A recent study in The Lancet found that almost half of the people in the UK didn’t get all the Covid vaccine doses they were supposed to. This meant that more than 7,000 people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented. The study looked at the health records of everyone over the age of five in the UK and found that younger people were more likely to miss their vaccine doses. The different parts of the UK had different rates of under-vaccination, with Northern Ireland having the highest and Wales having the lowest.

The study estimated that if everyone had gotten all their vaccine doses, 17% of the serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided. The researchers used information from Covid vaccinations, tests, doctors, and hospitals to look at the health data of everyone in the country. They found that older people who didn’t get all their vaccine doses were more than twice as likely to get seriously ill from Covid. They also found that people who missed vaccine doses were more likely to end up in the hospital or die from Covid, no matter how old they were.

One of the researchers, Prof Sir Aziz Sheikh, said that getting the Covid vaccine is really important for saving lives. He also said that this study can help figure out which groups of people and areas need more help with getting vaccinated. The groups of people who were less likely to get vaccinated were younger people, men, people who live in poorer areas, and people from ethnic minority groups. Another researcher, Prof Cathie Sudlow, said that using big sets of health data like this can help us understand and prevent lots of different diseases, not just Covid.

In summary, the study showed that not getting all the Covid vaccine doses had a big impact on how many people had to go to the hospital because of Covid in the UK. It showed that it’s really important for everyone, especially younger people, to get vaccinated. The study also showed that using big sets of health data can help us learn more about different diseases and how to stop them. This information can help make sure that everyone gets vaccinated and stays healthy.

Original news source: Covid jab skipped by 44%, entire UK study finds (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Provide each group with a copy of the article.
3. Give the students a few minutes to read the article.
4. Instruct the students to summarize the main points of the article in their own words.
5. After a designated time, ask each group to share their summaries with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct each group to come up with a list of questions related to the article.
3. The questions should be designed to gather opinions from the other students.
4. Each group will then take turns asking their questions to the rest of the class.
5. Encourage the students to engage in a discussion and share their thoughts and opinions on the topic.

– Word Association
Instructions:
1. Write down key words from the article on the board.
2. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
3. Instruct each group to take turns choosing a word from the board.
4. Once a word is chosen, the group must come up with as many related words or phrases as possible within a certain time limit (e.g. 2 minutes).
5. After the time limit, each group will share their list of words with the class.

– Sketch It
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct each group to choose a key scene or concept from the article.
3. Provide the students with drawing materials.
4. Give the students a designated time to sketch their chosen scene or concept.
5. After the time limit, ask each group to present their sketches to the class and explain their choices.

– Headline Creation
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct each group to come up with a catchy headline for the article.
3. The headline should capture the main idea or message of the article.
4. After a designated time, ask each group to share their headline with the class.
5. Encourage the students to explain their choices and discuss the effectiveness of each headline.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did a recent study in The Lancet find about the Covid vaccine in the UK?
2. How many people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented?
3. Who was more likely to miss their vaccine doses, according to the study?
4. Which part of the UK had the highest rate of under-vaccination?
5. How many serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided if everyone had gotten all their vaccine doses?
6. What were the researchers’ findings about older people who didn’t get all their vaccine doses?
7. Who were the groups of people less likely to get vaccinated, according to the study?
8. How can using big sets of health data help us understand and prevent diseases, according to Prof Cathie Sudlow?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A recent study in The Lancet found that almost half of the people in the UK didn’t get all the Covid vaccine doses they were supposed to. This (1)______ that more than 7,000 people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented. The study (2)______ at the health (3)______ of everyone over the age of five in the UK and found that younger people were more likely to miss their vaccine doses. The different parts of the UK had different rates of under-vaccination, with (4)______ Ireland having the highest and Wales having the lowest.

The study estimated that if everyone had gotten all their vaccine doses, 17% of the serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided. The researchers used information from Covid (5)______, tests, doctors, and hospitals to look at the (6)______ data of everyone in the country. They (7)______ that older people who didn’t get all their vaccine doses were more than twice as likely to get seriously ill from Covid. They also found that people who (8)______ vaccine doses were more likely to end up in the hospital or die from Covid, no matter how old they were.

One of the researchers, Prof Sir Aziz Sheikh, said that (9)______ the Covid vaccine is really (10)______ for saving lives. He also said that this (11)______ can help figure out which groups of people and areas need more help with getting vaccinated. The groups of people who were less likely to get vaccinated were younger people, men, people who live in poorer areas, and people from ethnic minority groups. Another researcher, Prof Cathie Sudlow, said that (12)______ big sets of health data like this can help us understand and prevent lots of different (13)______, not just Covid.

In summary, the study showed that not getting all the Covid vaccine doses had a big impact on how many people had to go to the hospital because of Covid in the UK. It showed that it’s really important for everyone, especially younger people, to get (14)______. The study also showed that using big sets of health data can help us (15)______ more about different diseases and how to stop them. This (16)______ can help make sure that everyone gets vaccinated and stays healthy.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a vaccine and how does it work?
2. How would you feel if you missed a dose of the Covid vaccine?
3. Do you think it’s important for everyone to get vaccinated? Why or why not?
4. Why do you think younger people were more likely to miss their vaccine doses?
5. What do you think can be done to help groups of people who are less likely to get vaccinated?
6. How would you feel if you had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented?
7. Do you like using big sets of health data to understand and prevent diseases? Why or why not?
8. How do you think this study can help improve vaccination rates in different areas?
9. What do you think are some reasons why people might choose not to get vaccinated?
10. How would you feel if you found out that missing a vaccine dose made you more likely to get seriously ill from Covid?
11. Why do you think people from ethnic minority groups were less likely to get vaccinated?
12. What do you think can be done to ensure that everyone gets vaccinated and stays healthy?
13. How do you think this study can help prevent other diseases, not just Covid?
14. Do you think it’s fair that some areas had higher rates of under-vaccination than others? Why or why not?
15. Why do you think men were less likely to get vaccinated compared to women?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Lancet
2. doses
3. prevented
4. under-vaccination
5. estimated
6. admissions
7. researchers
8. seriously
9. ethnic
10. minority
11. summary
12. impact
13. vaccinated
14. diseases
15. healthy

Meanings:
(A) In a way that is very harmful or dangerous
(B) Instances of being accepted into a hospital for treatment
(C) The effect or influence of one thing on another
(D) People who conduct scientific studies to discover new information
(E) A famous medical journal that publishes scientific research
(F) The amount of medicine given at one time
(G) Given a vaccine to protect against a disease
(H) Stopped from happening
(I) Related to a large group of people who share a common national or cultural tradition
(J) A brief statement that presents the main points
(K) Guessed or calculated based on available information
(L) A smaller part of a population, often based on race or ethnicity
(M) Illnesses or medical conditions
(N) Not getting enough of the required vaccinations
(O) In good physical condition and not sick
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did a recent study in The Lancet find about Covid vaccine doses in the UK?
(a) Almost half of the people didn’t get all their doses
(b) Everyone received all their doses
(c) Only older people missed their doses
(d) Northern Ireland had the highest vaccination rate

2. According to the study, which group of people was more likely to miss their vaccine doses?
(a) Older people
(b) Men
(c) Younger people
(d) People from ethnic minority groups

3. How many people had to go to the hospital because they didn’t get all their Covid vaccine doses?
(a) Less than 1,000
(b) More than 7,000
(c) Exactly 5,000
(d) None of the above

4. Which part of the UK had the highest rate of under-vaccination?
(a) Wales
(b) Northern Ireland
(c) Scotland
(d) England

5. What percentage of serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided if everyone had received all their vaccine doses?
(a) 50%
(b) 10%
(c) 25%
(d) 17%

6. According to the study, who was more than twice as likely to get seriously ill from Covid if they didn’t receive all their vaccine doses?
(a) Younger people
(b) Men
(c) Older people
(d) People from ethnic minority groups

7. What did Prof Sir Aziz Sheikh say about getting the Covid vaccine?
(a) It is not necessary for younger people
(b) It is only important for older people
(c) It has no impact on preventing hospital admissions
(d) It is really important for saving lives

8. What did Prof Cathie Sudlow say about using big sets of health data?
(a) It can help us understand and prevent various diseases
(b) It is not useful for studying diseases other than Covid
(c) It is only helpful for older people
(d) It has no impact on vaccination rates

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. More than 7,000 people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented.
2. People who missed vaccine doses were more likely to end up in the hospital or die from Covid, regardless of their age.
3. Younger people in the UK were less likely to miss their vaccine doses, according to the study.
4. The study downplayed the importance of getting the Covid vaccine and did not identify groups of people and areas that need more help with vaccination.
5. If everyone had received all their vaccine doses, 17% of serious hospital admissions due to Covid could have been avoided.
6. Different parts of the UK had different rates of under-vaccination, with Northern Ireland having the highest and Wales having the lowest.
7. Older people who didn’t get all their vaccine doses were not more than twice as likely to get seriously ill from Covid.
8. A recent study in The Lancet found that almost half of the people in the UK received all their Covid vaccine doses.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What did a recent study in The Lancet find about the number of people in the UK who didn’t get all their Covid vaccine doses?
2. How many people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented?
3. Who was more likely to miss their vaccine doses according to the study?
4. Which part of the UK had the highest rate of under-vaccination?
5. How many serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided if everyone had gotten all their vaccine doses?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did a recent study in The Lancet find about the Covid vaccine in the UK?
The study found that almost half of the people in the UK didn’t get all the Covid vaccine doses they were supposed to.

