For its proactive approach towards vaccination programme, in-depth planning and timely intervention, the UAE has been named the second most resilient country in the world for its Covid-19 pandemic response in the Pandemic Resilience Index 2021. 

Israel ranked higher in the report compiled by the Consumer Choice Centre (CCC), a non-profit organisation representing the rights of consumers in more than 100 countries.

The UAE topped the charts for its impressive performance, leaving behind even EU nations, with its vaccination rollout, despite starting just 10 days earlier. 

Israel and the UAE were the only two countries to be given the top rating, leaving behind the US, the UK and Germany, who were rated as being “above average”.

The CCC report has collated the data available on March 31, to give an overview of how prepared health systems have been globally in handling the pandemic.

“The UAE is a country that managed to quickly kick off its vaccination programme which saw more than 50 per cent of its population vaccinated. Its extensive testing also tops the ranking,” said the report’s authors, Fred Roeder, CCC managing director and CCC research manager Maria Chaplia.

The report also highlighted that the UAE’s Covid-19 testing average of 8.29 per 1,000 people each day was third to Cyprus and Luxembourg, and well ahead of countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France and Italy.

“The pandemic has put health systems globally to an emergency test and exposed both their strong and weak sides,” the report said.

The report surveyed 40 countries on various parameters including “vaccination approval, its drive, and time lags that have put brakes on it, critical care bed capacity, and mass testing”.

Ukraine followed by New Zealand got the lowest score in the report.

Originally published here.