U.S. plans to vaccinate evacuees from Afghanistan

The U.S. administration plans to vaccinate people arriving in the U.S. who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced this on Monday at a regular briefing.

She said evacuees are being tested for COVID-19 and will be offered the vaccination if they are not already vaccinated. “They’re being tested for COVID, and we’re working on getting them vaccinated, on what that process will look like,” Psaki said, promising more information on the issue soon.

Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said experts are examining passengers at Kabul International Airport, where evacuations are taking place. First of all, he noted, medical personnel are “examining for COVID those who are weakened or have symptoms” of the disease. Then the evacuees are tested again in the United States or in transit countries.

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 37.8 million cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in the United States and more than 629,000 people have died. The country ranks first in the world for both indicators.