Covid-19 has now killed about 730,000 people in the US, making it the deadliest pandemic in the nation's history, with more lives claimed than by HIV/Aids.
The tally comes as the US marks four decades since HIV — the virus that can cause Aids — was first detected in the country, and some are now looking at the two vastly different diseases and seeing parallels.
The US government's initial approach to both HIV/Aids and Covid was denial and indifference.
As Aids rampaged through communities in New York, San Francisco and elsewhere in the early 1980s, the administration of former president Ronald Reagan looked the other way.
Even as the disease claimed tens of thousands of American lives, Reagan slashed spending on public health agencies, and it wasn't until 1987 that he recognised the pandemic.
“I wish in the HIV response, they tried to bring all Americans along, and it wasn't just a problem that was in certain communities,” Kevin Fisher, director of policy, data and analysis for the Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, told The National.
“If they brought everybody along and said this is something that we all need to figure out, then it would have been better.”
When Covid-19 first arrived in the US, then-president Donald Trump repeatedly played down its dangers, dismissing it as akin to “a regular flu” — even after he knew it was far deadlier.
They're both diseases that kind of prey on human intimacy
Kevin Fisher,
Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition
Both crises have disproportionately affected minority groups and poorer communities. For Covid, people of colour have often had to keep working in front-line jobs while white and wealthier people stayed home.
For HIV/Aids, homosexuals and drug-using populations were hit hardest by the disease in the early days as it was transmitted primarily through unprotected sex and intravenous drug use.
“They're both diseases that kind of prey on human intimacy”, despite differences in how they're spread, Mr Fisher said.
More than 34,000 HIV infections were registered in the US in 2019, Kaiser Family Foundation data show.
HIV-related illness ranked tenth in leading causes of deaths for people between the ages of 25 and 34, and killed a total of 486 people in this age group in 2019, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Exact numbers are unknown, but it is believed that at least 700,000 people in the US have died as a result of HIV/Aids.
Covid cases are dropping nationwide but the US continues to report an average of 75,000 infections and 1,250 deaths daily, the CDC said.
The US leads the world in deaths from Covid.
“That's just heartbreaking that in a year and a half of this pandemic, we've seen so many, so many lives lost and especially since having the vaccine available,” Stephen Lee, executive director of the National Alliance of State & Territorial Aids Directors, told The National.
At the same time, Mr Lee said the US government has learnt some important lessons from HIV/Aids.
In 40 years of fighting the virus, health programmes and healthcare infrastructure have expanded, helping the US better address the current pandemic.
Despite his Covid denial, Mr Trump was quick to emphasise the need for a vaccine under the Operation Warp Speed public-private partnership that has helped create and roll out several Covid vaccines and treatments on an accelerated time frame.
“Some of the rapidity of which we see and saw the development of vaccine and treatment and prevention aspects around Covid was built on some of the experience we had with HIV,” Mr Lee said.
Mr Fisher noted how the early official response to HIV/Aids stigmatised sufferers.
With Covid, anti-Asian hate crimes spiked as Mr Trump and others blamed China for the virus.
While there is currently no cure for HIV or Aids, two people have been functionally “cured”: the PrEP pill significantly lowers the risk of HIV infection for at-risk communities and several antiretroviral pills treat HIV, making it a chronic, manageable condition.
Mr Lee and Mr Fisher said another lesson learnt from HIV/Aids was prioritising community engagement.
For instance, volunteer mutual-aid groups were created in local neighbourhoods and the administration of President Joe Biden formed a White House Covid-19 Equity Task Force as part of its national pandemic response.
Many US health leaders, including Mr Biden's top medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, and CDC chief Dr Rochelle Walensky, started their careers in HIV prevention and are now leading the US fight against Covid.
Mr Fisher and Mr Lee believe increased investment in public health infrastructure and future pandemic preparedness will help the world address both HIV and Covid.
“There are benefits that we can mine from the Covid response so far,” Mr Lee said.
“All the money and resources that are going into improving our public health infrastructure will have spillover effects and other aspects of communicable diseases like HIV.”
Much work remains to be done, however, including funding US plans to end the HIV/Aids health crisis by 2030, which Mr Biden said he supports.
“Remember that HIV is still there, it's still a major epidemic that we haven't got under control, and we need global commitment to try and finish the work on that,” Mr Fisher said.
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
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KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
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Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
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Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
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The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
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- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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