Pfizer vaccine trial shows 95% success rate

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has ended its COVID-19 vaccine trial with a 95% success rate, the company said Wednesday͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [A special note from The World's host Marco Werman](: You may be familiar with my voice on The World every day, but behind the scenes, there are incredible people who are essential in bringing our production to life. They are the reporters, producers and editors working around the clock, and as we speak, to cover the stories you depend on. As world leaders wring their hands over how to tackle the climate crisis, each week, The World brings you stories of individuals and groups finding climate solutions. And while other news outlets are now trying to explain why so many Latino voters turned out for US President Donald Trump, we were telling the stories of this diverse voting bloc all year long — digging deeper to understand the motivations, hopes and unique experiences of young Latino voters casting presidential ballots for the first time. Who we are matters because we bring our full selves to this job. The World newsroom gets to the bottom of every story, takes risks and highlights the communities most impacted by the headlines. I’m asking you today to take a moment in your busy day to meet us, to see who we are. Find us at [theworld.org/WhoWeAre]( And while you’re there, please consider [supporting the work we do](. — Marco Werman [Donate now]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today COVID-19 vaccine development clears yet another hurdle [People walk past Pfizer world headquarters in New York City, Nov. 9, 2020.]( Credit: Bebeto Matthews/AP/File photo Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has ended its COVID-19 vaccine trial [with a 95% success rate](, the company said Wednesday. With the strong results, [Pfizer will move forward]( with a quick application for emergency use authorization with the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy rate for the late-stage tests surpassed the 90% figure from the company’s interim numbers. With 43,000 volunteer participants, there were [170 cases of the coronavirus](. But only eight people who contracted the disease had been given the real shot, with the other 162 receiving a saltwater placebo. Of the 10 individuals who experienced severe COVID-19, only one had gotten the actual vaccine. Pfizer expects to produce 50 million vaccine doses this year, and then as many as [1.3 billion doses in 2021](. Pfizer’s vaccine is being developed with German partner BioNTech and saw consistent results across age and ethnic groups. Adults over 65 — exceptionally vulnerable to the coronavirus — [had an efficacy rate of 94%](. The company said side effects for its vaccine were just mild to moderate and did not linger. Older people, with less strong immune systems, ironically tended to report fewer adverse events from the trial. Moderna released preliminary findings Monday — 94.5% effectiveness — for its similar vaccine, which also relies on messenger RNA technology. The findings have both boosted hopes that an epidemiological end to the pandemic is nearer than expected, as government officials plan how to roll out the inoculations. But logistical and political obstacles [could still slow down the distribution process]( (🎧). What The World is following Acting US Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announced Tuesday that President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to [reduce the troop presence in Afghanistan and Iraq]( by Jan. 15, just days before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. The number of forces in Afghanistan will drop from 4,500 to 2,500, and the total US service members in Iraq will be cut from 3,000 to 2,500. Meanwhile, in another rash move by Trump prior to leaving office, the president fired a Department of Homeland Security official, Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, who had [denounced claims of voter fraud]( in the presidential election. And, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) [cleared Boeing’s 737 Max jet to fly again]( after being grounded for 20 months. Back-to-back crashes involving faulty plane software killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. “Boeing’s design changes, together with the changes to crew procedures and training enhancements, will give them the confidence to validate the aircraft as safe to fly in their respective countries and regions,” the FAA said in a statement. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Marie Stopes International name change will ‘put a focus on the future’ of reproductive choice, CEO says]( [Patients and staff members of Marie Stopes International (MSI) Clinic wave to Danish delegation members after their visit in Yangon, Myanmar, Jan. 10, 2014.]( Credit: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP Marie Stopes International, a top global health organization, announced a name change because their namesake, Marie Stopes, was a supporter of eugenics. The organization is now MSI Reproductive Choices, and its CEO, Simon Cooke, told The World's Marco Werman that the organization never had a direct connection to Marie Stopes, apart from the fact that they took over her original clinic in London. [But more broadly, Cooke said, Stopes' values were not compatible](. "Marie Stopes is a person who was born in 1880. She was certainly a woman of her time, an acknowledged family planning pioneer, an extraordinary woman in many ways," Cooke said. "But ... she did have extreme views on eugenics, as many people did at the time. And we felt that those views were not really compatible with MSI's values and principles today and hence the need for the change of name." [India guards against China’s growing regional plans]( [A demonstrator wearing a protective face mask with a message attends a protest demanding to boycott China-made products in Ahmedabad, India, Nov. 6, 2020.]( Credit: Amit Dave/Reuters Leaders in Delhi [have resisted Beijing’s efforts](to pull India into networks that China leads or dominates, including the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. This essay is part of "[On China's New Silk Road](," a podcast by the Global Reporting Centre that tracks China's global ambitions. Over nine episodes, Mary Kay Magistad, a former China correspondent for The World, partners with local journalists on five continents to uncover the effects of the most sweeping global infrastructure initiative in history. --------------------------------------------------------------- Discussion [Mobilizing Latino voters, perspectives from Texas and Arizona]( [A staffer stands behind the bars of a closed restaurant, in Rome, Oct. 26, 2020.]( Credit: Maria Elena Romero Grassroots organizations were key to mobilizing the Latino vote across the US for the historic Nov. 3 election. On Wednesday, Daisy Contreras, senior editor at The World, will explore the role of two of those organizations from two important states — Arizona and Texas. What was the strategy to get Latinos to the polls? And what was the impact on the 2020 election? [Join Contreras in a live discussion]( with Reyna Montoya of Aliento, an immigrant aid organization in Phoenix, and Antonio Arellano of Jolt Action, a political organizing group in Texas. [Stream the conversation here at 12 p.m. Eastern, Wednesday, Nov. 18.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Like many around the world forced online for remote schooling, connecting with class and teachers can be a struggle. But Alexei Dudoladov, in the remote Siberian village of Stankevichi, has had to get pretty creative. Dudoladov, a student at the Omsk Institute of Water Transport, located more than 1,300 miles east of Moscow, has to hike out to a nearby forest and climb to the [top of a snow-covered birch tree to connect on Zoom](. His frustration led to TikTok and Instagram posts that have drawn worldwide attention. [A screen grab of an Instagram from]( [Credit: Courtesy of Instagram]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [What happened to mother-daughter journalists Orouba Barakat and Halla Barakat?]( - [The Latino vote in the Rio Grande Valley]( - [Marie Stopes International changes name because of Stopes’ eugenics support]( - [Hurricane Iota slams Nicaragua and Honduras]( - [‘Comfort woman’ monument in Berlin causes diplomatic row]( - [German govt hails ‘couch potatoes’ as unexpected heroes amid pandemic]( - [How to counter vaccine disinformation]( - [Peru in political crisis]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. 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