Covid vaccine UAE: 87,686 doses administered in 24 hours

The UAE has administered 87,686 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in the past 24 hours.

The country's Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) said the total doses administered now stands at 8.3 million. This takes the rate of doses per 100 people to 84.01.

The UAE is producing a Covid-19 vaccine called Hayat-Vax in the country, a local entity involved in the process said.

Hayat — meaning ‘life’ in Arabic — is the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine in the region to be manufactured by a newly created joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s G42 and Sinopharm. Hayat-Vax is the same Sinopharm vaccine that was registered by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention in December last year.

In a statement, G42 revealed that the joint venture is already producing Hayat-Vax with its partner — Ras Al Khaimah-based pharma firm Julphar — with an initial capacity of 2 million doses per month.

The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is planning to introduce an official authentication process for all nations to allow only those, who have been administered the Covid-19 jab, to visit the holy cities of Makkah and Madina to perform Hajj and Umrah this year.