India poised to pass China as most populous nation

China's COVID vaccines: How effective are they? [View this email online]( [NPR]( Goats and Soda editor's note Lauren Frayer/NPR The baby pictured above is [Vehant Singh, born in Mumbai on Nov. 9](. The photo was taken when he was 1 month old. He is part of a wave of newborns who will lift India's population past China this year and who will have far more opportunities than past generations. India correspondent Lauren Frayer wanted to write about one of the babies from this new generation. It took a long time to find the right family -- one that had migrated from the countryside to a big city. Eventually she met Naina Agrahari, who herself was born on the floor of her grandmother's rural home and who now lived in Mumbai. Her child would be the first baby in the family to be born in a hospital. But her newborn son had a blood infection that kept him in the hospital for 10 days. It was a scary time, says Frayer -- and a sign of how India is changing. "If that baby had been born on the floor of his grandmother’s house he probably would not have survived," Frayer reflects. "It perfectly illustrated what the story is about: this positive shift in Indian society. People are healthier, infant mortality has plummeted." Baby Vehant is now home and doing well, and his mother has high hopes for her son: "I want my child to study medicine and to go abroad for an even better education," Agrahari says, laughing off the idea that she's already grooming a tiny overachiever. [Read the story here](. Marc Silver Editor, Goats and Soda COVID news Tommy Trenchard for NPR [How a scrappy African startup could forever change the world of vaccines]( Afrigen is the linchpin of a global project to use mRNA technology to empower low-resource countries to make their own vaccines against killer diseases from tuberculosis to HIV. What will it take to succeed? [China's COVID vaccines: Do the jabs do the job?]( As case counts surge in China, rumors circulate about the effectiveness and safety of the made-in-China vaccines in use there. Here's what we know about CoronaVac and Sinopharm. looking back at 2022 Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR [Editors' picks: Our best global photos of 2022 range from heart-rending to hopeful]( The eye of the camera told the stories of kangaroo care for human babies, Angola's intrepid crew of women who dig up land mines, Ukrainian refugees who find a warm -- and familiar -- welcome in Brazil and more. [In memoriam: Female trailblazers who leapt over barriers to fight for their sisters]( They were pioneers in their fields, working to improve the health and lives of women and paving the way for female scientists. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- links we like - The killing of a 25-year-old LGBTQ+ activist who was also a fashion designer and model in Kenya "prompts[outcry over anti-gay attacks in Kenya,"]( reports The Guardian. - “If we go to sleep with a full stomach, I say to myself: ‘Good, we survived another day.' " That's a quote from a woman who's the head of a household in Yemen, where [the ongoing war takes a heavy toll on women-led households.]( The New Humanitarian covers the story. - The acclaimed young chef Kwame Onwuachi has a new restaurant, Tatiana, in New York's Lincoln Center, that[pays homage to his culinary inspirations]( -- including his Nigerian forebears. In its review, The New Yorker writes: "The most obvious showpiece is the short-rib pastrami suya, a single, hefty blackened rib, seasoned at the intersection of Jewish deli and northern-Nigerian barbecue." --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [goatsandsoda@npr.org](mailto:goatsandsoda@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Health, Daily News, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Goats and Soda emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]