UAE - Mubasher: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is planning to vaccinate 70% of the emirate's population with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine by the end of 2021, a health official told Reuters.
The CEO of Medical Support Services and Nursing at the DHA, Faridah Al Khaja, said that the second phase of vaccination will be available for all citizens and residents starting April.
The first phase of the vaccination campaign started last week, focusing on priority groups including those aged 60 and older, people with chronic diseases, those with disabilities, and frontline workers.
Dubai has followed Saudi Arabia, the first Arab country to use the Pfizer vaccine earlier this month, but none of the other emirates has announced plans to introduce the vaccine to their campaigns.
Abu Dhabi began its vaccination campaign using a vaccine made by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm).
It is noteworthy to mention that in early December, the UAE officially registered the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG), for showing 86% effectiveness against the virus.
