VOA慢速英语--存储问题可能导致30亿人无法获得COVID-19疫苗

Storage Issues Could Leave 3 Billion without COVID-19 Vaccine¹

The world's most promising² coronavirus vaccine candidates need to be kept in cold storage to be safe and effective.

Health officials have noted³ progress in equipping developing countries with the machinery⁴ needed to keep the vaccine cold. Yet nearly 3 billion people live in places where temperature-controlled storage is lacking for a vaccination⁵ campaign to bring the virus under control.

The result: Poor people who were among the hardest hit by COVID-19 are also likely to be the last to recover from it.

Maintaining the "cold chain" for coronavirus vaccines⁶ will not be easy even in the richest countries. To stay effective, some vaccines must be kept in temperatures of around minus 70 degrees Celsius⁷. Investment in cooling technology is lower this year because of the COVID-19 health crisis. So is spending for transportation and other infrastructure⁸.

Experts warn that large parts of the world lack the refrigeration equipment necessary to administer an effective vaccination program. This includes most of Central Asia, much of India and Southeast Asia, parts of Latin America, and all but a very small part of Africa.

Broken cold chain

The cold chain breaks down at Gampela, a small medical center in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. The center serves a population of 11,000. And it has gone nearly a year without a working refrigerator.

After its refrigerator broke last year, the center could no longer keep vaccines against diseases such as tetanus, yellow fever, and tuberculosis⁹. Nurse Julienne Zoungrana said workers used motorbikes to get vaccines from a hospital in the capital, Ouagadougou. They made the 40-minute round-trip on a narrow road.

Adama Tapsoba is a mother of two small children. She often walks four hours under the hot sun to get vaccinations¹⁰ for her baby and waits hours more to see a doctor. Recently, her 5-month-old son had missed a scheduled vaccine shot because Tapsoba's daughter was sick and she could only bring one child on foot.

"It will be hard to get a (COVID-19) vaccine," Tapsoba said, "People will have to wait at the hospital, and they might leave without getting it."

To maintain the cold chain in developing nations, international organizations have added tens of thousands of solar-powered vaccine refrigerators. From the time vaccines are made until they are given to patients, the cold chain also requires mobile refrigeration, dependable electricity, good roads and careful planning.

For poor countries like Burkina Faso, the best chance of receiving a coronavirus vaccine is through the Covax initiative. It is a project of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Gavi vaccine alliance.

The goal of Covax is to place orders for several promising vaccine candidates and to provide the safest, most successful ones to all nations.

The United Nations' children's agency (UNICEF) began preparing for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines months ago in Copenhagen. There UNICEF crews are busy at work in the world's largest supply center for humanitarian¹¹ aid. They are trying to predict shortages by learning from the past, like when protective equipment disappeared from airports or was stolen.

The WHO says 42 coronavirus vaccine candidates are currently being tested in human volunteers. The vaccines most likely to be offered by the Covax initiative must be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.

The American drug company Pfizer is testing one of the most promising vaccine candidates. It requires storage at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius. The company has designed a special carrying case for its vaccine. Pfizer has signed deals to supply the vaccine to the United States, Europe and Japan. It has also expressed an interest in Covax.

Medical freezers that go down to minus 70 degrees Celsius are rare even in U.S. and European hospitals. Many experts believe some West African countries may be best positioned. Those areas suffered through the Ebola health crisis from 2014 to 2016. Like the coronavirus vaccine, the Ebola vaccine requires very cold storage.

Since 2017, Gavi and UNICEF have worked to supply much of Africa and Asia with freezers for storing vaccines. UNICEF is now offering governments a list of what they will need to maintain a vaccine supply chain and they are asking them to develop a plan.

"The governments are in charge of what needs to happen in the end," said Benjamin Schreiber, who is among the directors of the UN agency's vaccination program.

Transporting vaccines

Vaccines do not last long. Container ships are not equipped to refrigerate drugs for long periods. Shipping¹² vaccines by air costs a lot more.

The WHO estimates that as much as half of vaccines are lost internationally because of waste, theft or heat during shipping.

The German shipping company DHL estimated that 15,000 flights would be needed to send COVID-19 vaccines around the world. That would stretch the availability of aircraft and supplies of cooling materials such as dry ice to protect the vaccines.

"We need to find a bridge" for every gap in the cold chain, Katja Busch of DHL said. "We're talking about investments ... as a society, this is something we have to do."

Gavi and UNICEF have experimented with sending vaccines by drone aircraft. Indian officials have also suggested the idea of setting aside part of the country's large food storage system for coronavirus vaccines.

In countries such as India and Burkina Faso, a lack of public transportation presents another barrier to protecting citizens before vaccines go bad. When parts of Venezuela lost power for a week last year, the largest children's hospital in the country had to throw away thousands of shots of vaccines for diseases like diphtheria.

Back in Burkina Faso, a solar-powered freezer finally arrived days after reporters from The Associated Press visited the health center near the capital. Health workers are waiting to be sure the freezer works before storing it with vaccines.

Nationwide, Burkina Faso needs another 1,000 medical freezers. Health officials said less than 40 percent of the health centers that provide vaccines have working freezers.

If Burkina Faso were given 1 million shots of coronavirus vaccine today, the country would not be able to administer the vaccine program.

Jean-Claude Mubalama is UNICEF's head of health and nutrition for the African nation. He said, "If we had to vaccinate¹³ against the coronavirus now, at this moment, it would be impossible."

Words in This Story

maintain - v. to provide support, to keep something in good condition

chain - n. a series of things that are connected to each other

nurse - n. a person who is trained to care for sick or injured people

scheduled - adj. planned at a certain time

solar - adj. of or relating to the sun

distribution - n. the act of delivering something

gap - n. space where something is missing

1 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。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

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 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。

7 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

10 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

13 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。