Coronavirus: UAE exempts vaccine trial volunteers from Covid-19 testing


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Volunteers taking part in the Phase 3 clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine are exempt from Covid-19 screening outside the bounds of the study, authorities have said.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said those who have received the initial vaccine under the trial will not be required to take additional Covid-19 tests.

Negative Covid-19 tests are required for entry to Abu Dhabi but anyone signed up for the trial no longer need to do these, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority.

“The Ministry of Health and Prevention, in co-ordination with the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, has exempted volunteers of the Phase III Covid-19 vaccine trials from performing any other Covid-19 tests outside the trial’s framework,” the department said.

“The Ministry also decided to use the Al Hosn app to identify volunteers so they can benefit from the exemption, and they are required to install the application on their smartphones.”

Officials recently said that door-to-door testing would continue until “the fight against Covid-19 is won”.

Abu Dhabi’s testing drive targets densely populated neighbourhoods, where residents are offered free Covid-19 tests as part of efforts to ensure all sections of society have access to screening.

Areas of the city including the Tourist Club, Khalidiya, Al Najda, Al Zafaranah and parts of the Corniche have already been covered.

Testing-teams will continue to knock on doors every evening to help safeguard the health of the public.

The World Health Organisation has recognised four clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccines that have reached Phase 3 – one American, one British and two Chinese.

The trial being conducted in the UAE is for one of the two Chinese vaccines, developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and the pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.

The jab previously generated neutralising antibodies in 100 per cent of volunteers in the first two trial phases, according to Sinopharm.

If the UAE trial is successful, the vaccine will be approved for use among the public and manufacturing will begin to produce it at scale.

Nearly 5,000 people living in the capital and Al Ain signed up in the first 24 hours, the Department of Health Abu Dhabi previously said. Thousands more have since volunteered.

On Wednesday, it was announced the Phase 3 trial had been expanded nationwide, to include Sharjah.

Al Qarain Health Centre has capacity for 500 volunteers and will operate daily for walk-in registrations, screenings and vaccinations.

Volunteers must be in good health and between the ages of 18 to 60.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, chairman of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, who volunteered to be the first patient to test the vaccine last month, successfully received his second vaccine shot on Wednesday.

Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, acting undersecretary of the department, who is overseeing the Phase 3 trial, was the second man to sign up for the programme. He has now also received his second dose.

Volunteers must visit testing centres at least 17 times over roughly 42 days.

They cannot travel abroad during this time, and after the trial, they should be available for regular phone consultations for up to six months.

Anyone interested in signing up can register at 4humanity.ae or by calling 028191111.

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Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

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Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm

December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm

December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
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Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

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Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

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Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

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The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne

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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting

-      Don’t do it more than once in three days

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Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Rawat Al Reef, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm: UAE Arabian Derby – Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Dergham Athbah, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Daggash

7.30pm: Emirates Championship – Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle

8pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Irish Freedom, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar

Results

2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Arrab, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).

2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mahaleel, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.

3.15pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handicap (TB) Dh200,000 2,000m; Winner: Dolmen, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Amang Alawda, Sandro Paiva, Bakhit Al Ketbi.

4.15pm: The Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 1,200m; Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.

4.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: Al Jazi, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.

RESULTS

6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).

7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m

Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.

8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.

9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m

Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.

MATCH INFO

First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs

Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets

Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13

 

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Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)

Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)