美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden plans to end the COVID-19 national emergency on May 11

Biden plans to end the COVID-19 national emergency on May 11

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks to Lawrence Gostin, professor of Global Health at Georgetown University, about the Biden administration's decision to end the COVID public health emergency in May.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The Biden administration plans to end the national COVID-19 emergency declarations in May. The announcement comes as the Republican-controlled House is getting ready to vote on what it has titled the Pandemic Is Over Act. GOP lawmakers have long pushed to end COVID national and public health emergencies. Joining us now is Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert and professor at Georgetown University who's been advising the White House. Professor, the Biden administration has been under pressure to end these declarations for a while now. So given the timing², how political of a decision is this?

LAWRENCE GOSTIN: I think they were really pushed hard, I mean, in every corner. I mean, its own FDA recently just decided³ to go to seasonal⁴ COVID vaccines⁵, like influenza⁶. Congress won't give any money for next generation vaccines or drugs. And the American public has just moved on. So I think, you know, all emergencies have to come to an end. And what they want is an orderly transition and a softer landing.

MART?NEZ: And that's why it's not till May 11, to make sure that everyone is able to adjust to - what would be the some of the implications, higher prices on things?

GOSTIN: Oh, there'll be some really severe implications over time. You know, one of the most important is our social safety net, things like Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, Veterans Administration benefits. Telehealth will be more difficult. We may lose our free testing and treatments. CDC will find it harder to get surveillance data. And, of course, there's that all-important Title 42 at the southern border.

MART?NEZ: So let's get into that - Title 42, the Trump-era public health order that was used to quickly turn away migrants at the border. The Biden administration tried to lift it. Courts blocked it. The Supreme⁷ Court's due to hear arguments on this next month. Professor, if there is no public health emergency, though, what will that mean for Title 42, which is a public health order?

GOSTIN: Well, you know, the Supreme Court, you know, could find it moot⁸. But it's probably more likely that the court will just look and say, well, there is no emergency, and so it should be over. But Title 42 has always been really perverse⁹ because it's literally¹⁰ the last, you know, public health measure of COVID. And it's not really for public health. It's really for immigration. And so it's one of those anomalies. And at least in my field and in the international migration¹¹ community, it's really abhorred¹² because it treats migrants badly. It doesn't allow asylum-seekers to get their day in court. But we'll have to see what the Supreme Court does. It's always a wild card.

MART?NEZ: Because haven't Republicans for a while now almost dared the Biden administration to declare no more public health emergency? So that way, if he did want to lift Title 42, then there would be nothing in the way of him doing it.

GOSTIN: Yeah, that's right. I mean, Title 42 has been a political football between that and public health. And, yes, Biden has been off again, on again. And it's really become, you know, raw politics without any humanity. It's hard to describe how perverse our national politics has been over Title 42. And this could signal the end of it.

MART?NEZ: I remember back in September on "60 Minutes," President Biden declared the pandemic is over. Now, with this order being set to be lifted in May, is the administration saying that the pandemic is really, really over?

GOSTIN: No, not at all. You know, we've still got over 500 deaths every day, twice a bad flu season. And what I worry about most is public messaging. When CDC now asks you to wear a mask or to get a booster, American eyes might roll, and that can't be a good thing.

MART?NEZ: That's Georgetown law professor Lawrence Gostin. Thanks a lot.

GOSTIN: Thank you.

1 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。

2 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

5 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。

6 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

9 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

12 abhorred   

v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰

参考例句：

• He abhorred the thoughts of stripping me and making me miserable. 他憎恶把我掠夺干净，使我受苦的那个念头。 来自辞典例句
• Each of these oracles hated a particular phrase. Liu the Sage abhorred "Not right for sowing". 二诸葛忌讳“不宜栽种”，三仙姑忌讳“米烂了”。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说