Popular Emirati musician Hussain Al Jassmi receives COVID-19 vaccine

Dubai: Hussain Al Jassmi, a popular Emirati pianist, compositor, musician and singer, announced he has received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Taking to twitter, Al Jassmi said: “Today, I received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. We thank Allah almighty for the blessing of the UAE. We thank Allah Almighty for having such a wise leadership that puts human being before anything else. Our country and our people are always at the top thanks to their thought, wisdom and support for our leadership. I am very proud of being part of this nation,”.

The UAE, which is offering vaccines free of charge for its residents, administered more than 826,000 doses so far.

The country has inoculated 8 per cent of its population with the coronavirus vaccines and aims to cover half of its residents in the first quarter.

“The vaccine is available at government and private health facilities and vaccination centres. We aim through the vaccination drive to facilitate procedures for a larger segment of society to take the vaccine,” said Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson for the UAE Health Sector, last week, adding that the vaccine is 100 per cent effective for people over 60 years old. “We advise all people within this category to get the vaccine,” she emphasized.

The UAE approved the Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID -19 vaccine at the end of last year, as part of its comprehensive and integrated efforts to ensure increased prevention levels against the pandemic and to provide all tools to ensure public health and safety in support of the healthcare system.

The UAE officially registered the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine on Wednesday 09, December 2020 after trials suggested it had an 86 percent success rate against COVID-19, reported the official Emirates News Agency (WAM).

The Ministry of Health and Prevention granted the vaccine emergency use for frontline workers in September, following Phase III trials of the vaccine on 31,000 people in the country.