近日，多国报告了一种新型变异新冠病毒奥密克戎（Omicron），引发全球关注（戳这里回顾）。

据美国CNBC报道，美国传染病专家、白宫首席医疗顾问安东尼·福奇也就变异病毒奥密克戎向美国民众发出警告。他表示，奥密克戎将“不可避免地（inevitably）”在美国出现，美国人需要做好准备，“不惜一切代价”抗击这一新冠病毒变种。

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Americans need to be prepared to do “anything and everything” to fight the omicron Covid variant, U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

27日，福奇在美国全国广播公司（NBC）旗下TODAY节目中称，虽然美国目前还没有确诊的奥密克戎病例，但如果奥密克戎已经进入美国，他“不会感到惊讶”，这是因为“当有一种病毒表现出这种程度的传播性”，“它最终总会蔓延到几乎所有地方。”


TODAY报道截图

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told viewers on Weekend TODAY on Dec 27 that it was possible the Omicron variant is already in the United States.

"I would not be surprised if it is. We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility… it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over," Fauci said.

28日，福奇在美国广播公司（ABC）旗下节目This Week中再次表示，“奥密克戎”变异病毒将“不可避免地（inevitably）”在美国出现，“而问题在于，我们到时能否准备好？”



ABC报道截图

While the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus has not yet been detected in the United States, it will "inevitably" arrive. “Inevitably, it will be here. The question is will we be prepared for it?”, Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC's "This Week" on Dec 28.


 
当被主持人问及奥密克戎变种是否比德尔塔等毒株具有更强的传播能力时，福奇回应说，奥密克戎的早期迹象“强烈表明”其可能更具传染性，“可能会逃避单克隆抗体，甚至是疫苗”。

Pressed by the anchor on whether the Omicron variant is as or more transmissible than the Delta variant and other mutations that have swept the globe, Fauci said, "It appears to be."

The chief medical adviser said early signs "strongly suggest" that the variant may be more transmissible and might evade protections from monoclonal antibodies and "perhaps even antibodies that are induced by vaccine."

他指出，南非报告的新增病例中有很大比例都感染了奥密克戎变种，“你必须假定它具有很大程度的传播优势。”

In South Africa, cases of new COVID-19 infections have been heavily weighted toward the omicron variant, Fauci said, so, "you have to presume that it has a good degree of transmissibility advantage."
 
但福奇也提到，南非人口的疫苗接种比例相对较低，根据约翰霍普金斯大学数据，只有大约24%的人口完全接种了疫苗，相比之下美国的这一比例约为60%。“当你试图弄清楚病毒的真正发展方向及其影响时，也需要把这一点纳入考量。”他说。

However, Fauci noted that a relatively small proportion of the population of South Africa is vaccinated. According to Johns Hopkins University, just over 24% of people in South Africa is fully vaccinated, compared to 60% of the U.S. population.

"So, you've got to take that into the equation when you're trying to figure out where this virus is really going and what its impact is going to be," Fauci said.

至于奥密克戎是否具有更强的致命性，福奇则表示这有待进一步观察。他告诉主持人，美国科学家已于26日与南非同行交流过情况，双方计划于当地时间28日晚些时候再次会晤，“他们试图查明确诊的病例是否感染了这种变异病毒，确认其严重程度如何。”

Asked by Stephanopoulos if Omicron causes more severe disease, Fauci said that currently remains a mystery.

He said U.S. scientists spoke to their counterparts in South Africa on Friday and plan to meet with them again later on Dec 28 "to try and find out if the cases they have identified that clearly are caused by this variant, what is the level of severity in that."

尽管现在无法确定新冠疫苗能对奥密克戎起到多大的防护作用，但福奇认为，对美国来说接种疫苗依然是当下最好的应对措施。他强调，符合资格的美国人应尽快完成疫苗接种或加强针注射，同时也需要继续坚持戴口罩、保持社交距离等防疫措施。

The chief medical adviser said the best way for Americans to prepare for the Omicron variant is to be vaccinated, to get a booster shot as soon as they are eligible, and to keep adhering to other protective recommendations such as wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
 


节目最后，福奇称目前美国考虑是否实施新的封锁和强制令还为时过早，“让我们看看最新的实时消息会告诉我们什么，然后我们会像往常一样，根据科学和证据做出决定。”

When Stephanopoulos broached the possibility of returning to the lockdowns due to the new variant, Fauci said it's "really too early to say."

He added, "Let's see what the information that we're getting in real-time tells us, and we'll make decisions based on the science and the evidence, the way we always do."

综合来源：CNBC, ABC, TODAY, 观察者网