不知道你有没有考虑过这两个问题： “与新冠共存”真的能解决问题吗？ 长期新冠后遗症究竟会带来什么样的危害？Rising infection numbers, alarming death toll, and health problems linked to long COVID are major concerns still clouding people's lives around the world.感染者数量持续攀升、死亡人数不断增加、后遗症严重，新冠肺炎疫情的阴霾依然笼罩全球。 U.S. President Joe Biden's astonishing declaration last month that "the pandemic is over" raised further doubt among medical experts and the media. The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. is still higher than for the flu, which kills about 50,000 people in a severe season.美国总统拜登在今年九月份宣布，美国新冠疫情已经结束，引来医学专家和媒体的众多批评。在美国，一个严重的流感季节会导致大约5万人死亡，但新冠疫情导致的死亡人数仍然比流感更高。 According to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), total COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 230,000 this year, equal to more than 300 per day.美国疾控中心(CDC)的最新数据显示，今年迄今，美国已有超过23万人因感染新冠死亡，日均死亡人数达300人以上。
In addition to the rising death toll, many survivors still suffer from the physical and mental effects of "long COVID". As of late September, the CDC had determined that 15 percent of adults previously infected with COVID-19 were experiencing symptoms of long COVID.除了不断上升的死亡人数，许多新冠幸存者仍然在生理和心理上遭受“长期新冠后遗症”的折磨。截至今年9月下旬，美国疾控中心发现在美国感染过新冠的成年人中，15%目前患有长期新冠后遗症。 A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) linked more than 200 ailments to long COVID: 3.7 percent of patients had ongoing respiratory problems, 3.2 percent had persistent fatigue with bodily pain or mood swings, and 2.2 percent had cognitive problems three months post-infection.一篇发表在《美国医学会杂志》上的研究表明，超过200种疾病与长期新冠后遗症有关：3.7%的长期新冠后遗症患者在感染3个月后出现持续的呼吸道问题，3.2%的患者出现持续疲劳并伴有身体疼痛或情绪波动，2.2%的患者出现认知障碍。 After three weeks of barely sleeping more than an hour a night, her brain was really, really compromised, and like prisoners of war who are kept awake, it affects their cognitive ability, and she became extremely despondent and hopeless.在连续3周每晚睡眠时间几乎不超过1个小时后，她的大脑受到了严重损害，就像战俘一样，无法入睡，这影响了他们的认知能力，她变得极度沮丧和绝望。 It was when the apathy that set in; that's when I could sense I was in danger, because I would find myself not caring if I woke up the next day.对所有事情变得冷漠；让我感觉到我正处于危险之中，因为我发现我并不在乎第二天自己是否能醒来。 My eye was in so much pain that I quite literally fantasized about the million ways that I would end my life. Long-haul symptoms are not the only health threat to COVID survivors.我的眼睛疼得厉害，我想象着有一百万种方式来结束自己的生命。长期症状并不是对新冠幸存者的唯一威胁。Diabetes and life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks, strokes and kidney damage are more common in COVID patients than in those who avoided the pandemic. The cost of those lost wages is around $170 billion a year.糖尿病以及心脏病，中风、肾脏损伤等能够危及生命的疾病在感染过新冠的群体中出现更频繁。新冠受害者一年的工资损失成本约为1700亿美元。 最近在英国的一项调查显示，有数千人不敢去上班，因为他们无力购买基本的卫生用品，会为自己的邋遢形象感到焦虑和羞耻。 BBC在文章《Many skip work over hygiene poverty shame》中提到了这个现象，并称它为“卫生贫困”（hygiene poverty）状态：People's inability to afford essential hygiene products is leaving many too ashamed to go to work.人们买不起基本的卫生用品，这让许多人羞于工作。 A report suggests 3.2 million UK adults are affected by so-called hygiene poverty - with 12% saying they have avoided facing colleagues as a result.一份报告显示，320万英国成年人受到所谓的卫生贫困的影响，12%的人表示他们因此避免与同事见面。
Their struggle to buy basic items such as soap and deodorant is having a devastating effect on their daily lives. Hygiene Bank chief executive Ruth Brock said it was a "hidden crisis".他们难以购买肥皂和除臭剂等基本用品，这对他们的日常生活产生了毁灭性的影响。卫生银行的首席执行官露丝·布洛克称这是一场“隐性危机”。 "It's much more widespread than we feared, it's increasing, and it's disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable," she said.她说：“受影响的人比我们担心的还要多，并且人数还在上升，那些最为弱势的群体受影响特别大。” Hygiene Bank works to supply food banks, homeless shelters, schools, and other organisations with items including toothpaste, shampoo, soap, deodorant, nappies, period products and laundry detergent.卫生银行致力于向食品银行、无家可归者收容所、学校和其他组织提供包括牙膏、洗发水、肥皂、除臭剂、尿布、生理期用品和洗衣粉在内的物品。
"I think it just doesn't occur to people in the same way that fuel and food poverty do. But the truth is by the time you're not switching on your heating or you're going to a food bank for food essentials, you've stopped buying essential hygiene products weeks before." said Ms Brock.“我原本认为，人们不会像缺乏燃料和食物那样出现这种情况。但事实是，当你不打开暖气或去食品银行申请食物必需品时，你在几周前就已经停止购买基本卫生用品了。”布洛克说。 A quarter of respondents said they had gone without toilet paper or soap or shower gel, while three in ten women did not buy period products.有25%的人表示他们没有使用厕纸或香皂，30%的女性没有购买卫生巾。 Another person said an inability to keep themselves clean had impacted their confidence so much they had begun avoiding social contact, including by not answering their phone.另一个人说，不能保持整洁会影响自己的信心，以至于他们开始避免社交接触，包括不接电话。 有数据统计，截至9月中旬，45%的英国成年人很难或有点难支付能源账单，而在上次截至6月的调查中，这一比例为40%。 素材来源：BBC News每日最新TED演讲推荐 接下来是哪个高新科技？