>>> AND THE OTHER THING THAT’S A
PROBLEM, STILL NOT COMPLETELY
FIXED, BUT FIXED IN MANY AREAS
OF THE COUNTRY BUT NOT ALL, IS
THE DELAY BETWEEN THE TIME YOU
DO THE TEST AND YOU GET THE
RESULT BACK.
IF IT’S FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS, IT
ALMOST OBVIATES THE PURPOSE OF
CONTACT TRACING, BECAUSE THAT
MEANS SOMEONE WAS OUT THERE FOR
FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS POTENTIALLY
SPREADING THE INFECTION.
>> THAT’S DR. ANTHONY FAUCI
DURING A MEDICAL TOWN HALL
YESTERDAY.
AND WITH US NOW, FORMER FDA
COMMISSIONER DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB.
DOCTOR, WOULD YOU CARE TO
RESPOND TO THAT?
I HEAR THAT COMPLAINT FROM SO
MANY PEOPLE, TELLING ME I TOOK A
TEST, I DIDN’T GET IT BACK FROM
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR TEN
DAYS.
WHAT GOOD DOES THAT DO ME?
>> WELL, TONY’S EXACTLY RIGHT.
WHEN THIS BECOMES EPIDEMIC IN
SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, THE
LAB-BASED TESTING SYSTEM BECOMES
OVERWHELMED.
SO, COMPANIES LIKE LABCORP AND
QUEST SIMPLY BECOME OVERWHELMED
WITH THE NUMBER OF TESTS THAT
GET SENT IN AND THEY’RE REALLY
THE SWING CAPACITY IN THIS
COUNTRY.
THEY’RE THE BIG PLATFORMS THAT
HAVE THE ABILITY TO SWING
CAPACITY INTO PARTS OF THE
COUNTRY WHERE THE VIRUS IS
BECOMING EPIDEMIC.
BUT PART OF THE CHALLENGE ALSO
IS THAT WE’RE FAR TOO DEPENDENT
ON LABS TO DO TESTING.
IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER COUNTRIES,
THEY HAVE MORE POINT-OF-CARE
TESTS AND THEY HAVE MORE WHAT WE
CALL LATERAL FLOW TESTS, THINGS
LIKE PIECES OF PAPER THAT CAN
GIVE YOU A READOUT ON WHETHER
YOU HAVE COVID AT THE POINT OF
CARE, EVEN FOR HOME USE,
ALTHOUGH I THINK WE’RE A LONG
WAY FROM CLEARING TESTS FOR HOME
USE.
SOMETHING LIKE A PREGNANCY TEST,
WHERE IT’S A SHEET OF PAPER, YOU
YOU TAKE A SWAB FROM A PATIENT,
PUT IT ON THE TEST, YOU DROP
SOME FLUID ON IT, WAIT TEN
MINUTES AND YOU GET A RESULT.
A LOT OF COUNTRIES HAVE THOSE
TECHNOLOGIES.
I THINK YOU’RE GOING TO TART TO
SEE THEM COME INTO THE MARKET
QUICKLY HERE IN THE U.S. AND I
THINK THAT’S GOING TO OPEN UP
NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR TESTING,
TESTING NOT JUST TO DIAGNOSE
ACTIVE INFECTION OF PEOPLE THAT
HAVE SYMPTOMS, BUT USE IT
AGGRESSIVELY AS A SURVEILLANCE
TOOL IN LARGE POPULATIONS TO TRY
TO DETECT OUTBREAKS BEFORE THEY
BECOME LARGE.
>> SO, DOCTOR, HERE’S SOME
NUMBERS FROM YESTERDAY.
COVID-19 DEATHS FROM YESTERDAY.
SPAIN 24, FRANCE 17, JAPAN 16,
CANADA 13, THE UK 12, GERMANY 9,
THE UNITED STATES 1,358.
POPULATION OF THE COUNTRY’S
ABOVE 426 MILLION.
POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
328 MILLION.
SO, WE FAILED, OBVIOUSLY, AS A
COUNTRY OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS
ON SEVERAL LEVELS TO KEEP THOSE
NUMBERS DOWN.
