流感季将至，而新冠疫情却还未结束。为了防止流感和新冠疫情并发令医疗系统崩溃，亚洲多国都大幅增加了流感疫苗的供应量，还扩大了免费接种流感疫苗的人群。
A nurse prepares an injection of the influenza vaccine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, US, January 10, 2013. /Reuters
Some Asian countries are rolling out early and more aggressive influenza vaccination programs this year, seeking to reduce the potential of people contracting the flu and COVID-19 simultaneously, crippling healthcare systems.
一些亚洲国家今年早早推出了更积极的流感防疫计划，以降低人们同时感染流感和新冠病毒的可能性，防止医疗系统因此崩溃。
With a second or third wave of the coronavirus pandemic looming for many countries, tackling this year's flu season – typically December through February – has taken on increased urgency.
由于多国面临着第二轮或第三轮新冠疫情的威胁，做好今年的流感季(通常是12月至2月期间)流感防控工作变得更加紧迫。
In Japan, the health ministry is preparing 31.2 million flu shots, up seven percent from last year and the highest amount since 2015. Officials are also urging symptomatic patients to call medical hotlines before going for testing to avoid contagion at hospitals.
在日本，卫生部(厚生劳动省)正在准备3120万支流感疫苗，比去年多了7%，数量是2015年来最多的。卫生部官员也敦促有症状的患者在做检测前拨打医疗热线电话，以避免在医院感染他人。
"We are going to focus our medical resources on the severely ill in anticipation of the seasonal influenza epidemic," Takeshi Enami, a Japanese health ministry official said last week after a meeting of disease experts.
日本卫生部官员江波武志上周在参加完一次疾控专家会议后表示：“在流感季到来之前我们将把医疗资源集中在重症患者身上。”
The World Health Organization has urged global widespread flu vaccinations this year, amid concerns the same people who are most vulnerable to risks from COVID-19, such as the elderly and those with respiratory conditions, are also at greatest risk for the flu.
世界卫生组织今年已经敦促全球各国开展广泛的流感疫苗接种工作，因为担心最容易感染新冠病毒的人群患上流感的风险也最大，比如老年人和有呼吸系统疾病的人。
Data on the number of annual flu cases across Asia is limited, although Japan had about 12 million cases in the 2018/19 season, according to an official source.
关于亚洲各国每年流感病例数量的数据很有限，不过官方来源显示，日本在2018-19的流感季约有1200万流感病例。
In South Korea, health authorities are procuring 30 million flu vaccines for the winter season, up 20 percent from last year. Around 19 million people will be inoculated for free, covering a third of the country's population, up from 13.8 million a year ago.
在韩国，卫生部门正在为冬季采购3000万支流感疫苗，比去年增加了20%。约有1900万人将免费接种流感疫苗，涵盖了韩国三分之一的人口，相比去年的1380万有所增加。
Officials are also extending the demographic window for free vaccination, this year covering children from six months to 18, adults over 61 and pregnant women.
韩国官方还将扩大免费接种流感疫苗的人群，今年将涵盖6个月到18岁的孩子、61岁以上的成人以及孕妇。
South Korea's biggest flu vaccine maker GC Pharma told Reuters it will make over 10 million flu shots for this season, up from the 8.5 million doses last year.
韩国最大的流感疫苗制造商GC制药公司告诉路透社说，这个流感季将会生产超1000万支流感疫苗，相比去年的850万支增加了。
In China, some local authorities have reported a surge in demand. Disease prevention authorities in the Changning district of Shanghai city told local media they expect demand for flu vaccines in the autumn and winter to increase some 50 percent from previous years.
在中国，一些地方政府报告称疫苗需求量激增。上海长宁区疾控中心告诉当地媒体称，他们预期今年秋冬的流感疫苗需求量将比往年增加约50%。
In Australia, where the flu season runs roughly from June to September, officials procured 16.5 million flu shots, up from 13.2 million last year.
在澳大利亚，流感季大约从6月持续到9月。澳大利亚官员共采购了1650万支流感疫苗，去年为1320万支。
The moves in Asia echo similar efforts in North America and Europe. In the United States, pharmaceutical firms are expected to provide around 200 million flu vaccines this year, about 20 percent more than usual.
除了亚洲外，北美和欧洲也采取了类似的措施。在美国，制药企业预期今年将提供约2亿支流感疫苗，比往年增加20%左右。
英文来源：路透社
