UAE launches global covid vaccine distribution drive

Dubai yesterday launched a new initiative to speed up the distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the world.

The Dubai Media Office announced that the initiative was sponsored by UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

“Under the directives of Al-Maktoum, Dubai forms Vaccine Logistics Alliance to expedite global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines through the emirate to developing countries,” the media office said on Twitter.

It added that the initiative had come in support of the “World Health Organization (WHO)’s COVAX, which aims at equitably distributing two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021.”

The initiative, the office pointed out, would be implemented through an alliance, dubbed “Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance”, explaining that the pact would include the state’s national airline Emirates Airline, Dubai Airports, DP World – the national logistics company – and the International Humanitarian City (IHC).

President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, told reporters that each partner in the alliance was bringing a “specific set of strengths in vaccine distribution.” “Together, we are able to store a large volume of vaccine doses at a time and bring in and distribute vaccines to any point around the world within 48 hours,” he said.

So far, a total of 303,609 people have contracted the virus in the UAE, 850 of whom have died and 276,958 others have recovered, according to the US’ Worldometers.

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