WHAT DO WE DO OVER THE NEXT SIX
MONTHS TO AVOID A REPEAT OF
THIS, ESPECIALLY AS WE GO
THROUGH THE PERIOD THAT YOU SAY
COULD BE THE MOST DANGEROUS,
THAT PERIOD WHERE A FLU EPIDEMIC
COLLIDES WITH THE COVID
PANDEMIC?
>> YEAH, I THINK IT’S GOING TO
BE A VERY DIFFICULT FALL AND
WINTER.
NOW, THERE IS SOME INDICATION
THAT FLU MAY NOT BE AS SEVERE
THIS WINTER.
YOU’RE NOT SEEING A LOT OF FLU
IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AT
ALL.
AND SO, SOME OF THE STEPS WE’RE
TAKING TO TRY TO PREVENT COVID
SPREAD IS HAVING EVEN MORE OF AN
IMPACT ON FLU SPREAD, SO THAT’S
SOME OF THE GOOD NEWS.
BUT THE REALITY IS, AS WE GET
INTO THE FALL AND THE WINTER
SEASON, PEOPLE MOVE INSIDE,
CLASSES DO RESTART, OTHER
RESPIRATORY PATHOGENS CIRCULATE
THAT ARE GOING TO CONFOUND A
DIAGNOSIS OF COVID.
IT’S GOING TO BECOME HARDER TO
PREVENT OUTBREAKS.
AND SO, I THINK WHAT YOU’RE
LIKELY TO SEE IS SORT OF
MIGRATORY OUTBREAKS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
WE’VE KIND OF SOLVED THE
EPIDEMIC IN THE NORTHEAST.
THE SUN BELT LOOKS LIKE IT’S
RESOLVING.
NOW YOU SEE SPREAD MOVING INTO
PARTS OF THE MIDWEST AND THE
WEST.
AND IF THIS INFECTION DOES MOVE
INTO MORE RURAL PARTS OF THE
COUNTRY AND BECOMES PERVASIVE
THERE, THAT COULD BE EVEN MORE
DIFFICULT THAN WHEN IT MOVED
INTO DENSE CITIES, WHERE YOU
WERE ABLE DENSE CITIES WHERE
YOU WERE ABLE TO TARGET
RESOURCES INTO THOSE CITIES.
IF IT’S OVER A VERY
GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSE, DIVERSE
REGION, THAT MAY BE MORE
DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.
THAT SEEMS TO BE WHAT’S TAKING
SHAPE IN THE MIDWEST AND WEST.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE’RE GOING TO
HAVE MORE INFECTION BEFORE WE
GET THROUGH THIS.
IF YOU LOOK AT JUST THE RATE OF
INFECTION WE’RE ON RIGHT NOW, IF
IT DOESN’T GET A LOT WORSE BUT
DOESN’T GET A LOT BETTER BY THE
END OF THE YEAR, WE’LL HAVE 30%
OF THE POPULATION PROBABLY
INFECTED WITH THIS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE’S GOING TO
BE A LOT OF DEATH AND DISEASE
ALONG THE WAY.
WE’RE NOT OUT OF THIS BY A
LONGSHOT.
>> DR. GOTTLIEB, I WANT TO ASK
YOU ABOUT COLLEGES, NOTRE DAME
ANNOUNCING YESTERDAY IT WAS
GOING BACK TO ONLINE CLASSES
AFTER EIGHT DAYS IN THEIR FIRST
ATTEMPT TO SEND EVERYBODY BACK
INTO SCHOOL.
NORTH CAROLINA, UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH CAROLINA IN CHAPEL HILL, A
SIMILAR STORY.
MICHIGAN STATE ANNOUNCED
YESTERDAY IT WILL HAVE ONLINE
CLASSES.
WAS THIS INEVITABLE IN SOME WAY
WHEN YOU’RE ASKING 18 AND
20-YEAR-OLDS TO GO TO COLLEGE
AND NOT GET TOGETHER, NOT
SOCIALIZE, NOT TO HAVE PARTIES
AND MIX IN THE DORMS?
IS THIS JUST TOO MUCH TO ASK OF
COLLEGES TO DO THIS IN A SAFE
WAY?
>> I’M NOT SURE IT IS.
I MEAN, IT’S VERY DIFFICULT WHEN
YOU HAVE THIS MUCH INFECTION
AROUND THE COUNTRY AND BRINGING
TOGETHER COLLEGE STUDENTS LIVING
IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AND SPREAD.
