近期,美國新冠疫情迅速惡化,日增確診病例數(shù)反彈,8月初已回到半年前狀態(tài)。而美國疾控中心公布的一系列數(shù)據(jù)更令人擔憂。
據(jù)美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)10日報道,美國疾控中心8月9日最新數(shù)據(jù)顯示,98.2%的美國人口,也就是大約3.25億美國人居住在新冠病毒傳播率為“高”水平或“大量”水平的縣;其中,有四分之三的美國人口,也就是2.5億美國人居住在新冠病毒傳播率為“高”水平的地區(qū)。僅有0.2%的美國人口,也就是60萬美國人居住在新冠病毒傳播率為“低”水平的地區(qū)。傳播率為“中”水平地區(qū)的人口大約為1.6%。
A total of 98.2% of the US population — around 325 million people — live in counties considered to have “high” or “substantial” Covid-19 transmission, according to CNN’s analysis of data published Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three quarters of the population, or 250 million people, live in “high” transmission areas alone. Only 0.2% of the population — fewer than 600,000 people — live in areas with “low” transmission. Another 1.6% are in areas with “moderate” transmission.
視頻來源:央視網
報道稱,這意味著,美國疾控中心的最新指導方針適用于絕大多數(shù)美國人口。該指導方針建議,在新冠病毒傳播率為“高”水平或“大量”水平的地區(qū),即使已經接種了新冠疫苗的人,也要在室內戴上口罩。
That means the latest CDC guidance, which advises even fully vaccinated people to mask up indoors in areas with substantial or high transmission, would apply to all but six million Americans.
按照美國疾控中心的判斷標準,如果一個縣在過去的一周,每10萬居民中報告100例甚至更多的新增確診病例,或是新冠檢測陽性率為10%甚至更高,則被認定為新冠病毒傳播率為“高”水平的縣。而新冠病毒傳播率為“低”水平的縣,則是每10萬居民中報告10例新增確診病例或者新冠檢測陽性率低于5%。
The CDC considers a county to have “high” transmission if there have been 100 or more cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 residents in the past week, or a test positivity rate of 10% or higher during the same time frame. For “low” transmission, those numbers must be fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 or a test positivity rate under 5%.
鑒于美國疫情當前情況,一些地方針對口罩佩戴等方面的防疫要求作出了新調整:
俄勒岡州將于美國時間本周三宣布新的室內口罩規(guī)定
不過,也有地方表態(tài),戴口罩并非強制:
佛羅里達州州長稱“(在學校)戴口罩是家長選擇,不是政府要求”
此外,針對疫苗接種,也出現(xiàn)了態(tài)度分化。
國會山網站此前報道,在新冠病例不斷快速增加的密蘇里地區(qū),出現(xiàn)了“秘密”打疫苗的現(xiàn)象,原因就是接種者怕遭到他人“抵制”。

圖源:The Hill網站
有人希望瞞著親友,偷偷接種疫苗,并設法隱瞞身份。一位醫(yī)生在接受CNN采訪時說,這些接種疫苗的人,不希望承受來自同事或其他人施加的壓力,不想被別人認為“服軟”了。而密蘇里恰恰是全美德爾塔毒株感染最多、最快的州之一。
盡管專家一再呼吁接種疫苗,仍有許多人因不相信美國政府、不相信科學等原因,拒不接種。這也促使人群針對疫苗的態(tài)度愈發(fā)兩極分化(polarization):
美專家則發(fā)出警告,如果美國不能控制病毒在社區(qū)的傳播,遲早會出現(xiàn)能逃避疫苗保護、更難以應對的新毒株。
據(jù)新華社報道,美國國家衛(wèi)生研究院院長弗朗西斯•柯林斯8日在接受美國廣播公司“本周”欄目采訪時表示,美國在遏制感染德爾塔毒株的新冠病例激增問題上“失敗”,并且“現(xiàn)在正在付出可怕的代價”。
柯林斯說,如果在疫苗廣泛可用時有更多人接種了疫苗,那么目前由德爾塔毒株引發(fā)的病例激增問題可能會得到緩解,現(xiàn)在的情況本不應出現(xiàn),他承認這是“失敗”。
Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Francis Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) told host George Stephanopoulos that the U.S. is currently "failing" in terms of building community-wide immunity.
"I'm afraid we should not really have ever gotten in the place we are," Collins said. "In that regard, yes, we are failing. ... Now we're paying the terrible price." If more people had gotten vaccinated when vaccines became widely available, the current surge fueled by the delta variant could have been mitigated, Collins said earlier in the interview.
在節(jié)目中,主播還引用了《今日美國》的一張美國疫情形勢圖,上面寫著:
“我們正在經歷又一次失敗。這是美國第四波病例激增,本不應該發(fā)生。讓我們現(xiàn)在就終結疫情吧。”
柯林斯還說,政治因素使美國公眾對緩解流行病戰(zhàn)略的意見分化,強制接種疫苗或者戴口罩變成了表明政治立場的行為。“我們在政治上的兩極分化令人難以置信,我們真的不需要在對待一種正在殺人的病毒問題上兩極分化,”他說,“我們應該盡一切努力挽救生命。”
Collins said Sunday he believes vaccine requirements could make a difference in slowing the rapid spread of COVID-19 and acknowledged how politics has polarized public opinion on pandemic mitigation strategies.“We're incredibly polarized about politics, we don't really need to be polarized about a virus that's killing people," Collins continued. "We ought to be doing everything we can to save lives."
據(jù)路透社的公共衛(wèi)生數(shù)據(jù)顯示,當?shù)貢r間9日,全美新冠肺炎確診病例已經連續(xù)三天日均增長超過10萬例,比過去一周上升了35%。全美范圍內的住院人數(shù)在過去一周上升了40%,死亡率上升了18%(有滯后)。另外,佛羅里達州已經連續(xù)8天刷新新冠肺炎住院人數(shù)的紀錄。
Nationwide, COVID-19 cases have averaged 100,000 for three days in a row, up 35% over the past week, according to a Reuters tally of public health data. Hospitalizations rose 40% and deaths, a lagging indicator, registered an 18% rise nationwide in the past week. Hospitalizations in Florida have been at record highs for eight days in a row, according to the Reuters analysis.
綜合來源:新華網,CNN,The Hill,央視新聞,路透社,ABC,AP