REAL
REAL STORY. WE WANT TO TALK TO TWO DOCTORS
NOW WHO HAVE GOTTEN THE COVETED
19 VACCINE INTRODUCING DR.
JONATHAN STEINER, MEDICAL
DIRECTOR OF THE MEDICAL
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AT YALE NEW
HAVEN HOSPITAL.
HAVEN HOSPITAL. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF YALE
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND ALSO
THE DIRECTOR OF THE YALE NEW
HAVEN HEALTH SYSTEM, A HEALTH
SYSTEM ICU COMMITTEE.
ALSO DR. ON EMR BLOG WHO
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT YALE
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
ALSO THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
FOR PFIZER'S COBRA 19 VACCINE
TRIAL AT YALE AND HE'S ALSO
THE DIRECTOR OF THE HIV
CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM THERE.
GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH
BOTH FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
THANKS FOR HAVING US.
>>
>>
>> FIRST
>> FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO EXTEND
MY GRATITUDE FOR THE WORK THAT
YOU ALL ARE DOING.
IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLY
DIFFICULT YEAR BUT IT'S
BRILLIANT MINDS LIKE YOURS THAT
ARE REALLY GETTING CONNECTICUT
THROUGH THIS.
THROUGH THIS. SO YOU KNOW, WE APPRECIATE
EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING.
>>
>>
>> THANK
>> THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. >>
>>
>> SO
>> SO LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.
YOU BOTH HAVE FASCINATING
BACKGROUNDS.
BACKGROUNDS. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO GO TO A
DOCTOR OUR.
DOCTOR OUR. SO YOU WERE PART OF THIS
CLINICAL TRIAL, PFIZER'S
CLINICAL TRIAL AND FROM WHAT WE
WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT, IT
SOUNDS LIKE YOUR HIV RESEARCH
WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY YOU
DID THAT.
DID THAT.
DID THAT. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT
EXPLAIN TO ME HOW YOU BECAME
PART OF THIS TRIAL AND YOUR
EXPERIENCE WITH IT.
>>
>>
>> THAT'S
>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
YES.
YES.
YES. SO
YES. SO YOU'RE RIGHT.
SO MY
SO MY
SO MY >>
SO MY >> -- AND ALSO IN HIV CLINICAL
TRIALS, AND MY PASSION IS REALLY
ABOUT AD
ABOUT AD
ABOUT AD THERAPIES OR SOMETIMES JUST
REPURPOSING OLDER THERAPIES IN
NEW WAYS TO TREAT HIV, AND IT'S
GREAT TO SEE OVER THE YEARS HOW
IT'S BECOME BETTER M
TOLERAB BY PATIENTS.
HAVING A BACKGROUND IN VIROLOGY
AND HAVING A BACKGROUND IN
CLINICAL TRIALS, WE RAN A STUDY
ON THE HIV STUDY AND ALSO THE
PFIZER VACCINE STUDY.
BECAUSE SOME OF THE TREATMENTS
WEREN'T DOING SO GREAT IN
PATIENTS, I THINK IT MADE SENSE
THAT FINDING A WAY TO PREVENT
COVID-19 MADE A LOT OF SENSE.
FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH
PERSPECTIVE, IT PROBABLY LED TO
MUCH LESS UTILIZATION OF
RESOURCES, SO IT WAS REALLY
GREAT TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
>> YEAH, IT WAS REALL
GREAT TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT. >> YEAH, IT WAS PRTY
FASCINATING TO SEE, DO YOU POUR
RESOURCES INTO STUDYING IT OR DO
YOU POUR RESOURCES INTO TREATING
IT.
IT.
IT. TELL
IT. TELL ME ABOUT THE IMPACT YOU'V
IT. TELL ME ABOUT THE IMPACT YOU' Y
WITH THE VACCINE AND WHAT IMPACT
IT'S HAD ON YOU?
>> THIS IS SORT OF A REALLY VERY
DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE FOR US.
PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, A LOT OF
US IN MY FIELD HAVE KNOWN IN THE
BACK OF OUR MIND HAVE KNOWN THAT
MANY PANDEMICS ARE RESPIRATORY
IN NATURE, AND SO WE MIGHT BE
CALLED ONTO DEAL WITH SUCH A
SITUATION, BUT THE THOUGHT AND
ARE A BIT DIFFERENT.
