[COVID-19 Talk with Local Health Authorities (#82)]
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GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID-19, TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
UH, JOINING US, UH, FROM HARRIS COUNTY IS DR.
UH, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS DR.
UH, DR. DAVID PURSE IS ACTUALLY ON VACATION.
SPECIAL THANKS TO, UH, PAST PRESIDENT KATHY FINNER ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON PARK FOR ABIDING US WITH THESE QUESTIONS.
UH, AND SPECIAL THANKS TO MORGAN ASH, OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR OUR PRODUCER, AND DAVID CASTILLO, WHO'S ACTUALLY SERVING AS PRODUCER FOR TODAY.
I'M STEPHEN WILLIAMS, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
UH, THIS IS WEEK 83 FOR CVID 19.
DO YOU ANTICIPATE A THREAT LEVEL CHANGE IN OUR AREA? I'M SURE THAT QUESTION IS BECAUSE THEY'VE SEEN THE NUMBERS GOING UP.
YEAH, SO I, I'LL TAKE THE FIRST QUESTION.
UM, ACTUALLY WE DON'T ANTICIPATE, UM, A, A LEVEL CHANGE BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE SEE THE POSITIVITY RATES GOING UP, OUR HOSPITAL RATES CONTINUE TO REMAIN LOW.
HOW ARE WASTEWATER PLANTS DIFFERING GEOGRAPHICALLY WASTEWATER DASHBOARD? TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT DATA HERE.
SO, CURRENTLY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN OUR WASTEWATER REVIEW, UM, OUR NUMBER INCREASED AT TO 170%, BUT THAT'S STILL NOWHERE NEAR.
WE WERE AT THE HEIGHT OF, UM, SORT OF THE DELTA VARIANT.
SO WE'RE SEEING A VERY SLOW INCREMENTAL INCREASE, BUT I MEAN, THE COUNTRY'S ALSO SEEING SEVERAL AREAS ARE HAVING SOME POCKETS OF INCREMENTAL INCREASE, BUT NOWHERE NEAR THE HEIGHT OF, UM, AGAIN, THE DELTA, UH, OR OMICRON SURGE.
BUT IT'S STILL SOMETHING THAT WE THINK IS VITAL TO, UH, TO ASSESS AND TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR.
IT IS A SUPPORTIVE INDICATOR THAT WE THINK IS IMPORTANT.
AND SO THAT'S JUST A TREND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MONITOR.
UH, HOW ARE WASTEWATER PLANTS DIFFERING GEOGRAPHICALLY? UM, IN, IN A SENSE, UM, THERE ARE SOME REGIONS THAT ARE SEEING A MORE, UM, EXPONENTIAL SORT OF A INCREASED SLOPE IN THEIR WASTEWATER INFORMATION.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT SORT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE NORTHEAST, THEY'RE SEEING SORT OF A SIGNIFICANT SURGE.
BUT AGAIN, THEY'RE USING THAT INFORMATION TO HELP GUIDE SOME, UM, DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO GIVE, UH, GUIDANCE ON SORT OF HOW TO DO, UM, UH, THINGS AROUND MASKING AND HELPING THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND THEIR VACCINE, UH, UH, IMPLEMENTATIONS, UH, ENSURING THAT PEOPLE WHO'VE NOT BEEN VACCINATED, YOU KNOW, USING THAT AS A DATA POINT TO HELP UNDERSTAND OF WHY YOU SHOULD GET VACCINATED OR WHY YOU SHOULD GET YOUR BOOSTER.
THE CDC ACTUALLY HAS A GREAT LINK FOR WASTEWATER, AND IT HELPS YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, OUR REGION AS COMPARED TO SORT OF THE OVERARCHING REGION ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO THAT'S A GREAT RESOURCE TO KIND OF SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE OTHER PART OF THE COUNTRY, BUT THE WASTEWATER IS REALLY MATCHING WHAT WE'RE SEEING WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUTBREAKS, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE NORTHEAST RIGHT NOW, WHAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING.
UH, DR. BROWN, ANY UPDATES, UH, REGARDING COVID FOR THE COUNTY? YES, SO, UM, JUST AS, AS, UM, DR. WHITE JUST MENTIONED, AS WE ARE SEEING OUR, UH, POSITIVITY RATES GO UP, UM, WE'RE SEEING THAT ACROSS THE COUNTY, UM, IN THE LAST MONTH, WE'VE SEEN, UH, ABOUT A 300% INCREASE, UM, UM, ACROSS THE COUNTY IN THE POSITIVITY RATES.
