Dr Farida Al Hosani, the official spokesperson for the UAE Health Sector, recently addressed a virtual panel discussion organized by the Maitha Bint Ahmed Al Nahyan Foundation for Community and Cultural Initiatives (MBAF) in which she stressed the people may need to take the COVID-19 vaccine every year.

The virtual panel discussion was organized by MBAF in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC).

Al Hosani asserted that people may need to get vaccinated against COVID-19 every year due to the recent emergence of new virus variants. As more mutant the virus gets, the need for COVID-19 vaccination will increase, she added.

In this regard, she spoke about the mutant flu vaccine which is administered to people every year.

She asserted that there are certain vaccines that are given to people as young as 16 years. She further highlighted that there are ongoing clinical studies on three vaccines that are likely to be given to children in the future.

During the panel discussion, Al Hosani revealed that about 40-50 percent of Coronavirus-infected people do not feel any symptoms of the disease.

Based on this observation, the UAE authorities have focused their efforts to vaccinating the elderly population.

"The earlier the detection of the virus among old people and people with pre-existing conditions, the more chance the virus can be contained," the spokesperson added.

In conclusion, the Board Chairperson of the MBAF, Sheikha Maitha bint Ahmed bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, hailed the efforts of UAE's leadership and their proactive vision that assisted in containing the spread of the COVID-19 virus and successfully administering the safe and effective vaccines among community members across the country.

WAM