One day after the U.K was hailed for administering the first coronavirus vaccine shots in the west, Britain’s medicines regulator has warned people with a history of “significant” allergies to avoid the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine after two people who had the shot Tuesday experienced allergic reactions.
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Read:
Glossary
- to hail – to show approval for a person or an achievement
- anaphylactoid – resembling anaphylaxis (a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction ) or anaphylactic shock
- severe – acute, serious
- resuscitation (to resuscitate -verb) – the act of bringing someone back to life
- on hand – near and able to be used if needed
- precaution – a measure taken beforehand to prevent harm
- to kick off – to begin; to initiate proceedings
- to draw (criticism) – if something draws a reaction, people react in the stated way
- to cut corners – to skip certain steps in order to do something as easily or cheaply as possible
- to recant – to withdraw (a statement or belief) formally and publicly
- to rebut – to refute (disprove) by evidence or argument
Replace the words/phrases in bold with one of the words/phrases in Glossary
One day after the U.K was 1) publicly praised for administering the first coronavirus vaccine shots in the west, Britain’s medicines regulator has warned people with a history of “significant” allergies to avoid the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine after two people who had the shot Tuesday experienced allergic reactions.
Both are reported to be recovering well and had a history of 2) drastic allergic reactions, the NHS confirmed to news outlets.
As a 3) safety measure, the British medicines regulator, the MHRA, has advised people with a history of “significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food” to avoid the vaccine and for vaccination centers to have resuscitation facilities 4) at the ready.
The U.K. 5) commenced its mass vaccination campaign Tuesday after becoming the first western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine a week earlier.
The speed at which it approved the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech 6) was criticised from officials in Europe and the U.S.. Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the U.S.’ most senior infectious diseases officials, accused the British regulator of cutting corners and rushing through the vaccine’s approval, though he later 7) withdrew the comments and apologized, saying he respected the agency’s work.
ANSWERS: 1. hailed; 2. severe; 3. precaution; 4. on hand; 5. kicked off; 6. drew criticism; 7. recanted
Practice Makes Perfect
Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with the words in bold, then answer the questions:
rebut on hand cut corners
resuscitate severe
- Have you ever suffered from a ………. illness?
- In what situation would you have to ……… ……….. ?
- When was the last time you had to ………. the arguments given by the other side?
- Have you ever tried to …………. someone who lost consciousness?
- What do you always have ……. when working?
ANSWERS: 1. severe; 2. cut corners; 3. rebut; 4. resuscitate; 5. on hand
Discuss:
- Should a COVID-19 vaccine be compulsory?
- Are you going to have the jab when it is available?
- What do you think of vaccine hesitancy (also known as anti-vaccination or anti-vax), i.e. refusal to be vaccinated or to have one’s children vaccinated against contagious diseases?
- Weren’t diseases already disappearing before vaccines were introduced because of better hygiene and sanitation?
Explore it more to create your own teaching-learning experience!
How fast can a vaccine be made?
When a new pathogen emerges, our bodies and healthcare systems are left vulnerable. And when this pathogen causes the outbreak of a pandemic, there’s an urgent need for a vaccine to create widespread immunity with minimal loss of life. So how quickly can we develop vaccines when we need them most? Dan Kwartler describes the three phases of vaccine development.
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