UAE: 7,976 vaccine doses administered in 24 hours

The UAE has administered 7,976 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 24.4 million.

This takes the rate of doses to 247.35 doses per 100 people.

A top doctor in China’s pandemic fight who came under pressure last year for questioning the country’s zero-Covid policy has called again for balancing anti-virus measures with maintenance of normal life as China struggles with an Omicron surge.

Shanghai infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong — who has been called “China’s Fauci” after US disease expert Anthony Fauci — also said in a blog post that the city’s medical resources were becoming “strained” as cases climb, but he expects the metropolis to turn the corner soon.

With coronavirus cases rising in parts of Europe and Asia, scientists worry that an extra-contagious version of the Omicron variant may soon push cases up in the United States too.

Experts are also keeping their eyes on another mutant: a rare delta-Omicron hybrid that they say doesn't pose much of a threat right now but shows how wily the coronavirus can be.