美國超100萬兒童感染新冠病毒大綱

Over a million children under 18 have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the United States since the start of the pandemic, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association said Monday.

美國兒科學會和兒童醫院協會11月16日表示，自新冠疫情在美國暴發以來，已有超過100萬名18歲以下的兒童被確診感染新冠病毒。

"As of Nov 12, a total of 1,039,464 children have tested positive for Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic. In the one-week period ending Nov 12, there were 111,946 new cases in children, which is substantially larger than any previous week in the pandemic," the groups said in a joint statement.

兩家機構在一份聯合聲明中說：“自疫情暴發至11月12日，共有1039464名美國兒童的新冠病毒檢測呈陽性。在11月6日至12日的一週內，美國新增111946例兒童確診病例，比疫情期間任何一週多得多。”

"The increase tracks surges in the virus in communities across the US," they added.

兩家機構補充說：“這種增長伴隨美國社區確診病例激增出現。”

"As a pediatrician who has practiced medicine for over three decades, I find this number staggering and tragic," said Dr. Sally Goza, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents pediatricians. "We haven't seen a virus flash through our communities in this way since before we had vaccines for measles and polio."

美國兒科學會主席薩莉·戈薩博士說：“作爲從業超過三十年的兒科醫生，這個數字讓我震驚和悲哀。麻疹疫苗和小兒麻痹症疫苗問世以來，人們還沒有見過病毒以這種方式在社區間快速傳播。”

Because most children appear to have few or no symptoms, case counts in kids are thought to be widely underreported.

由於大多數兒童受感染後症狀輕微或者無症狀，實際的兒童確診病例數還要超出很多。

Goza called for "a new, nationwide strategy to control the pandemic," which she said should include implementing "proven public health measures like mask wearing and physical distancing."

戈薩呼籲“實施一項新的國家戰略控制疫情”，其中應包括實施“公認的公共衛生措施，比如戴口罩和保持社交距離。”

"This pandemic is taking a heavy toll on children, families and communities, as well as on physicians and other front-line medical teams. We must work now to restore confidence in our public health and scientific agencies, create fiscal relief for families and pediatricians alike, and support the systems that support children and families such as our schools, mental health care, and nutrition assistance."

“新冠疫情給兒童、家庭、社區、醫生和其他一線醫療團隊造成了沉重的傷害。我們現在必須立即行動起來，恢復人們對公共衛生和科學機構的信心，爲家庭和兒科醫生提供財政援助，並支援那些支持兒童和家庭的系統，例如學校、心理保健服務和營養援助。”

At the same time, about one in five children in the US had a "vaccine hesitant" parent last year, according to new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

與此同時，美國疾病控制和預防中心的最新數據顯示，去年，美國約有五分之一的父母對疫苗接種猶豫不決。

Parental concerns over vaccine safety have contributed to several major outbreaks of preventable diseases, including the 2019 measles outbreak in the US -- the largest number of cases in 27 years. It was largely driven by parents in Washington state and New York who failed to follow childhood vaccine guidelines.

父母對疫苗安全性的擔憂導致了幾起可預防疾病的大暴發，包括2019年美國麻疹暴發，這是27年來美國麻疹病例最多的一次。這次暴發在很大程度上是由於華盛頓州和紐約州的父母沒有遵守兒童疫苗接種指南。

Outbreaks in the US of mumps and pertussis, also known as whooping cough, have also occurred in recent years due to a lack of basic childhood immunizations, according to the CDC, which notes that too few children get flu vaccines every year. Only about 63% of children under the age of 18 get vaccinated against flu, although the CDC says everyone over the age of 6 months should get a flu vaccine every year.

美國疾病控制和預防中心指出，由於缺乏基本的兒童免疫接種，近年來美國也暴發了流行性腮腺炎和百日咳，並指出每年接種流感疫苗的兒童太少。儘管美國疾病控制和預防中心說，所有半歲以上的人羣應每年接種流感疫苗，但18歲以下的兒童只有大約63%進行了接種。

Public health officials worry that vaccine hesitancy will reduce the willingness of parents to allow their children to be vaccinated against Covid-19 when a safe and effective vaccine becomes available.

公共衛生官員擔心，在有了安全有效的新冠疫苗之後，對疫苗的猶豫會降低家長讓孩子接種的意願。

Studies have shown children of all ages are likely to contribute to the spread coronavirus, and the statistics released Monday indicated children make up a large number of US cases.

研究表明，所有年齡段的兒童都有可能導致新冠病毒的傳播。11月16日公佈的統計數據顯示，兒童在美國新冠肺炎確診病例中佔很大比例。