A medical worker wearing disposable gloves measures the temperature of a human on April 1, 2020 at a corona virus drive-through screening center in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Francois Nell | Getty Images
Paris – The United Arab Emirates has approved the Chinese corona virus vaccine for immediate use by leading health professionals.
The UAE National Emergency and Disaster Management Authority said in a tweet that the vaccine will be available to our defense heroes who are at high risk of contracting the virus.
According to NCEMA, 31,000 volunteers have already participated in vaccination clinical trials. The third phase of the vaccine is being tested, but no side effects have been reported so far, the agency said.
The third phase of testing, which began in 10 million Gulf countries in July, is for the Kovid-19 vaccine, developed by Synofam, a Chinese government-owned pharmaceutical company. The NCMA said it approved emergency use for top health care professionals after completing clinical trials of 31,000 volunteers after meeting a set of criteria. The agency described mild side effects to volunteers, such as sore throats, but said there were no serious side effects.
Phase I trials are conducted with a large number of volunteers to confirm and expand data on safety and efficacy from one or two trials – usually between 300 and 3,000.
The UAE has recently recorded an increase in corona virus cases. Last week, there were 5,812 new infections, 80,266 as of Monday, and 399 deaths since the outbreak began. Johns Hopkins University. Abu Dhabi authorities say the country has conducted more than 8.2 million tests.
Expanding partnership with China
The synoform vaccine was approved by the Chinese government in June. The UAE government said in a statement in July that in the first phase of trials in the UAE, all patients were producing antibodies against the virus after four doses and after two doses.
The UAE has recently increased cooperation with China in the areas of technology, defense procurement, trade, tourism and health.
“Since the beginning of Pandemic, the UAE has been working closely with China on diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines,” Tawfiq Rahim, a senior fellow at the New York International Security Program, told CNBC on Tuesday.
This further strengthens the country’s unique role in maintaining close strategic ties with China and the United States, two of the world’s leading geopolitical rivals.
Seven emirates have been declared partners in testing and enrolling Russia’s corona virus vaccine, the first of which was approved by a national government in early September. In the West, three vaccines have arrived in third clinical trials: those developed by Pfizer, Modena, and AstraZeneca.
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