BUT WE’LL KEEP EVERYBODY UP-TO-DATE ON THAT, THANKS,
DAVID.
DAVID. >> SURE, THANK YOU.
GILLIAN: SEVERAL WHITE HOUSE
STAFFERS AND MEMBERS OF THE
SECRET SERVICE WHO WORK IN CLOSE
PROXIMITY TO THE PRESIDENT ON A
DAILY BASIS HAVE NOW TESTED
POSITIVE FOR COVID-19.
WE KNOW THAT.
FOX NEWS ALSO CONFIRMED ONE OF
THEM AS DAVID JUST MENTIONED FOR
US IS THE VICE-PRESIDENT’S PRESS
SECRETARY, KATIE MILLER.
JOINING US FROM BREAK DOWN
TESTING EFFORTS AT THE WHITE
HOUSE AND ACROSS THE NATION IS
DIRECTOR OF HARVARD’S GLOBAL
HEALTH INSTITUTE, DOCTOR, WE
ALWAYS LOVE SPEAKING TO YOU.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME AGAIN
OUT OF YOUR VERY BUSY WEEKEND
FOR US.
FOR US. WE APPRECIATE IT.
>> MY PLEASURE, THANKS FOR
HAVING ME ON.
GILLIAN: SO, FIRST QUESTION IS
ABOUT THESE WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS
AND THEN WE’LL OPEN UP THE
CONVERSATION TO TESTING MORE
GENERALLY.
GENERALLY. THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS THEY’RE NOW
GOING TO TEST EVERYBODY WHO
COMES INTO CLOSE PROXIMITY WITH
PRESIDENT TRUMP TO PREVENT
HIGHER PROBABILITY OF HIM
CONTRACTING THE VIRUS.
THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT TELL US,
IS THAT EVEN A REALISTIC GOAL IN
THE SENSE THAT YOU CAN TEST
SOMEBODY ONCE AND KNOW THEY’RE
FINE THAT DAY, BUT IF THEY’RE
GOING TO SEE THE PRESIDENT THE
DAY AFTER, ARE THEY GOING TO BE
TESTING WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS
EVERY SINGLE DAY AND IS THAT
WHAT THEY’D NEED TO DO?
>> IT JUST TELLS YOU HOW
DIFFICULT IT IS TO MAINTAIN A
COMPLETELY SAFE ENVIRONMENT AND
OBVIOUSLY, KEEPING THE PRESIDENT
AND THE VICE-PRESIDENT SAFE ARE
OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITY AND SO,
I THINK THEY PROBABLY DO NEED TO
BE DOING DAILY TESTING, BUT EVEN
THAT ISN’T GOING TO BE 100%
FOOLPROOF BECAUSE WE KNOW YOU
CAN HAVE THE VIRUS AND TEST
NEGATIVE.
NEGATIVE. IT’S A PRETTY GOOD TEST, BUT
IT’S NOT PERFECT.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE STRATEGY
THEY’RE USING.
THEY’RE USING. I THINK IT’S THE RIGHT STRATEGY.
BUT IT’S A REMINDER THAT EVEN IN
THE WHITE HOUSE WITH DAILY
TESTING OF ALL THE STAFF, IT’S
NOT 100% IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE
THAT NO ONE WHO IS INFECTED GETS
NEAR THE PRESIDENT.
GILLIAN: IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET
TO 100%?
TO 100%? OR YOU’RE JUST SAYING TAKE IT
OFF THE TABLE, IT’S NOT
SOMETHING THAT ANYONE COULD
REALISTICALLY DO?
REALISTICALLY DO? >> AGAIN, THE GOAL IS--
100% I DON’T KNOW HOW WE CAN GET
TO.
TO. YOU CAN GET PRETTY CLOSE.
THE WAY YOU DO IT, YOU LIMIT THE
NUMBER OF CONTACTS TO THE
PRESIDENT, I MAKE SURE TO TEST
THOSE PEOPLE.
