IRAN DAILY

HEALTH &
WELLNESS
2020/12/19
Niloofar Maghroon
 NEW WORDS
Step up : To increase the amount of an activity or the speed of a process in order to improve a situation.
Get underway : To begin doing something.
Trial : A process of  testing to find out whether something works effectively and is safe.
Scourge : To cause a lot of harm or suffering to a place or group of people.
Ravage : To devastate or destroy something
Foster : To help a skill, feeling, idea etc. Develop over a period of time.
Liasian : The regular exchange of information between groups of people, especially at work, so that each
group knows what the other is doing.
 Africa steps up fight against HIV with
trial of new combination vaccines
◦ Lead paragraph :
The first trial in Africa to test two new vaccines to protect against HIV got under way in Uganda this week, raising hopes of an end
to the epidemic that affects millions of people across the continent. 
◦ Summary :
The first trial in Africa to test two new vaccines to protect against HIV got under way in Uganda this week, raising hopes of
an end to the epidemic that affects millions of people across the continent. At the same time, a new form of daily oral pre-
exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) will be offered to participants, which scientists say will give the vaccines the best possible
chance of working. More than 1,600 people between the ages of 18 and 40 are expected to participate in clinical trials over
the next three years in Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa. The PREPVacc chief investigator says that:
PrEPVacc provides two great opportunities: First, for Africans to be able to participate and lead in the first HIV prevention
trial to test two ways to prevent HIV, a scourge that has ravaged the continent. Professor Jonathan Weber, dean of the
faculty of medicine at Imperial College London, which is sponsoring the PrEPVacc trial, said: “The first PrEPVacc trial
participants in Masaka are helping their communities and the world by answering important questions about how we can
best prevent HIV in future. More than 35 scientists, clinicians, social scientists, community liaison officers and support
staff at the Uganda Virus Research Institute and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are involved in the trial
in Uganda.
 NEW WORDS
Endorsed : Declare one's public approval or support of.
Rollout : To make a new product available for people to buy or use.
Abstention : An act of not voting for or against something.
Jab : Injection
Commissioner : Someone who is officially in charge of a government department in some countries.
Moderna vaccine moves closer to US
approval
◦ Lead paragraph :
A second coronavirus vaccine is nearing emergency approval in the US after it was endorsed by a panel of
experts.
◦ Summary:
A second coronavirus vaccine is nearing emergency approval in the US after it was endorsed by a panel of experts. The US has recorded
more coronavirus cases and deaths than any other country. The advisory panel voted 20-0 with one abstention that the benefits of the
Moderna vaccine outweigh the risks for those aged 18 and over. Following the panel’s endorsement, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn
said his agency had informed Moderna that it would "rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization".
Regulators reported earlier this week that the Moderna vaccine was safe and 94% effective. The US has agreed to purchase 200 million
doses, and six million could be ready to ship as soon as the vaccine gets FDA approval. 
How does it differ from the Pfizer jab? The Pfizer jab requires temperatures closer to -75 °C, making transport logistics much more difficult.
The European Union last month announced a contract to purchase of 80 million doses — with an option to purchase up to 80 million more
— once the vaccine is deemed safe and effective. Japan has signed up for 50 million Moderna doses, South Korea for 20 million, and
Switzerland has ordered 7. 5 million, according to data compiled by the Duke University Global Health Innovation Center.
 NEW WORDS
Lethargy : A lack of energy and enthusiasm. 
Boost : Help or encourage (something) to increase or improve.
Dementia : A chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and
marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning.
Rickets : a disease of children caused by vitamin D deficiency, characterized by imperfect calcification,
softening, and distortion of the bones typically resulting in bow legs.
Deficient : Not having enough of a specified quality or ingredient.
Deformity : Malformation - Distortion
Heavy legs, lethargy and pain in the
muscles indicate low levels of vitamin D
◦ Lead paragraph :
Vitamin D has a whole host of benefits including keeping our bones healthy, boosting your immune system, and
ensures maintenance of normal muscle function, lowering blood pressure, combatting neurological disorders
including depression seasonal affective disorder, bettering sports performance, lowering the risk of diabetes and
even possibly dementia.
◦ Summary :
Vitamin D has a whole host of benefits including keeping our bones healthy, boosting your immune system, and ensures
maintenance of normal muscle function, lowering blood pressure, combatting neurological disorders including depression
seasonal affective disorder, bettering sports performance, lowering the risk of diabetes and even possibly dementia. Having
healthy bones protects a person from various conditions, including rickets. Rickets is a disorder that causes children to have bones
that are weak and soft. It is caused by a lack of vitamin D in the body. A person will need vitamin D so that calcium and
phosphorus can be used to build bones. If your legs feel heavy, you notice difficulty getting out of your chair or are generally
feeling weak this could be due to lack of vitamin D in the body affecting your muscles and bones, said healthspan. Being deficient
can lead to bone deformities including rickets in children and joint pain and tenderness, muscle weakness and pain in the spine,
ribs, shoulder or pelvis in adults, due to a condition called osteomalacia (soft bones).