Bill Gates shares vlog from Abu Dhabi's 'cool' vaccine storage warehouse


Gillian Duncan
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Bill Gates has shared a video of his tour of a huge vaccine warehouse in Abu Dhabi, where millions of Covid-19 shots are stored.

The vlog shows Mr Gates inspecting the facilities of the Hope Consortium in Kizad.

He posted it to his Twitter account with the quote: “This warehouse is cool – for many reasons.”

It has since clocked up more than 184,000 views.

The video gives an insight into the massive logistical operation involved in storing vaccines, which need to be monitored carefully to ensure they do not spoil.

It takes viewers inside the sprawling warehouse, where vaccines are stored in boxes and crates on towering shelves.

“We’re in Abu Dhabi in the UAE looking at a big vaccine warehouse,” he says, standing in front of the building.

“It’s very modern. It’s got a lot of great refrigeration capacity. Things are tracked very well. It’s impressive to see millions Covid vaccines all in one place.

“Most vaccines spoil at room temperature and depending on the vaccine it either has to be below 8 degrees or it might have to, like some of the newer vaccines, be even colder.”

But figuring out how to get vaccines to countries is difficult, he said.

“As things get very complex, overwhelming the refrigeration capacity in some countries, having an intermediate stock like this can help a lot.

“Logistics are important, particularly if you have vaccines that expire in a short period of time. Vaccines save lives. Having vaccines here ready to go shows people have really stepped up in this pandemic.”

The consortium, made up of Department of Health Abu Dhabi, Etihad Cargo, Abu Dhabi Ports, Maqta Gateway, Rafed, and SkyCell, was established last year with the mission to distribute billions of vaccine doses around the world.

Earlier this year, the Hope Consortium expanded a vast freezer farm set up to store Covid-19 vaccines at ultra-cold temperatures.

Abu Dhabi Ports took delivery of an additional 32 freezers at its Kizad storage facility, raising the number of units to 53.

Hope Consortium vaccine hub - in pictures

  • Vaccines require special conditions and this Abu Dhabi centre is able to provide them all.
    Vaccines require special conditions and this Abu Dhabi centre is able to provide them all.
  • Boxes of vaccines at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
    Boxes of vaccines at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
  • Dr Omar Najim, executive director at the Department of Health, at the Hope Consortium centre in Abu Dhabi.
    Dr Omar Najim, executive director at the Department of Health, at the Hope Consortium centre in Abu Dhabi.
  • Boxes of vaccines at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
    Boxes of vaccines at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
  • Robert Sutton, head of the Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, in the UAE's largest freezer centre, where temperatures are set for the various vaccines stored at the facility.
    Robert Sutton, head of the Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, in the UAE's largest freezer centre, where temperatures are set for the various vaccines stored at the facility.
  • Robert Sutton, head of the Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, in the UAE's largest freezer centre, where temperatures are set for the various vaccines stored at the facility.
    Robert Sutton, head of the Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, in the UAE's largest freezer centre, where temperatures are set for the various vaccines stored at the facility.
  • A stacker crane handles boxes of vaccines, placing them on the shelves at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
    A stacker crane handles boxes of vaccines, placing them on the shelves at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
  • Robert Sutton, head of the Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, in the UAE's largest freezer centre, where temperatures are set for the various vaccines stored at the facility.
    Robert Sutton, head of the Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, in the UAE's largest freezer centre, where temperatures are set for the various vaccines stored at the facility.
  • Boxes of vaccines at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
    Boxes of vaccines at the Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
  • The Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
    The Hope Consortium Vaccine Hub in Abu Dhabi.
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1. Fasting 

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Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
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Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg

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Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
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Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
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PRESIDENTS CUP

Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:

02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
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03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
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03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland

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Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm

Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm

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There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Updated: May 21, 2022, 1:01 PM