Timeframe: December 10th – December 16th, 2021
Contributors: Adiba Tahsin, Sabyasachi Karmaker, Redwan Reham, and Farhan Uddin Ahmed.
1. Headlines
Pfizer confirms its Covid pill can stave off severe cases and likely work against Omicron
Pfizer announced on Tuesday that its Covid pill was found to stave off severe disease in a key clinical trial and that it is likely to work against the highly mutated Omicron variant of the virus.
Pfizer said its antiviral pill was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 88 percent when given to unvaccinated people at high risk of severe Covid within five days of the onset of symptoms.
Last month, Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize the treatment, known as Paxlovid, for high-risk adults based on a preliminary batch of data.
To receive the pills, patients are expected to need a positive coronavirus test and a prescription from a health care provider, all within five days after developing symptoms.
Pfizer will have about 180,000 treatment courses ready by the time it receives its expected authorization this month, but some of those will most likely go to countries other than the United States.
Source: NYT
2. Economics & Business
US inflation surges to a 39-year high of 6.8%; UK economy slows to a crawl – as it happened
Consumer prices across America have risen at their fastest annual pace in almost 40 years, driven by pricier energy, food, and housing
US annual inflation soars to 6.8%
Cost of living jumped another 0.8% in November alone
Energy, shelter, food, and used cars all push up inflation
UK economy ‘slows to a crawl’, experts warn UK economy grew just 0.1% in October
Source: The Guardian
Surge in UK part-time workers as job vacancies rise
The number of people in part-time work jumped in the three months to October, after falling sharply in the pandemic, official figures show.
There was also a fall in unemployment among 16-24 year-olds, another group hit hard by the crisis.
Unemployment continues to fall after a spike last year, with job vacancies now at a fresh record high. The ONS said the unemployment rate among 16-24 year-olds had now recovered to pre-pandemic levels at 11.3% – down from a high of 14.8% in the July to September period of last year.
Source: BBC
3. Politics
Belarus: Opposition leader Tikhanovsky jailed for 18 years over protests
A Belarusian opposition leader who rallied mass protests against disputed leader Alexander Lukashenko has been jailed for 18 years. Sergei Tikhanovsky was convicted of organizing riots among other charges following a trial condemned as a sham.
He planned to challenge Mr. Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election but was detained before the vote. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, took on Mr. Lukashenko, who claimed victory in the widely discredited poll.
Source: BBC
Saudi Arabia allows free thinkers to talk to students
A major international conference on philosophy has been held in Saudi Arabia aimed at encouraging critical thinking in a country where citizens have been jailed in recent years for expressing what are seen as dissenting views.
The leading American philosopher Michael Sandel was among a number of highly respected academics who took part in the three-day event in Riyadh.
In a virtual appearance, the Harvard professor – who’s been described as having the global profile of a rock star – told the organizers that he didn’t want to give a lecture, but instead sought to engage directly with young Saudis, including women.
Source: BBC
3. Science & Technology
NASA probe enters sun’s atmosphere for the first time
NASA probe enters the sun’s atmosphere for the first time. The Parker Solar Probe set off from earth in 2018 before it “touched” the sun earlier this year. The Parker Solar Probe managed a 50-year-old dream to touch the sun and dip into its corona. Scientists from the US space agency said that a NASA spacecraft had gone closer to the sun than ever before, entering its atmosphere known as the corona. The probe’s spiral trajectory takes it gradually closer to the sun with each rotation, and NASA estimates suggest that “during the last few passes,” it would have been consistently close enough to have entered the corona. Parker launched from earth in 2018 and got to within 8 million miles (13 million kilometers) of the sun’s center. With the sun not having a solid surface, the corona is of significant interest to scientists, with its electronic field and the solar wind it creates.
Source: DW
4. Important COVID update
Pfizer confirms its Covid pill can stave off severe cases and likely work against Omicron
Pfizer announced on Tuesday that its Covid pill was found to stave off severe disease in a key clinical trial and that it is likely to work against the highly mutated Omicron variant of the virus.
Pfizer said its antiviral pill was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 88 percent when given to unvaccinated people at high risk of severe Covid within five days of the onset of symptoms.
Last month, Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize the treatment, known as Paxlovid, for high-risk adults based on a preliminary batch of data.
To receive the pills, patients are expected to need a positive coronavirus test and a prescription from a health care provider, all within five days after developing symptoms.
Pfizer will have about 180,000 treatment courses ready by the time it receives its expected authorization this month, but some of those will most likely go to countries other than the United States.
Source: NYT
Disclaimer: The information provided here is obtained solely from the third parties mentioned above. Youth Policy Forum (YPF) is not responsible for any misinformation or misrepresentation.