>> THANKS TO YOU, TO SHAQ AND
MORGAN CHESKY.
STARTING US OFF ON A VERY
COMPLICATED DAY ON THE MEDICAL
FRONT.
LETS BRING IN THE U.S. SURGEON
GENERAL DR. VIVEK MURTHY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I AM HOPING TO SIMPLIFY THIS,
DEFENSE ABOUT REVERSALS OF
POLICIES.
DR. FAUCI SAID TODAY THIS IS
JUST A CHANGE IN WHAT WE HAVE
LEARNED ABOUT THE VIRUS, BUT THE
CDC NOW HAS THIS NEW MAP OF
HOTSPOTS AND SOME OF THESE
HOTSPOTS ARE AREAS WITH HIGH
VACCINATION RATES.
WHAT LEVEL OF CONCERN SHOULD
VACCINATED PEOPLE HAVE RIGHT
NOW?
ITS HARD TO FIGURE OUT WERE
SEEING A SEA OF RED AND ORANGE,
AND IT IS ALL VERY CONCERNING.
>> ANDREA, I CAN CERTAINLY
UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE MAY BE
CONCERNED ON A DAY LIKE THIS.
WE HEARD ABOUT NEW GUIDANCE AND
YOU LOOK AT A NEW MAP, BUT LET
ME TELL YOU ABOUT A COUPLE OF
THINGS THAT HAS NOT CHANGED AND
THE VACCINES THAT WE HAVE ARE
STILL EXTRAORDINARILY EFFECTIVE
AT SAVING LIVES AND PREVENTING
SEVERE ILLNESS.
THAT IS GOOD NEWS AND IT
REPRESENTS PROGRESS THAT WEVE
MADE IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS AND
WERE NOT LOSING THAT PROGRESS.
WHAT HAS CHANGED, THOUGH, ANDREA
AND WHAT WE LEARNED IN RECENT
DAYS ABOUT THE DELTA VARIANT.
WE KNOW THE VARIANT IS HIGHLY
TRANSMISSIBLE AND THE MOST
TRANSMISSIBLE WEVE SEEN TO DATE
AND THEY MORE THAN QUADRUPLED IN
RECENT DAYS.
PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCED
BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS WITH
DELTA ARE ACTUAL LIELY MORE ABLE
TRANSMIT THE INFECTION TO OTHERS
AS WELL AS THOSE WHO HAD OTHER
VERSIONS OF COVID-19 LIKE THE
DELTA VARIANT.
THAT WAS THAT LAST ONE IN
PARTICULAR THAT WAS A LYNCHPIN
IN THE RECOMMENDATION THE CDC
MADE YESTERDAY.
I KNOW WE DONT WANT TO GO BACK
TO WEARING MASKS AGAIN, BUT
THESE MASKS ARE A LAYER OF
PROTECTION THAT WILL HELP US
PREVENT SPREAD WHERE WE ARE
SEEING CASES RISE.
>> IT IS TRANSMISSIBLE FROM A
VACCINATED PERSON IN A
BREAKTHROUGH CASE TO A SIMILARLY
VACCINATED PERSON WHO MAY BE
MORE CHALLENGED, ELDERLY, HAVE A
PROBLEM WITH IMMUNITY?
>> SO THE PEOPLE THAT WERE MOST
CONCERNED ABOUT ARE THE
UNVACCINATED.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE A LOT
OF INTERACTION WITH FOLKS WHO
ARE UNVACCINATED.
SAY YOURE A PARENT LIKE ME WHO
HAS YOUNG CHILDREN AT HOME WHO
ARE UNVACCINATED, THATS A
CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE WERE BEING
EXTRA CAUTIOUS AND WEARING THAT
MASK EVEN IF YOURE FULLY
VACCINATED, WEARING IT OUTSIDE
WHEN YOURE IN INDOOR PUBLIC
LOCATIONS THATS AN EXTRA STEP
TO PROTECT THOSE AT HOME.
IF YOU ARE VACCINATED THE THE
LIKELIHOOD OF HAVING A
BREAKTHROUGH INFEKDZ IS STILL
LOW BECAUSE THEYRE WOKKING TO
HELP PROTECT SERIOUS INFECTION,
BUT IN THE EVENT IT DOES HAPPEN,
I, AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU GO THAT
EXTRA MILE AND WEAR THOSE MASKS
SO THAT YOU DONT CONTRIBUTE.
?
IN TERMS OF PEOPLES
VULNERABILITY.
SHOULD PARENTS NOW BEGIN WEARING
MASKS WITH THEIR UNVACCINATED
CHILDREN?
THEIR YOUNGER CHILDREN AT HOME?
>> WELL, IF YOU FOLLOW THE CDC
RECOMMENDATIONS.
WHAT THEY ARE ADVISING
ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE LIKE
PARENTS WHO ARE UNVACCINATED AT
HOME IS TO BE VIGILANT ABOUT
WEARING MASKS IN INDOOR SETTINGS
SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO WEAR
MASKS IN THE HOUSE WITH YOUR
CHILDREN.
ILL TELL YOU AS A PARENT ITS
SOMETHING I DO, AND IM SPENDING
A LOT OF TIME IN AN AREA WITH A
HIGH DEGREE OF TRANSMISSION.
WHEN I GO OUTSIDE TO THE GROCERY
STORE OR TO OTHER INDOOR PLACES
OUTSIDE MY HOUSE I WEAR A MASK,
AND SO WHEN I COME HOME WITH MY
CHILDREN I DONT HAVE TO WEAR
MASKS BECAUSE I AM MORE
CONFIDENT THAT IM NOT EXPOSED
AND MY CHILDREN ARE AT A LOWER
RISK.
