With the rise of the Taliban, the operations of government departments, including the Ministry of Public Health, were disrupted. Before the fall of Kabul, the ministry provided information on the latest details of the Covid-19 on a daily basis, giving the necessary instructions to the people to prevent the outbreak.
For more than a month now, people somehow don’t care about the Virus, believing that it is no longer a threat. Therefore, they do not take health measures seriously in their daily routines. In reality, however, dozens of people in Afghanistan still go to the hospitals due to Covid-19.
The process of implementing the vaccines has been disrupted since August 15. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.8 million doses of Corona vaccines remain unused in The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) of Afghanistan. The agency stated that the remaining doses should be used as soon as possible.
Since the fall of Kabul, no information has been released regarding Covid-19 outbreak in Afghanistan. Citizens now believe that the corona virus no longer threatens them, therefore, they do not follow the protocols in their daily routines. The latest figures released by the Ministry of Public Health date back to a day before the fall of Kabul, August 14. According to statistics, the Ministry of Public Health tested 1934 suspected cases of Covid-19 in one day, of which 87 were positive.
In the meantime, more than 150,000 people have been infected with the virus so far. This is not a final statistic, and over the past few months, hundreds more may have been added to the statistics.
We asked for the latest details on the situation of Covid-19 from the Taliban Ministry of Public Health; But with much effort, we were unable to make contact.
Meanwhile, officials at the Kabul’s hospitals say that Covid-19 is still a serious threat and that dozens of people are infected with the virus every day. Zalmai Rashtin, director of the Afghan-Japanese Hospital, told 8 am that the number of people infected with the virus had been declining before the fall of the government. Now, however, it has peaked again and the number of infected people has increased. According to him, dozens of people visit the hospital every day, of which more than five are hospitalized.
Nearly two million people have received the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Public Health. Now, more than a month later, no updated have been released on the number of people who have been vaccinated.
In addition, despite the fact that the Taliban have appointed the acting minister of Public Health, the ministry’s operations have not yet officially begun. The Taliban Ministry of Public Health has not yet provided any detail on the vaccination process. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest report that the trend in the use of Covid-19 vaccines in Afghanistan is unfavorable and that since the fall of the previous government, vaccination and testing of suspected cases has decreased.
The agency emphasizes that there are currently about 1.8 million doses of Corona vaccines left unused that need to be adapted quickly. The World Health Organization has asked the Taliban Ministry of Public Health to implement the remaining vaccines by the end of this year.
The process of adapting COVID-19 vaccines began on April 22. So far, India, the United States, China and Sweden, and the Vaccine Alliance, have provided millions of doses of vaccines to Afghanistan.
