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A Preview Of The Upcoming U.S. Midterm Elections; Natural Immunity With Regard To COVID

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi. I`m Carl Azuz, kicking off a new week of objective events coverage on CNN 10.

One question people sometimes ask me is, Carl, what are you covering next week? I`m like, depends on what happens. But there is something coming up

in about six and a half months that`s been getting a lot of attention in America, the November 8th midterm elections.

Midterm means it`s in the middle of a president`s term. Joe Biden is not up for re-election until 2024. But what happens later this year could significantly

change the government`s legislative branch. Currently, the Senate and the House of Representatives are controlled by the president`s fellow

Democrats. Their leads in both chambers are slim.

In the House where all voting seats are up for election this year, Democrats hold 221 seats, Republicans hold 209, and there are five vacant

seats to be determined, rounding out the House`s 435 voting members.
 

round out 完成; 结束; 使更完美

In the Senate, 34 seats are up for election this year. Of the 100 total seats, 50 are currently held by Republicans, 50 are currently held by

Democrats. When you count the two independents who vote with them, the Democrats are said to be in control because if there`s ever a 50-50 tie,

the vice president, a Democrat, would decide the Senate vote.

This November, many political analysts expect Republicans to make gains in Congress, possibly taking control of one or both chambers. The president`s

nationwide approval ratings are low, and most modern presidents have seen their parties lose seats in the midterms.
 

approval rating 支持率

Republicans have pressured President Biden on issues like immigration. They want him to increase border security to cut down on illegal immigration.

They`ve also pushed for less government spending and more fossil fuel production with the goal of bringing down inflation.

Jeff Zeleny reports on what some Democrats are saying.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIAMA DAVIS, STORE MANAGER, THE BEEHIVE BOTIQUE: When you go to the grocery store, it feels like you`re shopping in Hawaii.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But Mariama Davis lives in Georgia and feels the sting of inflation for
 

sting [stɪŋ] n.（心灵，感情上的）刺痛，伤害

herself, and customers at her boutique, The Beehive.

DAVIS: The idea the eggs are $3 now is -- that`s a lot. People have their families to feed. So if they have an option between buying a gift or

putting food on the table, I`m going to expect folks to put food on the table.

ZELENY: Six months before voters decide of Democrats maintain control of Congress, a sour mood is hanging over the economy.
 

sour [ˋsaʊr] adj.【口】扫兴的，令人失望的

As inflation looms as a major issue in a national election for the first time since 1980, some blame President Biden.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ever since Mr. Biden took office, everything`s been going up.

ZELENY: Others do not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a number of things. I wouldn`t just blame President Biden solely.

ZELENY: Yet, it`s a problem he owns, and one of the biggest challenges facing the White House.

At Daddy D`z barbecue, owner Christianah Coker-Jackson sees inflation everywhere.

CHRISTIANAH COKER-JACKSON, OWNER, DADDY D`Z BARBECUE: I love that.

ZELENY: From paper goods to the cost of meat, to how often people are dining out.

COKER-JACKSON: We are not seeing the same amount of traffic that we normally do. And I think that`s the fear of just spending with the top of

inflation, inflation, inflation. Customers are scared.

ZELENY: And as a Democrat, she is scared of the consequences come November.

COKER-JACKSON: If we can`t get out and vote for the midterms, then all the work we did in 2020 is not really going to matter, because we`re going to

have a handicapped president.
 

handicapped [ˋhændɪ͵kæpt] adj. 残障的

ZELENY: Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs have recorded the second highest inflation jump among the nation`s largest metropolitan areas with

prices climbing 10.6 percent, second only to Phoenix at 10.9 percent, and higher than the national increase of 8.5 percent.

Georgia is also a hot political battleground, which Biden narrowly won in 2020. This year, it will help determine whether Democrats hold the Senate

by reelecting Raphael Warnock -- his early campaign ads trying to redirect any economic blame.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): What if I told you shipping container companies have been making record profits while prices have been

skyrocketing on you? That`s why I`m pushing to hold them accountable.

ZELENY: That message is competing with loud Republican criticism.

POLITICAL AD: Joe Biden`s ruining our country.

ZELEN: Jen Jordan, a state senator who turned a suburban district from red to blue, and is now running for attorney general, knows the Democrats face headwinds.
 

attorney general（某些国家的）检察总长，首席检察官, 司法部长

headwind [ˋhɛd͵wɪnd] n. 顶头风，逆风

But she said Republicans have not offered a positive alternative.

JEN JORDAN (D), GEORGIA STATE SENATOR: We`re still in the middle of a pandemic, right? So, what people do is they respond to how they are

feeling. How are their lives, right? They are always going to tag the president for that.
 

tag [tæg] v. 给……加标签

But look, we have got a million miles to go before November.

