UAE flights: Travelling soon? Get your Covid booster shots first

Get fully vaccinated and get your booster shots if you are travelling anytime soon, UAE doctors have urged residents.

“Vaccines work better with booster shots as it can make tremendous difference as we have seen in the UAE,” said Dr Anitha Varghese, general practitioner, Aster Clinic.

One can avoid severe Covid complications by getting booster shots in addition to both doses of a Covid vaccine. Doctors say this can also prevent the spread of Covid as travellers are one of the main carriers of new variants.

Dr Rasha Alani, specialist family medicine, Medcare Medical Centre, said that a booster dose is especially important for those with immunocompromised conditions or chronic diseases.

“The evidence shows that vaccines and boosters that people have received are holding up well to protect them against severe disease, hospitalisation, and death. And that’s the primary intent of these vaccines,” said Dr Alani.

“What we also see is that we’re in an inequitable place right now, with a very low percentage of people in low and low-middle income countries, having taken booster shots, and the percentage of those with one and two doses are also relatively low in these countries.”

Dr Varghese said that the getting a booster shot is important and should be taken based on age and medical conditions.

“Vaccines are serving the purpose by decreasing the number of positive cases, and even in positive cases, the severity and complications are lessened,” she said.

With the travel season in full swing, the National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) has urged residents to check the list of approved vaccines in the country of travel before embarking on their journeys and maintain all precautionary protocols while travelling.

The UAE has shown tremendous fortitude in handling the Covid pandemic through a rigorous testing and vaccination campaign which has seen new Covid cases fall below the 100 mark in recent weeks and doctors say residents must safeguard their own health and that of others by getting boosters if eligible before they venture to countries which may not have such a great record in handling Covid.

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The UAE is now welcoming travellers from different parts of the world and doctors are advising tourists to have a safe trip by following healthcare authorities’ instructions and using a wide range of telehealth services in the UAE.

ayaz@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai