Abu Dhabi: A 35-year-old expatriate is once again able to see after the removal of a foreign body that was lodged in his left eye for about two years.  Safiqur Rahman Haider, a Bangladeshi construction worker, is relieved that what he thought was his rapidly failing eyesight finally turned out to be an impairment caused by a small bit of metal that was stuck in his eye for almost two years! “As the sole breadwinner of my family — which includes my mother and four sisters — I was really concerned when my eye began to water. I couldn’t turn towards the light and I wondered why was it happening,” he told Gulf News.  Worsening vision When Haider visited Burjeel Hospital Abu Dhabi, the doctors discovered that he had already lost 30 to 40 per cent of h ... Read More..

Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna set off a persistent immune reaction in the human body that may protect against Covid-19 for years, scientists reported recently. A study published in the Nature journal stated there is growing evidence that most people immunised with messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines may not need boosters, as long as the virus and its variants do not mutate beyond its current form.  The study also said that people who recovered from Covid-19 before being vaccinated may not require the booster dose, even if the virus undergoes significant transformation. However, it remains unclear whether vaccinations alone will have long-lasting effects against the Covid-19 pandemic.  Doctors in the UAE have said that while the study results are promising, the ... Read More..

Biotech company Moderna recently said its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine is effective against several variants of the virus. Now that the jab has been approved in the UAE, most healthcare experts are hopeful it could help fight Delta and Beta, the two variants that currently account for the highest number of infections in the UAE.  On Sunday, the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap) announced the approval of the emergency registration of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. Prior to the approval, a strict assessment and clinical trials have been conducted.  Dr Prasanna Kumar, critical care specialist and intensive care unit in charge at Medeor Hospital, Dubai, said: “As per the latest studies, it has been found that the Moderna vaccine is highly effective in neutrali ... Read More..

The World Health Organisation (WHO) approved Covid-19 vaccines offer 90 per cent protection against developing severe disease and hospitalisation due to the Delta variant, a top WHO scientist said. “The Delta variant is more transmissible than the previous variant and also has been able to resist the antibodies that we have in our blood. So, what that means is that you need a higher level of antibodies to overcome this variant as compared to, let’s say, the Alpha variant. Now, the good news is that all of the WHO emergency-use listed vaccines do protect against developing severe disease, hospitalisation and death due to the Delta variant,” WHO’s chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan told ‘Science in 5’, which is WHO’s conversation in science. T ... Read More..

Fully vaccinated community members should not insist on taking more than one dose of the Covid booster jab, as doing so may cause complications, medical experts said.  UAE residents who have taken both doses of the Sinopharm vaccine are eligible to get a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot six months after receiving their second dose.  However, according to local health authorities, some are insisting on a second booster shot — either because they wish to improve their immunity or because they wish to travel to Europe, where Pfizer and AstraZeneca are among the approved vaccines. In some cases, the Al Hosn app doesn’t show either dose and people try to take an additional dose for travel purposes.  “We noticed that some are insisting on taking more than the reco ... Read More..