DR. VIVEK MURTHY.
DOCTOR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
JOINING US TONIGHT.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
I WANT TO GET TO THIS SITUATION
THAT WEVE SEEN DEVELOP WITH THE
TEXAS DEMOCRATS.
THE CDC DIRECTOR HAS REFERRED TO
THE STATE WERE IN NOW AS A
PANDEMIC OF THE UNVACCINATED.
BUT WE DO HAVE A DEVELOPING
STORY ABOUT THE VACCINATED.
WERE SEEING THIS MORE THAN IN
JUST THE CASE OF THE TEXAS
DEMOCRATS.
BUT WHEN YOU SAW THAT PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE 50 OR SO TEXAS DEMOCRATS
ON THAT PRIVATE PLANE, ALL
WITHOUT MASKS LOOKING LIKE IT
WAS A NORMAL PLANE RIDE OF A
COUPLE YEARS AGO, DID YOU LOOK
AT THAT PICTURE AND WORRY FOR
THEM?
>> WELL, LAWRENCE, I DIDNT SEE
THE PICTURE, BUT WHAT I CAN TELL
YOU IN GENERAL IS THAT IF YOU
ARE ON A PLANE, IF YOU ARE ON A
TRAIN, IF YOU ARE ON A BUS OR IN
A SUBWAY, THE GUIDELINES SAY
THAT YOU SHOULD BE WEARING MASKS
TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND TO
PROTECT OTHERS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF INFECTIONS
WERE SEEING, LAWRENCE, ARE NG
MOST THE UNVACCINATED.
AND THE MAJORITY OF
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS,
MORE THAN 99.5% OF DEATHS ARE
AMONG THE UNVACCINATED.
BUT THE VACCINE, AS HIGHLY AS
EFFECTIVE AS THEY ARE, THEY ARE
NOT 100% EFFECTIVE, AND THERE
WILL BE A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE
WHO HAVE BREAKTHROUGH
INFECTIONS.
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE IN AN
AREA WHERE THERES A LOT OF
INFECTION BREWING OR IF YOU
HAPPEN TO BE SOMEBODY WHOS
IMMUNOCOMPROMISED OR HAS
UNVACCINATED AT HOME, YOU MAY
EVEN CHOOSE TO TAKE EXTRA STEPS.
BUT THE CDC GUIDANCE CLEARLY
SAYS WHEN YOU ARE IN PUBLIC
TRANSPORT WHEN YOURE WITH A LOT
OF OTHER FOLKS THAT WEARING A
MASKED IS THE SAFE THING TO DO.
>> TECHNICALLY, WEARING A MASK
RULE DOESNT APPLY ON PRIVATE
AIRCRAFT, WHICH IS WHAT THAT
WAS.
BUT IT WAS 50 PEOPLE.
IT LOOKED LIKE A COMMERCIAL
AIRLINE OR IN EFFECT.
SO -- AND THEYRE ALL
VACCINATED.
SO THE FIRST QUESTION TONIGHT IS
WHAT DO WE THE VACCINATED HAVE
TO DO NOW, WHAT PRECAUTIONS DO
WE HAVE TO TAKE NOW THAT WE ARE
ALL AWARE THAT THERE CAN BE
BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS, AND WE
WHO ARE VACCINATED CAN BE
INFECTED?
>> WELL, LET ME STEP BACK FOR A
MOMENT.
LETS TALK ABOUT WHAT WE SHOULD
BE CONCERNED ABOUT IF WE ARE
FULLY VACCINATED.
TO BE CLEAR, FULLY VACCINATED
MEANS YOURE AT LEAST TWO WEEKS
OUT FROM YOUR LAST SHOT.
YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING
SERIOUSLY ILL OR DYING FROM
COVID-19 ARE VERY LOW IF YOU
HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED.
THERE IS A CHANCE THAT YOU COULD
STILL BE INFECTED, BUT THAT TOO
IS VERY LOW.
THESE VACCINES, ESPECIALLY THE
mRNA VACCINES ARE MORE THAN 90%
EFFECTIVENESS AGAINST
SYMPTOMATIC ILLNESS.
AND EVEN IF YOU DO GET SICK,
LAWRENCE, THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT
YOUR ILLNESS WILL BE
ASYMPTOMATIC OR MILD.
AND SO THAT IS ALL GOOD NEWS.
THATS THE REASON ITS SO
IMPORTANT TO BE VACCINATED.
BUT IF YOU ARE FULLY VACCINATED,
THERE MAY BE CONDITIONS WHERE
YOU DECIDE YOU WANT TO TAKE
EXTRA PRECAUTIONS.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LIVE IN AN
AREA WHERE THERES A LOT OF
VIRUS CIRCULATING, IF YOU LIVE
AT HOME WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE
UNVACCINATED, YOU, YOURSELF, ARE
IMMUNOCOMPROMISED ARE WORRIED
ABOUT YOUR RISK, IN ALL THOSE
SETTINGS IT MAKES SENSE TO TAKE
EXTRA PRECAUTIONS WHEN YOU GO
OUT AND MIX WITH OTHER PEOPLE,
ESPECIALLY IN INDOOR SPACES.
THE DELTA VARIANT IS SPREADING
QUICKLY ACROSS OUR COUNTRY.
WE ARE LEARNING MORE AND MORE
ABOUT IT EVERY DAY.
COVID-19 HAS TAUGHT US THAT
WEVE GOT TO BE HUMBLE ABOUT
THIS PANDEMIC.
