The testing facility at the Al Qarayn Health Centre in Sharjah, the first COVID-19 vaccine trial centre outside Abu Dhabi, received 500 volunteers for the world’s first Phase III clinical trials of an inactivated vaccine to combat COVID-19, in the first three days after its opening.
No side effects have been reported so far among the volunteers, who hail from various nationalities, according to Dr Nour Al Muhairi, Head of Medical Services, Hospital Department of the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
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Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Al Muhairi said the targeted group of volunteers have to be free of any chronic diseases and immunodeficiency. Pregnant women can’t receive the experimental shots either.
Volunteers have been invited to sign up and participate in a UAE clinical trial for a Covid-19 vaccine at a centre outside Abu Dhabi for the first time.
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Open daily from 8.00 to 20.00, Al Qarayen Health Centre has the capacity to register and screen over 500 volunteers a day and is open to residents from Sharjah and neighbouring emirates as the trials continue to gather nationwide momentum since the launch of #4Humanity campaign on July 16, 2020.
It is being managed by G42 Healthcare in partnership with MoHaP and will play a central role in facilitating procedures for registering volunteers and conducting necessary tests.
