VOA慢速英语｜100,000 More COVID Deaths to Come Unless U...
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[00:00.04]The United States can expect
[00:02.68]to see nearly 100,000 more COVID-19 deaths
[00:07.64]by December 1 unless people change their actions.
[00:12.92]That estimate comes from the nation’s most
[00:16.52]closely watched prediction model.
[00:19.76]Health experts say the number of deaths could be cut in half
[00:25.20]if nearly everyone wore a face covering in public spaces.
[00:31.72]These predictions show
[00:34.00]that what happens with coronavirus infections this fall
[00:38.64]depends on human behavior, said Lauren Ancel Meyers.
[00:45.52]She is director of the University of Texas
[00:49.48]COVID-19 Modeling Consortium.
[00:54.00]“We cannot stop Delta,” she said,
[00:57.40]“but we can change our behavior overnight.”
[01:02.08]That means wearing face coverings, limiting social gatherings,
[01:07.08]staying home when sick and getting vaccinated.
[01:12.88]“Those things are within our control,” Meyers said.
[01:18.08]The U.S. is in the middle of its fourth wave of infection.
[01:23.84]The highly contagious Delta variant
[01:26.44]of the coronavirus is partly to blame.
[01:30.76]It has caused a sharp rise in cases,
[01:34.56]hospitalizations and deaths,
[01:37.80]and has set back months of progress against the virus.
[01:44.40]In the U.S., deaths are now above 1,100 a day on average.
[01:53.16]The number has not been that high since the middle of March.
[01:58.92]Experts with the University of Washington
[02:01.96]predict that 98,000 more Americans
[02:05.60]will die by the start of December.
[02:09.96]That will make the total number of U.S. deaths nearly 730,000.
[02:17.76]The prediction says deaths will rise to nearly 1,400 a day
[02:25.12]by the middle of September, then lessen slowly.
[02:30.00]But the model also says many of those deaths
[02:34.28]can be avoided if enough Americans change their ways.
[02:40.20]“We can save 50,000 lives simply by wearing masks.
[02:45.00]That’s how important behaviors are,” said Ali Mokdad.
[02:50.92]He is a professor of health metrics sciences
[02:54.92]at the University of Washington
[02:57.24]and is involved in making the predictions.
[03:01.76]There are already signs that Americans
[03:05.04]are taking the threat more seriously.
[03:09.00]In the past several weeks, the demand
[03:12.00]for COVID-19 vaccine shots has gone up.
[03:16.96]The number of shots given each day
[03:19.92]has climbed around 80 percent over the past month
[03:24.68]to an average of about 900,000.
[03:29.16]More people in the states of Alabama, Arkansas,
[03:33.76]Louisiana and Mississippi “got their first shots in the past month”
[03:39.96]than in the two earlier months combined.
[03:45.20]Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 coordinator,
[03:49.56]announced that news last week.
[03:53.24]Millions of students across the country
[03:56.20]are now required to wear masks.
[04:00.04]And more companies are requiring workers
[04:03.48]to get the vaccine after Pfizer’s shot
[04:07.08]got full government approval last week.
[04:11.52]In addition, cities like New York and New Orleans
[04:15.80]are requiring that people show proof of vaccination
[04:20.92]if they want to eat at restaurants.
[04:24.76]Half of American workers support vaccine requirements at work,
[04:29.92]says a new opinion study from The Associated Press research center.
[04:36.80]Early signs suggest change may already
[04:40.72]be lowering infection rates in a few places
[04:44.76]where the virus has been a big problem this summer.
[04:49.92]An Associated Press study shows the rate of new cases
[04:54.56]is slowing in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana and Arkansas.
[05:00.72]They are some of the same states where first shots are on the rise.
[05:07.40]In Florida, pleas from hospitals
[05:10.56]and a battle over face coverings in schools
[05:14.20]may have pushed some to protect themselves.
[05:18.88]And late last week, a judge blocked Florida governor Ron DeSantis’
[05:25.64]attempt to ban face covering mandates in schools.
[05:31.00]However, the news is more troubling
[05:33.92]for places like Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina,
[05:38.96]Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming.
[05:44.00]In those states, new infections have continued to rise.
[05:49.84]Even vaccinated people should be careful,
[05:53.56]said Dr. Gaby Sauza of Seattle, Washington, who is vaccinated.
[06:00.52]Days after an August wedding in Vermont,
[06:04.12]she and other attendees tested positive for COVID-19.
[06:10.88]It happened even though events were mainly held outdoors.
[06:17.32]And attendees had to show proof of their vaccinations.
[06:23.48]Sauza says she really wishes she had worn a face covering.
[06:29.00]She says she knows the vaccine kept her infection from being severe.
[06:35.28]But she still suffered through several days of body pains,
[06:40.44]high temperatures, tiredness, and coughing.
[06:45.04]“If we behave, we can contain this virus,” Ali Mokdad said.
[06:51.44]“If we don’t behave, this virus is waiting for us.”
[06:55.92]I’m Alice Bryant.
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Words in This Story
delta – adj. a dangerous and contagious form of COVID-19
variant – n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind
metric – adj. of, relating to, or based on a method of measuring something
mandate – n. an official order to do something
cough – v. to force air through your throat with a short, loud noise often because you are sick