COVID-19 Vaccination Begins in Historic US Effort

The largest and fastest vaccination¹ effort in United States history started Monday as the nation has more than 300,000 deaths from COVID-19.

The first of many COVID-19 doses were sent to vaccination centers throughout the country. They are to be given to health care workers and people most at risk.

"I feel hopeful today," Sandra Lindsay, a health worker, said after getting a shot in the arm at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York.

With a countdown of "3-2-1," workers at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center gave the first injections to applause.

And in New Orleans, Steven Lee, a pharmacist in an emergency care group at Ochsner Medical Center, said "We can finally prevent the disease as opposed to treating it."

The first doses are going to those who live in care homes and health care workers, who are exhausted². The virus, however, is still spreading around the U.S. and the world. The U.S. alone has had more than 16 million cases of infection by the new coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19.

The doses given today are the first of nearly three million that are being sent. More of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine³ will arrive each week. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will decide whether to approve another heavily tested COVID-19 vaccine, made by Moderna later this week.

U.S. government officials say the goal is to give the first dose of the vaccine to 20 million people by the end of the month. They will get the required second dose by January. However, there will not be enough for most people to get a shot until spring.

"This is the light at the end of the tunnel. But it's a long tunnel," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The plan now is to quickly vaccinate⁴ millions of people. That includes not just doctors and nurses and other health workers, but other at-risk health workers such as cleaning workers and those who touch food.

The first shipments today contained about three million doses, with many more to come. U.S. government officials say the first shipments of Pfizer's vaccine will arrive at 145 vaccination centers throughout the day. Another 425 centers will get shipments Tuesday, and the remaining 66 on Wednesday. Doses of the vaccine are given out based on each state's adult population. The states decide where they go first.

A few other countries have cleared the Pfizer vaccine, including Britain, which started vaccinating⁵ people last week, and Canada, which began doing so on Monday.

The Pfizer vaccine was the first to be approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is the government agency responsible for approving medicines in the United States. Health officials hope the American public will accept the vaccine. Some Americans have expressed a lack of belief in the vaccination process.

Earlier this month, research from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about half of Americans want to get the vaccine as soon as possible. Another one fourth are not sure. The remaining 25 percent said they will not be vaccinated⁶. Most gave one of two reasons: they are against all vaccines⁷ or they think the coronavirus vaccine was approved too quickly.

Dr. Stephen Hahn is commissioner⁸ of the FDA, which approved the Pfizer vaccine Friday. He has said repeatedly that the decision to approve the drug was based on science, not politics.

Dr. Moncef Slaoui is the chief science adviser⁹ to the U.S. government's effort to get vaccines developed quickly. That effort is known as Operation Warp¹⁰ Speed. Slaoui said he was "very concerned" about a possible lack of trust in the vaccine.

"People are dying right now. How could you possibly say, ‘Let's wait and see'?" asked Dr. Francis Collins on Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. He is the director of the National Institutes of Health.

Words in This Story

dose –n. the amount of something, such as a medicine, needed to be effective

applause – n. the show of approval when people strike their hands together

exhausted – adj. very tired, used up

tunnel – n. a passage underground

1 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。

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

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 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。

5 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。

6 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？

7 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。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 warp   

vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见

参考例句：

• The damp wood began to warp.这块潮湿的木材有些翘曲了。
• A steel girder may warp in a fire.钢梁遇火会变弯。