KABUL, October 29. /TASS/. The Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia), which formed the government in Afghanistan, is interested in the supply of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccines, Taliban-appointed Health Minister in the interim government, Qalandar Ibad reported on Friday.
"Everything that helps combat the pandemic and strengthen the health of our citizens is of great value for us," the minister stressed. "We’re interested in receiving vaccines from Russia as well as from any other country, which wishes to render assistance to us in this field."
"The situation [in the country] with COVID-19 was serious, the fatality rate was extremely high three-four months ago. The spread of the Indian strain was of particular concern," Ibad reported. "However, when the regular passenger flights were suspended in mid-August and borders with neighboring countries were closed, the situation normalized, and the mortality rate declined. We keep relevant statistics that allow us to draw such conclusions."
According to him, the US did not provide Afghanistan with the coronavirus vaccine promised in the negotiations between Taliban and American diplomats on October 9 in the capital of Qatar, Doha. "After US troop pullout, new batches of the vaccine were not received in the country. Nonetheless, we save some doses received earlier, and we are ready to use them. We also expect to receive vaccines that China promised to supply as humanitarian aid," the minister said.
The healthcare situation in Afghanistan remains extremely serious due to the lack of necessary treatment as well as a shortage of specialists. According to the latest WHO data, over 156,000 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the country with a population of 38.9 million people, 7,262 people have died as a result of the infection. However, monitoring of the situation over the pandemic in the country has been irregular, and there has been no information in some Afghan regions.