ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Health and Prevention has recently launched “mobile vaccination e-clinic service” to provide vaccines for children while they are in their parents’ cars. The service is currently provided at most of the health promotion centers for the children, said the ministry is a press release on Tuesday carried by state news agency WAM. To make an appointment, the parents need to contact the health centre and provide the necessary information. At the scheduled time, the medical team receives the child and his parents at the center entrance for further assessment and getting the child vaccinated inside the car following the highest levels of prevention and safety. The initiative coincided with the World Immunization Week that took place in the last week of April under the theme ‘vaccines work for all’ and as part of the ministry’s keenness to encourage families to administer their children’s vaccination in accordance with the National Immunization Program. The ministry underlined that all precautions and safety measures have been taken to ensure that children and parents are not exposed to any physical contact, in line with the precautionary measure adopted by the UAE to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Al-Rand, undersecretary of the Ministry’s Health Assistant Sector, Health Centers and Clinics, and chairman of the National Committee for the Implementation of the Provisions of International Health Regulations and Prevention of Pandemics, said, “At the ministry, we always seek to launch and innovate smart solutions to provide curative and preventive services and to ensure the continuation of the health services of the immunization program. “This falls within the ministry’s strategy to provide comprehensive and innovative health services to safeguard society from diseases,” he said. “We understand that the families are anxious to avoid visiting the health centers due to any possible infections, however, delaying vaccination may cause health troubles to the children and may affect their immunity. “The Ministry of Health, therefore, has taken the best precautionary measures in accordance with the healthcare quality standards and pursuant to the universal strategies and objectives of immunization programs approved by World Health Organisation, WHO; the United Nations Children"s Fund, UNICEF; and the Global Centre for Infectious Disease Control,” added Al-Rand. Dr. Aisha Suhail, Director of Primary Health Care Department, stressed the importance of the vaccinations, as one of the best medical interventions against preventable diseases. Suhail urged the families to contact the primary health care centers to book an appointment and to follow vaccination-related medical advice. — SG