Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.
This is the text (if you need help).
In a year that has largely been full of bad and tragic news because of COVID-19, there is finally some good news. Scientists have announced a breakthrough in the fight against the virus. The scientists are from the U.S. drug company Pfizer and the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech. Their researchers say they have developed a vaccine that has a 90 per cent success rate in protecting against COVID-19. The researchers also say the vaccine does not cause serious side effects. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the USA's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the vaccine was positive news. He said: "The results are really quite good, I mean extraordinary."
Health experts say it will be months before the vaccine is widely available for people to take. It needs to be stored at temperatures of -80º Celsius. However, Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla was upbeat about his company's achievement. He said: "Today is a great day for science and humanity....We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most." He added: "Infection rates are setting new records, hospitals are nearing over-capacity and economies are struggling to reopen. With today's news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis."
Comprehension questions- What kind of news did the article say this year has been largely full of?
- What two countries are the companies that developed the vaccine from?
- What kind of success rate does the vaccine have?
- What did the article say the vaccine does not cause?
- What did Dr. Anthony Fauci say the results were beyond "quite good"?
- How long did experts say it would be before the vaccine is available?
- At what temperature does the new vaccine need to be stored?
- What did Pfizer's CEO say "today" was a great day for?
- What did the CEO say was nearing over-capacity?
- What did the CEO say the vaccine could bring an end to?
Back to the COVID-19 vaccine lesson.
