DR. RACHELLE WALENSKY TODAY GOT
VERY STARK AND WARNED THE
COUNTRY ABOUT HER FEARS OF
IMPENDING DOOM.
AS NEW COVID CASES,
HOSPITALIZATIONS, AND DEATHS ALL
START TO RISE AGAIN FOR THE
FOURTH TIME IN THIS COUNTRY,
DR. WALENSKY IS A SCIENTIFIC.
SHES NOT PRONE TO HYPERBOLE.
SHE STICKS TO THE FACTS AND THE
DATA, WHEN SHE TALKS ABOUT
HAVING A SENSE OF IMPENDING
DOOM, THAT SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING
WE OUGHT TO LISTEN TO.
JOINING US FOR THE INTERVIEW IS
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR
OF THE CDC.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING TIME.
I KNOW ITS BEEN A LONG DAY
ALREADY.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME, RACHEL.
GOOD EVENING.
>> SO WE ARE AT A TIME IN SOME
WAYS OF ADD LEAST MEASURED
OPTIMISM IN THIS COUNTRY.
VACCINATING A RECORD NUMBER OF
PEOPLEARVE EVERY DAY, AND THE PA
SEEMS TO BE IMPROVING.
YET, YOU ISSUED THIS SORT OF
DIRE OUTLOOK FOR HOW THINGS
COULD GO IF WERE NOT CAREFUL.
WHAT IS THE SENSE OF -- WHAT IS
THE DOOM THAT YOU SENSE MIGHT BE
IMPENDING?
>> FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO
NOTE THAT I SHARE THIS OPTIMISM.
IM SO IMPRESSED WITH OUR
ABILITY TO VACCINATE AT A CLIP
OF 3 MILLION VACCINATIONS A DAY.
WE HAVE 93 MILLION AMERICANS WHO
HAVE GOTTEN THEIR FIRST DOSE.
51 MILLION WHO HAVE GOTTEN THEIR
SECOND DOSE.
AND WE HAVE -- WE CAN KIND OF
ALMOST SEE THE END.
WERE VACCINATING SO VERY FAST,
OUR DATA FROM THE CDC TODAY
SUGGESTS, YOU KNOW, THAT
VACCINATED PEOPLE DO NOT CARRY
THE VIRUS, DONT GET SICK, AND
THAT ITS NOT JUST IN THE
CLINICAL TRIALS BUT ITS ALSO IN
REAL WORLD DATA.
AND YET ON THE OTHER SIDE, IM
WATCHING THE CASES TICK UP.
IM WATCHING US HAVE INCREASED
NUMBERS OF HYPERTRANSMISSIBLE
VARIANTS.
IM WATCHING OUR TRAVEL NUMBERS
TICK UP, AND THE SENSE IS, I
HAVE SEEN WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO
ANTICIPATE THE ONCOMING SURGE.
AND WHAT I REALLY WOULD HATE TO
HAVE HAPPEN IS TO HAVE ANOTHER
ONCOMING SURGE JUST AS WERE
REACHING TOWARDS GETTING SO MANY
MORE PEOPLE VACCINATED.
YOU KNOW, WERE STILL LOSING
PEOPLE AT 1,000 DEATHS A DAY.
AND SO I JUST CANT FACE ANOTHER
SURGE WHEN THERES SO MUCH
OPTIMISM RIGHT AT OUR
FINGERTIPS.
>> IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE PACE
OF VACCINATIONS ALREADY IS SUCH
THAT THE RISING NUMBERS OF NEW
CASES THAT WERE SEEING WILL NOT
BE FOLLOWED WITH THE SAME LEVEL
OF SURGE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND
THEN FOLLOWING THAT, DEATHS.
IS IT POSSIBLE THERE ARE ENOUGH
HIGH-RISK PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY
WHO ARE VACCINATED THAT EVEN
TERRIBLE AMOUNTS OF TRANSMISSION
ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE THE SAME
CONSEQUENCE IN TERMS OF PEOPLE
ENDING UP IN THE E.R. AND IN
INTENSIVE CARE?
>> THATS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION
AND ONE WERE LOOKING AT.
