Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, has been something of a cult hero during the coronavirus pandemic. So far he has even been viewed as unsackable by President Donald Trump.
But even heroes have off days. Dr Fauci last week carped about the British announcement that it has approved the vaccine produced by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, and that the first doses would be handed out as early as next week.
His suggestion that the UK had cut corners to beat the world to roll out the vaccine was immediately damaging. A tsunami of disinformation has been unleashed surrounding the Covid-19 vaccines. Anything that gives grist to the mill of conspiracists is bound to be damaging.
Read More from Damien McElroy
Dr Fauci is a rare character: a specialist expert who is known around the world. Quoting him knocking the vaccine will fuel the social media disinformation onslaught. The good doctor soon backtracked, explaining that he had reacted badly to the triumphalist tone of a British interviewer. He then vouched for the British regulator.
It is important to note that different national bodies deal with the approval process in their own way and the US is looking at a mid-December approval of the Pfizer application. Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency is due to make its decision on December 29.
All this provides an insight with regard to the fraught nature of the race to deploy vaccines. Once the medicine is ready, countries can move to break the cycle of lockdowns and restrictions that constrain daily social and economic life. Cyprus announced it would be first country to end the quarantine for those who have been vaccinated. Big business will flow from the provision of secure vaccine passports in 2021.
For all that, the concept of the vaccine race is deeply flawed. We won't know until January or February, at the earliest, how well the campaign is working. Even if "race" is a valid term, there remains a daunting series of challenges ahead – for those countries with the vaccine and those further down the line.
The world passed the grim milestone of 1.5 million global coronavirus deaths on Thursday, putting into stark relief the joy of those nations that plan to deliver the vaccines. Since November 23, more than 10,000 worldwide have died every day – the longest sustained period of fatalities at that level.
Mike Ryan, the World Health Organisation official who has steadily dispensed medical wisdom throughout 2020, declared bluntly on Friday that a vaccine will not mean zero Covid-19 in circulation. "By themselves, they will not do the job," he said. "And therefore we have to add vaccines into an existing public health strategy."
London’s breakthrough has unleashed great hopes but politicians have exhibited an unsavoury one-upmanship. Germany has built vast deep-freeze warehouses that will store batches of the vaccine before they are transported to Britain. For its part, the European Medicines Agency seems extraordinarily bureaucratic in waiting for a regular scheduled meeting at the end of the month before it authorises a vaccine.
But while Britain is getting the first supplies, it remains to be seen if it can really get the vaccine to the public. A network of more than 50,000 people with basic medical skills will be needed to administer the doses. There is scant evidence that this has been built.
It was noticeable that the Germans are quietly building this distribution system ahead of the vaccine approval decision.
Then there is the issue of how the vaccine gets distributed globally. How does that chime with the "me first" flag waving?
A major analysis published last week from the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy, assessed the impact of global vaccine distribution for 10 major economies, including the UAE. It said that funding for the Gavi Alliance's global distribution mechanism, known as the Covax-Advance Market Commitment, was vital. It aims to get vaccines delivered to 92 low-income countries through its own facility.
The Eurasia report said the economic boost for the UAE alone in 2021-22 would amount to $18.1 billion and add up to a cumulatively $69.7bn boost over five years. The 10 rich countries, as a whole, would gain almost half a billion dollars from getting the economy moving again.
The vaccine is no doubt a great achievement of 2020, but the history of the recovery is being written even as the suffering escalates
President Emmanuel Macron of France gave a very strong endorsement of a global push to roll out the vaccine at a UN symposium last week. It is worth quoting his words at length.
“These doses, whether they come from Europe, China, Russia or the United States, whether they are the fruit of donations from states or pharmaceutical companies, would thus be allocated effectively and fairly, on the basis of WHO recommendations,” Mr Macron said.
Getting to this point within a calendar year of the new virus being detected is a landmark achievement in the history of humanity. In countries where faith in the medical profession is high, vaccine rates can still be expected to be high.
However, the pitfalls ahead are myriad. The vaccine is no doubt a great achievement of 2020, but the history of the recovery is being written even as the suffering escalates. Delivering it is not just a managerial challenge. It is a task that requires strategic wisdom and careful messaging to get everybody onboard.
Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief of The National
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The five pillars of Islam
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Honeymoonish
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
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HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
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