又中又英｜To breathe a sigh of relief

A new Covid vaccine is now available in the US. I made an appointment in advance to take the new Pfizer shot as soon as it became available in pharmacies. I was in California when it became available just one day before my flight to Hong Kong. The pharmacy confirmed my appointment, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. Taking the new vaccine would protect me from the newest Covid variant called XBB 1.5. But one day before my appointment the pharmacy emailed me to say it had not yet received supplies of the new vaccine. I was floored!

To breathe a sigh of relief means to feel comfortable after worrying about something. If you are floored, it means you are so surprised or confused that you are unable to think clearly. I checked other nearby pharmacies, but all said they had not yet received supplies. I was screwed, which means I was in a difficult situation because it became impossible for me to take the new vaccine before I left for Hong Kong. I have taken five Covid shots so far, two in Hong Kong, and two boosters and the bivalent shot in the US. The latest vaccine is a monovalent one.

A monovalent vaccine protects against just one type of virus, such as the XBB 1.5 strain. A bivalent shot protects against two virus strains. The bivalent shot I took in the US last year protected against the original coronavirus and the Omicron strain. Singapore and Japan have authorized the Pfizer monovalent shot against XBB 1.5. I hope Hong Kong will do the same.

现在有一支新的新冠疫苗在美国供应。当这支新的辉瑞疫苗一在药房推出，我便立即预约打针。它刚好在我飞回香港的前一天供应，而我当时身处加州。药房确认了我的预约，令我松一口气（breathe a sigh of relief）。接种这个新疫苗，有助我对抗最新的新冠病毒变种 XBB 1.5。然而，就在预约时间的前一天，药房传电邮给我，说他们还未收到新疫苗的供货。I was floored!

To breathe a sigh of relief是指你感到如释重负，担忧的事情得以缓解，终能松一口气。若你是 floored，意即你感到惊惶失惜或困惑，脑袋一片混乱。我查问附近其他药房，他们全都说未收到供货。I was screwed，意即我在很糟糕的处境，因为这意味着在我出发回港前是不可能接种到新疫苗了。我总共接种了五支新冠肺炎疫苗，两支在香港，另外两支加强剂和一支二价（bivalent）疫苗在美国。而这支最新的疫苗则是单剂（monovalent）的。

一支monovalent疫苗只能保护你对抗一种病毒，例如 XBB 1.5病毒株。而 bivalent针则能对抗两种病毒株。我上年在美国打的二价（bivalent）疫苗能对抗原始新冠病毒株和 Omicron变种。新加坡和日本都已批准辉瑞针对 XBB 1.5的单剂（monovalent）疫苗。我希望香港也能这样。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