Vaccination drive in the UAE has been joined in by many private hospitals who will be offering two free-of-cost Covid-19 vaccines — Pfizer BioNTech and Sinopharm. This would address country’s increased demand for vaccines.

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has released a full list of clinics and hospitals where UAE residents can get vaccinated. Residents who want to get vaccinated through the DHA have to download the authority’s app. However, few private health sector facilities are offering variety of options to book for vaccination.

Dr Santosh Kumar Sharma, medical director and consultant neurosurgeon, NMC Royal Hospital, DIP, Dubai said, “Anyone who requires the COVID-19 vaccine can book an appointment — through WhatsApp, the toll-free number, or the hospital-specific call centre number. They can also approach the appointment desk in person to book the appointment.” Dr Sharma underlined that appointment would be booked electronically and an SMS would be sent to the beneficiary to confirm the appointment date and time. The beneficiary would be required to present their Emirates ID to receive vaccination. “Once you arrive at the vaccine clinic, you will be registered to create an electronic medical record in the hospital,” he added.

Vaccine seekers will be given a detailed explanation about vaccine when they are at the hospital, including the name of the vaccine, schedule of the doses and facts about that vaccine. “They will then be asked to sign a consent form for the same,” Dr Sharma said. “The nurse will then proceed to check your vital signs — such as temperature, pulse and blood pressure. If your vitals are normal, a pre-Covid vaccine assessment — which includes your detailed medical history (such as medications, COVID-19 illness, and allergies) — will be collected and entered into the HASANA system, which is the DHA’s integrated electronic public health system for disease surveillance and management,” he continued.

“The nurse will then explain the vaccine procedure to the customer — name of the vaccine, which dose, route of administration, expected side effects. While taking the vaccine, you and your healthcare provider will both need to wear masks that cover your nose and mouth, and stay six feet away from others.”

After getting the vaccine, the person vaccinated will be monitored on site for minimum 15 minutes, to check for any allergic reactions. “The assessment before second dose vaccine is limited to vital signs and a brief history of the side effects experienced for the first dose of the vaccine, if any. Once you receive the two doses of the vaccine, you will be given a vaccination card and the updated details will appear on the Al Hosn app on your phone.”

The same process of appointment booking and receiving vaccine is followed at the majority of the healthcare centres. Many private hospitals have not yet opened walk-in facilities. Person seeking vaccination will need to call up the centres to check for available appointments. A few centres of Prime Medical Group are also providing vaccination against Covid-19 for which call must be first made to call centre to book appointment.