OUR PRAYERS ARE CERTAINLY WITH
HIM AND ALL OTHERS RIGHT NOW WHO
ARE FIGHTING COVID.
>> DESPITE THESE KINDS OF
TESTIMONIALS
TESTIMONIALS, NEW POLLING SHOWS
THE MAJORITY OF UNVAKS NAYCCINAT
AMERICANS ARE UNLIKELY TO BE
MOVED IN THEIR THINKING.
ACCORDING TO A NEW POLL, 81% OF
UNVACCINATED AMERICANS SAID THEY
PROBABLY OR DEFINITELY WOULD NOT
GET THE SHOT, JUST LIKE 19% SAID
THEY WOULD LIKELY GET
VACCINATED.
JOINING US IS DR. PETER HOTEZ
FROM BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE.
HES THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK
"PREVENTING THE NEXT PANDEMIC,
VACCINE DIPLOMACY IN A TIME OF
ANTI-SCIENCE".
ALSO WITH US, U.S. NATIONAL
EDITOR OF THE FINANCIAL TIMES ED
LUCE.
AND WHITE HOUSE EDITOR FOR
POLITICO, SAM STEIN.
START WITH PETER HOTEZ.
LISTEN, IT MIGHT BE -- THERES
NO KIND WAY TO SAY IT, THERE IS
A POLITICAL DIVIDE IN THIS
COUNTRY THATS NOW -- ONE SIDE
OF THIS BEING ISOLATED BY A
DEADLY VIRUS AND WITH NUMBERS
THAT WEVE SEEN, 80% OF PEOPLE
STILL NOT CHANGING THEIR MIND OF
THE VACCINE, YOU KNOW, YOUR
RESEARCH ON HOW TO STOP A
PANDEMIC OR HOW TO STOP THE NEXT
ONE, I WONDER WHAT IT WOULD TAKE
AT THIS POINT TO TRY AND TURN
THIS AROUND.
>> YEAH, MIKA, YOURE EXACTLY
RIGHT.
ITS NO COINCIDENCE WHERE THIS
EPIDEMIC IS RAGING RIGHT NOW,
ITS FIRST AND FOREMOST RAGING
IN THE SOUTH.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATES WITH
THE LOWEST VACCINATION RATES
THOSE ARE THE STATES THAT HAVE
AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF COVID.
YOU MENTIONED FLORIDA BUT
LOUISIANA IS ON FIRE, ALABAMA IS
ON FIRE, MISSOURI, ARKANSAS AND
THESE ARE ALL CONSERVATIVE
STRONG HOLDS.
ITS NOT FUN FOR PEOPLE LIKE
MYSELF TO TALK ABOUT
REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS,
CONSERVATIVES AND LIBERALS, BUT
THAT IS THE REALITY.
THIS IS MONTHS AND MONTHS OF
ANTI-SCIENCE, ANTI-VACCINE
AGGRESSION COMING FROM THE FAR
RIGHT ELEMENTS OF THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY.
YOU SAW IT AT THE CPAC
CONFERENCE WHERE THEY SAID THIS
IS NOTHING MORE THAN AN EFFORT
FOR POWER AND CONTROL.
AND FIRST THEYRE GOING TO FORCE
VACCINES ON US THEN THEYRE
GOING TO TAKE AWAY OUR BIBLES
AND GUNS.
AND ALL OF THAT DISINFORMATION,
MEANING DELIBERATE
MISINFORMATION, CAME OUT OF
CPAC, THE CONSERVATIVE NEWS
OUTLETS.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FACEBOOK
AS THE DISSEMINATOR, I AGREE
WITH JOE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME
WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SOURCES
OF WHOS DRIVING THIS AND WHATS
DRIVING THIS, FIRST AND FOREMOST
RIGHT NOW, ARE CONSERVATIVE
GROUPS.
THEYRE NOW TRYING TO MAKE
AMENDS AFTER SEEING THE MONSTER
THEYVE JUNEUNLEASHED BUT THIS W
NOT A ONE-OFF THING THIS WENT ON
FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS, TARGETING
SCIENTISTS AS WELL.
THEY WENT AFTER TONY FAUCI AND
MYSELF, AND SEVERAL OTHERS.
THIS WAS A DELIBERATE,
COORDINATED, ANTIWAR OF
AGGRESSION AGAINST SCIENCE AND
SCIENTISTS.
>> DOCTOR, ITS SO INTEREST
INTERESTING -- ITS NOT
INTERESTING, ITS TRAGIC.
THESE TIMES WERE LIVING IN IF
HAVE MADE OBVIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH
MOVES POLITICALLY PERILOUS.
YOU HEAR PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT
VACCINE MANDATES AS IF -- AGAIN
WE HAD THE NAZI ANALOGY, EVERY
OTHER CRAZY ANALOGY, THEYRE
GOING TO TAKE AWAY OUR BIBLES.
