The Hindu Editorial (A concerning sequence) – Dec 22, 2022

The spurt in coronavirus cases reported out of China has triggered global alarm. India’s Health Ministry has issued a directive to States to send positive samples to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) to check for new, concerning strains… For further reading, visit “The Hindu”. Below is today’s word list-1 for The Hindu Editorial (A concerning sequence) – Dec 22, 2022.

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The Hindu Editorial (A concerning sequence) – Dec 22, 2022:

concerning (adjective) – worrying, alarming, unsettling, disquieting, distressing, disturbing.
sequence (noun) – pattern, cycle, series, chain.
coronavirus (CoV) (noun) – a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. (Courtesy: WHO)
strain (noun) – variant, variety, kind, type.
spurt (noun) – sudden increase, rise, surge.
vaccination (noun) – treatment with a vaccine to protect against a particular disease; immunization.
strategy (noun) – plan of action (in order to achieve a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests).
accommodate (verb) – adjust, adapt, attune, accustom, integrate, come to terms with, come to accept.
novel coronavirus (nCoV) (SARS-CoV-2) (noun) – a new strain (type/variety) coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. (Courtesy: WHO)
out of (phrase) – from.
trigger (verb) – cause, give rise to, lead to, bring about, generate.
alarm (noun) – fear, anxiety, apprehension, unease, distress.
directive (noun) – instruction, notice, direction, guidance.
Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG) (noun) – INSACOG refers to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing Consortia. The INSACOG consortium of scientists, spanning 10 labs across the country, and involved in sequencing genomes of coronavirus samples in different States, had been giving regular updates on the threat from new strains to the government. (Consortia is a plural form of consortium).
call for (phrasal verb) – require, publicly ask/necessitate, demand.
call (verb) – convene, summon, order, arrange, announce.
thus far (phrase) – so far, until now, up to the present, to date.
test positivity rate/ratio (TPR) (noun) – the proportion of positives to total tests done for disease; the percentage of tests that are turning out to be positive for disease; the rate at which people getting tested for disease receive positive results; the ratio of cases confirmed to tests performed for disease.
sign (noun) – indication, signal, intimation, evidence.
spike (noun) – a sharp rise/increase of something.
let alone (phrase) – not to mention.
authorities (noun) – officials, officialdom, the people in charge.
scarce (adjective) – meagre, insufficient, inadequate, negligible, paltry.
mandate (noun) – order, instruction, directive.
gathering (noun) – meeting, assembly, conclave.
necessarily (adverb) – inevitably, certainly, surely.
take root (phrase) – develop, begin to sprout, begin to grow.
mortuary (adjective) – a place (room/building) in which dead bodies are kept until burial or cremation; morgue.
pile up (phrasal verb) – increase, rise, escalate, soar, shoot up.
stocked-out (adjective) – relating to a situation in which there are no goods (of a specific type) available for sale.
prevalent (adjective) – accepted, current, prevailing, widespread, common, general.
lift (verb) – remove, cancel, withdraw, revoke, annul (a legal restriction/ban).
curb (noun) – restriction, restraint, control, limitation.
containment (noun) – an act of keeping something (harmful) under control.
measure (noun) – action, initiative, move/step.
expose (verb) – reveal, show, display, disclose, demonstrate.
swathe (noun) – a wide area of something.
lack (verb) – be without, be short of, be deficient in.
immunity (noun) – the body’s defense against infections; protection, resistance.
modelling (noun) – the use of mathematical models to make calculations or predictions; (A simulation is the process of using a model to study the behavior and performance of an actual or theoretical system).
projection (noun) – estimate, forecast, calculation, prediction.
given (preposition) – considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.
normalcy (noun) – a normal condition; normality, regularity.
in terms of (phrase) – with regard to, regarding, concerning, in respect of.
surge (noun) – sudden increase, rise, escalation, upsurge.
reverberate (verb) – have continuing and serious effects.
inevitable (adjective) – unavoidable, unpreventable, certain, inescapable, bound/sure to happen.
lockdown (noun) – an emergency protocol implemented by the authorities that prevents people from leaving from a place; An extended state of confinement/encirclement/isolation of a person by the authority.
development (noun) – evolution, growth, spread, progress.
defence (noun) – protection, resistance.
vaccine (noun) – a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.
home-grown (adjective) – belonging to one’s own country.
rely on (phrasal verb) – depend on; resort to, have recourse to.
inactivated virus (noun) – killed virus; dead virus.
inactivated vaccine (noun) – The vaccine is developed using Whole-Virion Inactivated Vero Cell derived platform technology. Inactivated vaccines do not replicate and are therefore unlikely to revert and cause pathological effects. They contain dead virus, incapable of infecting people but still able to instruct the immune system to mount a defensive reaction against an infection.
booster dose (noun) – In medical terms, a booster dose is an extra administration of a vaccine after an earlier dose.
precaution dose (noun) – booster dose; third dose of the vaccine.
waning (adjective) – decreasing, lessening, weakening, deteriorating.
fait accompli (noun) – (from French) an accomplished fact, something that has already occurred and cannot be changed.
establish (verb) – confirm, verify, prove, demonstrate, show, indicate.
administered (adjective) – dispensed, provided, given, applied (a drug/vaccine).
administer (verb) – dispense, provide, give, apply (a drug/vaccine).
efficacious (adjective) – effective, successful, powerful.
Oxford vaccine/Covishield (noun) – (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) or (AZD1222) is named Covishield in India. Serum Institute of India (SII), a biotechnology company has partnered with global pharma giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University for this vaccine candidate ‘Covidshield’.
Covaxin (noun) – India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate (COVAXIN) developed by a Hyderabad-based company (Bharat Biotech) in collaboration with the ICMR (The Indian Council of Medical Research).
S-gene (noun) – the S-gene encodes a surface protein, the spike protein.
spike (S) protein (noun) – spike (S) protein is the sole viral membrane protein responsible for coronavirus entry into host cells.
encode (verb) – to specify the genetic code (for a particular amino acid/a protein).
genome (noun) – the genetic material (a complete set of DNA, including all of its genes) of an organism. The sum total of the genetic material of a cell or an organism.
sequence (noun) – the complete order of compounds/building blocks (nucleotides) of nucleic acids, such as RNA or DNA.
genome sequence (noun) – a process that determines the order, or sequence, of the DNA (nucleotides i.e., A, C, G and U) in each of the genes present in the virus’s genome.