Anti-vaccination protesters stand outside of the New Jersey State House as the Assembly passes a bill to limit vaccine religious exemptions in December 2019. USA Today Network
Anti-vaccination protesters stand outside of the New Jersey State House as the Assembly passes a bill to limit vaccine religious exemptions in December 2019. USA Today Network
Anti-vaccination protesters stand outside of the New Jersey State House as the Assembly passes a bill to limit vaccine religious exemptions in December 2019. USA Today Network
There is no vaccine for the Covid-19 pandemic but that has not stopped the conspiracy theorists playing a profoundly important role in the course of the outbreak.
The global anti-vaccine pushback, which is particularly powerful in the US, has metamorphosed through the emergence of the coronavirus. German protest groups have proliferated on the back of a decades-old Stuttgart-based schools movement, while France has seen a groundswell of alternative medicine proponents.
As bad as the coronavirus tragedy is, there is an enormous constituency that is getting ready for a battle of wills over the vaccine. Never before has a treatment been so anticipated. If it emerges, it could be delivered to an unprecedented six billion people. After all, the old as well as the young will need a shot at the same time.
Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have betrayed promises to reign in the spread of fake theories and pseudo advice. So one of the most virulent information storms in history is building up. While the vaccine is the future crescendo, the fight over health and preventative measures is the here and now.
The current advice on stopping the spread of Covid-19 has encountered massive resistance. The anti-vaxxers movement has spread its tentacles through US society – and elsewhere – by protesting the lockdown.
Vociferous campaigns against masks and face coverings are the most obvious products of this refusenik strain. Its supporters argue that the state is exerting control over individuals through public health measures. Speaking to a Florida official commission hearing last week, one woman opined that wearing a mask was "trying to throw out God's wonderful breathing system".
The latest ruse among mask opponents is carrying laminated cards that proclaim that the holder is exempt from any government regulation stipulating its adoption.
The cause of not wearing a mask has taken off and has echoes of the 1918 leagues in the US against wearing a face covering. Sadly, official advice from scientists and regulators on preventive face masks has been weak in many countries. The political edge to the debate means that video-fuelled social media campaigns are all the more vociferous and effective.
For a taste of how all the issues provided by Covid-19 link together, look at the toxic swamp of attacks on Bill Gates.
The US computing pioneer has set aside nearly $50 billion for his own charitable foundation. If the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was a country, it would rank as something like the 90th richest state in the world. Yet conspiracists twist this giving into an argument that the pandemic is a tool for Mr Gates to control the world. He is said to have the World Health Organisation under his spell. Now, by dint of America's withdrawal of WHO funding, the foundation could end up as its largest source of funds. But that is a long chalk from asserting that he controls the UN body.
Bill Gates and his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have faced opposition all over the world, including in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AFP
Other online claims are that Mr Gates controls a patent holder that unleashed the coronavirus. Posts have recycled a fabricated rumour that Mr Gates has an active agenda to reduce the world population, either by sterilisation and enforced birth control, or by unleashing diseases. Other conspiracies hone in on questions over why the foundation has been organising “pandemic-prepping” events – frequently referred to as "Event 201" – to be ready to capitalise on an upcoming novel virus on the loose.
The foundation rebuts any figures that are thrown its way but it has little hope of reversing the narrative. The conspiracists have no heed to reason. Confusion is not limited to mobilising a fearful minority. As the social media platforms sowed the wind, America now reaps the whirlwind with its daily infection rates hitting four records in succession last week.
A paper from the Brookings Institution has shown how the country can still move on to the next phase. By marrying the work of epidemiologists with that of economists, the paper said that the infection rate could be contained even as businesses re-opened. It warned that a renewed lockdown would be disastrous.
People walk past a sign reading "Wear a Mask" displayed in a shop window in Hudson, New York this week. Bloomberg
A worker wearing a protective mask grinds coffee at Breadfolks, a bakery and cafe, in Hudson, New York. Bloomberg
Harris County election clerk Kathy Kellen wears a mask and face shield while working at a polling site in Houston, Texas this week. AP Photo
People protest against mandates to wear masks amid the coronavirus pandemic in Austin, Texas this week. Reuters
Infowars host Owen Shroyer arrives at a protest against mandates to wear masks in Austin. Reuters
Black Lives Matter protesters confront people protesting against mandates to wear masks in Austin. Reuters
A Black Lives Matter protester reacts towards people protesting against mandates to wear masks amid the pandemic in Austin, Texas this week. Reuters
Erik Webb wears a rainbow face mask during the coronavirus outbreak in San Francisco, California this week. AP Photo
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, wearing a face mask, prepares to testify before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee in Washington this week. Reuters
Jerome Powell, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, sits behind a protective barrier while wearing a protective mask during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington this week. Bloomberg
Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wears a Washington Nationals protective mask before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington this week. Bloomberg
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, removes a face mask to protect against the spread of the coronavirus in Wilmington, Delaware this week. AP Photo
Colorado Governor Jared Polis puts on his face mask after a news conference about the state's efforts to cut the spread of the coronavirus in Denver this week. AP Photo
Holding up a mask, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, right, urges the public to use masks as he speaks during a news conference with Vice President Mike Pence in Rockville, Mayland this week. AP Photo
The lion statue in front of the 42nd street New York Public Library adorns a protective mask to remind the public to wear masks. EPA
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump continues to not wear a mask. Here. he speaks in the presence of Response coordinator for White House Coronavirus Task Force Deborah Birx, left, and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci in Washington. AFP
“If countered by a second round of economic shutdowns, short-term unemployment could become long term, firms could close, and prospects for a quick recovery could be significantly impaired.”
Instead, it argues that by accepting four principles, the US can still contain the worst ravages of the outbreak. These are to place limitations on mass gatherings, especially those indoors; encouragement of widespread wearing of masks; increased testing; and special shielding protections for the vulnerable, particularly for the elderly in care homes.
The projected death toll would still rise from the current 130,000 level to about 160,000 by the end of the year. By contrast, a failure to impose any restrictions and rejecting a second wave shutdown would see a death toll of 450,000 by January.
It is therefore important to remember that dangerous times, both online and in the streets, should not trump the basic facts of how disease spreads.
Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief of The National
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
Tourism industry knowledge.
Professional ethics.
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta) Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli) Best Team: Atalanta Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta) Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia) Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus) Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan) Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
