I took a wistful reverie To heal from the cataclysm Our confluence had brought. Yet in my trance The muses stabbed me With shards of moments. And I bled tears, When my torment was complete, The tears dried. And the shards froze, Into perfect crystal souvenirs In my heart. Poem previously published at: https://allpoetry.com/poem/15641776-The-Souvenirs-You-Left-by-AbhijitChatterjee
Pfizer vaccine: what an 'efficacy rate above 90%' really means F8 Studio/Shutterstock Zania Stamataki , University of Birmingham There was – rightfully – a lot of excitement when Pfizer and BioNTech announced interim results from their COVID vaccine trial. The vaccine, called BNT162b2, was reported to have an “efficacy rate above 90%”. This was soon translated in the press to be 90% “ effective ” at preventing COVID-19. Efficacy, effectiveness – what’s the difference? We academics are very precise in our language and it can be a cause of considerable frustration when the media doesn’t appreciate the important distinction between certain terms. I was recently asked not to use the term “efficacy” for my radio interview because “listeners won’t understand what it means”. Sometimes accuracy can get in the way of clarity, so it’s important to know when to let these things go. However, now is perhaps the time to draw a clear distin