ABU DHABI - Masdar, a global leader in sustainable innovation and development, and a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, has announced the opening of a COVID-19 vaccination centre in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.

The new centre is part of the Mubadala Health network of COVID-19 vaccination centres and supports the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) and the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, in implementing the UAE’s vigorous vaccination programme.

The first dose vaccination is available immediately to UAE citizens and residents aged 50 and over, those with chronic illnesses and people of determination at the walk-in centre in Masdar City.

The vaccine is also immediately available to people under the age of 50 who are coming for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccination centre is open from Sunday to Thursday between 10am and 7pm, no appointments are necessary for people who meet the current criteria, and all vaccinations are free of charge. Visitors will be asked to present their Emirates IDs and have the free AlHosn app downloaded on their mobile phones before receiving the vaccine.

Abdulla Balalaa, Acting Executive Director, Sustainable Real Estate, Masdar City, said, "At Masdar City, we are delighted to continue our support of the fight against COVID-19 by hosting a vaccination center. Mubadala Health has been doing incredible work via its network of vaccination centers and as Mubadala Group, we are honored to support the UAE’s national goal of providing free COVID-19 vaccinations for all of the country’s citizens and residents."

Balalaa continued, "Masdar City is a growing hub of world-class sustainable technology innovators, including healthcare and biotech companies, and we are proud to incubate companies that bolster the UAE’s efforts to tackle the pandemic. As an example of this, the technology firm G42 opened one the largest COVID-19 testing facilities in the world in Masdar City in March 2020. This was the first testing centre of its scale to be operational outside of China. Housing a COVID-19 vaccination centre is therefore a natural next step for us."

Omar Al Naqbi, Acting Executive Director of Healthpoint, a Mubadala Health partner and one of the healthcare providers supporting the operations at the vaccination centres of Mubadala health, says, "Masdar City is the latest addition to the Mubadala Health COVID-19 vaccination centre network. We are proud to be part of this vaccination programme, which continues to demonstrate the UAE’s ability to mount an agile and effective response to the pandemic through collaboration between the public and private sectors. By leveraging Mubadala Health’s infrastructure and working with partners such as Masdar City, we can ensure that more segments of the population will have easy access to the vaccines. In addition, we are actively working on adding new vaccination centres and mobile clinics at various locations outside of our network and facilities."

Citizens and residents who wish to be vaccinated at the COVID-19 vaccination centre in Masdar City, are advised to use the car park outside of the Siemens building and follow the directional signage to the centre.

Visitors can also use the chauffeured buggy service, which will bring them directly from the car park to the center.

Masdar City is home to a number of companies supporting the UAE’s fight against the pandemic, including bio-technology maker Mondialab, which plans to start producing a wireless screening device called ‘The Resolute,’ providing health authorities with a preliminary indication of a patient’s exposure to COVID-19 within 10 minutes.

Similarly, Masdar City’s start-up business accelerator, The Catalyst, run by Masdar and BP, supports a tech firm called Volts that is working on a new generation of portable battery systems that store and distribute electricity from solar cells and wind turbines, which can be used to power remote field hospitals treating COVID-19 cases.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2021.