How to Deal with New COVID-19 Variants

As countries race to vaccinate¹ people against COVID-19, new variants² of the coronavirus are again raising concerns around the world.

In the U.S., about 1.7 million people are receiving shots from drug makers⁴ Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna each day. The two vaccines⁶ were approved for emergency use in late 2020 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The drugs have also received permission for emergency use in Europe, South Korea and Japan.

Sputnik V, a vaccine⁵ developed by Russia's Ministry⁷ of Health is being given to people in Russia, Belarus, Venezuela and other countries. China's Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have received emergency use permission in China, United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Egypt.

Several other vaccines, including those from drug makers Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca, are awaiting decisions from health officials in some countries. At the same time, the United Nations-backed COVAX program wants to provide 2 billion vaccine treatments to lower-income countries around the world to fight the virus.

Worrisome variants

Like other viruses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is always changing and has been changing all along. Sometimes new variants appear and disappear. Other times, new variants appear and spread across many countries.

The head of Britain's vaccination⁸ effort said the world faces around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. But three variants found to have come from South Africa, Britain and Brazil are most worrisome.

Drug makers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech said they are developing additional booster shots to fight against the worrisome variants. Others noted⁹ their shots have shown different levels of effectiveness against the variants.

On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that drug makers would not have to start new trials for vaccines adapted to fight against the new variants. The health agency added that the companies could use a similar process for the yearly influenza¹⁰ shot to test the effectiveness of the updated vaccines.

Take the vaccine

Dr. Gigi Gronvall is a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She spoke¹¹ with reporters last week to discuss vaccines and their effectiveness against the coronavirus variants. Gronvall said some people are worried that the vaccine will not work against the variants. But she wanted people to understand that if they can get a vaccine, they should take it.

"If you've had the vaccine and your friend has not, and you're both exposed to somebody who has the virus, the likelihood that you're going to get sick is 95 percent less, so you have a 95 percent less risk than your friend. So that's the way you should be thinking about it."

Dr. Andy Pekosz, another Johns Hopkins University professor, joined Gronvall in the video call with reporters. He noted that the variants from South Africa and Britain came when the virus was spreading easily. He said every time the virus moves to a new person, it can change slightly. So, the way to prevent more changes in the virus is to prevent it from moving to a new person through vaccination.

"That really is the critical thing. You've seen the emergence¹² of variants during times when countries have had really peak amounts of virus spread."

The two scientists added that along with vaccines, public health officials should continue to emphasize other preventive measures, including wearing face coverings and spending time in areas with good air flow.

Words in This Story

variant³ - n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind

income –n. money that is earned from work, investments and business; used to describe the average amount of money people make is a certain place

booster (shot) –n. an extra amount of a vaccine that is injected into a person or animal that improves or extends protection against a targeted disease

expose - v. to cause something to be affected¹³ by a virus or something that could be harmful

emphasize - v. to give special attention to something

critical - adj. extremely important

peak - adj. filled with the most activity

1 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。

2 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

3 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

4 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》

5 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。

6 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。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 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。

9 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。

10 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

11 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。

12 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。