The first shipment of 500,000 doses of COVID-19 arrived in Kabul from India on Sunday.  

250,000 individuals will be vaccinated from this shipment, health officials said, adding that health workers and adults will be vaccinated first. 

The acting minister of public health, Waheed Majroh, said the World Health Organization has not completed the official procedure of approving the vaccines. 

The Afghan government says that it plans to vaccinate 60 percent of the population in multiple phases.  

“Besides India’s assistance, we succeeded in getting a pledge for 16 million doses of vaccine from the COVAX facility,” Majroh said. “The 16 million doses of the vaccine will cover only 20 percent of the population; therefore, we have predicted internal sources for another 20 percent of the population and also we have prepared a big part of the money for the third 20 percent of the population.” 

According to the ministry, 150,000 health workers are among those who will be vaccinated first followed by adults who are prone to health problems.

“India has been a pharmacy to the world. Our manufacturing capacity to supply vaccines has been put to use, putting aside commercial consideration, against vaccine nationalism, to help everybody all over the world, but most importantly our neighborhood, our close friends like Afghanistan,” said Raghuram S., the charge d'affaires of India in Kabul.