UAE citizens no longer able to travel internationally if not vaccinated

By: Destiny Mouawad, Staff Reporter, The Pawprint 

In efforts to minimize the sharp rises in COVID-19 cases, namely due to the new variant, Omicron, the UAE now requires all UAE citizens to be fully vaccinated (2 doses) along with a booster shot come January 10th, 2022 before they can travel safely. 

To date the UAE has reported 750,000 cases and nearly 2,000 deaths the law has been agreed upon in order to “…​​ensure the collective immunity of the community and support the country’s recovery efforts.” 

“…​​Given the high rates of infections overseas…” Dr. Farida Al Hosani notes that while citizens will be qualified to travel it is not advised or encouraged. 

Not only has travel been restricted to those unvaccinated yet all federal government workers must be fully vaccinated in order to gain access into buildings, confirmed via a Green Pass on the Al Hosn app. 

There are a few exemptions to the UAE’s new law such as those traveling for medical purposes or treatments, humanitarian cases or those exempt from the vaccine due to previous medical trials.