Coronavirus: Uber offers discounted rides to and from UAE COVID-19 vaccine centers

Uber is offering a 25 percent discount to people in the United Arab Emirates using the ridesharing app to travel to vaccination centers.

Users will be able to claim back up to AED 20 from each of two rides to and from public vaccination centers redeemable from inside the company’s app.

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The discount is being offered from January 25 until February 8 for people of all ages and nationalities, according to a statement shared by the ridesharing company.

It is currently available in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, and users can book trips to and from 43 centers through the Uber app, including a number of DHA centers in Dubai, the SEHA vaccination center in Abu Dhabi, and MoHAP-authorized centers in Sharjah.

“We applaud the government’s ambition to vaccinate 50 percent of the community by the end of March and we would like to do our part to support these efforts,” Rifad Mahasneh, Uber general manager in the UAE said.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve been looking at how we can support our communities, prioritize their health and safety, and ultimately keep cities moving at a time when mobility has been severely impacted,” he added.

The announcement comes as the UAE continues to aggressively pursue its plan to vaccinate a large portion of the country’s population. Last week, authorities announced that more than two million doses of coronavirus vaccine had been administered in the UAE, the equivalent of 20.88 percent.

“The vaccination drive is part of the effort to leverage our technology to positively impact communities and support the government’s successful efforts in protecting the population against the virus,” Mahasneh said.

The UAE emirate of Dubai announced delays in Pfizer jab inoculations due to setbacks in delivery of the lifesaving shot. The decision was made at the same time as the country issued emergency approval of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, adding to the UAE’s vaccine portfolio.

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