Careem adds Covid-19 vaccination information for UAE customers

The new feature is available to customers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman

Careem rolled out a new feature in its app that provides customers with information on getting vaccinated. Courtesy Careem

Uber-owned Careem added a new feature to its app that lets UAE users book a trip to a Covid-19 vaccination centre as the country saw a surge in the number of people getting inoculated.

The "get vaccinated" tool provides information about the availability of different vaccines in the UAE, vaccine eligibility as well as the timings and locations of all vaccination centres, the company said in a statement on Monday.

“The UAE government has invested so much to provide easy access to the Covid-19 vaccines and we wanted to do our part to encourage everyone … to get vaccinated by making that process just a little simpler,” Careem’s co-founder and chief executive Mudassir Shaikha said.

Customers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman can access the new tool directly on the home screen of the app, underneath thumbnails other rides, bikes, food, cleaning and delivery services. The app allows users to locate and call the nearest vaccination centre.

The company said it observed a surge in the number of customers booking rides to vaccination sites in January. Thus far, more than 1,000 customers have booked a Careem ride to be vaccinated. Some customers also shared that they were having trouble finding the latest, official information, it said.

More than 304 million vaccines have been administered across 114 countries at a daily rate of 7.93 million doses, according to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker. The UAE trails Seychelles and Israel in third place globally as of March 7 with a rate of 58.36 doses administered per 100 people.

“We are always listening to our customers and looking for ways to make their lives simpler,” Bassel Alnahlaoui, the company’s managing director for mobility, said.