VOA慢速英语2021--美国重启强生冠状病毒疫苗使用

US Restarts Use of Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine¹

American health officials said Friday that the United States is re-starting the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

The decision came after a committee of health advisors² told the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, that the vaccine's benefits outweigh³ the serious but rare risk of blood system blockages⁴, or blood clots⁶. They also recommended that the shots come with a warning for that risk.

The CDC had called for a "pause" in the use of the Johnson & Johnson, or J & J, vaccine, on April 13. That move came after six people had developed rare blood clots within three weeks after vaccination⁷. Health officials said Friday they found nine more cases, bringing the total to 15. All of them were women, most of them under 50.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the J & J vaccine for emergency use in late February. So far, about eight million shots have been given, most with few or no side effects.

Health officials said anyone who has pain in their head, legs, in the middle part of their body or trouble breathing after receiving the J & J shot should contact their doctor. They also warned that a usual treatment for blood clots, the drug heparin, might be dangerous. They advised that healthcare workers should use different treatments for side effects from the vaccine.

On Tuesday, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, also warned of a "possible link" to "very rare cases of unusual blood clots." The European health agency permitted the use of the vaccine with a warning about the rare blood clots.

Shortly after the EMA's decision, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would start sending the vaccines⁸ to European countries with added guidance for healthcare workers and patients.

Similar to AstraZeneca cases

The health agencies also noted⁹ the similarity of reports of blood clots among people receiving the J & J vaccine and the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

The AstraZeneca and J & J shots are not exact copies. But they are made with the same viral vector technology. Both use modified, harmless cold virus material as a vector, or carrier. The shot gives instructions to the human body to develop proteins to fight the coronavirus.

Viral vector vaccines can be produced quickly and in large numbers. They have been in use since the 1970s to develop vaccines against Ebola, Zika and influenza¹⁰. They do not require extreme cold storage, making them easier to use in areas with limited resources.

The shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology. They are more costly¹¹ to make and require extreme cold storage.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for emergency use in over 100 countries including Britain and the European Union, but not in the U.S. Two other vaccines, Sputnik V from Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute and China's shot from CanSino Biologics use viral vector technology. They are also widely available around the world.

The reports of blood clots were a second incident of bad news for Johnson & Johnson. In late March, millions of shots had to be thrown out after a manufacturing mistake was found at a factory in Baltimore, Maryland. Johnson & Johnson then took over the production in hopes of meeting its commitment to provide the United States with about 100 million shots by the end of May.

In the U.S. more than 200 million people have received at least one vaccine injection. The country has enough supplies of vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for the rest of the population.

However, an American decision on the J & J and AstraZeneca vaccines could affect world decisions about their use. And there are increasing calls for the U.S. to share its surplus vaccine supply with the rest of the world.

Words in This Story

benefit –n. a good or helpful result or effect

pause –n. a temporary stop : a period of time in which something is stopped before it is started again

blood clot⁵ –n. a thick and sticky clump¹² of dried blood that stops blood from flowing through a blood vessel¹³

storage –n. space where you put things when they are not being used

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 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

3 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

4 blockages   

n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞

参考例句：

• The storms could increase the risks posed by river blockages. 暴风雨会增加因河道堵塞所造成的危险。 来自互联网
• An angiogram shows the location and severity of blockages in blood vessels. 冠状动脉造影能够显示血管内的阻塞位置以及阻塞的严重程度。 来自互联网

5 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

6 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 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。

8 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。

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 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

13 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。