VOA慢速英语--新冠病毒患者争相加入基列药物研究

The new coronavirus COVID-19 made Dr. Jag Singh a patient at his own hospital.

A lung infection made it difficult for him to breathe. His doctors at Massachusetts General said he needed to make a decision about life support while in intensive care.

Then, they offered him a chance to test remdesivir. The experimental drug has had some good results when used against other coronaviruses. Singh, a heart specialist, said ‘yes' immediately.

COVID-19 patients around the world have been joining remdesivir studies in the past few weeks.

The interest has been so great that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) is expanding its study. It has nearly reached its first goal of 440 patients. The California company Gilead Sciences makes the drug. It is increasing its own studies too.

"I would enroll¹ my family" immediately, said Dr. Libby Hohmann. She placed Singh and nearly 30 other patients in the NIH study at Massachusetts General.

For most people, COVID-19 causes moderate symptoms. Some patients, however, get a lung infection which requires hospitalization. The risk of death is greater for older people and those with other health problems.

The drug remdesivir has been used in animal testing against two similar coronaviruses, SARS and MERS. The drug helped prevent infection and reduced the symptoms if it was taken early. The testing is farther along than other possible drugs and may lead to government approval for treatment.

The drug-maker Gilead has given remdesivir to more than 1,700 patients. Its chief executive² Dan O'Day wrote that many people have asked for the drug but the company is "taking the ethical³, responsible approach." He said more people will be helped if studies prove the drug to be safe and effective.

O'Day said his company has drug treatment for more than 140,000 patients. It is providing the drug for free for now. It has set a goal of making treatments for 500,000 patients by October and more than a million by the end of the year.

Gilead also gave remdesivir to China for two studies expected to have results by the end of the month. Other studies have begun in Asia and Europe.

"There's so much anxiety about the disease that the patients are quite interested" and no one offered the chance has refused, said Dr. Arun Sanyal. He is the study leader at Virginia Commonwealth⁴ University in Richmond.

The NIH study, however, is the most rigorous⁵ of all the tests. It compares remdesivir to placebos⁶, and neither patients nor doctors know who is getting what until the end of the study.

Words In This Story

enroll – v. to join or to take part in something

symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present

anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what may happen

rigorous – adj. doing something with a lot of interest and strength

placebo– n. a pill or substance that is given to a patient like a drug but that has no physical effect on the patient

1 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

2 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

3 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

4 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

5 rigorous   

adj.严密的，缜密的，严格的，严厉的

参考例句：

• The arms trade should be subject to rigorous controls.对军火贸易应该严加限制。
• The planes have to undergo rigorous safety checks.飞机必须经过严密的安全检查。

6 placebos   

n.（给无实际治疗需要者的）安慰剂( placebo的名词复数 )；安慰物；宽心话；（试验药物用的）无效对照剂

参考例句：

• But, eventually, I think they were just kind of like placebos. 但是后来，我想它们只是安慰剂（安慰剂：没有任何药效的药） 来自电影对白
• But comparable numbers of those who received placebos also improved. 但是吃安慰剂的人的病情也改善了。 来自互联网