Promising Vaccine Trials Bring Hope To Coronavirus-Weary World

On December 1, 2020, the United Kingdom became the first western country to give emergency ______ for a COVID-19 vaccine. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) officials announced they would begin _______ 800,000 doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to 50 British hospitals as early as next week. The initial vaccines will be administered to some of the nation's most ______ citizens — nursing home residents, health workers, and the elderly.

The vaccines are made using a synthetic Messenger ribonucleic acid (核糖核酸), or mRNA, that contains ______ about the coronavirus’s signature spike protein (突刺蛋白). When injected into the body, it provides the immune system a _______ of what the threat looks like and allows it to prepare the antibodies needed to neutralize the virus if a person gets infected. This is different from traditional vaccines, which _______ the immune system by injecting weakened viruses that cannot reproduce themselves very effectively.

The _____ approach has several advantages. Since it does not use a live virus, there is little danger of the vaccinated person being infected with the coronavirus. mRNA vaccines are also easier and faster to mass-produce.

However, questions about how long the vaccines will provide protection and their _____ across various age groups and ethnicities are yet to be answered. Also, at an expected price of between $15 to $25 per dose, the immunizations will be expensive to extend, especially since each person needs two shots to obtain full ______.

______, Pfizer's BNT162b2 must be stored at a temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius), and once melted, it lasts just five days in regular refrigerators. This means that the countries wishing to use the vaccination will first have to build cold storage _______. Moderna's mRNA-1273 will be a slightly easier choice since it can be stored in a regular medical freezer for up to six months. It also remains ______ in a standard refrigerator for up to a month after melting.

“Today’s emergency use authorization in the U.K. ______ a historic moment in the fight against COVID-19. This authorization is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win, and we ______ the MHRA for their ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the U.K.,” Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, said in a press release.

Pfizer and Moderna are not the only ones competing to find a way to stop the spread of this deadly virus that has brought the world to a halt. With the world's greatest minds working together, there is little doubt that the coronavirus will be eliminated. However, given the extent of its ______, it will take some time. Until then, we must all continue to take the precautions recommended by medical experts.

After persuading most of his patients, his wife and son to go back to France following the lockdown of Wuhan, Philippe Klein, a French doctor, decided to stay in the epicenter during the COVID-19 outbreak.

"I am a doctor, so I have to do my job and do my______," said Klein, a general practitioner at Wuhan Union Hospital in Hubei province.

Before authorities in Wuhan______the city, suspending all outbound flights and trains in late January to______the highly infectious disease, Klein had______about 500 foreigners living in Wuhan, most of them French.

Following the outbreak, he closed his______at the hospital to reduce the chances of infection for his patients. Instead, he began to give______and treatment at patients' homes.

But while he continued to see his patients, Klein found some had fever and he might be______with the virus, so he decided to send his wife and son back to France.

"When I came back home after seeing patients, I didn't feel very comfortable. I really did not want to put my family______, so I asked my wife to leave Wuhan on the second plane organized by the French government," he said. "My son was crying when we______, but it was better for them to leave Wuhan and let me do my job. Also they were very proud because I was doing my duty here."

In addition to his sense of duty as a doctor, he said he also chose to stay because of his deep______for the people and the city, where he has lived for six years.

“People in Wuhan are very friendly to French, and here I feel like a star sometimes,” he said.

____the lockdown of a vast city with 11 million people, which is rare in human history, has made a big______on Klein. He said he is touched by the______Wuhan residents have made to contain the outbreak.

“The last month was the craziest month in my______life,” he said. “and I would like to say to the people of Wuhan and to the Chinese people that they are going to overcome this epidemic. And their sacrifice, their courage, their unity, will______. It will be an example to the world to make such a sacrifice to protect the rest of the world.”

Does the fear of public speaking bring you to your knees? You're not ______. "I can't wait to ______ this stage,” you say to yourself. "I just want to run and hide. This is not going ______." That is exactly what those with a fear of public speaking are ______.

This fear of public speaking is a type of social anxiety disorder. People with social anxiety disorder in general find ______ a social situation to be a matter of great concern. They ______ that actions or behaviors associated with their ______ will be negatively(负面地) evaluated by others, leading them to feel ______. This worry often causes them to ______ social situations.

This fear is more ______ than sweaty hands and a tied tongue. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America ______, "People with social anxiety disorder are also at increased risk of ______ major depressive disorders."

The disorders often start in ______ people-a shy child who won't take part in class even though he ______ the answers, or is ______ on play dates-and grow as the child becomes an adult.

How to ______ such fear? Start with ______things. Instead of being keynote ______, you can begin with giving a talk in front of one other person. And then gradually turn the heat up in terms of making the situation more anxiety-provoking (引起焦虑的).

Medication(药物治疗) is a(n) ______, too. But the first step may simply be practicing a speech in front of a mirror, or alone in a(n) ______ room. Also, learn to slow down and breathe. And buy into the idea that your life will be better if you overcome your fear.