VOA健康报道2022 奥密克戎传播放缓 卫生官员带来希望

World health officials are offering hope that the slowing spread of Omicron may lead to a weakening of the COVID-19 pandemic. But officials also warn of hard weeks ahead and the possibility of another, more dangerous variant¹ appearing.

世界卫生官员给人们带来了希望，奥密克戎传播放缓可能会导致新冠肺炎大流行的减弱。但是官员们也警告说，未来几周会很艰难，还有可能会出现更危险的变种。

In the United States, daily case numbers are dropping sharply. The same thing happened weeks earlier in Britain and South Africa. Researchers predict a period of low spread in many countries by the end of March.

美国每日新增病例开始急剧下降。同样的事情还发生在几周前的英国和南非。研究人员预测，到3月底前，许多国家都将会出现一段缓慢的传播期。

This week, the World Health Organization said in a statement it expects the "emergency phase" of the pandemic to end this year. It also said the Omicron variant offers "hope for...normalization²."

世卫组织本周在一份声明中表示，预计大流行的“紧急阶段”将会在今年结束。它还表示，奥密克戎变种带来了“常态化的希望。”

Also this week, U.S. health official Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on the television program "This Week" on ABC. He said COVID-19 case numbers could fall to low enough levels that the U.S. could get "back to a degree of normality."

同样是在本周，美国卫生官员安东尼·福奇博士参加了美国广播公司的《本周》电视节目。他说，新冠肺炎病例数可能会下降到足够低的水平，让美国可以“恢复到某种程度的正常状态。”

Fauci leads the U.S. National Institute of Allergy³ and Infectious Diseases and is chief medical adviser⁴ to President Joe Biden.

福奇领导了美国国家过敏和传染病研究所，也是拜登总统的首席医疗顾问。

Both Fauci and the WHO's Europe director, Dr. Hans Kluge, warned that new variants⁵ are likely to appear. But they believe that vaccines⁶, new drug treatments, testing and masks will help keep life more normal during future surges.

福奇和世卫组织欧洲区主任汉斯·克鲁格博士都警告说可能会出现新的变种。但是他们认为，疫苗、新药疗法、检测以及口罩将有助于在未来病例激增期间保持生活更加正常。

In the U.S., new cases are averaging a still extraordinarily⁷ high 680,000 a day. That is down from an all-time high of over 800,000 a little more than a week ago.

美国日均新增病例数量仍达到畸高的68万例。这比一个多星期前的超80万例的历史高点有所下降。

The places in the U.S. where omicron first spread are seeing the sharpest drops. U.S. hospital admissions of patients with confirmed COVID-19 have dropped about 7 percent from the week before. That information comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

美国奥密克戎最先传播的地区出现的跌幅最大。美国新冠肺炎确诊患者的住院人数比前一周下降了约7%。该信息来自于美国疾控预防中心。

Dr. Christopher Murray is with the University of Washington. He developed the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation⁸ model. The model shows all nations will be past the Omicron wave by the middle of March. The wave will leave behind high levels of immunity⁹ – both from infection and vaccination¹⁰. This could lead to low levels of spread for many weeks or months.

克里斯托弗·默里博士就职于华盛顿大学。他壮大了健康指标和评估模型研究所。模型显示所有国家都将在3月中旬之前度过奥密克戎爆发。这波爆发将会留下高水平的免疫力，无论是来自于感染还是疫苗接种。这可能会导致数周甚至数月的传播放缓。

Murray's model also estimates that 57 percent of the world's population already has been infected with the virus at least once.

默里的模型还估计，全球57%的人口已经至少感染过一次新冠病毒。

A research group at Pennsylvania State University also predicts a strong drop in the U.S. by April. But the appearance of a new variant that is less affected¹¹ by growing levels of immunity could change that.

宾夕法尼亚州立大学的一个研究小组还预测，美国到4月份将会出现大幅下降。但是若出现一种受免疫水平提高影响很小的新变体，这一切就会改变。

"It would be dangerous to forget that possibility, as it has caught us before," said Katriona Shea. She leads the team that develops the models.

卡特里奥娜·谢伊表示：“忘记这种可能性是很危险的，因为我们有过前车之鉴。”她领导了该模型的开发团队。

Shea also noted¹² that the models show 16,000 to 98,000 more Americans dying before the Omicron wave is over. COVID-19 has killed almost 870,000 people in the United States already. Deaths from the disease around the world total more than 5.5 million.

谢伊还指出，模型显示在奥密克戎爆发结束之前，还会有1.6万到9.8万名美国人死亡。新冠肺炎已经在美国造成87万人死亡。全球死于这种疾病的人数超过了550万。

1 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

2 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

3 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 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

6 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。

7 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

8 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

9 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。

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 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。