PREVIEW ACTIVITY (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2020. For use only with license.

The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, Explained (B2)

Work with a partner or group. Do the activities below about COVID-19 and vaccines.

PART I Discuss the questions below related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

1 Discuss how the world has changed since the start of COVID-19.
2 Describe the current situation with COVID-19 in the area where
you live. How normalized is everything?
3 In your own words, discuss when a pandemic is actually over.

PART II In your own words, discuss and/or write what a vaccine is.

VACCINE:

Discuss the questions below...

1 What kind of information have you heard regarding a COVID-19 vaccine?

2 Discuss what you think happens during vaccine trials and why they’re
important.

PART III Match the nouns below with their definitions on the right.

1 a pathogen a. a thin, sharp, or pointed piece of something

2 a spike b. an organism that causes a disease
3 cells c. chemical structures that receive and transmit signals
4 antibodies d. the smallest structural and functional units of an organism
5 receptors e. proteins produced by the body’s immune system that
defend it against harmful substances like viruses

PART III Discuss and/or write any information you know about Bill Gates.
PREVIEW ACTIVITY (II) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2020. For use only with license.
The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, Explained (B2)

PART I Choose the correct definition for the adjectives below based on the context.

1 After drinking some hot tea and taking some medicine, the effects of the flu
were attenuated.

attenuated means... a. continually and gradually becoming worse

b. weakened or reduced in intensity, effect, or quantity
c. discovered or found unexpectedly

2 It is urgent that I see a doctor immediately. I’m having trouble breathing.

urgent means... a. making someone feel ignored

b. imaginary; not true or not real
c. requiring immediate action or attention

3 I was exposed to a lot of sunlight this weekend on the beach and got sunburnt.

exposed means... a. not covered, shielded, or protected

b. filled with adrenaline or a feeling of nervousness
c. not able to make a decision about something

PART II Match the verbs and phrasal verbs with their definitions below the context examples.

1 My grandmother grabbed on to my arm as we walked down the long stairs.

2 Doctors injected the patient with morphine in order to reduce her severe pain.
3 Viruses can multiply very quickly once they get inside your system.
4 I take a medicine every day that prevents me from getting an allergic reaction.
5 Creating a COVID-19 vaccine requires a lot of time, money, and resources.

1 grab on a. to insert or put a drug into the body through the skin
2 inject b. to increase or cause to increase greatly in number or quantity
3 multiply c. to make or cause to be necessary
4 prevent d. to take a hold of something firmly
5 require e. to keep or stop something from happening

Bonus Terms!
in volume = in large amounts
EXAMPLE The COVID-19 vaccine will need to be produced in volume in order to
be accessible to as many people as possible.

efforts = attempts; acts of trying to achieve or do something

EXAMPLE There are scientific efforts worldwide working on a COVID-19 vaccine.
THE RACE FOR A COVID-19 Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2020. For use only with license.
RACE, EXPLAINED The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, Explained (B2)

PREVIEW DISCUSSION QUESTION

How has your life changed since the start

of the pandemic? What challenges have you
faced?

VIEWING ACTIVITY

PART I Write short answers according to the information in the video.

0:12 1 According to Bill Gates, what do vaccines do?

1:07 2 How are vaccines made?

1:36 3 What is an RNA vaccine?

PART II Choose true or false according to the information in the video.

0:34 1 TRUE FALSE The first time a virus gets in you, your immune system immedi-
ately recognizes that it’s a bad thing.

1:13 2 TRUE FALSE Vaccines are attenuated in order to prevent them from multi-
plying or duplicating.

1:24 3 TRUE FALSE Vaccines can sometimes have the opposite effect and cause
the disease instead of preventing it.

PART III Fill in the numbers that were used in the video. One isn’t used!

5 | 100 | 7 | 10 | 18

1 There are over different efforts making COVID-19 vaccines.

2 The vaccine needs to be supplied to billion people.
3 We’ve never made a vaccine in under years.
4 Bill Gates is confident that a vaccine will be ready within months.*
(*He said this in April 2020).

 POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2020. For use only with license.
The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, Explained (B2)

PART I Write the correct preposition that Bill Gates used in the video.

1 The most urgent invention in the world right now is a vaccine that prevents you
getting COVID-19.

2 The first time that you’re exposed this virus, it literally takes days for
your body to realize that it’s a bad thing.
3 The spike protein grabs to the cells in your body that have a particular
receptor and get that cell to make billions of copies of this virus.

PART II Study the example of get + [OBJECT] + infinitive Bill Gates uses in the video.

“ The idea of a vaccine is to get your body to make a lot of

antibodies that can take these viruses and actually kill them.

This verb structure is used when a person or thing causes or makes another person or thing do
an action - maybe by force, motivating, asking, arranging, or persuading. We use it to express
that a specific action makes something else happen.

NEXT EXAMPLE The spread of COVID-19 has gotten people to change their lifestyles drastically.
object infinitive

PART III Fill in the spaces below with the correct form of the verb get + (object) + infintive
verb that fits the context of the sentence. See the example:

EX The idea of a vaccine is to get your immune system to work (your immune
system) faster in the case that you get a virus.
1 Schools are trying to (students) masks at school, but
it’s been hard to enforce.
2 For safety reasons, restaurants are trying
(customers) outdoors instead of inside.
3 We somehow (our big couch) in a small space.
4 My wife (me) very healthily. Without her my diet
would be terrible.
5 Advertisers use special methods to (people) their product.
6 Many retails shops are (shoppers) hand sanitizer
before they enter the shop and when they exit.
7 Our pool heater is broken. I’ll have to (a service) it.
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY (II) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2020. For use only with license.
The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, Explained (B2)

SPEAKING TASK:

Your teacher will choose a few of the speaking topics below to discuss. Discuss the topics
with your teacher or partner. In your discussion, explain your ideas in detail.

1 Talk about what you think the world will be like after a
vaccine hits the market. Do you expect everything to go
back to normal?

2 Describe your social life since the start of the pandemic.

Have you been able to maintain a good social life?

3 How careful and cautious would you say you are about
COVID-19 compared to other people?

4 Have there been any indirect and positive effects in your

life that have come as a result of the pandemic? What
kinds of positive or optimistic news have you heard relat-
ing to the pandemic?

5 What other kinds of efforts have been made to help keep

people safe and stop the spread of COVID-19? Think about
efforts from scientists, governments, city officials, busi-
nesses, schools, sports organizations, etc.

WRITING TASK:

Imagine you have a dream while you’re sleeping that the pandemic has completely
ended. Write about what happens in your dream and present it to your class or teacher.
QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2020. For use only with license.
The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, Explained (B2)

Work with a partner. Complete the quiz and review activities below.

PART I Questions. Answer the questions below about the video.

1 According to Bill Gates, what do vaccines do?

2 How are vaccines made?
3 Why are vaccines attenuated?
4 What are some numbers that Bill Gates talked about in the video?

PART II Vocabulary: Discuss what each term means. Write how it was used in the video.

1. urgent

2. exposed

3. grab on

4. require

5. efforts

PART III Grammar: Explain how to use the verb structure get + object + infinitive. Do you
remember the example from the video? If so, finish writing the example sentence below.

Write two more of your own examples using get + object + infinitive.

PART IV Bonus I: The following terms are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Translate them to
your native language and then explain in your own words in English what they mean.

TRANSLATIONS:
1 contact tracing (n.)
2 incubation period (n.)
3 asymptomatic (adj.)
4 ventilator (n.)
5 stimulus check (n.)

Bonus II: Imagine a COVID-19 vaccine has finally been made. You are excited about the
PART V
vaccine and you want to express your emotions on social media. Write a social media
post describing your feelings about the vaccine and how it will impact your life.