Walk-in vaccination centres for students, educators and school community open in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain

Abu Dhabi: Health and education authorities in Abu Dhabi have collaborated to open walk-in COVID-19 vaccination centres for students aged 12 and above, school teachers and administrative staff in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, whether they are residents or new to the emirate. These new facilities will help ensure a smooth return to schools for the entire academic community.

The collaboration between the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), Department of Health — Abu Dhabi (DoH), Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC), and Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) follows the recent success of Adek’s pop-up vaccination centre at Yas Mall, where more than 1,800 students were vaccinated.

The dedicated centres in the Green Hall at Mina Zayed Vaccination Center in Abu Dhabi and Green Hall at Al Ain Convention Center in Al Ain are open daily from 8am until 8pm until October 31. Appointments are not required, though students below the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

‘Vaccinate your child’

“With students aged 16 and above requiring vaccination to return to face-to-face, in-school learning for the new academic year, the new vaccination centres are designed to make the process as easy as possible and facilitate a smooth return to school for the entire education community. We encourage parents to continue playing their vital part and vaccinate their children,” explained Amer Al Hammadi, the Adek Undersecretary.

According to the requirements for a three-week window between the two doses, all members within the education community are advised to receive their first vaccination as early as possible.

Wider education community

The new dedicated centres offer first, second and booster doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm vaccines, which students and the wider education community can access either at these two centres or any other DoH approved vaccination centre. The entire procedure, including post-vaccination observation, should take no more than 40 minutes.

Residents can walk into the new centres without an appointment, but must present their Emirates ID at registration, while new arrivals to the school community will need to show a passport and entry permit with UID. Registration also includes presenting an employee ID, employment or enrolment letter from school, and displaying green or grey status on the Al Hosn app.

Students below 18 years must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian not younger than 21 years old. However, only one parent or legal guardian per family is allowed into the centres to avoid overcrowding and ensure a streamlined vaccination process.

Students with exemptions

Students aged 16 and above choosing to return to face-to-face, in-school learning must be vaccinated according to the protocol issued by Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee. Students with vaccination exemptions can enter school premises provided the exemption is verified on their Al Hosn app or through an official letter from a DoH authorised vaccination provider such as Seha or Mubadala Health.

For more information, visit adek.gov.ae or follow Adek on social media.