ACTUALLY BEEN VERY SAFE FOR
CHILDREN, SO IT DOESNT MAKE A
LOT OF SENSE, ACCORDING TO MOST
MEDICAL EXPERTS.
MICHIGAN, BY THE WAY, IS
EMERGING AS A NEW HOT ST FOR
THE VIRUS.
THE STATE REPORTED MORE THAN
8,000 CASES ON SATURDAY ALONE
AND SURPASSED 700,000 CASES IN
TOTAL.
MICHIGAN LEADS THE NATION IN NEW
INFECTIONS BY POPULATION.
JOINING US NOW, DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESSWOMAN, HAILEY STEVENS OF
MICHIGAN.
ALSO WITH US, AN ER DOCTOR IN
WEST MICHIGAN AND EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR OF THE COMMITTEE TO
PROTECT MEDICARE, DR. ROB
DAVIDSON.
GOOD MORNING TO YOU BOTH.
DR. DAVIDSON, I WANT TO START
WITH YOU.
JUST A BOTTOM-LINE QUESTION
HERE.
WHATS GOING ON IN MICHIGAN?
YOURE GETTING PEOPLE
VACCINATED, IF YOU LOOK AT THE
NUMBERS, SO WHY THE SPIKE IN
CASES?
>> WELL, I THINK THERES
PROBABLY A FEW FACTORS GOING ON.
ONE, WE HAVE THE SECOND-MOST
NUMBER OF VARIANTS OF ANY STATE
IN THE COUNTRY.
AND WE HAVE SEEN, THESE VARIANTS
ARE MORE VIRULENT, THEY SPREAD
MORE EASILY, AND SOME OF THEM
TEND TO EVADE SOME OF THE
VACCINES.
ITS A RACE OF VACCINES AGAINST
VARIANTS.
WEVE ALSO SEEN SIGNIFICANT
NUMBERS OF OUTBREAKS COMING OUT
OF SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY SCHOOL
SPORTS.
GOVERNOR WHITNER HAS INSTITUTED
NEW RULES FOR TESTING FOR KIDS
IN SCHOOL SPORTS AND NOW SHES
BEING SUED BY A GROUP THAT
DOESNT WANT TO HAVE KIDS HAVE
TO BE TESTED TO TRY TO MAKE
SPORTS AND SCHOOLS SAFER.
AND THATS THE THIRD THING
MICHIGAN, FROM THE BEGINNING,
WEVE HAD A CHALLENGE OF A
SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE
SUFFERING THE POLITICIZATION OF
THIS VIRUS, YOU KNOW, FROM THE
LEGISLATURE SUING THE GOVERNOR
WITH OVER $600,000 OF TAXPAYER
MONEY TO SUE HER, TO TAKE AWAY
POWERS TO A PLOT TO KIDNAP AND
ASSASSINATE HER TO SIGNIFICANT
NUMBERS OF PEOPLE RESISTING THE
VACCINE.
WE HEAR OF INFORMAL POLLING OF
PEOPLE IN WEST MICHIGAN, UP TO
TWO-THIRDS OF PEOPLE IN SOME
COUNTIES SAYING THEY JUST DONT
WANT THE VACCINE.
ITS A REAL SIGNIFICANT
CHALLENGE.
>> TO PICK UP ON OUR PREVIOUS
CONVERSATION, DR. DAVIDSON, WHAT
EXACTLY ARE YOU SEEING IN YOUR
SCHOOLS?
YOU TALK ABOUT SPORTS, KIDS
GOING OUT AND MIXING IT UP AND
PLAYING SPORTS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO
THE SPIKE.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ACT OF GOING
TO SCHOOL?
HOW SAFE HAVE SCHOOLS BEEN IN
MICHIGAN?
>> WEVE SEEN ALL ALONG, KIDS
GENERALLY DONT GET THAT SICK.
BUT IVE SEEN A LOT OF KIDS COME
IN WITH THAT LONG COVID
SYNDROME, HEADACHES, FATIGUE.
I HAVE TWO TEENAGE KIDS IN
MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL
AND THEY HAVE BOTH HAD TO COME
HOME A FEW TIMES BECAUSE OF
CLOSE CONTACTS.
THEY DIDNT GET SICK, BUT HAD
THIS VERY STRANGE HYBRID, GOING
TO SCHOOL, COMING HOME, AND THAT
HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE
FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES.
>> CONGRESSWOMAN, THERES BEEN
SOME TALK OF GOING BACK TO
LOCKDOWNS IN THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN.
SOMETHING I KNOW YOU DONT WANT
TO DO.
THE GOVERNOR DOESNT WANT TO DO
EITHER.
WHAT IS THE POSSIBILITY AS YOU
LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS OF NEW
RESTRICTIONS IN MICHIGAN?
>> LOOK, I THINK WE ARE SEEING
THIS PLAY OUT WITH OUR SCHOOLS.
AND I DEEPLY APPRECIATE THOSE
CONVERSATIONS.
JUST YESTERDAY, I WAS ON THE
PHONE WITH SUPERINTENDENT, I
GATHERED ON ZOOM A GROUP OF
PARENTS AND THESE PARENTS WERE
SAYING THANK YOU FOR TESTING OUR
STUDENTS.
I THINK THE PUBLIC HEALTH
GUIDELINES ARE WHAT ARE MOST
IMPERATIVE HERE.
