PANDEMIC, AND NOW HEALTH EXPERTS
ARE BRACING FOR WHAT COULD BE,
QUOTE, CATASTROPHIC IMPACTS
AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.
WITH ME NOW IS DR. ATOOL,
PROMINENT MEMBER OF
PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN’S ADVISORY
BOARD.
GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US.
WHAT IS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU
HEAR THOSE TRAVELERS
RATIONALIZING THEIR BEHAVIOR,
BECAUSE ULTIMATELY EVERYONE
RATIONALIZES.
IN THE END, THEY’RE STILL
IGNORING THE WARNINGS.
>> I’M NOT GOING TO SHAME THE
FOLKS WHO HAVE TO TRAVEL.
SOME PEOPLE IT IS NECESSITY,
MEDICAL REASONS, MENTAL HEALTH
REASONS, A VARIETY OF THINGS.
WHAT I WILL SAY IS AFTER
THANKSGIVING PEOPLE DID, AT
THANKSGIVING THERE WAS A LOT OF
TRAVEL AND PEOPLE CLEARLY
TIGHTENED UP IN A LOT OF PARTS
OF COUNTRY, AND WE HAVE SEEN
SOME OF THE PEAKS START TO COME
DOWN IN THE COUNTRY.
THE CRITICAL THINGS HAVE BEEN,
YOU KNOW, EVEN WHEN YOU’RE
TRAVELED YOU ARE WEARING A MASK,
YOU ARE NOT GATHERING WITH LARGE
PARTIES INDOORS.
YOU’RE MINIMIZING THOSE
APPROACHES, AND PEOPLE ARE
QUARANTINING IN ADVANCE.
THEY’RE OBTAINING TESTING.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE
BEING AS SMART AS THEY CAN BE
ABOUT IT.
THAT SAID, WE ARE STILL SEEING
SURGE ON SURGE, AND THAT MIX IS
GOING TO MEAN IT’S GETTING WORSE
LONG BEFORE IT WILL GET BETTER.
COMING OUT OF THE HOLIDAYS, WHAT
WE DO IS GOING TO BE CRITICAL.
WE ARE PAST 300,000 DEATHS.
THE NEXT HUNDRED THOUSAND,
GETTING TO 400,000 DEATHS IS
BAKED IN, BASED ON THE NUMBER OF
INFECTIONS THIS PAST WEEK.
THE COMING MONTHS WITH ALL OF
THIS TRAVEL, IT CONTINUES TO
RISE, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE
REQUIREMENTS IN ORDER TO GET TO
WHERE WE’RE GOING.
WE’VE GOT TO BE IN MASKS.
IT’S GOT TO BE ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
WE WILL HAVE TO DEPLOY MUCH MORE
WIDESPREAD TESTING.
WE’LL NEED TO HAVE A NATIONAL
STRATEGY COME THE NEW
PRESIDENT-ELECT, COME THE NEW
PRESIDENT, I THINK WE FINALLY
WILL HAVE THAT STRATEGY COME
INTO PLACE, AND THAT’S THE
ELEMENT THAT’S MISSING.
WE JUST HAVEN’T HAD A CONCERTED
STRATEGY HERE!
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE
NUMBERS, SOME OF THE DEADLIEST
DAYS ON RECORD DURING THIS
PANDEMIC HAVE BEEN AFTER THE
THANKSGIVING BREAK, IF WE WERE
TO APPLY THE SAME KIND OF
RATIONAL TO WHAT WE WILL LIKELY
SEE AFTER DECEMBER 24th WHEN
THESE NUMBERS AS WE JUST PUT ON
THE SCREEN, 84 MILLION PEOPLE
TRAVELING BETWEEN NOW AND
JANUARY 3rd, WHAT CONCERNS YOU
THE MOST AS WE GET INTO THE NEW
YEAR BEFORE PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE
BIDEN GETS IN PLACE AND PUTS
FORWARD A NEW STRATEGY.
>> FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO POINT
OUT IF YOU LOOK AT THAT GRAPHIC,
THERE WAS A PEAK AND IT’S
STARTING TO COME DOWN.
THE BEHAVIOR THAT EVEN DESPITE
THANKSGIVING, WE SEE THE PUBLIC
MAKING A CHANGE IN BEHAVIORS.
AND I THINK WE’RE SEEING SOME
PAYOFF, STARTING TO SEE SOME
PAYOFFS FOR THAT.
THAT SAID, AT THE HOLIDAYS, WE
MAY STILL SEE ANOTHER, YOU KNOW,
WE MAY SEE THAT AND STOP GOING
DOWN, AND WE NEED IT TO GO WAY
DOWN.
WHAT I’LL POINT OUT IS WE’RE AT
NOW OVER 2,500 DEATHS A DAY.
THAT MAKES CORONAVIRUS THE
NUMBER ONE KILLER IN THE
COUNTRY.
IT’S NO LONGER HEART DISEASE.
IT’S NO LONGER CANCER.
IT IS THE CORONAVIRUS.
AND THAT MEANS THAT AS WE COME
OUT, THE PLACE I HAVE THE
BIGGEST CONCERN ABOUT ARE
HOSPITAL SYSTEMS AND OUR ABILITY
TO TAKE CARE OF FOLKS.
ALREADY I’M A SURGEON, AND WE
HAVE HAD TO NOW START DIALING
BACK ON NONURGENT SURGERY AND
ASKING PEOPLE TO DELAY THEIR
SURGERY, SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN
THIS TOGETHER, AND I THINK A
CONCERTED STRATEGY THAT REALLY
DEPLOYS LARGE SCALE TESTING,
GETTING EVERYBODY IN MASKS
INCLUDING REALLY PUSHING HARD
THAT WE’RE ALL DOING THIS, AND
THEN WE NEED TO GET THAT RELIEF
THROUGH.
>> RIGHT.
>> WE HAVE TO SUPPORT THE
RESTAURANTS AND THE BARS BECAUSE
THOSE PLACES ARE NOT GOING TO BE
ABLE TO HAVE THE CAPACITY THAT
THEY HAVE HAD OR ELSE THAT WILL