Health experts weigh in on whether to continue masking

Health experts weigh in on whether to continue masking

Transcript¹

To mask or not to mask? That is the question we put to COVID-19 experts as we enter the fourth year of the pandemic.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

There are still hundreds of thousands of COVID cases reported in the U.S. each week, along with a few thousand COVID-related deaths. But mask mandates² - remember those? - are pretty much a thing of the past.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Some are still masking, many aren't. So what should you do? We decided³ to get advice from a few COVID experts.

WILLIAM SCHAFFNER: When we go out to the supermarket or any other activity that's indoors where there'll be a group of people, we continue to be masked.

FADEL: That's Dr. William Schaffner. He's a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Schaffner says he and his wife are pretty careful because they're at higher risk for serious illness if they get infected. They're also caring for a loved one who's undergoing chemotherapy.

MART?NEZ: Dr. Bob Wachter is the chair of the department of medicine at UC San Francisco.

BOB WACHTER: I have come to calibrate⁴ my mask-wearing based on my best educated guess as to the possibility that someone has COVID and also how important it is for me to do the thing without a mask.

FADEL: Wachter makes the call on a case-by-case basis. Outside, no mask. A small gathering⁵ where everyone's vaccinated⁶, he would drop mask there, too, especially if everyone just tested negative and there's an open window. But when he goes into a crowded theater or an airplane...

WACHTER: Those places, I'm wearing a mask now. And I suspect I will wear a mask forever. Forever's a long time. But the threat of COVID now, I think, is probably not all that different than it'll be a year from now or five years from now.

MART?NEZ: Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious diseases expert at UCSF, says there is far less need for masking now, given the immunity⁷ provided by infections and vaccines⁸. Still, she says, everyone needs to assess their own risk.

MONICA GANDHI: I've been just riveted⁹ by what I think are very impressive results. These vaccines are really powerful in terms of what they were designed to do, which is to prevent severe disease.

FADEL: Wachter notes that he's fully¹⁰ vaccinated and no longer worries about becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID.

WACHTER: I worried a lot about that three years ago, but that's not my concern now. My concern and the reason I'm still moderately careful is I don't want to get COVID and be laid up for a week or however long. And I don't want to get long COVID.

MART?NEZ: And Wachter says masking has also helped him avoid catching¹¹ upper respiratory infections. So while he'd rather ditch the mask altogether, he says occasionally wearing one is a relatively¹² small price to pay to stay healthy.

(SOUNDBITE OF WANG WEN'S "MAIL FROM THE RIVER")

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 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 calibrate   

校准；使合标准；测量（枪的）口径

参考例句：

• Pesticide levels in food are simply too difficult to calibrate.食品中杀虫剂的含量很难精确测定。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 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？

7 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。

8 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。

9 riveted   

铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意

参考例句：

• I was absolutely riveted by her story. 我完全被她的故事吸引住了。
• My attention was riveted by a slight movement in the bushes. 我的注意力被灌木丛中的轻微晃动吸引住了。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。