Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

UAE government plans to vaccinate 50 per cent of the country's population by the first quarter of 2021.

Dr. Farida Al Hosani, the official spokesperson for the UAE health sector said, “We have noticed a marked increase in the number of #Covid19 cases worldwide, and an increase in the number of cases registered in #UAE due to the increase in commuting between emirates, in addition to the presence of cases coming from outside the UAE arriving at various airports.

“Our goal in the next stage is to control the increase in the number of cases by reviewing the precautionary measures applied in establishments and institutions and emphasizing the commitment of all members of society to preventive measures.”

Al Hosani said, “We aim to focus on vaccination for the largest possible percentage of society, and access to the acquired immunity resulting from vaccination, which will help reduce the number of cases and control the disease.

“To date, 826,301 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, equivalent to 47,000 doses per day, and 8% of the country's total population.

“We aim to reach more than 50% of the country's population during the first quarter of this year. This will help us reduce cases in general, reduce critical cases in particular, and control the disease better in the next phase.”

UAE launched the national awareness campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine, which aims to provide all necessary information to society, to enable them to take the appropriate decision and prevent the disease.

Al Hosani also said, “We would like to emphasise that the priority for getting the vaccine is for people who are most vulnerable to complications from the disease, such as the elderly and people with chronic diseases.

“We focus on this category to ensure their protection from these complications, and the vaccination has proven 100% successful, effective and safe for senior citizens and residents over 60 years of age, and therefore we advise all people in this category to get the vaccine.

“The state has been keen to provide vaccinations to groups of young people and people who are 18 years of age and over, and they are the most contributors to spreading the disease due to the nature of their lives and the activities they perform. We believe that it is necessary to provide them with the vaccine to limit the increase in cases in the next stage.”