VOA慢速英语2021--法国卫生工作者不打疫苗将被停职

Unvaccinated French Health Care Workers Face Suspension

Health care workers in France now face suspension from their jobs if they have not been vaccinated¹ against COVID-19, say new rules that went into effect Wednesday, September 15. With as many as 300,000 workers still not vaccinated, some hospitals fear employee shortages will add to their difficulties.

Vaccines³ are now required for those who work in medical care and home care as well as for all emergency workers in France. They face having pay suspended or being banned from the workplace, but they cannot be fired, a court ruled.

The court order was approved by France's parliament over the summer to protect patients and the public from new variants⁴ of COVID-19. More than 113,000 people have died from the virus in France. Health officials say most of those hospitalized most recently have not been vaccinated.

"It's aimed at one thing: protecting hospitals, protecting health care workers, protecting our fragile populations," government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Wednesday. "We are not stigmatizing⁵ anyone. We are making everyone take responsibility."

Attal said more than 90 percent of French health care workers are vaccinated. He added that the numbers suggest most people support the vaccine² order for medical staff. The government health division said last Tuesday that about 300,000 health workers remained unvaccinated.

About 83 percent of French adults are fully⁶ vaccinated. However, a small, vocal⁷ minority of people are opposed to the coronavirus vaccines. This includes some health care workers.

Many of those who are not vaccinated seem to have based their decision on untrue information they read online. They worry about the long-term effects of the vaccine or want more time to decide. Many have refused the vaccine because they are angry at President Emmanuel Macron's government and the order. They say they are not afraid of the vaccine.

Some hospitals are already facing difficulties after a year and half of fighting the pandemic and catching⁸ up on other treatments. So, some fear employee shortages could mean disaster, if the unvaccinated are removed from their health care jobs.

Christophe Prudhomme is an emergency room doctor and a CGT union member, one of the largest labor⁹ unions in France. He said at a protest outside the Health Ministry¹⁰ last Tuesday, "We are raising the alarm..." He said if the measure is enforced, some hospitals will be forced to shut down a lot of rooms due to a shortage of trained workers. This would reduce the chances of survival for many patients with COVID-19 and other illnesses.

If health care workers have had only one shot so far, they have to take a virus test every three days until they have completed the second one. October 15 is the legal deadline for both shots to be completed.

Companies and employers that fail to ensure their workers are vaccinated will be hit with a $160 fine that can rise to $4,430 for repeated failure.

"I am not a revolutionary, I am just afraid, and we are thousands in this situation. I want them to listen to us and sit and talk around a table," said Rachid Ouchem. He works at a hospital near Paris, and he does not want to be vaccinated. He is facing suspension.

"We can't decide ourselves, we have doubts," he told The Associated Press. "We had politicians saying one thing and it's opposite."

Scientists note that the vaccines used in France were tested widely and the information shared publicly. Around the world, 5.7 billion coronavirus vaccine shots have been administered so far. This provides a large picture of the vaccine's effect on people's health.

The vaccine order and France's "health pass" system required for restaurants and other public events have started two months of weekly protests by far-right activists¹¹ and some other groups. They also created an increase in vaccinations¹² through the summer, though the rate has slowed this month.

French Polynesia, a group of islands in the Pacific, is suffering the country's worst outbreak so far. France's South Pacific territory of New Caledonia has ordered required vaccinations for the whole population to try to avoid a similar outbreak.

Words in This Story

fragile – adj. not strong

stigmatize¹³ – v. to describe or regard (something, such as a characteristic or group of people) in a way that shows strong disapproval¹⁴

union – v. an organization of workers formed to protect the rights and interests of its members

raise the alarm – phr. v. people are warning about a possible problem or danger

revolutionary – adj. causing or relating to a great or complete change

doubts – n. a feeling of being uncertain or unsure about something

1 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？

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 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

5 stigmatizing   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Laing regards the concept of mental illness as both unscientific and stigmatizing. 菜恩认为精神病的概念是不科学的和诬蔑性的。 来自辞典例句
• The existing social benefits are considered to be stigmatizing and repressive. 现存的社会福利被指责为是无价值的、残暴的。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

8 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。

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。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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》

13 stigmatize   

v.污蔑，玷污

参考例句：

• Children in single-parent families must not be stigmatized.单亲家庭的孩子们不应该受到歧视。
• They are often stigmatized by the rest of society as lazy and dirty.他们经常被社会中的其他人污蔑为懒惰、肮脏。

14 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。