What are the Covid-19 vaccine exemptions on Al Hosn app?

The country aims to vaccinate all eligible adults by the end of 2021

People wait to get vaccinated at Barsha Hall in Barsha, a suburb of Dubai.

Irum Fatima Tapal gets vaccinated against Covid-19 at Barsha Hall in Dubai

Lateef Painat receives the Pfizer BioNTech shot

It was a busy first week at Barsha Hall, where 4,000 people can be vaccinated in a day

Barsha Hall has 20 check-in counters, 50 vaccination booths and five observation rooms

About 80 healthcare staff work at the site

Lateef Painat, a Dubai resident, gets ready to be vaccinated at the newly opened Barsha Hall

Follow the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic here

The UAE plans to vaccinate all eligible adults against Covid-19 by the end of the year.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority urges people to get the vaccine, which is available free of charge.

The country has already administered 11,186,348 doses in a population of about 10 million – one of the highest vaccination rates globally.

However, the Ministry of Health and Community Protection has listed seven categories of people who are exempt from having the vaccine.

Who is exempt from having the vaccine?

1. Covid-19 patients
2. Participants in clinical trials
3. Pregnant women
4. Those who have received the vaccine outside the country
5. Anyone who has shown severe sensitivity to vaccines in the past or from any of the components of the vaccines
6. Patients with a disease that may conflict with the vaccine. Such people will be given an exemption after a medical evaluation
7. Those who have been infected with the virus and recovered. A doctor's report is required

From Sunday, only people considered at low-risk from the coronavirus will be permitted to enter government department buildings in Abu Dhabi.

Similar rules will apply to most public places in the emirate from August 20. Al Hosn is expected to be used as official proof of vaccinations and PCR test results.

Excluded groups can get exemption certificates from accredited centres, clinics and hospitals.

The physician who evaluates the request for exemption will have to submit the medical report to the health authorities for approval.

Applicants will receive a text message informing them if their exemption request has been approved.

The exemption status will show on the Al Hosn app.

Four vaccines are being offered in the UAE: Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik V and Oxford-AstraZeneca.

The Sinopharm vaccine is produced locally in the UAE at Emirati drug maker Julphar's plant in Ras Al Khaimah, under the brand name Hayat-Vax.

How do I download the Al Hosn app?

You can download Al Hosn app from the App Store, Google Play Store, Huawei AppGallery and Galaxy Store free of charge.

Register your details, and the app will send you a validation code (OTP) to your phone number to authenticate your ID.

You will need to turn on Bluetooth and push notifications on your smartphone to use the app for tracing.

An internet connection is required when you first install Al Hosn app.

The app is whitelisted by the telecom operators, so data used will not be counted against your quota.