I THINK FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, A
MEDICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT HAS
MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PATIENTS, AND REALLY, WHAT WAS
DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS IS ALL OF A
SUDDEN WE HAD AN OVERWHELMING
NUMBER OF PATIENTS WITH A SINGLE
DISEASE, AND THE THING THAT WAS
VERY COMPLICATED ABOUT THIS IS
IS THAT THE DISEASE THAT THEY
GET IS A LUNG INJURY THAT IS --
WE OFTEN SEE IT DURING FLU
SEASON, WHEN PEOPLE GET A SUPER
IMPOSED BACTERIAL INFECTION.
IT'S CALLED ACUTE RESPIRATORY
DISTRE OR ARDS.
BUT THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS
THAT GET SICK WITH COVID-19 HAVE
WHAT WE CALL ARDS, AND THEY GET
SICK AND HAVE ON A
VENTILATOR.
VENTILATOR. THESE PATIENTS ARE VERY SICK
WITH ARDS, AND PATIENTS WITH
ARDS ARE SOME OF THE PATIENTS
THAT STAY IN THE HOSPITAL THE
LONGEST.
LONGEST.
LONGEST. THEY CAN BE IN THE INTENSIVE
CARE FOR THREE TO FOUR WEEKS, IN
THE REGULAR HOSPITAL ANOTHER FEW
WEEKS, AND IN PHYSICAL THERAPY
ANOTHER COUPLE OF WEEKS.
PATIENTS DON'T LEAVE BECAUSE
SICK, AND IF YOU CAN
KEEP THEM ALIVE, YOU'RE GOING TO
BE KEEPING THEM AROUND, AND
THAT'S WHERE WE FOUND OURSELVES.
ASIDE FROM THE COMPLEXITY OF
IT'S NOT EXACTLY THE SAME AS
WHAT WE CALL REGULAR ARDS, AND
THERE WAS SOME CONCERNS ABOUT
THE EFFICACY OF THE PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT ATE
START.
START.
START. THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT I
HAD TO THINK ABOUT TO TAKE CARE
OF THE STAFF I
HAD TO THINK ABOUT TO TAKE CARE OF THE STAFF ASIDE FROM THE
COMPLEXITY OF THE DISEASE.
BETWEEN MARCH, APRIL, MAY, WE
HAD A PRETD HE ON IT,
EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A NEW
DISEASE.
DISEASE.
DISEASE. >> THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN, I
CAN IMAGINE.
CAN IMAGINE. THAT'S VERY SCARY, AND YOU GUYS
ARE ALL PUTTING YOUR LIVES ON
THE LINE TO TREAT PATIENTS EVERY
SINGLE DAY.
SINGLE DAY. I REMEMBER WHEN THE P.P.E.
SHORTAGE WAS THERE, AND YOU ALL
WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
TO DO, AND THAT'S PRETTY SCARY.
DOCTOR, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK
ABOUT THE VACCINE.
I WAS READING SOMEWHERE THAT,
LIKE, A FLU VACCINE EVERY YEAR
WOULD BE 40% TO 60% EFFECTIVE,
AND WE HAVE THIS PFIZER VACCINE
THAT'S OVER 90% EFFECTIVE, WHICH
IS PRETTY INCREDIBLE.
CAN YOU COMPARE THE TWO AND JUST
CORRECT ME IF MY NUMBERS ARE
WRONG ON THAT AND GIVE ME AN
IDEA OF HOW BIG THIS IS TO HAVE
AN EFFICACY AT THAT LEVEL.
>> YEAH, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT
POINT BECAUSE THE EFFICACY IS AN
IMPORTANT DETERMINANT OF HOW
QUICKLY YOU CAN ACHIEVE HERD
IMMUNITY, AND, YOU KNOW, SO THE
HIGHER THE EFFICACY OF A VAGU
IMMUNITY, AND, YOU KNOW, SO THE HIGHER THE EFFICACY OF A
VA THE EASIER IT IS TO
APPROACH A THRESHOLD.
EFFICAC
APPROACH A THRESHOLD.
EFFI
EFFI OF
EFFI OF A
EFFI OF A VACCINE IN THE HIGH 90s, THAT'S GREAT FOR ANY
VACCINE.
VACCINE.
VACCINE. THE MAJORITY OF THESE
INDIVIDUALS WHO RECEIVE A
VACCINE WILL BE PROTECTED
AGAINST ACQUIRING THE INFECTION,
AND FOR THOSE WHO ACQUIRE THE
INFECTION, IT MITIGATES
SEVERITY.
