4 . This week, four COVID-19 vaccines have appeared highly effective in preventing the COVID-19 disease and will roll out to market soon.

On November 17, Sinovac, a Chinese biotech company, published its promising results from Phase(阶段)1 and 2 trials in the medical journal The Lancet. The data shows that the vaccine, Corona Vac, has produced a very quick and strong immune response and did not cause any severe side effects among the 700 people tested. Sinovac has already started the Phase 3 tests in UAE, Brazil, Indonesia and Bangladesh since July 3. Initial Phase 3 data is likely to be available within the next month. (Update: the Phase 3 tests in UAE have shown that Corona Vac is 86% effective and UAE has officially approved it for nationwide use.)

One day earlier, Moderna reported that its vaccine is 94% effective and strongly protects against serious COVID-19 illness. On November 18, Pfizer announced that its vaccine is 95% effective. Britain's Oxford-AstraZeneca group said on November 23 that its vaccine is up to 70% effective.

However, Corona Vac may have a series of potential advantages over the mRNA vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca group's DNA vaccines, since there hasn't been any mRNA or DNA vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before, while Corona Vac is based on a tried-and-true method that uses weakened or dead COVIE-19.

Another big advantage for Corona Vac is the storage temperature as it can be stored between 2℃ and 8℃ for up to three years, while the mRNA vaccines have to be kept between -20℃ and -70℃. It would make their storage and distribution really challenging, especially in the developing countries.

Although we are seeing lights by the end of the tunnel, it's important to remember that an effective vaccine is not enough to end the crisis quickly, because it will take months to produce enough vaccines and distribute them. Therefore, measures like social distancing, washing hands and wearing face masks will remain essential to control the spread of COVID-19.

5 . Cooking has become a hobby and major recreation (娱乐) for many people in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s almost impossible nowadays to check social media without at least two or three photos of delicious meals popping up on our screens. But behind the fancy recipes and boastful (炫耀的) social media posts, many of us don’t realize how much we take food for granted.

“At the same time while dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic,” David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program (WFP), a United Nations agency, warned on April 20.

Around 135 million people had been facing food shortages before the coronavirus outbreak, but now 130 million more could go hungry in 2020, said Arif Husain, chief economist at the World Food Program. Altogether, 265 million people are being pushed to the brink of starvation (饥饿) by the COVID-19 crisis.

According to The New York Times, thousands of workers in India are lining up twice a day for bread and fried vegetables to fight against hunger. And across Colombia, poor families are hanging red clothing and flags from their windows to show that they are hungry.

“We don’t have any money, and now we need to survive,” said Pauline Karushi, who lost her job at a jewelry store in Nairobi. “That means not eating much.”

Lockdowns and social distancing measures contributed to loss of income for people worldwide and disrupted (打乱) agricultural production and supply routes (路线), leaving millions to worry how they will get enough to eat.

Money alone will not be enough, according to WFP. Also crucial is ensuring (保证) that transport and supply chains stay open in the face of lockdowns.

“There is no shortage of food globally – yet. But problems in planting, harvesting and transporting food will leave less developed countries facing even more difficult times in the coming months, especially those reliant (依赖的) on imports,” Johan Swinnen, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington told The New York Times.

However, for us, there’s no need for stockpiling (囤积) food, said Wei Baigang, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The reserves (储存) of rice and wheat in China are enough for the whole population for one year, according to Xinhua, and the prices remain stable.

“We have the confidence and determination to keep our rice bowls full,” said Pan Wenbo, another official from the ministry.

Past food shortages

Numbers of people in food crises in previous years (in millions)

2019             135M people in               55 countries

2018             113M people in          53 countries

2017             124M people in               51 countries

2016            108M people in               48 countries

As the saying goes, “A hero       1    (know) in the time of misfortune”. Zhong Nanshan is a hero like this. He is a doctor in Guangdong,     2     saved many people's lives in 2003.

In 2003, SARS    3    (break)out in Guangdong. Later, it spread across China and other parts of the world. Patients coughed a lot and got fevers.    4    (hundred)of patient seven died from the disease. Even many doctors and nurses got SARS when they treated patients. So, everyone was afraid of it. Zhong spent days and nights to find     5    cause of the disease. Thanks    6    his way of treating, many patients began to get better. Zhong finally won people's trust.

In early 2020,a disease     7    (call)COVID-19 hit Wuhan. It spread around quickly and tens of thousands of people were infected. Zhong, 84, led    8    (he) team to fight the illness. Zhong's team took many measures     9    (cure)the patients with COVID-19. He   advised people to wear masks, wash hands     10    (frequent),stay at home and not to go to crowd places.

Now at the age of 84, Zhong still treats patients in the hospital and teaches young doctors.