4th WHICH STILL FALLS SHORT OF
THE 75% TO 90% THAT SOME SAY IS
NEEDED TO REACH HERD IMMUNITY.
JOINING ME NOW IS DR. FRANCIS
COLLINS, THE DIRECTOR OF THE
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, A
CONSISTENT VOICE THROUGHOUT THE
PANDEMIC WHO’S BEEN WITH US.
DR. COLLINS, IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO
SEE YOU.
THANK YOU 230FOR BEING WITH US.
I KNOW YOU’RE NOT THE CDC BUT
YOU ARE AN AGENCY OF THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT.
A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE SAID
TO ME, PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN
LIFELONG FANS OF THE CDC EXCEPT
FOR SOME BLIPS LAST YEAR THAT
THEY ARE CONFUSED BY A BUNCH OF
NEW DIRECTIONS COMING FROM THE
CDC, ABOUT MASK WEARING OUTDOORS
AND THE AIRBORNE NATURE OF THIS.
CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME CLARITY TO
WHAT’S GOING ON AND WHY SO MUCH
IS CHANGING MORE THAN A YEAR
AFTER WE’VE SEEN THIS VACCINE?
>> WELL, A LOT OF THE REASONS
IT’S CHANGING IS BECAUSE WE’RE
MAKING REAL PROGRESS.
MY WIFE AND I ARE NOW FULLY
IMMUNIZED.
WE CAN GO FOR A WALK OUTSIDE
WITHOUT OUR MASKS ON AND FEEL
COMPLETELY SAFE DOING SO.
WE CAN INVITE OTHER COUPLES WHO
ARE ALSO FULLY IMMUNIZED TO COME
TO DINNER AT OUR HOUSE AND SIT
AROUND THE SAME TABLE AND NOT
WORRY ABOUT THE MASKING OR THE
PHYSICAL DISTANCING.
SO YES, THE CDC IS RECOGNIZING
THAT AND VERY CAREFULLY, SO THAT
WE DON’T OPEN UP TOO SOON AND
END UP WITH ANOTHER SURGE,
GIVING PEOPLE INFORMATION.
BUT YEAH, IT IS COMPLICATED.
MAYBE IN A WAY WE ARE ALL HAVING
TO BE A BIT LIKE EPIDEMIOLOGISTS
TO WEIGH THE PROS AND CONS OF
EACH ACTION AND CDC IS TRYING TO
HELP WITH THAT, SO WATCH THAT
SITE.
THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS IN WHICH
YOU CAN USE THAT INFORMATION IN
YOUR DAILY EXPERIENCE, BUT CHECK
IT OUT.
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE THINGS
WILL CHANGE.
WE WANT THEM TO CHANGE.
WE WANT TO GET BETTER.
WE WANT TO GET THROUGH THIS.
>> THAT’S A GOOD WAY TO PUT IT.
YOU HAD TWEETED SOMETHING THE
OTHER DAY TO SAY THAT A PAST
COVID-19 INFECTION DOESN’T FULLY
PROTECT AGAINST REINFECTION.
A RECENT STUDY FOUND DESPITE
PREVIOUS INFECTION AND
ANTIBODIES, IT’S STILL NECESSARY
TO SLEEVE UP, AS YOU CALL IT, TO
GET IMMUNIZED TO PREVENT
REINFECTION AND TRANSMISSION
MORE EFFECTIVELY.
THAT’S AN INTERESTING PIECE OF
NEWS.
IF YOU’VE BEEN INFECTED BY
COVID, YOU’RE NOT IN THE CLEAR.
>> YOU ARE SOMEWHAT MORE IN THE
CLEAR THAN IF YOU HADN’T HAD
THAT INFECTION.
YOU DO GET SOME IMMUNEITY FROM
NATURAL ILLNESS, BUT IT TURNS
OUT THE VACCINES GIVE YOU BETTER
COVERAGE FOR THAT, WHICH IS WHY
EVEN THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN
INFECTED, HAVE A WELL DOCUMENTED
CASE OF COVID-19, STILL OUGHT TO
GO AHEAD WITH THE VACCINATION TO
REALLY BOOST UP THAT IMMUNITY
AND MAKE IT LESS LIKELY THAT
YOU’RE GOING TO GET THIS WHOLE
THING ALL OVER AGAIN.
ALI, IT’S MOTHER’S DAY SO I WANT
TO SAY SOMETHING TO MOMS BECAUSE
YOU’VE BEEN CARRYING A LOT OF
THE WEIGHT TO RESPONDING TO THIS
TERRIBLE PANDEMIC.
YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S BEEN
ORDERING THE MASKS AND THE HAND
SANITIZER AND CHECKING OUT THE
INFORMATION ON THE VACCINES.
