While the transporation mask mandate ruling is appealed, is public health at risk?

While the transporation mask mandate¹ ruling is appealed, is public health at risk?

Transcript²

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to ex-CDC Director Tom Frieden about disputed mask mandates³ for public transportation, and the government's legal authority to implement⁴ public health regulations.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

For the moment, the CDC cannot order you but does advise you to mask up on public transit⁵. That's the most the agency can do while the Justice Department appeals a ruling against a mask mandate. Many airlines and public transportation systems have made masks optional this week. So what is the effect on public health? We're going to talk it through with Dr. Tom Frieden, who was the CDC director from 2009 to 2017 and is now the president of the health organization Resolve to Save Lives. Good morning.

TOM FRIEDEN: Good morning.

INSKEEP: So the Justice Department is appealing because the CDC says we really need a mask mandate. Do you agree with your former colleagues at the CDC that the mandate is essential?

FRIEDEN: It's certainly essential that public health maintain the authority to do things that protect us, whether in society we protect your kid from getting run over by a drunk driver or make sure that you don't get a deadly infection from your local restaurant or that the medicines you pick up at the local pharmacy⁶ aren't contaminated. It's really important that we preserve the ability of the government to protect you.

INSKEEP: Oh, that's interesting. So you're saying that this is not, in your mind, a case about this particular mandate that a lot of people were ignoring anyway? It's about the principal for future cases.

FRIEDEN: I think there's certainly a specific issue here. And the reality is that we're at relatively⁷ low rates of COVID and low rates of hospitalization from COVID. So on an individual basis, if you're immunosuppressed, if you're older or medically vulnerable or you live with someone who is, you probably want to continue to mask up and, in fact, up your mask game to an N95 and make sure you're up to date with vaccination⁸ and, if you do get sick, get promptly⁹ treated. On the other hand, the bigger issue, I do think, is whether we may lose the tools we need to protect ourselves, not just now but against a future variant¹⁰ or a future health threat.

INSKEEP: Because you mentioned a better mask, an N95, can better masks truly make this an individual choice? If I'm worried, I can wear an N95, and it protects me for quite a long time, even if I'm in the room with somebody who's infected.

FRIEDEN: The safest thing, if there's a lot of COVID around, is for everyone to be masked. This greatly reduces the concentration of infectious virus in the environment. But the next best thing, if people around you aren't masked, is to up your mask to a tightly, snuggly fitting N95 mask, which is much more protective than other types of face mask.

INSKEEP: I want to ask, Dr. Frieden, about the situation the U.S. government is in now. The CDC has taken multiple steps against the virus over the past couple of years and has been knocked down multiple times in multiple ways by conservative judges and justices, and, of course, there's so much political and partisan¹² opposition¹³. Could the agency have accomplished¹⁴ more by doing less, taking less sweeping¹⁵ measures that would generate less opposition and could be applied¹⁶ more consistently?

FRIEDEN: Steve, there's an underlying¹⁷ reality here, which is that we are all connected, though some people don't like to recognize that. Your right to swing your fist does not extend to someone else's nose. And we do have a special responsibility to protect the vulnerable among us. I am quite concerned that public health is essentially¹⁸ getting a one-two punch here. On the one hand, we're seeing funding drying up and the real risk that we're not going to fund things that are crucially needed, not just to fight this pandemic but to give us a much stronger reboot of our public health system. And second, not only less money but less authority, less ability to protect the public.

And there are times when it is essential to use public health authority. I think some of the other measures - immigration, housing - CDC was asked by both administrations to do something that was, you know, a gray-zone issue because Congress hadn't acted. And I think that is something that has clouded the waters sometimes. But it is really important to be clear that there are certain clear cases where public health has not just the authority but the absolute responsibility to take measures that protect you from an infectious disease.

INSKEEP: I'm just wondering if public health is in trouble in part because two administrations took these steps without building the necessary political support. And maybe it was impossible in this partisan environment to build the necessary political support with so many conspiracy¹⁹ theories out there. But they went beyond what the body politic¹¹ seemed willing to go along with.

FRIEDEN: Ultimately, whatever the laws and regulations, there has to be some consent of the governed; people have to agree with it. And what we've seen over the past few years is partisanship²⁰ infecting individual measures like vaccination and masking and, more broadly, public health measures. I'm concerned, Steve, not just about CDC; I'm concerned about state, city and local health departments all over the country, where you're seeing attacks on public health officials, state laws that undermine fundamental authorities to ensure vaccination and the safety of our kids in schools. There's a broader issue here, and it is - will we give public health the funds and the authority needed to protect us against this virus, future strains of this virus and future health threats? Or will we lose some of the most powerful tools we have, not just to save lives but to keep our economy and our educational system and our society moving forward?

INSKEEP: Dr. Tom Frieden is a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thank you so much, sir.

FRIEDEN: Thank you.

1 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

4 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

5 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

6 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

9 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

10 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

11 politic   

adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政

参考例句：

• He was too politic to quarrel with so important a personage.他很聪明，不会与这么重要的人争吵。
• The politic man tried not to offend people.那个精明的人尽量不得罪人。

12 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

15 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

16 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

17 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

19 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

20 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学