VOA慢速英语--疫苗制造商面临史上最大的医疗制造业壮举

Vaccine¹ Makers² Face Biggest Medical Manufacturing Feat³ in History

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Much of the world is watching and waiting for researchers to develop a vaccine for the disease COVID-19. But making enough of the vaccine to end the coronavirus health crisis will be the biggest medical manufacturing feat in history.

That work has started.

Researchers are currently setting up testing, involving 10,000 to 30,000 volunteers for every candidate vaccine. These scientists say they hope to get an answer on whether a vaccine works by as early as this October.

However, health officials face a hard reality. The developer of an effective vaccine may not be able to make and deliver billions of doses all at once.

Never done before

The Reuters news agency spoke⁴ with over 10 vaccine developers and suppliers.

The U.S. government has partnered with Johnson & Johnson on a $1 billion investment to speed up development and production of its vaccine, even before it is proven to work. Johnson & Johnson signed a deal with two other businesses, Emergent Biosolutions and Catalent, to manufacture large amounts in the United States. Catalent will also do some fill-and-finish work.

"Never in history has so much vaccine been developed at the same time - so that capacity doesn't exist," said Paul Stoffels. He is the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson. He said he believes that filling capacity is the main limiting factor.

Seth Berkley is head of GAVI, the vaccines⁵ alliance. He told Reuters that experts estimate having "one to two billion doses of vaccine in the first year, spread out over the world population." He added that it is unlikely to go straight from having zero vaccines to having enough doses for everyone.

GAVI is a project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its aim is to increase the availability of vaccines -- and immunization rates -- in developing countries.

Colonel Nelson Michael is the director of the U.S. Army's Center for Infectious Disease Research. He is working on a government project aimed at delivering a COVID-19 vaccine to the world by January 2021. Michael says that companies usually have years to develop vaccines. "Now," he said, "they have weeks."

The main problem: logistics

But one of the biggest issues is an untested supply chain: How to get the vaccine to people around the world? Any problem in the supply chain could delay or even wreck⁶ the whole process. And there could be other problems.

In other words, logistics – the term for organizing a complex operation such as this -- is a major concern.

"This is the biggest logistical challenge the world has ever faced," said Toby Peters. He is an engineering and technology expert with Britain's Birmingham University.

Peters told Reuters, "We could be looking at vaccinating⁷ 60% of the (world's) population."

Companies and governments must improve machines to be able to fill that demand. Currently there are not enough machines that can fill and package the vaccines for delivery.

Another problem: Vaccines need extreme cold

Once ready for shipping⁸, many vaccines need to be kept very cold. Some of the more promising⁹ vaccines are made from genetic¹⁰ material -- such as messenger RNA, or mRNA vaccines.

"People who work with mRNA store it at minus 80 degrees centigrade," said Paul Offit, a co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine. He noted¹¹ that such conditions are not available at most doctor's offices. He is a doctor and directs the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Peters of Birmingham University has been gathering¹² information from poorer countries in Africa and Asia. He said that breaks in the temperature-controlled supply chain are already happening.

Companies such as Moderna are working to make candidate vaccines that remain stable at higher temperatures. Colleen Hussey is a spokesperson for Moderna. She told Reuters that for a short amount of time, these vaccines can be stored in refrigeration equipment found in doctors' offices or medical centers.

She added, "We will know more in the next 2-3 months."

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

feat – n. an act or achievement that shows courage, strength, or skill

deliver – v. to transfer possession of (property) to another : put into the possession or exclusive control of another

dose – n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time

capacity – n. ability to contain or deal with something : the ability to do something

factor – n. something that helps produce or influence a result : one of the things that cause something to happen

supply chain – n. supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in supplying a product or service to a consumer

challenge – n. a difficult task or problem : something that is hard to do

package– n. a box or large envelope that is sent or delivered usually through the mail or by another delivery service : – v. to put (something) in a package in order to sell it or send it somewhere

stable – adj. in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change

1 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。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 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。

6 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

7 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。

8 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。