Moderna Aims to Supply COVID Vaccine to China
2023-01-19
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1China may soon receive Moderna's mRNA vaccine for COVID-19.
2The drug company's leader, Stephane Bancel, said Moderna is discussing supplying China with vaccines.
3Bancel spoke with the Reuters news agency at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland.
4Moderna is based in the United States.
5Bancel said he is also talking with Chinese officials about factories and other health products, including cancer treatments.
6"What I really want to understand is how do we help the Chinese government (address) the needs they have from a healthcare standpoint," he said.
7Bancel did not say anything more about the plan, except for that he hopes to visit China this year.
8China so far has only permitted its own vaccines for COVID-19.
9The country is currently experiencing a surge of infections after it ended the severe restrictions of its "zero COVID" policy in late 2022.
10The Chinese vaccines do not use the latest technology.
11Instead of using mRNA like the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, they use the inactive form of the virus.
12International health experts believe the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations may create an even larger virus outbreak.
13Many Chinese people living in cities return to their hometowns for celebrations.
14Some rural areas do not have good hospitals and medical centers.
15Moderna's Bancel said his company is also working with Merck on using mRNA technology to treat cancer.
16They are researching an experimental vaccine for melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer.
17In a group discussion at the WEF, Bancel said he wants Moderna to have factories around the world working on mRNA vaccines.
18He said Moderna is building, or plans to build, factories in Canada, Australia, Britain and Kenya.
19I'm Dan Friedell.
1China may soon receive Moderna's mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. 2The drug company's leader, Stephane Bancel, said Moderna is discussing supplying China with vaccines. 3Bancel spoke with the Reuters news agency at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland. Moderna is based in the United States. 4Bancel said he is also talking with Chinese officials about factories and other health products, including cancer treatments. 5"What I really want to understand is how do we help the Chinese government (address) the needs they have from a healthcare standpoint," he said. 6Bancel did not say anything more about the plan, except for that he hopes to visit China this year. 7China so far has only permitted its own vaccines for COVID-19. The country is currently experiencing a surge of infections after it ended the severe restrictions of its "zero COVID" policy in late 2022. 8The Chinese vaccines do not use the latest technology. Instead of using mRNA like the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, they use the inactive form of the virus. 9International health experts believe the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations may create an even larger virus outbreak. Many Chinese people living in cities return to their hometowns for celebrations. Some rural areas do not have good hospitals and medical centers. 10Moderna's Bancel said his company is also working with Merck on using mRNA technology to treat cancer. They are researching an experimental vaccine for melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer. 11In a group discussion at the WEF, Bancel said he wants Moderna to have factories around the world working on mRNA vaccines. He said Moderna is building, or plans to build, factories in Canada, Australia, Britain and Kenya. 12I'm Dan Friedell. 13Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 14___________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16standpoint -n. a way in which something is thought about or considered 17surge -n. a fast increase 18outbreak -n. the sudden spread of disease or violence 19___________________________________________________________________ 20We want to hear from you. Do you think Moderna will have more success with mRNA vaccines? 21We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 22Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.