Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Dr Farida Al Hosani, Official Spokesperson for the UAE Healthcare Sector said that the COVID-19 vaccines in the UAE have proven effective in reducing infection rates, though not preventing it completely.

The vaccines have been proven successful in reducing hospital admissions, intensive care rates, and even reducing the death rate.

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She said, “These rates were also evident in the cases admitted to intensive care, where the highest percentage of non-vaccinated people was at 92%, while the percentage of vaccinated people was 8%.

“The percentage of infected people with COVID-19 among the vaccinated was 16%, while the unvaccinated reached 84%, and the percentage of infected vaccinators who were admitted to the hospital did not exceed 11%, while the percentage of the unvaccinated was 89%.”

Dr Farida said, “The vaccine was provided to more than 71% of the total population of the UAE, which represents 91.8% of the eligible category.”

She discussed the rise of COVID mutants in the media briefing.

Dr Farida said that the deaths in the country increased during the past week compared to the previous week, and were due to the spread of viral mutations, lack of commitment to preventive measures, in addition to a reluctance to take the vaccine.

She said, unfortunately, most of them are unvaccinated people, reaching 94%, while the percentage of vaccinated people was 6%.

Recently, there has been increased talk about the delta mutant and what made it worrying is that the speed of its spread was high compared to the previous mutant. International studies indicate that the transmissibility of the Delta mutant has increased by about 40-60%.

Dr Farida said, “Recent data received from some countries show that the risk of hospitalisation doubles after infection with the delta mutant compared to the alpha mutant, especially in those who suffer from other health conditions.”