Dubai approves free Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines

Dubai has approved an “extensive vaccination campaign” against COVID-19, and it kicks off in Dubai on Wednesday (December 23).

The vaccinations will be with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is already approved in countries including the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management tonight (Tuesday December 22) said that the vaccine will be free of charge.

According to research, the Pfizer vaccine is nearly 95 percent effective at preventing people from contracting COVID-19.

It is the second type of vaccine available for UAE residents. Earlier this month the UAE released a full list of all the clinics and hospitals where UAE residents can now go and get the Sinopharm vaccine, with two injections administered 21 days apart. According to the UAE regulators, the China-developed Sinopharm has 86 percent efficacy, and was approved for use after Phase 3 trials found it was effective against coronavirus. UAE-wide trials in summer involved 31,000 subjects.

For a full list of where you can get the Sinophram vaccine click here.

Meanwhile Abu Dhabi has just announced new rules for entering the emirate starting on Thursday December 24. The Committee has approved procedures for all international travellers, both residents and tourists, including exempting travellers from ‘green’ countries from quarantine and reducing the quarantine period for travellers from other countries to 10 days.