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UAE Covid cases decrease 22% as vaccination drive peaks

Dubai - Achievement comes even as vaccination rollout has slowed down in several countries.

Published: Sun 28 Feb 2021, 8:50 PM

  • By
  • Nandini Sircar

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The UAE's vaccination campaign currently focuses on the elderly and vulnerable groups. - Supplied photo

The UAE's vaccination campaign currently focuses on the elderly and vulnerable groups. - Supplied photo

Coronavirus infections in the UAE have fallen by 22 per cent - which is more than a fifth from a late January peak. According to BloombergQuint, the UAE has one of the world’s fastest Covid vaccination campaigns, having administered 56 doses per 100 people.

The UAE reported 2,930 Covid-19 cases on February 28.

This comes even as the vaccine rollout has slowed down in several major countries. The UAE has managed to administer more than 6 million doses and emerged as the top nation in daily distribution rate.

According to Friday’s statistics on Our World in Data, the UAE has a daily distribution rate of 0.88 per 100 people, edging past countries like the US (0.66) and Israel (0.39).

Dr Rohit Kumar, Medical Director, Medeor Hospital, credited mass vaccination for bringing the number of cases down.

"The government has vaccinated about half of the population. The agencies have been active in ensuring the cooperation of the public and educating them on the importance of vaccination. The decision to vaccinate high-risk people might have also contributed to yielding the result. Though vaccination doesn't offer 100 per cent protection, it could have helped in reducing the chances of many getting infected.”

Medics noted that the current campaign is "rightly focused" on the most vulnerable groups.

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Arshia Banu Najeem, General Physician Aster Clinics, Aswaaq Mall branch, said: “A lot of people have been educated on the efficacy and effectiveness ... of the vaccines. Also, the UAE has put in a lot of measures to contain the spread of infection ... Each emirates has its own rules and regulations ... (All these have helped) bring down the numbers and increase vaccination outputs.”

Dr Sreekumar Sreedharan, specialist - internal medicine, Aster Clinic, Karama, said Covid-19 vaccines help "our bodies" develop immunity to the virus. "Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection, but with all types of vaccines, the body is left with a supply of ‘memory’ T-lymphocytes as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus in the future.

“Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools available. Vaccines work with your immune system so your body will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed. Other steps, like masks and social distancing, help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others.”



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