TEMPERATURES WILL TUMBLE OVERNIGHT FOR A CHILLY START TO OUR SUNDAY. BRUCE.
>>BRUCE HAMILTON: THANK YOU,
RICH. SOME INFECTIOUS DISEASE
SPECIALISTS CALLED A RECIPE
FOR DISASTER. BOTTOM LINE IS
THAT FLORIDA’S HEALTH
DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES FOR
COVID-19 TESTING CONTRADICTS
CDC GUIDELINES. SO LET’S LOOK
AT THE KEY DIFFERENCES. THE
CDC RECOMMENDS THAT PEOPLE GET
TESTED IF THEY HAD CLOSE
CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WITH
COVID-19 HAVE COVID-19
SYMPTOMS OR IF THEY ARE NOT
FULLY VACCINATED. THE CDC IS
POINT PEOPLE CAN SPREAD COVID
EVEN IF THEY ARE ASYMPTOMATIC.
SO TESTING IN THERE THAT POINT
IS CRUCIAL. NOW, THE FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH USED TO
FOLLOW THE CDC IS TESTING
RECOMMENDATIONS BUT NOW
RECOMMENDS A COVID-19 TEST
ONLY FOR SYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE
WITH RISK FACTORS FOR SEVERE
COVID-19. JOINING ME ON THE
MORNING SHOW DOCTOR JONATHAN
KANTOR AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST WITH
THE PENN CENTER FOR
EPIDEMIOLOGY DOCTOR. COUNTER
CRITICS SAY THE ISSUE OF THE
FLORIDA RECOMMENDATIONS IS IT
FOCUSES ON INDIVIDUALS AND
WHAT’S LOST THE PUBLIC HEALTH
MEASURES THAT PROTECT PROTECT
THE COMMUNITY. YOUR OPINION?
>> I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF
CHALLENGES HERE. YOU KNOW,
WE’VE DEFINITELY SEEN A LOT OF
PUSHBACK BASED ON CDC
CERTAINLY BIG SHIFT THEY HAVE
FROM 10 DAYS TO 5 BASICALLY OF
STAYING OUT. IF YOU’VE BEEN
SICK AND THEN NOT RECOMMENDING
TESTING IN THAT SITUATION
RECEIVED A LOT OF PUSHBACK
FROM THE PUBLIC HEALTH
COMMUNITY. LAST WEEK, A SERIES
OF ARTICLES WERE PUBLISHED BY
THE AMERICAN MEDICAL
ASSOCIATIONS, FLAGSHIP
ESSENTIALLY CRITIQUING WHICH
WAS CERTAIN UNHEARD OF STAFF
CRITIQUING A CDC POLICY ON
THAT. AND YOU’RE CERTAINLY
SEEING THAT WITH A NUMBER OF
STATES, INCLUDING FLORIDA,
WHICH ARE DEPARTING NOW FROM
THE STANDARD CDC
RECOMMENDATIONS. YOU KNOW
WHAT’S GOING ON? I THINK A
LITTLE BIT AS YOU’RE SEEING
KIND OF BOTH MEDICAL
ASSOCIATIONS AND STATES
ESSENTIALLY BEGINNING TO GO
ROGUE AGAINST THE CDC IN
RESPONSE AND PART OF SOME OF
THE CONFUSING RECOMMENDATIONS
THAT HAVE COMING OUT OF THE
FEDERAL AGENTS.
>> SO FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION TO
THE ARGUMENT IS TESTING
ASYMPTOMATIC. PEOPLE OF HIGH
VALUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH.
>> YOU KNOW THE QUESTION THERE
IS A CRITICAL ONE BECAUSE, YOU
KNOW, THE ISSUE IS, YOU KNOW,
SHOULD WE ALL BE TESTING VERY,
VERY FREQUENTLY. I THINK IT
REALLY DOES DEPEND ON THE
INDIVIDUAL SITUATION. AND I
THINK CERTAINLY THOSE WHO, YOU
KNOW, HAS OUTLINED IN THE
FLORIDA GUIDELINES ARE IN A
WORK SITUATION WHERE, YOU
KNOW, THERE IS HIGH RISK ARE
IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY ARE
AT INCREASED RISK. ARE YOU
KNOW WHERE THERE ARE REASONS
TO BE DOING SO TESTING CAN
CERTAINLY BE THE FLIP SIDE OF
THAT IS THAT THERE IS AN
ATTEMPT ALSO TO CONSERVE
TESTING. THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW,
VERY INVOLVED IN THAT PART,
THAT’S HOW THE EXPLAIN AND
THEN AN EXPLAIN WHY THEY WERE
NOT RECOMMENDING TESTING
AFTER, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE KNEW
THAT THEY WERE INFECTED. SO I
THINK THERE’S A TENSION FROM A
PUBLIC HEALTH STANDPOINT IN
TERMS OF SAYING, LISTEN, WE
KNOW THERE ARE LONG LINES THAT
WOULD THERE’S CONCERNS THAT
THE PRIEST AVAILABILITY OF
TESTING. AND SO THERE IS A BIT
OF A NEED TO PRIORITIZE WHO’S
GETTING THOSE TESTS. BUT AT
THE SAME TIME, WE ALSO WANT TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE DOING THE
SMARTEST THING AS POSSIBLE TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE DON’T INFECT
OTHERS.
