KEY POINTS
  • The first phase of the vaccine rollout will see four main groups targeted, with the first group including Emiratis and residents aged 60 and older, people with chronic health conditions, and the disabled.
  • The second group is frontline health workers, the third is other essential workers and the fourth is members of the general public who want to be vaccinated.
  • The shots will be available at six Dubai Health Authority facilities and by appointment. 
A traveler passes through immigration control by walking through a "smart tunnel " at Dubai International Airport.

The United Arab Emirates' commercial capital Dubai is making the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine available to its residents for free as of Wednesday, its government has announced. The news comes after the UAE began offering the Chinese-developed Sinopharm vaccine earlier this month.

The emirate's first batch of the Pfizer vaccines, which were found to be 95% effective in late-stage clinical trials, landed at Dubai International Airport late Tuesday night from Brussels.