A day after Pfizer sought the Indian regulator’s nod for emergency-use authorisation for its mRNA vaccine, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India has approached the regulator for a similar nod for its vaccine, Covishield, developed by Oxford University. Unlike Pfizer, AstraZeneca, which is carrying out the phase-3 trials of the Oxford vaccine in four countries, is yet to secure a nod from any of the regulatory agencies. AstraZeneca recently gave details of the interim safety and efficacy data involving 131 COVID-19 cases in the phase-3 trials in the U.K. and Brazil. But details of the trials in India are not out yet. The unprecedented speed in taking the vaccine from the development stage to approval process in less than a year is remarkable, and perhaps necessitated by the toll the virus has taken on lives and livelihoods. But this is not without cause for concern at a time when governments are putting pressure on regulatory bodies to fast-track the entire process. Lack of
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has officially secured enough certified results across States to cross the critical threshold of 270 electors in the Electoral College. That all but guarantees that he will be the 46th President. While there is lingering but near-zero chance of incumbent President Donald Trump overturning the results through legal challenges targeting mail-in ballots, it may be safe to assume that the Electoral College will carry out, on December 14, an uncontroversial confirmation that the Biden-Harris ticket won the 2020 presidential election, and that the Biden administration will take charge after Inauguration Day next month. However, there is little doubt that seeing the bitter 2020 election campaign through to victory is but the start of what is sure to be an arduous journey for Mr. Biden, who, at 78, will have to work tirelessly toward two goals: first, to undo the damage done over four years to domestic and international institutions, alliances, and strategic