HOWEVER, I DO WANT TO PUT THAT IN A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT.
UM, THIS TIME LAST YEAR, UM, OUR CASE RATE WAS 27 PER 100,000 THIS YEAR, UM, AS OF TWO DAYS AGO, OUR CASE RATE WAS 88 PER 100,000.
SO ALTHOUGH WE SEE OUR POSITIVITY RATES GOING UP, IT'S STILL A VERY SMALL NUMBER COMPARED TO WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR.
DO YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING, UH, ABOUT THE CITY, DR. WHITE? WE ARE SEEING THE SAME, UH, SLOW INCREMENT.
I THINK THE LAST, UH, POSITIVITY FOR US WAS 11%.
WE DO THOUGH, WANNA GIVE THAT CONSIDERATION THAT WE'RE DOING A LOT MORE HOME TESTS THAN WE WERE, UH, PREVIOUSLY.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE NOWHERE WHERE WE WERE, BUT WE ARE BEING MINDFUL OF JUST WATCHING THAT TRAJECTORY.
BUT AGAIN, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE, HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO HOME TESTS, AND WE THINK THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE REALLY THE POINT OF CONTACT IS YOU'RE GETTING YOUR INFORMATION, UH, REAL TIME AND IMMEDIATE.
YOU KNOW, JUST BE MINDFUL THAT THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES WHERE THIS NUMBER MAY HAVE, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF VARIATION.
AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE HOME TESTING CAPABILITY, IS IT TIME TO PUT YOUR MASK BACK ON INDOORS? SO WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE THOSE, UM, UM, PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO
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ARE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED OR HIGH RISK.UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE OUR, OUR NUMBERS INCREASE A LITTLE BIT, UM, WE WOULD CERTAINLY, AGAIN, ENCOURAGE MASK WEARING, UM, IT, THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND IS COMING, AND SO, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY IT IS AT PEOPLE'S DISCRETION AT THIS TIME.
UM, BUT WE ALWAYS EN ENCOURAGE MASK WEARING.
I WANNA DISAGREE WITH DR. BROWN ON THAT.
THIS, THIS IS A VERY BUSY WEEKEND.
WE'RE EXCITED FOR SO MANY GRADUATES AT ALL DIFFERENT LEVELS, RIGHT? UM, GRADUATE SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS, HIGH SCHOOLS AND, AND THE LIKE.
SO YOU'RE GONNA BE AROUND A LOT OF PEOPLE AND YOU MAY ACTUALLY NOT KNOW THEIR VACCINE STATUS.
YOU ACTUALLY MAY HAVE, UH, RECEIVED A VACCINE.
MAYBE YOU DIDN'T COMPLETE THIS SERIES FOR A, A HOST OF REASONS, OR YOU HAVE AN IMMUNE SITUATION.
SO WE'RE WE'RE ASKING THOSE UNIQUE CONSIDERATIONS LIKE DR. BROWN JUST MENTIONED OF WHY YOU MIGHT WANNA CONSIDER WEARING A MASK, ESPECIALLY DURING A LOT OF BUSY ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND.
ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND CAUSING THE SURGE LOCALLY? SO AGAIN, WE, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, UM, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE SO MUCH CONCERNED, UM, AS WE ARE, UM, CAUTIOUS IS A BETTER WORD, UM, THE BEST WE CAN DO TO MITIGATE, UM, ANY RISK.
AGAIN, THAT IS MASK WEARING GOOD HAND HYGIENE, UM, BEING OUTDOORS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEN CERTAINLY, UM, IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN VACCINATED, UM, GET VACCINATED IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD YOUR BOOSTERS GET YOUR BOOSTER UNDERSTANDING, THOUGH THAT IT'S PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT LATE FOR THIS WEEKEND, AS THOSE THINGS TAKE TWO WEEKS TO REALLY HAVE AN EFFECT ON YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.
UM, BUT WE CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE THAT FOR, UH, ANY SUMMER ACTIVITIES THAT YOU'RE GONNA PARTAKE IN.
WHAT'S NEW ON THE TREATMENT FRONT? IS ANYTHING NEW COMING ONLINE IF YOU TEST POSITIVE? SO NOT NECESSARILY NEW.
I THINK WHAT'S BEEN EXCITING IS, UM, WE'VE REALLY HAVING, WE HAVE MUCH BETTER STRATIFICATION ON WHO FITS IN WHAT GROUP FOR TREATMENT.
