ADMINISTRATION IS PUSHING TO AT THAT NUMBER TO 70 PERCENT BY THE FOURTH OF JULY.
IT IS OF COURSE A MUCH
DIFFERENT STORY AND A TRAGIC
ONE IN INDIA THEY ARE SEEING
THE VERY WORST OF THE COVID19
PANDEMIC RIGHT NOW HOSPITALS
THEY'RE TREATING PATIENTS IN
AMBULANCES AMID THE SHORTAGES
OF BOTH BEDS AND OXYGEN.
AND TODAY INDIA REPORTED MORE
THAN FOUR HUNDRED AND TWELVE
THOUSAND COVID-19 CASES AND
ALMOST 4000 DEATHS AS WELL,
THE WHL SAID LAST WEEK INDIA
ACCOUNTED FOR NEARLY HALF
OF THE COVID CASES WORLDWIDE
AND A QUARTER OF THE DEATHS.
AS WE KNOW THAT VIRUS HAS
ALREADY STARTED TO MUTATE AND
TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES.
THE NEW VARIANT HAS BEEN
DETECTED AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN
COLORADO.
SO JOINING US NOW IS OUR
NINE HEALTH EXPERT DR. PIKOLI.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT
THAT THE CRISIS IN INDIA IS
HAVING.
IT IS NOT HALFWAY AROUND
THE WORLD.
IT IS IMPACTING US HERE IN
THE UNITED STATES AND IN
COLORADO.
EXACTLY RIGHT, TOM.
VERY SOBERING TO SEE WHAT'S
GOING ON IN INDIA AND IT REALLY
DOES TEACH US THAT THIS IS A
GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
WE CAN'T DECLARE VICTORY HERE
IN THE UNITED STATES IN
ISOLATION AND JUST LIKE THAT
BEARING FROM INDIA GOT ON A
PLANE AND CAME HERE.
IF THIS KEEPS RAGING ON IN
INDIA THE WAY THAT IT'S GOING,
A NEW VARIANT MAY EMERGE GET ON
A PLANE AND COME HERE AND THAT
NEW VARIANT MAYBE RESISTANT TO
THE VACCINES WHICH COULD CAUSE
A BIG SETBACK HERE IN THE US.
SO WE HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO
WHAT'S GOING ON EVEN THOUGH
IT'S THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY.
WELL, AROUND THE WORLD AND HERE
IN THE US FOR A YEAR NOW WE'VE
SEEN AND TALKED ABOUT TRAVEL
RESTRICTIONS PRESIDENT BIDEN
HAS SHUT DOWN TRAVEL TO AND
FROM INDIA WITH THE EXCEPTIONS
FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS WITH
PERMANENT RESIDENCE ALSO WITH A
NEGATIVE RAPID TEST.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT
THE APPROACH?
HAVE WE SEEN THAT BE EFFECTIVE
SO FAR?
YOU KNOW, I'M VERY SKEPTICAL
OF THE APPROACH TO BE ENTIRELY
HONEST WITH YOU BECAUSE NUMBER
ONE, WE KNOW THAT RAPID TESTS
ARE LESS SENSITIVE IN GENERAL
AT DETECTING VIRUS, ESPECIALLY
VIRUS THAT'S GONE INTO YOUR
LUNGS ALREADY MOVED AWAY FROM
THE NOSE AND GONE INTO
THE LUNGS.
SO LATER ON IN THE COURSE
OF THE ILLNESS NO TO THE FDA
EARLIER THIS YEAR IN JANUARY
ACTUALLY ISSUED A WARNING
SAYING THAT THE FACE THAT THESE
NEW VARIANTS, EVEN THE PCR
TEST, THE NASAL SWABS MAY BE
GIVING US MORE FALSE NEGATIVES
BECAUSE DEPENDING ON WHAT PART
OF THE VIRUS THE TEST IS
LOOKING FOR, IF THE VARIANT OR
THE MUTANT HAS THAT MUTATED,
YOU MAY NOT DETECT IT ON
THE TEST.
SO THE IDEA OF LETTING PEOPLE
IN FROM A COUNTRY WHERE
THE CASES ARE SO HIGH USING A
RAPID TEST TO ME IS A LITTLE
BIT DANGEROUS AND I THINK WE
OUGHT TO BE CAREFUL.
THAT'S HOW THE VIRUS CAME HERE
AND IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO
COME IF WE DON'T START BEING
MORE THOROUGH.
SO YOU MEAN A TRAVEL BAN SHOULD
BE IRONCLAD IF YOU'RE GOING TO
HAVE A TRAVEL BAN, HAVE A
TRAVEL BAN?
THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
I MEAN IT DOESN'T DISTINGUISH
THE VIRUS, DOESN'T CHECK
WHETHER YOU'RE A CITIZEN OF THE
UNITED STATES OR A GREEN CARD
HOLDER.
IT'S JUST AS LIKELY TO COME
FROM THOSE PEOPLE OR WE OUGHT
TO DO MORE THOROUGH TESTING
INCLUDING GENOMIC TESTING, KEEP
THOSE PEOPLE ISOLATED FOR A
GOOD PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN
LET THEM IN.
BUT USING A RAPID TEST IS NOT
NOT A GOOD IDEA IN MY OPINION.
WELL, THE US AND MANY COUNTRIES
IN THE WORLD ARE NOW TRYING TO
HELP IN INDIA AND IT'S NOT ONLY
PHILANTHROPIC, IT COULD IMPACT
HOW LONG THE PANDEMIC LASTS
AROUND THE WORLD.
THE CDC THOUGH IS PROJECTING AT
THE WORST OF THE PANDEMIC IN
THE US COULD BE OVER BY JULY.
I WANT TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON
THAT PROJECTION AND HOW INDIA
MAY PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THAT.
YOU KNOW, TOM, INCREDIBLY
ENCOURAGING TO HEAR THIS AND
I THINK IT'S REALLY SYMBOLIC
OF THE FACT THAT FOR THE FIRST
TIME IN SO MANY MONTHS A MODEL
HAS COME OUT ACTUALLY
PORTENDING SOMETHING POSITIVE
AND A TURNING POINT IN OUR
FIGHT AGAINST THIS VIRUS.
SO I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO
ACTUALLY SEE THAT.
BUT AS YOU POINT OUT SO RIGHTLY
THAT IF INDIA AND OTHER
COUNTRIES, BRAZIL AND OTHERS
CONTINUE TO HAVE EMERGENCE
OF THESE INFECTIONS AND THESE
VARIANTS, IT MAY OFFER US A
GIANT SETBACK.
SO IN ORDER TO SORT OF CONTINUE
ALONG THE TRAJECTORY THAT WE
HAVE SET HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES WITH THE NUMBER
OF VACCINATIONS THAT WE'VE
ACHIEVED, WE HAVE TO BE SURE WE
CONTINUE TO GET AT THESE TWO TO
THREE MILLION AMERICANS
VACCINATED EVERY DAY AND THAT'S
HOW WE'RE GOING TO MAKE