美国国家公共电台 NPR--CDC underscores the importance of Black and Hispanic adults getting flu shots

CDC underscores the importance of Black and Hispanic adults getting flu shots

Transcript¹

About half of U.S. adults get their flu shot each year, but a new report finds that Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are less likely to get a flu vaccine² — and more likely to be hospitalized.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

It is flu season in the U.S., and a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores how important it is to get your flu shot. And that's especially true for Black and Hispanic adults, who are more likely to be hospitalized with the flu than white adults. It is a gap that could be closed with higher vaccination³ rates. And here to discuss those CDC findings is NPR health reporter Pien Huang.

Let's start with this new report. What does it show?

PIEN HUANG, BYLINE⁴: Well, the report shows significant ethnic⁵ and racial disparities during flu season. It's a big retrospective study done by the CDC on almost every flu season all the way back to 2009. And the major findings, as you mentioned, are that Black adults are almost twice as likely to get hospitalized from flu as white or Asian adults. We also see disparities in hospitalizations among Hispanic and Native American, Native Alaskan people, although it's not quite as high as with Black adults. And at the same time, Black, Hispanic and Native populations get the flu vaccine at lower rates - around 40% - while the national average is around 50%. Now, vaccines⁶ aren't the only reason that some groups of color are getting hit harder by flu. But CDC officials say that boosting flu vaccination rates in these groups could do a lot.

MARTINEZ: Than what stands in the way of these higher vaccination rates for people of color?

HUANG: Well, it's a bunch of different factors. And at a press briefing yesterday, Karla Black, a CDC official, said there can be a lot of different barriers.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KARLA BLACK: Including lack of access to health care and insurance, missed opportunities to vaccinate⁷ and misinformation and distrust. Racism⁸ and prejudice also contribute to these inequities.

HUANG: It's not just that people don't want to get it or don't make it to a doctor. There's research that shows that even when people of color show up to get a vaccine, the options they're getting can be inferior. For instance, there's this high-dose vaccine that should be available to people who are older 'cause they're more vulnerable to flu. But a study of Medicare patients showed that among people who are 65 and older who got a flu vaccine, people of color were 20- to 30% less likely to actually get that higher dose.

MARTINEZ: You know, this sounds exactly as - like we were talking about with COVID vaccines, racial and ethnic disparities during the rollout of those shots. I mean, is that a fair comparison?

HUANG: Yeah, A, it totally is. I mean, at the start of the COVID vaccine rollout, Black and Latino vaccination rates lagged behind those of white Americans. But then with a lot of investment and effort, those gaps were closed. And that actually ends up being a real pandemic success story.

Now, the CDC says that there are lessons learned there that can be applied⁹ here, lessons like bringing vaccines into the community, into libraries, grocery stores, schools. It helps to make them convenient and free. And it also helps to reach out to communities with messages that make sense to them in the languages that they speak.

I spoke¹⁰ with John Pamplin. He's a social epidemiologist who studies structural¹¹ racism at Columbia University. And he says that these are some good short-term solutions. But in the long term, Pamplin says, doctors and health leaders need to actually be coming from the communities that have been hardest to reach with the flu shot.

JOHN PAMPLIN: If we have a diverse workforce¹² that is comprised of individuals who are already trusted members of these communities, then it's much easier for them to be able to kind of communicate and speak to people where they're at.

MARTINEZ: All right. So what should we expect flu season to look like this year?

HUANG: Well, flu season is already starting, and activity is currently low - flu activity. But it's increasing in a lot of the country, especially in the South and Southeast. And while the past two flu seasons have been super mild, experts warn that it could be bad this year. People are back to school and work. They're traveling. They're not masking or social distancing anymore. And since most people haven't really had flu in two years, natural immunity¹³ is down. So we might be back to a typical flu season where millions of people get sick and hundreds of thousands of people will get hospitalized.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Pien Huang. Thanks a lot.

HUANG: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 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。

7 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

13 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。