THE BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH.
GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
HOW WORRIED SHOULD WE BE ABOUT
THIS?
IN VACCINATED CIRCLES PEOPLE
GETTING THIS DELTA VARIANT OR
SOME VERSION OF KOECHBS? >> I THINK THIS IS TO BE
>> I THINK THIS IS TO BE
EXPECTED FOR A COUPLE REASONS.
WE ARE SEEING MASSIVE CASES IN
UNVACCINATED INDIVIDUALS.
THERE IS A LOT OF VIRUS FLOATING
AROUND.
WE ARE GOING TO SEE A FEW
BREAKTHROUGHS.
THIS IS NOT TOTALLY SURPRISING.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THE PEOPLE WITH
THESE BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS
HAVE HAD MILD DISEASE.
THAT SAYS THE VACCINES ARE
WORKING.
WE NEVER THOUGHT THEY WERE A
HUNDRED PERCENT AND THE BEST
THING IS TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF
INFECTION IN THE COMMUNITY WHICH
IS GET MORE PEOPLE VACCINATED.
>> I NEVER REALLY GOT MY HEAD
AROUND THE TERM VIRAL LOAD WHEN
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW
INFECTIOUS SOMETHING IS COMPARED
TO THE FLU A YEAR AGO.
IS THE VIRAL LOAD SUCH THAT
PEOPLE WHO ARE VACCINATED CAN BE
SPREADING THIS TO OTHER PEOPLE?
>> THEY CAN BUT FAR LESS LIKELY.
THAT IS THE KEY THING.
THERE ARE A COUPLE DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN UNVACCINATED AND
VACCINATED PEOPLE.
UNVACCINATED PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY
SPREAD QUITE EFFICIENTLY, SPREAD
WHEN THEY DONT HAVE SYMPTOMS.
VACCINATED PEOPLE TEND TO HAVE
MUCH LOWER VIRAL LOADS.
THEY ARE MUCH LESS LIKELY TO
SPREAD SIMTLY AND EVEN WHEN THEY
HAVE REALLY BAD SYMPTOMS THEY
CAN SPREAD IT BUT NOT THAT
COMMON.
>> THE EFFICACY, WEVE SEEN
CERTAIN STUDIES THAT SHOW THE
MAIN VACCINES HAVE SOME DEGREE
OF EFFICACY AGAINST THE DELTA
VARIANT DOESNT MEAN YOU ARE NOT
GOING TO GET IT, IT MEANS YOU
CAN GET IT GENERALLY SPEAKING,
IF YOU ARE VACCINATED AND YOU
GET THIS DELTA VARIANT, WILL YOU
EXPERIENCE LESSER SYMPTOMS?
>> YEAH, EXACTLY.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS GOING ON.
FIRST, YOU ARE MUCH LESS LIKELY
TO GET IT.
LETS BE VERY CLEAR.
IF YOU ARE VACCINATED YOU ARE
LESS LIKELY TO GET ANY KIND OF
INFECTION.
BUT IF YOURE UNLUCKY ENOUGH TO
GET INFECTED YOULL HAVE MUCH
MILDER DISEASE.
I DONT WANT TO BE INFECTED.
NOBODY DOES WITH ANY VARIANT.
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT MOST IS
AVOIDING HOSPITALIZATIONS AND
DEATHS.
AND THE VACCINES SEEM TO BE JUST
REALLY TERRIFIC AT DOING THAT.
>> I WANT TO PLAY SOMETHING DR.
FAUCI SAID AT A SENATE HEARING
TODAY ABOUT THE DURATION OF
EFFICACY OF THE VACCINES.
LETS LISTEN TOGETHER.
>> THERE ARE ALSO AREAS OF
IMMUNITY THAT ARE MORE DIFFICULT
TO MEASURE LIKE T-CELL
RESPONSES.
THE ONE THAT SEEMS TO BE VERY
WELL CORRELATED IS THE ANTIBODY
LEVEL.
WE KNOW FROM STUDIES FROM THE
CLINICAL TRIALS AS WELL AS FROM
ANIMAL STUDIES THAT THERE IS A
BASELINE LEVEL BELOW WHICH YOU
GO, YOU ARE AT MUCH MORE
VULNERABLE TO GETTING A
BREAKTHROUGH INFECTION.
>> THE QUESTION THAT HE WAS
BEING ASKED WAS ABOUT THE
DURATION OF THE EFFICACY OF
VACCINES.
AS WE GET FURTHER AWAY FROM THE
FIRST PEOPLE WHO GOT VACCINATED,
WHEN THESE VACCINES CAME OUT,
DOES THIS BECOME MORE OF A
DANGER?
HOW DOES THAT WORK INTO THIS
CONCEPT OF BOOSTER SHOTS?
>> IT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
THERE IS A LOT WE STILL DONT
KNOW.
HERE IS HOW I THINK ABOUT IT.
THERE ARE TWO ARMS OF THE
IMMUNITY, THE ANTIBODIES DR.
FAUCI WAS TALKING ABOUT, YOUR
KIND OF ACTIVE FORCES.
THEN YOU HAVE YOUR RESERVES THE
T-CELLS.
WHAT WERE SEEING IS SOME EARLY
DATA THAT YOU GET A LITTLE BIT
OF WANING OF YOUR ACTIVE FORCES
THE ANTIBODY LEVELS AND SO WERE
GOING TO SEE MORE BREAKTHROUGH
CASES.
WERE NOT SEEING ANY WANING OF
THE T-CELLS THE RESERVES.
EVEN IF YOU GET A BREAKTHROUGH
THE T-CELLS KICK IN AND PREVENT
SEVERE DISEASE.
WE HAVE VERY GOOD DATA RIGHT NOW
THAT SAYS YOULL HAVE REALLY
LONG-TERM PROTECTION AGAINST
SEVERE ILLNESS BUT THE
BREAKTHROUGH ILLNESSES ARE A
PROBLEM AND WE DONT KNOW WHEN
THEYLL START BECOMING MORE
COMMON.
WE MAY NEED A BOOSTER ESPECIALLY
MORE VULNERABLE, HIGH RISK,
IMAGINE OLDER PEOPLE, PEOPLE IN
NURSING HOMES.
I THINK THEY MAY NEED A BOOSTER
SHOT SOMETIME SOONER RATHER THAN
LATER.
>> CAN THIS COME TO AN END IF WE
HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO
DONT WANT TO GET VACCINATED?
>> BOY, IT IS GOING TO BE A LOT
HARDER NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT
THIS DELTA VARIANT BUT FUTURE
VARIANTS.
TO ME, WHAT IS STRIKING ABOUT
PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT YET GOTTEN
VACCINATED IS DONT WE ALL WANT
TO PUT THIS BEHIND US?
ARENT WE READY TO MOVE ON FROM
COVID?
I AM.
THE ONLY WAY THAT IS GOING TO
HAPPEN IS IF 90%, 85%, 90% OF
PEOPLE HAVE IMMUNITY.