UAE: Unvaccinated Emiratis barred from travelling abroad

The UAE has announced a travel ban from January 10 for UAE citizens who are not vaccinated against Covid-19.

In order to travel, vaccinated citizens are required to obtain booster dose according to the national protocol for booster doses.

The announcement was made on Saturday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA).

There are exemptions that will be made. Travel is permitted for unvaccinated citizens who are medically exempted from taking the vaccine, humanitarian cases, and also for individuals travelling for medical and treatment purposes.

#NCEMA and @MoFAICUAE: Ban on Travel on UAE citizens unvaccinated with #Covid19 vaccine, starting Jan 10, 2022, with a requirement to obtain the booster dose for the fully vaccinated. With an exemption for medically exempted from taking the vaccine, humanitarian & treatment cases pic.twitter.com/zUw1FoSLBt

— NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) January 1, 2022

The foreign ministry and the NCEMA emphasized the importance of ensuring that all travelers adhere to preventive measures, that travellers seek information about infection status in their chosen travel destinations, and communicate with UAE diplomatic missions in a foreign country where they are suspected of having being infected.

On Saturday, January 1, MoHAP noted that 36,384 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were administered over the previous 24 hours.

The total number of doses provided to date therefore stands at 22,679,877, with vaccine distribution rate of 229.31 doses per 100 people.

In late December, the health ministry approved the emergency use of the Sinopharm CNBG’s new recombinant protein vaccine. The new vaccine will be produced and distributed by Hayat Biotech, a JV between G42 and Sinopharm CNBG. It will be available to the public as a booster dose starting January 2022.

Read: UAE approves new Sinopharm vaccine to be used as booster jabs

The Sinopharm protein-based vaccine uses protein from the spinal cord that surrounds the Covid-19 virus. It enables the body to identify the virus and fight it in case of exposure, which will help in the prevention of several variants, state-run news agency WAM reported Dr. Noura Al Ghaithi, spokesperson for the UAE Health Sector, as having said following the approval of the vaccine.

“The Sinopharm protein-based vaccine and other Sinopharm vaccines are effective in producing antibodies. However, the new protein-based vaccine could achieve more comprehensive results to ensure higher effectiveness in preventing variants,” added Dr. Noura.