UAE starts coronavirus vaccinations in capital

UAE starts coronavirus vaccinations in capital

The United Arab Emirates has launched Covid-19 vaccinations in the capital Abu Dhabi, health officials said Monday, days after it approved the jab by Chinese drugs giant Sinopharm.

The wealthy Gulf nation is one of the first countries to start widespread inoculation, after Britain became the first to roll out a campaign using a vaccine by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.

Gulf countries UAE and Bahrain, where third-phase trials of the Sinopharm vaccine were carried out, have both officially registered it for public use after it was previously approved for emergency use for frontline health workers.

Residents in the capital can book an appointment through the Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA) hotline.

"Residents can book an appointment for the vaccine now, free of charge," a SEHA operator told AFP, with local reports saying at least 45 hospitals and clinics were equipped with the vaccine.

Sinopharm - which uses an inactive form of the novel coronavirus - is administered in two doses, 21 days apart, according to SEHA.

Phase III trials revealed an 86 percent efficacy rate, a 99 percent seroconversion rate of neutralising antibody and 100 percent effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe cases of Covid-19

The UAE has so far recorded more