Covid-19: UAE denies inaccurate reporting of data, adds that vaccination may be required every year

The UAE has denied any suggestion of inaccuracy in data it shares around the pandemic.

“It has recently been noted that official statements announced by authorities have been questioned,” read a tweet by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday.

“We emphasise that there is an integrated system to record all data related to the pandemic in accordance with the highest international standards.”

“We call on the public to investigate the accuracy and always take data from their official sources and to refrain from questioning the efforts of all those who have worked to contain this pandemic.”

It has recently been noted that official statements announced by authorities have been questioned, and we emphasize that there is an integrated system to record all data related to the pandemic in accordance with the highest international standards.#TogetherWeRecover

— NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) January 26, 2021

The UAE became the world’s first country where the number of tests exceeded the total population since the beginning of the crisis for countries with a population of more than one million.

On Tuesday, the UAE reported a total of 3,601 infections, its highest daily rise in new cases since the virus broke out early last year.

The new cases were detected as a result of 175,249 tests conducted to screen for the virus.

Read: Covid-19 update: UAE reports 3,601 cases, highest daily rise in infections; death toll crosses 800

The total case count has now risen to 285,147, which includes 259,194 patients who have since recovered from the contagion.

The officials reiterated that that country launched the national vaccination campaign after confirming its safety, and after “successfully exceeding its needed scientific phases that spanned a year, noting that it meets international standards in the manufacture of vaccines.”

There are three vaccines currently registered for use in the country: Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech and Sputnik V. These are being administered for free to residents and citizens of the country at various centres across the UAE. The minimum eligible age to receive the vaccine has been lowered to 16.

The UAE has reportedly ranked second in the world in daily doses last week, with an average of 6.06 doses per 100 people. It is also the fifth country in the world to provide Covid-19 vaccination doses after the US, China, UK and Israel.

On Tuesday, the country’s health ministry said that the total number of doses provided stands at 2,677,675, with a rate of vaccine distribution of 27.07 doses per 100 people.

Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson for the UAE Health Sector, said that people may need to get the Covid-19 vaccine every year. New Covid-19 variants have emerged recently, Al Hosani said, adding that the more mutant the virus, the more is the possible need to vaccinate annually against it.