Race for COVID-19 Vaccine Could Leave Some Countries Behind
2020-06-19
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Researchers are in a hurry to develop an effective vaccine against the new coronavirus.
2As the race intensifies, wealthy countries are placing orders for the treatment before it is even approved.
3They will be among the first to get what is likely to be a limited supply of the vaccine.
4This leaves questions about whether developing nations will get any vaccines in time to save lives.
5The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 188 countries and territories.
6By June 18, the disease had infected nearly 8.4 million people and caused about 450,000 deaths.
7The World Health Organization has prepared a list of nearly 140 efforts to develop effective treatments and vaccines for the virus.
8The list includes 11 vaccine candidates undergoing human trials in China, Britain and the United States.
9The tests involve products from drug makers like AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Inovio, and Moderna.
10Health experts have advised the public not to expect an effective vaccine until early next year.
11Britain and the U.S. have spent millions of dollars on vaccine candidates, including one being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
12In return, both countries are expected to get the vaccines, if approved, before others.
13The British government said that if the University of Oxford vaccine proves effective, the first 30 million doses would be for Britons.
14Separately, AstraZeneca signed deals to make at least 300 million doses available for the U.S. and another 400 million for European Union members.
15South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing for scientific research to be shared between countries.
16He says, "Nobody should be pushed to the back of the vaccine queue because of where they live or what they earn."
17Ramaphosa currently chairs the African Union.
18He joined more than 140 world leaders and health experts last month in calling on all countries to unite behind a "people's vaccine" against COVID-19.
19They say the vaccine should be made available to anyone around the world at no cost.
20Earlier this month, the United Nations and other groups declared it was a "moral imperative" that everyone have access to a "people's vaccine."
21The groups included the International Red Cross and Red Crescent.
22But such declarations are unenforceable.
23Yuan Qiong Hu works as a legal and policy adviser at the aid group Doctors Without Borders.
24She noted, "We have this beautiful picture of everyone getting the vaccine, but there is no road map on how to do it."
25The Associated Press reported her comments.
26At a meeting with African leaders this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that African countries would be among the first to be helped with a vaccine developed by China.
27But he offered no plan to back up his statement.
28One of the efforts to ensure developing countries will get COVID-19 vaccines comes from the vaccine alliance Gavi.
29Seth Berkley, the head of Gavi, said, "One thing that has been made all too clear ... is that this disease does not respect borders, which is why this global problem requires a global solution."
30The alliance and its partners signed an agreement with AstraZeneca for 400 million doses by the end of 2020.
31The company says it will make the vaccine available at no profit during the pandemic.
32And it has also given permission to India's Serum Institute to produce another 1 billion doses.
33The WHO has asked drug manufacturers to suspend intellectual property rights and share information on COVID-19 vaccines. But the drug industry is opposed to the idea.
34Arzoo Ahmed is with Britain's Nuffield Council on Bioethics. She warned that, "We can't just rely on goodwill to ensure access."
35She added that "it took 10 years for [the HIV/AIDS] drug to reach people in lower-income countries."
36UNAIDS chief Winnie Byanyima said African nations have already been at the back of the line for medical supplies in the pandemic.
37She said, "It will be worse if a vaccine is found...We can't afford to be in the back of the queue."
38I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Researchers are in a hurry to develop an effective vaccine against the new coronavirus. As the race intensifies, wealthy countries are placing orders for the treatment before it is even approved. They will be among the first to get what is likely to be a limited supply of the vaccine. This leaves questions about whether developing nations will get any vaccines in time to save lives. 2The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 188 countries and territories. By June 18, the disease had infected nearly 8.4 million people and caused about 450,000 deaths. 3The World Health Organization has prepared a list of nearly 140 efforts to develop effective treatments and vaccines for the virus. The list includes 11 vaccine candidates undergoing human trials in China, Britain and the United States. The tests involve products from drug makers like AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Inovio, and Moderna. 4Health experts have advised the public not to expect an effective vaccine until early next year. Britain and the U.S. have spent millions of dollars on vaccine candidates, including one being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. In return, both countries are expected to get the vaccines, if approved, before others. 5The British government said that if the University of Oxford vaccine proves effective, the first 30 million doses would be for Britons. 6Separately, AstraZeneca signed deals to make at least 300 million doses available for the U.S. and another 400 million for European Union members. 7What about developing countries? 8South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing for scientific research to be shared between countries. He says, "Nobody should be pushed to the back of the vaccine queue because of where they live or what they earn." 9Ramaphosa currently chairs the African Union. He joined more than 140 world leaders and health experts last month in calling on all countries to unite behind a "people's vaccine" against COVID-19. They say the vaccine should be made available to anyone around the world at no cost. 10Earlier this month, the United Nations and other groups declared it was a "moral imperative" that everyone have access to a "people's vaccine." The groups included the International Red Cross and Red Crescent. 11But such declarations are unenforceable. 12Yuan Qiong Hu works as a legal and policy adviser at the aid group Doctors Without Borders. She noted, "We have this beautiful picture of everyone getting the vaccine, but there is no road map on how to do it." The Associated Press reported her comments. 13At a meeting with African leaders this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that African countries would be among the first to be helped with a vaccine developed by China. But he offered no plan to back up his statement. 14One of the efforts to ensure developing countries will get COVID-19 vaccines comes from the vaccine alliance Gavi. 15Seth Berkley, the head of Gavi, said, "One thing that has been made all too clear ... is that this disease does not respect borders, which is why this global problem requires a global solution." 16The alliance and its partners signed an agreement with AstraZeneca for 400 million doses by the end of 2020. The company says it will make the vaccine available at no profit during the pandemic. And it has also given permission to India's Serum Institute to produce another 1 billion doses. 17The WHO has asked drug manufacturers to suspend intellectual property rights and share information on COVID-19 vaccines. But the drug industry is opposed to the idea. 18Arzoo Ahmed is with Britain's Nuffield Council on Bioethics. She warned that, "We can't just rely on goodwill to ensure access." She added that "it took 10 years for [the HIV/AIDS] drug to reach people in lower-income countries." 19UNAIDS chief Winnie Byanyima said African nations have already been at the back of the line for medical supplies in the pandemic. She said, "It will be worse if a vaccine is found...We can't afford to be in the back of the queue." 20I'm Jonathan Evans. 21Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English with information from the Associated Press, WHO and Gavi. George Grow was the editor. 22________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects large number of people throughout the world 25undergo - v. to experience 26dose - n. the amount of medicine 27queue - n. a line of people who are waiting for something 28imperative - n. a command or rule that is very important 29access - n. a way of being able to get something 30global - adj. involving the entire world 31intellectual property - n. an idea, invention, or process that comes from a person's mind 32rely - v. to depend on, truest or believe 33income - n. money that is earned