美国国家公共电台 NPR--Are the new boosters that target omicron better than the previous shots?

Are the new boosters that target omicron better than the previous shots?

Transcript¹

President Biden is urging more Americans to get a COVID booster shot, even as research suggests the new vaccines³ might not be any better than the old ones.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

President Biden has an extra COVID shot. He rolled up his sleeve yesterday for the latest booster.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Now is the time to do it - by Halloween, if you can. That's the best time. And that way you can be protected for the holidays.

FADEL: Some research questions, though, whether the new bivalent boosters that target omicron are any better than the old shots.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Researchers at Columbia and Harvard University studied that. Here's Dr. David Ho at Columbia.

DAVID HO: To our disappointment, the bivalent vaccine² did not show superiority over the original vaccine.

INSKEEP: His team found that about a month after getting the shot, people did not have significantly higher levels of antibodies to neutralize⁴ the dominant⁵ omicron subvariants.

FADEL: But Deepta Bhattacharya at the University of Arizona considers the new studies too small and too short for firm conclusions.

DEEPTA BHATTACHARYA: For those who are saying see, see, I told you so, I would say, let's stand down a little bit and wait for some cleaner data to come out because these studies can't be used to support really one argument or another.

INSKEEP: Dr. John Wherry at the University of Pennsylvania is also saying to wait.

JOHN WHERRY: It's a little bit of a - sort of a reality check or a reset⁷ that the bivalent vaccines are not a magic bullet. They're not going to give us, you know, perfect protection from these new omicron variants⁶ that are circulating.

FADEL: Only about 20 million people have stepped up to receive a new booster, even though more than 10 times that number - over 200 million people - have been eligible⁸ since Labor⁹ Day.

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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 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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

7 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

8 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。