Rabat – The UAE is advancing its initial, limited COVID-19 vaccination program using the vaccine from China’s National Pharmaceutical Group, also known as Sinopharm.

The latest Emirati official to receive the vaccination, UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had a COVID-19 vaccine shot on Tuesday.

The UAE, which is hosting the third phase of the clinical trial of the Sinopharm vaccine, began to offer in mid-September COVID-19 vaccinations to frontline medical workers and senior officials, according to Emirati press. 

The outlet noted that the trials have involved 31,000 volunteers.

“While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine today. We wish everyone safety and great health,” the prime minister said in a tweet, expressing his pride in the UAE’s medical teams for making the vaccine available in the country.

In the Middle East, the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine is currently under the third phase of trials in the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, and Jordan.

The UAE announced an emergency, limited approval of the vaccine on September 14 after launching the phase 3 trial in July, according to New York Times.

The UAE’s health workers were the first in the country to benefit from the vaccine after the Emirates green-lighted its limited use.

As of November 3, the UAE has recorded a total of 136,149 COVID-19 cases since COVID-19 emerged in the country.

The Chinese company also launched the third phase of clinical trials in Morocco in August, as part of two agreements signed August 20.

Commenting on the Moroccan-Chinese cooperation, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said that the two parties are “tracing the outlines of a pioneering and visionary relation” by paving the way for Sinopharm’s presence in Morocco.

Morocco’s Ministry of Health also signed a number of agreements with several laboratories to acquire a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is available on the international market.

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/11/324663/uae-prime-minister-receives-sinopharm-covid-19-vaccine/