CAIRO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Wednesday the official registration of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group, or Sinopharm. Meanwhile, the first shipment out of about 8 million COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer arrived in Israel.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement that the official registration is a significant vote of confidence by the country's health authorities in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine.