VOA慢速英语2021--贫穷国家正在努力争取接种新冠疫苗

Poor Countries Struggle to Vaccinate¹ Against COVID-19

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Health experts and world leaders have given this warning. It is not enough to vaccinate people in rich nations against the coronavirus. All countries must get enough vaccines² to protect all their people.

"We've said all through this pandemic that we are not safe unless we are all safe," said John Nkengasong. He heads the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At the start of the pandemic, many poor countries with weak health care systems appeared to have avoided major problems.

But that is changing.

Concerns are growing in some of the world's poorest countries as coronavirus infections increase and new versions of the virus appear. There also have been shortages of vaccine³ in many countries.

The crisis has shocked public health officials and millions of unvaccinated people. This is especially the case in countries where people live with only enough money to survive and pay for health emergencies themselves.

The United Nations supported program called COVAX aims to provide vaccines to poor countries. However, the program faces a serious shortage of vaccines.

As a result, the U.S., Britain and the other rich, industrialized countries agreed to share at least 1 billion vaccine doses with poor countries over the next year. The Group of Seven nations are expected to begin sharing the vaccines in August.

African countries at risk

Some of Africa's 1.3 billion people are at risk. They make up 18 percent of the world's population. However, the continent has received only two percent of all vaccine doses given worldwide. Some African countries have yet to vaccinate anyone.

Zimbabwe has enforced new lockdown measures because of a sharp rise in cases and deaths in the country. It has over 15 million people but has used just over a million of 1.7 million doses of vaccine. Experts blame the lack of vaccines in urban areas on the difficulties of organizing and administering vaccination⁵ efforts.

Months ago, officials in Zimbabwe were urging people to get vaccinated⁴. But many chose not to. Now, long lines form at health centers giving the vaccines. Many people are worried about winter and new forms of the virus.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti is Africa director of the World Health Organization. She said the increase in cases should push everyone to action. She explained that people must be tested and separated from others. Keeping records of people's movements, known as contact tracing, is another measure that must quickly increase, she added.

She said recently that new coronavirus cases in Africa have risen by nearly 30 percent.

Vaccination efforts face delays

In Zambia, a vaccination campaign has slowed. Officials report that the country is running out of oxygen for patients with breathing problems. Sick people whose cases are not severe are being turned away by hospitals in Lusaka, the capital.

And Uganda is fighting a sharp rise in cases and is reporting different forms of the virus. Health officials told the Associated Press that people in their 20s and 30s are getting infected.

Dr. Ian Clarke founded a hospital in Uganda. He said that vaccine demand is growing among people who, at first, did not want to be vaccinated. But now, he added, they do not know when or from where they will get more vaccine doses.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, said nearly 90 percent of African countries are set to miss the global target of vaccinating⁶ 10 percent of their people by September.

However, concerns about vaccination efforts are not limited to Africa.

At the end of May, 600,000 people in Afghanistan had received at least one dose of the vaccine. That is less than two percent of the population of 36 million.

China donated 700,000 doses of vaccine which arrived recently. Within hours, "people were fighting with each other to get to the front of the line," said Health Ministry⁷ spokesperson Dr. Ghulam Dastigir Nazari.

And in Haiti, hospitals are turning away sick people. The country is waiting to receive its first vaccines. Supplies from the UN's COVAX program have been delayed. Haitian officials also worry that the doses cannot be kept at the required temperature for safe storage.

Words in This Story

dose –n. the amount of a medicine, drug or vitamin that is taken at one time

clinic –n. a place where people get medical help

mask –n. a covering for the face or part of the face: especially related to preventing the spread of disease

continent –n. one of the great divisions of land on Earth

lockdown –n. a state of isolation⁸ or restricted access put in place as a security measure

delayed –v. to make (something or someone) late : to make (something or someone) take longer than expected or planned

1 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

2 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

3 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

4 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

5 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

6 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。