UAE BARQ برق الإمارات – نبضك
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) held a series of webinars across various Dubai government entities to raise awareness about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The DHA’s Health Promotion & Education Section kicked off this initiative following the launch of the authority’s free Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination campaign.
Dr Hend Al Awadhi, Head of the Health Promotion & Education Section at the DHA revealed that so far, the webinars have benefited 910 government employees working at Dubai Customs and RTA. She added that the DHA will also be holding two more webinars with Dubai Media Corporation and Dubai Municipality by the end of this month.
“We want to raise awareness about the COVID-19 vaccine because it is currently the best, safest and most effective method to control the COVID-19 pandemic and stop it from spreading, to protect ourselves and others,” said Dr Al Awadhi.
She added that each webinar section is divided into three sections. The first focuses on what you need to know before getting vaccinated. This includes information on why people should get vaccinated, how vaccines work, the targeted categories, the exempted categories, and the effectiveness of the vaccine.
“Dubai is currently implementing the first phase of the free Pfizer BioNTech vaccination campaign, which targets the first category. This includes elders who are 60-years-old and above, people with chronic diseases and people of determination. The second category includes frontliners in both the public and private sectors. The third category includes vital-sector workers and the fourth category will be open to all those who wish to get vaccinated. Priority is given to the first three categories. The vaccination will be open to the fourth category in the near future,” she said.
The excluded categories are nursing mothers, pregnant women, children below 18 years, people with immunodeficiency diseases, women planning to get pregnant in the near future (three months from the date of taking the vaccine) and those who are allergic to any vaccine, food, medicine or substance OR those who carry a self-injectable adrenaline.
“The second section of the webinar focuses on what to expected when taking the vaccine. Here were inform the government employees about the locations offering the vaccine, customer journey, important information they should tell their physician before taking the vaccine and how the vaccine is given and its doses,” said Dr Al Awadhi.
She added that the final part of the webinar focuses on what to expect after taking the vaccine such as the common side effects one can experience when taking a vaccine, what to do should you experience any side effects and frequently asked questions.
Those who are within the targeted categories can book an appointment to get vaccinated through the DHA App or by calling 800342.
