UAE: 12,376 Covid vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

Dubai - The total doses administered now stand at 20.8 million.

The UAE has administered 12,376 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 stand at 20.8 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 211.18 per 100 people.

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Vietnam plans to reopen the resort island of Phu Quoc to vaccinated foreign visitors in late November, authorities said, as the country looks to reboot its tourism industry after almost two years of closure.

Phu Quoc, which lies around 10km (six miles) off Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand, boasts white-sand beaches and crystal clear waters, as well as mountains and thick jungle.

It attracted around 670,000 visitors and earned more than $18 billion dollars from international arrivals in 2019, with authorities hoping to turn it into a tourist mecca in the style of Thailand’s Phuket or Indonesia’s Bali.

From November 20, “charter flights” for international travellers with vaccine passports will be welcomed to the island, the government said late Friday.

Meanwhile, Covid booster shots can significantly reduce viral loads, a recent study in Israel revealed after analysing samples from 11,000 people infected with the Covid Delta variant.

Elaborating on the study, Dr Satyam Parmar, head of pathology department at RAK Hospital, said: “Data shows that viral load in vaccinated people is much lower compared to the unvaccinated, which means even if they get the infection, the transmission will be minimal. A booster dose further helps in lessening the load.”

Talking about the need for a booster dose, Dr Parmar said: “There are three key reasons which demand a booster dose. The first, if you didn’t respond adequately to the first two doses, second if you come under the category of immuno-compromised, and also when, over time, the immunity achieved as a result of the vaccine wanes off. We now know that the protection attained through vaccination starts to weaken with time. Depending on the type of vaccine, it can last anywhere from 7-12 months.”

• Dubai