美国国家公共电台 NPR--Many are frustrated that kids under 5 still don't have a COVID-19 vaccine

Many are frustrated¹ that kids under 5 still don't have a COVID-19 vaccine²

Transcript³

With masks coming off in schools, day care centers and other places, many parents of young children are getting especially anxious and want to get their kids vaccinated⁵. Pediatric trials continue.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

As more people stop wearing masks, some parents of very young kids feel frustrated because they cannot vaccinate⁴ their kids who are younger than 5. What's the delay? And how much does it matter? NPR health correspondent Rob Stein is covering this story. Hey there, Rob.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE⁶: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: I got to note, most parents of kids who are over 5 have not vaccinated their kids.

STEIN: Yeah.

INSKEEP: So are there really that many parents of kids under 5 who want the vaccine?

STEIN: Yeah. Yeah. You're absolutely right. Only about a quarter of kids between the ages of 5 and 11 are fully⁷ vaccinated even though they've been eligible⁸ now for months. So it is unclear how big of a demand there will be for the younger kids. That said, there are clearly lots of parents out there who are super anxious to get the vaccine for their little ones, like Shanti Geiser (ph). She's 25 and has two young sons. The whole family is still holed up in their house in Seattle, isolated⁹ from the world.

SHANTI GEISER: We're just really scared. We're really scared that COVID is a risk to them. So it's just been really hard. It's extremely brutal¹⁰.

STEIN: Now, you know, in most cases, young kids, COVID tends to be mild. But they still can get sick, end up in intensive care and even die. So you know, for parents like Geiser, it's been agonizing¹¹ that it's taking so long, especially now that so many people are walking around unmasked.

INSKEEP: Do you feel you understand why it's taking so long?

STEIN: Well, you know, some experts say the pediatric studies didn't start soon enough or big enough to quickly demonstrate that the vaccine is safe and effective for young kids. Others say, you know, they had to start with adults and carefully work their way down, you know? One big issue has been finding the right dose. Kids aren't just little adults, so coming up with the right dose can be tricky¹². You need to find that sweet spot that stimulates¹³ the immune system to respond strongly enough without producing too many side effects, like that rare heart inflammation. That's been a problem mostly among young men - or too many high fevers, which can be a bigger problem for kids than adults and teenagers. I talked about this with Dr. Buddy¹⁴ Creech at Vanderbilt. He's helping¹⁵ test Moderna's vaccine in kids, which is about one-quarter of the adult dose.

BUDDY CREECH: We're trying to find that Goldilocks dose where it's both safe and effective.

STEIN: The good news is so far, it looks like the lower-dose vaccines¹⁶ are very safe for kids. But you might remember, Pfizer's initial results indicated its pediatric vaccine, which is one-tenth the adult dose, seemed like it might protect babies 6 months to 24 months, but not kids ages 2, 3, and 4. So they started giving all the kids a third dose to see if that might do the trick.

INSKEEP: And did it work?

STEIN: You know, everybody's on the edge of their seat waiting to find out, you know? Pfizer's results are expected in April. Moderna's could come as soon as the end of this month. If things look good, the FDA and CDC could sign off pretty quickly. Here's Dr. Sean O'Leary, a University of Colorado pediatrician who helps advise the American Academy of Pediatrics.

SEAN O'LEARY: It's understandable that parents want a vaccine for these kids. Absolutely. You know, they're the last age group that's not protected. But it's also important that the vaccine go through the process of getting fully reviewed and approved by the FDA.

STEIN: So a vaccine for young kids could finally be coming soon. But remember, this is likely to be a three-dose vaccine, with each dose spaced weeks or even possibly months apart. So it could take a while for all those little kids to get fully vaccinated, assuming enough parents can be convinced to get it.

INSKEEP: NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Rob, thanks.

STEIN: Sure thing.

1 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

5 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？

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

9 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

12 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

13 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 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。