.
. >>
. >> THANKS FOR STAYING WITH US
ON "REAL STORY."
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS,
WE'RE GETTING HOPEFUL NEWS.
CONNECTICUT'S COVID-19 NUMBERS,
THE STATISTICS THAT THE
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE COMES OUT
WITH ALMOST DAILY ARE SHOWING A
DOWNWARD TREND, WITH THE
VACCINE NOW ROLLING OUT, IT
APPEARS WE'RE HEADING OUT OF
THE WOODS, BUT HEALTH OFFICIALS
CAUTION, DON'T LET YOUR GUARD
DOWN YET, WE HAVE A WAYS TO GO
AND COULD GET MORE COMPLICATED
WITH NEW STRAINS OF COVID-19
CROPPING UP AROUND THE WORLD,
AND YES, HERE IN CONNECTICUT.
SO LET'S LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE
SCIENCE.
SCIENCE.
SCIENCE. WE'RE BRINGING IN DR. ALBERT
KO, A YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC
HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGIST WITH US
NOW.
NOW.
NOW. HE'S
NOW. HE'S ALSO PART OF CONNECTICUT'S
VACCINE ADVISORY GROUP.
DR. KO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
TALKING WITH US THIS MORNING.
>> THANK YOU, JENN, THANK YOU
FOR THE KIND INVITATION.
>> OF COURSE, TALK ABOUT THE
NUMBERS FOR FIRST TIME IN A
LONG TIME, WE'RE STARTING TO
SEE A LEVELING OFF, A BIT OF A
DOWNWARD TREND, WHAT IS THIS
ATTRIBUTED TO?
ATTRIBUTED TO? >> JENN, I THINK THIS IS ALL
GOOD NEWS.
GOOD NEWS. I THINK IT'S ATTRIBUTED TO
SEVERAL FACTORS.
SEVERAL FACTORS. I THINK ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT IS REALLY THE KICKING
IN THE PHASE 2.1, PEEKING ARE
ADHERING TO STATE'S 2.1.
THEY'RE DECREASING ALL THE
DRIVERS OF COVID TRANSMISSION,
SUPER SPREADING AT LARGE
GATHERING EVENTS, CONTACT RATES
AND SO FORTH.
THEIR SECOND THING IS
OBVIOUSLY, IT'S THE BUY-IN FROM
THE POPULATION.
THE POPULATION. THE PEOPLE WHO REALIZE, WE WENT
THROUGH A REALLY BAD SECOND
SURGE.
SURGE.
SURGE. CERTAI NOT AS BAD, MUCH LESS
THAN THE FIRST SURGE, BUT IT
WAS A BAD SECOND SURGE AND
PEOPLE UNDERSTAND EACH PART OF
THE BEHAVIORAL REACTION TO ANY
EPIDEMIC OR OUTBREAK, AND
PEOPLE MODIFYING THE BEHAVIORS
TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.
THE THIRD REASON IS THAT THE
STATE IS INTENSELY TESTING.
I THINK WE'RE ONE OF THE
HIGHEST STATES PER CAPITA IN
TERMS OF GIVING -- PROVIDING
ACCESS TO TESTING, AND THAT
CERTAINLY IS DECREASING THE
NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE
INFECTED OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
CAN AFFECT OTHER PEOPLE.
>> THE BIG QUESTION IS WHEN ARE
WE GOING TO START SEEING THE
EFFECTS OF THE VACCINE IN OUR
COMMUNITY, AND THIS PAST WEEK,
THE GOVERNOR DID PUT UP A
GRAPHIC THAT WE WANT TO SHOW
NOW BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY TELLING
AND IT'S SHOWING IN NURSING
HOMES WHERE WE KNOW THAT
SUPPOSEDLY EVERYO HAS BEEN
VACCINATED, IN TERMS OF STAFF
THAT'S WANTED TO BE, AND
PEOPLE, CARETAKERS, SOME OF
THEM HAVEN'T BEEN, WE'RE TOLD,
BUT TALKING ABOUT THE PATIENTS
THERE, THAT 100% HAVE GONE THE
THEIR FIRST SHOT FROM WHAT I
UNDERSTAND.
UNDERSTAND. YOU CAN SEE THE DOWNWARD TREND
AND IT'S ONLY 166 CASES,
POSITIVE CASES, AS OF JANUARY
26, SO THIS IS SHOWING RIGHT
HERE THAT THE VACCINE IS
STARTING TO WORK IN THAT
POPULATION, NO?
POPULATION, NO? >> RIGHT, AND JEN, I THINK
FIRST OF ALL, THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING IS THE CASES
ARE DOWN.
ARE DOWN.
ARE DOWN. THAT'S REALLY THE KEY FINDING,
THE IMPORTANT FINDING.
THAT POPULATION, WHICH IS
HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO COVID IS
BEING PROTECTED.
BEING PROTECTED. NOW THE REASONS EXACTLY WHY
THAT HAPPENED, MAY BE
MANY-FOLD.
MANY-FOLD. AS RATES IN COMMUNITY
TRANSMISSION AS THE STATE IS
IMPLEMENTING PREVENTION, COST
THE POPULATION AND COMMUNITY,
THAT IS PREVENTING TO REDUCING
INTRODUCTION INTO THE NURSING
HOME.
HOME.
HOME. THAT N INVOLVE THE STATE FOR
MANY MONTHS, SINCE THE SUMMER,
HAD INTENSIVE PROGRAM TO
IDENTIFY PEOPLE IN THE NURSING
HOMES, RESPONDING TO THAT
QUICKLY.
