HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE EARLY ON AND
NOW SERVES ON THE CORONAVIRUS
TASK FORCE FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT
JOE BIDEN.
YOU’RE GETTING THIS INFORMATION
AS IT COMES ACROSS AS I AM.
WALK US THROUGH THE NUMBERS.
95% EFFECTIVE WITH NO SERIOUS
SIDE EFFECTS GOING FOR
REGULATORY APPROVE UNTIL A
PATTER OF DAYS.
WALK US THROUGH IT.
>> WELL, GOOD MORNING, AND
THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON.
BEFORE I GET INTO THE
ENCOURAGING NEWS I WANT TO
REMIND EVERYONE ACROSS AMERICA
AS YOU WAKE UP AND HEAR THE
STATISTICS YOU JUST MENTIONED ON
YOUR SHOW, MAKE SURE YOU WEAR
YOUR MASK.
WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOME
PROMISING AND ENCOURAGING
UPDATES ON THE VACCINE
DEVELOPMENT AND THAT DOESN’T
MEAN THEY’LL BE AVAILABLE
TOMORROW.
IT’S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT YOU
WAKE UP AND WEAR YOUR MASK AND
DO EVERYTHING IMPORTANT TO SLOW
THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS WHILE
WE WORK ON GETTING THOSE
VACCINES OUT FOR ALL AMERICANS.
NOW TO THE GOOD NEWS.
IT IS VERY ENCOURAGING THAT WE
HEARD AN UPDATE FROM PFIZER THAT
THEIR PHASE THREE CLINIC THE
STUDY OF THE VACCINE BE SHOWS
REALLY REMARKABLE EFFECTIVENESS.
OVER 95% EFFECTIVE.
WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT ABOUT
THEIR DATA THAT THERE’S TALKING
ABOUT TODAY IS THAT THEY SHOW
THIS INFECTION WORKS EVEN OLDER
PEOPLE AND EVEN IN RACIAL GROUPS
THAT THEY’VE BROKEN OUT TO LOOK
AT THE EFFECTIVENESS IN
DIFFERENT ETHNIC OR RACIAL
BACKGROUNDS AND ALSO SHOW THAT
CASES WHERE THEY DID SEE
INFECTIONS OR CASES OF THE
CORONAVIRUS MOST OF THOSE SEVERE
CASES WERE SEEN IN PEOPLE WHO
DID NOT RECEIVE THE VACCINE.
THEY RECEIVED THE PRATLACEBO.
VERY ENCOURAGING NEWS FROM
PFIZER THAT THEY COMPLETED THEIR
DATA ANALYSIS.
REMEMBER, WE HAVEN’T YET SEEN
THE DATA.
WE’VE SEEN THEIR PRESS RELEASE,
BUT THEY ARE PLANNING TO SUBMIT
THAT INFORMATION TO THE FDA
EXPEDITIOUSLY, SO THE FDA AND
SCIENTISTS CAN REVIEW THAT DATA
CRITICALLY, TO GIVE THE FDA A
RECOMMENDATION ON WHETHER OR NOT
TO PROCEED WITH AUTHORIZATION OF
THE VACCINE.
>> EVERYONE TRYING TO KEEP THE
NUMBERS STRAIGHT, REMEMBER LAST
WEEK PFIZER CAME OUT SAID ITS
VACCINE WAS 90% EFFECTIVE.
THIS IS IS AN UPDATE AFTER
COMPLETION OF PHASE THREE UP TO
95% EFFECTIVE AND MODERNA LAST
WEEK WITH ITS VACCINE AT 94.5%
EFFECTIVE.
SO, DOCTOR BRIGHT, WHAT DOES THE
PACE LOOK LIKE HERE?
WITHIN A MATTER OF DAYS
SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL TO THE
FDA.
WHAT COULD THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF
HOW SOON THIS MIGHT BE
AVAILABLE?
>> WELL, WE STILL HAVE SAY THE
OF WORK AHEAD OF US.
SO THE FDA HAS TO REVIEW THE
DATA, HOST AN EXTERNAL ADVISORY
BOARD OF SCIENTISTS AND
CLINICIANS WITH EXPERTISE
REVIEWING THE SAFETY AND
EFFICACY DATA, AND THAT WILL
HAPPEN, I’M SURE, PRETTY
QUICKLY, BECAUSE I KNOW THE FDA
ALREADY SET DATES ASIDE TO BE
ABLE TO REVIEW DATA WHEN THEY
BECAME AVAILABLE.
ONCE THAT IS APPROVED, OR
AUTHORIZED, BY THE FDA, THE CDC
WILL ALSO REVIEW THAT.
THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON
IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES SO THEY
CAN LOOK AT THE VACCINE AND SEE
HOW IT IS WORKING IN DIFFERENT
AGE GROUPS OR POPULATIONS TO BE
ABLE TO WEIGH IN ON THE
RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHO SHOULD
GET THE VACCINE.
AND THEN IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT,
BECAUSE THE HARD STUFF STARTS.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE REMEMBER
THAT A VACCINE DOESN’T SAVE YOUR
LIFE, BUT VACCINATION DOES.
REMEMBER, THAT VACCINES DON’T
DELIVER THEMSELVES.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE
HAVE A COMPLETE VACCINE CAMPAIGN
ROLLOUT.
THERE ARE VERY LIMITED DOSES OF
THIS VACCINE AVAILABLE RIGHT
NOW.
SO PROBABLY 25 MILLION DOSES OR
SO AVAILABLE.
IT TAKES TWO DOSES PER PERSON TO
ACHIEVE THAT SUFFICIENT IMMUNITY
AND PROTECTION FROM THE VIRUS.
SO WE DON’T HAVE MUCH VACCINE TO
GO AROUND.
SO WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE
SOME VERY DIFFICULT DECISIONS ON
WHO GETS THE VACCINE FIRST.
HOW TO IDENTIFY THOSE
INDIVIDUALS AND HOW THEY KNOW
THEY’RE ONE OF THOSE PRIORITY
GROUPS, AND THEN WE HAVE TO MAKE
SURE WE DISTRIBUTE THAT VACCINE
TO THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS WHO
WILL DELIVER THE VACCINE.
THIS IS A VACCINE THAT MUST BE
KEPT AT EXTREMELY COLD
TEMPERATURES.
SO THERE IS NOT A LOT OF THAT
FREEZER SPACE OR THAT FREEZER
TECHNOLOGY EVEN AVAILABLE ACROSS
THE UNITED STATES.
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT
AN EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE
VACCINE.
WE MIGHT HAVE SEVERAL OF THOSE
SPECIAL FREEZERS IN SOME LARGE
COMMUNITIES OR LARGE CITIES,
SUCH AS NEW YORK, BUT WHEN YOU
MOVE OUT TO RURAL COMMUNITIES OR
AREAS THAT ARE TRADITIONALLY
HARD TO REACH WITH VACCINES,
THEY DON’T HAVE THAT SPECIALIZED
EQUIPMENT, AND PRESIDENT-ELECT
BIDEN HAS MADE IT A PROMISE AND
A COMMITMENT THAT WHEN WE ROLL
OUT THE VACCINE AND THE
THERAPEUTICS, IT WILL BE DONE IN
AN EQUITABLE MANNER MAKING SURE
WE’RE REACHING THOSE PEOPLE THAT
ARE HARD TO REACH.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE
VACCINE DOES GET TO THE RIGHT
PEOPLE.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS
WHY IT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL
THAT THE TRANSITION TEAM IS ABLE
TO SIT DOWN WITH THE CURRENT
ADMINISTRATION TODAY TO BE ABLE
TO DISCUSS THE PROTOCOLS OF THE
TRIALS, BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE
TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE VACCINE
AND ROLLOUT AND DISTRIBUTION
CAMPAIGNS.
WE HAVE BEEN HELD AT AN ARM’S
PACE.
WE HAVE NO INSIGHT TO THE PLANS
FOR THIS CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.
WE DO NOT EVEN HAVE DIRECT
ACCESS TO THE DATA.
SO THE CSA DELAY OF THE
ASCERTAINMENT OF THIS ELECTION
IS CAUSING SIGNIFICANT DELAYS
WITH THIS CRITICAL TIME POINT IN
THE DATA AND VACCINE
AVAILABILITY.
>> RIGHT.
OKAY.
>> DR. BRIGHT, QUICKLY, AND IF
THEY DON’T COOPERATE WITH
INFORMATION, WILL THAT, THEN --
I MEAN, IS IT BLACK AND WHITE?
WILL THEY THEN DELAY EXITABLE
DISTRIBUTION OF THE VACCINE?
>> IT VERY LIKELY CAN.
IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT IS
TRIVIAL.
WE NEED TO SIT DOWN IMMEDIATELY.
AS YOU IMAGINE, WE HAVE LIMITED
DOSES NOW.
MORE DOSES WILL BECOME AVAILABLE
OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO AND A
LARGE PART OF THE CAMPAIGN
ROLLOUT HAPPENS AFTER JANUARY
20th.
WE NEED TO SIT DOWN NOW SO
THERE’S NO HICCUPS A SMOOTH
PROCESS.
THAT NO SMERN LEFT OUT IN THE
COLD WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE