CRITICAL.
ALEX CRAWFORD SKY NEWS IN
HOUSTON, TEXAS.
>> HERE WITH ME NOW IS SOMEONE
WHO’S BEEN STUDYING CORONAVIRUS
AND THE PATH IT’S TAKEN IN THE
UNITED STATES SINCE THE
BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
MARK LIPSICH, HE’S A PROFESSOR
OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AT HARVARD’S SKL
OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS
HEAR FROM MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU
ON AN ONGOING BASIS TO GIVE US
AN EVALUATION OF WHY WE ARE
WHERE WE ARE ON JULY 3rd.
WE ARE SEEING THINGS IN HOUSTON,
IN TEXAS, IN ARIZONA, AND TO
SOME DEGREE IN FLORIDA AND
CALIFORNIA THAT REFLECTS WHAT WE
WENT THROUGH TWO AND A HALF TO
THREE MONTHS AGO IN THE
NORTHEAST.
WHY ARE WE -- WHY ARE WE HERE
RIGHT NOW?
>> I THINK -- THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME.
I THINK WE’RE HERE BECAUSE MANY
PARTS OF THE COUNTRY HAVE
DECIDED THAT THEY’RE TIRED OF
RESTRICTIONS AND THAT THEY’RE
REOPENING, AND THEY’RE DOING
THAT IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS
UNDERSTANDABLE FATIGUE.
WE ALL HATE THESE RESTRICTIONS.
NOBODY ENJOYS THEM, BUT THAT DO
NOT REFLECT THE DATA AND DO NOT
REFLECT A SITUATION BEING UNDER
CONTROL.
IN FACT, SOME OF THE DATES THAT
HAVE BEEN FASTEST TO REOPEN ARE
THE ONES WHERE IT NEVER REALLY
WAS STILL GROWING WHEN THE
REOPENING BEGAN.
IF YOU CONTRAST THAT WITH ALMOST
EVERY COUNTRY IN EUROPE AND
ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY IN EAST
ASIA AND, IN FACT, A FEW OF THE
STATES, WE HAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR IN SOME OF
THE NORTHEASTERN STATES HERE,
THESE ARE STATES AND COUNTRIES
THAT HAVE BROUGHT THE CASE
NUMBERS DOWN TO A MUCH MORE
MANAGEABLE LEVEL BEFORE
REOPENING, AND IT’S PRETTY MUCH
AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
>> LET ME ASK YOU, MARC, NOT
ONLY IS IT FRUSTRATING AND
PEOPLE ARE GETTING TIRED OF
BEING AT HOME, BUT IT’S
ECONOMICALLY VERY, VERY
DIFFICULT, SO IT’S TIMES LIKE
THIS WHEN PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO
DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS
HAVE TO RELY ON THE EXPERTISE
THAT WE KNOW EXIST IN PEOPLE
LIKE YOU, EPIDEMIOLOGISTS,
VIROLOGISTS PUBLIC HEALTH
EXPERTS BUT THE TRANSLATION
BETWEEN PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND
PEOPLE LIKE ME FOR THESE KINDS
OF RULES IS GOVERNMENT, AND IN
THESE EUROPEAN NATIONS YOU TALK
ABOUT AND THESE ASIAN NATIONS
YOU TALK ABOUT, AND EVEN IN THE
STATES THAT HAVE DONE THIS WELL
IN THE UNITED STATES, PEOPLE
TRUSTED THEIR GOVERNMENTS TO
GIVE THEM DIRECTION AND
GENERALLY SPEAKING THEY FOLLOWED
THAT.
WHAT WE HAVE IN THE UNITED
STATES IS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
THAT HASN’T BEEN ON BOARD WITH
THE IDEA THAT WE’LL GIVE YOU THE
DIRECTION YOU NEED TO MAKE THE
DIFFICULT DECISIONS.
>> THAT’S RIGHT.
I MEAN, THERE’S BEEN AN
INCREDIBLE VACUUM OF LEADERSHIP
FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THAT’S BEEN ARE TRUE SINCE
JANUARY WHEN THIS BECAME AN
ISSUE, AND FOR TWO MONTHS IT WAS
DENIAL THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM
AND IT WAS GOING TO GO AWAY IN
THE SPRING LIKE A MIRACLE.
THEN THAT FELL BY THE WAYSIDE,
AND NEW YORK AND SOME OTHER
PLACES BEGAN TO VISIBLY SUFFER,
AND WE HAD SOME NATIONAL
EFFORTS, BUT AGAIN, MOSTLY LED
BY STATE GOVERNORS TO SLOW
THINGS DOWN, AND IT’S VERY CLEAR
THAT THE COUNTRIES IN EUROPE AND
IN ASIA THAT HAVE HAD SUCCESS,
THAT HAVE KEPT CASES TO A TINY
FRACTION AND DEATHS TO A TINY
FRACTION PER CAPITA OF WHAT
WE’VE HAD HAVE DONE SO BECAUSE
THEY HAD RESOLVE.
THEY HAD VERY QUICK ACTION, NOT
ALL OF THEM AS QUICK AS THEY
SHOULD HAVE BEEN, BUT QUICK
ACTION, AND THEN THEY HELD IT IN
PLACE.
THEY HELD THE RESTRICTIONS IN
PLACE NOT UNTIL PEOPLE GOT SICK
OF IT BUT UNTIL THE ILLNESS
RECEDED, AND THAT’S A VERY
DIFFERENT BEHAVIOR, AND IT’S ALL
ABOUT LEADERSHIP.
>> EARLIER TODAY, I SPOKE WITH
PETER NAVARRO WHO’S ADVISING THE
PRESIDENT, AND HE STARTED
TALKING ABOUT HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE, AND HE SAID
THERE’S A NEW STUDY OUT THAT
INDICATES IT LESSENS SYMPTOMS IN
PEOPLE THAT HAVE THIS.
HE SAID WE REALLY NEED TO START
THINKING ABOUT USING
THERAPEUTICS, AND OF COURSE
ULTIMATELY WAITING FOR A
VACCINE.
THAT SEEMS TO BE SOME MESSAGING
THAT’S COMING FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE NOW, WE NEED TO LIVE WITH
THIS.
IS THAT WHAT EXPERTS LIKE YOU
WOULD RECOMMEND, OR ARE THE
BASICS LIKE MASKING AND SOCIAL
DISTANCING EVEN IF WE GO BACK TO
WORK THE WAY TO PREVENT THE
SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS?
>> AS WE JUST SAW IN HOUSTON,
PEOPLE ARE HAVING TO TRY TO LIVE
WITH IT AND MORE ARE LIVING
BECAUSE OF MEDICAL INNOVATIONS,
BUT THIS IS NOT A GOOD
SITUATION, AND THERE ARE WAYS TO
STOP IT.
THERE ARE WAYS THAT INDIVIDUALS
CAN TAKE WITH REALLY RELIABLY
WEARING MASKS, REALLY RELIABLY
DISTANCING, NOT GOING TO BARS.
THERE SHOULD NOT BE BARS OPEN IN
STATES THAT ARE -- REALLY IN ANY
STATE IN THE UNITED STATES RIGHT
NOW.
THERE SHOULD NOT BE OTHER
CROWDED UNVENTILATED PLACES.
THIS IS JUST HOW UNDER THE VIRUS
TRANSMITS, AND WE’VE SEEN
EXAMPLE AFTER EXAMPLE, AND IT’S
A MIXTURE OF STATE LEADERSHIP
BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
JUST ISN’T PROVIDING IT, AND
THEN INDIVIDUAL ACTION TO DO
WHAT THEIR STATES ARE TELLING
THEM IN THE CASE OF PLACES LIKE
MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW YORK, BUT
WHAT THEY’RE NOT BOTHERING TO
TELL THEM IN A SHORTSIGHTED
EFFORT TO REOPEN PREMATURELY IN
PLACES LIKE TEXAS AND LOS
ANGELES.
