Work continues to develop Covid-19 vaccines effective against new coronavirus variants.
And some researchers are eyeing an even more ambitious goal: to create broad-spectrum vaccines protective against new types of virus - even before they emerge.
Researchers have warned, however, that there are significant technical hurdles to overcome before such “pan-virus” or “pan-coronavirus” vaccines could be released.
Here's what we know so far:
Why do we need a better vaccine?
Events in recent decades – and not just the latest pandemic – have highlighted the possible need for such widely applicable jabs.
In 2002, a novel coronavirus sparked the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) epidemic, while the coronavirus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) was first identified in 2012.
And the concern is that more deadly viruses could emerge.
You could create a vaccine with enough different sorts of antibodies that there's no way the virus could escape
Bats, for example, play host to hundreds of coronaviruses, some of which could cross the species barrier and infect humans. Such a scenario is thought to be behind the current pandemic – and it could happen again.
Writing in the journal Nature this week, two US-based researchers, Prof Dennis Burton and Prof Eric Topol, called for the development "pan-virus vaccines" that could be developed and deployed "before the next emerging infection becomes a pandemic". The hope is that emerging pathogens could be snuffed out before they get the change to take hold globally.
“We call for an investment now in basic research leading to the stockpiling of broadly effective vaccines,” they wrote.
While it took less than a year to design, test and approve a vaccine against Covid-19, no vaccines developed against Sars or Mers have ever been approved, and any new pathogens that emerge may prove harder than Sars-CoV-2 (the pathogen causing the current pandemic) to create vaccines against.
So, having vaccines pre-developed that are effective against a range of coronaviruses (for example) could be a useful safety measure.
Preventing pandemic 2.0
Broadly neutralising antibodies, effective against multiple strains of particular types of virus (such as different strains of coronavirus or multiple types of influenza viruses) could be “first-line drugs” or be used to design vaccines.
Widely applicable vaccines have been suggested before, said Prof Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading in the UK, but they represent a “very long-term” project. He warned that it could be difficult to secure continued funding to develop them once the pandemic is over.
"Even then there could be no guarantee it would work for a new virus until that virus emerged and was tested," he told The National.
“For many viruses, the creation of a vaccine is not the time-limiting step; it is the scale-up and clinical trials, both of which would still be needed in the case of a new outbreak”.
As well as the emergence of all-new strains of coronavirus, widely applicable vaccines may also help to protect against variants of the coronavirus behind the current pandemic.
Vaccines recently developed appear to be less effective against the South African strain of the coronavirus in particular, causing scientists to scramble to develop tweaked vaccines or booster shots to cope with them. This highlights the potential value of having a ready-made vaccine able to cope with new variants before they evolve.
Early trials this year
Despite the challenges, efforts to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine are already underway. Last month, VBI Vaccines, based in Massachusetts, US, provided an update on trials of two vaccine candidates, one a pan-coronavirus vaccine candidate that uses the spike proteins of Sars-CoV, Mers-CoV and Sars-CoV-2, the last of which is the pathogen causing the current pandemic.
The company said that it was hoping to begin clinical trials later this year.
“The Covid-19 challenge we face as an industry is two-fold: first, how do we get the ongoing pandemic under control, and second, how do we ensure long-term protection against known and emerging coronaviruses,” Jeff Baxter, the company’s president said in a statement in January.
News reports have suggested that mice injected with the pan-coronavirus vaccine candidate developed antibodies effective against, not just the three coronaviruses used to design the vaccine, but also a fourth coronavirus that causes colds in people.
The suggestion is that the immune system was prompted by the myriad antigens it was presented with to produce these broadly neutralising antibodies.
Other ways to develop broad-spectrum vaccines are also being pursued, including by synthesising tiny nanoparticles that include sections of multiple coronaviruses.
'Escape-proof' shots
Experts acknowledge the difficulties involved in developing vaccines that have a wide spectrum of effectiveness.
“If we could have a vaccine that protects against variant strains, that would be hugely helpful,” said Prof David Salisbury, former chairperson of the World Health Organisation’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunisation and former director of immunisation at the UK Department of Health.
“Whether this can be the way with one single cross-protective vaccine is a huge challenge. Alternatively, we may have to vaccinate with combinations of coronavirus vaccines, like we do with flu, or against four separate strains.”
With flu, people are sometimes given with a trivalent vaccine, which protects against three flu viruses, or a quadrivalent vaccine, which protects against four.
With Sars-Cov-2, it is “perfectly viable” to develop a vaccine effective against variants that might emerge in future, said Prof David Taylor, professor emeritus of pharmaceutical and public health policy at University College London.
The spike protein of Sars-CoV-2 latches on to the ACE2 receptor of human cells to gain entry to them, and there is a limited number of ways in which this spike protein could change and still be able to do this, said Prof Taylor. The spike protein is the part of the virus vaccines target, as they stimulate the production of antibodies that recognise it.
“You could theoretically work out the options it could go to and create an escape-proof vaccine with enough different sorts of antibodies that there’s no way the virus could escape,” he said.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
Dubai World Cup Carnival card:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 | 2,410 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
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More on Quran memorisation:
Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
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A Dog's Journey
Directed by: Gail Mancuso
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott
3 out of 5 stars
The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
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Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
