UAE: 24,744 Covid vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

The UAE has administered 24,744 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 21.8 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 221.39 per 100 people.

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White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that 226 cases of the highly mutated Omicron Covid-19 variant have been detected across 20 countries so far, but US officials haven’t confirmed a case in the states yet, CNBC reported.

“This mutational profile is very different from other variants of interest and concern, and although some mutations are also found in Ddelta, this is not Ddelta,” Dr Fauci told reporters at a White House Covid-19 task force briefing. “These mutations have been associated with increased transmissibility and immune evasion.”

There are several other mutations to the virus that scientists haven’t seen before and don’t know how they will change how the virus behaves or spreads, he said.

Dr Fauci said it was difficult to know whether the Omicron variant will lead to severe disease, adding that preliminary information from South Africa indicated it did not lead to unusual symptoms.

Meanwhile, a panel of US health advisers on Tuesday narrowly backed a closely watched Covid-19 pill from Merck, setting the stage for a likely authorisation of the first drug that Americans could take at home to treat the coronavirus.

The Food and Drug Administration panel voted 13-10 that the antiviral drug’s benefits outweigh its risks, including potential birth defects if used during pregnancy.

“I see this as an incredibly difficult decision with many more questions than answers,” said panel chair Dr. Lindsey Baden of Harvard Medical School, who voted in favour of the drug. He said FDA would have to carefully tailor the drug's use for patients who stand to benefit most.

The recommendation came after hours of debate about the drug’s modest benefits and potential safety issues. Most experts backing the treatment stressed that it should not be used by anyone who is pregnant and called on FDA to recommend extra precautions before the drug is prescribed, such as pregnancy tests for women of child-bearing age.

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• Abu Dhabi