Al-Maktoum, UAE prime minister, receives COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm

November 3, 2020 3:03 pm

Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the UAE prime minister, has received a trial COVID-19 vaccine shot.

Al-Maktoum, on Tuesday, posted a picture of himself receiving a shot of the vaccine.

“While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine today. We wish everyone safety and great health, and we are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine available in the UAE. The future will always be better in the UAE,” the picture’s caption read.

The vaccine was developed by Sinopharm, a state-run pharmaceutical group in China.

It is currently in the third and final stage of clinical trials and authorities say it has so far “been found safe and effective”.

In September, the UAE approved that COVID-19 vaccines under trial be used for frontline healthcare workers, as part of measures to safeguard medical workers in close contact with patients.

“The vaccine will be available to our first line of defense heroes who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus,” the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority had said.

Abdullah bin Zayad Al-Nahyan, the country’s minister of foreign affairs, also received the trial COVID-19 vaccine in October.

Al-Nahyan tweeted an image of himself receiving the trial vaccine with a caption saying “corona vaccination is our way to return to normal life”.

Also, Rahman Al-Owais, UAE’s minister of health, had said the vaccine is compatible with the country’s laws.

Al-Owais is said to be the first to receive the vaccine.

“It’s effective and has resulted in a ‘strong response’ by generated antibodies in trial volunteers,” he was quoted to have said.

As of Tuesday, 136,249 cases of the disease has been recorded in the country with 503 deaths, according to data from Worldometers.

In August, Russia had also announced a breakthrough vaccine against COVID-19

President Vladimir Putin had claimed that the vaccine, named “Sputnik V”, was administered on his daughter and that it is effective in fighting the disease.