Partnering up with China, the UAE will now be producing the COVID-19 Sinopharm vaccine domestically. As announced by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Sunday 28th March 2021, a vaccine deal has been signed with China’s Foreign Ministers, Wang Yi, and will be pioneered by Abu Dhabi’s Group 42, in conjunction with Chinese pharmaceutical company, Sinopharm.
#BREAKING: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed & the Chinese Foreign Minister launch the "Life Sciences and Vaccine Manufacturing in the UAE" project, and attend the inauguration of the first COVID-19 vaccine production line in the UAE between UAE’s @G42ai and China’s CNBG #Sinopharm. WAM pic.twitter.com/Wq28MeIgb1
— حسن سجواني Hassan Sajwani (@HSajwanization) March 28, 2021
The vaccine has already begun production within the UAE at pharmaceutical manufacturer Julphar’s plant in Ras Al Khaimah. The Emirati pharma company is not only producing the Sinopharm vaccine, but is also rebranding it and changing its name to Hayat-Vax. In Arabic, the word ‘hayat’ translates to ‘life’ and could be produced in quantities of over 2 million doses per month.
Hayat-Vax is the exact same as Sinopharm’s CNBG’s BiBP inactivated vaccine that was first administered to frontline workers by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on December 9, 2020.
3 Million People in Saudi Arabia Are Vaccinated: https://t.co/o3Gru1Rg85 pic.twitter.com/24gMXMvo9h
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) March 23, 2021
At the inauguration of the production of the Hayat-Vax, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said, “Life sciences and vaccine manufacturing in our country is UAE’s contribution towards global efforts to address the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected the whole world.” He added: “The joint project is an added value to the international efforts being made in the face of the Covid-19 crisis, which has been taking a toll on everyday lives across the world.”
New JV between G42 and Sinopharm CNBG will be responsible for manufacturing #Hayat-Vax, the first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in the region, here in the UAE. Read more: https://t.co/1UyEcTeEEU pic.twitter.com/oAKC1qFdn5
— G42 (@G42ai) March 28, 2021
52% of the UAE’s population has already been vaccinated with approved vaccines such as Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Oxford AstraZeneca.
