Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and health agencies are hyperfocused on mitigation efforts such as masking and physical distancing, as well as vaccine logistics—as they should be. But they continue to ignore, much to everyone’s peril, a parallel, ever-worsening public health crisis: the damage done by the spread of medical mis- and disinformation online.
Like other countries in the region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was deeply affected by the pandemic. However, its foresight and proactive policies helped to create opportunities out of the challenges and spurred the development of trilateral collaborations involving government, academia and industry.