所有學(xué)校都需要注射流感疫苗的時候到了

所有學(xué)校都需要注射流感疫苗的時候到了

The requirement that children receive vaccinations before starting school has come to be accepted by most parents in this country as normal. It is after all, common sense: children are notoriously good at spreading germs.

要求孩子在上學(xué)前接種疫苗已經(jīng)被這個國家的大多數(shù)父母視為正常。畢竟，這是常識:眾所周知，兒童善于傳播細(xì)菌。

Vaccinations have become an expected part of the routine checkups that take place in late summer, when parents bring kids to the office for pediatricians to check them, and to check off the boxes on school forms.

接種疫苗已經(jīng)成為夏末例行檢查的一部分，家長們會把孩子帶到辦公室讓兒科醫(yī)生檢查，并在學(xué)校表格上的復(fù)選框上打勾。

On Wednesday, Massachusetts became the first state to require the flu shot for students K-12 as well as for college students. Outside of Massachusetts, only a handful of states require the flu shot for day care and preschool children under 5 years old.

周三，馬薩諸塞州成為第一個要求K-12學(xué)生以及大學(xué)生接種流感疫苗的州。除了馬薩諸塞州，只有少數(shù)幾個州要求日托和5歲以下學(xué)齡前兒童注射流感疫苗。

This year, as the Covid-19 pandemic drags on, the flu season rapidly approaches and schools scramble to ensure safe learning environments, we badly need children of all ages in all states across the country to get the flu shot.

今年，隨著Covid-19流行病的持續(xù)，流感季節(jié)迅速臨近，學(xué)校爭相確保安全的學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境，我們迫切需要全國所有州的所有年齡的兒童接種流感疫苗。

While it is true that children under 5 are most vulnerable to severe illness and death from the flu, the influenza virus does not stop infecting children simply because they have turned a certain age.

雖然5歲以下的兒童確實最容易因流感而患上嚴(yán)重疾病和死亡，但流感病毒不會僅僅因為兒童到了一定年齡就停止感染他們。

During the 2018-2019 flu season for example, more than seven million kids and teens ages 5 to 17 were symptomatic from the flu, 21,000 required hospitalization and 211 died. This compared to more than three million kids under 5 who were symptomatic, of whom 25,000 required hospitalization and 266 died, according to the CDC.

例如，在2018-2019年流感季節(jié)，超過700萬5至17歲的兒童和青少年出現(xiàn)流感癥狀，2.1萬人需要住院治療，211人死亡。相比之下，根據(jù)CDC的數(shù)據(jù)，有超過300萬5歲以下的兒童出現(xiàn)癥狀，其中2.5萬人需要住院治療，266人死亡。

It is precisely because the influenza virus can cause serious, life-threatening illness in children and adults of all ages that both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend everyone over the age of six months receive the flu shot every year.

正因為流感病毒可以對兒童和各年齡段的成年人造成嚴(yán)重的、危及生命的疾病，美國兒科學(xué)會和美國疾病控制和預(yù)防中心建議每個6個月以上的人每年都要注射流感疫苗。

This winter, our country simply cannot afford to have thousands of children infected with and hospitalized for influenza. Our already strained health care system, school system and communities will not be able to accommodate both the flu and Covid-19. The time has come for schools across the country to require the flu vaccine for children of all ages.

今年冬天，我們的國家根本承受不住讓成千上萬的兒童感染流感并住院治療。我們已經(jīng)緊張的衛(wèi)生保健系統(tǒng)、學(xué)校系統(tǒng)和社區(qū)將無法同時容納流感和Covid-19。是時候讓全國的學(xué)校要求所有年齡段的孩子接種流感疫苗了。

Now to be clear, the flu shot is not perfect. The vaccine can be 40-60% effective at preventing infection. But what is often less discussed is that even when the person exposed to the virus contracts influenza, having received the vaccine can significantly reduce the risk of complications from the illness, namely hospitalization, ICU stay and death.

現(xiàn)在需要明確的是，流感疫苗并不完美。疫苗預(yù)防感染的有效性可達(dá)40-60%。但很少有人討論的是，即使接觸病毒的人感染了流感，接種疫苗也可以顯著降低疾病并發(fā)癥的風(fēng)險，即住院、住ICU和死亡。

Despite this data, schools have historically fallen short in requiring the flu shot, leaving parents to think that although recommended, the flu shot is not necessary. I have heard it over and over again in my office: If the flu shot was really necessary, schools would surely require it. Close to 40% of all children went without a flu vaccine in the 2018-2019 season.

盡管有這樣的數(shù)據(jù)，學(xué)校在要求接種流感疫苗方面一直做得不夠，這讓家長們認(rèn)為，盡管建議接種流感疫苗，但沒有必要。我在辦公室里聽過一遍又一遍:如果流感疫苗真的有必要，學(xué)校肯定會要求接種。2018-2019年的流感季節(jié)，近40%的兒童沒有接種流感疫苗。

In addition to the flu, vaccination rates for other diseases have also improved. In DC for example, one of the few places requiring the HPV vaccine for school, 78% of kids ages 13 to 17 have been vaccinated against HPV, compared to 49% of kids nationwide.

除了流感，其他疾病的疫苗接種率也有所提高。例如，華盛頓是少數(shù)幾個要求學(xué)校接種HPV疫苗的地方之一，13至17歲的兒童中有78%接種了HPV疫苗，而全國的這一比例為49%。

With a mandate for all ages, schools have the opportunity to send a clear message to parents that the flu vaccine is not only recommended, it is more important than ever.

通過對所有年齡層的強(qiáng)制要求，學(xué)校有機(jī)會向家長傳達(dá)一個明確的信息:流感疫苗不僅是建議的，而且比以往任何時候都更重要。