US Considers Vaccinating More People Using Half Doses
2021-01-05
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1The United States says it is considering giving some people half the dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in order to vaccinate more people.
2Moncef Slaoui is the head the country's vaccine program.
3He said Sunday that officials were discussing the possible plan with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
4Moderna's vaccine requires two doses per individual.
5He said that giving half of the dose to people between the ages of 18 and 55 will allow the vaccination program to "double the number of people with the doses we have."
6He added that just one injection causes an "identical" immunity.
7Moderna and the FDA could not immediately be reached for comment.
8The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had injected more than four million people with a first dose of vaccine by Monday morning.
9It said it had sent out more than 13 million doses.
10The U.S. has also approved a two-dose vaccination treatment from drug company Pfizer.
11The government's vaccination plan has not been meeting its goals.
12Officials had hoped to have 20 million people vaccinated by the end of the 2020.
13Britain has administered about one million vaccinations since it approved the Pfizer vaccine in early December.
14On Monday, it became the first country to use a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
15That vaccine is easier to store and transport.
16A new surge of COVID-19 cases is threatening the country's National Health Service.
17Britain is trying to vaccinate older people and others at higher risk from the disease.
18Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
19Eighty-two-year-old Brian Pinker was the first person to get that vaccine outside of experimental use.
20Pinker, who has kidney disease, said he was "proud" the medicine was invented in Oxford.
21Israel is the world's vaccination leader.
22More than ten percent of its population is already vaccinated.
23Israel is now injecting more than 150,000 people a day.
24In December 2020, China approved its first COVID-19 vaccine.
25It is one injection and was created by drugmaker Sinopharm.
26The government-owned company has said its treatment is 79 percent effective against the virus.
27Russia has been providing its COVID-19 vaccine, called Sputnik V, since August.
28More than 100,000 people have been injected.
29In November, the government said the treatment was more than 91 percent effective.
30Britain has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks as officials struggle to control the spread of a new version of the COVID-19 virus.
31The new version is far more contagious than others.
32Officials have recorded more than 50,000 new infections a day since December 29.
33On Monday, they reported 407 deaths related to the virus.
34That brings the total number of confirmed COVID deaths in Britain to 75,431.
35Britain also reports the presence of a second new version of coronavirus.
36It appears that version came from South Africa.
37Johnson said on Sunday that more restrictions were likely, even with millions already living under the highest level of restrictions.
38Starting at midnight tonight, most of mainland Scotland will be in total lockdown, announced Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
39In Germany, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday that the government does not regret its decision last year to have the European Union order vaccines for all 27 nations.
40He said that for a country in the middle of Europe with many borders, "everyone for themselves cannot be the way."
41Nearly 265,000 vaccinations have been reported since the program began one week ago.
42Critics are pointing to faster programs in the U.K., the U.S. and Israel.
43Health Ministry spokesman Hanno Kautz said 1.3 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine were delivered to Germany before the end of 2020 and another 670,000 are due on Friday.
44Germany has 83 million people.
45I'm Susan Shand.
1The United States says it is considering giving some people half the dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in order to vaccinate more people. 2Moncef Slaoui is the head the country's vaccine program. He said Sunday that officials were discussing the possible plan with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Moderna's vaccine requires two doses per individual. 3He said that giving half of the dose to people between the ages of 18 and 55 will allow the vaccination program to "double the number of people with the doses we have." 4He added that just one injection causes an "identical" immunity. 5Moderna and the FDA could not immediately be reached for comment. 6The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had injected more than four million people with a first dose of vaccine by Monday morning. It said it had sent out more than 13 million doses. 7The U.S. has also approved a two-dose vaccination treatment from drug company Pfizer. 8The government's vaccination plan has not been meeting its goals. Officials had hoped to have 20 million people vaccinated by the end of the 2020. 9Vaccine race 10Britain has administered about one million vaccinations since it approved the Pfizer vaccine in early December. On Monday, it became the first country to use a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. That vaccine is easier to store and transport. 11A new surge of COVID-19 cases is threatening the country's National Health Service. Britain is trying to vaccinate older people and others at higher risk from the disease. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. 12Eighty-two-year-old Brian Pinker was the first person to get that vaccine outside of experimental use. 13Pinker, who has kidney disease, said he was "proud" the medicine was invented in Oxford. 14Israel is the world's vaccination leader. More than ten percent of its population is already vaccinated. Israel is now injecting more than 150,000 people a day. 15In December 2020, China approved its first COVID-19 vaccine. It is one injection and was created by drugmaker Sinopharm. The government-owned company has said its treatment is 79 percent effective against the virus. 16Russia has been providing its COVID-19 vaccine, called Sputnik V, since August. More than 100,000 people have been injected. In November, the government said the treatment was more than 91 percent effective. 17New versions 18Britain has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks as officials struggle to control the spread of a new version of the COVID-19 virus. The new version is far more contagious than others. Officials have recorded more than 50,000 new infections a day since December 29. On Monday, they reported 407 deaths related to the virus. That brings the total number of confirmed COVID deaths in Britain to 75,431. 19Britain also reports the presence of a second new version of coronavirus. It appears that version came from South Africa. 20Johnson said on Sunday that more restrictions were likely, even with millions already living under the highest level of restrictions. 21Starting at midnight tonight, most of mainland Scotland will be in total lockdown, announced Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. 22Europe 23In Germany, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday that the government does not regret its decision last year to have the European Union order vaccines for all 27 nations. He said that for a country in the middle of Europe with many borders, "everyone for themselves cannot be the way." 24Nearly 265,000 vaccinations have been reported since the program began one week ago. Critics are pointing to faster programs in the U.K., the U.S. and Israel. 25Health Ministry spokesman Hanno Kautz said 1.3 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine were delivered to Germany before the end of 2020 and another 670,000 are due on Friday. Germany has 83 million people. 26I'm Susan Shand. 27The Associated Press and the Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 28_______________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30dose - n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time 31immunity - n. the power to keep yourself from being affected by a disease 32surge - n. a move that is very quick and sudden in a particular direction 33contagious - adj. able to be passed from one person or animal to another by touching