6 Britain
6 Britain October 2 2022 | World and Press London children offered polio vaccine booster as virus found in wastewater HEALTH Children ages one to nine will be offered a booster dose amid global fears of a polio resurgence. By Rachel Pannett and Lenny Bernstein 1 BRITAIN will offer a polio booster vaccine dose to children ages one to nine in London, after the poliovirus was detected in wastewater in parts of the city. The U.K. Health Security Agency said Wednesday that the vaccination program will start in areas Illustration of a poliovirus particle. | Photo: Picture Alliance/AP where traces of the virus have been detected and immunization rates are low. The highly contagious virus can lead to paralysis. 2 “No cases of polio have been reported and for the majority of the population, who are fully vaccinated, the risk is low. But we know the areas in London where the poliovirus is being transmitted have some of the lowest vaccination rates,” Vanessa Saliba, an epidemiologist at the agency, said in a statement. 3 Polio was a fearsome, sometimes fatal scourge before an in- activated vaccine was introduced in 1955. The virus causes permanent paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated in about five out of every 1,000 cases. The last case of polio in Britain was detected in 1984. Before mass vaccination, approximately 8,000 people in Britain developed paralysis from it every year. … 4 The virus has also been detected in wastewater in the northern New York City suburbs of Rockland and Orange counties, which the New York State Department of Health said indicated wider local transmission. 5 Most of the U.S. population is protected against the disease through vaccinations in childhood. But in areas with low vaccination coverage, such as the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Rockland County, people who have not been immunized are at high risk. There is no treatment for polio. 6 British health officials said Wednesday that they are working closely with health agencies in New York and Israel, as well as the World Health Organization, to investigate any links between the poliovirus detected in London and recent incidents in the other two countries. 7 Since early February, 116 instances of poliovirus had been identified in 19 wastewater samples from areas in northeast and central London. But only a few have sufficient mutations to be classified as vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, or VDPV2, the Health Security Agency said. Health officials consider VDPV2 to be of “greater concern” because of the similarities with naturally occurring “wild” polio. Unvaccinated people who contract it have a small chance of becoming paralyzed. 8 Many countries provide an additional dose of the polio vaccine to children, British health officials said. © 2022 The Washington Post 0 VACCINE “"vœksi…n‘ Impfstoff; h.: Impfung — wastewater Abwasser — dose Dosis — amid “´"mId‘ angesichts — resurgence “rI"s‰…dZ´ns‘ Wiederaufflammen 1 – 2 to detect nachweisen — Health Security Agency Behörde des brit. Gesundheitsministeriums — vaccination program “ÆvœksI"neIS´n‘ Impfkampagne — trace Spur — immunization “ÆImj´naI"zeIS´n‘ Immunisierung; s.w.u. to immunize — highly contagious “k´n"teIdZ´s‘ hoch ansteckend — paralysis “p´"rœl´sIs‘ Lähmungen; s.w.u. paralyzed “"pœr´laIzd‘ gelähmt — to transmit übertragen; s.w.u. transmission — epidemiologist “ÆepIÆdi…mi"Ål´dZIst‘ Epidemiologe(-in) 3 – 5 fearsome “"-s´m‘ angsteinflößend — fatal “"feIt´l‘ tödlich — scourge “sk‰…dZ‘ Geißel — inactivated vaccine Totimpfstoff — to indicate s.th. auf etw. hindeuten — low vaccination coverage “"køv´rIdZ‘ niedrige Impfquote — Orthodox “"O…T´dÅks‘ 6 – 8 health official Mitarbeiter(in) des Gesundheitsministeriums — sample Probe — sufficient “s´"fIS´nt‘ genug — to classify einstufen — vaccine-derived impfstoffabgeleitet — of greater concern besorgniserregender — similarity “ÆsImI"lœr´ti‘ Ähnlichkeit — to contract s.th. “-"-‘ s. mit etw. anstecken Britain will pull billion in bank notes as it switches from paper to polymer CURRENCY Paper 20- and 50-pound bank notes will no longer be legal tender as of Sept. 30, the Bank of England said. By Amy Cheng 1 BRITAIN’Scentral bank will remove bank notes worth £14.5 billion, or nearly billion, from circulation by Sept. 30, as it seeks to retire its remaining paper currency in favor of polymer bills. The transition will make Britain the world’s largest economy that uses only plastic-like bank notes. 2 The Bank of England urged people holding paper 20- and 50-pound bills to spend or deposit them with a financial institution before they are no longer legal tender. Retail outlets will no longer accept them starting in October, but banks and the U.K. Post Office may continue to do so. Britain is one of Europe’s most cashless societies, with many consumers switching to digital and card payments during the coronavirus pandemic. 