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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

UAE Approves Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use

A vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is seen at a local clinic as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues in Aschaffenburg, Germany, January 15, 2021. (Reuters)

The United Arab Emirates has approved Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, the fifth vaccine to receive such approval by the Gulf state, the health ministry said in a statement on state news agency WAM on Sunday.

The UAE has had one of the world's fastest vaccination campaigns but daily coronavirus cases have remained close to 2,000, though below a peak near 4,000 in February.

The UAE has reported the spread of the Beta, Delta and Alpha variants in the country of some 9.2 million people.

Around 73.8% of the UAE's population has received one vaccine dose while 63.7% are fully vaccinated, the health ministry said in a Twitter post on Saturday.

Neighboring Saudi Arabia on Saturday banned travel to and entry from four countries, including the UAE. The restriction applies to anyone who has been there within the last 14 days.

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