WITH A HUGE YEAR GETTING
UNDERWAY WE’RE STILL TALKING
ABOUT 2020 AND THE WAY TO SECURE
AMERICAN ELECTIONS.
TODAY IS JANUARY 16TH, 2022 AND
THIS IS FLASH POINT.
>> Devin: GOOD MORNING, IT’S
NICE TO BE BACK IN THE STUDIO
THIS MORNING.
LIKE SO MANY AMERICANS I WAS
FORCED TO WORK FROM HOME BECAUSE
OF THE CORONAVIRUS.
IT WAS A MILD CASE AND I WAS
DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE I FELT LIKE
I WAS DILIGENT BEEN THAT
INCLUDED THE VACCINES AND
BOOSTER HELPED ME AVOID BY SO
MANY IN THE HOSPITALS PACKED
ACROSS THE STATE.
WEEK AFTER WEEK I COME TO YOU
SUNDAY MORNINGS TALKING ABOUT
OUR HEALTH CARE WORKERS
STRETCHED BEYOND THEIR LIMITS
AND SOMEHOW THEY KEEP FINDING
NEW LIMITS TO STRETCH.
I DON’T KNOW HOW THEY’RE DOING T
AHEAD THIS MORNING WE’RE GOING
TO TALK WITH THE STATE’S CHIEF
MEDICAL OFFICER DR. NATASHA
BAGDASARIAN WHAT SHE’S SEEING
HAPPENING ACROSS THE STATE AND
THE REPORT DUE OUT TOMORROW ON
COVID DEATHS IN THE STATE’S
NURSING HOMES.
TILL NOW WE’VE UNDERSTOOD THAT
ABOUT 5700 DEATHS OCCURRED IN
NURSING HOMES AND LONG-TERM CARE
FACILITY, BUT THE REPORTS SAYS
THAT’S AN UNDERCOUNT BY 2500
DEATHS.
IS THAT ACCURATE?
ALSO THIS MORNING, NEW YEAR
OUTLOOK FOR BUSINESSES
SURPRISINGLY ROSIE EVEN WITH
CLOSURES IN DETROIT.
THE FIGHT OVER VOTING RIGHTS AND
256 YEARS AFTER THE VOTING
RIGHTS, WE’RE FIGHTING TOOTH AND
NAIL ABOUT HOW THEY’RE CAST, ARE
WE CREATING RULES OVER WHO GETS TO CAST THEM?
TO CAST THEM?
THAT’S TODAY ON FLASH POINT.
ALL RIGHT WHEN WE CAME TO YOU
LAST SUNDAY MORNING WE HAD SEEN
A SHORT RUN OF 20,000 COVID
CASES A DAY IN MICHIGAN, THE
HIGHEST SINCE THE START OF THE
PANDEMIC.
HAPPY TO SEE THOSE COME DOWN,
BUT MANY OF THE HOSPITALS ARE ON
A CRISIS FOOTING AND OMICRON IS
RUNNING RAMPANT.
AND LET’S TALK WITH THE CHIEF
MEDICAL OFFICER, DR. NATASHA
BAGDASARIAN.
GLAD TO HAVE YOU ON THE PROGRAM.
I WOULDN’T WANT TO TURN THIS
INTO A ROULETTE TABLE BECAUSE
IT’S TOUGH TO PREDICT.
FOR MICHIGAN, IS THE WORST
BEHIND US, ARE WE IN THE MIDDLE
OF IT OR THE WORST IS YET TO
COME?
>> MODELING SHOWS WE’RE SEEING
THE OMICRON SURGE AND SIX WEEKS
AGO MOSTLY DELTA AND OMICRON HAS
TAKEN OVER IN THE STATE FAIRLY
RECENTLY.
WHEN WE LOOK AT MODELING BASED
ON WHAT ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS ARE
PUTTING TOGETHER AROUND THE
COUNTRY, BASE WITHED ON
MICHIGAN’S DATA, WHAT THEY’RE
PREDICTING IS THAT WE WILL PEAK
BY THE END OF JANUARY, MAYBE
EARLY FEBRUARY SO WE’VE NOT SEEN
THE WORST, I FEAR.
