 people.
Dr. Wahid Majroh, acting health minister, at the opening ceremony of COVID-19 vaccination campaign extended his gratitude for India that provided Afghanistan with hundreds of thousands doses of the anti-disease vaccine.
The biggest responsibility of Afghan health ministry is to fairly administer vaccines, he said, calling for monitoring of the process.
President Ashraf Ghani who also attended the ceremony said the pandemic still remains a risk for the country.
He called on health workers to vaccinate people in a fair and transparent manner and on the government agencies, the civil society, clerics and other groups in the society to monitor the process.
President Ghani also called on people to adhere to health protocols for the safety of themselves and the people around.
Mohammad Saber Sultani, a resident in Afghan capital, Kabul, voiced concern over an intransparent vaccination program. He hoped for the process to be transparent.
As per the health ministry’s data, Afghanistan has so far recorded more than 55,664 infection cases since the outbreak first entered the country.
However, a total of 2,436 patients having been contracted with the disease have died and a total of 48,967 have recovered from the pandemic during the same period.
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