The UAE has reached a significant milestone in its Covid-19 vaccine rollout, with "100 per cent of the target groups in the country" now vaccinated.
The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said its national campaign had reached its goal.
To date, 24,922,054 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered.
In November, health authorities announced that 100 per cent of eligible people had received their first dose.
Daily case numbers have declined significantly during the year, having topped 3,000 on several occasions in January.
Despite the drop in case numbers, the public is asked to remain responsible and support the country's recovery.
Speaking at the last media briefing, Dr Taher Al-Buraik Al-Amiri, spokesman for the NCEMA, said the UAE remained on "the right track" in its efforts to overcome the coronavirus.
However, he stressed the need to abide by safety measures.
People were reminded to continue to wear face masks when mandated and to isolate in case of infection.
Successful campaign
The first Covid-19 case in the UAE was announced on January 20, 2020.
Since then, the Emirates has recorded 908,647 cases and 2,305 deaths.
During the early weeks and months of the pandemic, stay-home measures and deep-cleaning operations were introduced.
Offices and schools closed as a precautionary measure and flights were grounded.
Authorities also introduced physical distance rules and made the wearing of face masks in public mandatory.
On December 9, 2020, the UAE approved Sinopharm’s vaccine.
Less than two weeks later, Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine was approved for people over the age of 18. Authorities later gave the green light to other vaccines, including Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Moderna. In March 2021, the UAE started rolling out booster shots, initially to a small number of people and later to all, urging everyone to receive a third dose six months after their second.
The UAE was regularly featured at the top of world rankings on how well countries were managing Covid-19, while at the same time reopening their economies.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in October declared the UAE had “overcome the Covid-19 crisis” and called on people to return to normality.