YOU KNOW, IT COULD VERY WELL BE,
GIVEN THAT WE HAVE BEEN
VACCINATING OUR PEOPLE OVER THE
AGE OF 65, THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE
THAT HAVE ACCOUNTED FOR 80% OF
THE DEATHS SO FAR, THAT WE HAVE
DONE SO WELL IN VACCINATING THE
MORE SENIOR MEMBERS OF OUR
SOCIETY THAT DEATHS MIGHT NOT BE
WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT WITH PRIOR
SURGES.
ITS ALSO THE CASE, THOUGH,
THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE DONT SEE
THOSE NUMBER OF DEATHS, THE
DEATHS THAT WERE GOING TO SEE
IS AMONG YOUNGER PEOPLE.
WE DONT WANT TO SEE THOSE
EITHER.
AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF REASONS
TO NOT WANT TO HAVE COVID
OUTSIDE OF JUST THE DEATHS
ALONE.
WE KNOW THAT ABOUT 10% OF THE
POPULATION THAT GETS SICK WITH
COVID HAS LONG HAUL SYNDROME,
HAS SYMPTOMS BEYOND THREE WEEKS,
CARDIAC CHALLENGES, DEPRESSION
AND MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES,
PULMONARY CHALLENGES, RENAL
FAILURE, CLOTTING.
THERES A LOT WE DONT
UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS DISEASE,
AND WE SHOULDNT WANT TO HAVE IT
CIRCULATING WHETHER OR NOT IT
LEADS TO MORTALITY.
>> WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THE
RISK THAT YOURE ALSO WORRIED
ABOUT IN TERMS OF
HYPERINFECTIOUS VARIANTS,
HYPERCONTAGIOUS MUTATIONS OF THE
VIRUS, IS THERE A SORT OF A
NIGHTMARE BREAKTHROUGH SCENARIO
IN WHICH WE CANT VACCINATE OUR
WAY TO AN END OF THE EPIDEMIC,
SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THE
VARIANTS ARE EVOLVING IN SUCH A
WAY THAT THEY DEVELOP RESISTANCE
AND WE HAVE ENOUGH CIRCULATING
RESISTANT VIRUS THAT WE CANT
GET AHEAD OF IT?
>> CERTAINLY, THATS POSSIBLE.
I DONT THINK THATS WHERE WE
ARE RIGHT NOW.
WE DO KNOW THAT THIS
HYPERTRANSMISSIBLE VARIANT WERE
MOST WORRIED ABOUT, THE B-117
THAT ORIGINATED IN THE UK, IS
NOW ABOUT 26% OF ALL CIRCULATING
VIRUS AROUND THE UNITED STATES
RIGHT NOW.
SOME REGIONS IN THE SOUTHEAST
ARE UP TO 36% OF CIRCULATING
VIRUS AND ABOUT FOUR OF THE
HHS -- FIVE OF THE HHS REGIONS
NOW, THE B-117 VARIANT IS THE
MOST PREDOMINANT VARIANT OF ALL
CIRCULATING VIRUS.
THAT IS CONCERNING.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT SO FAR,
IT APPEARS THAT THE B-117 IS
NEUTRALIZED BY OUR CURRENT
VACCINES, BUT THAT IS AMONG OUR
CONCERNS, THAT IF YOU HAVE
ENOUGH VIRUS CIRCULATING, THOSE
VARIANTS CAN MUTATE EVEN MORE
AND LEAD TO SORT OF MORE
TROUBLESOME VARIANTS IN THE
FUTURE, WHICH IS WHY WE REALLY
WANT TO STOP THE CIRCULATION OF
VIRUS.
>> RIGHT.
ITS WHY THE VACCINATION PACE
NEEDS TO BE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
AND WHY WE NEED TO REDUCE
TRANSMISSION WHILE WE ARE
SIMULTANEOUSLY VACCINATING
PEOPLE.
DR. WALENSKY, THERES ONE OTHER
PEOPLE OF THAT, THE TRANSMISSION
REDUCTION PART OF IT, AND THAT
PLEA FROM YOU AND THAT FOLLOW-UP
PLEA TODAY FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN
THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU
ABOUT IF YOU WOULDNT MIND
STICKING WITH US FOR ONE MORE
SEGMENT.
>> OF COURSE.