IM CURIOUS OF THE 300 OR SO
MILLION AMERICANS WHO GOT FIVE
OR SIX VACCINES BEFORE THEY WENT
TO KINDERGARTEN, DID THEIR
PARENTS HAVE TO TRADE IN THEIR
BIBLES BEFORE THEIR VACCINES,
DID THEY HAVE TO TRADE IN BIBLES
WHEN THEY WERE REQUIRED, IF THEY
WANTED TO GET A PUBLIC
EDUCATION, TO GET VACCINE FOR
THE MUMPS FOR POLIO, FOR
DIPHTHERIA, I CAN NAME, FIVE,
SIX, SEVEN.
YOU COULD HAVE CALLED THEM
VACCINE MANDATES, WHATEVER YOU
WANTED TO CALL IT.
IT WAS A REQUIREMENT, SHOW YOUR
PAPERS.
IF YOU DIDNT GET THE VACCINE,
YOU DONT GET AN EDUCATION IN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
EXCEPT IN EXTRAORDINARY
CIRCUMSTANCES.
SO WHY CANT WE TELL PUBLIC
SCHOOLTEACHERS, IF YOU WANT TO
TEACH THIS FALL, YOU HAVE TO GET
A VACCINE?
WHY DONT WE TELL FRONT LINE
WORKERS, HEALTH CARE WORKERS,
JUST A SHOCKING NUMBER, 40 TO
50% OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS,
WORKING WITH SENIOR CITIZENS
RIGHT NOW IN NURSING HOMES,
ARENT VACCINATED.
WHY DONT WE TELL THEM YOU HAVE
TO GET A VACCINATION, THIS IS A
PUBLIC HEALTH EPIDEMIC,
PANDEMIC, OR YOU CANT WORK?
WHY DONT WE TELL OUR PUBLIC
SAFETY OFFICERS, THE SAME THING.
THIS WOULD BE NO MORE RADICAL
THAN WHAT WEVE BEEN DOING FOR
60 YEARS.
WHETHER ITS FACEBOOK, IF YOU
WANT TO BLAME DONALD TRUMP,
WHOEVER, WHOEVER, YOU KNOW, WE
WANT TO BLAME FOR THIS, PEOPLE
ARE ACTING LIKE THIS HAS NEVER
HAPPENED BEFORE.
SOMETHING ABOUT THESE TIMES WHEN
IT COMES TO PUBLIC HEALTH, HAVE
MADE SMART PEOPLE DUMB AND DUMB
PEOPLE INSANE.
SO WHY DONT WE HAVE THOSE
MANDATES?
>> YEAH, I MEAN, THE TRUTH IS,
THERE WAS NEVER ANYTHING
ANTI-VACCINE OR ANTI-SCIENCE
ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
I SAY THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF
SCIENCES WAS LAUNCHED BY
LINCOLN, NASA WAS LAUNCHED BY
EISENHOWER.
AND I KNOW WHERE IT BECAME
BECAUSE IT BECAME HERE IN TEXAS
WHERE I AM IN AROUND 2015, THIS
WAS A NEW HEALTH FREEDOM,
MEDICAL FREEDOM MOVEMENT.
SOMEHOW THE ANTI-VACCINE
MOVEMENT IN ORDER TO REENERGIZE.
BECAUSE A LOT OF US DEFEATED THE
FAKE LINKS BETWEEN VACCINES AND
AUTISM
AUTISM.
THEY NEEDED A NEW ANGLE AND GOT
THEMSELVES ADOPTED BY THE
REPUBLICAN TEA PARTY,
PARTICULARLY DOWN HERE IN TEXAS
AND IT JUST REALLY ACCELERATED
AFTER COVID, THEY STARTED
BECOMING DEFIANT OF MASKS AND
SOCIAL DISTANCING AND NOW ITS
EXTENDED TO VACCINES.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT I SAY IS,
LOOK, IM NOT POLITICIZING, THE
BAD GUYS ARE POLITICIZING IT.
MY JOB, AS A SCIENTIST, IS TO
CALL IT OUT AND SAY, LOOK, THIS
ANTI-SCIENCE AGGRESSION BENEFITS
NOBODY ITS SELF-DEFEATING FOR
THE COUNTRY AND THE DEEP RED
STATES NOW WHERE COVID IS
ACCELERATING AND TRYING TO
UNDERSTAND HOW WE DELINK IT HAS
TO BE A TOP PRIORITY.
AND IM REALLY WORRIED BECAUSE
AS BAD AS THINGS ARE RIGHT NOW,
ITS ABOUT TO GET WORSE.
ITS GOING TO GET WORSE BECAUSE
SCHOOLS ARE STARTING DOWN HERE
IN THE SOUTH IN A FEW WEEKS.
WE START EARLY HERE IN AUGUST.
AND WEVE GOT 17, 16, 15% OF THE
ADOLESCENTS VAKS NATED IN THE
SOUTHERN STATES, 30 TO 40% OF
THE YOUNG ADULTS.
WE HAVE THE DELTA VARIANT
ACCELERATING, THE MAJORITY OF