AND SO WE HAVE SORT OF A AVAILABILITY FOR PEOPLE FOR WHATEVER REASON, ARE UNABLE TO GET A VACCINATION.
THERE'S SOME PRE-EXPOSURE TREATMENTS.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO ORAL TREATMENTS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO TEST POSITIVE.
AND SO THAT'S EXCITING BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY HAD ACCESS TO, I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD OF LIKE THE MONOCLONALS AND JUST LOGISTICALLY OF HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO GET MONOCLONALS.
SO THERE'S TWO ORAL, UM, AGENTS, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THOSE, UH, MONOCLONALS AS OPTIONS.
TELL US ABOUT PAXLOVID REBOUNDING.
SO, UM, PAXLOVID REBOUND HAS BEEN, UM, CONFIRMED AS A, A REAL THING.
UM, IN FACT, THE, UM, CDC, UM, PUT OUT A HEALTH ADVISORY NOTICE ABOUT IT.
UM, IT'S CHARACTERIZES AS A NEW POSITIVE TEST AFTER A NEGATIVE TEST AFTER TREATMENT WITH PAXLOVID.
UM, THERE'S REALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT THOUGH.
UM, UM, OTHER THAN CONTINUE TO ISOLATE, UM, IF YOU SHOULD HAVE A NEW POSITIVE TEST, UM, IT'S NOT RECOMMENDED TO REPEAT THE TREATMENT, UM, AT THIS TIME.
AND THERE'S STILL STUDIES GOING ON AS TO WHY THIS IS HAPPENING, BUT YOU WOULD TREAT IT AS IF YOU ARE, UM, STILL POSITIVE, WHICH IS AGAIN, ISOLATING, UM, CERTAINLY WEARING A MASK IF YOU HAVE TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH, WITH SOMEONE.
UM, UM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, WE, WE DON'T HAVE TOO, TOO MUCH INFORMATION ON IT AT THIS TIME OTHER THAN WE KNOW THAT IT IS A PHENOMENON THAT OCCURS, UM, AND WE WOULD TREAT IT THE SAME AS IF YOU WERE POSITIVE.
WHAT MA MATRIX DO YOU LOOK AT THE MOST AS YOU TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE WITH COVID? YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK WE REALLY ARE LOOKING AT A TIERED SORT OF MATRIX OR, OR CONSIDERATION.
AND SO WHILE WE, WE DO LOOK AT THE POSITIVITY AND WE ARE MONITORING WASTEWATER, UM, WE ALSO LOOK AT WHAT OUR HOSPITALS LOOK LIKE AND HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SORT OF PUSHING INTO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS AND HOW MANY OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WILL REQUIRE SORT OF HOSPITALIZATIONS.
AND THEN WHEN THEY'RE HOSPITALIZED, WHAT LEVEL OF CARE THEY'RE RECEIVING.
I KNOW HERE AS WELL AS THE CITY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, STRONG PARTNERS WITH OUR, OUR, UH, SCHOOLS.
AND SO WE'RE MONITORING TO SEE HOW SCHOOLS ARE DOING, HOW OUR NURSES ARE DOING, AND LOOKING AT THEIR STUDENT, UM, UM, ROSTERS AND MISSED DAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A HOST OF SORT OF METRICS TO KIND OF HELP GUIDE OUR GUIDANCE TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT COVID AS IMMUNITY IS WANING WAY WANING, ARE WE SEEING PEOPLE GET REALLY SICK? SO FOR OUR REGION, WE'RE, WE'RE FORTUNATELY NOT SEEING PEOPLE GET REALLY SICK.
HOWEVER, UM, AS WE KNOW IN THE NORTHEAST, WE ARE SEEING HOSPITALIZATION RATES GO UP.
UM, SO THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS TO GET OUR BOOSTERS.
THAT IS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE BOOSTER AS IMMUNITY WANES, IS TO GIVE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM A
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LITTLE BIT OF BOOST TO FIGHT OFF THE COVID-19 VARIANTS.UM, THAT BEING SAID, EVEN WITH THE INCREASED HOSPITALIZATIONS, WE'RE REALLY NOT SEEING TOO MUCH INCREASE IN DEATH RATE, WHICH IS GREAT.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S MORE IN THE NORTHEAST AT THIS TIME, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT WON'T COME AND CAN'T COME TO OUR REGION.
BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, UM, OUR HOSPITALIZATION RATES IN GENERAL CONTINUE TO BE FAIRLY LOW.
A STUDY FOUND VIRAL REMNANTS CAN REMAIN IN THE BODY FOR MONTHS FOLLOWING INFECTION.
