VOA慢速英语：谁应该接种最新的COVID疫苗？

American health officials say most people should get the updated COVID-19 vaccine this year.

美国卫生官员表示，大多数人今年应该接种最新的COVID-19疫苗。

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the updated COVID-19 shots from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech as well as from Moderna. A third vaccine from Novavax remains under study.

上周，美国疾病控制与预防中心(CDC)批准了辉瑞公司及其合作伙伴BioNTech公司以及Moderna公司的新型COVID-19疫苗。Novavax的第三种疫苗仍在研究中。

Who should get the updated vaccines?

谁应该接种更新后的疫苗?

U.S. health officials approved the shots for adults and children as young as six months old. They said starting at age five, most people can get a single shot even if they have never had a COVID-19 shot. Younger children might need more shots depending on their history of COVID-19 infections and vaccinations.

美国卫生官员批准该疫苗适用于成人和6个月及以上的儿童。他们说，从5岁开始，大多数人即使没有接种过COVID-19疫苗，也可以只打一针。根据COVID-19感染和疫苗接种的历史，年龄较小的儿童可能需要更多的疫苗。

CDC Director Mandy Cohen said last month that she expects the COVID shots to be given yearly like the flu vaccines. However, not all doctors agree that everyone needs them every year.

疾病预防控制中心主任曼迪·科恩上个月表示，她希望COVID疫苗能像流感疫苗一样每年接种一次。然而，并不是所有的医生都同意每个人每年都需要接种。

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University, is an advisor to the CDC. He said, "If you're six months of age or older, you should get a flu vaccine. Sounds good to me for COVID also."

范德比尔特大学传染病专家、CDC顾问威廉·沙夫纳博士说:“如果你年满六个月或更大，你应该接种流感疫苗。对我来说，COVID疫苗也是如此。”

Another CDC advisor is Dr. Paul Offit, a University of Pennsylvania infectious disease expert. He said he believes the shots should be given yearly to high-risk groups. Studies have not shown the updated shots protect against disease in lower-risk populations, Offit said.

另一位CDC顾问、宾夕法尼亚大学传染病专家保罗·奥菲特博士表示，他认为应该每年给高危人群注射疫苗。奥菲特说，研究并没有证实更新后的疫苗对低风险人群的保护作用。

In Britain, the British government's vaccine committee said only adults 65 and older and people at risk will be offered the shot as they are the most likely to benefit.

在英国，英国政府的疫苗委员会表示，只有65岁及以上的成年人和有风险的人才能接种疫苗，因为他们最有可能从中获益。

Will the shots be effective?

这些疫苗是否有效?

Unlike last year's shot which targeted both the original virus and the Omicron variant, the updated shot takes aim at an Omicron sub-variant named XBB.1.5. The drug companies added that early testing has shown that the updated shots work against the latest sub-variant BA.2.86.

与去年针对原始病毒和Omicron变体的疫苗不同，这次更新的疫苗针对的是名为XBB.1.5的Omicron亚变体。制药公司补充说，早期测试表明，更新后的疫苗对最新亚型BA.2.86有效。

Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) recently said BA.2.86 has already been identified in several countries, including the United States, Switzerland, South Africa, Israel, Denmark and Britain.

世界卫生组织(WHO)官员最近表示，BA.2.86已在包括美国、瑞士、南非、以色列、丹麦和英国在内的几个国家被确认。

The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased. But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the new COVID-19 variants show that the virus remains a health threat around the world.

COVID-19大流行的严重程度有所下降。但世卫组织总干事谭德塞表示，新的COVID-19变种表明，该病毒仍然是世界各地的健康威胁。

The CDC said last month that only 42 percent of people said in a study that they would or probably would get the new vaccine. Yet only about 20 percent of American adults got an updated shot, called a booster, when it was offered a year ago.

CDC上个月表示，一项研究发现，只有42%的人表示他们会或可能会接种新疫苗。然而，一年前，只有大约20%的美国成年人接种了一种被称为加强剂的新型疫苗。

Doctors hope enough people will get vaccinated to help avoid another "tripledemic" like last year. At that time, U.S. hospitals said they had to deal with an early flu season, a rise in respiratory syncytial virus known as RSV, and another sudden increase in coronavirus cases.

医生希望有足够多的人接种疫苗，以避免像去年那样再次出现“三重流行”。当时，美国医院表示，他们必须应对流感季的提前、呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)的增加以及新冠病毒病例的突然增加。

This year, hospitals in the U.S. reported a small increase in COVID-19 patients over the summer. But the number was much smaller than the year before. Officials said earlier vaccinations or infections have helped prevent severe disease and death. But most Americans have not had a vaccination in about a year.

今年夏天，美国医院报告的COVID-19患者略有增加，但数量远低于去年。官员们表示，，早期的疫苗接种或感染有助于预防严重的疾病和死亡。但大多数美国人在大约一年的时间里没有接种过疫苗。

The CDC says that people can get a yearly flu shot and the updated COVID shot at the same time. The agency says there is no difference in effectiveness or side effects.

CDC表示，人们可以同时接种每年一次的流感疫苗和最新的COVID疫苗。该机构表示，这两种疫苗在有效性或副作用方面没有区别。

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

小马里奥·里特报道。