SEVERITY.
SEVERITY. THE PFIZER VACCINE WAS NEW
TECHNOLOGY.
TECHNOLOGY. HASN'T GONE TO A TRIAL BEFORE
FOR ANY DISEASE.
SO AT THE POINT WE WERE
CONDUCTING TRIALS, IT WASN'T
CLEAR HOW EFFECTIVE IT WOULD BE.
THE F.D.A. HAD RECOMMENDED THEY
WOULD LIKE TO SEE VACCINES THAT
ARE AT LEAST 50% EFFECTIVE, SO
YOU CAI HOW GRATIFYING
IT WAS TO SEE A VACCINE
EFFECTIVE THAT HIGHLY.
HAVING A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE
VACCINE IS ONLY TH
STORY, AND I THINK ANOTHER THING
IS THE UPTAKE OF THE VACCINE.
THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS WILLING
TO TAKE THE VACCINES, AT ONE
POINT, WAS AS LOW AS 50%.
>> TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND
BECAUSE YOU BOTH GOT THE
VACCINE, AND YOU KNOW PLENTY OF
DOCTORS ALSO WENT IN FRONT OF
OUR CAMERAS, AND THEY GOT THE
VACCINE.
VACCINE.
VACCINE. DOCTOR, CAN YOU TELL PEOPLE WHY
YOU THINK IT'S SAF
ONLY HAVE ABOUT 90 SECONDS
LEFT, AND I WANT TO HEAR FROM
YOU HOW YOU'RE FEELING, WHY YOU
THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THE
VACCINE, AND I WANT TO HEAR FROM
YOUR COLLEAGUE, AS WELL.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. I'M FEELING WELL.
IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF
THE VACCINE, I HAD NO SYMPTOMS
WHATEVER OTHER THAN SOME
SORENESS AT THE INJECTION SITE.
THE NEXT DAY, I HAD A LITTLE
SOE INJECTION SITE
THAT WENT WAY IN ABOUT TWO DAYS.
BASED ON THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE
SAFETY PROFILE AND THE TENS OF
THOUS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO
RECEIVED THE VACCINES, WE FEEL
PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THE
VACCINE IS SAFE, AND PART OF THE
REASON FOR TAKING THE VACCINE SO
PUBLICLY WAS TO REINFORCE THAT.
>> DOCTOR?
>> DOCTOR? >> YEAH, SIMILARLY.
AT THE TIME OF THE VACCINATION,
I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO SYMPTOMS.
SIMILARLY, I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF
AN ACHE IN MY LEFT ARM THE NEXT
MORNING, WHICH IS TYPICAL OF
THESE TYPES OF VACCINES.
THIS IS NOT A SMALL TRIAL.
I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 40,000
PEOPLE, AND THAT'S A LOT OF
PEOPLE, SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE
PROBLEMS AS YOU GET THAT MANY
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. LOOKING AT THOSE NUMBERS, I HAVE
NO CONCERNS.
NO CONCERNS. I THINK THE OTHER ISSUE TO POINT
OUT IS THAT IT'S NOT AS IF
GETTING COVID-19 -- THE REASON
WE'RE DOING THIS IS BECAUSE IT'S
UNSAFE TO BE GETTING THE VIRUS
ITSELF, AND I THINK PEOPLE NEED
TO REMEMBER THAT.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S
CLEARLY NOT SAFE.
WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS SITUATION
WHERE WE ARE NOW IF A LOT OF
PEOPLE GETTING THAT DISEASE WERE
JUST GOING TO FLY THROUGH IT.
>> SO TRUE.
WELL, I REALLY APPRECIATE BOTH
OF YOU COMING ON HERE, TALKING
ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
TAKING THE VACCINE, AND YOUR
FASCINATING BACKGROUNDS AND ALL
THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT BOTH OF
YOU ARE DOING AND, YOU KNOW,
BEING PART OF HISTORY AS BEING
PART OF THE PFIZER VACCINE.
I WISH I HAD ANOTHER SHOW
BECAUSE I STILL HAVE MORE
QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
WE APPRECIATE YOU BOTH.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR
TIME.
TIME.
TIME. BE
TIME. BE WELL, BE HEALTHY, AND KEEP
DOING THE GREAT WO ARE DOING.
>>> THANKS FOR WATCHING