UAE prime minister receives China-developed COVID-19 vaccine shot

Screenshot from UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's twitter.

The Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said Tuesday he had received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Sheikh Mohammed, who's also the vice president of UAE and the ruler of Dubai, shared the news on Twitter, posting a photo of him getting vaccinated by a medical staffer.

"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," he wrote in his post.

The vaccine he got was produced by the Chinese drug giant Sinopharm, according to

a report

from Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera. It is nearing the end of Phase III trials in the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan, which started in mid-July.

Sheikh Mohammed is the latest top Emirati official to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Several ministers and senior officials have already received the vaccine in both the UAE and Bahrain, including UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, as well as Bahrain's crown prince.

In September, the UAE authorized the emergency use of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine on health workers, after the country's health officials confirmed the positive results of the clinical trials.

(With input from agencies.)