美国国家公共电台 NPR--These two omicron subvariants could be the source of another COVID surge

These two omicron subvariants could be the source of another COVID surge

Transcript²

Two subvariants that have emerged from the soup of Omicron offspring are among the most adept³ at evading⁴ immunity⁵. They appear poised⁶ to become dominant⁷ in the U.S. and could fuel a new surge.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Pandemic still isn't over. Two omicron subvariants have new ways to get around our immune systems and are poised to become dominant in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein is covering the story. Rob, good morning.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE⁸: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: What is the news here of these subvariants?

STEIN: You know, Steve, scientists have been watching a swarm⁹ of even more transmissible subvariants that have been emerging as omicron has dominated the pandemic and evolved over the past year. And two of them have been gaining ground in the U.S. over the last few weeks called BQ.1 BQ.1.1. Here's Dr. Jeremy Luban at the University of Massachusetts.

JEREMY LUBAN: It's a little bit eerily¹⁰ familiar this time of year. Last year, we were similarly optimistic. We were coming out of the delta¹¹ wave, and it was steadily¹² decreasing. And we went into Thanksgiving to wake up to omicron. So there is this sort of deja vu feeling from last year.

STEIN: Because like the original omicron, these two new subvariants have found even more ways to sneak¹³ around our immune systems.

INSKEEP: I guess this is inevitable¹⁴. It's evolution. People get sick and get some immunity, or they get vaccinated¹⁵ and get some immunity. And then the variations of the virus that get around that then are able to spread. So how much better are these variants¹?

STEIN: Yeah, absolutely. You know, new mutations in the virus's spike¹⁶ protein appear to make them maybe 2 to 7 times more immune-evasive than the BA.5 omicron subvariant that's been dominating the pandemic since the summer. I talked about this with Dr. Daniel Barouch, who's been studying the new viruses in his lab at Harvard.

DANIEL BAROUCH: The bad news is that it's likely that people who've been vaccinated and/or infected will still get infected. But fortunately, vaccine¹⁷ immunity and natural immunity will likely still be effective at preventing severe disease. And that's the most important thing. So it's a cause for concern but not a cause for alarm.

STEIN: Because even though these new subverts¹⁸ could infect more people, they don't appear to make people sicker than the previous variants.

INSKEEP: But could they lead to a winter surge?

STEIN: Well, you know, they certainly won't help. I talked about this with Samuel Scarpino from The Rockefeller Foundation.

SAMUEL SCARPINO: Both of these variants are associated with an increase in cases in the U.S. So the question is whether this increase is going to be nationwide and whether the size of the increase and the surge will be something like what we experienced with delta and omicron or much smaller.

STEIN: And possibly much shorter. I asked White House adviser¹⁹ Dr. Anthony Fauci about this. He doubts any new surge will get anywhere near as bad as last winter's.

ANTHONY FAUCI: We are hoping that the amount of immunity that has been induced either by prior infection or by vaccination²⁰ - and hopefully, more people will go and get their updated vaccine, the bivalent vaccine - that that would mitigate²¹ a real surge and at worst will get a blip versus²² a major surge.

STEIN: You know, while some preliminary studies have questioned whether the new boosters are any better than the original vaccine at protecting against omicron, Fauci says the jury's still out about that. And in fact, Pfizer and BioNTech released a statement today saying a study involving 900 volunteers shows their new booster stimulates²³ much higher levels of antibodies that could neutralize²⁴ the Ba.5 omicron subvariant than the original vaccine. But another worry is these new subvariants are likely to render the last monoclonal antibody drugs useless. And even just a blip of a COVID resurgence²⁵ could strain hospitals also struggling with the flu and RSV.

INSKEEP: Rob, thanks so much.

STEIN: You bet, Steve.

INSKEEP: NPR health correspondent Rob Stein.

1 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

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 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

4 evading   

逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割，是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。

5 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。

6 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

7 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

10 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句

11 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

12 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

13 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

14 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

15 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？

16 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

17 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。

18 subverts   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的第三人称单数 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• Thus It'subverts the traditional concept of subjectivity. 因此也解构了传统的主观性的概念。 来自互联网
• Chopin presents us an emancipating Edna who challenges and subverts the patriarchal dogmas. 肖邦为我们展现了一位勇于挑战﹑颠覆父权体制的新女性形象。 来自互联网

19 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

20 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。

21 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

22 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

23 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

24 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。

25 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。