| The AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine shows increased promise; Turkey takes a step back on women's rights. Tonight's Sentences was written by Benjamin Rosenberg. | | | | | | | Despite some concerns, US data shows the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine is still effective | | | | | Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images | | - A large US study showed that the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine is 79 percent effective at preventing symptoms. AstraZeneca also said there was no risk of safety concerns surrounding the vaccine, blood clots or otherwise. [AP / Maria Cheng and Lauran Neergaard]
- The news comes a few days after several European countries halted the vaccine's distribution following reports of several patients experiencing bleeding and blood clots. Those cases were extremely rare, however — just 37 of more than 17 million AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine recipients. [Vox / Umair Irfan]
- The United Kingdom, where the vaccine was developed, never stopped using it. Covid-19 case numbers have improved dramatically in the UK compared to the rest of Europe, with many countries seeing rising infection rates, causing them to reintroduce lockdown measures. [AP / Vanessa Gera]
- The US study showed no serious side effects, AstraZeneca reported, with no patients developing severe disease or requiring hospitalization. More than 32,000 participants were involved in the trial, the largest yet for this vaccine. [NYT / Rebecca Robbins, Benjamin Mueller, and Noah Weiland]
- Not included in the study was data on how the vaccine performed on different Covid-19 variants. South Africa stopped distributing the vaccine last month after a small study found it to be ineffective against less severe cases caused by a more contagious variant circulating there. [The Verge / Nicole Wetsman]
- The US Food and Drug Administration has yet to authorize the vaccine for emergency use, but even if it does soon, it might not be necessary. The US will likely have enough vaccines from other suppliers to vaccinate all adults by the time the AstraZeneca/Oxford one becomes available. [Newsweek / Katherine Fung]
- AstraZeneca reported that the vaccine is particularly effective at preventing severe cases among older adults. Efficacy was at 80 percent for patients 65 years and older. It would be the fourth vaccine to be authorized for emergency use in the US, after Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. [CNN / Niamh Kennedy]
- AstraZeneca's vaccine, like those from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, is also a two-dose shot. Trump had his administration prepurchase 300 million doses of it before leaving office, to be saved for its potential authorization. [USA Today / Karen Weintraub]
- With those doses likely not needed in the US, some are calling for them to be redistributed elsewhere in the world, especially to middle- and low-income countries that have struggled to access vaccines. [Guardian / Fatima Bhutto]
| | | Turkey withdraws from an international treaty to protect women | | - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday pulled his country out of an international treaty to protect women, sparking huge protests in a nation already dealing with large numbers of domestic violence cases and femicides. [CNN / Gul Tuysuz and Isil Sariyuce]
- Turkey was the first country to sign the treaty, known as the Istanbul Convention, in 2011. Women's rights groups said the treaty has been effective in reducing gender-based violence, but conservative Muslims, a crucial bloc of support for Erdogan, have opposed it from the start. [Washington Post / Kareem Fahim]
- The conservative Muslims argued the treaty — signed by the Council of Europe with the goal of preventing violence and domestic abuse — was undermining Turkish family structure and other traditional values. [Bloomberg / Kerim Karakaya]
- 409 women were killed in Turkey in 2020, some under suspicious circumstances, according to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform. So far in 2021, the group reported that 77 women have been killed. Turkey's interior minister disputes these numbers. [AP / Zeynep Bilginsoy]
- The decision has sparked huge protests across Turkey, with protesters advocating for the treaty to be implemented strictly. The treaty does not carry the force of law, and several European countries have yet to ratify it. Russia never signed it in the first place. [NYT / Marc Santora]
| | | | | | | Israel will hold yet another election on Tuesday — the first for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since his US ally, Donald Trump, left the White House. This will be Israel's fourth election in two years. | | | [NBC News / Raf Sanchez] - The Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider a death sentence for one of the convicted bombers from the 2013 Boston Marathon. A lower court had previously overturned the death penalty for him. [CNN / Ariane de Vogue]
- Barely a year after Australia dealt with devastating wildfires, it is now facing severe flooding. Some 18,000 residents of New South Wales, home to Australia's largest city of Sydney, have been forced to evacuate. [Guardian / Michael McGowan and Justine Landis-Hanley]
- Promising Young Woman and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm won big at the Writers Guild of America Awards on Sunday, with Apple TV's Ted Lasso also winning multiple honors. [CNN / Chloe Melas]
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