Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday announced that those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to attend events within the country starting from June 6, local media reported.
The official spokesperson of the UAE Health Sector, Dr. Farida Al Hosani stated that only those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine and those participating in the vaccine clinical trials will be allowed to attend the events and activities that are held in the country.
All precautionary measures must be followed during these events, most notably wearing face masks and social distancing guidelines.
“Today, we see the fruit of our efforts as we proudly announce the UAE becoming world’s leading country in terms of the distribution rate of the COVID-19 vaccine doses for every 100 persons, which highlights the success of the national vaccination campaign,” Dr. al-Hosani told Al Arabiya.
The maximum number of attendees for internal events in Dubai has been set at 1500, and for external events the maximum number is 2,500 people.
Within the emirate, community sport events are now permitted, but only on the condition that all spectators, participants and employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Al Hosani had said that the public in the United Arab Emirates will receive booster doses of most COVID-19 vaccines this year, but not until six to eight months after the second dose.
She said third doses should not be taken too early. “The duration might differ from vaccine to vaccine, but it’s expected that after six to eight months … most of the Covid vaccines will require a booster dose.”
Four vaccines have been authorised for use in the UAE: Pfizer-BioNTech; Oxford-AstraZeneca; Sputnik V; and China’s Sinopharm, which is now being manufactured by UAE company Julphar in Ras Al Khaimah under the name Hayat-Vax.
The vaccination campaign in the UAE has now reached more than 78.11 percent of all eligible people. In addition, 84.59 percent of the elderly – those aged 60 years and over – were vaccinated.