>> Devin: SO WE’RE GETTING
CLOSER TO THAT TIPPING WHICH
WOULD BE NICE ABOUT YOU PEOPLE
ARE BUILDING OPTIMISM THAT IF WE
MOVE PAST OMICRON, THAT WE’LL BE
HOME FREE, HOW DO WE KNOW THAT
OMEGA ISN’T YET TO COME?
WHAT IS THE CONCERN ABOUT THE
NEXT VARIANT?
>> I HAVE TO TELL YOU THERE WILL
BE NEW VARIANTS, VARIANTS AFTER
OMICRON, THIS IS NOT THE LAST
VARIANT OF CONCERN THAT WE’VE
SEEN.
NOW, WHAT THESE VARIANTS WILL
LOOK LIKE AND HOW THIS’LL
BEHAVE, WE DON’T YET KNOW.
COULD THEY CAUSE MILDER
DISEASES?
IT’S POSSIBLE.
COULD THEY CAUSE MORE SEVERE
DISEASE?
WE DON’T KNOW.
IT DEPENDS HOW THE VIRUS
BEHAVES.
MUTATIONS OCCUR THE MORE IT
REPLICATES.
AND THE MORE IT SPREADS IT MAKES
MISTAKES AND MUTATIONS AND WE
DON’T KNOW HOW IT WILL LOOK AND
HOW IT WILL AFFECT HOW THE VIRUS
BEHAVES.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE TESTING
PROBLEM.
MY OWN TESTING WITH IT GAVE ME
INSIGHT WITH SHORTCOMINGS AND
POSITIVE.
I HAD THREE RAPID TEST THAT IS
WERE NEGATIVE, I HAD A PCR TEST
NEGATIVE, ONLY THE NEXT DAY I
REALIZED I HAD ANOTHER CONTACT
WITH A FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAD IT
DID I FINALLY HAVE A RAPID TEST
THAT WAS POSITIVE.
THE GAP OF WAITING FOR THAT PCR
TEST WAS TWO DAYS AND SOMEWHERE
IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT WAS
OBVIOUSLY WHEN MY STATUS
CHANGED.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT OUR TESTS
ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED BY THE
TIME IT TAKES TO GET THE RESULTS
BACK.
AND IF YOU’RE HAVING TO WAIT
DAYS FOR THE RESULTS, NEVER MIND
GETTING ENOUGH TESTS AROUND,
ISN’T A BIG PROBLEM HERE THE
RESPONSIVENESS OF GETTING THE
RESULTS IN?
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I’LL SAY
THAT WHEN YOU’RE TESTING, THAT
TEST RESULT ONLY TELLS YOU YOUR
STATUS ON THAT DAY AT THE MOMENT
YOU TAKE THE TEST.
SO IT DOESN’T TELL WHAT YOU
COULD HAPPEN THE NEXT DAY, IF
YOU’VE BEEN EXPOSED AND
INCUBATING THE VIRUS, MEANS THE
VIRUS IS TAKING HOLD AND
STARTING TO SLOWLY REPLICATE THE
TEST ISN’T GOING TO TELL YOU
YOU’RE ABOUT TO DEVELOP THE
DISEASE.
SO, HAVING A RAPID--
I’M SORRY, HAVING A READY SUPPLY
OF TESTS IS VITAL SO PEOPLE CAN
TEST MULTIPLE TIMES AS YOU DID.
SO TESTS WERE NEGATIVE ON
CERTAIN DAYS TELLING YOU THE
VIRUS HADN’T YET TAKEN HOLD AND
THEN THE TEST BECAME POSITIVE
AND THAT’S WHAT WE SEE.
WE’RE ALSO SEEING THAT ANTIGEN
TESTS MAY BE SLIGHTLY MORE LESS
SENSITIVE IN THE EARLY COURSE OF
DISEASE AND THAT’S TROUBLING
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT’S WHEN A
LOT OF TRANSMISSION OCCURS.
