美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: We Are Risking Health And Life

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

It's flu shot season. Signs alerting and urging you to get a flu shot now may be up at your pharmacy¹ or workplace. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone over 6 months old get a flu shot by the end of October so the vaccine² can begin to work before the influenza³ season begins.

This week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would not give flu shots to the thousands of migrants now in its detention⁴ centers. Due to the short-term nature of CBP holding and the complexities⁵ of operating vaccination⁶ programs, the agency said in a statement, neither CBP nor its medical contractors⁷ administer vaccinations⁸ to those in our custody⁹. The most recent government statistics say the average length of stay for someone in detention this August is 46.4 days. Are 46.4 days short term?

Dr. Bruce Y. Lee of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health called the department's edict short-term thinking. Holding a number of unvaccinated people in a crowded space could be like maintaining an amusement park for flu viruses, he wrote for Forbes. He explains that viruses could spread through the congested, often cold and unsanitary detention camps and get passed between those people who've been detained - weak, tired and dusty - as well as those who work there.

Viruses spread. They cannot be detained like people. During a particularly brutal¹⁰ flu season two years ago, the CDC estimated about 80,000 people, including 600 children, died across the U.S. after being infected by influenza. Last season's flu set records for its length - 21 weeks.

On August 1, a group of six physicians from Johns Hopkins and the Mass General Hospital for Children wrote a letter to members of Congress in which they said at least three children infected with influenza have died in U.S. custody since December of 2018. The children were 2, 8 and 16. They were named Felipe, Wilmer and Carlos. The doctors advised Congress, during the influenza season, vaccination should be offered to all detainees promptly¹¹ upon arrival in order to maximize protection for the youngest and most vulnerable detainees.

This week, I read of the government's determination not to give seasonal¹² flu shots to migrants in detention centers and had to ask, what possible good will this do? Is it worth the risk to health and life? And what does this policy say about America?

(SOUNDBITE OF KAKI KING'S "MAGAZINE")

1 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

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 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

6 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。

7 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

12 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。