"HEALTH WORKERS ALLOWED TO TAKE EMERGENCY VACCINE THAT IS UNDER TRIAL" - UAE

The United Arab Emirates granted emergency approval for using a coronavirus vaccine on Monday. However, the vaccine has only completed six weeks in the human trials. 

The vaccine which was developed by Chinese state- owned pharmaceutical company Sinopham, began its phase III trials in the UAE but is yet to complete trials. 

"The vaccine will be available to our first line of defense heroes who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus," the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority tweeted.

The permission to allow emergency use of the vaccine which is still in the trial phase was granted after it was tested on 31,000 volunteers and met a set criterion according to National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority. 

Volunteers are likely to develop minor side effects according to the agency. It stated that around a thousand people who tested positive for the virus took part in the trial and saw no complications. 

“Sinopharm secured approval for the trial in late June. The experimental vaccine passed Phases I and II of clinical trials with 100% of volunteers generating antibodies after two doses in 28 days, an Abu Dhabi government statement said in July,” NDTV reported. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “inactivated vaccines - made with either inactivated (killed) viruses or with a protein from the virus - are well known and have been used against diseases such as influenza and measles.”