HOW LONG ARE YOU STILL CONTAGIOUS? NOW? WE'RE STILL, I THINK WE SAID EARLIER, THE SAME GUIDANCE.
IF YOU WERE DEEMED POSITIVE AND YOU'RE BEING TREATED, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA SORT OF ISOLATE FOR THAT FIVE DAYS.
SO YOU'RE KIND OF STILL FOLLOWING THOSE, THOSE GUIDANCES.
AND WE KNOW THOSE REMNANTS OCCUR, BUT IT DOESN'T CHANGE OUR INFORMATION RIGHT NOW ABOUT HOW LONG WE'RE ASKING YOU TO SORT OF, UH, ISOLATE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, STAY ISOLATED UNTIL YOU'VE GONE THROUGH YOUR FIVE DAYS.
AND I KNOW DR. BROWN, IF YOU HAD ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS TO THAT? NO.
YOU HAD TO ANTICIPATE THAT THIS QUESTION WAS GONNA COME UP, ENLIGHTEN US ABOUT MONKEYPOX.
THAT SCARES ME MORE THAN COVID
YEAH, SO, SO I, IN FACT, IT'S, IT'S VERY INTERESTING, ISN'T IT? SO MONKEYPOX, FIRST OF ALL, LET'S, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT IS.
IT'S A VIRUS, A-A-D-N-A VIRUS, UM, THAT IT CAN BE TRANSMITTED BY ANIMAL, UM, HUMANS, WHICH IS DIRECT CONTACT.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, MATERIALS WHICH CONTAIN THE VIRUS.
SO LIKE FOMITES AND BEDSHEETS, UM, CLOTHING AND UTENSILS.
UM, IT IS HOWEVER HARD TO TRANSMIT AMONGST PEOPLE, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT'S HAPPENING.
UM, THE INCUBATION PERIOD IS SEVEN TO 14 DAYS.
UM, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER, UM, UM, FLU KIND OF SYMPTOM IS FEVER, UM, FATIGUE, BODY ACHES, HEADACHES, UM, FEELING LIKE YOU HAVE A COLD.
UM, AND THEN YOU'LL NOTICE, UH, THE RASH, WHICH CAN BE PUSTULES, UM, UM, LITTLE VESICLES AND BUMPS AND SCABS IN, IN VARIOUS PLACES.
UM, AS OF MAY 24TH, UM, THERE WERE, UM, EIGHT CONFIRMED CASES OF ORTHO PX, WHICH IS, UM, THE PARENT TO MONKEY MONKEYPOX.
UM, AND OF THOSE TWO OF THOSE CASES HAD BEEN CONFIRMED TO BE MONKEYPOX.
THE OTHERS ARE STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION ON WHETHER THEY ARE TRULY MONKEYPOX.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, UM, UM, ONE OF THE BEST THINGS WE CAN DO IS JUST LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, IS TO BE VERY MINDFUL IF WE'RE SICK, TO STAY AWAY FROM OTHERS.
SO IF WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE COLD SYMPTOMS STAY AWAY FROM OTHERS, UM, IF WE NOTICE THAT THERE'S A RASH DEVELOPING, OBVIOUSLY SEE YOUR DOCTOR, UM, TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT RASH IS AND TO GET TESTED AS APPROPRIATE.
UM, ONE OF ANOTHER INTERESTING THING ABOUT IT IS THAT, UM, THE RASH APPEARS TO BE, UM, APPEARING MORE IN PARTICULARLY IN MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH OTHER MEN.
THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT CAN'T BE TRANSMITTED AND HAS NOT BEEN TRANSMITTED AMONGST OTHERS.
BUT THOSE, UM, MOST CASES THUS FAR HAVE BEEN COMING FROM MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN.
HAVE YOUR THOUGHTS, OPINION ON THE EXTRA BOOSTER CHANGE? THE PERSON'S NOT HERE.
NO, I WAS GONNA SAY, WE, WE REALLY WANNA SAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S INDIVIDUAL.
WE KNOW WHAT POPULATIONS WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO TARGET AND ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THAT EXTRA LAYER OF PROTECTION, BUT IT'S, AGAIN, STILL INDIVIDUALIZED 50 AND OVER.
