In a move to vaccinate most of its population, Dubai has set up new centres for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in addition to the already present campaign centres for the Sinopharm vaccine.

The Dubai Health Authority(DHA) on Saturday announced that a seventh centre will be made which will be offering Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. This is a part of the vaccination drive that the officials had already planned.

A DHA official also confirmed the news. Dr. Farida Al Khaja, CEO of Clinical Support Services and Nursing Sector at the DHA and Chairperson of the COVID-19 Vaccination Steering Committee, said that the new centre was established due to the large turnout during the free vaccination drive that the country is carrying out.

All the seven DHA facilities offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are Al Safa primary health care centre, Zabeel primary health care centre, Al Mizhar primary health care centre, Nad Al Hamr primary health care centre, Al Barsha primary health care centre, Uptown Miriff medical fitness centre and Hatta Hospital, Al-Safa being the new addition.

After the UAE announced the free of cost vaccination drive, Dr Al Khaja appreciated the campaign idea saying that it has been developed in a very flexible manner. Especially because the DHA decided to install a new centre to cater to the increasing demand of people seeking vaccination against the novel coronavirus.

The campaign is designed so that people who need the vaccination on a priority basis get preference. The first category includes people who are 60-years-olds and above and this will also include people who suffer from chronic diseases.

After this, frontline workers in public and private sectors will be given preference. The third in line to receive the vaccination will be made up of vital-sector workers and then there will be people who wish to be vaccinated and agree to all the protocols.

The department said that right now only the top three categories are priority but they also assured that all those seeking the vaccination will soon be receiving the shots. 

WAM