Abu Dhabi makes Pfizer, Sinopharm booster shots available

Abu Dhabi has made booster shots available for those who were vaccinated against Covid-19 at least six months ago.

Pfizer and Sinopharm Group booster shots are available in over 100 centres in the emirate for citizens and residents, the city’s media office said in a tweet on Tuesday.

A booster of either Sinopharm or Pfizer-BioNTech is available at 100+ vaccination centres across #AbuDhabi.

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) August 17, 2021

The issue of booster shots has become more pressing, amid questions about “breakthrough” infections among the fully vaccinated, particularly with the fast-spreading delta variant. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the US will be “absolutely prepared” to distribute a third shot if needed.

Meanwhile, Israel has already vaccinated one million people with booster shots. Health providers started offering a third dose to patients with weakened immune systems in July and the country approved the use of a booster for those over the age of 50 last week.

The United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital, has one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world, with 73 per cent of its population of about 10 million already fully inoculated. The seven-day average of daily cases has fallen to about 1,200 from 2,200 in late June.