VOA健康报道2023--Who Should Get the Updated COVID Shot?

Who Should Get the Updated COVID Shot?

American health officials say most people should get the updated COVID-19 vaccine¹ this year.

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the updated COVID-19 shots from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech as well as from Moderna. A third vaccine from Novavax remains² under study.

Who should get the updated vaccines³?

U.S. health officials approved the shots for adults and children as young as six months old. They said starting at age five, most people can get a single shot even if they have never had a COVID-19 shot. Younger children might need more shots depending on their history of COVID-19 infections and vaccinations⁵.

CDC Director Mandy Cohen said last month that she expects the COVID shots to be given yearly like the flu vaccines. However, not all doctors agree that everyone needs them every year.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious⁶ diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University, is an advisor⁷ to the CDC. He said, "If you're six months of age or older, you should get a flu vaccine. Sounds good to me for COVID also."

Another CDC advisor is Dr. Paul Offit, a University of Pennsylvania infectious disease expert. He said he believes the shots should be given yearly to high-risk groups. Studies have not shown the updated shots protect against disease in lower-risk populations, Offit said.

In Britain, the British government's vaccine committee said only adults 65 and older and people at risk will be offered the shot as they are the most likely to benefit.

Will the shots be effective?

Unlike last year's shot which targeted both the original virus and the Omicron variant⁸, the updated shot takes aim at an Omicron sub-variant named XBB.1.5. The drug companies added that early testing has shown that the updated shots work against the latest sub-variant BA.2.86.

Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) recently said BA.2.86 has already been identified in several countries, including the United States, Switzerland, South Africa, Israel, Denmark and Britain.

The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased. But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the new COVID-19 variants⁹ show that the virus remains a health threat around the world.

The CDC said last month that only 42 percent of people said in a study that they would or probably would get the new vaccine. Yet only about 20 percent of American adults got an updated shot, called a booster, when it was offered a year ago.

Doctors hope enough people will get vaccinated¹⁰ to help avoid another "tripledemic" like last year. At that time, U.S. hospitals said they had to deal with an early flu season, a rise in respiratory syncytial virus known as RSV, and another sudden increase in coronavirus cases.

This year, hospitals in the U.S. reported a small increase in COVID-19 patients over the summer. But the number was much smaller than the year before. Officials said earlier vaccinations or infections have helped prevent severe disease and death. But most Americans have not had a vaccination⁴ in about a year.

The CDC says that people can get a yearly flu shot and the updated COVID shot at the same time. The agency says there is no difference in effectiveness or side effects.

Words in This Story

original –adj. happening or existing first

variant –v. something that is a little different from members of a group of similar things

1 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。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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 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。

5 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》

6 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 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。

9 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

10 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？