U.S. health officials are urging older adults to get an additional updated COVID-19 vaccine shot.
美国卫生官员敦促老年人再接种一针更新版新冠疫苗。
The advice for Americans 65 and older was recently issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
美国疾控预防中心最近发布了针对65岁及以上美国人的建议。
A statement by CDC Director Mandy Cohen explained the new guidance. "Most COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last year were among people 65 years and older. An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection ... for those at highest risk."
美国疾控预防中心主任曼迪·科恩在一份声明中对这份新的指导意见做出了解释。“去年新冠肺炎死亡和住院患者多数都是65岁及以上人群。对这些高危人群来说，接种一剂加强针可以提供更多防护。
The CDC said an additional dose of the vaccine can provide increased protection, even if older adults received the updated shot version launched last autumn.
美国疾控预防中心表示，即使老年人接种了去年秋天推出的更新疫苗，再接种一剂疫苗也可以提供更多的保护。
The new guidance suggests individuals who did receive the updated shot – which became available last September – should wait at least four months before getting the latest dose.
新的指导意见建议，接种了去年9月推出的更新疫苗的人群，应该至少等待四个月才能接种最新的疫苗。
The CDC's decision, or recommendation, came after much debate over whether to say older people "may" get the shots or "should" do so. That discussion demonstrates the ongoing debate among experts about how necessary additional COVID-19 shots are.
美国疾控预防中心的决定或建议，是在对老年人接种这剂疫苗是“可选择”，还是“应该”进行了大量辩论之后做出的。这一讨论表明，专家们正在就额外接种新冠疫苗的必要性进行辩论。
Some doctors have said they think most older adults are effectively protected after getting the shot last autumn. And studies have suggested the shots stay effective for six months.
一些医生表示，他们认为大多数老年人在去年秋天接种疫苗后得到了有效的保护。研究表明，这些疫苗的有效期为六个月。
But health officials have noted the body's vaccine-activated defenses can decrease over time, especially in older people. The CDC had recommended additional COVID-19 shots, called boosters, for older adults in 2022 and 2023.
但卫生官员指出，随着时间的推移，疫苗激活的人体防御能力会下降，尤其是在老年人中。美国疾控预防中心在2022年和2023年建议为老年人额外接种新冠疫苗加强针。
COVID-19 can still present serious health risks, especially to older people and those with existing medical conditions. The CDC says there are still more than 20,000 hospitalizations and more than 2,000 deaths each week from COVID-19. Individuals 65 years and older have the highest hospitalization and death rates.
新冠肺炎仍可能带来严重的健康风险，尤其是对老年人和既有病患。美国疾控预防中心表示，新冠肺炎每周仍然导致2万多人住院，2000多人死亡。65岁及以上人群的住院率和死亡率最高。
Some members of the CDC group that approved the latest advice said the word "should" in the guidance is meant to persuade more doctors and drug stores to offer the shots.
美国疾控预防中心批准这一最新建议的小组的一些成员表示，指南中的“应该”一词旨在说服更多的医生和药店提供疫苗。
"Most people are coming in either wanting the vaccine or not," Dr. Jamie Loehr told The Associated Press. He is a member of the CDC's deciding committee and a family doctor in Ithaca, New York. "I am trying to make it easier for providers to say, ‘Yes, we recommend this.'"
詹米·勒尔博士告诉美联社：“大多数人要么想接种疫苗，要么不想接种。”他是美国疾控预防中心决策委员会的成员，也是纽约伊萨卡的一名家庭医生。“我试图让提供疫苗者更容易说出，‘是的，我们建议这样做。’”
In September, the government ordered a new COVID-19 shot based on a version of the virus called XBB.1.5. That single-target vaccine replaced combinations that had targeted both the first COVID-19 version and a much earlier Omicron version.
去年9月，美国政府下令接种一剂新的新冠疫苗，该疫苗是基于XBB.1.5病毒版本。这种单靶点疫苗取代了针对第一种新冠肺炎版本和更早的奥密克戎版本的组合。
The CDC recommended that vaccine version for everyone 6 months and older. It also urged people with weak immune systems to get a second shot up to two months after the first.
美国疾控预防中心建议6个月及以上人群接种该疫苗。它还敦促免疫系统较弱人群在接种第一针后两个月内接种第二针。
But most Americans did not listen to that advice. The latest CDC data shows that 13 percent of U.S. children got the shots, while 22 percent of U.S. adults did. The vaccination rate for adults 65 and older is higher, at nearly 42 percent.
但大多数美国人没有听从这个建议。美国疾控预防中心的最新数据显示，接种了这剂疫苗的美国儿童为13%，而美国成年人为22%。65岁及以上人群的疫苗接种率更高，接近42%。
"People are tired of getting all these shots all the time," Dr. David Canaday told the AP. He is an infectious diseases expert at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
大卫·卡纳迪博士告诉美联社：“人们已经厌倦了一直接种这些疫苗。”他是俄亥俄州克利夫兰市凯斯西储大学的传染病专家。
Canaday, who does not serve on the CDC's advisory group, added, "We have to be careful about over-recommending the vaccine."
卡纳迪不在美国疾控预防中心的咨询小组任职，他补充道，“我们必须对过度推荐疫苗保持谨慎。”
I'm Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)