It has been revealed that several cabin crew working for Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi, have received a Chinese-manufactured COVID-19 vaccine, which is still currently in Phase 3 trials.
The vaccine received emergency use approval early in September, only six weeks after the human trials of the vaccine started.
The vaccine has been created by Sinopharm, and was developed in partnership with ‘Group 42’, an artificial intelligence company based in Dubai.
It works by using an inactivated strain of the virus to generate an immune response, and so far has been given to around 31,000 residents of the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan in Phase 3 trials.
Although specifically released for use by ‘frontline workers’, it appears that the vaccine has been administered to Etihad cabin crew.
Rochelle Crossley, who is a member of Etihad’s cabin crew team, has told Australian reporters that she has received the vaccine.
“The fear of getting the virus outweighed the fear of having the vaccination. Everyone has different side effects but mainly a sore arm. I had a bit of a cough after the first vaccine but the second one I didn’t have anything.”
Rochelle, who is Australian, recently travelled back home and presented health officials with her vaccination paperwork. At first, she said, it wasn’t taken seriously and she was moved to a quarantine hotel to undergo mandatory 14-days of monitored isolation.
However, she has since been allowed out of the hotel, and is undergoing quarantine at home with her family.
During Phase 3 trials, half of the participants are traditionally given a placebo, which makes the vaccination certification questionable.
In a statement yesterday, Sinopharm said that the trials have so far “been better than expected” without revealing any further details.
Earlier this week, American pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it’s COVID-19 vaccine, which has been produced in partnership with German biotech company Biontech, has so far proven more than 90% effective. The announcement caused travel-related stocks to soar, as the industry holds out hope of some recovery in 2021.
As yet, Etihad have not released a comment regarding the administering of a vaccine to staff, and it is not known whether they plan to vaccinate all of their employees.
However, the Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has himself confirmed he received the same vaccine earlier this month.
Jenna Rank
Jenna has visited over 50 countries across the world, and hopes to visit 100 by 2025
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