Loyalty to his country and a desire to help others drove Ahmed Al Shaibani to answer a call for volunteers in a Covid-19 vaccine trial in the Emirates.
The senior call centre officer, who works at Al Ain Hospital, became one of the tens of thousands to sign up for Phase 3 testing for an inactive vaccine.
The Emirati is disabled and insisted on taking part to serve his community. He hopes others in his position will too.
"I urge other [people with disabilities] to serve the UAE community and call on all members of society to take part in clinical trials because their contributions will result in ... the development of a coronavirus vaccine," he said.
"Participating in such trials is a national duty for all citizens and residents of the UAE."
In an interview with state media agency Wam, Mr Al Shaibani wished the UAE health and for the pandemic to end.
Mr Al Shaibani volunteered at the medical centre in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, where candidates are screened for potential health issues that may disqualify them for the trial.
The trial, recognised by the World Health Organisation, began in mid-July and is being carried out by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha), Department of Health Abu Dhabi and G42 Healthcare.
The vaccine was developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. Phase 1 and 2 of the trials were successfully carried out in China.
Eligible volunteers, aged between 18 and 60, are given a general check-up before they are inoculated with the first of two vaccines that are administered over 28 days.
The volunteers are periodically monitored throughout this period and asked to keep a medical journal. Finally, they are tested to check if they have successfully developed antibodies against Covid-19.
To volunteer for the Abu Dhabi trial, register your details at 4humanity.ae or call 02 819 1111.
