This week, callers to the customer service number of Seha, Abu Dhabi’s public healthcare provider, have been greeted with a new pre-recorded message. “Dear customer, we would like to inform you that the Covid-19 vaccine is available.”
The UAE has announced that the Sinopharm vaccine, manufactured in China, is officially registered for use. Phase 3 trials have shown it to have an overall efficacy of 86 per cent.
The development of viable vaccines against coronavirus barely a year after it was first reported to exist is an unprecedented triumph in the history of medical science. It is, moreover, a testament to the strength of international co-operation during a year in which the pandemic suppressed cross-border travel and disrupted global supply chains. The Sinopharm vaccine has been trialled in various countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco.
Preparations to deploy the vaccine widely will mark a turning point at which we could not have arrived without the legion of volunteers who participated in various trial stages. Sinopharm trials began in the UAE in July, only a few months after the country reported its first cases. By September, when public health officials approved the vaccine for emergency use, 31,000 volunteers had participated. They embodied a wide cross-section of society, including government ministers, frontline workers, religious leaders and teachers, among others.
The early start to the process mirrors progress being made in the UK, which is the first country to begin mass deployment of a vaccine that has been tested in a large clinical trial. Unlike the UAE, where the vaccine is now available on a voluntary basis to anyone booking an appointment with Seha, the UK programme prioritises nine vulnerable groups of people. It utilises the Pfizer vaccine, which was tested on 43,000 individuals and shows 95 per cent efficacy. Morocco is also preparing for a mass vaccination campaign to begin this month, initially with the Sinopharm jab, followed by the vaccine developed by Oxford University and Astra Zeneca.
The Sinopharm vaccine is notable for relying on proven technology. It involves a killed version of coronavirus to boost the body’s immune response, whereas the Pfizer vaccine use memory RNA to target the virus’s spike proteins.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid receives the Sinopharm vaccine to protect against Covid-19 on November 3, 2020. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak receives the first of two shots of a vaccine that was trialled in the UAE. Wam
Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Sheikh Mansoor
Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, gets the Sinopharm jab.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, receives the Covid-19 Sinopharm vaccine on Saturday, October 31. Courtesy: UAE Government Twitter
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, receives his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Wam
Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, takes the Sinopharm vaccine. Courtesy: Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Twitter
Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, UAE Fatwa Council, is vaccinated with the Sinopharm innoculation on January 4, 2021. Wam
Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed, chair of Abu Dhabi's Executive Office, takes the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Media Office
The UAE's health minister, Abdulrahman Al Owais, receives the Sinopharm vaccine.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, gives a thumbs up as he is vaccinated against Covid-19.
Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, president of the UAE Football Association, receives the Covid-19 vaccine.
Khalifa bin Dary, executive director of Dubai Ambulance Services Corporation, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office
Lt Col Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad Al Nahyan, director of special patrols at Abu Dhabi Police, receives the Covid-19 vaccine. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Police
Maj Gen Mohammed Al Marri, director general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office
Maj Gen Talal Al Falasi, director general of Dubai's State Security Department, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office
Abdullah Al Falasi, director general of Dubai Government Human Resources Department, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office
Amer Sharif, head of Dubai's Covid-10 Command and Control Centre, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office
Obaid Al Shamsi, director general of the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, takes the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine
According to the UAE trial results, the Sinopharm vaccine has a high seroconversion rate, creating antibodies against coronavirus in 99 per cent of those administered with it. The trial also showed it to be 100 per cent effective in “preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease”, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention. After booking an appointment with Seha, individuals can receive the first of two shots. The second follows three weeks later.
While the availability of a viable vaccine to the public will signal the start of a return to normal life, mass vaccination is sure to be a gradual progress, whether in the UAE or elsewhere. In the meantime, the public’s health and its hope for a brighter tomorrow will continue to rely on vigilance, care and a sense of civic responsibility on the part of individuals.
The rewards are clear. In Abu Dhabi, where a rigorous regime of public-health measures have largely kept the virus at bay, authorities announced yesterday that most restrictions will be lifted within the next fortnight. The emirate will resume “all economic, tourism, cultural and entertainment activities,” officials said. That is not only a sign of what we can look forward to, but also how much we achieved in the face of a remarkably challenging year.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
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
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
Last-16 Europa League fixtures
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
