VOA慢速英语2021--妇女在疫苗接种方面落后

Women Falling Behind in Vaccine¹ Efforts

People from the poorest countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East are starting to receive COVID-19 vaccines². But the latest information shows that women are vaccinated³ at lower rates than men.

Experts say women in Africa may be the least vaccinated population around the world, in large part because of misinformation and distrust. But problems getting the vaccine and inequality exist far beyond Africa. Barriers to receiving the vaccine include cultural opinions, and a lack of technology. Women, sometimes, are not prioritized.

Information about the rate of vaccine distribution to women is lacking in many countries. Officials agree, however, that women are clearly behind men in some places. Experts say the issue must be addressed for the world to defeat the pandemic.

Clare Wenham is a professor of worldwide health at the London School of Economics.

"If women do not get vaccinated at the same rates as men, they will become even more marginalized," she said. "This will just be one more instance where they are excluded from society."

Sarah Hawkes tracks worldwide coronavirus information by sex at University College London. She said whether women were able to get the vaccine earlier in the pandemic was often decided⁴ by how countries gave out their first shots. She said Pakistan and other countries gave their first vaccines to groups like the military and immigrant workers, who are more likely to be men.

Sasha Fahme is a women's health researcher at the American University in Beirut. She said that in Lebanon, like much of the Middle East, women were protected from COVID-19 at first because they were more likely to follow social distancing guidelines.

Over time, she explained, women faced higher exposure to the virus. Women are more likely to do household work and take care of sick relatives. Fahme also said women were less likely to have information about the virus because they have lower reading rates.

Naima Sadaka is a 36-year-old mother of three from southern Lebanon. She did not consider getting the vaccine because she believed there were scientific disputes about it, which is untrue.

"Since there are disagreements among the people of science over it, so, better without it," Sadaka said.

Many studies have proved all COVID-19 shots approved by the U.S. and Europe greatly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death.

In Bangladesh, the use of technology to increase vaccination⁵ rates may have hurt women.

Government information from September showed that 8 million men, but just 6 million women, had received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Ramesh Singh is the Bangladesh director for the organization CARE. After working on COVID-19 measures in some of the country's clothing factories, Singh noted⁶ that most of the workers were women. He said the factories have been open throughout the entire pandemic.

"That would seem to put women at higher risk because they're exposed, but they were not getting enough protection," Singh said.

Singh explained that Bangladesh began vaccination efforts by asking people to register on a mobile app. Women who did not have mobile phones could not sign up. And while registration⁷ has now grown beyond the app, some women from rural areas still face barriers.

Officials say that vaccinating⁸ more women in poor countries may depend on an important group: female healthcare workers. Women make up 70 percent of the world healthcare workforce⁹. Research, however, has found women to be more distrustful of vaccines than men. Some female healthcare workers are also distrustful.

Chioma Nwakanma is a doctor who works in Lagos, Nigeria. She is saddened that some nurses do not think the vaccine is important.

"And if female health workers are not confident in the vaccine, then why would the women take it?"

Words in This Story

prioritize — v. to organize (things) so that the most important thing is done or dealt with first

pandemic — n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

marginalize — v. to put or keep (someone) in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or group

exclude — v. to prevent (someone) from doing something or being a part of a group

exposure — n. the fact or condition of being affected¹⁰ by something or experiencing something : the condition of being exposed to something

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

confident — adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something : having confidence

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 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。

3 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？

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 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。

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 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

8 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。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 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。