UAE Covid-19 vaccine: Abu Dhabi residents can register to get jab

Abu Dhabi residents can register to receive the Covid-19 vaccine that was approved by the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) on Wednesday.

Residents can call the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) call centre (80050) to book an appointment to get the jab at primary healthcare centres and clinics managed by it.

After taking the first dose, the second will be administered after 21 days.

Residents wanting to take the jab can call the Seha centre and provide his/her Emirates ID details. The call centre executive will then book an appointment at a primary healthcare centre or clinic.

The customer service centre was flooded with calls on Wednesday after the MoHAP’s approval announcement.

Vaccine 86% effective

The MoHAP said on Wednesday morning said that the vaccine — developed by China’s Sinopharm — is 86 per cent effective against Covid-19 infection.

It is 100 per cent effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease.

The vaccine got an emergency use authorisation (EUA) in September and has been administered on the UAE frontline health workers, leaders, ministers and health officials.

The Ministry’s approval “leads the way to comprehensively protecting the population and responsibly opening the economy”.

Separately, the emirate had also announced registration of volunteers for Phase 3 clinical trials of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Currently, 500 volunteers from Abu Dhabi can be part of the trial phase.

These developments come amid an announcement from the Abu Dhabi Government to resume “all economic, tourism, cultural and entertainment activities in the emirate within two weeks”.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

Ashwani Kumar

I am a newspaperman from the emirate of Abu Dhabi. A journalist at heart. I get my stories from the streets. A south Indian born in the Hindi heartland, I easily connect with people from different nationalities and cultures. I am calm like a monk, sensitive and very patient reporter. On the ground, I cover a range of topics related to community, health, embassy, tourism, transport, business and sports. I will go out on a leg to do what’s right and stand by what I believe in.