The Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum received a dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Sheikh Mohammed shared the news on Twitter. Sheikh Mohammed tweeted, "While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine today. We wish everyone safety and great health, and we are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine available in the UAE. The future will always be better in the UAE."
According to reports, Sheikh Mohammed was administered a shot of the coronavirus vaccine that was developed by the Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm.
The phase 3 trials for a vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm Group Co Ltd. started in the UAE in July and the country granted emergency approval for its use in healthcare workers in September.
Meanwhile, the overall number of global coronavirus cases was nearing the 48 million mark, while the deaths have surged to more than 1,223,450, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
As of Thursday morning, the total caseload and death toll stood at 47,997,816 and 1,223,456, respectively, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 9,477,709 and 233,651, respectively, according to the CSSE. India comes in second place in terms of cases at 8,313,876, while the country's death toll soared to 123,611.
The other top 15 countries with the maximum amount of cases are Brazil (5,590,025), Russia (1,680,579), France (1,591,152), Spain (1,284,408), Argentina (1,205,928), Colombia (1,108,084), the UK (1,102,305), Mexico (938,405), Peru (911,787), Italy (790,377), South Africa (730,548), Iran (646,164), Germany (597,359), Chile (515,042), and Iraq (485,870), the CSSE figures showed.
