Dubai receives first AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shipment

Dubai receives first AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shipment
February 2, 2021, 11:00 am

A health worker giving a dose of the coronavirus vaccine to a nurse in Dubai. (File photo: AFP)

The Dubai Health Authority will begin offering citizens and residents the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, the Dubai Media Office announced.

The United Arab Emirates received its first shipment of the vaccine from India on Tuesday, according to the emirate’s media office.

“@DHA_Dubaiadds the AstraZeneca vaccine to its authorised list of Covid-19 vaccines provided at DHA medical facilities. The first shipment of the vaccine has been received from India, thanks to efforts by @MoFAICUAE, in cooperation with the Indian Foreign Ministry,” the Dubai Media Office said on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/1356548901898174465

The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and the Chinese Sinopharm vaccines have been available in the country for free for citizens and residents.

More than 3 million people have already taken a vaccine against the coronavirus, health officials said last month.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) this week began certain groups of people to receive a free dose of the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine at some of its facilities.

Emirati citizens and residents above the age of 60 will be allowed to the take the Sinopharm dose at Nad al-Hamr Health Centre, al-Twar Health Centre or the al-Mankhool Health Centre, according to the DHA.

The move comes as part of the DHA’s efforts to provide all members of the public with the opportunity to choose between the different vaccines available in the country, the authority said in a statement.

Officials say the country will continue to intensify its vaccination campaign until most of its citizens and residents are vaccinated.

source: Tamara Abueish

Image source: AFP

Levant

Emirates to make daily coronavirus vaccine deliveries to developing countries A Decade of Despair