Since receiving promising information in December, the UAE has been conducting a mass vaccination campaign. After working closely with the Chinese company Sinopharm on Phase 3 trials in the country, health authorities have released information on the effectiveness of the program and vaccine.

The UAE has administered six million doses of the vaccine nationwide and has seen a steep drop in serious cases among those vaccinated. Dr. Nawal Al Kaabi, chairperson of the National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee, told The National that the vaccine is thought of as being 100 percent effective in preventing serious illness.

In comparison to major Western vaccine competitors, the Chinese state-owned Sinopharm Group has been criticized for failing to release Phase 3 trial data to a peer reviewed medical journal. Some interim data was released in the UAE Public Health Conference, held Feb. 25 to 27.

The conference was attended by researchers, experts and country stakeholders, including NYU Abu Dhabi’s Vice Chancellor Mariët Westermann. Westermann stressed the importance of this data being available and known to the community. In an email to The Gazelle, Westermann highlighted the lack of mortality among those vaccinated and explained that it was generally well tolerated.

Sinopharm revised its vaccine effectiveness rate from 86 percent to 79.34 percent after receiving more data from its Phase 3 trials across the Arab world. The group’s chairman noted that there has not been a single severe adverse response to the vaccine.

For more information on how the Sinopharm vaccine works, including official updates, refer to The New York Times’ interactive article.