Časoris is an online newspaper aimed at children. Each week we’ll take an article and post it here as a Slovene-English dual text.
Kdaj se bo pandemija končala?
When will the pandemic end?
Written by Dora Adamič, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate
To je vprašanje, ki si ga zastavljamo, odkar smo 11. marca 2020 razglasili pandemijo novega koronavirusa.
This is a question we have been asking ourselves since we declared a new coronavirus pandemic on 11 March 2020.
Čeprav se poleti ukrepi omilijo in nam dajo upanje, da bo morda pandemije kmalu konec, s hladnejšimi meseci znova dobimo nove okužbe in občutek, da se ta ne bo nikoli končala.
Although the measures are relaxed in the summer and give us hope that the pandemic may end soon, with the colder months we get new infections again and the feeling that this will never end.
Pandemija se bo končala, vendar to ne pomeni, da bomo virus iztrebili. Verjetno bo ostal z nami in še naprej krožil med prebivalstvom.
The pandemic will end, but that doesn’t mean we will exterminate the virus. It will probably stay with us and continue to circulate among the population.
Iz prejšnjih pandemij smo se naučili, da bolezni težko iztrebimo. Še posebej, če so tako nalezljive in hitro mutirajo kot koronavirus.
We have learned from previous pandemics that diseases are difficult to eradicate. Especially if they are as contagious and mutate like the coronavirus.
Cepiva so še vedno naše najmočnejše orožje proti novemu koronavirusu.
Vaccines are still our most powerful weapon against the new coronavirus.
Zato se znanstveniki zanašajo na to, da se bo naš imunski sistem sčasoma navadil nanj in zato ta ne bo več tako nevaren. Pri tem seveda močno pomagajo cepiva.
Therefore, scientists rely on the fact that our immune system will eventually get used to it and therefore it will no longer be so dangerous. Of course, vaccines help a lot.
»Če lahko zmanjšamo število umrlih pod določen nivo in nadaljujemo z normalnim življenjem, lahko rečemo, da se je pandemija končala,« pravi raziskovalec dr. Jagpreet Chhatwal.
"If we can reduce the number of deaths below a certain level and continue with normal life, we can say that the pandemic is over," says researcher Dr. Jagpreet Chhatwal.
Vendar je do sedaj cepivo prejelo le 28 odstotkov svetovnega prebivalstva, kar ni spodbudno.
However, so far only 28 percent of the world’s population has received the vaccine, which is not encouraging.
Revnejšim državam primanjkuje cepiv, medtem ko se v ostalih državah dogaja, da jih ljudje, zaradi dvomov v njihovo učinkovitost, zavračajo.
Poorer countries lack vaccines, while other countries reject them because of doubts about their effectiveness.
Tako majhna precepljenost virusu omogoča hitrejše širjenje in poveča verjetnost za nove različice.
Such low vaccination coverage allows the virus to spread faster and increases the likelihood of new versions.
Kdaj bo torej konec pandemije? To bo določila Svetovna zdravstvena organizacija, ko bo presodila, da je virus pod nadzorom in mu bo dala status endemičnega virusa.
So when will the pandemic end? This will be determined by the World Health Organization when it judges that the virus is under control and gives it endemic virus status.
Druga možnost je, da se bo javnost sama odločila, da je konec pandemije, in kljub nevzdržnemu širjenju virusa ne bo več upoštevala ukrepov. Takšen odziv lahko privede do številnih smrti.
Alternatively, the public will decide for itself that the pandemic is over and will no longer take action despite the unsustainable spread of the virus. Such a response could lead to many deaths.
Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.
