UAE has administered a third COVID-19 vaccine 'booster' dose to a small number of people with the aim of initiating an immune response against Coronavirus. In this regard, UAE doctors have affirmed that a third dose of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine can be taken by people who have developed less immunity against diseases as well as people with chronic illnesses among other individuals in the high-risk group.

As per reports, it is a modified dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to boost the development of antibodies in order to evolve an enhanced immune response to fight the variants of the virus.

Speaking over the development, Dr. Gunjan Mahajan, a specialist clinical pathologist at Dubai's Burj el Hospital for Advanced Surgery underlined that Sinopharm’s efficacy has been revised to 79.34 percent. She added that the Sinopharm vaccine's protection against COVID-19 variants appears to be stronger than other vaccine candidates.

The UAE has started offering the booster vaccine dose to people who are already vaccinated and so far a small number of people have been given the vaccine to allow the production of increased antibodies.

“Sinopharm is a type of inactivated viral vaccine; hence, immunity offered from its two doses may not be enough to fight against the increasing number of coronavirus variants. After being vaccinated with two doses, residents and Emiratis, who do not develop enough antibodies against COVID-19, could receive a third booster dose of Sinopharm vaccine," Dr. Mahajan added.

Furthermore, medics have stressed that the third dose of vaccine can be used for those individuals who have not to be able to develop enough antibodies even after taking two doses or for people who are at a higher risk of developing complications from Coronavirus.

Dr. Sandeep Pargi, pulmonologist, a specialist in respiratory medicine at Aster Hospital, Mankhool, affirmed that the third dose of the Sinopharm vaccine is not in the national policy of the UAE. Adding that it is in the trial phase, he noted that the third dose should be taken by only those people who have comorbid conditions like severe asthma, diabetes, hypertension, chronic renal or cardiac diseases.

"I would say that people are getting complacent after taking the first shot of the vaccine. They are not following protocols after the vaccine. I urge everyone to follow precautions even after taking the complete dose of the vaccines," Dr. Pargi added.

Doctors have also noted that people who have not developed any side effects after taking two vaccine doses have lesser chances of experiencing the same after the third dose.

The UAE is offering the vaccine for free across all emirates up to 28 days apart, noting that its effectiveness also kicks in up to 28 days after the second booster dose.

Dr. Adel Al Sisi, chief, medical officer, and consultant intensive care at the Prime Hospital, said that during the laboratory assessment when the level of antibodies against the vaccine was checked, it was found out that some patients developed higher antibodies while some experienced low antibodies against COVID-19. Taking note of the results, doctors decided to go ahead with the third booster dose for patients having low antibody production.

They have also stated that if there will be any side effects, it will be similar to that experienced earlier during the first two doses of the vaccine, including pain on site of injection, diarrhea, nausea, etc.

Meanwhile, people should continue to comply with precautionary measures such as wash hands regularly, using hand sanitizer, maintaining social distancing, and wearing face masks with the aim of preventing the spread of COVID-19.