WE ALL KNOW WE HAVE PANDEMIC
FATIGUE.
BUT WE NEED TO BE WEARING OUR
MASKS, WE NEED TO BE SOCIAL
DISTANCING.
I AM SEEING CASE AFTER CASE, AND
THIS IS JUST COMING FROM OUR
SUBSEQUENTS WHO WERE SAYING, I
WAS JUST ABOUT TO GO GET THE
VACCINE AND THEN I CAME DOWN
WITH COVID.
AND THATS STALLING OUR
PROGRESS.
WE HAVE 35% OF OUR STATE WITH
THE FIRST DOSE OF THE VACCINE
THATS REALLY PROMISING.
IN DETROIT, WE HAVE FORD FIELD
THATS VACCINATING UP TO 5,000
PEOPLE A DAY.
BUT WEVE GOT TO PRACTICE THE
PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDELINES.
AND OUR SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN A
WONDERFUL TEMPLATE FOR THIS IN
MANY RESPECTS.
IN MY DISTRICT, I HAVE SOME WHO
ARE STILL IN SCHOOL, SOME WHO
ARE SAYING, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT,
WEEK AFTER SPRING BREAK, TOO
MANY CASES, WELL DO REMOTE THIS
WEEK, SPORTS CAN CONTINUE, BUT
OWE NEED TO BE TESTED WHILE
YOURE PLAYING.
>> CONGRESSWOMAN, MICHAEL STEELE
IS HERE WITH A QUESTION FOR YOU.
>> WEVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE
CULTURE WARS THIS MORNING AND NO
BETTER FRONT LINE FOR THAT HAS
BEEN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
MICHIGAN WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF
THAT IN MANY RESPECTS WITH THE
PROTESTS AT THE STATE CAPITOL
AND SO FORTH AND GOING UP
AGAINST THE GOVERNOR.
HOW DO YOU IN YOUR ROLE AS A
MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND GIVEN
SOME OF THE COLLEAGUES THAT YOU
WORK WITH IN THAT HOTHOUSE AT
TIMES, HOW DO YOU ASSESS
BRINGING SOME SANITY INTO THE
SPACE AROUND THIS?
THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE HARDEST
THINGS, GETTING PEOPLE TO
APPRECIATE WEARING THE MASKS,
GETTING THE VACCINE.
WHAT TYPE OF PUBLIC SERVICE DO
YOU THINK MEMBERS LIKE YOURSELF
CAN COMMIT TO, PARTICULARLY NOW
AS REPORTS ARE COMING OUT ABOUT
STUDENTS AND EDUCATION AND THE
IMPACTS THERE, TO LESSEN THE
IMPACT OF THE CULTURE WARS ON
THE HEALTH OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE IN YOUR
DISTRICT.
>> WELL, MICHAEL, I COME FROM
THE HOTBED OF AUTOMOTIVE
MANUFACTURING.
AND IM GOING TO REMIND YOU
WHERE I WAS A YEAR AGO.
THAT OUR BIG THREE HAD SHUT DOWN
AND ALL OF THE SUPPLIERS.
THERES A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY
ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN
IN OUR ECONOMY.
IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT HAS BUOYED
US THROUGHOUT THIS PANDEMIC AND
THE STORY AND THE ROLE THAT
MICHIGAN HAS PLAYED WITH OUR
MANUFACTURING SECTOR, PRODUCING
THE PPE, SOURCING THE MASKS,
MAKING THE VENTILATORS AND THE
RESPIRATORY DEVICES, AND THEN
PRODUCING THE VACCINE ITSELF.
THIS IS STILL A VERY EXCITING
MOMENT IN MICHIGAN.
AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE
THINGS THAT WE DO HERE FOR A
LIVING AND WHAT DRIVES OUR
REGIONAL ECONOMY AND THE REALITY
THAT WE HAVE SEEN TOUGH TIMES
BEFORE, YOU BRING PEOPLE
TOGETHER.
NOW, MICHAEL, LETS MAKE NO
MISTAKE ABOUT IT.
TENSIONS ARE HIGH.
WE KNOW THAT.
YOURE NOT GOING TO WIN
EVERYBODY.
BUT WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING OVER
THIS EASTER HOLIDAY, AS IVE HAD
THE PRIVILEGE TO BE IN MY
DISTRICT AND JUST EVERY SO OFTEN
CONNECT ONE ON ONE WITH PEOPLE,
IS I LISTEN.
I COMMUTE TO LEARNING AND
LEADING AND THATS AS A PUBLIC
OFFICIAL HOW I CAN BE
SUCCESSFUL.
AS SOMEBODY WHO IS TRYING TO
UNITE AND ALSO DELIVER AND WERE
ALSO SEEING THAT WITH PRESIDENT
JOE BIDENS AGENDA.
UNITY THROUGH DELIVERY.
COVID RESCUE IS HERE.
>> ALL RIGHT.
MICHIGAN CONGRESSWOMAN HAILEY
STEVENS AND DR. ROB DAVIDSON,
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR KEEPING US
POSTED ON WHATS HAPPENING
INSIDE YOUR STATE.
WELL BE TALKING MUCH MORE, IM
SURE.
>>> AND COMING UP, WELL BE
JOINED BY DR. ANTHONY FAUCI.