>> MARC, IS THERE -- IS THERE --
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE
TRAJECTORY?
THE CDC SAYS THAT WE MAY HAVE
160,000 DEATHS PIBY THE END OF
JULY.
IS THERE SOME WAY TO OBVIOUSLY
SLOW THIS DOWN RIGHT NOW?
I ASSUME THERE IS BECAUSE I LOOK
AT THE CHARTS, THE SEVEN-DAY
ROLLING AVERAGES OF NEW
INFECTIONS IN OTHER
INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES AND
MOST OF THEM HAVE.
>> YEAH, THERE ARE -- IS EXAMPLE
AFTER EXAMPLE OF HOW TO SLOW IT
DOWN.
IT’S VERY HARD TO COMPLETELY GET
RID OF IT, ESPECIALLY IN A
GLOBALIZED WORLD AND IN A
COUNTRY THAT HAS LOTS OF LAND
BORDERS BETWEEN JURISDICTIONS
THAT ARE DOING DIFFERENT THINGS.
IT’S GOING TO BE WITH US.
WE’RE NOT GOING TO GET RID OF
IT, BUT WE CAN BRING THE NUMBER
OF CASES DOWN.
IT’S HAPPENED IN MASSACHUSETTS.
IT’S HAPPENED IN NEW YORK.
IT’S HAPPENED IN COUNTRIES ALL
OVER -- ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND
IT IS VERY POSSIBLE.
IT IS PAINFUL, AND WHAT I THINK
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER IS THAT
SHUTTING DOWN IN CRISES IS EVEN
MORE PAINFUL BECAUSE YOU, FIRST
OF ALL, DON’T SOLVE THE PROBLEM
BECAUSE YOU’VE ALREADY HAD -- BY
THE TIME YOU HAVE A CRISIS,
YOU’RE GOING TO LIVE WITH IT FOR
SEVERAL MORE WEEKS WHILE THE
CONTROL MEASURES TAKE EFFECT,
BUT ALSO IT’S MUCH MORE DISRUPTIVE TO HAVE -- TO SHUT
DISRUPTIVE TO HAVE -- TO SHUT
DOWN IN A CRISIS AND A MUCH MORE
SLOW FIRST REIN POSITION OF
CONTROL MEASURES IN PLACES THAT
ARE GROWING AND VERY, VERY
CAUTIOUS REOPENING OF THE SORT
THAT’S HAPPENED IN OTHER PLACES
IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD.
I THINK A LOT OF US WOULD LIKE
TO THINK ABOUT A SEPTEMBER WHERE
OUR KIDS CAN GO BACK TO SCHOOL
AND HAVE REAL SCHOOL.
>> YEAH.
>> FOR ALL SORTS OF REASONS.
A LOT OF US WOULD LIKE TO SEE
THIS PANDEMIC STOP TAKING THE
TOLL THAT IT’S TAKING ON
EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY ON
DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY
ON PEOPLE OF COLOR.
THAT’S BEEN UNDER REPORTED.
IT’S UNIVERSALLY TRUE IN THIS
COUNTRY, AND WE’D LIKE TO RETURN
TO SOME KIND OF NORMALCY, AND
THE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO GET IT
UNDER CONTROL NOW, AND AS SOME
COLLEAGUES WROTE IN "THE
WASHINGTON POST" A FEW DAYS AGO,
IF WE WANT TO SEE OUR KIDS BACK
IN SCHOOL, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE
TO GIVE SOMETHING UP AND MAYBE
BARS AND GYMS ARE THE SORTS OF
THINGS WE GIVE UP TO TRY TO
REDUCE OUR TRANSMISSION NOW,
REDUCE CASES, SO THAT BY
SEPTEMBER WE HAVE A FIGHTING
CHANCE OF HAVING A MORE NORMAL
LIFE.
>> MARC, THANK YOU FOR YOUR