时事资讯:世卫建议先给医护人员接种甲流疫苗

【英文原文】

Give Health Workers Swine-Flu Vaccine First

摘要：如果医生和护士都得了甲型H1N1流感，那么谁来护理染上这一疾病的人呢？在应该先给谁接种甲型H1N1流感疫苗的问题上，世界卫生组织(WHO)正是基于这一想法于周一提出了建议。

If doctors and nurses get sick with swine flu, who will take care of everybody else who catches the bug? That's the rationale behind a recommendation out Monday from the World Health Organization on who should be first in line for a swine-flu vaccine.

During a conference call Monday, a WHO vaccine expert told reporters that vaccinating health-care workers first will allow countries to 'maintain a functional health system.'

Of course, health-care workers are supposed to get flu shots every year, but many of them fail to do so - a Centers for Disease Control survey found that, in the 2005-2006 flu season, only 42% of health-care workers got a flu shot.

Others who should get high priority for the swine-flu vaccine include pregnant women; anyone over six months of age with a chronic health condition such as asthma or obesity; healthy adults between 50 and 64 years of age; healthy children; and healthy elderly adults.

What is obesity doing on the list? 'We still don't know exactly if it is obesity itself which is a risk factor or if it is other health conditions which arise because of obesity,' said Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the WHO's Initiative for Vaccine Research. 'It has been observed in several countries that people with a body mass index over 30 and even more over 40 have a higher chance of severe disease.'

The U.S. already has a plan similar to the WHO's recommendations to vaccinate health-care workers and pregnant women. Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the U.S. is planning to launch an immunization program for school-age children.