900 children join UAE's Sinopharm vaccine study

Authorities in Abu Dhabi have achieved the target of vaccinating 900 children as part of a trial to study the effectiveness of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in young people.

Children aged 3-17, of different nationalities joined the trial with the consent of their parents.

The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH) said the study examined the vaccine’s effectiveness in reducing the infection rate and severity of symptoms among target groups.

Its preliminary results will be announced at a later stage.

Under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), the immune bridge study implemented all applicable medical protocols in accordance with the highest international standards and practices.

The volunteers were closely monitored and received care at every step of the process.

.@DoHSocial has concluded the Sinopharm immune bridge study for children vaccination stage and continues to monitor the immune response to the vaccine in children. DoH thanks the 900 heroes aged 3-17, and their families pic.twitter.com/QuydS1nR1q

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@ADMediaOffice) August 1, 2021

https://twitter.com/admediaoffice/status/1421810536866402310?s=20"The enrollment registration for this study has been successful as we have attracted the desired number of children within a short period of time," said Dr. Nawal Al Kaabi, Principal Investigator for Phase III Trials COVID-19 vaccine and Chief Medical Officer at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City.

"I would like to thank everyone who took the initiative to register and participate in this study to support the country’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic," she added.

The UAE is the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to have conducted a study of the vaccine’s effectiveness for this age group.

Other vaccine manufacturing countries, such as China, the United States, United Kingdom and India, have also performed similar clinical trials over the past few months.