UAE reports 299 COVID-19 cases

UAE reports 299 COVID-19 cases

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Tuesday reported 299 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 319 recoveries and no deaths.

The Chinese city of Shanghai started administering an inhalable Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday in what appears to be a world first.

The vaccine — a mist that is sucked in through the mouth — is being offered for free as a booster dose for previously-vaccinated individuals, according to an announcement posted on an official city social media account.

Needle-free vaccines may persuade people who don't like getting a shot to get vaccinated, and also help expand vaccination in poor countries, because they are easier to administer.

China doesn't have vaccine mandates, but wants more people to get booster shots.

A video posted by an online Chinese state media outlet showed people at a community health centre sticking the short nozzle of a translucent white cup into their mouths. Accompanying text said that after slowly inhaling, one individual held his breath for five seconds, with the entire procedure completed in 20 seconds.

“It was like drinking a cup of milk tea," one Shanghai resident said in the video.

"When I breathed it in, it tasted a bit sweet.”

A vaccine taken in the mouth could also