The vaccine (疫苗) news continues to seem very encouraging. Britain started its mass vaccination effort and the U. S. isn't far behind. But there is still one dark cloud hanging over the vaccines that many people don't yet understand. The vaccines will be much less effective at preventing death and illness if they are introduced into a population where the coronavirus is still severe 一 as is now the case in the U. S.
A vaccine is like a fire hose (消防龙头). A vaccine that is 95 percent effective, as Moderna's and Pfizer's versions appear to be, is a powerful fire hose. But the size of a fire is still a bigger determinant of how much destruction occurs.
At the current level of infection in the U. S. (about 160, 000 confirmed new infections per day), a vaccine that is 95 percent effective 一 distributed at the expected pace 一 would still leave a terrible toll (伤亡人数) after it was introduced. Almost 36 million or so Americans have caught the virus, and more than 60, 0000 have died. This is far worse than the toll in a different situation where the vaccine was only 50 percent effective. However, it's worth pausing for a moment on this comparison. If the U. S. maintained its current infection rate and Moderna and Pfizer announced that their vaccines were only 50 percent effective. a lot of people would panic.
But the reality we have is actually worse. How could this be? No vaccine can get rid of a pandemic immediately, just as no fire hose can put out a forest fire. While the vaccine is being distributed, the virus continues to do damage.
There is one positive way to look at this: Measures that reduce the virus's spread 一 like mask - wearing, social distancing and rapid - result testing 一 can still have great consequences. They will save many lives in coming months.
【小题1】How does the author mainly present his argument?| A．By giving definitions | B．By classifying facts |
| C．By drawing comparisons | D．By appealing to emotions |
| A．Critical | B．Optimistic | C．Worried | D．Neutral |
| A．Improving the effectiveness of the vaccines | B．Producing a greater variety of vaccines |
| C．Looking at the situation in a positive way | D．Wearing masks and practicing social distancing |
| A．fewer people will die if the infection rate is lower |
| B．the US have controlled the spread of the coronavirus |
| C．the death toll in the next months will be reduced a lot |
| D．the vaccines are less effective than expected |