3 Polymers, known for their flexibility, are an important ingredient in many plastics. The Bank of England said polymer notes tend to be cleaner. They are also water resistant and harder to fake because the laborious manufacturing process is likely to put off counterfeiters. 4 “Changing our bank notes from paper to polymer over recent years has been an important development, because it makes them more difficult to counterfeit, and means they are more durable,” Chief Cashier Sarah John, the official responsible for bank notes, said in a statement. … 5 All British polymer bills feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on one side. The fivepound denomination was the first to be rolled out and began circulating in September 2016. The other side depicts Winston Churchill, the prime minister who steered the country through the Second World War. 6 Jane Austen, the celebrated writer of romantic novels, is depicted on the polymer ten-pound bills. The 20-pound polymer note bears a portrait of J.M.W. Turner, a 19th-century artist renowned for his landscape and seascape paintings. The new 50-pound bill showcases Alan Turing, a founding father of computer science and artificial intelligence who was a code breaker during World War II. … © 2022 The Washington Post zusatzmaterial Unterrichtsvorbereitung fertig zum Download! British polymer bank notes. | Photo: Getty Images/NurPhoto 0 – 1 TO PULL; s.w.u. to remove (from circulation) “Æs‰…kj´"leIS´n‘ aus dem Verkehr ziehen — billion Milliarde — polymer “"pÅlIm´‘ — legal tender gesetzl. Zahlungsmittel — to retire abschaffen — bill Banknote — transition Umstellung 2 – 3 to urge s.o. “‰…dZ‘ jdn. eindringlich auffordern — to deposit “dI"pÅzIt‘ einzahlen — financial institution Finanzinstitut — retail outlet Einzelhandelsgeschäft — cashless bargeldlos — to fake; s.w.u. to counterfeit “"kaUnt´fIt‘ fälschen — laborious “l´"bO…ri´s‘ aufwendig — manufacturing process “Æmœnj´"fœktS´rIN‘ Herstellungsprozess — to put off abschrecken — counterfeiter Fälscher(in) 4 – 6 durable “"dZU´r´b´l‘ langlebig — Chief Cashier (of the Bank of England) “kœS"I´‘ bei der engl. Zentralbank Hauptverantwortliche(r) für in Umlauf befindliche Banknoten (cashier Kassierer[in]) — official Mitarbeiter(in) — to feature; s.w.u. to showcase zeigen — denomination Stückelung — to roll out einführen — to begin circulating “"s‰…kj´leItIN‘ in Umlauf kommen — to depict abbilden — to be renowned for “rI"naUnd‘ berühmt sein für — code breaker Code-Entzifferer(-in)
World and Press | October 2 2022 Britain 7 University staff who can’t afford to eat ask for campus food banks COST OF LIVING Young academics and support workers are on the breadline as the cost of living crisis bites. By Anna Fazackerley 1 STAFF AREasking universities to set up food banks because they are struggling with rising bills and say they cannot afford to eat properly. As food and energy prices rise, the University and College Union says young academics teaching on casual contracts and low-paid support workers such as porters and cleaners are finding themselves on the breadline. 2 Some staff members at Leeds, a member of the Russell Group of leading universities, said they couldn’t afford adequate meals and called for a staff food bank on an anonymous message board last month. The online message board, seen by the ‘Observer’, was set up by students who occupied university buildings to protest at low staff pay. 3 One staff member wrote: “Another morning where I wake up hungry because I couldn’t eat enough last night.” They added that they had survived on two or three meals of plain rice a day during the pandemic. A second anonymous university worker said: “This Tuesday I attended my appointment to collect a waste food hamper from a charity. I do this every fortnight so I can make ends meet. No savings in any month.” One young academic said: “This winter my flat was so cold that I bought myself a pair of gloves to wear while working. Turning the heating on was too expensive.” 4 Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, said: “It is inexcusable that low wages from university and college bosses have forced education staff into using food banks, and it is an indictment of the entire sector that has held down pay for far too long.” UCU members at 20 universities have been boycotting marking and assessment in protest at pension Members of the UCU take part in a London demonstration for higher wages in June 2022. | Photo: Getty Images cuts, pay, and working conditions, although in recent days Leeds has settled its dispute. 