Dubai plans to vaccinate 70% of its population with the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech by the end of 2021 as part of a campaign free of charge to citizens and residents, Reuters reported.

Last week, the financial center of the United Arab Emirates launched the first phase of a vaccination campaign targeting priority groups, including people aged 60 and over, people with chronic diseases, people with disabilities, and ordinary workers.

Contrary to the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi, which rolled out a vaccine made by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) to the general public, Dubai followed Saudi Arabia, which earlier this month became the first Arab country to use the Pfizer vaccine.

“We are targeting to vaccinate approximately 70% of the population of Dubai by the end of 2021. We want to reach the herd immunity that is required,” Farida al-Khaja, chairwoman of Dubai’s steering committee for COVID-19 vaccinations, told Reuters.

Dubai, with a population of over 3.3 million in 2019, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, which has wreaked havoc on its key sectors of tourism, real estate, and commerce.

The UAE health ministry has registered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use, but none of the other emirates have announced plans to introduce the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is reported to be 95% effective.