A LOT OF MOMS HAVE FIGURED OUT,
YEAH, THIS IS SOMETHING I WANT
FOR MY FAMILY BUT MAYBE THE
WHOLE FAMILY HASN’T GOTTEN ON
BOARD.
SO DADS, ADULT SONS AND
DAUGHTERS, IF YOU WANT TO GIVE
MOM A PRESENTING ON MOTHER ON MO
IF YOU HAVEN’T GOT VACCINATED,
TELL HER YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT.
GO TO YOUR PHONE AND TEXT THIS
NUMBER AND YOU CAN SEE IT ON THE
SCREEN, GETVAX WHICH IS 438829
OR FOR SPANISH 822862, AND PUNCH
IN YOUR ZIP CODE AND YOU WILL
GET WITHIN LESS THAN A MINUTE
THE LOCATION AND PHONE NUMBER OF
THREE PLACES NEAR YOU THAT HAVE
VACCINES IN STOCK AND ARE READY
TO HELP YOU GET IMMUNIZED, ROLL
UP YOUR SLEEVE.
SO AGAIN, MOTHER’S DAY, OKAY, BE
GOOD TO MOM.
YOU’LL MAKE HER HAPPY IF YOU
TAKE THIS STEP.
>> DR. COLLINS, EARLIER I TALKED
TO MICHAEL LEWIS, WHO’S GOT THIS
NEW BOOK OUT AND IT’S SO WELL
WRITTEN.
I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE READ IT
BUT YOU’D APPRECIATE IT.
HE SEES THINGS THROUGH THE EYES
OF MEDICAL EXPERTS AND PUBLIC
HEALTH OFFICIALS, NOT JUST FROM
THE BEGINNING OF THE VIRUS BUT
BEFORE THAT, SORT OF LATE 2019.
HE TALKS ABOUT THE DEGREE TO
WHICH PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS,
OF WHICH YOU ARE ONE, YOU KNOW,
WARNED OF THESE DANGERS AND THE
DIFFICULTY THAT THEY HAD IN 2020
WITH THAT.
I WOULDN’T MIND YOUR HONEST
REFLECTION ON THAT, ABOUT WHAT
2020 WAS LIKE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
OFFICIALS LIKE YOURSELF WHO WERE
DEDICATED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND
YET WERE SWIMMING UPSTREAM
AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
>> WELL, I’VE BEEN NIH DIRECTOR
NOW FOR ALMOST 12 YEARS.
IF PEOPLE ASK ME EVEN FOUR OR
FIVE YEARS AGO, WHAT IS THE
THING THAT KEEPS YOU UP AT
NIGHT, THE ANSWER IS THIS
PANDEMIC THAT WE’RE OVERDUE FOR.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S GOING TO
BE, WHEN IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
BUT THAT’S WHAT WORRIES ME.
AND THEN JANUARY 2020 THERE IT
WAS.
THIS CORONAVIRUS THAT NOBODY
EXPECTED TO HAVE THE PROPERTIES
IT DID.
AND YES, WE GOT OFF TO A VERY
ROUGH START.
TESTING WAS A PROBLEM.
WE DIDN’T REALIZE AT FIRST THAT
THIS VIRUS COULD BE CONTAGIOUS
BY PEOPLE WITH NO SYMPTOMS.
THAT WAS SORT OF UNPRECEDENTED.
THAT MEANT WE HAD TO CONSTANTLY
ADAPT OUR PLANS AND PEOPLE SAID,
OH, WE ARE FLIP FLOPPING.
NO, WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT THIS
VIRUS AND GETTING MORE
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION,
ADJUSTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE MESSAGE IS COMING FROM
DIFFERENT STATES THAT ARE
DIFFERENT WHETHER YOU SHOULD
TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY OR NOT.
AT THE TOP OF THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT THERE WAS A LOT OF
MISLEADING INFORMATION.
THIS WAS NOT A PRETTY PICTURE
FOR THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY
ADVANCED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.
NOW, THINGS DID GET TOGETHER IN
TERMS OF A SCIENCE.
ALI, IT’S PRETTY AMAZING THAT IN
11 MONTHS WE WENT FROM NOT EVEN
KNOWING ABOUT THIS VIRUS TO
HAVING TWO APPROVED VACCINES BY
FDA.
THAT’S ABOUT FIVE TIMES FASTER
THAN HAS EVER HAPPENED BEFORE
AND THESE ARE REMARKABLY SAFE
AND EFFECTIVE.
SO SCIENCE ROSE TO THE OCCASION.
GOODNESS, WE STILL HAD A CHAOTIC
SITUATION.
SADLY, I THINK MANY LIVES HAVE
BEEN LOST OF THAT 580,000 DEATHS
IN THE U.S.
NOT ALL OF THOSE NEEDED TO
HAPPEN.
>> DR. COLLINS, WE THANK YOU FOR
YOUR FRANKNESS AND YOUR HONESTY