Anti-vaxxer

2021/08/12 04:14:29 網誌分類: 生活

12 Aug

        　　Last week, I had a long phone conversation with an old friend. I asked him if he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. He said he had not. My friend is an anti-vaxxer, which means he is opposed to vaccination. I told him the coronavirus, especially the Delta variant, can be very dangerous. He is much older than me, which means he can easily be infected. I told him it is too risky at his age to be an anti-vaxxer when the Delta variant is spreading globally. He said there is no need to get vaccinated. I was struck dumb by his explanation. If you are "struck dumb" it means you are so surprised by something you don't know what to say.

        　　A similar expression is knock me down with a feather. If your son tells you he won an apartment in a lottery for the fully vaccinated, you can say "you could have knocked me down with a feather". This means you were so surprised you didn't know what to say. My friend knocked me down with a feather when he said there is no need to get vaccinated because virtually all coronavirus cases in Hong Kong are imported. He is right but that is not an excuse for being an anti-vaxxer. The Delta variant is easily transmissible, which means a disease that easily passes from one person to another.

        　　Mainland China closed itself from the world to control the coronavirus yet the Delta variant has spread in many parts of the country. The same thing is happening in mostly southern US states where there are many anti-vaxxers. I believe getting vaccinated is a free choice. But I also believe in science. If anti-vaxxers are unconvinced with scientific facts that vaccines can protect them it is their choice. I hope they and their families will not be infected with the virus. But if they and their families get infected and maybe die, I hope it will wake them up. It's never too late to get vaccinated.

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        　　上星期，我跟一位老朋友談了一通很長的電話。我問他可有接種對抗新冠病毒的疫苗，他說他沒有。我的這位朋友是個anti-vaxxer，意即他反對接種疫苗。我跟他說，這個新冠病毒，尤其是Delta變種病毒，可以非常危險。他年紀比我大許多，亦即是說他可以很容易受到感染。我跟他說，以他這把年紀，在Delta變種病毒目前在全球擴散期間，要做個反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）實在太高風險了。他說，實在沒有需要接種疫苗。我對他的解釋struck dumb；若你是 "struck dumb"，意即你被某事震驚得啞口無言、愣住了。

        　　類似的習語是knock me down with a feather。若你的兒子告訴你，他在全劑量接種疫苗人士大抽獎中贏得一個單位，你便可以說 "you could have knocked me down with a feather"——意即你極為吃驚、難以置信得說不出話來。當我的朋友說其實根本毋須打針，因為香港差不多所有新冠肺炎確診個案都是輸入個案時，實在令我震驚得啞口無言（knocked me down with a feather）。他是對的，但這也不是成為反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）的藉口啊。Delta變種病毒很容易transmissible，意即它的傳播力極高，是個很易人傳人的疾病。

        　　中國內地已對外自行封關，以控制新冠病毒的傳播，然而Delta變種仍在內地許多地區傳播開去。同樣的情況亦在美國發生，大多是南部的州份，當地亦有許多反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）。我相信，是否接種疫苗是個自由的選擇，但我同時相信科學。如果反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）不能信服於科學實證證明疫苗能保障他們，那也是他們的選擇。我希望他們和他們的家人不會感染到新冠病毒；不過，若他們和他們的家人受到感染，甚至可能會因而死亡，我希望那能喚醒他們。接種疫苗，永不嫌遲。

        中譯：七刻 mickchug@gmail.com

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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