Afghanistan getting vaccine doses donated by US

UN childrens agency UNICEF says more than 1.4 million Johnson Johnson vaccine doses will be delivered to Afghanistan on Friday as the country battles a third wave of infections. I hope that other governments will step up and share their doses, supplies and therapeutics to protect those most in need. As of July 8, Afghanistan had reported a total a total of 131,586 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,561 deaths.

UN children's agency UNICEF says more than 1.4 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses will be delivered to Afghanistan on Friday as the country battles a third wave of infections. The COVID-19 vaccines are being donated by the United States and delivered through the UN-backed COVAX programme. Another shipment is expected to arrive later this month, bringing the total donations to around 3.3 million doses.

"These vaccines arrive at a critical time for Afghanistan as the country faces a difficult surge in COVID-19 infections," Hervé Ludovic De Lys, UNICEF's representative in Afghanistan, said in a statement. He added that while the the donated vaccines are appreciated, "much more needs to be done. I hope that other governments will step up and share their doses, supplies and therapeutics to protect those most in need." As of July 8, Afghanistan had reported a total a total of 131,586 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,561 deaths. Since the third wave started last month, the country has averaged more than 2,000 new confirmed cases a day. The Afghan government has closed universities and schools.