UAE health: COVID-19 may require an annual vaccine

Doctor Farida Al-Hosani said virus mutations increase the likelihood that there will be a need to re-vaccinate against it annually. (WAM)

• Around 40-50 percent of people infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic
• The UAE has seen a surge of cases recently

DUBAI: People might need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus annually, according to the spokeswoman of United Arab Emirates’ health sector.
Doctor Farida Al-Hosani said virus mutations increase the likelihood that there will be a need to re-vaccinate against it annually in much the same way that people do for influenza, state news agency WAM reported. 
The annual vaccination – like with flu – would need to be adapted each year to the most prevalent strain, she explained.
Around 40-50 percent of people infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, Al-Hosani added.
“Based on this, we increased the focus on old people. The earlier the detection of the virus among old people and people with pre-existing conditions, the more chance the virus can be contained,” Al-Hosani added.
The UAE has seen a surge of cases recently and the government has introduced some stricter precautionary measures, such as a one-month suspension of non-emergency and elective surgeries as well as decreasing the number of people in gatherings, weddings and parties.
The Gulf country saw on Tuesday another record high in daily coronavirus infections with 3,601 cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHaP).
Coronavirus cases in the country have climbed for 15 consecutive days.
The country’s COVID-19 caseload is now at 285,147 with recoveries at 259,194, after 3,890 new patients recovered from the disease in the previous 24 hours.
Health authorities also announced seven fatalities due to COVID-19 complications, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 805, state news agency WAM reported.