V02-01

Question

For the first time since influenza vaccines became popular, the number of people expected to want the vaccine exceeds the amount of vaccine available. In order to manage the impact of this shortage on the public health, the governor has issued a directive ordering that the vaccine be made available first to groups most vulnerable to serious complications from the illness. The directive states that all children in the sixth grade and younger, and all people over 68 years of age, be provided the first option of receiving the vaccine through special 2-day "flu clinics" set up in elementary schools and senior citizens' centers.
 
If all of the above statements are true, it can be most directly inferred from the passage that

A. State residents will have to wait a long time to get vaccinated.
B. The majority of un-vaccinated people will be working adults.
C. Some people in nursing homes will refuse the vaccine, making more available for working adults.
D. Students in the seventh through the twelfth grade will be next in priority for receiving the vaccine.
E. Some residents who are not in either priority group will be unable to find an available dose of vaccine.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Solution:

For the first time since influenza vaccines became popular, the number of people expected to want the vaccine exceeds the amount of vaccine available. In order to manage the impact of this shortage on the public health, the governor has issued a directive ordering that the vaccine be made available first to groups most vulnerable to serious complications from the illness. The directive states that all children in the sixth grade and younger, and all people over 68 years of age, be provided the first option of receiving the vaccine through special 2-day "flu clinics" set up in elementary schools and senior citizens' centers.
 
If all of the above statements are true, it can be most directly inferred from the passage that

A. State residents will have to wait a long time to get vaccinated.
B. The majority of un-vaccinated people will be working adults.
C. Some people in nursing homes will refuse the vaccine, making more available for working adults.
D. Students in the seventh through the twelfth grade will be next in priority for receiving the vaccine.
E. Some residents who are not in either priority group will be unable to find an available dose of vaccine.

Situation: The governor of the state has designated priority groups to manage the impact of an expected shortage of flu vaccine.
 
  Reasoning:   What inference can be drawn from information in the passage?  The question requires drawing distinctions between groups of people in the state. The two designated priority groups include all children younger than sixth grade and all adults older than 68 years. Vaccine remaining after the "flu clinics" will be distributed among the remaining population, consisting of residents older than sixth grade and younger than 68 years. Because there is an expected shortage of vaccine, it can be inferred that some people in this middle group will not be able to find an available dose.
    Choice A    Waiting or timeline for vaccination are not mentioned in the passage. We just know that there are two priority groups and that there will be 2-day flue clinics, which does not sound long at all. 
   Choice B  This answer choice makes broad inference. However, we do not have enough information to be certain. We only know that only children in the 6th grade and younger as well elderly 68 and older will receive the vaccine. It is logical that most likely the working adults will be the ones last to receive it but maybe college students or non-working adults would be last. We don't know. We also do not know what percentage of adults is working and what percentage of each group is not going to get vaccinated by choice rather than shortage of vaccine. Therefore we lack information to be able to state with certainty if the working adults will be the majority of un-vaccinated people. Eliminate as too broad.  
   Choice C  There is nothing telling us about refusing vaccine. Thus we cannot infer this statement. Eliminate. 
   Choice D  The passage does not discuss secondary priority groups. Eliminate. 
   Choice E  Yes - this is a simple inference but it follows directly from the passage. Since the number of people expected to want the vaccine is higher than the vaccine doses available, some residents of the state seeking an available dose will be unable to find one.

Answer: E

bbn2 · Answer

If choice E was phrased "All" instead of "some", will the answer still stand?

VodkaHelps · Answer

I think if some were replaced by "all," then answer E would have been wrong. The reason for that is we don't know for sure if there are some vaccines left after the priority group is vaccinated.

foryearss · Answer

we cannot take that for granted unless we assume that vaccines WILL be given to ALL people who are in the vulnerable groups . 
If this didn't happen , meaning that the clinics were set , but for some reason , some children -old people didn't show up , then the vaccine amount will be enough to the rest of the population . 
(we know that there is a high demand ,but we don't know this demand is from which group ? if there is no demand from old people ,then we can't conclude that the vaccine will not be enough . 
 
this means that it is an option at the end , they might be provided the option and not choose to take the vaccine , leaving enough amount to the rest .

Pankaj0901 · Answer

I just solved this question, feeling so surreal in today's times when the government is announcing COVID vaccine dosage to healthcare staffs etc. This is so freaking relatable to everyone whether he or she belongs to any part of the world.

phamminh2003 · Answer

I still don't understand the explanation why answer B false bc the majority of working adults are above 12 and below 80, and all of them is not the priority for the vaccine

bb · Answer

You have a good point. However, you are too focused and looking at it a little bit from a scope that is too narrow.

There are several groups that we are considering:

All Adults: The group you are focused on are the people who may run short of the vaccine. However, there are other groups: 
 
 Non-working adults 
 Working Adults 
 Adults who want to be vaccinated 
 Adults who do not want to be vaccinated.   
  
Because we don’t know what percentage of the population wants to get the vaccine, which percentage will not be able to get the vaccine, and also what percentage is working, we cannot determine what portion does not want it and therefore we cannot determine which segment of the population will be left unvaccinated.

I hope it helps. I will update the explanation if it does.

Posted from my mobile device

siddharth_ · Answer

Can the experts kindly comment on this? Although I could reject the other 4 choices, how do we tackle this line of reasoning? If the priority groups decline to have the vaccine and then there is enough for the remaining population then this option can be rejected too.

bb · Answer

This is an easy answer. 
There is a lot of doubting and questionnign you have to do on the CR. However, some things you do not have to doubt. You do not doubt what is given to you if it is stated that it is true. Look at the below statements highlighted:

For the first time since influenza vaccines became popular, the number of people expected to want the vaccine exceeds the amount of vaccine available. In order to manage the impact of this shortage on the public health, the governor has issued a directive ordering that the vaccine be made available first to groups most vulnerable to serious complications from the illness. The directive states that all children in the sixth grade and younger, and all people over 68 years of age, be provided the first option of receiving the vaccine through special 2-day "flu clinics" set up in elementary schools and senior citizens' centers.

If all of the above statements are true, it can be most directly inferred from the passage that

If all of the above statements are true , it can be most directly inferred from the passage that

We are told specifically that the number of people who are expected to want the vaccine will exceed the vaccine availability. I know it says expected but that's how GMAT Questions are when they talk about projections and future - they say "most likely" and "expected" and so on. These are not points to doubt but since these are forward-looking statements, this the greatest level of certainty GMAT gives about forward-looking statements. The answer will never be to question the setup in these cases when it says "above statements are true". In other words, as you read this question, you should absolutely believe that the vaccine will run out so your scenario of people having enough is not possible under the conditions provided.

ShubhamKumar2967 · Answer

I did not quite understand the solution. Option E seems correct, but unfortunately it is not mentioned explicitly that "the people will be unable to find an available dose" in what time frame, it can be an year, a month, or a decade. How can we say that the time period considered for the first batch and option E is similar, if not same.

bb · Answer

Thank you for raising that point - it’s a good instinct to look for explicit timing. On the GMAT CR, however, since the passage/text is so short, you’re meant to assume that everything in the stimulus refers to the same “window” unless otherwise stated. Here, the passage is describing a current shortage and who gets first access right now. It doesn’t signal any future restocking or separate time periods, so you keep your inference within that immediate context.

Because supply can’t cover everyone today and only those two groups get first dibs, it follows that some people outside those groups simply won’t get vaccinated in this initial round. That makes E the only safe choice.

I hope that helps clarify why the timeline doesn’t need to be specified more precisely!

jajariri · Answer

I like the solution - it’s helpful.

V02-01

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards