The UAE and Bahrain have approved booster shots of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for individuals, prioritising elderly and those with chronic health conditions.
Priority will be given to senior citizens and those with chronic diseases in the Emirates. And UAE health sector’s spokesperson, Dr. Farida Al Hosani at a briefing on Tuesday called on parents to get their kids vaccinated before they return to school next year. In the UAE, those who had their second dose at least six months ago are eligible.
In Bahrain, front line workers, residents older than 50 and those with underlying conditions will be prioritised.
“The Gulf nations, which approved the Sinopharm vaccine late last year, are among the first in the world to unveil plans for booster shots,” Bloomberg reported.
In April, China acknowledged its Sinopharm vaccine offered low protection against coronavirus. At the time, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, said they would work on improving the efficacy rates and said they were considering mixing vaccines to boost effectiveness.
Peng Xiao, the chief executive of G42, the company that’s making the Sinopharm shot locally in the UAE, told Bloomberg in March that the firm was “testing if a third shot can help to protect against the new mutations that we see around us.”
The reported efficacy rate was 79 percent, which is lower than Pfizer and Moderna. The Chinese vaccine got backing from the World Health Organization this month, but questions remain about how effective the shot is in preventing the virus from transmitting and infecting more people, though it does protect individuals from developing severe Covid-19 symptoms.
“By analysing the data of the National Vaccination Campaign, it was noted that the effectiveness of vaccines contributed to reducing hospital admissions & the need to use ventilators, which supports the acceleration of recovery & limiting the spread of the virus,” the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said in a tweet.
As part of the UAE’s proactive strategy to provide maximum protection for society, an additional supportive dose of Sinopharm is now available for people who have received the vaccine previously and who have completed more than 6 months since the second dose.
#TogetherWeRecover— NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) May 18, 2021
Sinopharm has been widely used in the UAE, alongside the Pfizer vaccine. The UAE has delivered around 11.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, and about 59 percent of the population has been vaccinated. Bahrain uses the Pfizer and Astrazenca shots in addition to Sinopharm.
As vaccination rates rise and daily average case counts fall, the country continues to loosen restrictions. The capital Abu Dhabi recently announced it would expand its green list soon, adding to the list of countries who don’t have to quarantine upon arrival, and quarantine rules will be fully lifted July 1, with some exceptions. In Dubai, authorities have given the green light to live events, concerts, and sporting events in the case all participants and performers are vaccinated.
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