UAE: 15,279 Covid vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

Dubai - The UAE’s vaccination rate has clocked 70 per cent.

The UAE has administered 15,279 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 16.8 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 169.9 per 100 people.

The UAE’s vaccination rate has clocked 70 per cent, but residents have been asked to continue practising social distancing, as new revelations emerged that the Delta variant could spread like chickenpox.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the Delta variant of Covid can be as contagious as chickenpox and could cause severe illness. The CDC’s figures also show that Covid vaccines are highly effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalisation and death in vaccinated people, the report said, citing experts.

While globally, nearly 8 in 10 people are yet to get the first Covid-19 vaccine dose, in the UAE it is quite the opposite with 8 out of 10 already either fully or partially vaccinated.

And while a high number of deaths globally have been reported mostly among the unvaccinated, the good news is that Covid vaccine skepticism is on the decline in 2021, according to a study published by Reuters. While some say they are taking the shots to help ease travel and other movement procedures, others say the spread of deadly Delta variant and encouragement and awareness by the UAE government inspired them to take the jab.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said vaccinations in tens of thousands of pregnant women over the past several months have shown the shots are safe and effective during pregnancy.

Covid-19 during pregnancy increases risks for severe complications and can also increase chances for preterm birth. US government data show only about 16% of pregnant women have received one or more doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.