| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Pfizer says Covid-19 vaccine 90% effective in Phase 3 trial There has been a major development in the battle against coronavirus: a vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing Phase 3 trials, according to a statement released by the companies on Monday. Protection in patients was achieved seven days after the second of two doses, and 28 days after the first, according to preliminary findings. "The first set of results from our Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine's ability to prevent Covid-19," Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. "We are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most," Bourla added. Based on supply projections, the companies said they expect to supply up to 50 million vaccine doses globally in 2020, and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021. Since the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine uses messenger-RNA (mRNA) technology, it will need to be stored and distributed at minus 70 degrees Celsius – a big challenge for India and other developing countries with under-developed cold chain infrastructure. On the other hand, viral vector (adenovirus) vaccines typically have less stringent refrigeration requirements, and can be shipped at 2-8 degrees Celsius. The vaccine candidates being developed by Oxford/AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Sanofi/Novavax, for instance, use viral vector technology. NGT bans crackers in areas with poor air quality  The Delhi government on Thursday decided to ban firecrackers in the national capital. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday directed that there would be a total ban on sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers between November 10 and 30 in all cities and towns across the country where the average ambient air quality in November fell under the 'poor' and below category. A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel also directed that in places across the country where the ambient air quality fell under the 'moderate' or below category, only green crackers would be permitted to be sold, and timings for the use and bursting of crackers would be restricted to two hours. The green panel specified that data from November 2019 would be calculated to ascertain the average ambient air quality for both the instances.The Tribunal in its order also noted that Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Delhi and Chandigarh, among others, had already prohibited the sale and use of firecrackers to protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, and persons with co-morbidities. "Since we have taken the view that pollution aggravates Covid-19, not only crackers are to be banned or restricted depending upon air quality, all State pollution control boards and committees must take special initiative to contain air pollution by regulating all other sources of pollution," the Bench added. Bombay High Court denies interim bail to Arnab Goswami  Police shift Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami to Taloja Central Jail from Alibag, on November 8, 2020. Photo: Special arrangement The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to grant interim bail to journalist Arnab Goswami in the 2018 case of abetment to suicide. A division bench of justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik said observations made by this court were only prima facie and restricted to this application and shall not affect the trial court in any manner. The editor-in-chief of Republic TV has also filed for regular bail before the Alibaug sessions court. The Bench has been hearing Goswami's plea for immediate release from November 6. There was a special hearing on Saturday, which went on for the whole day despite Diwali vacations. Goswami was sent to judicial custody on November 4 after being arrested by the Raigad police from his house in Mumbai the same day. He, along with two others, has been accused of abetting the alleged suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik. 15th Finance Commission submits its report to President  The 15th Finance Commission said it has taken the unique requirements of each of India's 28 States on board and come up with State-specific considerations in its report submitted to President Ram Nath Kovind today. The main report, titled "Finance Commission in Covid Times" depicts on its cover a set of scales to denote the balance between the Union and the States. The Commission has also presented two more volumes as part of its submissions. The first one focuses on the state of the Union government's finances, with an in-depth scrutiny of key departments, the medium-term challenges facing the Centre, and a roadmap for the future. The other volume is entirely dedicated to States, with the finances of each analysed at great depth. The panel has come up with State-specific considerations to address the key challenges that individual States face, as per a statement issued by the Commission after its meeting with the President. The report is expected to be presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon, and will be available in the public domain once it is tabled in the Parliament by the government. People's Conference asks for early hearings on Article 370 petitions  The Supreme Court of India. File The Peoples Conference, headed by Sajad Lone, on Monday submitted a plea before the Supreme Court seeking an early hearing of the pending petitions contesting the measures taken by the Centre since August 5 last year in Jammu and Kashmir, including the abrogation of provisions of Article 370. "(I appeal to) Allow the present application on behalf of the petitioner for an early hearing of the present petition and the other petitions and fix an early date for hearing," read party spokesman Adnan Ashraf Mir's plea. He said the petitions "ought to be heard and disposed of urgently as significant changes to the rights of the residents of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir have already been brought about by the Centre". Biden campaign urges federal body to approve transition of power  The election verdict isn't the last step in selecting an American President. President-elect Joe Biden's campaign urged the Trump political appointee who heads the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to approve an official transition of power despite President Donald Trump's refusal to concede. The GSA has not yet certified the election result though it has been called by all major news outlets based on projections. The Trump campaign, meanwhile, has planned a spate of lawsuits in several states to challenge the results and vote counts. The Biden campaign warned that U.S. national security and economic interests depended on a clear signal that the country would engage in a "smooth and peaceful transfer of power." GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, appointed to the job by Trump in 2017, has not yet determined that "a winner is clear," a spokesperson said, delaying the Biden team's access to millions of dollars in federal funding and the ability to meet with officials at intelligence agencies and other departments. The spokesperson declined to say when a decision could be made. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 85,60,170 at the time of writing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,26,748. Stating that Covid-appropriate behaviour is still our best bet, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday interacted with State Health Ministers and senior officials of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana and Kerala to review the Covid-19 situation and preparedness. He said that of the total active Covid-19 cases in the country, 0.44% of the patients were on ventilator support, 2.47% were in ICU, and 4.13% occupied oxygen-supported beds. He added that India had the highest recovery rate and one of the lowest fatality rates globally. In Brief: Indian-American physician Dr. Vivek Murthy on November 9 was named one of the three co-chairs of the Covid-19 task-force that will guide President-elect Joe Biden on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 2,36,000 lives in the country. Dr. Murthy, 43, a former U.S. Surgeon General, along with two other co-chairs — Dr. David Kessler and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith — would lead a team of top public health experts who will advise Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris on the deadly virus. Actor Arjun Rampal was on Monday summoned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with its investigations into drug use allegations linked to Bollywood. Rampal has been asked to appear before the NCB on Wednesday morning. The drug agency also raided Rampal's residence in Bandra and seized laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices. Meanwhile, a court in Mumbai sent Shabana Saeed, the wife of Bollywood producer Feroze Nadiadwala, to judicial custody till November 23. Saeed was arrested by the drug agency on Sunday following a raid at her home. NCB has claimed that 10 grams of marijuana was recovered from her residence. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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