THATS THE APPROACH I TAKE.
AS FAR AS OTHER SCHOOLS ARE
CONCERNED AND AS A PARENT WITH
TWO KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL IN THE
FALL, THE LEVEL OF CAUTION THAT
THE CDC ARE IMPORTANT FOR THEIR
SCHOOLS, MACKING SURE THEYRE
MASKED REGARDLESS OF THE STATUS,
AND KEEPING KIDS AND TESTING AS
A WAY TO SCREEN OUT AND THESE
MATTER AND ITS A KEY PART TO
KEEP THEM IN SCHOOL.
>> TODAY, PFIZER RELEASED NEW
DATA SAYING A BOOSTER SHOT WOULD
BE EXPONENTIALLY BETTER AT
NEUTRALIZING THE DELTA VARIANT.
HOW SOON DO YOU THINK FULLY
VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS SHOULD
THINK ABOUT BOOSTERS?
HOW SOON WOULD YOU TAKE MORE
SERIOUSLY THE POSSIBILITY OF
USING THE BOOSTER AS A WAY OF PROVIDING EXTRA PROTECTION
PROVIDING EXTRA PROTECTION
AGAINST THIS DELTA VARIANT?
>> ANDRY A THEEA, THE TOPIC OF B
IS A VERY IMPORTANT ONE THAT
WEVE SPOKEN ABOUT IN RECENT
MONTHS.
WHAT WILL DETERMINE IF A BOOSTER
IS NEEDED IS DATA FROM A VARIETY
OF SOURCES.
IT IS ONE SOURCE, BUT NOT THE
ONLY SOURCE.
WE ARE ALSO FOLLOWING COHORTS OR
GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS IN VARIOUS
SETTINGS, NURSING HOMES, MEDICAL
PROFESSIONALS AND OTHERS TO SEE
IF THERE IS A DECLINE IN THE
COMMUNITY AND AN INCREASE IN
BREAKTHROUGH RATES AND IF THERE
IS, AS SOON AS WE SEE THAT WE
WILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON
BOOSTERS AND THE NEWS IS THAT WE
WILL HAVE THE SUPPLY AVAILABLE
TO PROVIDE TO THE PUBLIC.
BASED ON THE COLLECTIVE DATA AND
THE RECOMMENDATION IS NOT TO
CREATE TO HAVE BOOSTERS
IMPLEMENTED SO FAR, BUT IF THAT
CHANGES AND WHEN THAT CHANGES WE
WILL ABSOLUTELY LET THE PUBLIC
KNOW.
>> AND HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK
THAT ALL OF THIS, THE NEW
RECOMMENDATIONS GOING BACK TO
MORE MASK USE, HOW MUCH DO YOU
THINK THIS WILL HURT THE
VACCINATION EFFORT?
BECAUSE ONE OF THE GREAT APPEALS
THAT THE WHITE HOUSE WAS PUTTING
FORTH TWO MONTHS AGO, YOURE
FREE.
IF YOU GET VACCINATED YOU DONT
HAVE TO WEAR MASKS AND YOU DONT
HAVE TO WORRY AS MUCH.
>> ANDREA, I DO THINK THAT IS A
VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION, WHAT WE
HAVE LEARNED AND HAS NOT CHANGE
SIDE THAT THE VACCINES ARE STILL
THE LYNCHPIN OF THE EFFORT TO
SAVE US FROM THE PANDEMIC.
THEY SAVE LIVES.
THEY REDUCE SEVERE DISEASE AND
THEY REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT
YOU WILL GET SICK AND TRANSMIT
THE VIRUS TO OTHERS.
THOSE ARE ALL THE SAME REASONS
THAT WERE TRUE YESTERDAY AND
TRUE TODAY AS TO WHY PEOPLE
SHOULD GET VACCINATED AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE.
I RECOGNIZE THE MASK IS AN
INCONVENIENCE AND WE ALL WANT TO
GET RID OF, IT DOESNT ERASE
THE -- AND IT WILL REDUCE THE
DELTA WHICH IS AN
EXTRAORDINARILY CONTAGIOUS
VERSION.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE ARE SAFER
TODAY, AND THATS WHY WE STILL
NEED PEOPLE TO GET VACCINATED
AND MORE THAN HALF A MILLION
PEOPLE ARE MAKING THAT CHOICE
EVERY DAY AND WE NEED SOMEONE
WHO IS VACCINATED TO TALK TO
THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND
URGE THEM TO GET THE VACCINES,
AS WELL.
>> DO YOU SEE ANY CHANGE IN THE
TREND LINES AS IT BEGINS TO TURN
BACK UP IN TERMS OF VACCINATION
RATES?
>> IM GLAD YOU ASKED.
THE SILVER LINING IS IN THE
AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN HARDEST HIT
BY DELTA, WE ARE SEEING A PIECE
OF THAT NATION INCREASE.
THEY ARE OUTPACING THE NATIONAL
AVERAGE AND THATS IN PART
BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE ARE
RECOGNIZING WHATS HAPPENING IN
DELTA, AND ITS MORE
TRANSMISSIBLE AND HITTING MORE
PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITIES SO WE
HAVE TO GET VACCINATED.
YOU HAVE TO PRESS FORWARD AND
MAKE SURE THE RATES CONTINUE TO
GO UP.