UAE lowers age requirement for COVID-19 vaccines to 16, reports 3,453 new cases

DUBAI: The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHaP) announced on Sunday that the coronavirus vaccine will be available to all citizens and residents from the age of 16, lowering the minimum age requirement from 18.
The ministry said it had upgraded its categories for groups eligible to receive the vaccine as part of the country’s national campaign to inoculate 50 percent of the population against the virus by April, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority announced.
The UAE is offering all residents and citizens free of charge a vaccine manufactured by Chinese state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, while people living in Dubai have the choice of either the Sinopharm or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
“This confirms the UAE’s proactive approach to caring for the health and safety of every member of society,” a statement published on state-run WAM said.
The UAE on Sunday recorded 3,453 new COVID-19 cases, a record daily high for the fifth consecutive day, and five deaths related to the virus.
Officials from MoHAP said that the total number of cases since the pandemic began had reached 253,261, while the death toll had risen to 745.
Some 3,268 people had recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours. The total number of recoveries is 225,374.

MoHap also said that 84,852 doses have been administered during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of people to have received the vaccine to more than 1.88 million, at a rate of 25.12 doses per 100 people.
Tightening rules to enter the emirate, the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee and the Department of Health have approved screening and travel protocols for individuals who have received the vaccination as part of the national vaccination programs or as volunteers in clinical trials, effective Jan. 17.
“Those arriving from ‘green’ countries must take a PCR test on arrival and on day six, without the need to quarantine. Those arriving from other countries must take a PCR test on arrival, quarantine for 10 days and take a PCR test on day eight,” it said.
Dubai Health Authority said that it had launched a new COVID-19 vaccination center within 72 hours, with a capacity to administer 4,000 doses per day.

The total number of centers providing the coronavirus vaccine in Dubai has now reached 120, Dubai Media Office said, to meet the rise in infections and the growing demand for the vaccination.
During daily inspection tours, Dubai Economy issued fines to eight commercial establishments for failing to adhere to anti-COVID-19 measures. Inspection teams found 362 other businesses to be compliant.
Dubai Municipality announced it had intensified its inspection campaigns and said that it closed down one hair salon and issued fines to 22 businesses for not complying with the precautionary measures.
A research team from Khalifa University of Science and Technology has developed an application for smartphones to identify whether people are in the high-risk category using machine intelligence.

The app, called CovidSense, will also help users under quarantine to monitor their symptoms and location, and enables them to follow their health status by collecting data and recording sounds related to breathing, coughing and heart rate.
Sharjah Police launched a health campaign under the slogan “Together for Immunization” to provide doses of the coronavirus vaccine for all its employees until Jan. 21.
Col. Youssef Obaid bin Haramul, director of Comprehensive Police Stations, said the campaign was a series of initiatives launched by Sharjah Police to reduce the spread of the virus, and provide safety and security for its affiliates who may experience health risks due to the nature of their work.
Elsewhere, Kuwait reported 378 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number to 157,777. The death toll remained at 947 after no coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours.

Oman’s Health Ministry said that its total number of cases had reached 131,790 and the death toll was 1,512.

In Bahrain, two deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 360, while 339 new infected cases were confirmed.