2. How many people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented?
More than 7,000 people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented.

3. Who was more likely to miss their vaccine doses, according to the study?
Younger people were more likely to miss their vaccine doses.

4. Which part of the UK had the highest rate of under-vaccination?
Northern Ireland had the highest rate of under-vaccination.

5. How many serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided if everyone had gotten all their vaccine doses?
If everyone had gotten all their vaccine doses, 17% of the serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided.

6. What were the researchers’ findings about older people who didn’t get all their vaccine doses?
The researchers found that older people who didn’t get all their vaccine doses were more than twice as likely to get seriously ill from Covid.

7. Who were the groups of people less likely to get vaccinated, according to the study?
The groups of people less likely to get vaccinated were younger people, men, people who live in poorer areas, and people from ethnic minority groups.

8. How can using big sets of health data help us understand and prevent diseases, according to Prof Cathie Sudlow?
Using big sets of health data can help us understand and prevent diseases by providing valuable information that can help identify which groups of people and areas need more help with getting vaccinated. It can also help us learn more about different diseases and how to stop them.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) meant
(2) looked
(3) records
(4) Northern
(5) vaccinations
(6) health
(7) found
(8) missed
(9) getting
(10) important
(11) study
(12) using
(13) diseases
(14) vaccinated
(15) learn
(16) information
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Lancet
Answer: (E) A famous medical journal that publishes scientific research

2. doses
Answer: (F) The amount of medicine given at one time

3. prevented
Answer: (H) Stopped from happening

4. under-vaccination
Answer: (N) Not getting enough of the required vaccinations

5. estimated
Answer: (K) Guessed or calculated based on available information

6. admissions
Answer: (B) Instances of being accepted into a hospital for treatment

7. researchers
Answer: (D) People who conduct scientific studies to discover new information

8. seriously
Answer: (A) In a way that is very harmful or dangerous

9. ethnic
Answer: (I) Related to a large group of people who share a common national or cultural tradition

10. minority
Answer: (L) A smaller part of a population, often based on race or ethnicity

11. summary
Answer: (J) A brief statement that presents the main points

12. impact
Answer: (C) The effect or influence of one thing on another

13. vaccinated
Answer: (G) Given a vaccine to protect against a disease

14. diseases
Answer: (M) Illnesses or medical conditions

15. healthy
Answer: (O) In good physical condition and not sick
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did a recent study in The Lancet find about Covid vaccine doses in the UK?
Answer: (a) Almost half of the people didn’t get all their doses

2. According to the study, which group of people was more likely to miss their vaccine doses?
Answer: (c) Younger people

3. How many people had to go to the hospital because they didn’t get all their Covid vaccine doses?
Answer: (b) More than 7,000

4. Which part of the UK had the highest rate of under-vaccination?
Answer: (b) Northern Ireland

5. What percentage of serious hospital admissions because of Covid could have been avoided if everyone had received all their vaccine doses?
Answer: (d) 17%

6. According to the study, who was more than twice as likely to get seriously ill from Covid if they didn’t receive all their vaccine doses?
Answer: (c) Older people

7. What did Prof Sir Aziz Sheikh say about getting the Covid vaccine?
Answer: (d) It is really important for saving lives

8. What did Prof Cathie Sudlow say about using big sets of health data?
Answer: (a) It can help us understand and prevent various diseases
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. More than 7,000 people had to go to the hospital because of Covid when it could have been prevented. (Answer: True)
2. People who missed vaccine doses were more likely to end up in the hospital or die from Covid, regardless of their age. (Answer: True)
3. Younger people in the UK were less likely to miss their vaccine doses, according to the study. (Answer: False)
4. The study downplayed the importance of getting the Covid vaccine and did not identify groups of people and areas that need more help with vaccination. (Answer: False)
5. If everyone had received all their vaccine doses, 17% of serious hospital admissions due to Covid could have been avoided. (Answer: True)
6. Different parts of the UK had different rates of under-vaccination, with Northern Ireland having the highest and Wales having the lowest. (Answer: True)
7. Older people who didn’t get all their vaccine doses were not more than twice as likely to get seriously ill from Covid. (Answer: False)
8. A recent study in The Lancet found that almost half of the people in the UK received all their Covid vaccine doses. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