US President Joe Biden welcomed the announcement that US regulators authorised a third Covid-19 vaccine.
The Food and Drug Administration said on Saturday that it granted an emergency-use authorisation for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for people 18 and older.
But Mr Biden issued a warning that the country could not become complacent.
"This is exciting news for all Americans and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis," he said.
"But we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable."
The FDA announcement came after the US reported 500,000 Covid-19 deaths and at a time when health officials are raising concerns that a recent decline in new cases may be stalling.
The Johnson & Johnson shot is highly effective at preventing severe Covid-19, with no serious side effects, agency staff said in a report on Wednesday.
On Friday, a committee of outside advisers to the FDA voted unanimously that the vaccine's benefits outweigh any risks. Johnson & Johnson is prepared to ship between three million and 4 million doses across the US.
“We’re in a race between the virus mutating, new variants coming out that could cause further disease, and stopping it. We need to get this vaccine out,” said Jay Portnoy, director of the division of allergy, asthma and immunology at Children’s Mercy Hospital, who supported an emergency authorisation.
The shot is expected to be easier to distribute and administer than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna shot, which were cleared by the FDA late last year.
To reach full effectiveness, those shots require two doses to be given several weeks apart. They must also must be kept at very cold temperatures, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored in a fridge for long periods of time.
The inoculation drive in the US accelerated in recent weeks, with more than 70.5 million doses given as of Friday. However, Mr Biden said the rise of new variants still posed a threat.
"As I have said many times, things are still likely to get worse again as new variants spread, and the current improvement could reverse," Mr Biden said on Saturday.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is one of the few tested in clinical trials against a variant and it had a 64 per cent efficacy rate at preventing moderate-to-severe disease in South Africa.
The company said on Friday that it was developing a second-generation vaccine that would focus on the South African variant and would be ready to start Phase 1 trials this summer.
Its current vaccine uses a common cold virus known as adenovirus type 26 to introduce coronavirus proteins into cells in the body and trigger an immune response.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are based on new messenger RNA technology, showed higher efficacy rates in their pivotal trials when tested using two doses versus J&J's single-shot vaccine.
But experts cautioned against close comparisons because the trials had different goals and the Johnson & Johnson trial was conducted while the more contagious new variants were circulating.
The company is testing a two-dose version of its vaccine, with results expected this summer.
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
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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