Taliban gets 800,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses as part of China’s aid to Afghanistan

China delivered 800,000 doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to Afghanistan on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. The shipment is part of a larger 200 million yuan (US$31 million) aid package promised to Afghanistan. It’s set to include 3 million vaccines in total, as well as much-needed food and other aid. The shipment comes at a key time for Afghanistan, as it struggles with multiple health-related issues. Western financial support was pulled from the country following the Taliban takeover in August, resulting in widespread medical shortages and the threat of famine.