More than 99% of UAE has received one Covid-19 vaccine dose

The UAE has reported that 99.82 per cent of the population has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, with 90.02 per cent now fully inoculated.

The milestone was announced yesterday when the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority reported that 36,559 doses had been administered in the previous 24 hours.

More than 21.7 million doses have been administered since a nationwide vaccination campaign began in December last year.

UAE authorities also said a booster shot was necessary to protect the well-being of the public, as countries around the globe face new waves of infection.

A government spokesman said the latest outbreaks were caused by low vaccination rates and a failure to adhere to precautionary measures.

The UAE has updated its rules for entering the country through its land borders, with the changes coming into effect immediately.

The protocols apply to citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The update was announced by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security and NCEMA.

Citizens of GCC countries or foreign residents in those countries who have been inoculated with approved Covid-19 vaccines and received booster shots must present a negative result from a PCR test taken within the previous 14 days to gain entry to the UAE. They must also take a PCR test on their sixth day in the UAE.

Meanwhile, Europe remains “in the firm grip” of the pandemic and the Covid-19 death toll in the region could reach two million by March, the World Health Organisation has said.

The agency issued the warning as the number of daily deaths increased to about 4,200 a day, double the number of daily fatalities reported at the end of September.

The death toll has already passed the 1.5 million mark across the 53 countries that make up the WHO European region, the agency said.