VOA慢速英语2021 新冠疫情下又一年（在线收听）

There was so much to look forward to at the start of 2021.

2021年伊始有过太多期待。

The question was when, and not if, the health crisis would finally end.

当时的问题是这次健康危机什么时候结束，而不是是否会结束。

Scientists developed two highly effective vaccines against the coronavirus in record time. Several more were waiting for approval.

科学家们在创纪录的时间里开发出了两种高效的新冠疫苗。还有几种疫苗在等待批准。

Vaccines

疫苗

Governments in the United States, Europe, and Israel spent billions of dollars to start the biggest vaccination program in history. The effort included vaccines from drug companies Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and others.

美国、欧洲和以色列政府斥资数十亿美元启动了历史上规模最大的疫苗接种运动。这项措施包括来自辉瑞-生物新科技、莫德纳以及其它公司的疫苗。

China and Russia developed their own vaccines. And the UN-backed COVAX program purchased shots for developing and poor countries around the world.

中国和俄罗斯也开发了各自的疫苗。联合国支持的“新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划”购买了疫苗用于世界各地的发展中国家和贫困国家。

In May, the U.S. and Western nations expanded the program to vaccinate young children. Health officials issued new guidelines advising that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear face coverings in most situations. The move was seen as the first step toward returning to normal conditions that existed before the pandemic.

今年5月，美国和西方国家扩大了为幼儿接种疫苗的计划。卫生官员发布了新的指导方针，建议完全接种疫苗的人群在大多数情况下不再需要戴口罩。此举被视为恢复到大流行前存在的正常状态的第一步。

Variants

变种

But, scientists began to worry about the new versions of the coronavirus, called variants, soon after people started to receive the new vaccines.

但是在人们开始接种新疫苗后不久，科学家们开始担心新冠病毒变种。

It is normal for viruses to mutate, or change, over time. A mutation that strengthens the virus helps it to spread by pushing out the weaker versions. In February, the head of Britain's vaccination effort said the world faced around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. But only some would raise concern.

病毒随着时间推移发生变异是正常的。增强病毒的突变通过淘汰较弱变种来助长它的传播。今年2月，英国疫苗接种工作的负责人表示，全球大约有4千种会导致新冠肺炎的病毒变种。但是只有一些变种会引发关注。

There were so many "variants of concern" with hard-to-remember scientific names that the World Health Organization (WHO) started to name them after the letters of the Greek alphabet. The two most worrisome variants now are Delta and Omicron.

目前有太多科学名称难以被记住的“令人关切的变种”，以至于世卫组织开始以希腊字母给它们命名。目前最令人关切的两种变种是德尔塔和奥密克戎。

In the early days of the pandemic, many Asian countries appeared to have successfully fought the virus with strong measures. By July, countries, including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand, were setting records for new cases and deaths. The Delta variant appeared at a difficult time. When it started being reported, vaccination rates remained low in many countries. And officials were moving quickly to reopen economies. Then, infections of the Delta variant became widespread. Governments, businesses, and schools reacted with more vaccination requirements and restrictions.

在大流行初期，许多亚洲国家似乎以强有力的措施成功抗击了新冠病毒。但是到了7月，包括日本、韩国、越南和泰国在内的国家创下了新增病例和死亡人数的记录。德尔塔变种出现在一个困难时期。当它开始被报道出来时，许多国家的疫苗接种率仍然很低。同时官员们正在迅速采取措施重新开放经济。然后，感染德尔塔变种变得非常普遍。政府、企业和学校的应对是要求接种更多疫苗和出台更多限制措施。

Some countries started to restrict international travelers and closed borders over concerns about the fast-spreading Omicron variant. The U.S., Israel, Britain, and other nations now advised their citizens to get an additional shot, called a booster, to fight the new variant.

由于担心快速传播的奥密克戎变种，一些国家开始限制国际旅客并关闭边境。美国、以色列、英国等国现在建议他们的公民接种加强针以对抗这种新变种。

Will it ever disappear?

病毒会永久消失吗?

After another year of face coverings, restrictions, vaccines and variants, people are beginning to wonder whether this pandemic will ever go away.

经过又一年的戴口罩、限制、疫苗和变种，人们开始怀疑这种病毒到底会不会消失。

The answer is yes and no.

答案既是肯定的，又不是。

Many scientists believe that the new coronavirus is here to stay. In February, the science publication Nature reported the results of a study involving more than 100 scientists. Eighty-nine percent said they believed the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the one that causes COVID-19 disease, will become endemic. Endemic means the virus will continue to exist in some areas for years to come.

许多科学家认为新冠病毒会继续存在。今年2月份，科学期刊《自然》报道了一项涉及100多名科学家的研究结果。89%的人表示，他们表示新冠肺炎的新冠病毒将会成为地方病。地方病是指该病毒未来几年将继续在某些地区存在。

For example, Malaria is considered endemic to many warm, wet areas across countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. But it is not a problem in the United States or other Western nations.

例如，疟疾被认为是亚洲、非洲和南美洲各国许多温暖潮湿地区的地方病。但是它在美国和西方国家不算问题。

The way to end a pandemic is to reach herd immunity. Herd immunity is when many people in a community either have recovered from an infection or have been vaccinated. It does not mean everyone is protected from the virus. However, when herd immunity is reached, the virus can no longer spread easily, which helps protect those who are at risk.

结束大流行的方法是实现群体免疫。群体免疫是指社区大多数人要么从感染中康复，要么已经接种疫苗。这并不意味着每个人都可以免受病毒侵害。然而，当达到群体免疫时，病毒就不再容易传播，这有助于保护风险人群。

As nations joined together to fight the pandemic, health officials started to sound the alarm about another public health crisis: mental health.

随着各国联合起来抗击这一流行病，卫生官员开始对另一场公共卫生危机：心理健康发出警告。

The U.S. Surgeon General said the pandemic's high number of deaths, forced social distancing, and lockdowns of the economies have created new pressure, especially on young people.

美国卫生总署署长表示，大流行造成了大量死亡、被迫社会隔离以及经济封锁造成新的压力，尤其是对年轻人而言。

He wrote, "It would be a tragedy if we beat back one public health crisis only to allow another to grow in its place."

他写道：“如果我们击退了一场公共卫生危机，却又让另一场公共卫生危机接踵而至，那将是一场悲剧。”

Hopeful signs

光明前景

There is hope, however.

然而希望还是有的。

In early November, American drug-maker Pfizer reported that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cuts hospitalizations and death rates by nearly 90 percent in high-risk adults. This came after Merck had reported success in testing its version of the COVID-19 pill a month earlier.

11月初，美国制药商辉瑞报告称，其针对新冠肺炎的实验性抗病毒药物将高危成年人的住院率和死亡率降低了近90%。而在一个月前，默沙东公司报告其新冠肺炎药物的测试取得成功。

Although health officials have already approved several treatments for COVID-19, all of them must be injected by healthcare workers. But pills can be taken at home and are easier to send around the world.

尽管卫生官员已经批准了几种新冠肺炎治疗方法，但是所有这些治疗疗法都必须由医护人员进行注射。而药物可以在家中自行服用，并且更容易分发到世界各地。

Both companies have since agreed to provide other drug-makers with special permission to produce the COVID pills. The move is aimed at helping people in poorer countries get the drug.

此后，两家公司都同意向其它制药商提供生产这些新冠肺炎药物的特别许可。此举旨在帮助贫困国家获得这种药物。