BACK TO YOU.
>> AN IMPORTANT NOTE, INDEED.
TOM COSTELLO, THANK YOU.
>>> JOINING US NOW, NBC NEWS
MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR DR. VIN
GUPTA.
DR. GUPTA, MORE THAN HALF A
MILLION AMERICANS HAVE BEEN
VACCINATED SO FAR.
FIRST THE PFIZER VACCINE,
MODERNA ROLLING OUT ITS VACCINE
NOW.
WHERE ARE WE IN THE FIGHT TO GET
THIS THING UNDER CONTROL IN OUR
COUNTRY?
>> GOOD MORNING, CRAIG.
YOU KNOW, IT’S STILL GOING TO BE
AN UPHILL CLIMB, AS ALL
FORECASTS ARE SUGGESTING,
ESPECIALLY THE ONE FROM THE
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, WE’RE
EXPECTING VACCINATIONS WILL NOT
REALLY IMPACT THE COURSE OF THIS
PANDEMIC UNTIL THE EARLY SPRING.
SO, MARCH/APRIL TIMEFRAME.
WE THINK AROUND THAT TIME WE’LL
PROBABLY HAVE AVERT EDED,
HOPEFULLY, AT LEAST 40,000
DEATHS HERE IN THIS COUNTRY.
THAT JUST RAISES THE SPECTRA,
HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO CONTINUE
TO AVOID NONESSENTIAL TRAVEL, TO
CONTINUE TO MASK DISTANCE.
ALL THE CONTROL MEASURES THAT
REALLY MATTER AT THIS POINT OF
THE YEAR.
>> DR. GUPTA, THERE APPEARS TO
BE SOME INDICATION THAT THIS
MODERNA VACCINE ESPECIALLY COULD
ACTUALLY ELIMINATE TRANSMISSION.
HOW SIGNIFICANT WOULD THAT BE?
AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR US
TO KNOW WHETHER THAT’S ACTUALLY
THE CASE?
>> BOTH COMPANIES, PFIZER AND
MODERNA, ARE ACTIVELY DEVELOPING
A DATA SET TO ANSWER THAT
QUESTION.
MODERNA, AS YOU SUGGESTED, IN
THE DATA THEY’VE PRESENTED, HAVE
PRESENTED EARLY DATA, SUGGESTING
THAT TRANSMISSION IN ADDITION TO
SEVERE INFECTION ARE BOTH
AVERTED WITH THEIR VACCINE.
WE’RE GOING TO HAVE SOME GREATER
CLARITY ON THIS IN THE NEXT FOUR
WEEKS.
AGAIN, BOTH COMPANIES IN
ADDITION TO THE COMPANIES WITH
CANDIDATE VACCINES IN THE
PIPELINE ARE TRYING TO ANSWER
THIS QUESTION MORE VIGOROUSLY
WITH DATA POINTS.
IF THIS IS TRUE, CRAIG, I THINK
IT’S IMPORTANT.
THERE’S A SENSE OUT THERE I’VE
HEARD FROM SOME AMERICANS, ONCE
I GET THE VACCINE, I’M GOING
BACK TO NORMAL LIFE.
WE ARE BEGGING PEOPLE NOT TO DO
THAT.
BUT IF WE CAN GET SOME CLARITY
ON THIS ISSUE, IT WILL ALLOW
SOME DEGREE OF NORMALCY,
PERHAPS, A LITTLE MORE QUICKLY
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE GOTTEN
VACCINATED.
OPEN QUESTION, WE STILL NEED
PEOPLE TO KEEP THEIR GUARD UP.
>> DR. GUPTA, YOU WERE ONE OF
THE FIRST FOLKS VACCINATED LAST
WEEK THERE IN SEATTLE.
IN FACT, YOU DID IT RIGHT HERE
LIVE ON THE "TODAY" SHOW.
AT THIS POINT, ANY LINGERING
SIDE EFFECTS?
AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE STILL A
LOT OF PEOPLE WATCHING AND
LISTENING THAT ARE VERY
RELUCTANT ABOUT THE IDEA OF
GETTING A VACCINE, SHOT IN THEIR
ARM THAT WAS DEVELOPED IN LESS
THAN A YEAR.
>> NOT AT ALL, CRAIG.
YOU KNOW, 24 HOURS AFTER I GOT
THE VACCINE ON AIR WITH YOU, I
HAD A LITTLE LEFT ARM SORENESS
THAT PRETTY MUCH RESOLVED WITHIN
THAT 24-HOUR TIME PERIOD.
DIDN’T HAVE A FEVER.
DIDN’T HAVE A HEADACHE.
LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THAT
SECOND DOSE ON JANUARY 6th AND I
WOULD APPRECIATE THE PLATFORM TO
DO IT ON AIR.
>> REALLY QUICKLY BEFORE I LET
YOU GO, NEWS OUT OF GREAT
BRITAIN THIS MORNING, OUT OF THE
UK THAT THERE’S A MUTATION,
APPARENTLY, THAT THEY’VE DISCOVERED THAT COULD BE 70%
DISCOVERED THAT COULD BE 70%
MORE TRANSMISSIBLE.
HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT IT?
>> WE DOESN’T KNOW A LOT ABOUT
THAT 70% NUMBER.
IT’S BASED ON STUDIES THAT HAVE
BEEN DONE IN THE LAB, NOT
ACTUALLY REALLY ANALYZING DATA
AMONGST HUMANS.
AND THERE’S SOME SUGGESTION HERE
THAT REALLY IT’S HUMAN BEHAVIOR
THAT’S ACCOUNTING FOR THE
INCREASED SPREAD IN GREAT
BRITAIN AND SOUTH AFRICA WITH
THAT STRAIN OF THE VIRUS.
MORE TO BE DETERMINED ON THAT
SPECIFIC ISSUE.
LET ME ALSO JUST QUICKLY SAY
THAT THE VACCINE -- I’VE GOTTEN
THIS QUESTION A LOT IN THE LAST
24 HOURS AS WELL.
THE VACCINE WILL BE EFFECTIVE
AGAINST THIS NEW STRAIN.
IT TAKES YEARS BEFORE, SAY, THE
INFLUENZA VIRUS IS NO LONGER
RESPONSIVE TO A VACCINE IN ANY
GIVEN YEAR.
IT TAKES YEARS FOR THAT PROCESS
TO OCCUR.
IT’S GOING TO TAKE YEARS FOR
THAT PROCESS TO OCCUR FOR
COVID-19.
SOME TIME DOWN THE ROAD WE MAY
NEED TO UPDATE THE COVID-19
VACCINE IF WE DO NEED TO TAKE IT
OVER THE COURSE OF YEARS.
CERTAINLY NOT NOW.
THIS VACCINE WILL BE EFFECTIVE