UAE administers almost two million Covid-19 vaccines
Almost two million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the UAE since December.
At least 88,743 of the 1.97 million inoculations were administered on Sunday, raising the country’s vaccination rate to 19.93 doses for every 100 people, among the highest in the world. The UAE reported 3,471 more cases of Covid-19 yesterday, a record increase for the seventh consecutive day.
These new infections raised the total to 256,732, after another 142,388 tests were carried out.
More than 23.5 million DPI and PCR tests have been conducted across the Emirates since the outbreak began.
Another 2,990 patients were cleared of Covid-19, raising the recovery total to 228,364.
The health authorities announced that six people died of complications, increasing the death toll to 751. Active cases increased to 27,617, after new infections exceeded recoveries for the 11th consecutive day.
Emirates yesterday began vaccinating pilots, ground staff and cabin crew. The Dubai airline is working with Dubai Health Authority and the Ministry of Health and Prevention to inoculate all Emirates Group employees on a voluntary basis.
The group offers the PfizerBioNTech or the Sinopharm vaccine to staff, both of which have been approved by the authorities. Emirates staff can book an appointment for the free vaccine at company locations across the country.
They can also choose to be vaccinated at governmentdesignated medical centres and clinics.
The airline is among one of the first transport and air services organisations in the world to offer employees vaccinations against Covid-19.
Meanwhile, a top official said the country has managed to strike a balance between lives and livelihoods when it comes to managing the economy during the pandemic.
Omar Ghobash, Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy, said the economy could not be put on hold as efforts to tackle the coronavirus and vaccinate people continued.
“Obviously there are people who are still getting sick, and unfortunately passing away,” Mr Ghobash told CNBC Middle East. “But overall we think that we’ve managed to find the balance between health and safety on the one hand, and economic viability on the other hand.”
Mr Ghobash said it was up to everyone to work together to get through the pandemic.
“It’s really about balancing personal responsibility with an economy that needs to go forward,” he said.
The UAE is permitting teenagers aged 16 and 17 to be immunised against Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention announced the new policy on Sunday, without specifying whether one or both of the vaccines available in the UAE had been approved for use in this age group.
Sinopharm’s vaccine was approved for nationwide use in adults on December 9.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine was first administered in Dubai two weeks later.
Free and voluntary immunisation campaigns are under way, using both vaccines.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is offered only to adults.
At least 88,743 of the UAE’s 1.97 million inoculations were administered on Sunday, raising the country’s vaccination rate to 19.93 doses per 100 people, among the highest in the world.
Age restrictions for vaccines are typically put in place because children are rarely included in clinical trials.
But some vaccine developers, including Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, have since included children as young as 12 in their research.
Last month, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention panel voted unanimously to recommend the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in people aged 16 years and older.
The recommendation has yet to be signed off by the government agency’s director, so vaccination of this age group has not yet begun in the US.
China National Biotec Group, a subsidiary of Sinopharm, has data on the use of one of its vaccines in children as young as three.
At the weekend, Chinese state media reported that the Sinopharm vaccine might be approved for use in children within weeks.
“Based on clinical data we have obtained and regulatory procedures we are filing to National Medical Products Administration, [use of the vaccine] could be expanded to those aged between three and 17 before March,” CNBG’s chairman, Yang Xiaoming, told Chinese state-run television.
He said children aged between three and five had to be carefully monitored during inoculation because their immune systems were still developing.