THE EASTER EGGS? I HOPE SO BECAUSE IT’S TIME TO GET STARTED ON FLASHPOINT. MHM. ANECDOTALLY
IT SURE SEEMS LIKE WE HEAR ABOUT
MORE PEOPLE CATCHING COVID
RECENTLY. SO HOW CONCERNED
SHOULD WE BE? LET’S TALK ABOUT
IT WITH THE CHIEF MEDICAL
EXECUTIVE FOR THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN, DR NATASHA
BAGDASARIAN. UNIVERSITY OF
MICHIGAN IMMUNOLOGIST AND AUTHOR
OF THE PANDEMIC, PONDERING BLOG
, DR JIM BAKER AND THE ACTING
CHAIR OF THE FDA VACCINE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE. DR ARNOLD
MOTTO. I’VE GOT AN ALL STAR
PANEL THIS MORNING. THAT’S FOR
SURE. DR BAGLEY, SYRIA. LET ME
START WITH YOU WITH SYMPTOMS.
LESS SEVERE HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE
DOWN. HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO BEING
ABLE TO TREAT COVID LIKE THE
SEASONAL FLU? WELL I JUST HAVE
TO REMIND YOUR VIEWERS OUT THERE
THAT THE PANDEMIC IS NOT OVER
AND WE ARE NOT YET THINKING
ABOUT COVID IN THE SAME WAY THAT
WE’RE THINKING ABOUT SEASONAL
FLU. WE’RE STILL SEEING A LOT OF
UNPREDICTABILITY. TO OUR COVID
19 RESPONSE CYCLE, WHICH IS A
LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT
WE SEE WITH OTHER VIRUSES THAT
HAVE REALLY EMBEDDED THEMSELVES
AS BEING SEASONAL, VIRAL
RESPIRATORY PATHOGENS, AND SO WE
ARE STILL WATCHING THE DATA VERY
CLOSELY. WE’RE WATCHING WHAT’S
HAPPENING AROUND THE WORLD
AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND WE’RE
PAYING VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO
THOSE VARIANTS OF CONCERN. YEAH
DR. BAKER IF SOMEONE QUALIFIES
FOR A SECOND BOOSTER, WHEN
SHOULD THEY GET IT? WHAT’S THE
BEST ADVICE RIGHT NOW? WITH
CASES STILL ON THE LOWER END, OR
WHEN WE SEE A REAL JUMP UP WELL
, I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO
UNDERSTAND THIS. IT’S A
DIFFERENT ANSWER FOR MANY
DIFFERENT PEOPLE. IF YOU HAVE A
YOUNGER PERSON WHO’S HEALTHY,
AND THAT’S ALREADY HAD A ANOTHER
BOOSTER. I THINK THEY’RE FINE
RIGHT NOW. UH ELDERLY PEOPLE,
PEOPLE WHO HAVE SERIOUS LUNG
DISEASE OR LIVE IN COMMUNAL
SETTINGS WHERE THEY’RE AT HIGHER
RISK. I THINK THEY MAY WANT TO
GO AHEAD. BUT I THINK IN MOST
CASES, PEOPLE CAN WAIT UNTIL THE
FALL WHEN WE MAY EITHER HAVE A
DIFFERENT VARIANT, OR WE HAVE
MORE PROXIMITY TO AN OUTBREAK
THAT WE MIGHT EXPECT IN THE
WINTER. YEAH DR. MONTOYA, LET ME
ASK YOU THERE WAS SOME MOVEMENT
THIS WEEK. WE ON THE VACCINE FOR
KIDS AGES, 5 TO 11. AND I KNOW A
LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STILL
WONDERING WHEN WILL KIDS UNDER
FIVE BE ELIGIBLE? WHERE ARE WE
WITH THAT? WELL, THIS IS A MAJOR
STEP. ESPECIALLY FOR THE UNDER
FIVES. UH AND IT’S GOING TO TAKE
A MEETING OF OUR COMMITTEE. THE
VERB PACK THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
TO THE FDA. I THINK THE
SITUATION WITH THE THIRD SHOTS
FOR THE OLDER CHILDREN 5 TO 11
THAT’S UNDER CONSIDERATION NOW.
WE’RE NOT SURE HOW THAT’S GONNA
GO, BUT I THINK THE BOTTOM LINE
IS WE ARE DEVELOPING A MORE LONG
TERM STRATEGY. WE HAD A MEETING.
