The distribution of the first coronavirus vaccines was celebrated in the US this week as the country began to fight back against the virus that has killed more than 300,000 people, caused mass layoffs and stoked political divisions.
As intensive care nurse Sandra Lindsay rolled up her sleeve to receive a shot in New York on Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo praised healthcare "heroes" and called inoculations the "weapon that will end the war".
But vaccination campaigns raise their own headaches.
Some fear the rich and well-connected will elbow their way to the front of the line, while others doubt the safety of vaccines that have been researched, tested and made at record-breaking speeds.
This is especially true of African Americans, who have been badly hit by the pandemic, are poorly served by the country’s decentralised healthcare system and have historically experienced abuse at the hands of white doctors.
It did not go unnoticed that Ms Lindsay, Dr Yves Duroseau, the second person to receive the vaccine, and Dr Michelle Chester, the doctor who administered the shots at Long Island Jewish Medical Centre in Queens, New York, were all black.
Jade Ledgister, a Jamaican-American banker, was one of many social media users to question whether the rapidly produced vaccine was safe and why it was being used for the first time on blacks.
"It boils down to the fact that black people are always the guinea pig," Ms Ledgister told The National.
“If it goes wrong, it's a case of black people that are most adversely affected. They'll just write that down in their scientific journal. So I personally don't trust it.”
Ms Ledgister spoke of dark moments in US history, including Dr J Marion Sims, who was once praised as the “father of modern gynaecology” for his pioneering work on fistulas, but who experimented on enslaved black women without anaesthesia.
And starting in 1932, the US government studied hundreds of black American men in Tuskegee, Alabama, who were deliberately left untreated for syphilis even after penicillin had been discovered.
Ms Ledgister said she was inoculated against other diseases and was “not an anti-vaxxer”, a hardline but fragmented movement that claims vaccines cause autism and other health problems.
“I want to wait and see. I don't want to be the first guinea pig,” she said.
“I want other people to go ahead. Let me first see if they have any immediate reactions.”
A study this month by the Pew Research Centre found that while 71 per cent of black Americans know someone who has been put in hospital or died from Covid-19, only 42 per cent said they would be willing to get a vaccine.
Black Americans are sceptical, but many others are as well.
Only 61 per cent of whites said they would definitely or probably be vaccinated, compared to 63 per cent of Hispanics and 83 per cent of Asian Americans.
Overall, 39 per cent of Americans say they would not receive a coronavirus vaccine, including 21 per cent of adults who said they were “pretty certain” they would not change their mind when faced with new information.
A survey released on Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that a quarter of Americans said they probably or definitely would not receive a vaccine.
Republicans, black Americans and people living in rural areas were the most hesitant.
This causes a problem for federal health chiefs, who say a large number of Americans must receive vaccines to reach herd immunity and restore normality after months of lockdowns.
Ms Lindsay said Americans must “do our part” by receiving shots and protecting people at large, including the elderly and high-risk groups.
But, Ms Ledgister is not alone in wanting to wait and see.
Beyond general concerns about the fast pace of vaccine development is the anti-vaxxer movement, whose members espouse notions of vaccine flaws and conspiracy theories about global elites using the vaccines as a way to introduce tracking chips.
These ideas have been stoked by President Donald Trump, who played down the scale of the pandemic, belittled government scientists and proposed methods such as injecting disinfectant as a Covid-19 cure.
“When you have an anti-science element together with a divisiveness in the country, it will be challenging,” Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top infectious disease expert, said on Friday.
“But you know, we’ve done challenging things before.”
The Trump administration this week began the $250 million Building Vaccine Confidence campaign, a public education effort to encourage Americans to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Officials also have the more urgent task of sending millions of doses of vaccines across the country on lorries and jets in the super-cold storage required for Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine.
US officials are expected to grant emergency approval to Moderna’s vaccine on Friday.
The distribution of about six million doses of the second vaccine would help the effort.
But a coming major winter storm threatens to snarl distribution in the north-east.
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
RACECARD
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (PA) $50,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
6.35pm: Festival City Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
7.10pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic – Listed (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.45pm: Jumeirah Classic Trial – Conditions (TB) $150,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,600m
8.55pm: Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Dubai Dash – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,000m
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
MATCH INFO
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Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The five pillars of Islam
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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