Abu Dhabi to exempt service industry workers from PCR tests after Covid-19 vaccination

Employers who do not vaccinate their staff must bear the cost of the regular PCR tests, Department of Economic Development said

Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee and Dr Walid Zaher, vaccine project leader at G42 Healthcare, pictured in Abu Dhabi. Their teams will lead a plan to produce the Sinopharm vaccine in the UAE this year. Victor Besa / The National

Dr Al Kaabi, pictured with Ashish Koshy, chief executive of Sinopharm vaccine trial partner G42 Healthcare, said the country aims to inoculate 70 per cent of the population to achieve herd immunity. Victor Besa / The National

Al Ain resident Aysha Mohammed Ahmad Ali holds a thumbs up after receiving her first shot of the Sinopharm vaccine at Burjeel hospital in Abu Dhabi in December. Victor Besa / The National

A medic at Burjeel Hospital in downtown Abu Dhabi holds a dose of the vaccine developed by Chinese drug maker Sinopharm. Victor Besa / The National

A nurse carries out a consultation with Abu Dhabi resident Saqib Ali before he receives the free shot. Victor Besa / The National

Al Ain resident Aysha Mohammed Ahmad Ali travelled to Abu Dhabi City from Al Ain to get vaccinated. Victor Besa / The National

A medic at Burjeel Hospital in downtown Abu Dhabi holds a dose of the vaccine developed by Chinese drug maker Sinopharm. Victor Besa / The National

Medical staff at Burjeel Hospital pictured on the first day of vaccine shots. Victor Besa / The National

Dr Haifaa Fadl Nourin is pictured at the hospital's Covid-19 vaccination clinic, which was set up in Burjeel's cancer wing. Victor Besa / The National

Bunyanuch Janta, from Thailand, waits for her turn to get vaccinated on Sunday. Victor Besa / The National

Emiratis Jaber Humaid, left and Omran Al Khoori pictured after receiving the first of two shots. Victor Besa / The National

Dr Ayman Mohamed Abdelhady gets vaccinated at Burjeel Hospital on Sunday. Victor Besa / The National

Service industry workers in Abu Dhabi will no longer have to get regular PCR tests once they take a Covid-19 vaccine.

The decision covers all employees in restaurants, coffee shops, supermarkets, bakeries, groceries, malls, commercial centres, butcheries, vegetable and fruit retailers.

Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added) set out the move in a post on Instagram.

It said any business that does not have a vaccinated workforce must continue to have staff screened for the virus every 14 days.

Those businesses must also cover the cost of the tests, which is about Dh85 per person in government-run screening centres.

The Sinopharm vaccine is free and available across the capital and other emirates.

The new decision comes into force on January 10, the department said.

The owners of the economic establishments in the emirate are directed "to conduct all their workers' PCR examination every 14 days, and the establishments must bear the test fees, with an exemption for the workers who received the Covid-19 vaccine, which is available for free in the vaccination centres", it said.

“These directions are in line with the Covid-19 preventative measures issued by relative authorities in Abu Dhabi, and aim to create a safe and healthy environment while limiting the effects of the pandemic.”

Sinopharm vaccine is available to everyone in the UAE and it's free.

It was approved for public use by regulators on December 9 after Phase 3 trials found it was 86 per cent effective against the virus.

That is slightly higher than the rate claimed by Sinopharm recently, at 79.34 per cent.

An executive of China National Biotec Group (CNBG), which developed the vaccine, said the different efficacy results quoted are both “real and valid”.

Yang Xiaoming, chairman at Sinopharm unit’s CNBG said countries have different standards and procedures in diagnosing patients, and the final results of Covid-19 case identification were different.

"Therefore, there were differences between the comprehensive multi-country data we reviewed and the protection rate data previously evaluated by the UAE and Bahrain," Mr Xiaoming told the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper.

“But these two results are both real and valid.”

China recently approved Sinopharm's vaccine, the first jab developed by CNBG to receive the green light for widespread use in the country.

China is planning to vaccinate 50 million people against the coronavirus before the peak Chinese New Year travel season begins.