As several coronavirus vaccines inch closer toward FDA approval, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert has called on the public to double down on public health measures. Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a virtual discussion with The Hastings Center on Thursday, said the eventual vaccine is meant to protect the individual from getting sick from the coronavirus, but may not prevent that person from spreading the virus to others.
就在好幾種新冠疫苗正在等待美國食品和藥物管理局的審批之時，美國頂級傳染病專家安東尼·福奇博士呼籲民眾堅持公共衛生措施。福奇本周四（11月19日）在海斯汀中心參加虛擬討論時表示，研發疫苗的最終目的是為了保護個人不因感染新冠病毒而生病，但可能無法防止接種者向他人傳播病毒。
Fauci, when discussing Pfizer and Moderna’s results in clinical trials, explained that the vaccines are being evaluated to see if they prevent clinically apparent disease in the individual, and also to see if it prevents severe disease in a person who was inoculated. However, it is not yet clear what impact the vaccines may have on transmission.
福奇在討論輝瑞和莫德納製藥公司的臨床試驗結果時解釋道，正在對疫苗進行評估以確定其能否防止個人出現明顯臨床症狀，並確定接種疫苗後是否可以避免發展成重症。但是，目前尚不清楚疫苗對病毒傳播可能產生的影響。
"We have the same issue with influenza,」 Fauci said, noting that the two coronavirus vaccines are far more effective than the seasonal flu vaccine. 「You can get vaccinated with influenza and you won’t get sick, but it won’t necessarily prevent you from getting infected – although you won’t know you’re infected because you』ll either get mild or no symptoms.」
福奇稱：「流感疫苗也存在這樣的問題。」他指出，兩種新冠疫苗都比季節性流感疫苗要有效得多。「你接種了流感疫苗後不會患上流感，但不一定會防止你感染流感病毒，不過由於你的症狀輕微或沒有症狀，所以你並不知道自己被感染。」
The same concept applies to the eventual COVID-19 vaccine, he said.
他說，新冠疫苗的最終成品也是同理。
"The issue is that you’re not going to be completely protected against a degree of infection that you might not even notice that you might be able to spread to others,」 he said. 「Which is the reason why the message you may have heard me say over the last couple weeks in the media is that getting vaccinated with a highly efficacious vaccine does not mean that you’re going to abandon completely public health measures.」
他說：「問題在於，當你覺察不到是否在向他人傳播病毒時，你是不能完全隔絕病毒感染的。這就是我為什麼前幾周向媒體表示，即使注射了非常有效的疫苗，也不意味著你可以完全放棄公共衛生措施。」
Much debate over mask-wearing and whether it’s beneficial to the wearer or is helpful in stopping the spread has divided the country, particularly as states reenter lockdown modes. Fauci said the public health measures, which include social distancing, avoiding large gatherings, and frequent handwashing should be routine until the level of virus in the community becomes minuscule so that the risk of infection is no longer a threat.
關於佩戴口罩是否對佩戴者有益或是否有助於遏制病毒傳播在美國有兩種截然不同的聲音，尤其在各州又重新進入封鎖模式後。福奇表示，包括社交隔離、避免大型聚會和頻繁洗手在內的公共衛生措施應該成為常規，直到社區內的新冠病毒傳播水平降至極低，人們不再有被感染的風險。
Communication, especially as the issues become politically polarized, has been especially difficult, Fauci said, adding that part of the challenge when implementing a public health policy is that it has to be an 「all in this together」 effort. With recent polls suggesting a decent amount of vaccine hesitancy across the nation, it doesn’t indicate that mass vaccination efforts will be a particularly easy effort.
福奇表示，隨著這一問題政治兩極化，溝通變得尤為困難。他補充道，實施公共衛生政策的一部分挑戰來自需要讓民眾「團結一心」。最近的民意調查顯示，美國各地有相當多的人對接種疫苗感到遲疑，這意味著大規模接種疫苗不是一件很容易的事。
"What we need to do, in a very clear, understandable way, is explain and I try to do this as often as I possibly can – that the speed [of vaccine development] itself is a reflection of scientific advances,」 he said. 「In other words, the technology of making a vaccine is not your grandfather’s technology – it’s the 21st century technology.」
他說：「我們需要做的，簡單直白地講，就是解釋，而我儘可能地在反覆解釋，疫苗研發的速度本身反映了科學進步。換言之，現在製造疫苗的技術不是你祖輩時的技術，而是21世紀的技術。」
He added that the federal funding and billions of dollars invested at-risk for development and pre-manufacturing orders have helped speed up the timeline by months if not years.
他補充道，投入到研發和預售訂單上的聯邦經費和數十億美元風險投資就算沒有將研發時間縮短幾年，至少也縮短了幾個月。
"Speed has nothing to do with compromising safety or scientific integrity,」 he said.
他說：「疫苗研發的速度雖快，但不會有損疫苗的安全性或科學完整性。」
As of Thursday, the US had tallied over 11.6 million cases of coronavirus, and more than 251,000 deaths.
截至本周四（11月19日），美國新冠肺炎累計確診病例超1160萬，累計死亡病例超25.1萬。