A booster shot is the most effective protection against Covid-19 for those who have taken two shots of the Sinopharm vaccine, doctors said at the Arab Health trade exhibition in Dubai.
Dr Gehad ElGhazali, lead immunologist at the government-run Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, reported a "very strong" response in the body's immune system once a double dose of the Sinopharm vaccine was topped up with a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Although we see antibodies in those who have had the virus, we still do not know how long they may last for
In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Health is also offering a third dose of the Sinopharm vaccine for those who had a second dose six months ago.
Dr ElGhazali said immunity began to drop six months after a second dose of the Sinopharm shot was administered, but a booster was safe and effective in tests.
“We have seen a very strong immune response when a third booster of Pfizer has been administered following two doses of Sinopharm,” he said.
“When there is natural infection from the virus, we see an immune response after about three weeks, and we see a similar response following a second vaccine dose.”
Research around the world is under way to determine how effective mixing vaccines is in offering greater protection against new variants of Covid-19.
A recent German study looked at subjects receiving one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, followed eight weeks later by a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.
Blood samples showed that protection in people given two different vaccines was four times higher than in those who received two doses of the Pfizer shot.
The focus on long-term immunity
Mixing vaccines could provide more options to health authorities treating more vulnerable patients.
"From the beginning, we have observed variance in the immune response," Dr ElGhazali said.
“Those patients with defective T cells or some kind of anaemia have a worse response to the virus.”
T cells aid the body’s production of antibodies to kill off cells infected by the virus.
Covid-19 infections can cause lymphopenia, a disorder that damages T cells and other white blood cells, and is more pronounced in severely ill patients.
Studies have shown the majority of people infected with Covid-19 develop a strong T-cell response, which bodes well for potential long-term immunity against the virus – but that is far from certain.
"Given the nature of this virus, there will be a Sars-CoV 3 and 4, and we just hope it will not pose an existential threat to humans," said Prof Basel Al Ramadi, chairman of medical microbiology at UAE University in Al Ain.
“We only have a few vaccines now, but there are more than 280 under development.
“Most are injectable but a minority are taken orally.
“Ideally we want memory T cells from these vaccines that can control the infection.”
A Phase 3 trial of 1,000 patients in the UAE who had the Sputnik V vaccine will assess the presence of antibodies and T cells four months after receiving the shot.
Prof Al Ramadi said asymptomatic or mild cases of the disease triggered a stronger T-cell response in patients when compared with those with moderate or severe symptoms.
A scarcity of T cells was also reported in older people and those who became ill with Covid-19.
"Although we see antibodies in those who have had the virus, we still do not know for how long they may last," Prof Al Ramadi said.
Children receive Covid-19 vaccine – in pictures
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.”
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India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.
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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
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
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Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
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Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
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Winner: Son Of Normandy, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Rawat Al Reef, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
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7pm: UAE Arabian Derby – Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Dergham Athbah, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Emirates Championship – Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Irish Freedom, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
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A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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