UAE: 13,753 vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

The UAE has administered 13,753 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 24.5 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 247.84 doses per 100 people.

The number of people killed by the coronavirus surged by more than 40 per cent last week, likely due to changes in how Covid-19 deaths were reported across the Americas and by newly adjusted figures from India, according to a World Health Organization report released Wednesday.

In its latest weekly report on the pandemic, the UN health agency said the number of new coronavirus cases fell everywhere, including in WHO’s Western Pacific region, where they had been rising since December.

The United States Tuesday authorised a fourth dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for people 50 and older, as authorities warn of a possible new wave driven by the BA.2 variant.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement it had based its decision on emerging evidence that an additional booster, given four months after the last, improved protection against severe Covid and wasn't associated with new safety concerns.

Additionally, people with immune compromising conditions who have already received four shots, with their latest at least four months ago, are now eligible for a fifth dose.

• Dubai