WHEN YOU TALK TO UNIVERSITY
PRESIDENTS, THEY WERE PUTTING
TOGETHER AGGRESSIVE MEASURES,
ROUTINE TESTING.
SOME COLLEGES WERE GOING TO TEST
THE ENTIRE POPULATION AS THEY
RETURNED AND TEST THEM THREE
TIMES A WEEK AND USE TESTING AS
A TOOL TO DETECT OUTBREAKS.
KEEP THE STUDENTS SOMEWHAT
SEPARATED, TRY TO PROTECT THE
FACULTY.
THEY WERE DOING ALL THE THINGS
THEY SHOULD BE DOING.
WHERE IT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN
BROKEN DOWN IS THE SOCIAL
ACTIVITIES OFF CAMPUS.
I THINK THEY NEED A ZERO
TOLERANCE, IF YOU WANT TO COME
BACK TO THE SEMESTER, YOU NEED
TO GIVE UP LARGE PARTIES FOR THE
SEMESTER.
IT SEEMS TO MIRROR THE MASK
DEBATE.
PEOPLE WANT THE ECONOMY TO
RESTART BUT PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO
TAKE SIMPLE INTERVENTIONS LIKE
WEARING A MASK.
SAME WITH COLLEGES.
YOU CAN PROBABLY COME BACK
SAFELY ON CAMPUS IF YOU
IMPLEMENT ALL THOSE MEASURES,
YOU PROTECT THE FACULTY WHO ARE
MORE VULNERABLE AND THE STAFF
BUT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO HAVE
SOCIAL GATHERINGS LIKE LAST YEAR
FIRST SEMESTER.
HAVE YOU TO GIVE IT UP.
STUDENTS WERE UNWILLING TO DO
THAT IN SOME PARTS.
>> DR. GOTTLIEB, I WANT TO HEAR
MORE ABOUT YOUR PIECE IN "THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL" ENTITLED
"LIFTING LOCKDOWNS WON’T FULLY
RESTORE THE ECONOMY," AND I’LL
TAG ONTO THAT, WHAT ABOUT QUICK
TESTS, WHY DON’T WE HAVE THEM?
DO OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE THEM?
I KNOW THE WHITE HOUSE HAS THEM.
WOULDN’T QUICK TESTS, LIKE VERY
UNIVERSALLY USED, WIDELY USED,
HELP RESTORE THE ECONOMY?
>> I THINK IT WOULD.
I THINK WE NEED TO THINK OF
SCREENING AS SOMETHING --
TESTING AS SOMETHING WE CAN DO
TO DO ROUTINE SURVEILLANCE IN A
POPULATION TO DETECT OUTBREAKS
AND DO THE CASE-BASED
INTERVENTIONS.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE TRACKING AND
TRACING.
WE NEED A VERY INEXPENSIVE TEST
THAT CAN BE EASILY DEPLOYED IN
SOMETHING LIKE A SCHOOL, IN A
NURSE’S STATION WHERE YOU CAN
TEST THE POPULATION ON A REGULAR
BASIS.
I THINK WE’RE GOING TO HAVE THAT
TECHNOLOGY.
IT’S THE LATERAL FLOW TECHNOLOGY
I TALKED ABOUT, THE PIECES OF
PAPER THAT LOOK LIKE A PREGNANCY
TEST WHERE YOU PUT THE SAMPLE ON
THE PAPER.
THE QUICK TEST WE RELY ARE ON
ANTIGEN TESTING LIKE ABBOTT WHAT
THE WHITE HOUSE HAS.
IT STILL REQUIRES A MACHINE AND
STILL COMPLEX TO USE.
WE NEED ARE THOSE VERY SIMPLE
POINT OF CARE TESTS THAT REALLY
ANYONE CAN BE TRAINED TO USE.
THEY’RE SO CHEAP LITERALLY, $2,
$3, $4 A TEST.
IF WE GET THAT TECHNOLOGY, I
THINK WE’LL HAVE THAT THIS
MONTH, I THINK YOU’LL START TO
SEE THESE KIND OF PRODUCTS COME
ON THE MARKET.
THEY’VE BEEN WORKED ON FOR
MONTHS AND UNDER REVIEW AT THE