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UAE Covid vaccine: Booster Sinopharm shots now available at over 100 centres in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi - The free booster is available by walk-in at any of the 100+ vaccination centres across Abu Dhabi.

Residents in Abu Dhabi who took the second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine at least six months ago are now eligible to receive booster shots.

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The emirate’s Department of Health announced on Saturday that the free booster was available by walk-in at any of the 100+ vaccination centres across Abu Dhabi. Residents can find their nearest vaccination centre by visiting doh.gov.ae.

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Dr Farida Al Hosani, the official spokesperson for the UAE Health Sector, had previously said that the third Sinopharm vaccine dose was optional. However, frontline doctors in the country have urged everyone eligible for vaccination to take the jab.

Dr Hosani also noted that the elderly and those with chronic illnesses will be offered the booster dose after a careful assessment by the health authorities.

She also underlined that taking a booster dose offers immunity against the many strains of the coronavirus. Dr Hosani stressed that community members, who feel any symptoms, must go and do a PCR test as different variants of the virus have been reported in different parts of the world.

The move comes a week after officials at vaccine centres across the UAE confirmed they had begun preparations to administer doses of the Sinopharm vaccine by receiving requests and recording data. They had explained that the majority of those who received the first and second doses of the Sinopharm vaccine have not yet completed the required six months to be eligible for the additional dose.

Vaccinated patients who get infected again have so far presented very mild symptoms only, confirming the effectiveness of the approved vaccines in the UAE.