October 1 - How Asia revved up vaccinations

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A Covid vaccination outreach program in a remote village in Sabah, Malaysia, this month. Annice Lyn/Getty Images

How Asia revved up vaccinations

For months, the Asia-Pacific region struggled to get its Covid vaccination campaigns off the ground. But now, several countries in the region are speeding ahead and some have even pulled ahead of the U.S.

- get off the ground : 이륙하다

- get (something) off the ground : 순조롭게 출발[시작]하다[하게 하다]

- get something off (the ground) : 시작되다, 실행에 옮기다, 계획대로 궤도에 올리다, …을 시작하다

- pull ahead (of somebody/something) : (~보다) 앞으로 나아가다[앞서다]

South Korea, Japan and Malaysia have administered more vaccine doses per 100 people than the U.S. has — a pace that seemed unthinkable in the spring. Several countries have surpassed the U.S. in fully vaccinating their populations or are on track to do so, limiting the possible damage from the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The turnaround is a testament to the region’s success in securing supplies and working out the kinks in their programs.

- turnaround 1.(선박·비행기가 화물·승객 등을 내리고 다시 탑재하는 데 걸리는) 적하와 재적재 시간

2. 작업을 완료해서 회송하는 데 걸리는 시간

3. (상황의) 호전(好轉)

- kink 1.(보통은 죽 곧은 것이) 구부러진[꼬인] 것

2. 못마땅함 (비정상적으로 보이는 성격심리적) 뒤틀림[비뚤어짐]

3. 구부러지다, 뒤틀리다; 구부러지게[뒤틀리게] 하다

Across Asia, the incentives offered to get the shot vary, like allowing only vaccinated people to attend social activities, but overall, vaccines have not been a polarizing issue. A research team at the National University of Singapore found that the region holds mostly positive views of Covid vaccines.

Quotable: “It’s almost like the tortoise and the hare,” said the director of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul. “Asia was always going to use vaccines when they became available.”

Details: In South Korea, the authorities said vaccines had helped keep most people out of the hospital. In Japan, serious cases have fallen by half over the past month, to a little over 1,000 a day. Hospitalizations have plummeted to around 31,000 cases on Tuesday from a high of just over 230,000 in late August.

- plummet : 곤두박질치다, 급락하다 (=plunge)