A leading British immunologist says governments should not overreact to new strains of Covid-19 if a significant proportion of their population is vaccinated against the disease.
Prof John Bell, an adviser to the UK government, said people should not “scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant”, because Covid-19 would circulate, “probably for ever”.
He said he was not unduly concerned by the UK's recent increase in case numbers fuelled by the Delta variant first seen in India, because hospital admissions were still low.
Britain on Tuesday recorded no Covid deaths for the first time since the pandemic began in March last year.
"I am pretty encouraged by what I see," Prof Bell told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday.
“We do need to keep our eye on hospitalisations, serious disease and deaths, which is really what we’re trying to manage," he said.
"If we scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant we’re going to spend a long time huddled away. We need to get a bit of balance in the discussion and keep our eye on the serious disease we’re trying to prevent.”
He said it was vital to get more young people vaccinated.
“This disease is here to stay, probably for ever, but that’s one of the reasons why we need to move on and try to suppress the disease as much as possible around the world, otherwise we’re going to sit here and get slammed by repeated variants as they come through the door,” he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday the UK remained on track to lift the last remaining social distancing restrictions on June 21.
However, he stopped short of promising to do so as he still needs more information to inform his decision.
"I can see nothing in the data at the moment that means we can't go ahead with step four, or the opening up on June 21, but we've got to be so cautious," he said.
"What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable against a new surge, and there I'm afraid the data is just still ambiguous.
“The best the scientists can say at the moment is we just need to give it a little bit longer."
On Wednesday the UK hit the milestone of having administered a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to three quarters of adults.
UK government data shows that more than 39.4 million people have received a first dose – 74.9 per cent of those aged over 18.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock was expected to praise the work of scientists for developing a coronavirus vaccine in less than a year when he addressed a G7 meeting in London this week.
“The biggest risk would have been the failure to find a vaccine at all. We explicitly embraced risk early on, so we backed lots of horses and invested at risk,” he was expected to say.
“And instead of sitting back and waiting to see which vaccines came off, we were tenacious in helping them to get over the line, drawing on the abundant industry experience in our team.”
Mr Hancock said on Tuesday that "vaccines are clearly working" but that Britain had not "beaten this virus yet".
However, it is hoped that, despite the spread of the Delta variant, vaccines will break the link between infection, hospital admissions and deaths.
The latest daily figure for admissions was 133, compared with a high of 4,500 in the winter. The number of people on ventilators in intensive care was 120 – down from 4,000 at its peak.
On Tuesday, 3,165 new infections were confirmed in the UK – the seventh consecutive day that the figure topped 3,000. The majority of new cases were said to be in people under 50, who had not received both doses.
Some scientists said that a third wave was taking hold and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon delayed the country's road map out of lockdown.
She said a "slight slowing down" of unlocking was needed while vaccines are distributed.
"The vaccines make the outlook positive, but the new variant means the road ahead is still potentially bumpy, so caution is necessary,” she said.
Several scientists, many of whom are advising the UK government, urged Mr Johnson to take a similar approach and postpone the last step of reopening for England.
Prof Adam Finn from the University of Bristol said many people were still vulnerable to Covid-19 – a warning to the public that "the idea that somehow the job is done is wrong".
“We've still got a lot of people out there who have neither had this virus infection nor been immunised and that's why we're in a vulnerable position right now,” he said.
Prof Ravi Gupta from the University of Cambridge said a delay of a few weeks could have a significant effect on Britain’s battle against the pandemic.
“We really should be making sure we think about what we're doing in the context of this new, unknown virus,” he said.
Pat Cullen, acting general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, urged ministers to pay close attention to hospital admissions.
"As the NHS starts the road to recovery, now is the time to take cautious steps and not take an unchecked leap to freedom," she said.
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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.”
Results
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
