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The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been found to be 90% effective in preventing people from getting the virus, it has been confirmed. Phase 3 of Pfizer’s trial involved 43,538 participants. They received two doses of either the immunization or a placebo, with 90% protected from the virus within 28 days of having their jabs. Only 94 people who took part in the trial developed coronavirus and no serious safety concerns were reported.
US President-elect Joe Biden is to make tackling the coronavirus pandemic his top priority following his win over Donald Trump, his team says. Announcing the first steps in his transition plan, his team said there would be more testing and Americans would be asked to wear masks. On Monday, Mr Biden is expected to name a 12-member coronavirus task force.
Azerbaijan has said it has recaptured the symbolic town of Shusha, a claim denied by Armenian officials as fighting in the bloody six-week-old battle over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory appeared to reach an apex. As many as 5,000 people have died since Azerbaijan launched an offensive in late September to reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain enclave, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory but under the de facto control of Armenians since a ceasefire was agreed between the two former Soviet neighbors in 1994.
The number of coronavirus cases around the globe topped 50 million Sunday as Covid-19 continued to surge in the United States and Europe, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S., which last week had its highest single-day case counts since the pandemic began, led the world with 10 million cases and more than 239,000 deaths. Public health experts have warned that the country could record more than 2,000 deaths a day by January.
Myanmar’s ruling party said on Monday it had won enough seats in parliament to form the next government, after reporting a lead based on its unofficial count of votes from the country’s second general election since the end of strict military rule. Sunday’s election was seen as a referendum on the fledgling democratic government led by Suu Kyi and the NLD.