Herd immunity, an ‘unethical’ COVID-19 strategy, Tedros warns policymakers

世卫组织总干事警告：群体免疫是一种“不道德的”抗疫策略

Using the principle of so-called ‘herd immunity’ to stem the COVID-19 pandemic is ‘unethical’ and ‘not an option’ countries should pursue to defeat the virus, the UN health agency chief warned on Monday.

世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞10月12日警告称，用所谓的“群体免疫”原则来阻止新冠肺炎疫情是“不道德的”，也不是国家抗击病毒的“一个选项”。

‘Herd immunity is a concept used for vaccination, in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached’, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), told the agency’s regular press briefing in Geneva.

谭德塞在日内瓦的例行新闻发布会上说：“群体免疫是用于疫苗接种的一个概念，意思是如果足够多的人接种了疫苗，就可以使整个群体免受某种病毒感染。”

But, he explained, it is achieved by protecting people from the virus, ‘not by exposing them to it’.

他解释道，群体免疫是通过保护人们免受病毒感染来实现的，“而不是通过让人们接触病毒实现的。”

‘Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a strategy for responding to an outbreak’, the WHO chief said, calling it ‘scientifically and ethically problematic’.

谭德塞称：“公共卫生史上从未用群体免疫作为一种策略来应对疫情暴发。”他表示这种做法“在科学上和道德上都是有问题的”。

To obtain herd immunity from measles, for example, about 95 percent of the population must be vaccinated. However, according to WHO estimates, less than 10 percent of the global population has any immunity to the coronavirus, leaving the ‘vast majority’ of the world susceptible.

举例来说，要达到麻疹病的群体免疫，约95%的人口必须接种疫苗。然而，据世界卫生组织估计，全球不到10%的人口对新冠病毒有免疫力，这意味着世界上“绝大多数人”都是易感人群。

‘Letting the virus circulate unchecked, therefore, means allowing unnecessary infections, suffering and death’, Tedros said.

谭德塞称：“因此，让病毒不受限制地传播，意味着不必要的感染、痛苦和死亡。”

Tedros noted that in recent days, the world was seeing the most rapid rise in infections during the course of the whole pandemic, especially in Europe and the Americas.

谭德塞指出，近期全球新冠肺炎感染率的增长速度是疫情暴发以来最快的，尤其在欧洲和美洲地区。

‘Each of the last four days has seen the highest number of cases reported so far’, he stated. ‘Many cities and countries are also reporting an increase in hospitalizations and intensive care bed occupancy’.

他表示：“过去四天报告的单日新增病例数是迄今为止最多的。此外，许多城市和国家报告称，住院和进入重症监护室的病人数量也增多了。”

The WHO chief also reminded that, as an ‘uneven pandemic’, every country is responding differently, and stressed that outbreaks can be controlled using targeted measures, such as by preventing amplifying events, isolation and testing.

谭德塞还提醒说，在这场“分布不均的疫情”中，每个国家的应对方式是不同的。他强调疫情可以通过有针对性的措施进行控制，比如阻止造成病毒扩散的活动、进行隔离和检测。

‘It’s not a choice between letting the virus run free and shutting down our societies’ he declared.

他表示：“这不是在让病毒自由传播和让社会停摆之间二选一。”

WHO noted that many have harnessed their stay-at-home time to develop plans, train health workers, increase testing time and capacity, and improve patient care.

世界卫生组织指出，许多国家已经利用民众居家隔离的时间来制定计划，培训医务人员，增加检测时间，提升检测能力以及改进病患护理水平。

And digital technologies are helping to make tried-and-tested public health tools even more effective, such as better smartphone apps to support contact tracing efforts.

数字技术也有助于更有效地利用久经考验的公共卫生工具，比如能更好地支持密切接触者追踪行动的智能手机应用。

‘We well understand the frustration that many people, communities and governments are feeling as the pandemic drags on, and as cases rise again’, Tedros said.

谭德塞说：“随着病例数量再次增多，疫情看不到尽头，我们非常理解许多人和社区以及政府感受到的绝望情绪。”

However, there are ‘no shortcuts, and no silver bullets’, he added.

他补充道，但是抗击疫情没有“捷径和绝招”。

Only a comprehensive approach, using every tool in the toolbox, has proven effective.

事实证明，只有采用综合的手段才是有效的，每一种工具都要用一用。

‘My message to every country now weighing up its options is: you can do it too.’

“我要送给每个正在权衡各种选择的国家的忠告是：你们会战胜病毒的。”