>> THERE IS MODELING THAT SHOWS THE NUMBERS COULD SPIKE.
RICHARD EPGNGEL IN STOKE HOMECKH
INTERESTING.
INTERESTING. APPRECIATE IT.
APPRECIATE IT. MIKA?
MIKA? >>> JOINING US, A FORMER SURGEON
GENERAL, AUTHOR OF "TOGETHER,
THE HEALING POWER OF HUMAN
CONNECTION IN A SOMETIMES LONELY
WORLD."
WORLD." AS IF YOU PREDICTED EXACTLY WHAT
THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK SHOULD BE
A YEAR AGO, OR WHENEVER YOU CAME
UP WITH IT, NOW IT IS
INCREDIBLE, THE TIMING.
I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE
BOOK.
BOOK. FIRST, I WANT TO ASK YOU, AS
FORMER U.S. SURGEON GENERAL, THE
SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES
THAT WE ARE RIGHT NOW ENSURING,
EXECUTING HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES, DO YOU SEE THESE GOING
AWAY ANY TIME SOON?
I’M TALKING ABOUT WEARING MASKS,
HANDSHAKES, BUSINESSES THAT
REQUIRE PHYSICAL TOUCHING, GYMS,
SALONS, SPAS, DO YOU SEE THAT
GETTING BACK TO NORMAL ANY TIME
SOON, AND I MEAN SOON AS IN
MONTHS?
MONTHS? >> THANKS, MIKA.
IT IS GOOD TO BE ON WITH YOU.
THE SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES
THAT YOU MENTIONED, THESE HAVE
REALLY TRANSFORMED SOCIETY.
PEOPLE ARE MAKING EXTRAORDINARY
SACRIFICES RIGHT NOW, TO MAKE
SURE THEY’RE FOLLOWING THESE
RULES.
RULES. I THINK WE WILL SEE A TIME WHERE
WE CAN RELAX THESE RULES TO SOME
EXTENT.
EXTENT. THEY’RE NOT GOING TO GO AWAY
UNTIL WE HAVE SOMETHING
TRANSFORMATIVE, LIKE A VACCINE
THAT CAN REALLY TAKE THE THREAT
OF THE VIRUS OFF THE TABLE.
>> SACRIFICES, OR PERHAPS THEY
COULD BE SEEN AS BEHAVIORAL
CHANGES.
CHANGES. EVEN WHEN A VACCINE IS
POTENTIALLY 18 MONTHS AWAY,
MAYBE SOONER, MAYBE LATER, BUT
IN TERMS OF SOCIETY, WON’T THESE
BEHAVIORS CONTINUE?
BEHAVIORS CONTINUE? >> YES.
>> YES. SO RIGHT NOW, MANY STATES ARE
STILL UNDER STAY AT HOME RULES.
WE WILL START TO SEE THOSE RELAX
AS CASES COME DOWN, AND AS WE
BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT’S
CRITICAL TO ENSURE WE CAN TEST,
TRACE, AND RESPOND IN TERMS OF
TREATMENT CAPACITY.
TREATMENT CAPACITY. BUT WE’LL STILL HAVE SOME DEGREE
OF DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS THAT
REMAIN.
REMAIN. FOR EXAMPLE, WE’LL LIKELY NEED
TO WEAR MASKS IN PUBLIC MORE
MONTHS AND MONTHS.
WE WILL STILL LIKELY NEED TO
KEEP DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER,
TO ENSURE WE ARE OBSERVING GOOD
HAND WASHING PRACTICES, TO AVOID
TOUCHING OUR FACE IN PUBLIC, AND
TO AVOID LARGE CROWDS AND
GATHERINGS.
GATHERINGS. ONE OF THE THINGS WE’VE LEARNED,
MIKA, IS THAT COVID-19 IS, IN
SOME WAYS, A DIFFERENT BEAST
THAN WHAT WE’VE EXPERIENCED WITH
PAST VIRUSES.
PAST VIRUSES. WE’RE LEARNING NEW THINGS EVERY
DAY.
DAY. IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT WE ERROR
ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.
THE MORE CAUTIOUS WE ARE, THE
MORE LIVES WE CAN SAVE.
DOESN’T MEAN WE CAN’T START TO
GET BACK TO OUR WAY OF LOIFIFE O
THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, BUT WE
HAVE TO DO IT SAFELY.
>> DOCTOR, IT IS WILLIE GEIST.
GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON.
THE SUBTITLE OF "TOGETHER" IS
THE HUMAN POWER OF CONNECTION IN
A SOMETIMES LONELY WORLD.
WE CAN’T HAVE THE PHYSICAL
CONNECTION RIGHT NOW.