ITS CERTAINLY NOT OVER, AND
WEVE GOT TO RECOGNIZE THERE ARE
SOME THINGS, A LOT WE KNOW, BUT
THERE ARE ALWAYS THINGS THAT WE
DONT KNOW.
SO WHILE A NEW VARIANT IS
SPREADING, A HIGHLY
TRANSMISSIBLE VARIANT, ACT OUT
OF CAUTION, MAKE SURE THAT
YOURE NOT TAKING EXCESSIVE RISK
BECAUSE THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO
LET OUR GUARD DOWN.
>> YOU JUST MENTIONED VACCINATED
PEOPLE WHO LIVE AT HOME WITH
SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT
VACCINATED.
I KNOW THATS YOUR SITUATION
BECAUSE YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN
WHO ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO BE
VACCINATED YET.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU?
YOU LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE EVEN
THOUGH YOURE VACCINATED, YOU
COULD CONCEIVABLY BE A
BREAKTHROUGH CASE, GET INFECTED.
DOES THAT MEAN WHEN YOU GO HOME
THAT YOU WEAR A MASK IN YOUR
HOME WITH YOUR CHILDREN BECAUSE
YOU FEAR POSSIBLY TRANSMITTING
THE VIRUS TO THEM?
>> GREAT QUESTION.
SO, I DO NOT WEAR A MASK WHEN
IM AT HOME WITH MY CHILDREN.
LET ME SAY FROM THE OUTSET THAT
THIS IS A PLACE WHERE DIFFERENT
PEOPLE WILL MAKE DIFFERENT
DECISIONS BASED ON THEIR RISK
TOLERANCE AND ALSO BASED ON THE
COMMUNITY THEYRE LIVING IN.
BECAUSE I LIVE IN AND TRAVEL TO
COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE AT TIMES
HIGH RATES OF CIRCULATING
INFECTION, WHAT I DO IS I WEAR
MASKS WHEN I GO OUTSIDE,
ESPECIALLY WHEN IM IN INDOOR
SPACES.
I DONT WEAR MASKS OUTDOORS
BECAUSE THE RISK OF TRANSMISSION
IS VERY LOW OUTDOORS.
BUT IF IM GOING TO BE IN INDOOR
SETTINGS WITH PEOPLE WHOSE
VACCINATION STATUS I DONT KNOW,
ESPECIALLY IN THESE AREAS THAT
HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF VIRUS
CIRCULATING, I DO WEAR A MASK
BECAUSE I WANT TO PROTECT MY
CHILDREN WHEN I COME BACK HOME
AND I DONT WANT TO HAVE TO WEAR
A MASK WHEN IM WITH MY KIDS AT
HOME.
>> PRESIDENT BIDEN MADE THE
POINT TODAY THAT 40% OF THE NEW
CASES NOW ARE COMING FROM JUST
FOUR STATES THAT ACCOUNT FOR
40%.
THOSE ARE STATES ARE FLORIDA,
LOUISIANA, ARKANSAS, AND
MISSOURI.
WE HAVE BEEN TALKING FOR MONTHS
NOW ABOUT HOW YOU COMMUNICATE TO
THE UNVACCINATED TO GET
VACCINATED.
BUT WHAT WERE CLEARLY SEEING
NOW IN THIS INFORMATION THATS
OUT THERE IS THAT THERE IS A
PARTISAN, AN ACTUALLY
POLITICALLY PARTISAN RESISTANCE
TO VACCINATION.
AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM HAS
NO EXPERIENCE WITH TRYING TO
COMMUNICATE ACROSS A PARTISAN
DIVIDE ON VACCINATIONS.
SO, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
>> WELL, LAWRENCE, THIS IS ONE
OF THE CHALLENGES WERE FACING.
THE PANDEMIC HAS NOT ONLY BEEN
POLITICIZED BUT ITS BEEN
IMPACTED TREMENDOUSLY BY
MISINFORMATION AND IN SOME CASES
INTENTIONAL MISINFORMATION WE
CALL DISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS.
SO THIS IS A REAL THREAT.
WHATS HAPPENED REALLY,
LAWRENCE, IS THAT SCIENCE HAS
BECOME POLITICIZED.
AND WHENEVER THAT HAPPENS, WHAT
THAT MEANS IS THAT PEOPLE LOSE
OUT BECAUSE THE BENEFITS OF
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY THEN DONT
REACH EVERYONE.
SO, WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT?
WELL, A FEW THINGS.
ONE IS WERE RECOGNIZING AND
BEING HUMBLE ABOUT HOW FAR OUR
MESSAGES REACH.
EVEN IF WE HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO
UNDERSTAND VACCINES AND
COVID-19.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT WERE
DOING IS WE ARE REACHING OUT AND
WORKING TO SUPPORT LOCAL VOICES
IN COMMUNITIES.
NOT EVERYONE LISTENS TO THE SAME
PEOPLE, TRUSTS THE SAME SOURCES
IN OUR BIG DIVERSE COUNTRY.
BUT THATS WHY WE WORK TO
VOCALIZE AND ENGAGE WITH DOCTORS
AND NURSES IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS
THE COUNTRY.
WE WORK TO SUPPORT FAITH LEADERS
AND EDUCATORS AND OTHER
COMMUNITY LEADERS SO THAT THEY
CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THEIR
COMMUNITIES AND HELP FOLKS
UNDERSTAND THE FACTS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS
ISNT ABOUT TRYING TO CONVINCE
EVERYBODY TO DO THE SAME THING.