标题&&导语

Living with Covid-19 requires caution, not complacency

Governments need to plan now for what could be a tough autumn

  • live with sb 和sb一起生活
    • live with sth 容忍 = put up with = tolerate

  • complacency 自鸣得意

    • complacet 自满的

      第一段

      Summer is beckoning for many and with it the lure of breaks, possibly abroad, for the first time since the pandemic struck in 2020. While we should enjoy this hard-won return to normality — or something that resembles it — this is no time for complacency: Covid-19 has not gone away. There is a consensus among doctors and immunologists that autumn could bring more virulent strains on top of seasonal illnesses that may heap pressure on national health systems. Now is the time for governments around the world, distracted by the cost of living crisis, to plan their responses.

  • beckon 表示吸引力：sth. beckons「某事令人向往/吸引人」，其中动词beckon原意为「招手示意」，因此引申义为「吸引、诱惑」

  • the lure of sth 形容「某事的诱惑力」
  • hard-won 辛苦得来的
  • resemble v. 像，与……相似
  • consensus n.共识
    • ~ among sb about/on sth对于某事与某人达成共识
  • immunology 免疫学
    • immunologist 免疫学家
  • virulent 致命的、恶性的
  • strain n.病毒类型，动植物品系
  • on top of sth 除了xxx之外
    • in addition to sth

第二段

Surges in hospitalisations in countries including Portugal, the UK and Germany — driven by new sub-variants of the highly infectious Omicron strain — are a nasty reminder of the need for vigilance. Globally, the number of Covid-related deaths is about a sixth of what it was six months ago but 7,843 people still died last week, including 1,640 in the US. Disparities in access to vaccines between developed and poorer countries are still glaring, and even within some rich countries. While it would be foolhardy to announce victory over Covid, or pretend it does not exist, it is also right that we need to learn to live with it. There are sensible ways to do that without resorting to draconian lockdowns.

  • 病毒相关：hospitalisations「住院人数」、variant「变种」、sub-variant「次变种」、infectious「有传染力的」
    • hospitalisation 住院，如果使用复数代表「住院人数」
  • nasty 令人不悦的、极差的
    • vigilance 警惕、警戒
  • disparity (不公平的)差异
    • disparity in sth
    • disparity between A and B 「_A和B之间的差异」_
    • 疫苗不公平：Disparities in access to vaccines between developed and poorer countries are still glaring.
  • glaring 显眼的、明显的
  • foolhardy 有勇无谋的
  • resort to sth.「诉诸……」

  • draconian （法律等）严酷的

    • Draco 德拉古

      第三段

      The first is to retain apparatus set up over the past two years. Dismantling data collection and surveillance is a mistake. Home testing and reporting of results has already fallen off a cliff in many countries, which means it is likely that far more people have Covid than currently reported. It also limits the genomic sequencing that is vital for studying outbreaks and spotting new variants, some of which could mutate to become vaccine-resistant.

  • retain 保留

    • apparatus 器械、仪器
  • dismantle 拆除（设备），逐渐废除（制度、组织）
  • surveillance 监视
  • genomic sequencing「基因组测序」
    • genome 基因组

  • mutate「v. 突变」

    第四段

    The second step is to map out booster campaigns for the autumn, when populations’ immune protection from the last round of jabs will wane just as new variants are predicted to take hold. Governments will have to decide whether to restrict boosters to vulnerable groups — the UK has just widened preparations for the booster to be given to those over 50. This tactic is designed to reduce hospitalisations and deaths. But proponents of diffuse vaccine rollouts argue that jabs should be given more widely to try to lessen the economic and social damage（that） lockdowns cause. Governments could consider liberalising markets somewhat, allowing people outside target groups to pay for boosters, as they do for flu jabs or travel shots.

  • map out sth 精心规划某事

  • 疫苗的多种说法：最常见的表达为vaccine，非正式的说法为jab（表示「一次接种、预防针」），也可以叫shot「一次注射」
    • booster 加强针
    • campaign （宣传）活动
    • 「流感疫苗」通常写成flu jab，进行国际旅行时强制要求接种的为travel shot「旅行疫苗」；
  • 疫苗的作用：能够提供immune protection「免疫保护」，但随时间推移，效果会wane「减弱」
  • wane 减弱
  • take (a) hold 变得十分强大，完全取得控制
  • preparations 做复数是准备工作的意思
    • 一般情况下，使用单数，表示 准备的意思
  • proponent 拥护者、倡导者 = advocate
  • diffuse 扩撒的
  • rollout （新产品的）推出市场
  • somewhat 稍微、有点

  • liberalise 使自由化

    第五段

    There is also the question of what vaccine to deploy, with evidence that those developed earlier in the pandemic are less efficient at tackling the spread of Omicron (although they do still confer protection against severe illness). The International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities is due to vote by the end of the month on whether to allow variant-specific vaccines; the hope is that it will. Countries’ investment in treatments for Covid should also be sustained, including in antivirals, which lessen the effects for symptomatic patients if taken early on.

  • confer 授予

  • be due to do sth 预期做某事
  • variant-specific
    • specific 针对xxx
  • variant-specific vaccine「针对特定变种的疫苗」、antiviral「抗病毒药物」、lessen the effects for symptomatic patients「减轻对有症状感染者的影响」。
    • asymptomatic 无症状的

第六段

Moreover, seasonal flu could be far worse this year — an issue Australia and China are already grappling with — because pandemic restrictions mean people have been less exposed to all kinds of illnesses and are therefore less resilient. “Two-in-one” campaigns that encourage people to get both their Covid boosters and flu jabs, as Australia is launching, will be key this autumn.

  • grpple with sth 设法应对某事
  • resilient：可表示「有弹性的」、「有韧性的」、「有适应能力的」或「有抵抗力的」

第七段

While restrictions can be jettisoned this summer, the hard lessons of the past two years should not be. Covid-19 may have been displaced in headlines, governments’ priorities and the public consciousness, but out of sight should not mean out of mind.

  • jettison vt. 放弃（计划、想法等），例句：

The scheme was jettisoned.

  • out of sight, out of mind：英文习语，表示「眼不见、心不想」，指看不到某件事情之后，很快就会忘记。