>> IN FACT, WHEN WE WERE TALKING
ABOUT TESTING EARLIER, I TALKED
ABOUT THIS A LITTLE WITH THE
GOVERNOR THIS PAST WEEK, WE ARE
NOW ON THE FOOTING OF TRYING TO
GET TESTS IN MANY MORE HOMES AND
COVERING THE COSTS OF THEM AS
WELL WHICH IS TERRIBLY IMPORTANT
BECAUSE THESE CAN BE EXPENSIVE,
$25 FOR A PAIR OF THEM.
AND WE WEREN’T READY, WERE WE?
WITH THE ROBUST TESTING
ATMOSPHERE THAT WE NEEDED WHEN
OMICRON HIT.
>> WELL, IT REALLY -- WHEN YOU
LOOK THE AT ENTIRE LANDSCAPE OF
TESTING, WE DO HAVE TESTING
AVAILABLE.
IT JUST MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT
TYPE OF TESTING FOR THE RIGHT
SITUATIONS.
SO EARLY ON IN THE PANDEMIC, THE
STATE REALLY BUILT UP OUR
ABILITY TO DO PCR.
SO WE HAD LABS THAT WERE WILLING
AND ABLE TO PERFORM PCR ON
FAIRLY LARGE SCALE PLATFORMS.
AND WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT
SOMETIMES WHEN THINGS GET REALLY
BUSY THAT AFFECTS TURNAROUND
TIME AND SO TESTING RESULTS
AREN’T AVAILABLE RIGHT AWAY.
WHEN ANTIGEN TESTS DEVELOPED.
MICHIGAN WAS ONE OF THE EARLY
ADOPTERS OF ANTIGEN TESTING AND
WE ROLLED THEM OUT TO SCHOOLS
VERY EARLY ON AND WHEN
OVER-THE-COUNTER TESTS BECAME
AVAILABLE.
WE ALSO WERE EARLY ADOPTERS AND
TRIED TO BUY THOSE EARLY ON, BUT
THE AVAILABILITY SIMPLY HASN’T
BEEN THERE.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TESTING AS A
WHOLE.
THERE IS TESTING AVAILABLE WHEN
WE LOOK STATEWIDE.
THERE IS PCR TESTING AVAILABLE,
BUT DOES IT MEET OUR NEEDS?
IT DOESN’T MEET OUR NEEDS IN
TERMS OF TURN AROUND TIME AND
HAVING THE TEST RESULTS
AVAILABLE RIGHT AWAY.
IT DOES HELP US IN CERTAIN
SITUATIONS LIKE IF SOMEONE IS
GOING TO A HOSPITAL AND WE NEED
TO KNOW WHETHER THEY HAVE COVID
FOR TREATMENT PURPOSES AND MAY
BE SLIGHTLY MORE HELPFUL AND
RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS AND
OVER-THE-COUNTER IS WHAT WE NEED
AND WE NEED ENOUGH OF THEM SO
THAT MICHIGAN’S RESIDENTS CAN
TEST MULTIPLE TIMES, AS YOU DID.
>> YEAH, EXACTLY RIGHT.
AND THAT’S--
TO SEE PEOPLE WAITING IN LONG
LINES AND THEN WAITING FOR A
COUPLE OF DAYS FOR THE RESULTS,
CLEARLY, IT HAD TO BE
DISAPPOINTING A LOT, TO YOU.
LET’S TALK ABOUT SHOTS AND THE
VACCINE AND WE HAD A POLL THE
MOST RECENT WDIV DETROIT NEWS
POLL SHOWED IT’S A PRETTY STEADY
NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO INSIST
THEY’RE NOT GOING TO GET
VACCINATED.
I TALKED WITH THE GOVERNOR ABOUT
IT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY WAY FOR HEAD
ROADS--
I’M SORRY, HEADWAY, INROADS, I
MIXED THE TWO, THAT AMONG PEOPLE
ON THE FAR RIGHT AND CLEARLY
AMONG A LOT OF DETROITERS?
>> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
CONTINUES TO WORRY ME ARE
VACCINATION RATES IN CERTAIN
COMMUNITIES AND WHEN WE LOOK AT
YOUNGER COMMUNITIES IN GENERAL,
OR YOUNGER POPULATIONS IN
GENERAL, THEY TEND TO BE LESS
WILLING TO VACCINATE SO OUR
VACCINATION RATES IN 20 TO 30
YEAR OLDS AND 30 TO 40 YEAR OLDS
ARE NOT GREAT.
AND WE LOOK AT THE VACCINATION
UP TICK THAT’S LOWER.
ONE OF THE THINGS I’M VERY
WORRIED ABOUT IS THE WAY THAT
THAT VACCINE UP TAKE IS NOT
EQUAL ACROSS THE BOARD, WE’RE
LEAVING SOME COMMUNITIES VERY
VULNERABLE TO THE EFFECTS OF
COVID.
AND WITH THIS OMICRON SURGE,
THEY WILL BE THE MOST VULNERABLE
COMMUNITIES, SO, WE ARE WORKING
ON STRATEGIES TO TRY TO ADDRESS
THAT AND SOME VERY SPECIFIC
COMMUNICATION TOOLS AND TRUSTED
MESSENGERS FOR THE COMMUNITIES
THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND IN
TERMS OF VACCINATION RATES.
>> I KNOW THAT YOU WERE NOT IN
YOUR CURRENT POSITION WHEN ALL
OF THESE DECISIONS WERE MADE,
BUT WE HAVE THIS REPORT THAT’S
DUE OUT TOMORROW THAT EVEN
BEFORE IT CAME OUT, A LOT OF
PEOPLE WERE DEBATING AND ARGUING
OVER THE FINDINGS AND THAT WAS
THE NURSING HOME DEATHS.
IT WAS A CONTROVERSIAL POLICY
EARLY ON DIDN’T SEEM TO MAKE
SENSE FOR PEOPLE TO PUT COVID
POSITIVE PATIENTS INTO A VERY
DANGEROUS, IT WOULD SEEM, AND
VULNERABLE POPULATION LIKE
NURSING HOMES AND LONG-TERM CARE
FACILITIES.
BUT IT SEEMS THAT AT LEAST
ACCORD TO GO WHAT WE’RE GOING TO
SEE IN THIS REPORT TOMORROW,
THAT THE COUNT OF THOSE DEATHS
THAT OCCURRED IN THOSE PLACES
WAS MAYBE OFF BY ABOUT A
THOUSAND OR SO.
GIVE ME YOUR REACTION TO WHAT
YOU’VE HEARD SO FAR AND WHAT WE
NEED TO DO ABOUT IT.
>> WELL, DEVIN, IT’S DIFFICULT
FOR ME TO COMMENT ON THINGS THAT
OCCURRED BEFORE I WAS BOTH
WORKING AT THE STATE AND
ACTUALLY BEFORE I WAS EVEN IN
MICHIGAN.
HOWEVER, I CAN SAY THAT DURING
THE PANDEMIC, WHAT WE’VE REALLY
SEEN IS THAT TOUGH DECISIONS
HAVE TO BE MADE AND SOMETIMES
WITH VERY LITTLE NOTICE AS WE
LEARN NEW INFORMATION AND
CHANGES.
THIS WHOLE PANDEMIC HAS BEEN AN
OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND TO BE
AS AGILE AND NIMBLE AS POSSIBLE,
AND IT’S DIFFICULT, I THINK, TO
SECOND GUESS SOME OF THE
DECISIONS MADE EARLY ON IN THE
PANDEMIC WHEN AGAIN, WE WERE
LEARNING ABOUT THE VIRUS AND
LEARNING HOW IT BEHAVED IN
CERTAIN SETTINGS.
>> Devin: THERE WILL BE A FAIR
AMOUNT OF THAT, YOU KNOW, AS THE
REPORT COMES OUT TOMORROW.