The UAE's Minister of Health and Prevention has been injected with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the country.

Minister Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Health and Community Protection, received the first dose of the vaccine which is currently in phase III of clinical trials.

Earlier, officials had announced that trials are on the right track, and the results are encouraging in terms of generating antibodies to the virus.

It follows the success of Phase I and Phase II conducted by Sinopharm in China, which resulted in 100 per cent of the volunteers generating antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) after two doses in 28 days.

In less than six weeks since the study began, 31,000 volunteers representing 125 nationalities have participated in the trials.

The vaccine has also been tested successfully on 1,000 volunteers suffering from chronic diseases.

The UAE has already announced plans to start administering the COVID-19 vaccine for emergency cases on a limited basis.

The first recipients will be frontline workers who come into regular contact with patients.

UAE launches emergency COVID-19 vaccination program, health minister receives first dose of vaccine. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Saturday announced the start of the emergency use of the China-developed COVID-19 vaccine program, and the health minister Abdul Rahman Al Owais received the first dose of the vaccine, local media reported.

The program will provide a safety net for those on the front lines of the anti-epidemic work and help boost their confidence in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.

The country's health authorities announced on September 14 that China's research and development of the COVID-19 vaccine showed it was safe and effective in UAE through clinical results, and a large number of volunteers participated in the phase III trial and the progress was very well, so the country approved the use of this batch of new vaccines, mainly to provide for medical staff to use.