UAE vaccination rate nears 100 per cent

Dubai - 91% of the country’s population have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine

Globally, the UAE has the highest number of people who have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, placing it on top of the latest rankings, the government’s health sector announced Tuesday.

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A total of 91 per cent of the country’s population has received at least one jab, said Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson of the UAE health Sector, citing statistics posted by the Our World in Data website.

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“At least 80.38 per cent of the country’s population has taken both doses of the vaccine, according to Our World in Data, ranking UAE second in the world,”Dr Al Hosani said during the weekly Covid-19 briefing.

The UAE is closely followed by Portugal, where the number of fully vaccinated people is at 81.2 per cent. At least 87 per cent of Portugal’s population have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The UAE was ranked third in the world when it comes to the number of coronavirus tests performed per 1,000 people in countries with populations greater than one million, according to Our World in Data.

“These numbers include tests done from the start of the pandemic until September 12,” said Dr Hosani.

“The number of Covid-19 cases in the UAE has decreased by 60 per cent compared to August 2020, thus registering the lowest percentage in the number of infections in a year,” she added.

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The health sector spokesperson said the UAE's success in the fight against the pandemic can be attributed to the robust national vaccination campaign and the society’s adherence to safety regulations.

“Vaccines generally contribute to preventing infection and complications of the disease, admission to hospitals, reducing hospital stays, and not needing ventilators compared to the unvaccinated group of people,” she added.

• UAE