THOSE PEOPLE. YOU KEEP THOSE PEOPLE REASONABLY
QUARANTINED, THEY SHOULD NOT BE
GOING TO RESTAURANTS OR BARS,
NOT THAT BARS ARE EVEN OPEN, BUT
KEEPING THEM IN RELATIVELY
CONFINED SPACES AND I THINK YOU
CAN PROTECT THE PRESIDENT, I’M
NOT SAYING IT’S IMPOSSIBLE, BUT
100% IS PRETTY HARD, BUT YOU CAN
GET REALLY CLOSE WITH LOTS AND
LOTS OF TESTING.
GILLIAN: NOW WHEN WE LOOK AT THE
REST OF THE UNITED STATES, WE’RE
KIND OF SPLIT STATES THAT ARE
STAYING SHUT, STATES THAT ARE
OPENING, TRYING TO OPEN THEIR
ECONOMYIES
ECONOMYIES ECONOMIES.
ECONOMIES. YOU SAY THERE ARE PROTESTS
AGAINST GOVERNMENTS KEEPING
BUSINESSES CLOSED, EXCUSE ME,BUT
YOU SAY TO THE FOLKS, DON’T HATE
THE STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS, HATE
THE LACK OF TESTING POLICIES
THAT GOT HERE IN THE FIRST
PLACE.
PLACE. >> EVEN THE PRESIDENT AT THE
WHITE HOUSE, TESTING IS NOT THE
ONLY THING WE NEED, BUT IT’S A
CRITICAL PART OF TAKE --
KEEPING THE WORKPLACE SAFE.
THAT’S THE STRATEGY WE SHOULD
SHOULD GO USING.
NOT EVERYBODY NEEDS TO BE TESTED
EVERY DAY, BUT WE NEED A LOT
MORE TESTING AS A KEY PART OF
KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE.
WE CAN OPEN UP AND GET OUR
ECONOMY BACK AND MAKE SURE
PEOPLE DON’T GET INFECTED AND
DIE IN LARGE NUMBERS.
WE CAN DO BOTH, KEEP PEOPLE SAFE
AND OPEN UP THE ECONOMY, TESTING
IS THE REALLY FUNDAMENTAL PART
OF THAT.
OF THAT. >> GOOD REMINDER THERE, GOOD
POINT THAT MAYBE THE WHITE HOUSE
ON THIS IS LEADING BY EXAMPLE.
SO WHEN THE PRESIDENT TALKS
ABOUT TESTING NOT BEING A
UNIVERSAL NECESSITY, LOOK AT
WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF IS I
AM --
AM -- I AMMPLEMENTING TO KEEP HIM SAFE
A NUMBER OF YOUNG CHILDREN ARE
GETTING THE SORT OF SECONDARY
INFLAMMATORY DISEASES RESULTING
FROM COVID-19.
FROM COVID-19. WE KNOW THAT ONE FIVE YEAR-OLD
HAS NOW DIED IN NEW YORK.
TELL US ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE IN
THIS SORT OF NEW DEVELOPING
PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.
>> YEAH, SO ONE OF THE BRIGHT
SPOTS OF THIS TERRIBLE PANDEMIC
AND ONE OF THE SORT OF SILVER
LININGS HAS BEEN THAT KIDS HAVE
GENERALLY DONE VERY WELL.
THEY DO GET INFECTED, THEY DO
SPREAD THE DISEASE, BUT THEY
CERTAINLY THEMSELVES DON’T END
UP GETTING VERY SICK AND IT’S
VERY, VERY RARE WHEN A KID DIES.
WHEN A CHILD DIES OF ANYTHING,
INCLUDING COVID, IT’S A TRAGEDY.
WHAT WE’RE SEEING, WE’RE
LEARNING A LOT ABOUT THIS VIRUS,
INCLUDING IT SETS OFF AN IMMUNE
REACTION IN KIDS CAN CAUSE A LOT
OF DIFFICULTIES.
OF DIFFICULTIES. MOST KIDS STILL END UP GETTING
THROUGH IT OKAY.
I DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO GET
EXCESSIVELY WORRIED.
EXCESSIVELY WORRIED. IT’S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO WATCH,
IF KIDS END UP GETTING SICK,
THAT’S SOMETHING WE’LL HAVE TO
PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION TO.
GILLIAN: AND OBVIOUSLY, A
DEVASTATING GAME CHANGER NOT
JUST FOR AMERICANS, BUT FOR
FOLKS ALL OVER THE WORLD.