Scientists in England are trying to combine the Covid-19 vaccine and flu shot to accelerate coronavirus booster programmes, it has been revealed.
Matthew Duchars, chief executive of the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, said his team would be evaluating the effectiveness of a single injection medicine.
Epidemiologists and vaccine manufacturers believe booster shots will be needed if coronavirus lockdowns are to be avoided.
“It will save a lot of time and it would be a lot more convenient to give just one shot, so it is something that we and vaccine developers and producers will be looking at,” Dr Duchars said.
“Let’s say we do need to give a seasonal vaccine and people need one shot for flu, and one shot for Covid and another for something else. If you can put them all into one, then that’s obviously preferable.”
If the combined vaccine is feasible it would be produced at VMIC, a £215 million ($297.9m) complex being built in Oxfordshire to become the UK’s first dedicated plant for developing and manufacturing vaccines.
VMIC expects to produce 70 million doses of a vaccine within four to five months.
“Our target is reasonable. I feel confident we can do that. Can we do it faster? Possibly. Hopefully. We’ll absolutely be working on trying to do that,” Dr Duchars said.
He said the UK’s vaccine stockpile was so vast that VMIC’s capabilities would not be needed until 2022.
The plan for a vaccine factory was first developed in 2018 and over the past year has centred on the coronavirus vaccine developed in Oxford.
The British government plans to start using VMIC's products next year.
“In our discussions, the [government] plan is to use VMIC for the revaccination campaign in 2022. That’s what we’ve refocused our efforts and attention on,” Dr Duchars said.
The UK is now out of its most recent coronavirus lockdown and almost all of the restrictions imposed have been lifted with most aspects of everyday life returning to near normality.
For several months, vaccine manufacturing companies have said they expect that fully inoculated people would need an extra dose to maintain protection and fend off new coronavirus variants.
A growing list of governments, including those in Chile, Germany and Israel, have decided to offer booster doses to older citizens or people with weak immune systems to curtail the fast-spreading Delta variant.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