UH ABOUT A WEEK AGO, NOT THE PEG
NOT TO VOTE ON ANYTHING BUT TO
DISCUSS WHAT IS GOING TO BE
GOING ON IN THE FUTURE, AND
WE’RE GOING TO BE MOVING TO
PROBABLY HAVING, UH, VACCINE.
WITH ITS COMPONENTS CLOSER TO
WHAT CIRCULATES WE MAY WELL HAVE
MORE THAN ONE VARIANT IN THE
VACCINE, JUST TO BE SURE THAT WE
HIT THE RIGHT HEART. YEAH YOU I
WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO ASK YOU
ABOUT THAT KIND OF TARGETING
THOSE INDEPENDENTLY BUT LET ME
LET ME ASK YOU. WE SAW NEWS
YESTERDAY ON A NEW TEST. UH A
BREATHALYZER TYPE TEST. HOW
CLOSE DO YOU THINK THAT IS
BECOMING REALITY? WELL IT SEEMED
TO BE APPROVED THIS I DON’T I
DON’T HAVE DIRECT EVIDENCE, BUT
THE TAX I’VE BEEN SEEING SAY
THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY APPROVED.
YEAH AND OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF
PEOPLE WHO THAT YOU KNOW, THE
TESTING CAN SOMETIMES BE
CUMBERSOME, SO THAT’S OBVIOUSLY
A STEP FORWARD. DOCTOR
BAGDASARIAN YOU MENTIONED IT’S
IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW
THAT PANDEMIC JUST ISN’T OVER
AND YET I’M SURE AS A PUBLIC
HEALTH OFFICIAL, YOU DEAL WITH
PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT IT TO BE
OVER. THEY HAVE THAT COVID
FATIGUE. WHERE DO WE GO FROM
HERE? WHERE DO YOU GO IN TERMS
OF TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE AWARE
OF THE CURRENT THREAT LEVEL.
WELL OF COURSE WE ALL WANT THIS
PANDEMIC TO BE OVER. BUT THAT IS
SIMPLY NOT A REALITY AT THE
MOMENT, AND IN FACT, WHAT WE ARE
SEEING NOW IS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
. WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOME
MOVEMENT THAT IS LIKELY DUE TO
BE A TWO WE’VE BEEN FOLLOWING
CLOSELY. WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING
IN PLACES LIKE EUROPE AND ASIA
WITH THE B TWO SUB VARIANT, AND
, OF COURSE, THE NORTHEAST IS
NOW SEEING INCREASES IN CASES
AND EVEN IN MICHIGAN. THERE ARE,
UM UM, QUITE A FEW REGIONS THAT
ARE SEEING EITHER PLATEAUS OR
EVEN SLIGHT UPTICKS. AND SO WE
HAVE TO BE READY HERE IN
MICHIGAN FOR A LIKELY UPTICK IN
CASES DUE TO THE B, A TWO
VARIANT, AND I THINK THAT HAVING
COMMUNICATIONS LIKE THIS ARE
VERY IMPORTANT IN REMINDING
PEOPLE THAT WE ARE NOT DONE WITH
THE PANDEMIC. AND IN FACT, THE
NEXT FEW WEEKS WE ARE LOOKING AT
, UM HAVING SOME INCREASED CASES
, AND WE’RE WATCHING THOSE VERY
CAREFULLY AT THE MOMENT. IT
DOESN’T SEEM LIKE IT’S GOING TO
BE A SHARP SPIKE THE WAY WE SAW
WITH THE LAST TIME A CRUMB
SURGE. BUT WE ARE AGAIN LOOKING
AHEAD AND PREDICTING THAT WE
WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN CASES.
AND SO THAT’S WHY IT’S MORE
IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO USE THOSE
MITIGATION STRATEGIES TO MAKE
SURE THAT YOU’RE VACCINATED AND
BOOSTED IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE TO
MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE USING
TOOLS THAT WE HAVE BEEN PROVEN
TO BE EFFECTIVE THROUGHOUT THIS
PANDEMIC. SO AGAIN, THE PANDEMIC
ISN’T OVER. AND I THINK HAVING
THESE CONVERSATIONS AND
REMINDING FOLKS THAT THAT’S THE
FACT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. YEAH
DR. BAKER WHAT’S THE MESSAGE TO
THOSE WHO HAVE A FATALISTIC
APPROACH TO THIS NOW WHERE THEY
FEEL? IT’S JUST INEVITABLE THAT
EVERYONE’S GOING TO GET COVID. I
MIGHT AS WELL GET IT OVER WITH.
