‘Break the chain’: UAE youths urged to take Covid-19 vaccine

The authorities are urging the UAE’s young people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Those aged 16 and above are eligible to receive a Covid-19 vaccine in the Emirates.

“We call on our youth to get vaccinated, which will have a positive effect on society by breaking the chain of infection and maintaining the UAE’s achievements in combatting Covid-19,” said Saeed Al Nazari, director general of the Federal Youth Authority.

“Abiding by the rules is an individual responsibility and a national obligation to keep communities safe.”

The UAE’s National Youth Strategy defines a youth as someone aged between 15 and 35.

Last year, more than 50,000 young people volunteered at hospitals, test centres, quarantine facilities and ports to serve the country, Mr Al Nazari said.

Meanwhile, the US health authorities called for a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine after six women developed blood clots about two weeks after they were inoculated.

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said one woman died and a second was admitted to hospital.

All the women were between the ages of 18 and 48.

“We’re recommending this pause while we work together to fully understand these events and also so we can get information out to healthcare providers and vaccine recipients,” acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said.

“Right now, I’d like to stress these events appear to be extremely rare but Covid vaccine safety is a top priority.”

Ms Woodcock said the FDA expected the Johnson & Johnson pause to last “a matter of days”.

Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, said people who received the vaccine more than a month ago were at “very low” risk.

However, she said those who were inoculated within the past two weeks should contact their healthcare providers should they develop symptoms that include severe headaches, abdominal or leg pain or shortness of breath.

The CDC will meet today to review the data on the clots.