VOA标准英语2010年-Flu Vaccine Found Safe, Effective for

One of the first studies of the effectiveness of flu vaccine¹ in young children suggests that vaccination² should be considered for youngsters before they reach their first birthday.
Older adults are considered to have the greatest chance of dying from the flu, but young children are also very much at risk. Not so much of dying, but certainly of getting sick with complications that can require a hospital stay.
Only a few countries currently vaccinate³ young children against the flu. The United States is one. Another is Finland, where Dr. Terho Heikkinen of the University of Turku led this new study.
"The problem has been that there has been no clear data on the efficacy of the vaccine in the youngest children," says Heikkinen. "And therefore, many countries, although they think that influenza⁴ is an important illness in young children, they have been reluctant in moving forward in vaccination until some convincing data are available."Heikkinen and his colleagues set out to provide that convincing data.
Children in their study ranged from nine months to just over three years old. As a whole, those who were vaccinated⁵ were less likely to get the flu. That was especially true among the youngest, those under age two. In that group, 12 percent of those who did not get a vaccination came down with flu, but only four percent who were fully⁶ vaccinated got the disease.
"This is the first study that clearly shows that the inactivated⁷ vaccine that's available for young children these days is clearly effective, even in the age group younger than two years," he said.
The results of vaccination are actually better than those numbers suggest. In the 2007-2008 flu season, when this study was conducted, the vaccine was designed to protect against two varieties of the flu, but it turned out to be largely ineffective against type B. Against type A influenza, 10 percent of the unvaccinated under-twos got sick, but only two percent of those who were fully vaccinated got the flu.
Heikkinen does not say that young children should start getting flu shots. But he said his study - and one other study that examined the issue a few years ago - both concluded that flu vaccines⁸ can be effective and safe for this age group, so policy makers⁹, doctors, and parents ought to at least think about it.
"I believe that the vaccine recommendations of young children will be at least reconsidered in all countries that do not vaccinate at this time."Terho Heikkinen's study is published online by the journal, The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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？

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 inactivated   

v.使不活泼，阻止活动( inactivate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Molluscicides are quickly inactivated by sunlight and adsorption to mud organic matter. 灭螺剂因阳光作用、泥土及有机物质的吸收会很快失效。 来自辞典例句
• Viruses were inactivated by BPL and the toxicity measured again. BPL对病毒进行灭活，测定残存毒力。 来自互联网

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 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》