5 Ruth Holliday, professor of gender and culture at the university, said: “It makes me feel angry and slightly ashamed to hear there are people working in my university who can’t afford food. It’s just desperately unfair. Universities need to pay people enough to live.” She added that most first year undergraduate seminars are now taught by PhD students, who are typically juggling multiple hourly-paid teaching contracts to make ends meet while writing their thesis. “These young academics will be given an hourly rate for their teaching, but what they are paid won’t cover the many hours they have to put in to prepare for each seminar,” she said. “If you work it out based on the work they actually do, that hourly rate becomes practically nothing.” 6 A PhD student currently doing casual teaching jobs at Birmingham University, who did not want to be named in case it harmed her job prospects, said: “Food and electricity bills are a big worry. I have very quick showers and at the weekend I come in | Infographic: Statista and work on campus because I’m scared to use too much electricity.” She added: “My students have no idea I don’t get enough money for teaching them. It’s a battle to make my rent. I’d love to be in a position where I’m not just surviving all the time. It’s incredibly stressful.” 7 Dr Marian Mayer, UCU’s national representative for disabled members, said the experience of members at Leeds was “emblematic of a much wider problem”. She said: “I have had conversations with members who are at their wits’ end. Some have reported, to their shame, that they have used food banks. Others know they cannot afford the cost of living rises.” The UCU says members at further education colleges are also struggling to pay for food and bills. 8 The head of HR at Abingdon and Witney College in Oxfordshire emailed staff in March explaining that the college could not make any immediate improvement to staff pay to help with the rising cost of living, but staff could “take any items you need” from campus food banks. The email said the college would move donated food items to “a more confidential space”, and female staff could ask at reception if they needed free sanitary products. 9 Jo Milsom, vice principal for social engagement at Abingdon and Witney College, said: “The unprecedented nature of current affairs has meant that many of our staff are struggling financially, and as a responsible employer, we are doing everything we can to assist.” She added: “No one should have to access food banks to survive, but we feel it is responsible to support our colleagues to do this in a discreet way if they need to.” She said many staff members had thanked them for this. 10 A spokesperson for Leeds University said: “We recognise these are difficult times for many of our staff and students, as they are for much of society, and we are taking action.” He added that, as well as moving more staff on to permanent contracts, “we will next month make extra payments of £650 to all staff on lower pay grades, and will consider whether further one-off payments should be made later in the year”. He said the university was also increasing the level of its staff assistance fund for those in financial difficulty. © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd 0 – 2 FOOD BANK Tafel — cost of living Lebenshaltungskosten — support workers Hilfskräfte — on the breadline “"bredlaIn‘ am Existenzminimum — to bite spürbar werden — casual contract “"kœZju´l‘ befristeter Vertrag — porter Pförtner(in) — to call for fordern — message board Forum 3 – 4 waste food hamper Korb mit abgelaufenen Lebensmitteln — to make ends meet über die Runden kommen — inexcusable “ÆInIk"skju…z´b´l‘ unentschuldbar — indictment “In"daItm´nt‘ Anklage; h.: Armutszeugnis — to hold down niedrig halten — marking Korrektur — assessment “´"sesment‘ Bewertung — pension cut Kürzung der Rente — to settle a dispute e-n Streit beilegen 5 – 6 ashamed; s.w.u. to one’s shame beschämt — desperately “"desp´r´tli‘ h.: unglaublich — first year undergraduate seminar “Æ--"grœdZu´t‘ Seminar im 1. Studienjahr — PhD student Doktorand(in) — to juggle “"dZøg´l‘ jonglieren; (fig) unter e-n Hut bringen — hourly-paid auf Stundenlohnbasis — to write a thesis “"Ti…sIs‘ an e-r Dissertation arbeiten — to harm schaden — job prospects Karrierechancen 7 – 8 emblematic sinnbildlich — to be at one’s wits’ end mit seinem Latein am Ende sein — further education Weiterbildung — head of HR (= human resources) Personalleiter(in) — to donate spenden — confidential “ÆkÅnfI"denS´l‘ vertraulich — sanitary products “"sœnIt´ri‘ Hygieneartikel 9 – 10 vice principal Konrektor(in) — unprecedented “øn"pre sIdentId‘ beispiellos — current affairs h.: aktuelle Lage — spokesperson Sprecher(in) — to recognise anerkennen — to take action Maßnahmen ergreifen — pay grade Gehaltsstufe — one-off payment Einmalzahlung — assistance fund Hilfsfonds
