Dubai on track to vaccinate 100% of adult population by Q4 2021

Dubai’s health authorities are on track to vaccinate 100 per cent of the emirate's adult population against COVID-19, by the fourth quarter of 2021.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Dr. Amer Sharif, Head of Dubai’s COVID-19 Command and Control Centre said: "We have seen a great response to our vaccination campaign from the Dubai community, and I would like to thank them for their sense of responsibility."

Dr. Sharif said Dubai also has a shorter-term target of vaccinating 50 per cent of its "population of eligible adults" by the end of March 2021.

"We are one of the world’s leading countries to ramp up vaccination," he noted. 

The emirate currently offers the Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, all three of which have been approved by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention. 

"Our health authorities are further monitoring more vaccines for approval," Dr. Sharif added.

Dubai is set to receive new supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, following discussions with the manufacturer’s representatives in the region, he said.

Speaking about Dubai’s robust preparedness for dealing with any COVID-19 scenario, Dr Sharif said: "We have been very agile in our ability to surge capacity in our healthcare system, through very successful public-private sector partnerships. We are able to cater to all COVID-19 patients who require treatment in Dubai."

Effective partnerships have been forged between the public and private healthcare sectors to scale up reserve bed capacity whenever the need arises. 

"We have looked at the different options when it comes to full or partial lockdown. Our strategy is to strike a balance between the safety of our people and their social wellbeing and economic sustainability," he stressed.

Dr. Amer Sharif, Head of Dubai's COVID-19 Command & Control Centre, on Vaccination Goals, Health-Economy Balance. https://t.co/zoIHrmxzZr

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 7, 2021