Dubai aims to vaccinate 70 percent of its population with the coronavirus shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech by the end of next year, it was reported on Tuesday.
The Middle East business hub, which is part of the UAE, is seeking to to “reach the herd immunity that is required,” Farida al-Khaja, chairwoman of Dubai’s steering committee for Covid-19 vaccinations, told Reuters.
Dubai, home to more than 3.3 million people, last week started a free vaccination campaign, which in the first phase is targeting senior citizens and residents aged 60 and above.
Inoculations will also be provided to people with chronic diseases aged 18 or above and to frontline workers.
The second phase is set to begin in April, and would be open to all citizens and residents, Khaja said.
The announcement comes as the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) said on Tuesday that it conducted 153,157 additional Covid-19 tests over the past 24 hours.
The ministry also announced 1,506 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the UAE to 204,369.
MoHAP also announced two deaths due to Covid-19 complications, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 662.
It also noted that an additional 1,475 individuals had fully recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 181,400.
Separately, Kuwait said it aims to vaccinate 80 percent of its population against Covid-19 by September next year after starting an inoculation campaign last week with the shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
As of Monday, 2,500 people were vaccinated and second doses will be administered from January 14, said Dr Ghada Ebrahim, director for public relations and media at Kuwait’s Health Ministry. The prime minister was the first to receive the vaccine on December 24, “to encourage people to register online and vaccinate,” she said.
Kuwait is home to about 4.8 million people, including more than 3 million expatriates, and has signed agreements to procure vaccines through the World Health Organization’s COVAX program.
In addition to the Pfizer contract, the country will soon sign a deal for the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, according to Ebrahim.
New shipments of the Pfizer shot will be delivered on a monthly basis. Pfizer and BioNTech have said their vaccine is 95 percent effective in preventing the illness.
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