An Abu Dhabi-based startup is claiming it has become the “first app in the world” to offer bookings for at-home COVID-19 vaccinations.

Rizek, which specialises in on-demand personal and home services – such as DIY, tutoring, and beauty and wellness – has added a feature that enables anyone, subject to their location in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to book a private COVID-19 vaccine to be conducted by a licensed professional at home.

The service doesn’t come cheap, however. According to the app, bookings start from AED 1,300 (approx. $354).

“Since our inception, we have been continuously raising the bar of customer-centric services, achieving several milestones over the past year alone that culminated into Rizek becoming the only app in the world to offer at-home COVID-19 vaccinations,” said Rizek founder and CEO, Abdallah Abu Sheikh. “This is an initiative that could not have been realised without the fundamental support that the UAE government and its leadership offer to everyone.”

THE LARGER CONTEXT

According to the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), the total number of doses administered now stands at 8.22 million, bringing the rate of doses to 83.12 per 100 people.

Four vaccines are currently being offered in the country: Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik V, and Oxford-AstraZeneca.

Prior to the vaccines being made available, Rizek – which was founded in 2019 – became the first non-healthcare app of its kind to introduce COVID-19 PCR testing in September 2020. Earlier this month, the company announced it has helped facilitate more than 100,000 COVID-19 PCR tests to date.

ON THE RECORD

Rizek co-founder Ahmed Mazroui added: “We are proud to be aligning with national initiatives to limit and stop the spread of COVID-19. We have continuously evolved our services to surpass the needs of the overarching UAE community, and by establishing the infrastructure to provide at-home PCR tests, we [were] the first app in the region and the Middle East to be doing so.”