VOA慢速英语2020 新冠肺炎疫苗这个大救星马上就要来了（在线收听）

American drug-maker Pfizer said Friday it has requested emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (or FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine.

美国辉瑞制药周五表示，已经向美国食品和药品管理局申请其新冠肺炎疫苗的紧急使用授权。

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech noted they have also started a similar process with regulatory agencies in Europe. They are also doing so in other countries, including Japan, Canada and Australia.

辉瑞和德国合作伙伴BioNTech公司提到，他们也已经跟欧洲监管机构开启了类似的程序。他们还在包括日本、加拿大和澳大利亚在内的国家采取了类似操作。

The action came just two days after the drug-makers announced final results of their large vaccine study.

这些制药商在宣布其大型疫苗研究最终结果仅两天之后就采取了这一行动。

Dr. Albert Bourla is Pfizer Chairman and chief executive. He said in a statement, "Our work to deliver a safe and effective vaccine has never been more urgent." He noted that the company is looking "to secure authorization of our vaccine candidate as quickly as possible."

阿尔伯特·布尔拉博士是辉瑞公司的董事长兼首席执行官。他在一份声明中表示：“我们提供安全有效疫苗的工作从未像现在这样紧迫。”他指出，该公司正在寻求“尽快确保我们的候选疫苗获得授权。”

The emergency use request comes as reported coronavirus infections have sharply increased around the world.

辉瑞公司申请紧急使用授权之际，正值全球报告新冠病毒感染急剧增加之际。

Health crisis spread around the world

健康危机扩散全球

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to carefully consider any travel plans for the Thanksgiving holiday. It noted that travel increases the chance of getting or spreading COVID-19. About 200,000 new cases of COVID-19 infections are being reported each day. The country also recorded more than 250,000 deaths from the virus this year.

美国疾病预防和控制中心督促美国人谨慎考虑感恩节假期的旅行计划。该机构指出，旅行会增加感染或传播新冠肺炎的几率。美国目前每天大约有20万例新增的新冠肺炎感染病例。今年这种病毒在美国还录得了超过25万例死亡。

This week, India reported that it now has 9 million infections. Mexico became the fourth country to report 100,000 deaths, joining Brazil, India and the United States.

印度本周报告称其已经有900万人感染。墨西哥成为继巴西、印度和美国之后，第4个报告有10万人死亡的国家。

Dr. Hans Henri Kluge of the World Health Organization said Thursday that Europe now has more than 15.7 million confirmed coronavirus infections, with over 4 million new cases recorded in November. He added, "Right now, an average of 4,500 lives are lost to COVID-19 in Europe every day."

世卫组织的汉斯·亨利·克鲁格博士周四表示，欧洲目前已经确诊了超过1570万例新冠病毒感染，11月录得了超过400万例新病例。他还表示：“目前，欧洲平均每天有4500人因为新冠肺炎丧生。”

The Japanese government placed Tokyo on its highest coronavirus warning level on Thursday. And South Korea announced new restrictions including a ban on public gatherings of more than 100 people.

日本政府周四将东京的新冠病毒警告级别调到最高级。而韩国宣布了新的限制措施，包括禁止100人以上的公众聚会。

Race to deliver a vaccine

疫苗研发竞赛

Pfizer and BioNTech said final results from the large Phase 3 study show their vaccine to be 95 percent effective against COVID-19.

辉瑞和BioNTech公司表示，3期大型研究的最终结果表明其疫苗对新冠肺炎的有效率达到了95%以上。

The results will be considered by a group of independent scientists known as the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).

该结果将由疫苗和相关生物制品咨询委员会这个独立专家组进行评估。

Dr. Paul Offit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is an FDA advisor. He told the Associated Press that scientists will advise the FDA on the experimental vaccine's safety and its effectiveness.

费城儿童医院的鲍尔．奥菲特是美国食品和药品管理局顾问。他对美联社表示，科学家将就这种实验性疫苗的安全性和有效性向美国食品和药品管理局提供建议。

The FDA has the final decision on whether or not to approve or authorize emergency use of the vaccine. It requires that a vaccine be at least 50 percent effective to be considered for emergency use. The FDA says that it may approve medical products "when there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives."

美国食品和药品管理局对是否批准或授权疫苗的紧急使用拥有最终决定权。它要求疫苗至少要有50%的有效率才能被考虑用于紧急用途。美国食品和药品管理局表示，“如果没有合格的、经过批准的和可用的替代品，”它可能会批准医疗产品。

Two other vaccine makers, Moderna and AstraZeneca, are not far behind with their own candidates to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

莫德纳公司和阿斯利康公司的另外两种预防新冠肺炎传播的候选疫苗紧随其后。

American drug-maker Moderna said early results showed its vaccine to be 94.5 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. And scientists at the University of Oxford, working with AstraZeneca, reported that their experimental vaccine could protect older people from getting severely ill from the new coronavirus.

美国制药商莫德纳公司表示，早期结果表明其疫苗在预防新冠肺炎方面有94.5%的有效率。与阿斯利康公司合作的牛津大学科学家报告称他们的实验性疫苗可以预防老年人感染新冠病毒。

Making vaccines

生产疫苗

Drug-makers Pfizer and BioNTech said they could produce 50 million vaccine treatments this year and up to 1.3 billion treatments by the end of 2021.

制药商辉瑞和BioNTech表示，他们今年可以生产出5千万支疫苗，到2021年底可达13亿支。

The companies have developed temperature-controlled containers to transport the vaccine at minus-70 degrees Celsius. These containers can be used for storage for 15 days by refilling with frozen carbon dioxide. They also come with sensors to track location and temperature during transportation around the world.

这些公司还已经开发出可控温容器，以便在零下70度的温度下运输疫苗。这些容器可以重新装填干冰用来保存15天。它们还自带传感器，以跟踪在全球运输过程中的位置和温度。

On Thursday, General Gustave Perna, chief operations officer for the U.S. Operation Warp Speed program said that a COVID-19 vaccine would begin to be sent out within 24 hours of FDA approval.

周四，“美国曲速行动”的首席运营官古斯塔夫·佩尔纳将军表示，将在美国食品和药品管理局批准24小时内开始分发新冠肺炎疫苗。

Dr. Anthony Fauci is the country's top infectious diseases expert. He praised the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine candidates from Pfizer and Moderna.

安东尼·福奇博士是美国顶级传染病专家。他称赞了辉瑞和莫德纳公司候选疫苗的安全性和有效性。

Fauci said, "Help is on the way!" But, he warned that people should not forget public health measures like social distancing and wearing face coverings while waiting for the vaccine.

福奇表示：“救星马上要来了。”但是他警告说，人们在等待疫苗时期不要忘记公共卫生措施，例如保持社交距离和戴口罩。