The world needs to urgently adopt a “vaccines plus” strategy to defeat the coronavirus pandemic that includes clear advice to take precautions against infection from airborne transmission, a global forum of experts have said.
Attempting to curtail the pandemic by immunity through either vaccines or infections was not working and was potentially harmful, the group said in a letter in the British Medical Journal, which instead set out new priorities around social restrictions, respirators and inoculations.
The strategy pursued by countries such as Britain, which was not named, was ineffective and could help the virus mutate, according to the paper signed by more than 100 doctors and scientists from around the world
The “high transmissibility and degree of immune escape” by the Delta and Omicron variants proved that sustained immunity was unlikely, especially with vaccines based on the original strain.
Widespread transmission brought “unpredictability to the pandemic response” and had resulted in “rapid adaptation” of the virus, making it more transmittable, virulent and capable of escaping antibodies.
“There are other drawbacks to a vaccines-only strategy,” the letter said. “Countries which tolerated high transmission have seen rises in both Covid-specific and all-cause mortality, healthcare worker shortages, and repeated lockdowns to control surges in case numbers.”
Currently Britain is experiencing extremely high infection rates, averaging 160,000 a day, leading to staff shortages across the workforce despite having one of the highest booster vaccine rates.
The paper argued that countries that suppressed transmission early on “saw reduced mortality and less economic damage”. China, which was not named, is the leading example of the so-called Zero Covid approach, with highly effective track-and-trace systems leading to lockdowns of cities suffering just a handful of infections.
“Some countries view infection as a net harm and pursue strategies ranging from suppression to elimination,” the letter said.
These countries aimed for low infection rates through a combination of vaccines, movement restrictions and financial support for businesses.
A failure to control high transmission rates created a “negative feedback loop” in which track and trace and public health “become overwhelmed, making them less effective, further fuelling transmission”.
The world needed to adopt a “vaccines-plus approach” to slow the emergence of new variants. This would also ensure that they could be more controlled allowing people to go about their daily lives.
Dr Ilan Kelman, an emergency planning expert at London University, welcomed the paper, saying it recognised that there was “no single solution”.
“The pandemic has to end at some point so it’s a question of how much hurt we want to cause in managing it,” he told The National. “If a balanced approach taking a variety of measures is not taken by all countries then this will only prolong the hurt.”
The paper also quoted WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who last month said that “vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis”.
The medics and scientists called on national governments and the World Health Organisation to rapidly undertake a series of measures as the vaccine-plus strategy.
They needed to “unequivocally declare” Covid as an airborne pathogen “to remove confusion that has been used to justify outdated policies”. The declaration would lead to the use of high-quality respirators for indoor gatherings as the benefits of face masks was now well established.
New measures were needed to filter air inside buildings beyond merely opening windows and they called for a “paradigm shift” to ensure all public buildings had clean air.
There should also be “set criteria for imposing or relaxing measures to reduce Covid-19 spread based on levels of transmission in the community”. Track and trace as well as isolation were essential to control the disease.
Finally, “urgent measures” were needed to achieve “global vaccine equity”, which includes sharing doses, suspension of patents and allowing technology transfer. Regional production centres were also needed to generate plentiful local supplies
“Failure to control the virus are likely to have a lasting impact on the well-being and prospects of the next generation,” the experts said.
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
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Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
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