ARE IMPORTANT TO OUR COUNTRY. AND WE’RE NOW ENERGY
INDEPENDENT.
INDEPENDENT. WE COULD DO SOMETHING WHERE WE
ONLY USED OUR OIL.
BUT I THINK THE LONG-TERM
BENEFIT IS TO BE ABLE TO GO WITH
THE MARKET.
THE MARKET. AND IT’S GOING TO WORK OUT.
IT’S ALL GOING TO WORK OUT.
IF YOU LOOKED AT THREE WEEKS
AGO, AS YOU KNOW --
>> WE HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO THE
WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS PRESS
BRIEFING.
BRIEFING. IT WAS SLIGHTLY DELAYED.
THE PRESIDENT CAME OUT.
HE CAME OUT WITH EXPERTS.
RIGHT NOW HE IS SPEAKING ABOUT
OIL.
OIL. AND WE ARE GOING TO DO A FACT
CHECK ON SOME OF THE MEDICAL
CLAIMS AND WE MAY DIP BACK INTO
THE BRIEFING, PARTICULARLY IF WE
HEAR FROM OTHER MEDICAL EXPERTS.
I WANT TO BRING IN DR. PETER
HOTEZ STANDING BY, LISTENING TO
THIS BRIEFING.
THIS BRIEFING. I ALSO HAVE GENE ROBINSON OF
"THE WASHINGTON POST" WITH ME.
DR. HOTEZ, ONE OF THE MEDICAL
CLAIMS THAT WAS MADE, THIS IS
HELD OUT AS DAILY BRIEFING TO
DEAL WITH THE CORONAVIRUS.
OTHER ISSUES CAN COME UP.
THE PRESIDENT WAS JUST SPEAKING
ABOUT A CALL HE WAS ON WITH
FOREIGN HEADS OF STATE.
BUT ON THE VIRUS, THE PRESIDENT
JUST CLAIMED THE UNITED STATES
HAS THE, QUOTE, BEST TESTING IN
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD. YOUR RESPONSE?
YOUR RESPONSE? >> WELL, YES AND NO.
YOU KNOW, IF BY BEST HE MEANS
THE LARGEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE
TESTED, WE’RE PROBABLY GETTING
THERE.
THERE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE THE LARGEST
NUMBER OF REPORTED CASES OF
COVID-19 IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
WE’RE GETTING UP TO HALF A
MILLION PEOPLE WITH COVID-19.
SO THAT MEANS WE ARE DOING A LOT
OF TESTING.
OF TESTING. IT’S CERTAINLY BETTER THAN IT
WAS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF
BRETT GIROIR WHO IS ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND SOMEONE
WHO I WORKED WITH FOR YEARS AND
KNOW HIM WELL.
THINGS ARE CERTAINLY BETTER.
WE ALSO HAVE A GREATER VARIETY
OF TESTS COMING FROM THE VARIOUS
COMMERCIAL FIRMS, AND NOW A
RAPID TEST.
RAPID TEST. WE’RE DEVELOPING AN ANTIBODY
TEST.
TEST. SO THINGS ARE BETTER.
HERE IS THE PROBLEM.
THE PROBLEM IS IT’S STILL NOT
ADEQUATE TO MANAGE THIS
EPIDEMIC, BECAUSE IN PLACES LIKE
HOUSTON, WHERE WE ARE STILL
FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS EPIDEMIC
WHEN PATIENTS START SHOWING UP
IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT,
WHICH IS NOT SO THE NUMBERS --
>> LET ME ASK YOU THIS, SIR,
WHAT I WANT TO GET AT, THOUGH,
TO BE CLEAR FOR VIEWERS IS THERE
IS THE INFORMATION PROVIDED AND
THEN THERE IS THE CLAIMS MADE
WHERE THE PRESIDENT MAY BE
PLAYING A MORE PROMOTIONAL ROLE.
SO FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND,
WHEN YOU JUST SIMPLY LOOK AT THE
FAX OF ALL THE COUNTRIES IN THE
WORLD AND THOSE WHO HAD THE
EARLIEST TESTING, THE WIDEST
AMOUNT OF TESTING, AND TESTING
IN A WAY TO TRY TO SLOW THE
SPREAD OF THE VIRUS, WOULD YOU
SAY THE UNITED STATES IS NUMBER
ONE IN THAT ENTIRE ALLOTMENT OR
NOT?
NOT? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, WE CLEARLY
WERE NOT ON TOP OF THIS EPIDEMIC
LIKE KOREA WAS, WHICH GEARED UP
TESTING RIGHT AWAY.
AND THIS HAS BEEN WELL REPORTED
THAT THE U.S. HAS HAD A LAG.
SO WE ARE CLEARLY IMPROVING, BUT
WE STILL HAVE THE SITUATION
WHERE I SAID WHERE WE’RE FINDING
OUT ABOUT THIS EPIDEMIC IN YOUR
CITY WHERE PATIENTS START
SHOWING UP IN THE INTENSIVE CARE
UNIT.
UNIT. THAT’S NOT SATISFACTORY.
THAT’S NOT WHEN YOU WANT TO
FIRST FIND OUT.
THIS IS WHAT WE’VE SEEN PLAY OUT
IN NEW ORLEANS AND DETROIT, AND
WE’RE STARTING TO SEE A BIT OF
THAT IN HOUSTON, ESPECIALLY IN
CITIES WITH LARGE UNDERSERVED
POPULATIONS WHERE IT’S HARD TO
DO THAT TESTING IN POOR AREAS.
SO WE’VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT A NEW
GAME PLAN.
GAME PLAN. YOU KNOW, I’VE BEEN TALKING
ABOUT WHAT’S CALLED SYNDROMIC
SURVEILLANCE WHERE WE DO THESE
SENTINEL AREAS WHERE WE FIND
PEOPLE HAVING INCREASED
FREQUENCY OF FEVER AND SHORTNESS
OF BREATH AND USE THAT AS A
BETTER TELLTALE SIGN.
HERE’S WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN.
I THINK WE EVENTUALLY WILL GET
UP TO FULL SPEED AS THIS
EPIDEMIC STARTS TO WANE IN THE
COMING WEEKS, BUT THEN HOPEFULLY
WE’LL HAVE IT IN PLACE IN TIME
FOR IF AND WHEN THIS VIRUS
RETURNS OVER THE NEXT TWO OR
THREE YEARS.