Dubai expands eligibility criteria for COVID-19 vaccine for women, virus patients

Dubai expands eligibility criteria for COVID-19 vaccine for women, virus patients

Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Dubai has expanded the eligibility criteria for COVID-19 vaccination for women who are breastfeeding as well as for those who are planning to conceive.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA)  said that as part of the criteria expansion women who are breastfeeding as well as those who are planning to conceive can take the mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech).

Also according to new criteria now patients who had COVID-19 no longer need to wait for three months to get the vaccine. They can take it on completion of their isolation, provided the infection was mild or non-symptomatic.

Dr Farida Al Khaja, CEO of DHA's Clinical Support Services and Nursing Sector and Chairperson of the COVID-19 Vaccination Steering Committee said the decision taken by the COVID-19 scientific committee after due consideration is aligned with international guidelines.

"Any patient who had an active COVID-19 infection must wait until the completion of the isolation period to be vaccinated. If the infection was moderate or severe and required hospitalisation, the timeframe for vaccination after infection will depend on the decision of the medical team that treated the patient. However, all mild cases or cases without symptoms can take the vaccine after completing the