New hope

By Artchil B. Fernandez

 

Two major events this week injected new hope into a world living in dark times. First is the defeat of Donald Trump in the recently concluded US presidential election and the second is the breakthrough in the development of a vaccine against the Covid-19 pandemic now devastating the world. Trump represents the dark force of right-wing populism that recently swept the globe while Convid-19 is a once in a lifetime plague ravaging the worldwide community.

The race to the White House between Joe Biden and Donald Trump ultimately came down to six battleground states – Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. The window of opportunity began closing in on Trump when Michigan and Wisconsin flipped to Biden while at the same time losing his lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania and Biden remained ahead in Arizona and Nevada.

Three days after the election, Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States when Pennsylvania was called in his favor. Biden at that time had already secured 253 electoral votes and only needed 17 votes to reach the 270 threshold to win. He crossed the finished line when he secured Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes dashing Trump’s hope of getting a second term. A few hours later, Nevada’s 6 electoral votes were also added to Biden’s expanding electoral vote, further affirming his victory.

As of this writing, Biden is still ahead in Arizona and Georgia and it appears the final tally will turn these reliably Republican states blue. Except in 1996 when Bill Clinton ran for re-election, Arizona has not voted a Democrat to the White House since 1954. Clinton was also the last Democrat to win in Georgia in 1992. Now, these states have become blue-leaning battleground states.

In sum, Biden flipped five states Trump won in 2016 – the Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin and captured the red states of Arizona and Georgia. Trump, on the other hand, has not flipped any states that went blue in 2016, underscoring the scale of his defeat.

As expected, Trump refused to concede defeat, insisting he won. He also continues to spread fake information that there was massive fraud in the election. His allegation has not been substantiated and no proof was provided to support it. It is even funny that while Trump cried cheating in Republican-controlled states of Arizona and Georgia, Republican state officials there vehemently denied any irregularity.

Biden’s win is also affirmed in the popular votes. As of this writing, Biden had 77,400,099 or 50.8 percent of the popular votes while Trump has 72,266,135 or 47.4 percent. Whether in the electoral vote (279 – 214 as of now) or popular vote, Biden won a decisive victory with over 5 million votes over Trump. Trump’s whining and tantrums will not change the fact that he decisively lost the election.

While Trump continues to deny reality, the world has moved on. Almost all world leaders (except those from China and Russia) have congratulated Biden. Dawn has finally arrived in America after four dark years of divisive leadership devoid of decency and honesty. But hope has not only dawned on the US, there is also new hope for the pandemic weary world with a milestone in vaccine development.

This week, Pfizer in partnership with BioNTech announced a breakthrough in vaccine development against Covid-19. Initial data show that its vaccine against the novel coronavirus is more than 90 percent effective. The acceptable threshold for Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness is only 50 percent according to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines.

There are 47 vaccines for Covid-19 in different phases of clinical trials all over the world. So far, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the most promising. Three months ago China and Russia announced they have already developed vaccines but the scientific, as well as the global community, are skeptical of their claims. Russian and Chinese vaccines have not reached phase-three clinical trial when they were announced. China and Russia so far failed to share the data of their vaccines to the scientific community for review.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, on the other hand, has undergone phase-three clinical trial involving 43,500 participants in six countries. No safety issue was raised while the vaccine was on phase-three trial. The data were recently unblinded by an independent board. Initial findings reveal that only 94 participants got infected with Covid-19. Of the 94 participants who get infected, 90 percent received the placebo and only 10 percent got the vaccine. The 90 percent efficacy is impressive if not fantastic.

Data on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are indeed very promising. Its 90 percent effectiveness indicates the vaccine is 90 percent effective in producing neutralizing antibodies against Covid-19. This could be the anti-dote the world had been waiting to end the pandemic. However, people have to greet the good news with cautious optimism.

There are still questions on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. How long will the protection last is foremost among them. Is it safe for old people, children and those with pre-existing conditions? The vaccine is said to be administered in two doses with a three-week gap. Nevertheless, the world has every reason to be hopeful about this development.

The defeat of Donald Trump and a milestone in vaccine development against Covid-19 offer hope to a world tired of the dark and venomous politics of right-wing populism and the ravages of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. The world has been and is being wrecked by these double calamities but recent events indicate the tide is turning.

The downfall of Trump shows right-wing populism can be beaten and signals this scourge in finally ebbing. The promising vaccine of Pfizer-BioNTech, on the other hand, signifies the world is turning the corner on the pandemic. A new day is indeed dawning.