VOA慢速英语2021 拉丁美洲富人群体前往美国接种新冠疫苗（在线收听）

Rich people from Latin America have been traveling to the United States to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

来自拉丁美洲的富人一直在前往美国接种预防新冠肺炎的疫苗。

Some are flying thousands of kilometers. Some are taking buses and cars. Some go straight from the airport to vaccination centers. They include politicians, business leaders and a professional soccer team.

有些人乘机飞行数千公里。有些人乘坐巴士和汽车。有些人从机场直达疫苗接种中心。他们当中包括政客、商界领袖和一支专业足球队。

Virginia Gónzalez and her husband flew from Monterrey, Mexico, to Houston, Texas. They took a bus to a vaccination center. Then, they made the 1,100 kilometer trip again for a second injection.

弗吉尼亚·贡萨雷斯和她的丈夫从墨西哥蒙特雷市飞到了德克萨斯州休斯顿市。他们乘坐公汽到了一家疫苗接种中心。然后，他们又行程1100公里接种了第二针疫苗。

"It's a matter of survival," Gónzalez said. "In Mexico, officials didn't buy enough vaccines."

贡萨雷斯表示：“这是活命问题。墨西哥官员没有买到足够的疫苗。”

Mexico has a population of more than 130 million people. It has received more vaccine shots than many other Latin American countries—about 18 million injections. Most have gone to health care workers, people older than 60 and some teachers. Many Latin American countries are in the same situation.

墨西哥人口超过1.3亿。它比其它许多拉美国家接收到了更多的疫苗，大约有1800万剂。其中大多数流向了医护人员、60岁以上老人以及部分教师。许多拉美国家处于相同境地。

To avoid the long wait, people who can pay for the trip are coming to the United States. More than half of American citizens have had at least one injection of a coronavirus vaccine.

为了避免漫长等待，有钱负担这趟行程的人士前往美国。超过半数美国公民已经至少接种了一针新冠疫苗。

Those who make the trip must first get a visa. They must also pay for coronavirus tests, air travel, hotel rooms and rental cars, among other things.

进行这趟行程的人士首先必须获得签证。他们还必须支付新冠病毒检测、乘机、住酒店和租车等费用。

Earlier this month, 19 players on Monterrey's professional soccer team called Rayados traveled to Dallas to get the vaccine. Hernando De Soto, a presidential candidate in Peru, was criticized after he admitted to traveling to the U.S. for a vaccine.

本月初，蒙特雷市Rayados职业足球队的19名球员前往了达拉斯市接种疫苗。秘鲁总统候选人埃尔南多·德索托承认前往美国接种疫苗后受到了批评。

Television stars have admitted on social media to getting a vaccine in the U.S., angering many people. Argentinian TV host Yanina Latorre, for example, traveled to Miami and posted a video on Instagram of her mother getting vaccinated. Shortly after that, Florida officials started requiring state residency to be vaccinated.

在社交媒体上承认到美国接种疫苗的电视明星惹怒了许多人。例如，阿根廷电视节目主持人亚尼娜·拉托雷前往了迈阿密，并在Instagram上发布了一段记录她母亲正在接种疫苗的视频。此后不久，佛罗里达州官员开始要求接种疫苗必须有本州居留权。

However, about half of U.S. states, including Texas, Arizona, and California, do not require residency.

但是，美国大约有一半州不需要居留权，其中包括德克萨斯州、亚利桑那州和加利福尼亚州。

Many of those traveling have friends or relatives who live in the U.S. and can help them get appointments. Some have second homes in the U.S. Others borrow a U.S. address.

许多前来的人士在美国有亲戚朋友，可以帮助他们预约接种。有些人在美国有房产。另一些人则借用美国地址。

Alejandra is a dentist who also lives in Monterrey, Mexico. She decided to get vaccinated in the U.S. soon after her mother died from COVID-19 in February. She signed up online at a CVS pharmacy in Texas by using the address of a friend who lives there.

亚历杭德拉是一名同样居住在墨西哥蒙特雷市的牙医。她的母亲2月份因为新冠肺炎去世后不久，她决定到美国接种疫苗。她借用了一位德克萨斯州朋友的地址，在该州的CVS药房进行了网络注册。

She recognizes the criticism that foreigners like her are taking advantage of American taxpayers by getting vaccinated in the United States. But she said she is trying to protect herself and her family.

有人批评像她这样的外国人在美国接种疫苗占了美国纳税人的便宜，她表示接受。但她表示自己只是在努力保护自己和家人。

Drug stores are not asking for residency documents because they are vaccinating people for "the common good of society," she said. The government is paying for the vaccines and providing them to anyone who does not have health insurance.

她说，药店之所以不要求提供居留权文件，是因为他们出于全社会的共同利益给人们接种。德克萨斯州政府承担了疫苗费用，并将其提供给任何没有健康保险的人士。

Chris Van Deusen is a spokesman for the Texas Department of Health Services. He said the vaccine in Texas is "for people who live in, work in or spend" a lot of time in Texas. He added that more than 99 percent of people vaccinated were state residents.

克里斯·范德森是德克萨斯州卫生部发言人。他说，德克萨斯州的疫苗是提供给长时间在该州居住、工作和消费的人士。他还表示，99%以上的疫苗接种者是本州居民。

The richest countries around the world have been able to receive the largest vaccine supplies. They have also been criticized for not doing more to help poorer countries.

世界各地的发达国家已经能够获得最大的疫苗供应。他们也因为没有做更多事情帮助贫困国家而受到批评。

Ernesto Ortiz is with Duke University's Global Health Innovation Center that measures distribution of vaccines around the world. He blames inequality for people traveling to other countries to get vaccinated. In Peru, for example, just two percent of the country's 32 million people have received a vaccine injection.

埃内斯托·奥尔蒂斯就职于杜克大学的全球健康创新中心，该中心负责统计世界各地的疫苗分配。他将人们前往其它国家接种疫苗归咎于不平等。例如，秘鲁3200万人口中只有2%接种了疫苗。

"I don't blame them at all," Ortiz said, "they are desperate."

奥尔蒂斯表示：“我根本不怪他们，他们也很绝望。”