QUICKLY.
QUICKLY. SENDING THEM TO THE COVID
RECOVERY UNIT.
RECOVERY UNIT. WE HAVE FACILITIES FOR HAVING
THEM BEING ISOLATED WITHIN THE
NURSING HOME SAFELY.
THIS IS A COMBINATION OF ALL
THINGS.
THINGS.
THINGS. THE VACCINATION STARTED AT THE
END OF DECEMBER, AND MANY OF
THE RESIDENTS ARE NOW JUST
GETTING THEIR SECOND DOSE OR
JUST RECEIVING THE SECOND DOSE.
THAT DECREASE, I FEEL, IS THE
HARD WORK DONE BY NURSING
HOMES, BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC HEALTH, THE STAT AND
REALLY REDUCING THE
TRANSMISSION IN ADDITION TO
PERHAPS SOME EARLY EFFECTS OF
THE VACCINE, BUT I THINK YOU
NEED TO GET MORE EVIDENCE TO
TEASE THAT OUT.
>> INTERESTING.
>> INTERESTING. WE KNOW WE'RE HEARING ABOUT THE
NEW STRAINS, AND IT FEELS LIKE
A RACE AGAINST TIME, RIGHT IN
THE MORE PEOPLE YOU CAN GET
VACCINATED, THE LESS CHANCE
THERE IS OF THE STRAINS POPPING
UP.
UP.
UP. IS
UP. IS OF
UP. IS OF THAT CONCERN TO YOU WHEN
YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT'S
POPPING UP HERE IN CONNECTICUT?
WE KNOW WE HAVE THE UK STRAIN
HERE.
HERE.
HERE. >>
HERE. >> YEAH, JENN, I'M REALLY
WORRIED ABOUT THAT.
ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS LOOK TO
SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE UK,
AND NOW IN IRELAND, AND TO SEE
HOW DEVASTATING THAT NEW
VARIANT OF CONCERN CAN BE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE CERTAINLY
CONCERNED BECAUSE IT'S
TRANSMISSIBLE AND MUC MORE
CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT THIS
VARIANT IS MORE TRANSMISSIBLE.
THERE IS EARLY EVIDENCE THAT IT
ACTUALLY MAY CAUSE A HIGHER
DEGREE OF RISK FOR ACQUIRING
SEVERE COMPLICATIONS AND
PERHAPS DYING FROM THE DISEASE.
THERE IS CERTAINLY A CONCERN.
I THINK THIS IS A RACE AGAINST
TIME, AND ONE THAT I HOPE YOU
KNOW THE VACCINE, SURELY THE
STATE IS DOING EVERYTHING IT
CAN TO ROLL OUT VACCINATION
PROGRAM, IT'S ONE OF THE BEST
IN THE COUNTRY IN DOING SO.
THIS IS -- I'M NOT SURE WE'RE
GOING TO GET ENOUGH OF OUR
PATIENT POPULATION VACCINATED
IN ORDER TO STEM OFF THESE
MUTANTS.
MUTANTS.
MUTANTS. WE'VE SEEN IN ENGLAND HOW THESE
CAN POP UP IN ONE, TWO OR THREE
MONTHS.
MONTHS.
MONTHS. I
MONTHS. I SUSPECT IN THE NEXT COUPLE
MONTHS, WE KNOW IT'S HERE IN
CONNECTICUT, AND SUSPECT IN
THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO, WE'RE
GOING TO HAVE POTENTIALLY MUCH
MORE.
MORE.
MORE. WE'VE KNOWN THIS SINCE THE
BEGINNING OF COVID, HOW COVID
DOESN'T RESPECT BORDERS, IT CAN
TRAVEL AND SURGE FAIRLY
QUICKLY.
QUICKLY.
QUICKLY. SO I AM VERY MUCH CONCERNED
THAT WE WILL HAVE, YOU KNOW,
INCREASED THREAT REALLY WHAT
SEEMS TO A GOOD DIRECTION WE'RE
GOING TO RIGHT NOW, IF THIS
VARIANT, AND PARTICULARLY THE
UK VARIANT TAKES OFF.
THAT WILL HAPPEN BEFORE WE GET
THE SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF
OUR POPULATION VACCINATED.
>> WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE DO THEN?
WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT A MINUTE
LEFT.
LEFT.
LEFT. KEEP SOCIAL DISTANCING, GETTING
THE VACCINE, WEARING A MASK,
THE CURRENT TREND FOR GRANTED
BECAUSE YOU COULD SEE A SECOND,
OR A THIRD SURGE AT THIS POINT?
>> WE CAN'T TAKE OUR FOOT OFF
THE PEDAL ON THAT.
WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE ABC.
USE THE FACEMASK, REDUCE
GATHERING SIZE TO DECREASE THE
SUPERSPREADING EVENTAN ALSO
TO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY
DECREASE THE CONTACTS THAT WE
HAVE THAT MAY HELP SPREAD THESE
IN THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS ALL GOING TO BE
IMPORTANT AND CONTINUE TO DO IN
THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.
TOGETHER WITH GETTING THE
VACCINE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE
CAN.
CAN.
CAN. >>
CAN. >> ALL RIGHT, DR. KO, THANK YOU
VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND
EXPERTISE.
EXPERTISE. HOPE TO HAVE YOU ON THE PROGRAM
SOON.
SOON.
SOON. >>
SOON. >> VERY GOOD, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH, JENN.
MUCH, JENN. >> THAT DOES IT FOR US ON "REAL
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