ZELENY: Back at The Beehive where we first met Davis a year ago, she then urged people to give Biden time.

DAVIS: Just be patient. Like, it`s coming. Everything doesn`t happen overnight. Folks know that.

ZELENY: Now, she adds this caveat.
 

caveat [ˋkevɪ͵æt] n. 警告

DAVIS: Patient but frustrated. Just frustrated. Just would like to get the relief that we need so we can start operating how used to.

ZELENY: Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

The thymus, the spleen, and bone marrow are all important parts of what?
 

thymus [ˋθaɪməs] n.【解】胸腺（= thymus gland）

Digestive system, immune system, nervous system, or endocrine system?

Along with white blood cells and antibodies, these are parts of your immune system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Doctors say the vast majority of people in the United States now have some degree of immunity to COVID-10. They say that`s from a combo of
 

combo [ˋkɑmbo] n.【美】【口】结合（物）

factors that include being vaccinated against the disease and/or having caught COVID and developed natural immunity as people recovered from it.

When it comes to natural immunity, what our bodies learn from fighting off a disease, the estimates of how long we`re protected from getting COVID

again are anywhere from three months to five years. Why is that range so wide?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this lab at Emory University, scientists like Mehul Suthar are working to answer

one of the most common questions of the pandemic, how much protection does a previous COVID infection provide?

MEHUL SUTHAR, VIRAL IMMUNOLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: With infections, you`ll have lots of individuals that have very low and individuals that

have very high antibody responses.

GUPTA: Take a look at this graph of people who have immunity from a prior infection. See how varied the blue dots and lines are? They represent the

antibody response. It`s all over the place.

It is proof, Suthar says, that not all infections are the same. But how do you use this data to make decisions in the real world, especially now that

states have loosened measures like mask and vaccine mandates?

If I were to get my antibodies checked, could I then get some sort of measure of just how protected I am?

SUTHAR: There aren`t good correlates of protection, something that says that this is the measurement that one needs to know how well they are
 

correlate [ˋkɔrə͵let] n. 相关联的人（或物）

protected. And now with these variants, we`re seeing how these antibodies responses sort of take a hit.

GUPTA: Let`s say you`re in a situation where someone essentially doesn`t have antibodies anymore. You were to measure their antibodies that you

don`t see them. Does that mean they no longer have protection?

SUTHAR: Not necessarily. So there`s several aspects to one`s immune system that can drive protection.

GUPTA: Like B cells, which can make more antibodies if the virus comes back, and T-cells which help activate the immune system and get rid of

infected cells.

Antibodies in your blood naturally wane over time. Think of it like security lights at your home. When there`s an intruder nearby, they should
 

wane [wen] v. 变暗淡；变小；减少

turn on. But when there`s no more threat, you want them to turn back off.

Why do we focus so much on antibodies?

SUTHAR: One aspect is that antibodies are probably one of the easiest to measure in the laboratory.

GUPTA: Dr. Dorry Segev is a transplant surgeon who says antibody tests should be used in some cases to understand how protected people are. In

February, he published research on hundreds of unvaccinated Americans who had COVID.

DR. DORRY SEGEV, TRANSPLANT SURGEON: Almost every single one of them had detectable antibodies.

GUPTA: It`s something Segev thinks we do need to take into consideration.

SEGEV: COVID is a high risk, high consequence way of getting immunity. But if you had COVID and you went through that and you have immunity, that is

something we need to respect and we need to incorporate in the ways we draw the sort of the new social contract of COVID.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Parents and teachers, CNN 10 is looking for original artwork featuring the number 10 to use in our new show opening. We`d love to see

creativity, tens that illustrate something cool about where you live.

Please send a photo of your artwork to 该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。 , along with your name location and the best way to reach you through email or phone number.

(MUSIC)

AZUZ: There aren`t too many places in America where you`d see someone like this strolling through the neighborhood. But Venice Florida is definitely

one of them.

Police have been called recently to keep tabs on a couple of alligators. One of them more than 10 feet long that have been wandering around as if
 

keep tabs on 记录; 监视

they`re looking for a block party. It`s possible they were looking for a mate, though they`ll probably have better luck in the water.
 

block party 街区聚会，街区派对

I wonder if that affects home values. I mean, the neighbors are cold- blooded, but they love to jaw. There are some interesting yard art, reptile floors, built-in scales, not a lot of pests or dogs or cats hanging around.

But if you`re concerned about fast drivers, they have some natural speed bumps.

We`ll see you later. I`m Carl Azuz.

Durango High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, gets today`s shout-out for subscribing and commenting on our YouTube channel. That`s the only way to

get a mention on our show.

END