The fast-spreading Omicron variant should not be treated like influenza, because it can pose severe risks to unvaccinated people and its long-term effects on recovered patients still remain unclear, health experts said.

公共卫生专家表示，我们不应该把快速传播的奥密克戎变异株当作流感一样对待。因为它可能会对未接种疫苗的人造成严重威胁，而对于感染后痊愈的患者，奥密克戎带来的后遗症仍不得而知。

As the new strain has swept the world and caused several outbreaks in China, Chinese experts have called for accelerated efforts to expand vaccination and resolutely adhere to the country's science-based virus control strategy.

随着这一新毒株席卷全球并几次在中国爆发，国内专家呼吁要加快扩大疫苗接种范围，并坚持中国建立在科学基础上的疫情防控政策。

"Omicron is not a 'big flu', and it can bite, especially for people without strong immunity," Zhang Wenhong, leader of the COVID-19 treatment expert team of Shanghai and head of Fudan University Huashan Hospital's infectious disease department, said at a science forum in Shanghai last week.

上周，在上海举行的光华科技公益论坛上，上海市新冠肺炎临床救治专家组组长、复旦大学附属华山医院感染科主任张文宏表示：“如果你没有强大的免疫能力，奥密克戎不是‘大号流感’，它是会咬人的。”

Image▲ Zhang Wenhong, head of the Center for Infectious Diseases with the Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, takes an interview on July 30, 2020. Photo/Xinhua

2020年7月30日，复旦大学附属华山医院感染科主任张文宏接受采访。（图源：新华社）

He said that successfully fending off the threat of Omicron requires building robust herd immunity and preparing sufficient medical resources.

张文宏表示，一个国家和地区需要强大的免疫屏障和医疗资源，才能成功抵御奥密克戎的威胁。

Some Western countries, despite a significant increase in daily new infections, have managed to lower their COVID-19 death rates because of high vaccination coverage, according to Zhang.

他认为，尽管一些西方国家每天都有大量的新增感染病例，但由于疫苗覆盖范围广，他们还是成功降低了新冠病毒的致死率。

"We should further expand initial immunization and the rolling out of booster shots," he said at the forum. "Meanwhile, it is important to ensure adequate provision of healthcare resources in different regions so that immunocompromised people infected with the novel coronavirus can be treated effectively."

张文宏在论坛上表示：“除了不断提高疫苗两针及以上的接种率，确保医疗资源的充分供给也十分重要，这样才能对免疫力低下的感染者进行充分救治。”

Initial studies from global researchers have suggested that the Omicron variant more readily infects the upper respiratory tract and may not attack the lungs as much as other strains.

全球初步研究表明，奥密克戎似乎更容易感染上呼吸道，而不会像先前毒株那样轻易感染肺部。

However, the new strain remains a serious global health risk due to its high transmissibility and potential to evade vaccine-induced immunity.

但由于较强的传染性和逃避疫苗诱导免疫的能力，奥密克戎仍对全球健康构成严重的威胁。

The World Health Organization said in a news briefing released on Tuesday that it recorded 15 million new COVID-19 cases worldwide last week, the highest number of cases reported in a single week. The Omicron variant is rapidly displacing the Delta variant in all countries, it added.

世界卫生组织在本周二的新闻发布会上表示，上周世界各地报告的新增新冠肺炎确诊病例超过1500万例，单周新增确诊病例数创新高。在所有的国家，奥密克戎正在迅速取代德尔塔。

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said recently on social media, "While some reports show a reduced risk of hospitalization of Omicron compared to Delta, there are still far too many people infected, in hospital sick & dying from Omicron (& Delta)".

世卫组织紧急项目技术主管玛丽亚·范·科霍夫近日在社交媒体上称，“虽然一些报告显示，奥密克戎导致的住院率略低于德尔塔，但仍有太多人感染，生病住院，或死于奥密克戎（和德尔塔）。”

In another post on social media, she said:"Omicron is not mild. Omicron is not flu or the common cold. SARS-CoV-2 is not endemic yet. Now is not the time to give up," she said.

另一则贴文中，她说：“奥密克戎并不温和，它不是流感或普通感冒。新冠病毒还不是地区性流行病。现在还不是懈怠的时候。”

In China, the Omicron variant has triggered a domestic outbreak concentrated in Tianjin municipality and Henan province. A number of regions have also detected imported infections with the new strain.

中国天津市和河南省出现了奥密克戎本土病例，一些地区还出现了境外输入病例。

Zhang Boli, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a top traditional Chinese medicine expert, said the Omicron variant appears to be more elusive and to spread more easily.

中国工程院院士、顶级中医药专家张伯礼表示，奥密克戎变种似乎更加难以琢磨，也更容易传播。

"Although most local patients only have mild symptoms, it is not appropriate to treat it as a 'big common cold'," he said. "Data from overseas have shown that a large number of Omicron patients have exhibited lingering effects after recovery, and the proportion is higher than that for influenza."

张伯礼说：“虽然大多数本地患者症状比较轻，但说奥密克戎是‘大号流感’是不恰当的。在国外，有相当一批病人，出现了‘持续症状’，或者后遗症，出现的还是比较多的，而一般的流感不会这么多。”

As a result, it would be irresponsible to loosen virus control restrictions, Zhang said, adding that China's "zero-COVID-19" policy should be capable of tackling the new strain's local spread.

因此，他觉得放松疫情防控的做法是不负责任的。张伯礼补充道，中国“动态清零”的政策可以应对奥密克戎在国内的传播。

"Mass vaccination should be ramped up further, as vaccines' effect in preventing serious cases and deaths remains strong," he said.

他说：“由于疫苗可以有效预防重症和死亡病例的出现，我们应进一步加强大规模的疫苗接种战略。”

According to the National Health Commission, China had administered more than 2.9 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Tuesday.

国家卫健委11日通报，全国新冠疫苗接种剂次超29亿。

张文宏发出警告：奥密克戎不是大号流感，它会咬人 04:05 Share

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张文宏发出警告：奥密克戎不是大号流感，它会咬人