Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Health, participates in clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccine. Abu Dhabi Government Media Office
Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Health, participates in clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccine. Abu Dhabi Government Media Office
Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Health, participates in clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccine. Abu Dhabi Government Media Office
We are on the cusp of an era of mass Covid-19 inoculation. The deployment of vaccines by drug makers Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinopharm and Gamaleya Centre promises to put the pandemic behind us. Justifiably, there is plenty of optimism about a return to a more normal arc of life.
A select number of people in the UAE have taken the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine, which has been approved for limited – or emergency – use, following the phase 3 trials of the drug that were carried out in the country. These are early days in the UAE's national Covid-19 vaccine programme. This effort will be ramped up over the coming weeks and months as the country aims to protect as many of us as possible while helping people move past the crisis. The expectation is that many more nations will begin their immunisation programmes soon.
Those who are on the Sinopharm vaccine programme have to take two doses within a month. And a month thereafter, their bodies will hopefully have developed enough antibodies to give them some level of protection from the coronavirus.
But the idea of immunity at a global level feels theoretical. While many thousands of people in the UAE have already taken part in the national vaccine programme, as well as in the earlier trials, there are not yet enough who have taken the vaccine to produce "herd immunity", which is needed to ensure that we have the coronavirus under control. I am not sure that point will be reached for some time, both at home and abroad.
It is important to understand that not everybody feels entirely comfortable taking the vaccine right away all over the world. There is much hesitancy particularly regarding taking any Covid-19 vaccine, which has been quickly developed compared to previous inoculations. This hesitancy is evident from a wide range of responses I have garnered during conversations. Some have demonstrated a curiosity, while others have been alarmist. Most responses have been somewhere in between, with some among them making it clear that they do not judge the choices made by others while admitting they do not themselves have the desire to take a vaccine.
That vaccine hesitancy is real should not be news to anyone. It has, after all, been an issue since well before the pandemic. For at least a decade, health authorities around the world have tried to grapple with this growing trend. Every country and every strata of society in those countries have been affected to differing degrees by this phenomenon. It cannot just be blamed on anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theories, rather the hesitancy about taking vaccines is often related to issues such as complacency, lack of convenience or lack of confidence.
The third factor is arguably the most pressing one, because only a minority are complacent about the risks of this disease and how it is impacting our lives as compared to other illnesses that we have had a vaccine for, for some time. Likewise, a lack of convenience should not be a factor, especially in the future, with governments around the world hard at work to make it as easy as possible for the public to receive the vaccine should they want to.
According to research conducted by the World Health Organisation, all three factors are linked, and being weak on tackling any one of them on the part of the public will undermine the efforts to vaccinate the largest number of people.
How to build that confidence then? Consistent and clear communication is key, obviously, as it is the foundation upon which trust is built. Even after getting the messaging right, which is not at all easy, it needs time to have an effect. There is no short cut to a sustained and long-term information campaign that will convince people that they can take a vaccine safely. It may take years and there is the worry of the continuing consequences to our well-being if the pandemic drags on that long.
There has been some discussion, in Australia, the UK and elsewhere, of requiring people to show inoculation certificates in order to fly on planes or go to the cinema. However, trying to compel people to take a vaccine won't achieve the objective of mass inoculation. Human psychology would fight against the idea.
Countries will, of course, get to the point of herd immunity eventually. Of that there is no doubt. The question is only how long it will take. In the meantime, to smoothen the process, we must find new reserves of patience and empathy to help get the job – and the jab – done.
Mustafa Alrawi is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
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
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
Do not drive outside designated lanes
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
