In a leap towards ensuring covid-19 protection in the country, the United Arab Emirates has announced the manufacturing of the coronavirus vaccine. The historic announcement came on Monday when it was announced that the indigenous vaccine is called Hayat-Vax.

Hayat Vax in Arab means ‘life’ and the vaccine has been named this with an aim to promote the idea that vaccination is crucial to sustaining life at these difficult times. The Covid-19 vaccine will be jointly manufactured by Sinopharm CNBG, which is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. This is the same company that was responsible for supplying over 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines globally.

This is a collaboration between Sinopharm and G42, which is the leading technology company based out of Abu Dhabi. The official announcement came during a high-profile ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi which saw the presence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation along with Wang Yi, who is in the UAE for a two-day visit.

The event, where the top officials from both countries were present, also witnessed the launch of a research and development hub for the life sciences, biotechnology, and vaccine production. It is a first-of-its-kind project in the Arab world, which is being set up in KIZAD, also known as the integrated, trade, logistics, and industrial hub in Abu Dhabi.

This is not the first time that the two agencies are collaborating. Last year too, the two came together where they successfully collaborated on conducting 4Humanity, which was the first phase III clinical trial in the world. The trial was done and the Arab region with over 43,000 volunteers participating from over 125 nationalities.

The new plant will be operational by this year and it is expected that the production capacity of the plant will be 200 million doses per annum across three filling lines and five automated packaging lines. The JV has already been producing Hayat-Vax with its partner in the emirate.

Talking about the vaccine production in the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said, "The advancement in Life Sciences and Vaccine Manufacturing in our country is UAE’s contribution towards global efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the whole world," stressing that "the UAE, with the guidance of its wise leadership, believes in the importance of strengthening collective international action."

The chairman of Sinopharm, Liu Jingzhen also joined the event through video conferencing. He said that since the outbreak of the virus last year, the UAE has been testing all its technological moves to explore the possibilities of hosting clinical trials of the vaccines in the country.

“We are proud to partner with G42 in this new Joint Venture that will play a vital role in combating COVID-19 globally, making an indelible contribution to the health of our communities,” he added.

Hayat Vax is the inactivated covid-19 vaccine that was earlier registered by the UAE Ministry of health and prevention. The Sinopharm was working along the same lines and submitted a report showing 79.34 percent efficacy.

The UAE is touching new heights with its vaccination drive in place. Two weeks ago, it has already vaccinated 52% of the country’s eligible population. In the coming days, Hayat-Vax will be in charge of leading the vaccination programme across the 205 health care centers in the country.

WAM