又中又英——Under The Weather

　　Last Tuesday morning I had a feeling of foreboding mixed with euphoria. The feeling of foreboding and euphoria stayed with me as I went to St. Paul’s Hospital. I had to be there by 10.30 for my second Pfizer/Biontech shot. I had a sense of foreboding before my first shot but it went away after I took it. The word “foreboding” means feeling something bad will happen. The word “euphoria” means feeling great excitement and happiness. My first shot only gave me a slightly sore (painful) arm around the injection area. The soreness (pain) went away after one day.
　　I had a sense of foreboding for my second shot because I had read a second shot sometimes causes more side effects, such as fever and a sore arm. Most people do not have this sense of foreboding when taking a shot, but I am a worrier! At the same time, I had a feeling of euphoria because I knew after two shots I am well protected against the virus. The nurse who gave me the shot told me the second shot usually has more side effects. I again had a sore arm and felt a bit under the weather, which means feeling ill, but it went away after less than two days. I feel Hong Kong people should not mistrust the vaccine. Everyone should get vaccinated.
　　But it should be a personal choice. The government is forcing all 370,000 foreign domestic helpers to get tested and said they must get vaccinated before renewing their contracts just because two caught a mutant virus. No one knows how they got infected. A local could have infected them. But Labour Secretary Law Chi-kwong said helpers are high risk because they meet friends during their days off. Even locals meet friends during their days off! Law Chi-kwong said helpers don’t have to work here if they refuse vaccinations because they are not residents. This is an arrogant threat. He should know Hong Kong’s economy will be seriously affected if large numbers of helpers left.
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　　上星期二早上，我心情兴奋（euphoria），夹杂着某种不祥的预感（foreboding），一直到我去圣保禄医院时，那种兴奋（euphoria）又带不祥预兆（foreboding）的感觉仍然伴随着我。当天我要在十时半到达医院，去打我第二针的辉瑞「复必泰」疫苗。我打第一针之前，也有过这种不祥预感（foreboding），但打过针以后那种感觉就消失了。Foreboding是指有预感不好的事情会发生；euphoria是指亢奋、狂喜、兴高采烈的。第一剂只令我手臂打针的位置有轻微疼痛（sore），过了一天那痛楚（soreness）便已消失。
　　我对于第二针注射有不好的预感（foreboding），因为我读到有人说，第二针有时会引起更多副作用，例如发烧和手臂疼痛。大部份人打针都不会有这种不祥预感（foreboding），但我是个杞人忧天的人！与此同时，我感到兴奋（euphoria），是因为我知道打了两针过后，我就有良好的防护去抵抗新冠肺炎。给我打针的护士告诉我，第二针通常有较多副作用。我再次感到手臂疼痛（sore），也感到有点under the weather，意即身体有点不舒服，但在不到两天之后，那些症状亦已消散。我觉得香港人不应该不信任疫苗，人人都当接种疫苗。
　　然而，这应该是个人的抉择。只不过因为有两名外佣感染了变种病毒，政府便强制全部三十七万外籍家佣检测，并说他们在续约之前必须接种疫苗。没有人知道这两名外佣是如何感染到的，或许是一个本地人传染给他们。但劳福局局长罗致光说，家佣有更高风险，因为他们会在放假的日子见朋友。即使本地人也会在放假的时候见朋友吧！罗致光说，若外佣拒绝接种疫苗，大可以不在这里工作，因为他们不是香港居民。这是个傲慢的威吓。他应该知道，若有大量外佣离港，香港经济将会遭受沉重的打击。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