The UAE leaders, ministers and officials who have had a Covid-19 vaccine - in pictures

Two coronavirus shots are available in the UAE

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid receives the Sinopharm vaccine to protect against Covid-19 on November 3, 2020. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak receives the first of two shots of a vaccine that was trialled in the UAE. Wam

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Sheikh Mansoor

Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, gets the Sinopharm jab.

Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, receives the Covid-19 Sinopharm vaccine on Saturday, October 31. Courtesy: UAE Government Twitter

Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, receives his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Wam

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, takes the Sinopharm vaccine. Courtesy: Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Twitter

Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, UAE Fatwa Council, is vaccinated with the Sinopharm innoculation on January 4, 2021. Wam

Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed, chair of Abu Dhabi's Executive Office, takes the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Media Office

The UAE's health minister, Abdulrahman Al Owais, receives the Sinopharm vaccine.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, gives a thumbs up as he is vaccinated against Covid-19.

Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, president of the UAE Football Association, receives the Covid-19 vaccine.

Khalifa bin Dary, executive director of Dubai Ambulance Services Corporation, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Lt Col Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad Al Nahyan, director of special patrols at Abu Dhabi Police, receives the Covid-19 vaccine. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Police    

Maj Gen Mohammed Al Marri, director general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Maj Gen Talal Al Falasi, director general of Dubai's State Security Department, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Abdullah Al Falasi, director general of Dubai Government Human Resources Department, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Amer Sharif, head of Dubai's Covid-10 Command and Control Centre, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

Obaid Al Shamsi, director general of the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, takes the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

Vaccination campaigns are under way across the Emirates to ensure as many people as possible are immunised against Covid-19.

Hundreds have been vaccinated so far, including some of the country's leaders, ministers and top officials in an effort to encourage others to follow suit.

The two vaccines are free and voluntary.

One, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm, is available across the country and uses a killed version of the virus to prompt an immune response. It is administered in two doses over 21 to 28 days, and is 86 per cent effective, UAE regulators say.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorised for use in Dubai, where authorities have set out priority groups for inoculation before the shot is made available to the wider public. This vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognise the spiked protein on the surface of the virus.

Last week, authorities in Dubai said they planned to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the emirate's population with the Pfizer-BioNTech shot by the end of 2021.

"We want to reach the herd immunity that is required," said Farida Al Khaja, chairwoman of Dubai's steering committee for Covid-19 vaccinations.

In September, the UAE Cabinet approved the National Policy on Vaccinations, which aims to ensure high-quality vaccines and preventive care for many illnesses – not only Covid-19 – are widely available in the Emirates.

Other objectives include raising awareness of the importance of immunisation as well as supporting innovation and research.

It also includes a push to promote a healthy lifestyle as the best defence against many diseases. Many governments realised the extent to which high rates of obesity and diabetes, among other lifestyle conditions, make people susceptible to severe forms of Covid-19, among other illnesses.