Abu Dhabi: Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammad Al Owais, UAE's Minister of Health and Prevention, received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine that is being tested in the country.
The move comes as part of the ministry’s plan announced last week to administer the vaccine to specific categories of the frontline workers.
Al Owais affirmed that the vaccine has been authorised for emergency use as “part of the country’s measures to protect health workers in close contact with COVID-19 patients and ensure their safety,” and that it was “fully aligned with the regulations and laws that allow a faster review of licensing procedures.”
“The clinical trials of the vaccine have shown positive results in the UAE and the vaccine is safe and effective and will contribute to reducing the losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and saving lives,” The minister said.
Earlier last week, the UAE approved the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine. Currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials, the vaccine is being made optionally available to healthcare workers on the frontlines in the Gulf country after showing promising results so far.
Led by Abu Dhabi’s G42 Healthcare, results from the final stages of the third phase of its COVID-19 inactivated vaccine reportedly confirmed that the vaccine is “safe and effective, resulting in a strong generation of COVID-19 antibodies.” The Phase III trials, which followed the apparent success of Phase I and Phase II trials conducted by China’s Sinopharm, took place with the help of 31,000 volunteers from 125 nationalities. Approximately 1,000 of those reportedly have a history of chronic illness.
