Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai Youth Council and GEMS Education have partnered to offer a free COVID-19 vaccination drive across the UAE for all unvaccinated school students aged 12 and above and their parents.
Eligible students and parents, along with GEMS teachers and employees who are also being hosted for the drive, can receive the Pfizer Bio-NTech vaccine at GEMS Al Barsha National School on 17 and 18 October.
Dr Manal Mohammad Taryam, Consultant and Chief Executive Officer, Primary Health Care Services Sector – Dubai Health Authority, said: “We have been delighted by the support of the UAE as a whole to the Authority’s efforts to protect our citizens with a major vaccination drive.
“We now wish to ensure that the younger members of our community are similarly protected against the COVID-19 virus and are delighted to join forces with Dubai Youth Council and GEMS Education in helping to ensure the success of this very important campaign. Together we are all responsible – no matter what our age.”
The UAE has been a world leader in the drive to vaccinate its population against COVID-19 and was one of the first to announce that it would be inoculating school students too.
Reem AlMusabbeh – Marketing Coordinator and Board Member, Dubai Youth Council, added: “Our schools have been extremely supportive in the national drive to have as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as possible. That focus is now very much on the youth of our nation, and we are grateful to the DHA and GEMS Education for helping to facilitate this latest major initiative that will benefit the entire school community in Dubai.”
To date, GEMS has helped ensure that more than 13,000 of its eligible students aged 12 to 18 have received at least one vaccination. It expects to substantially increase this with the latest drive. All its eligible teachers have already been vaccinated.
Elmarie Venter, Chief Operations Officer at GEMS Education, said: “We are opening this opportunity for all students and their parents across the emirates, not just from GEMS. We are grateful to the DHA and Dubai Youth Council for their positive action in working with us and other school groups to ensure our communities are kept as safe and healthy as possible through this mass vaccination drive and other initiatives.”
