COVID-19: New walk-in clinic for vaccine trials in Abu Dhabi opened
Clinic at ADNEC can process 800 people a day, and will be open over Eid, except Friday
- The trials pertain to a vaccine developed by Sinopharm China National Biotec Group.
- The vaccine has already shown promising results in its first two phases
- The trials are open to volunteers aged between 18 and 60 year living in the UAE.
Abu Dhabi: Residents who wish to volunteer in the Phase III trials for the inactivated vaccine against the coronavirus can now ‘walk in’ without registration and enrol themselves.
A purpose-built registration, screening and testing facility has been set up at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), G42 Healthcare and the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) have announced. The facility will be open every day except Friday from 8AM to 8PM, including over the Eid holidays.
The trials pertain to a vaccine developed by Sinopharm China National Biotec Group. The vaccine has already shown promising results in its first two phases, producing antibodies when two doses of it were administered 28 days apart.
Vaccine trial operations
Since the vaccine trials were launched in Abu Dhabi on July 16, more than 10,000 people have signed up, including more than 5,000 in the first 24 hours.
G42 Healthcare, a privately-held artificial intelligence and cloud computing firm, is managing the clinical trial process under the supervision of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi and in coordination with Seha.
“There has been an amazing response to volunteer and participate in the 4Humanity [vaccine trial] programme. This new facility at ADNEC has been purpose-built to the highest standards and will ensure rapid turnaround times in response to the overwhelming number of registrations already received. We are now conducting the feasibility of setting up similar sites in other parts of the UAE to improve convenience for volunteers,” said Ashish Koshy, G42 Healthcare’s chief executive officer.
New ADNEC walk-in clinic
A highly experienced and qualified team of nurses, administrators, health care professionals and volunteers from SEHA are responsible at ADNEC for welcoming volunteers, managing the registration and screening process and administering the inactivated vaccine.
“ADNEC has the size and resources for us to process up to 800 volunteers a day and is a convenient and accessible location for the people of Abu Dhabi to reach. It will also enable us to continue and manage the registration, screening and trial process throughout the forthcoming Eid Al Adha holidays,” said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, UAE principal investigator at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, chief medical officer, and chairperson of the National COVID-19 Clinical Management Committee.
Who is eligible for the trials?
The trials are open to volunteers aged between 18 and 60 year living in the UAE. They will last between six to eight months, with the volunteers required to be available for follow ups during this time.
People who have already registered online but have not yet had a follow-up call can also benefit from the walk-in clinic. They can receive on-site screening and the first vaccination shot, but they must have passed three days after receiving a negative test for COVID-19. The facility will also only be open to Abu Dhabi residents.
Branded 4Humanity signage has been installed at ADNEC to ensure that volunteers easily find the registration desks and be taken through the various steps of the trial process. On-site staff from Seha will also be helping the volunteers to maintain the appropriate social distancing protocols during their visit.