Taking the Covid-19 vaccine is every person’s ‘ethical duty’ – UAE official

Taking the Covid-19 vaccine has become everyone’s ethical duty, whether UAE citizens or residents, to protect the health and safety of the community, Dr Saif Al Dhaheri, official spokesperson of the UAE’s National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) has said.

In a media briefing on Tuesday, he stressed that the UAE is moving steadily towards containing the pandemic and planning the recovery phase, official news agency WAM reported.

Al Dhaheri highlighted the success of the national vaccination campaign in the UAE in achieving its objectives, affirming that “taking the vaccine has become an ethical duty for everyone”.

“The most effective way to achieve this [contain the pandemic] is to take the vaccine, to ensure the safe return to normalcy,” he stated.

As of Tuesday, February 2, the total number of vaccination shots given in the UAE has crossed 3.5 million, a rate of 36.04 per 100 people.

The UAE is offering the Sinopharm vaccine for free via various centres and hospitals across the country, with many companies also conducting camps for their staff. Dubai also offers the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine and earlier this week confirmed that it had approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Read: Covid-19: UAE reports 3,310 cases, 3,791 recoveries; over 3.5m vaccine shots administered

The country is seeing an “increased demand for the vaccine”, under the framework of its plan to vaccinate 50 per cent of the population in the first quarter of 2021, said Al Dhaheri.

The UAE reported 3,310 new Covid-19 infections on February 2, with the total number of infections recorded so far reaching 309,649.

In all, 285,201 patients have recovered while the total death toll stands at 866.

The country’s health ministry also confirmed 3,791 recoveries and 7 deaths.

The UAE has conducted more than 26 million Covid-19 tests since the onset of the crisis, said Al Dhaheri.

He stressed that despite the rise in coronavirus cases in the country in recent weeks, the UAE is capable of handling the situation through a “flexible and efficient approach”.

The precautionary and preventive measures adopted by the UAE; its vaccination campaign; and the implementation of strict penalties against those found violating the precautionary measures are all part of a detailed plan to ensure the return to normalcy, added Al Dhaheri.