WELL NUMBER ONE. I THINK WE’RE
IN A VERY DIFFERENT POSITION
THAT WE’VE BEEN IN BEFORE. IF
YOU LOOK ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT HALF
THE POPULATION’S ALREADY HAD
COMFORT. THEY HAVE ANTIBIOTICS
THAT SUGGESTS THEY’VE ALREADY
BEEN INFECTED. IN ADDITION, WE
NOW ARE REACHING HIGHER LEVELS
OF VACCINATION IN AGE GROUP OVER
FIVE THE PEOPLE ELIGIBLE, AT
LEAST 80% OF POPULATION HAS ONE
DOSE OF THE VACCINE, SO THERE’S
A LOT OF BACKGROUND IMMUNITY. I
THINK THE OTHER THING THEY
SHOULD REMEMBER IS THAT WE NOW
HAVE EFFECTIVE DRUGS. SO AS YOU
POINTED OUT, NEW SCREENING TESTS
ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU CAN
ACTUALLY DO THIS. YOU COULD TAKE
PICS LITTLE VIVID AND REALLY
MITIGATE WON A LOT OF THE
SYMPTOMS AND POTENTIALLY AVOID
HOSPITALIZATION. SO WE’RE IN
SORT OF A PERIOD WHEN YOU CAN
ACTUALLY DO THINGS TO PREVENT
BEING ILL IF YOU GET INFECTED.
SO I THINK I THINK FROM ONE OF
THE GOOD NEWS THINGS THAT COME
OUT IS THAT EVEN THOUGH WE’RE
SEEING A SLIGHT UPTAKE IN
INFECTIONS AND RIGHT NOW, 85% OF
THE INFECTIONS IN THE US ARE DUE
TO THE NEW BE A VARIANT. WE ARE
SEEING AN UPTICK IN
HOSPITALIZATIONS. AND I THINK
THAT’S BECAUSE WE HAVE EFFECTIVE
TOOLS TO TREAT AND PREVENT
PEOPLE FROM BEING INFECTED. SO
DON’T LOWER YOUR GUARD. IF YOU
THINK YOU’RE INFECTED TEST
YOURSELF BECAUSE THERE ARE
OPTIONS AND WAYS TO KEEP
YOURSELF FROM GETTING SICK. YEAH
DR. MONTOYA, I’LL GIVE YOU THE
LAST WORD HERE IN YOUR EXPERT
OPINION. WHERE DO WE GO FROM
HERE? WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU
THINK PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
WHERE WE STAND IN THE PANDEMIC
RIGHT NOW. I THINK, AS WE’VE
JUST HEARD PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW
THAT WE DO HAVE SOLUTIONS TO THE
PROBLEM OF COVID. THAT COVID IS
NOT THE FLU. A SPECIALLY IN THE
PAST WHEN EVERYBODY WAS
SUSCEPTIBLE. NOW WE HAVE
POPULATIONS THAT ARE GETTING
IMMUNITY EITHER THROUGH
INFECTION. BUT MORE
APPROPRIATELY THROUGH
VACCINATION. AND WE WILL. HAVE
TO LIVE WITH THIS VIRUS, BUT
WE’VE LEARNED HOW TO DO THIS AND
WE HAVE THE VACCINE AND WE
SHOULD FOLLOW ADVICE ABOUT WHEN
TO GET RE VACCINATED. IT’S AN
EVOLVING ISSUE BECAUSE WE DON’T
KNOW HOW THE VIRUS IS GOING TO
BEHAVE GOING FORWARD. BUT YOU
REMEMBER THAT IF YOU DO IN SPITE
OF GETTING VACCINATED HAVE WHAT
HAS BEEN CALLED A BREAKTHROUGH
INFECTION. THESE INFECTIONS ARE
MORE LIKELY TO BE MILD, NOT
ALWAYS. AND IF THERE BE
INFECTION DOES SEEM TO BE A
LITTLE MORE SEVERE OR YOU’RE IN
A RISK CATEGORY. REMEMBER THERE
ARE DRUGS NOW THEY’LL DOUBLE
THAT ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST THE
VIRUS. SO WE’VE GOT OUR TOOLS.
WE JUST HAVE TO USE THEM AND
HAVE PEOPLE REMEMBER THAT THEY
ARE AVAILABLE. YEAH WELL,
CONVERSATIONS LIKE THIS ARE
CERTAINLY HELPFUL. AND WE
APPRECIATE ALL THREE OF YOUR