Inoculations are a welcome development, but the public should temper its excitement.
The American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, in collaboration with German firm BioNTech, surprised the world when it announced that its coronavirus vaccine showed 90 percent efficacy in preventing COVID-19. Days later, another American firm called Moderna announced that its vaccine was nearly 95 percent effective. And shortly after that, AstraZeneca announced that its vaccine was 62 percent to 90 percent effective. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration dictates that vaccines be at least 50 percent effective to earn emergency use authorization, and most observers weren’t expecting vaccine candidates to perform much better than that. The reported results, therefore, were a pleasant surprise that excited governments and markets alike.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 3, 2020
EXPLAINER: How could US drawdown in Iraq aid IS, Iran? -- Samya Kullab, AP
Al-Qaeda: The Core Problem -- Lydia Khalil, The Interpreter
Is Africa overtaking the Middle East as the new jihadist battleground? -- Frank Gardner, BBC
Where does Iran's nuclear weapons program stand now? -- Hollie McKay, FOX News
Iran will lose the battle, but win the war -- Ranj Alaaldin, Brookings
Lebanon: New aid package is unlikely to lead to reform -- Cathrin Schaer, DW
What's behind China's bullying of Australia? It sees a soft target — and an essential one -- Chongyi Feng, ABC News (Australia)
China is humiliating Australia as an example to others - but the bullying won't last -- Anne-Marie Brady, SMH
Dangerous Crossroads: NATO’s Attempted Infringement of Russia’s Airspace and Maritime Borders -- Andrew Korybko, Global Research
Is Putin Really Considering a Military Alliance With China? -- Alexander Gabuev, Moscow Times
Russians Expect US-Russian Relations to Worsen Under Biden -- Russia Matters
5 signs this is the real Brexit crunch (and 4 that it isn’t) -- Emilio Casalicchio and BArbara Moens, Politico
The Single Biggest Threat To Venezuela's Future -- Matthew Smith, OilPrice.com
