VOA标准英语2009年-Experts Say Childhood Vaccinations at

More infants are being immunized than ever before, according to a joint¹ report by UN agencies and the World Bank. But experts say much more needs to be done to protect the world's poorest children from needless suffering.

Vidushi Sinha | Washington 28 December 2009

 
Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, said, "The numbers of children vaccinated² today are at an all time high.  We have numbers to prove this."

She says global efforts have stopped a downward trend in vaccinations⁴ and have even boosted the number of children and infants being vaccinated.

The results are nothing short of phenomenal.

"Worldwide there have been nearly three quarters drop in deaths due to measles⁵ since 2000," she added.

Now the Americas are measles free.  

"The disease that is measles has been eliminated in the region of the Americas and that is great news," she noted⁶.

The information is in a report called "State of the World's Vaccines⁷ and Immunization," issued by UN agencies and the World Bank. 

It says that for the first time, the number of children dying every year has fallen below 10 million and immunization saves 2.5 million children every year. 

UNICEF's Mickey Chopra says the report is a call to increase funding for immunizations.
 
"Focusing on immunization coverage⁸ often can be a way of focusing on those who are excluded from society, excluded from health services, more than just the vaccines," he said.

Most vaccines help prevent disease in children, but reaching children in remote rural areas is often a challenge especially in poorer and war-torn countries.

It can only be done, experts say, if the government in power approves and with help from non-governmental organizations.

Richard Greene is an infectious disease expert with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

"Civil Society plays a key role in helping⁹ to communicate the need for mothers to bring their children in early for vaccines - to complete the vaccination³ series - to make sure that non-governmental organizations deliver and offer vaccines not only one day a week necessarily but on a regular basis," he said.

Vaccines that protect against pneumonia¹⁰ and diarrhea are a top priority for health experts seeking more funding. 

Pneumonia and diarrhea account for over one third of all deaths among children under the age of five.

More than 80 new vaccines are in late-stage clinical trials. Thirty of them target diseases for which there are no immunizations, like malaria¹¹ and dengue fever.

The report says if all countries immunize 90 percent of children under five with vaccines already available, that would prevent another two million deaths a year.
 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 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？

3 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。

4 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

6 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。

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 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

11 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。