>> SO IT’S DIFFICULT NOT TO
GET POLITICAL HERE. BUT WHAT
THE GOVERNOR HAS THE STATE
DOING. IS IT ENCOURAGING A LOT
OF INDIVIDUALS NOT TO TEST THE
PERFECT WAY TO MASK CERTAIN
TRUTHS. AND I’M TALKING ABOUT
HIDING THE RISK OF THE
POPULATION AND ULTIMATELY
PROLONGING THE PROBLEM.
>> AND BEEN A LOT OF CONCERN,
YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHERE
YOU ARE, WHERE THE FLORIDA
WEATHER AND OTHER STATES AND
EVEN TERMS OF FEDERAL
RECOMMENDATIONS IN TERMS OF
KIND OF WHAT’S THE GOAL. YOU
KNOW, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS
THAT CAME OUT LAST WEEK UP
FROM THAT GROUP THAT WAS
PUBLISHED IN JAMA. YOU KNOW,
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY
WERE ADDRESSING IS THAT THERE
NEEDS TO BE A BIT OF A PIVOT
IN TERMS OF OUR COVID
STRATEGY. YOU KNOW, I YOU
KNOW, AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, YOU
KNOW, THE HORSE HAS LEFT THE
BAR AND HE’S GONE TOURING
AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE AND NOT
ONLY HAS THE HORSE TO NOW, BUT
HE’S GOT MARRIED AND HAD LOTS
OF LITTLE BABY HORSES AS WELL.
SO, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF
CONTAINING COVID, WE’RE NOT
GOING TO SHUT THAT COVID GENIE
BACK IN THE BOTTLE TO MIX
METAPHORS. BUT AT THE SAME
TIME WE HAVE TO THINK WHAT WE
CAN DO TO LIMIT THE SPREAD.
AND THAT’S WHERE THOSE PUBLIC
HEALTH MEASURES LIKE WEARING A
MASK, WHICH IS SO CRITICAL AND
WHICH I THINK A LOT OF US
GUILTY OF NOT DOING AS MUCH AS
WE SHOULD THOSE PUBLIC HEALTH
MEASURES ARE REALLY CRITICAL
BECAUSE THAT WAY, REGARDLESS
OF YOUR STATUS, YOU KNOW THAT
YOU’RE GOING TO REALLY
DRAMATICALLY REDUCE THE CHANCE
TO SPREAD COVID-19. SO ISN’T
THE HERE. THESE ARE JUST
RECOMMENDATIONS AND NO ONE IS
LIMITED FROM GETTING TESTING.
>> YEAH, THAT IS A CRITICAL
POINT, WHICH IS THAT, YOU
KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE FLORIDA
REGULATIONS AND THE GOVERNOR
HIMSELF SAID, LISTEN, I THINK
THAT SHOULD BE UP TO
INDIVIDUALS. I THINK HE’S MADE
THAT VERY, VERY CLEAR. YOU
KNOW, I THINK ANYTHING THAT
WE’RE SEEING THERE IS KIND OF
PUSH BACK AGAINST A MANDATE TO
TEST PEOPLE ON A REGULAR
BASIS. BUT I THINK THE
GOVERNOR HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR
SAYING THAT IF PEOPLE FEEL
THAT THEY NEED TO BE TESTED,
IF THEY ARE IN A WORK
ENVIRONMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, IN
HEALTH CARE WHERE THEY’RE
EXPOSED TO A LOT OF PEOPLE
WHERE THEY ARE POTENTIALLY
EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO A LOT
OF PEOPLE.
>> ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT’S A
GREAT IDEA TO GET TESTED MORE
FREQUENTLY. BUT AGAIN, FOR
THOSE WHO PERHAPS DON’T HAVE A
LOT OF CONTACT WITH THE
GENERAL PUBLIC TO THOSE WHO
ARE ALWAYS WEARING A MASK AND
HAVE A MUCH MORE LIMITED
SOCIAL CIRCLE. I THINK THAT
MAY BE LESS THAN IMPETUS AND
THAT’S WHERE THE IDEA COMES
IN. THAT TESTING NEEDS TO
GUIDED BY WHAT WE CAN DO WITH
THOSE RESULTS. WE DON’T JUST
TEST TO KNOW WHERE TESTING
BECAUSE WE WANT TO DO
SOMETHING ACTIONABLE WITH
THOSE RESULTS. AND I THINK THE
MAIN MESSAGE HERE IS THAT IF
THERE’S NO ACTION PLAN AS A
RESULT OF THOSE TESTS THAT WE
DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT