Abu Dhabi will become a gateway to two thirds of the global population in need of Covid-19 vaccines, as the UAE prepares to play a major role in the worldwide pandemic recovery.
The largest logistical operation in modern times is preparing to establish new manufacturing plants and cold-chain distribution networks from the Emirates to serve nations most in need of immunisation.
This is not just for the UAE, we can reach 3.6 billion consumers around us
How that will look in the months and years to come was revealed at a high-level discussion on Monday morning.
The key players were speaking at a virtual conference organised by the Hope Consortium, an Abu Dhabi-based logistics group set up to deliver vaccines globally.
“When we started the Hope Consortium we wanted to provide a gateway to two thirds of the population; it is one of the largest logistical efforts of our time,” said Dr Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.
“Making sure the amount of vaccines are available is crucial.
“Sometimes you need to take the risks to make these achievements, and we are moving really fast towards data-based solutions.”
The rapid turnaround of PCR testing – from six days at the start of the outbreak to less than 24 hours today – was hailed as an example of that transition.
The huge volume of testing allowed health authorities to test, trace and isolate new cases without delay and that is set to continue, Dr Al Kaabi said.
'Vaccine manufacturing is a complex process'
The first Covid-19 vaccine production line in the UAE was announced on Sunday, and will play a key role in vaccinating millions of people in the region.
The joint Life Sciences and Vaccine Manufacturing in the UAE project will be led by Group 42, in partnership with Chinese drug maker Sinopharm.
Abu Dhabi's Group 42 said a dedicated facility would soon be built in the capital's Kizad freezone, in partnership with drug maker Julphar.
While doses are already being manufactured at Julphar's main plant in Ras Al Khaimah, the number is set to reach two million doses a month once full national capacity is reached.
Ashish Koshy, chief executive of G42 Healthcare, told the conference that production would begin later this year.
“Vaccine manufacturing is a complex process and it will take time to build a certified facility,” he said.
“The key is always partnerships to bring vaccines here with distribution and logistics to support the national mission.
“I’m confident this will move beyond this vaccine towards multiple vaccines to transport across the globe," Mr Koshy said.
“Abu Dhabi is blessed with the right human resources of doctors, researchers, scientists and engineers to support this.”
With Abu Dhabi in a key strategic position, close to Europe and Asia, it is well placed for a new manufacturing and distribution network.
Much depends on the UAE’s ability to deliver vaccines to areas without established refrigerated distribution networks.
With 3.6 billion people reachable within five hours of Abu Dhabi, it is ideally located to provide the service.
Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, group chief executive, Abu Dhabi Ports, said there was cold-store capacity to hold 180 million vaccines at temperatures as low as minus 80°C.
“We can handle 18 billion vaccines through Abu Dhabi with tracing from source to patient to ensure the journey does not compromise the vaccine.
“Investments in special vehicles and packages, from the airport to storage, has provided a total logistics solution," said Mr Al Shamisi.
"This is not just for the UAE, we can reach 3.6 billion consumers around us."
A year ago, Etihad's fleet of passenger aircraft was grounded, as international borders closed and air travel was brought to a standstill.
Since then, dedicated staff have been retrained in new Covid protocols with the airline's entire staff PCR checked or vaccinated before every flight.
Now Etihad is preparing to play a key role in vaccine delivery.
“The unique capability we have is a cold supply chain in our cargo network that has allowed us to give a strategic response quickly to the pandemic,” said Tony Douglas, group chief executive at Etihad Aviation, who backed the idea of a vaccination passport to open up international air travel.
"Now we can address the vaccine inequalities. With our network we are able to connect more than 170 countries.
“We have trained dedicated staff and over the course of the last 12 months, Etihad has flown to places not in our networks before.
“Our priority now is scaling up and having the capacity to get vaccines to those who need them most. That is the next challenge," said Mr Douglas.
“We need to adapt and adopt. Covid-19 will not go away anytime soon.”
Inside China's Sinopharm factory
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Company%20Profile
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Zayed Sustainability Prize
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
- Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into
- That's about it
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
RACE CARD
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Amith's selections:
5pm: AF Sail
5.30pm: Dahawi
6pm: Taajer
6.30pm: Pharitz Oubai
7pm: Winked
7.30pm: Shahm
8pm: Raniah
Easter%20Sunday
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
