疾控中心主任警告说，今年秋天可能是公共健康最糟糕的一年

疾控中心主任警告说，今年秋天可能是公共健康最糟糕的一年

The U.S. now has more than 5 million cases and 166,700 deaths from the coronavirus. And with flu season approaching, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned this week that things could get a lot more grim.

美国目前有超过500万病例和166700人死于冠状病毒。随着流感季节的临近，疾病控制和预防中心主任本周警告说，情况可能会变得更加严峻。

Robert Redfield said in an interview Wednesday with WebMD that if Americans don't follow public health guidance, the country could be facing "the worst fall, from a public health perspective, we've ever had."

罗伯特·雷德菲尔德周三在接受《网络医学》采访时说，如果美国人不遵守公共卫生指导，美国可能面临“从公共卫生角度来看，我们有史以来最严重的一次下跌。”

"We're going to have COVID in the fall, and we're going to have flu in the fall," he told John Whyte, chief medical officer at WebMD. "And either one of those by themselves can stress certain hospital systems."

他告诉WebMD的首席医疗官约翰·怀特说：“秋天会有COVID，秋天会有流感。”而其中任何一个都会给某些医院系统带来压力。”

Redfield called on Americans to wear masks, social distance, wash their hands and "be smart about crowds" to bring the outbreak under control.

雷德菲尔德呼吁美国人戴上口罩，保持社交距离，洗手，“注意人群”，以控制疫情。

Beyond that, he said there's another step people should take to protect themselves and others: Get the flu vaccine.

除此之外，他说，人们还应该采取另一项措施来保护自己和他人:接种流感疫苗。

While less than 50% of Americans did so last year, Redfield said his goal is to get that number up to 65%. He added the CDC has purchased an extra 10 million doses of the vaccine this year.

虽然去年只有不到50%的美国人这样做，但雷德菲尔德说，他的目标是把这个数字提高到65%。他还说，CDC今年已经额外购买了1000万剂疫苗。

Flu season typically starts in October and worsens between December and February. Flu shots will be in stock by early September, though they may not be offered at all of their traditional settings such as workplaces.

流感季节通常从10月开始，在12月至2月期间恶化。流感疫苗将在9月初上市，尽管在传统的工作场所，如工作场所，可能不会提供疫苗。

Experts are urging the public to make an extra effort to get immunized as the pandemic rages on.

随着大流行的肆虐，专家们敦促公众加倍努力获得免疫接种。

"By getting that flu vaccine, you may be able to then negate the necessity to have to take up a hospital bed," Redfield said. "And then that hospital bed can be more available for those that potentially get hospitalized for COVID."

“通过接种流感疫苗，你也许就能消除在医院卧床的必要性，” 雷德菲尔德说。“这样医院的病床就可以为那些有可能因为COVID而住院的人提供更多便利。”

According to the COVID Tracking Project, 47,252 people in the U.S. are hospitalized as of Thursday.

根据COVID跟踪项目，截至周四，美国有47,252人住院。

Redfield stressed that while the flu is a major cause of death in the U.S., the influenza vaccine can lower the severity of the illness and reduce the risk of hospitalization. He also said children who get vaccinated "basically get protected against death."

雷德菲尔德强调，尽管流感是美国死亡的主要原因，流感疫苗可以降低疾病的严重程度，减少住院的风险。他还说，接种疫苗的儿童“基本上可以避免死亡”。

Influenza and pneumonia currently rank eighth on the CDC's list of leading causes of death in the United States. The coronavirus is on track to be the country's third leading cause of death in 2020.

流感和肺炎目前在美国疾病控制和预防中心列出的主要死亡原因中排名第八。2020年，冠状病毒将成为该国第三大死亡原因。

Redfield said he is "very cautiously optimistic" that there will be at least one effective vaccine deployed by the start of next year.

雷德菲尔德说，他“非常谨慎乐观”地认为，到明年初，至少会有一种有效的疫苗投入使用。

But as the U.S. rushes to respond to the pandemic, Redfield said he hopes Americans will realize that "public health matters" and work to be proactive rather than reactive.

但随着美国迅速对疫情做出反应，雷德菲尔德说，他希望美国人能够意识到“公共卫生事关重大”，努力做到积极主动，而不是被动应对。