How the UAE, Bahrain and Israel topped the global vaccine push

Experts from the UAE, Bahrain and Israel discuss lessons learnt during mass vaccination campaigns

Dr Farida Al Hosani, spokeswoman for the health sector, spoke of the need to seek early treatment when displaying symptoms of Covid-19.  National Media Council

Health experts from the three countries that have become world leaders in Covid-19 vaccinations shared notes on Tuesday on the best ways to run mass vaccination campaigns.

Dr Farida Al Hosani, spokeswoman for UAE government's health authorities, joined colleagues from Israel and Bahrain in a virtual meeting at the Atlantic Council think tank to trade experiences.

Israel has administered at least one of its double-dose vaccines to 58 per cent of its people, compared with 35 per cent in the UAE and 10 per cent in Bahrain, according to data compiled by Our World in Data.

The UAE’s vaccination programme benefited from joined-up government action, including strong leadership, public awareness campaigns and simple vaccination registration procedures, said Dr Al Hosani.

“All of this has helped to ensure that we reach the highest level of coverage for our community in the shortest possible time.”

Dr Al Hosani was joined in the virtual briefing by Dr Manaf Al Qahtani, from the Bahrain National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus, and Dr Shoshy Goldberg, the chief nursing officer from Israel’s Ministry of Health.

Israel, the UAE and Bahrain are understood to have benefited from having relatively small populations and ready-made universal healthcare systems, as well as ordering early batches of vaccines.

The three countries normalised relations last year. Dr Al Hosani said this had helped pave the way for co-operation on tackling the pandemic.

“We do have a very strong infrastructure when it comes to international flights [and] storage. We are already a regional hub for many pharmaceutical vaccines for commercial use,” she said.

Covid-19 has infected more than 103 million people worldwide and claimed the lives of 2.2 million people. The rollout of quickly-developed vaccines has raised hopes of life going back to normal later this year.