又中又英——Anti-vaxxer

　　Last week, I had a long phone conversation with an old friend. I asked him if he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. He said he had not. My friend is an anti-vaxxer, which means he is opposed to vaccination. I told him the coronavirus, especially the Delta variant, can be very dangerous. He is much older than me, which means he can easily be infected. I told him it is too risky at his age to be an anti-vaxxer when the Delta variant is spreading globally. He said there is no need to get vaccinated. I was struck dumb by his explanation. If you are "struck dumb" it means you are so surprised by something you don't know what to say.
　　A similar expression is knock me down with a feather. If your son tells you he won an apartment in a lottery for the fully vaccinated, you can say "you could have knocked me down with a feather". This means you were so surprised you didn't know what to say. My friend knocked me down with a feather when he said there is no need to get vaccinated because virtually all coronavirus cases in Hong Kong are imported. He is right but that is not an excuse for being an anti-vaxxer. The Delta variant is easily transmissible, which means a disease that easily passes from one person to another.
　　Mainland China closed itself from the world to control the coronavirus yet the Delta variant has spread in many parts of the country. The same thing is happening in mostly southern US states where there are many anti-vaxxers. I believe getting vaccinated is a free choice. But I also believe in science. If anti-vaxxers are unconvinced with scientific facts that vaccines can protect them it is their choice. I hope they and their families will not be infected with the virus. But if they and their families get infected and maybe die, I hope it will wake them up. It's never too late to get vaccinated.
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　　上星期，我跟一位老朋友谈了一通很长的电话。我问他可有接种对抗新冠病毒的疫苗，他说他没有。我的这位朋友是个anti-vaxxer，意即他反对接种疫苗。我跟他说，这个新冠病毒，尤其是Delta变种病毒，可以非常危险。他年纪比我大许多，亦即是说他可以很容易受到感染。我跟他说，以他这把年纪，在Delta变种病毒目前在全球扩散期间，要做个反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）实在太高风险了。他说，实在没有需要接种疫苗。我对他的解释struck dumb；若你是 "struck dumb"，意即你被某事震惊得哑口无言、愣住了。
　　类似的习语是knock me down with a feather。若你的儿子告诉你，他在全剂量接种疫苗人士大抽奖中赢得一个单位，你便可以说 "you could have knocked me down with a feather"——意即你极为吃惊、难以置信得说不出话来。当我的朋友说其实根本毋须打针，因为香港差不多所有新冠肺炎确诊个案都是输入个案时，实在令我震惊得哑口无言（knocked me down with a feather）。他是对的，但这也不是成为反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）的借口啊。Delta变种病毒很容易transmissible，意即它的传播力极高，是个很易人传人的疾病。
　　中国内地已对外自行封关，以控制新冠病毒的传播，然而Delta变种仍在内地许多地区传播开去。同样的情况亦在美国发生，大多是南部的州份，当地亦有许多反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）。我相信，是否接种疫苗是个自由的选择，但我同时相信科学。如果反疫苗者（anti-vaxxers）不能信服于科学实证证明疫苗能保障他们，那也是他们的选择。我希望他们和他们的家人不会感染到新冠病毒；不过，若他们和他们的家人受到感染，甚至可能会因而死亡，我希望那能唤醒他们。接种疫苗，永不嫌迟。
中译：七刻 [email protected]
Michael Chugani 褚简宁