疫苗──想打又不敢打？其實這個詞也不是最近才出現的，最早於 2015 年，由世界衞生組織 (WHO) 客座主編的《疫苗》雜誌，便已針對「疫苗猶豫」(vaccine hesitancy) 所導致的免疫覆蓋率下降現象示警，而到了 2019 年更是被 WHO 列為影響全球健康的十大威脅之一。想想看，關於這個主題，你可以在英文寫作上如何發揮？參考底下的關鍵字，來看一篇文章激發你的點子吧！
Give Vaccination Efforts a Shot in the Arm
As more COVID-19 vaccines from the US, Japan, Lithuania, and the COVAX program arrive, Taiwan is starting to experience a problem that other countries have been facing for some time: vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy is a major threat to global health, but it’s not new. In his autobiography, American founding father Benjamin Franklin wrote:
❝In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation.❞
Franklin went on to make the point that although getting vaccinated was risky (at least in 1736), avoiding vaccination was even riskier. That’s truer today than ever before. We’ve learned a lot about how to develop safe and effective vaccines in the past 285 years. In the 1730s, smallpox inoculation had a 2% mortality rate. Today, the chance of dying from a COVID-19 vaccination is miniscule, and only 1 in over 50,000 will have any kind of serious reaction.
Vaccine hesitancy has many causes, so it’s important to have many solutions. Making it easy to sign up and convenient to get to vaccination sites helps. Apparently, so does bribery. In the US, companies, local governments, and other organizations are offering a wide variety of incentives to get vaccinated. From million-dollar lotteries to free donuts and cannabis, these encouragements have proven to be surprisingly effective. Taiwan residents are not likely to be handed a joint after a jab, but we would be wise to start thinking about ways to reassure and encourage the hesitant.
給疫苗接種注入一劑強心針
隨著更多來自美國、日本、立陶宛和 COVAX 的 COVID-19 疫苗的到來，台灣開始遇到其他國家這段時間以來持續面臨的問題：疫苗猶豫。疫苗猶豫是對世界公衛的一大威脅，但此現象並非新鮮事。美國國父富蘭克林在其自傳中寫道：
「1736 年，我失去了我的兒子，一個好好的四歲男孩就這樣死於天花。我痛苦懊惱許久，至今仍後悔沒有給他接種疫苗。」
富蘭克林繼續指出，儘管接種疫苗是有風險的（至少在當年），但不接種疫苗的風險更大。如今更是如此。在過去的 285 年裡，我們已知許多關於如何開發安全有效的疫苗知識。在 1730 年代，接種天花的死亡率為 2%。今日，死於 COVID-19 疫苗接種的機率微乎其微，五萬多人中只有一人會出現任何嚴重反應。
疫苗猶豫有很多原因，因此有很多解決方案很重要。使登錄變得容易並方便前往疫苗接種點會有所幫助。而顯然地，「施予小惠」不失為一個辦法。在美國，公司行號、地方政府和其他組織正在提供各式激勵措施鼓勵接種疫苗。從百萬美元樂透到免費的甜甜圈和大麻，這些措施已被證實相當有效。而台灣民眾不太可能接種一針疫苗後獲得一管大麻菸，但我們應開始考慮如何安撫和鼓勵猶豫不決的人。
貝塔美籍主編
Keywords
・vaccine [ˋvæksin] 疫苗
・vaccine hesitancy 疫苗猶豫
・global health 全球衛生
・inoculation [ɪn͵ɑkjəˋleʃən] 【醫】預防接種
・mortality rate 死亡率
・serious reaction 嚴重不良反應
・vaccination site 疫苗接種站
・incentive [ɪnˋsɛntɪv] 刺激；鼓勵
・get vaccinated 接種疫苗
