DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has approved emergency use of Sinopharm's protein-based COVID-19 vaccine and it will be available to the public as a booster dose starting January 2022, the health ministry said.

The vaccine will be produced and distributed by a joint venture between the UAE's Group 42 and China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), the ministry said in a statement on state media on Monday.

The approval came following a UAE-based study that included individuals who were previously vaccinated with two doses of Sinopharm CNBG's inactivated vaccine, the ministry added.

The UAE, a federation of seven emirates, on Monday reported 1,732 new coronavirus cases and one death. Authorities, who do not give a breakdown for each emirate, said around 91% of the population of some 10 million had been fully vaccinated.