2020-02-04- Researchers Are Racing to Make a Coronavirus Vaccine. Will it help?

Researchers Are Racing to Make a Coronavirus Vaccine. Will It Help?

科研家们正在争分夺秒地研发防护新冠状病毒的疫苗，是否有帮助呢？

In the early days of January, as cases of astrange, pneumonia-like illness were reported in China, researchers at the National Institutes of Health readied themselves to hunt for a vaccine to prevent the new disease.

1月份初，中国出了一种奇怪的，类似肺炎的疾病，美国国际健康研究所已做好准备研发预防新疾病的疫苗。

Scientists in Australia are also working onvaccine candidates to stop the spread of the disease.

澳大利亚的科学家们也正在研发候选疫苗来阻断此疾病的传播。

Historically, vaccines are one of the greatest public health tools to prevent disease. But even as the newtechnology, advancements in genomics and improved global coordination have allowed researchers to move at unprecedented speed, vaccine development remains an expensive and risky process.

历史上，疫苗是预防疾病的最重要的公共健康工具。新的技术、先进的基因检测以及改善的国际合作，使得科学家们可以以前所未有的速度研发，即便如此，疫苗的研发依旧是一个昂贵且危险的过程。

It takes months and even years because the vaccines must undergo extensive testing in animals and humans. In the best case,it takes at least a year and most likely longer- for any vaccine to become availableto the public.

通常这个过程要经过数月或数年，因为疫苗需要经过大量的动物和人类测试才能被有使用。在最好的情况下，疫苗从研发到投入使用一般要一年甚至更长的时间。

With each outbreak, scientists typically have to start from scratch. After the SARS outbreak in 2003, it took researchers about 20 months from the release of the viral genome to get avaccine ready for human trails. By the time an epidemic caused by the Zika virus occurred in 2015, researchers brought the timeline down to six months. Now,they hope the joint efforts will cut that time in half. 

每次疫情爆发，科学家都要从头开始进行研究。在2003的SARS疫情爆发后，科学家们从基因组的发布到疫苗进行人体测试用了20周的时间。到2015年的寨卡病毒引起的传染病，科学家把时间缩短到6个月。现在，他们希望在公共努力下，这个时间可以再减半。

New expressions:

Pneumonia-肺

Ready sb. For sth.准备好做什么

Working on sth 忙于某事

Race to do sth 竞争着做某事 快速做某事

Vaccine Candidates 这里指候选疫苗

Hunt for sth/seeking for sth, pursue 寻求

Advancement n.进步，进展

Unprecedented adj.前所未有的

Undergo vt.经受，经历（Experience/go

through）

In the best case 在最好的情况下（Given the best situation）

Start from Scratch 从头开始；白手起家

Genome 基因组

Epidemic n.传染病，流行病

Bring sth down to 把某物降到某个水平（Reduce sth. To a certain level）

Joint efforts 共同努力