Coronavirus: UAE-China vaccine trial expands to Bahrain to include more volunteers

Abu Dhabi healthcare firm G42 said the move would boost numbers for a project that requires 15,000 participants

A volunteer undergoes a check-up before being accepted to the Covid-19 vaccine trial at Adnec. Victor Besa / The National

Vaccine volunteers at the Adnec volunteer facility. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers read information about the Covid-19 vaccine trial at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Victor Besa / The National

Vaccine volunteers wait to be screened at the Adnec facility. Victor Besa / The National

A volunteer has his heart rate checked after registering to take part in the Covid-19 clinical trial in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers wait to be screened and injected with the Covid-19 vaccine at Adnec. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers are led to a stall where they are screened and vaccinated as part of the Covid-19 vaccine trial in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers wait to be screened and injected with the Covid-19 vaccine at Adnec. Victor Besa / The National

Nurses update medical records as part of the Covid-19 vaccine trial in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

A mother-of-three, 41, has volunteered as part of the Covid-19 vaccine trial because her husband is in the aviation industry, which has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. Victor Besa / The National

A volunteer, 26, takes part in the Covid-19 vaccine trial to give back and support the UAE. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers wait their turn to be screened and inoculated with the first of two Covid-19 vaccines. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers wait their turn to be inoculated with the first of two Covid-19 vaccines. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers register to take part in the Covid-19 vaccine trial in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Staff take a selfie in front of the monitor that displays the number of volunteers who have been vaccinated since the start if the trial. Victor Besa / The National

A monitor displays the number of volunteers who have received their first vaccine since the trial began. Victor Besa / The National

A volunteer waits her turn to get a medical check up at the Covid-19 vaccine trial facility in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers read information about the Covid-19 vaccine trial at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Victor Besa / The National

Volunteers for the Covid-19 vaccine trial wait to be screened at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Victor Besa / The National

A Covid-19 vaccine trial being run in Abu Dhabi will expand to Bahrain in the search for more volunteers.

A centre will be set up in the kingdom as part of the UAE-China project to test Chinese drug maker Sinopharm's potential vaccines on large numbers of people.

Abu Dhabi healthcare company G42, which announced the move, said it sought up to 6,000 volunteers in Bahrain, following the opening of volunteer centres in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Medics are looking for volunteers aged between 18 and 60 in Bahrain and the trial will last for six to 12 months.

In total, 15,000 volunteers are sought for the Sinopharm trial, which began in mid-July.

“It was always part of our original plan to open several centres to ensure the broadest impact and opportunity for individuals to participate and join the 4Humanity campaign," said Ashish Koshy, chief executive of G42 Healthcare, an artificial intelligence and data company, which is working on the trial with Abu Dhabi's health authorities.

"There has been a hugely enthusiastic response from the Ministry of Health and other public health bodies in Bahrain to work with us on the trials and to encourage their communities to volunteer in the trials."

Phase III trials involve the testing of the potential vaccine on large numbers of people to determine if it is effective.

Volunteers receive two vaccine shots in one month and then are monitored for up to 12 months afterwards, keeping a diary to record any observations or side effects.

To date, more than 5,500 people in the UAE have received the shots, including Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, chairman of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, and Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, acting undersecretary of the department, who is overseeing the trial.

Medics look for people from a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and ethnicities as part of the process - one of the reasons the UAE was chosen.

“The expansion will also help to boost the overall numbers of people participating in the test to enable similar numbers to other international trials underway in nations with much larger populations," said Mr Koshy.

"We are also anticipating an expansion of the our centre network in the UAE to be announced shortly.”

Sinopharm's Phase I and Phase II trials were regarded as successful and results in 100 per cent of volunteers generating antibodies for Sars-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, after two shots in 28 days.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia said it would begin a trial of a separate vaccine developed by China's CanSino Biologics.

On Tuesday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said the country had given regulatory approval to the world's first vaccine after two months of human testing, though the final stages of clinical trials to test safety and efficacy continue.

Volunteers for the Abu Dhabi trial can register at 4humanity.ae or by calling 02 819 1111.