Production has been carried out at the vaccine production plant in Ras al-Khaimah, an Emirati drug manufacturer

Emirates distributes its first production of COVID-19 vaccine

PHOTO/WAM via REUTERS - Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan show the Coronavirus vaccine (COVID-19) manufactured by China, Sinopharm

Miriam Peguero

30 de marzo de 2021 (13:34 h.)

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Production of vaccines to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic has begun in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The doses have already rolled off the production line for distribution. The manufacturer Ras al-Khaimah has been in charge of this production. The manufactured doses correspond to the Sinopharm vaccine, which claims that its vaccine is 79% effective. Production is under the brand name Hayat-Vax, Arabic for "life".

The Emirates and China agreed to allow Abu Dhabi's Group 42 and RAK's Julphar to manufacture the vaccine on Sunday night, the UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported. The deal means that the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine will be manufactured abroad for the first time.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, participated in the virtual conference organised by the Hope Consortium, a logistics collective set up to distribute the vaccines worldwide, based in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE will deploy the Covax campaign to distribute vaccines worldwide. "We believe that everyone has the right to get the vaccine without discrimination," said Sheikh Abdullah. This is part of the UAE's ongoing efforts to service The Hope Consortium's large logistics hub to distribute and stockpile coronavirus vaccines for the world.