One clear pattern from the first 18 months of coronavirus is that each apparent certainty is overtaken by events. The latest is that the west — chiefly, the US and western Europe — is moving to post-pandemic normality. That is far from assured. As vaccination rates taper off, the goal of reaching herd immunity is bumping up against the cultural resisters. Two steps forward are followed by one back. The concern is that new mutations will outpace the west’s ability to inoculate its laggards.
新冠疫情爆發后頭18個月有一個明顯的模式:每一件表面上確定的事都會被事實推翻。最新的例子是西方國家——主要是美國和西歐——正走向疫情后的常態化生活。但這一點遠遠沒保障。隨著疫苗接種速度逐漸降低,達到群體免疫的目標開始與文化抵制者產生沖突。每當我們前進兩步,就會退后一步。人們擔心,新冠病毒新型變種出現的速度將超過西方國家為遲遲沒有接種的人接種疫苗的能力。