WE CAN’T HAVE THAT PHYSICAL
GATHERING WE’RE USED TO.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT THE
LONG-TERM IMPACT ON THE ELDERLY,
THE LONELINESS, OR YOUNG
CHILDREN WHO CAN’T RUN AROUND
WITH THEIR FREBDSIENDS.
WE’RE SEEING THAT IN OUR LIVES
AS THIS GOES ON AND ON.
YOU TALK ABOUT A SOCIAL
RECESSION.
RECESSION. WHAT IS THAT EXACTLY, AND WHAT
ARE YOUR CONCERNS IN THE CONTEXT
OF THIS CRISIS?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. YOU KNOW, IN A YEAR AGO WHEN I
WAS WRITING, IF YOU TOLD ME WE’D
BE IN THIS SCENARIO, I WOULDN’T
HAVE NEVER BELIEVED YOU.
HERE WE ARE.
YOU KNOW, LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE,
MY OWN FAMILY HAS BEEN GOING
THROUGH TRANSFORMATION, AS WELL.
I HAVE TWO SMALL KIDS, 3 AND 2,
WHO CAN GO ON PLAY DATES, AND
WONDERING WHY THEY’RE CONFINED
TO THE HOUSE.
I HAVE ELDERLY PARENTS AND A
GRANDMOTHER, AS WELL, WHO I’M
WORRIED ABOUT.
WORRIED ABOUT. A SISTER WHO IS SEEING PATIENTS
AS A DOCTOR.
I’M CONCERNED ABOUT HER RISK.
MANY OF US ARE TRYING TO FIGURE
OUT HOW TO MAKE THIS ALL WORK.
WHAT I WORRY ABOUT IS THAT,
WHILE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE
PHYSICAL HEALTH IMPACT OF
COVID-19 AND ABOUT THE ECONOMIC
IMPACT, BOTH OF WHICH ARE
SUBSTANTIAL AND IMPORTANT, I
WORRY THAT WE ARE NOT
RECOGNIZING AS MUCH THE IMPACT
ON OUR SOCIAL HEALTH.
I WORRY THAT AS WE SPEND MORE
AND MORE TIME APART FROM EACH
OTHER, IN A CLIMATE OF FEAR,
THAT THAT WILL DEEPEN OUR
LONELINESS, THE LONELINESS WE’VE
BEEN EXPERIENCING, IN MANY
CASES, FOR YEARS AND YEARS, AND
CONTRIBUTE TO A SOCIAL
RECESSION.
RECESSION. WHAT I LEARNED, WILLIE, WHEN I
WAS SURGEON GENERAL, IS THAT
LONELINESS WAS FAR MORE COMMON
AND CONSEQUENTIAL FOR OUR HEALTH
THAN I THOUGHT.
I MET PEOPLE ALL ACROSS AMERICA
WHO TOLD ME STORIES ABOUT THEIR
STRUGGLES WITH OPIOID ADDICTION,
CHRONIC ILLNESSES LIKE O BEASTBE
AND DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY.
BEHIND THE THREADS OF
LONELINESS, PEOPLE WOULD SAY, "I
FEEL IF I DISA I PEERPPEAR TOMOR
NOBODY WOULD REALIZE IT."
I CARRY THESE BURDENS ALONE.
I FEEL INVISIBLE.
I REALIZED 22% OF ADULTS IN
AMERICA, ACCORDING TO A 2018
KAISER STUDY, ADMIT TO
STRUGGLING WITH LONELINESS.
PEOPLE WHO ARE LONELY SEEMED TO
HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF HEART
DISEASE, DEMENTIA, DEPRESSION,
ANXIETY, AS WELL AS SLEEP
DISTURBANCES AND PREMATURE
DEATH.
DEATH. LONELINESS MATTERS.
LONELINESS MATTERS. IT IS COMMON.
I’M WORRIES IT COULD INCREASE.
I DON’T THINK IT HAS TO BE THIS
WAY.
WAY. I THINK THIS CAN BE, IN FACT, AN
OPPORTUNITY TO TURN THE TIDE ON
LONELINESS AND BUILD A SOCIAL
REVIVAL IN OUR COUNTRY.
>> FORMER U.S. SURGEON GENERAL,
DR. MORTHY, THANK YOU.
THE NEW BOOK IS "TOGETHER," THE
HEALING POWER OF HUMAN
CONNECTION IN A SOMETIMES LONELY
WORLD.
WORLD. >>> COMING UP, THE MAY YROR OF D
TAPS HIGH-PROFILE FIGURES TO
HELP RESPOND TO THE CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER JOINS US TO
DISCUSS THAT, AND THE BIPARTISAN