Coronavirus: Sikh temple hosts vaccinations for Dubai residents

People receive second shot at Guru Nanak Darbar in Jebel Ali

A healthcare worker gives an injection of coronavirus vaccine to a Sikh resident at the Guru Nanak Darbar gurudwara (Sikh temple), in Dubai. Karim Sahib / AFP

A Sikh healthcare worker registers a man for vaccination at the Guru Nanak Darbar gurudwara (Sikh temple) in Dubai on Saturday. Karim Sahib / AFP

Members of Dubai's Indian community queue for their Sinopharm inoculation at the Guru Nanak Darbar gurudwara's second vaccine drive in Dubai. Karim Sahib / AFP

The Chinese Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine is given to a man at the Guru Nanak Darbar gurudwara (Sikh temple) in Dubai. Organisers said all slots for the vaccines were quickly booked. Karim Sahib / AFP

A Sikh healthcare worker studies a box of Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine vials at the Guru Nanak Darbar gurudwara (Sikh temple) in Dubai. Karim Sahib / AFP

A Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine is given to a resident during a vaccination drive at the Guru Nanak Darbar gurudwara (Sikh temple), in Dubai. Karim Sahib / AFP

People are vaccinated against coronavirus at Dubai's Guru Nanak Darbar gurudwara (Sikh temple). Karim Sahib / AFP

The Sikh temple in Dubai hosted a second three-day coronavirus vaccine drive at the weekend.

Residents queued outside the Guru Nanak Darbar in Jebel Ali to receive their second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine.

The temple organised a three-day drive during the first week of February and vaccinated about 5,100 people after being inundated with requests for appointments.

Surender Singh Kandhari, the temple's chairman, previously said all available slots for the vaccinations were taken up within hours of the offer going on social media.

The temple received permission to host a second three-day event from Tamouh Health Care, one of the government's approved vaccine partners, to accommodate all those who applied.

Since then, the UAE has limited the first dose of the vaccine to elderly people and individuals with chronic diseases or disabilities.

The people who were immunised at the temple in February were asked to return within 31 days for a second dose.

Almost 6.03 million doses of the vaccine have been given across the UAE to date.

China's Sinopharm vaccine was approved for use for all members of the public on December 9.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a collaboration between US pharmaceuticals company Pfizer and the German biotech company BioNTech, was registered in Dubai two weeks later as part of a phased campaign initially focused on vulnerable groups and key workers.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine was approved for emergency use in January.

Dubai authorised the use of the Swedish-British Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in February.