VOA慢速英语2021 欧洲药管局称可能发现血栓同阿斯利康疫苗之间的联系（在线收听）

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Wednesday it has found a "possible link" between the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and rare cases of blood system blockages, known as blood clots.

欧洲药品管理局周三表示，它可能发现了阿斯利康新冠疫苗与罕见血栓病例之间可能存在的联系。

The EMA announcement is the latest setback for a low-cost vaccine that was once called a "vaccine for the world." The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for emergency use in over 100 countries including Britain and the European Union. The vaccine is also a large part of the United Nations COVAX program to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries.

欧洲药管局的这则公告是这种曾被誉为“世界疫苗”的廉价疫苗遇到的最新挫折。阿斯利康疫苗已经被批准在包括英国和欧盟在内的100多个国家中紧急使用。该疫苗也是联合国新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划的重要组成部分，该计划旨在向贫穷国家提供新冠肺炎疫苗。

The agency advised that blood system blockages should be listed as "side effects" of the vaccine. It said women under the age of 60 represent most of the cases of blood clots reported so far. The problems, the agency said, happened within two weeks of vaccination. The EMA said it was not "possible to identify specific risk factors."

该机构通告称，血栓应该被列为这种疫苗的副作用。它称60岁以下女性占到了迄今报告的绝大多数血栓病例。该机构称，这些问题发生在疫苗接种两个星期之内。欧洲药管局称其可能无法找出特定的风险因素。

EMA chief Emer Cooke spoke to reporters Wednesday. She said the risk of death from COVID is much greater than the risk of death from these side effects.

欧洲药管局局长埃莫·库克周三对记者发表了讲话。她说，新冠病毒的致死风险远大于这些副作用的致死风险。

The EMA and the World Health Organization have said repeatedly that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective.

欧洲药管局和世卫组织一再表示，阿斯利康疫苗是安全的。

Setbacks from the start

出师不利

Early in the pandemic, the AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with Britain's University of Oxford, was considered a leading candidate against the coronavirus. It costs much less than other vaccines. It also does not require extreme cold storage, making it easier to use in countries with limited resources.

在大流行初期，阿斯利康公司同牛津大学共同研发的这种疫苗被认为是抵抗新冠病毒的主要候选药物。它的成本远低于其它疫苗。它还不需要极低温冷藏，这使得它更便于在资源有限的国家使用。

Last September, the company temporarily suspended the trials of the vaccine after a volunteer in Britain developed inflammation in her spine. It was later found to be unrelated to the vaccine but led to a long delay in the United States.

去年9月，在一名英国志愿者脊椎发炎之后，该公司暂停了该疫苗的试验。后来发现它与疫苗无关，但是已经导致了疫苗试验在美国的长时间延误。

In March, about 13 European countries suspended their use of AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of possible blood clots linked to the shot. Most restarted with some age restrictions after the EMA said countries should continue to use the vaccine.

3月份在报道了与注射疫苗有关的血栓之后，大约有13个欧洲国家暂停了使用阿斯利康疫苗。在欧洲药管局表示各国应该继续使用这种疫苗之后，大多数国家在设置一定年龄限制后都重新开始接种。

A week later, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a U.S. health agency, released an unusual statement saying that "AstraZeneca might have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data."

一周后，美国国家过敏和传染病研究所发表了一份不同寻常的声明，称阿斯利康可能包含了临床试验的过时信息，这可能提供了一份不完整的疗效数据。

On Wednesday, the Reuters news agency reported that EU health ministers planned to meet after the EMA's announcement.

路透社周三报道称，在欧洲药管局发布公告之后，欧洲卫生部长们计划会面。

Even officials in Asia said they were waiting to hear the EMA's decision. South Korea had temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine in people 60 and younger. The country's health officials said Wednesday that they would also pause a plan to vaccinate teachers that was to begin on Thursday, while awaiting the results of the EMA's review.

甚至亚洲官员也表示，他们在等待听取欧洲药管局的决定。韩国已经暂停了在60岁及以下人群中使用阿斯利康疫苗。该国卫生官员周三表示，他们还将暂停原定于周四开始的一项教师接种计划，等待欧洲药管局的审查结果。

Dr. Peter English was a former head of the British Medical Association's Public Health Medicine Committee. He said questions over the vaccine could have serious consequences around the world.

皮特·英格利什曾担任英国医学协会公共卫生医学委员会主席。他说，关于这种疫苗的疑问可能会在世界范围内造成严重后果。

English told the Associated Press, "We can't afford not to use this vaccine if we are going to end the pandemic."

英格利什对美联社表示：“如果我们要结束这场大流行，就不能不使用这种疫苗。”