A University of Oxford scientist has blamed “bad behaviour” from politicians and figures in science for damaging the reputation of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, causing a lack of confidence he says “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people”.
Prof Sir John Bell, who helped drive the vaccine’s development, said the effect of such behaviour was far-reaching and affected the worldwide battle against the coronavirus.
"They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world,” he told the BBC.
“I think bad behaviour from scientists and from politicians has probably killed hundreds of thousands of people – and that they cannot be proud of.”
The Oxford-made shot has suffered several blows to its reputation since being approved for use in the UK in December 2020.
British advisers recommended that people under 40 should be offered alternatives to the dose due to a link to rare blood clots, while fears over possible side effects prompted several European countries to suspend use of the vaccine.
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria and Iceland paused the use of the AstraZeneca shot.
Ian Jones, a professor of virology at Britain’s Reading University, said the blood clot issue had “been picked up by politicians who don’t know one side of a virus from another”.
“It’s like falling dominoes. You just need one or two [countries] to state there’s a problem and suspend use, and then a whole lot of others will fall in place. I don’t think there have been any independent decisions,” he said.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine was initially billed as a UK success story and called “Britain’s gift to the world”.
Scientists designed the shot to be cheap, easy to transport and be stored at fridge temperature.
Prof Bell said politicians’ promotion of the vaccine as a product of Britain added to the souring of relations with the EU.
“I don’t think it made with relations with Europe any easier that it was promoted as the British vaccine,” he said.
He was speaking to the BBC for its documentary, AstraZeneca: A Vaccine for the World, to be broadcast on the network on Tuesday at 9pm.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the continent's most high-profile critics of the shot.
“We have to be realistic: the real problem with the AstraZeneca vaccine is that it doesn’t work in the way we expected,” he said. “We have very little information … but all the indications today are that it is quasi-ineffective for those over 65 years old.”
Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts accused AstraZeneca of being dishonest and arrogant about the effectiveness of its coronavirus vaccine and said the company had “over-promised and under-delivered”.
Last April the European Medicines Agency concluded that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as "very rare side effects" of the shot.
The latest government data from December 2021 showed the UK had ordered 189 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, nearly double the 100 million AstraZeneca doses ordered.
As of January 26 this year, an estimated 25.6 million first doses of the Pfizer shot and 24.9 million first doses of the AstraZeneca drug had been administered. For second doses the figure for Pfizer was 22.5 million and 24.2 million for AstraZeneca.
However, amid scepticism abroad, the AstraZeneca vaccine has not played a major role in the UK’s booster campaign. The National Health Service website states that Pfizer and Moderna jabs will be offered as boosters.
"Some people may be offered a booster dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine if they cannot have the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine," it says.
The shot accounts for only 48,000 of the more than 37 million booster doses given in the UK.
Despite the easing of coronavirus restrictions, Covid-19 cases continue to rise is some areas.
Around three in 10 areas in Britain recorded a week-on-week rise in infection rates on Friday.
The five UK areas with the biggest week-on-week rises were Exeter, Hart, Forest of Dean, Guildford and North Devon.
Scotland recorded two more coronavirus deaths and another 5,593 positive cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, while the number hospital admissions fell.
There were 958 people in hospital on Saturday with Covid-19, down from 990 on Friday and from 1,291 on the same day last week.
The UK recorded 54,095 new infections and 75 deaths on Sunday.
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Desert Warrior
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
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.”
