时代周刊:疫苗接种问题重重(2)

The risk posed by the slow pace of the vaccination¹ campaign is now amplified² by new variants⁴ of SARS-CoV-2 that appear to spread more easily among people, which means a COVID-19 vaccine⁵ has never been more critical.

疫苗接种的缓慢步伐所带来的风险现在因SARS-CoV-2的新变种而放大，这些变种似乎更容易在人群中传播，这意味着新冠疫苗从未像现在这样至关重要。

First reported in the U.K. in December, the mutation⁶ in SARS-CoV-2 has since appeared in the U.S.,

英国于去年12月首次报道了SARS-CoV-2的变异，之后这种变异出现在美国，

while yet another, more worrisome variant³ of the virus—which may be better able to evade⁷ the immune defenses the body generates—has emerged in South Africa.

而另一种更令人担忧的病毒变异——它可能能更好地躲避人体产生的免疫防御——出现在南非。

With these new mutated versions of the virus, the pace and completeness of vaccinating⁸ the public becomes more crucial.

这些新的变异版病毒的出现使得公众接种疫苗的速度和完整性变得更加关键。

The point of mass vaccination is to achieve herd⁹ immunity¹⁰, in which the majority of the population is protected against COVID-19.

大规模接种疫苗的目的是实现群体免疫，使大多数人免受新冠感染。

For the virus, such a scenario¹¹ is similar to a thief encountering a neighborhood of secured and alarmed homes: it's harder to break in.

对于病毒来说，这种情况类似于小偷遇到了一个安全且装有警报的家庭：更难闯入。

The more quickly a fortress¹² of immunity is built, the easier it is to thwart¹³ the virus as it hits blockade after blockade.

免疫堡垒建立得越快，就越容易阻止病毒袭击一个又一个封锁。

If the vaccination effort is more piecemeal—as it is in the U.S. now with the plodding¹⁴ rollout—there may be more opportunities for SARS-CoV-2 to develop mutations that make it resistant¹⁵ to the vaccines¹⁶.

如果疫苗接种工作更加零碎——就像美国现在缓慢推出的疫苗一样——SARS-CoV-2可能会有更多的机会发生突变，从而对疫苗产生耐药性。

If that happens, those mutant variants can outcompete their cousins and dominate.

如果发生了这种情况，这些变异的变种就会超过它们的表亲，占据主导地位。

Some experts argue that even partial vaccine protection among a larger number of people is better than complete protection in a smaller group.

一些专家认为，在大量人群中接种部分疫苗比在一小部分人群中接种完整疫苗要好。

They advocate for people getting their second shot about three months after the first (instead of the 21 or 28 days currently recommended).

他们提倡人们在第一次注射3个月后再注射第二次(而不是目前建议的21或28天)。

That way, more people could get vaccinated¹⁷ at least once and enjoy partial protection of slightly over 50% on average against COVID-19,

这样，更多的人就可以接种至少一次疫苗。

according to some estimates, compared with the 95% provided by the current plan—and the virus's spread would be slowed as well.

根据一些估计，与目前计划提供的95%相比，他们可以享受到针对新冠的平均略高于50%的部分保护，而且病毒的传播速度也将放缓。

It's not perfect, but it could do more good for more people.

它并不完美，但可以为更多的人做更多的好事。

The U.K. adopted this strategy on Dec. 30—a controversial and, some health experts say, premature¹⁸ decision.

英国于12月30日采取了这一策略——一些健康专家认为，这是一个有争议的、而且为时过早的决定。

There is no strong evidence for deferring¹⁹ the second dose, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reiterated²⁰ in a Jan. 4 statement supporting the existing dosing regimen.

美国食品和药物管理局在1月4日的一份声明中重申，没有强有力的证据可以推迟第二次给药，支持现有的给药方案。

It's also unclear whether the new SARS-CoV-2 variants cause worse disease and warrant such a change.

目前还不清楚新的SARS-CoV-2变种是否会导致更严重的疾病，是否需要这样的变化。

So far, the antibodies and immune response generated by the vaccines can still neutralize²¹ the mutant viruses.

到目前为止，疫苗产生的抗体和免疫反应仍然可以中和突变病毒。

Given how far the U.S. vaccination program has fallen short already, delaying the second dose, says Dr. Leana Wen, former health commissioner²² for Baltimore City, is "solving for the wrong problem.

巴尔的摩前卫生专员利阿纳·温博士说，考虑到美国疫苗接种计划已经远远不够，推迟第二剂疫苗接种是“解决错误的问题”。

If we are unable to even administer the supplies of vaccine we have at the moment, what is the purpose of trying to increase the supply when we should be focused on increasing the rate of administration of the vaccine?"

如果我们连目前的疫苗供应都无法满足，那么当我们把重点放在提高疫苗接种率上时，试图增加疫苗供应的目的是什么呢？”

Frieden agrees: "We should be focusing on getting the vaccine out as rapidly, as widely and as equitably²³ as possible."

弗里登表示同意：“我们应该专注于尽可能迅速、尽可能广泛和尽可能公平地生产疫苗。”

1 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。

2 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

3 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。

4 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

7 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

8 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

9 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

10 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

11 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

12 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

13 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

14 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

15 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

16 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

17 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

18 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

19 deferring   

v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的现在分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• Recently, the Supreme Court has focused on an additional reason for deferring to administrative agencies. 最近，最高法院强调了尊重行政机构的另一种理由。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Think of it as deferring part of the compiler's job to runtime. 可以认为这是将编译器的部分工作延迟到了运行时。 来自互联网

20 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

21 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。

22 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

23 equitably   

公平地

参考例句：

• We should equitably assess historical figures. 我们应该公正地评价历史人物。
• Land was more equitably distributed. 土地得到更公平合理的分配。