The Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry began vaccinations for frontline medical workers battling the Covid-19 pandemic, after receiving 5,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine from Israel.
An additional 10,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine arrived on Thursday.
We were living with worry and constant fear of getting infected by the virus
Priority is being given to medical teams in intensive care units, as the first line of defence against the virus, the ministry said.
The health workers were given the Moderna vaccine after the ministry received 2,000 doses on Monday.
The elderly and people with chronic illnesses will be next to be inoculated, the ministry said.
The ministry will receive another 5,000 doses of the Sputnik vaccine in the coming days, as well as 37,000 vaccine doses from the World Health Organisation's Covax programme, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al Kaila said.
The ministry confirmed that the Palestinian Authority bought doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with a shipment to arrive soon.
Dr Shadi Al Laham, general director of Bethlehem Health Centre, was vaccinated on Wednesday.
"To take the vaccine was like a dream for us, as a medical team who were on the front line since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic," Dr Al Laham, 44, told The National.
“We were living with worry and constant fear of getting infected by the virus, especially because a lot of our colleagues were infected.
“This will protect us and help us keep providing our services to our nation.”
His medical team will receive a second dose after 28 days.
“If I get the chance to take the vaccine I will take it, because the nature of my work puts me in danger,” said Ayssar Al Barghoty, 33, a nurse from Ramallah.
“I think the first and only way to face coronavirus will be by receiving the vaccine. A lot of countries started vaccinating their citizens and no negative side effects were reported."
But Hussain Ramadan, 30, an ambulance driver from Ramallah, was more hesitant.
“I am not going to take the vaccine now," he said.
Mr Ramadan said he had concerns about the safety of the Sputnik vaccine.
“I am worried about the Russian vaccine in particular, there are a lot of people and elderly who refuse to take the vaccine also," he said.
"A lot of countries refused to take the Russian vaccine, this raises question marks for me.
“Instead, I will keep my protective procedures to guard myself from the virus and keep wearing the face mask all the time."
Deliveries of vaccine doses to the Gaza Strip are planned within the next two days, health official Dr Majdi Dahir said.
"About 300 to 500 doses are expected to arrive in Gaza today or tomorrow from the doses already delivered to the PA," Dr Dahir told The National.
“We are waiting for more doses some time in the middle of this month.
“The medical teams, elderly and those with chronic illness will be the first group to receive the vaccine."
Dr Dahir said that Gaza residents who wanted to be vaccinated could register on the My Health app, which was launched on Monday.
“About 2,500 residents registered until now through the app and the number is increasing,” Dr Dahir said.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
SWEET%20TOOTH
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
