CDC eyes the latest omicron subvariant which is spreading in Europe

CDC eyes the latest omicron subvariant which is spreading in Europe

　　Transcript¹

　　Two years after the pandemic began, NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky about the latest omicron subvariant, children's COVID-19 vaccines³ and the end of most mask mandates⁴.

　　STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

　　When it comes to the pandemic, we have a kind of early warning system. Surges that hit Europe often come before surges here. And right now, the latest subvariant of omicron is spreading in Europe. Case numbers are climbing in a number of countries, just as officials lifted safeguards. Here in the United States, all 50 states have dropped universal indoor masking mandates and other restrictions⁵. Dr. Rochelle Walensky is following all of this. She is director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Walensky, welcome back.

　　ROCHELLE WALENSKY: Thanks for having me. Good to be with you. Good morning.

　　INSKEEP: How worried should Americans be about this BA.2 subvariant?

　　WALENSKY: So this is a subvariant we've been actually following now for a couple of months. We've had cases here in the United States since about mid-December. Here's what we know about BA.2. It's slightly more transmissible than omicron, than the general omicron, BA.1. But it doesn't seem to evade⁶ our vaccines or our immunity⁷ any more than the prior omicron. And it doesn't seem to lead to any more increased severity of disease. So that is all good news. Early studies also demonstrate that if you've previously⁸ had omicron, you likely have pretty good protection against BA.2, at least for now.

　　INSKEEP: Is it still wise, though, to have just dropped the mask mandates and other restrictions in state after state after state?

　　WALENSKY: You know, as we are following this - and we just two weeks ago released our new COVID-19 community levels, which really look at how much severe disease we have in the community. And just yesterday, we demonstrated that really less than 1% of the population is living in areas where we believe that masking should be required at this point or should be advised at this point. What we do know is that we anticipate that what has happened in the U.K. and other countries is that with BA.2, with some waning⁹ immunity and with a decrease in prevention strategies and mitigation, more opening up, that they are starting to see a slight increase in cases. And we are carefully watching for that as well.

　　INSKEEP: I want to ask a question about funding here. Congress did not add $22 billion to a spending package to continue a COVID-19 program. The White House now says it's going to start to wind down a program that pays for testing and treatment and vaccination¹⁰ for people who aren't insured. Now, it's not your business to say what Congress should or shouldn't do, but let's just talk strictly¹¹ about facts. Do you and do the administration have the money you need to appropriately address this situation?

　　WALENSKY: What I can do is speak to some of the challenges that resources - lack of resources will lead to for us here at the CDC. CDC plays a key role in the distribution and monitoring of vaccines, including distribution through our pharmacies¹² and through our physicians, and including following our vaccine² safety and monitoring systems. We also are looking to that support for how - looking at how well our vaccines work over time in these long-term studies and really how well - and really the impact of long COVID, studies that we anticipate we will need to follow for not just months but years. We use those resources to monitor for variants¹³, not just here but across the globe, and to support a global effort so that we can vaccinate¹⁴ more across the world and work to make sure that new variants don't arise.

　　INSKEEP: Are you telling me that you do not currently have the funding for those initiatives you just described?

　　WALENSKY: Certainly, we need more in order to be able to maintain all of those activities.

　　INSKEEP: Let me ask about another question because you mentioned vaccination. As you know, Moderna has asked the FDA to authorize¹⁵ a fourth dose of vaccine for a lot of adults. What are your early thoughts about that proposal?

　　WALENSKY: We are following the protection of these vaccines very carefully. What we've seen so far is that the people who've had a third shot who were boosted earliest still maintain a high level of protection, around 78%, against hospitalizations and severe disease even after four or five months. This is just the first of many studies that we continue to follow, and we do anticipate that there may be more waning and that people may need more protection over time. We're following that now. We certainly will review the data that both Pfizer and Moderna have and will submit. And we look forward to bringing in collaboration¹⁶ with the FDA a fourth shot should it need to occur. And we're monitoring that very carefully.

　　INSKEEP: I feel like you're telling me that there might be a time when a fourth shot is smart, but this might not be the time.

　　WALENSKY: And it may vary by population. So those are all the - you know, it's timing¹⁷, it's in whom, it's when. And so all of those are the data that we're following very carefully now.

　　INSKEEP: I want to ask a question, Dr. Walensky, about transparency. This is a question from our correspondents who cover the CDC and who have covered the pandemic. They have questions about it because the CDC promised greater transparency. The Biden administration generally has promised greater transparency. The CDC promised regular briefings, and we're told they've been fairly rare. Are you giving enough information often enough?

　　WALENSKY: So many of our data on - in fact, all of our data on our vaccine, vaccine waning, vaccine effectiveness is publicly available. We have been putting forward our science in - that's COVID related about every 48 hours. We have a new Morbidity¹⁸ and Mortality Weekly Report. I have - since I started, I've done more than 90 press conferences, I can tell you. And we continue to bring science in CDC-specific press conferences with our subject matter experts, and we continue to do more of those.

　　INSKEEP: So it sounds like you're saying you are transparent¹⁹ enough.

　　WALENSKY: And we are working to get more of our science out there in a very speedy fashion during pandemic times.

　　INSKEEP: Dr. Walensky, it's a pleasure talking with you again. Thank you so much.

　　WALENSKY: Thanks for having me.

　　INSKEEP: Dr. Rochelle Walensky is director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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 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。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

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 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 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。

11 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

12 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

13 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

14 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

15 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

16 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

17 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

18 morbidity   

n.病态；不健全；发病；发病率

参考例句：

• MC's also significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality induced by honeybee venom. 肥大细胞同样也能显著降低蜜蜂毒液诱发疾病的发病率和死亡率。 来自互联网
• The result shows that incidence of myopia morbidity is 44.84%. 结果表明：近视眼的发病率为44.84%。 来自互联网

19 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。