BUT IF YOU HAVE DISCUSSED WITH YOUR PROVIDER AND YOU HAVE OTHER COMORBIDITIES, YOU KNOW, WE WERE SO GRATEFUL THAT THIS IS OUT AND AVAILABLE AND IT WASN'T, UM, STRUCTURED IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU COULDN'T HAVE ACCESS.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE CDC WAS OFFERING THAT SUPPORT IS THAT INITIALLY WHEN WE DID EARLIER ROLLOUTS, WE STAGGERED IT FOR A POPULATION THAT WAS SORT OF AN L TAX A CERTAIN AGE, AND THERE WERE OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHILE THEY WEREN'T IN, IN LONG-TERM FACILITIES, FELT THAT THEY WERE, UM, AT NEED FOR THAT INFOR NEED FOR THAT VACCINE.
SO I THINK THEY BROADENED IT TO GIVE THAT, UM, ABILITY THAT PROVIDERS AND THE PATIENT CAN SAY, DO I FIT THIS GROUP? AND SO THANKFULLY, IF YOU'RE 15 OVER AND YOU THINK YOU FIT THAT GROUP, YOU HAD ACCESS TO GET THE SECOND BOOSTER EARLY.
WHAT ARE THE NEW RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING KIDS AND BOOSTERS? SO JUST RECENTLY, UM, THE CDC WITH THE AMERICAN, UH, A CIP PUT OUT, UM, GUIDANCE.
AND SO NOW OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, FIVE AND UP ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THEIR BOOSTERS.
AND SO WE'RE LEANING FORWARD AND WE HAVE VACCINE AVAILABLE TO THAT POPULATION WHO CAN NOW GET BOOSTED.
AGAIN, THAT POPULATION HAS NOT NECESSARILY DONE, UM, HAS NOT HAD THE HIGHEST PERCENT AS FAR AS GETTING THEIR FULL VACCINE SERIES.
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PARENTS REALLY MAKE SURE YOUR, UM, CHILDREN ARE GETTING FULLY VACCINATED AND THEN THEY'LL BE ELIGIBLE FIVE MONTHS AFTER THAT SECOND DOSE TO GET THEIR BOOSTER DOSE.PFIZER'S VACCINE FOR SIX MONTHS TO 5-YEAR-OLD APPEARS TO BE READY.
THE EFFICACY IS STILL LOWER THAN, THAN WITH THE HIGHER DOSE ADULTS RECEIVE.
ARE THEY ACTIVELY TESTING A HIGHER DOSE? WHEN WILL THE EUA BE GRANTED? WILL KIDS UNDER FIVE BE APPROVED FOR VACCINE BEFORE THE FALL AND SCHOOL START RESTART? SO, UM, YOU ARE CORRECT THAT PFIZER IS, UM, ACTIVELY TESTING.
UM, WE DO EXPECT THAT, UM, THE, THE VACCINE WILL BE READY BY THE FALL.
UM, I, I DO NOT FORESEE THOUGH THAT IT'LL BE A HIGHER DOSE VACCINE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY, UM, THE REASONING BEHIND THAT DEPENDS ON THE IMMUNE RESPONSE AT A LOWER DOSE VERSUS THAT OF A HIGHER DOSE.
AND IT SEEMS THAT THE LOWER DOSE JUST IS JUST AS EFFECTIVE AS A HIGHER DOSE.
SO I, WE ALWAYS AIR TO THE, TO THE LOWER DOSE, SO I DON'T FORESEE THEM INCREASING THE DOSE BECAUSE IT, IT, IT APPEARS TO NOT SHOW ANY ADDED BENEFIT.
UM, BUT I, I WOULD EXPECT TO SEE THAT, UM, EVEN BEFORE SCHOOL TIME, FRANKLY, UM, THAT THE, THE VACCINE WOULD BE AVAILABLE UNDER, UM, UM, EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION FOR OUR INFANTS.
THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT MIGHT HAVE TO LIMIT THE NEXT GENERATION OF SHOCK TO THOSE WITH THE HIGHEST RISK BECAUSE OF FUNDING.
IS THAT ACCURATE NEWS? I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT.
HAVE YOU? YEAH, I HAVE NOT HEARD THAT.
SO, SO AGAIN, WE TALKED ABOUT IT LAST TIME.
PRESIDENT BIDEN DID COME OUT AND MAKE A STATEMENT THAT, UM, UM, WITH, WITHOUT, UM, UM, SUFFICIENT FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, AND A CONTINUATION OF THAT FUNDING THAT THEY, THAT HE WOULD NEED TO, TO LIMIT, UM, UM, AVAILABILITY OF THE VACCINE.
UM, TO THOSE WHO ARE, UH, IMMUNOCOMPROMISED AND ARE, ARE GERIATRIC POPULATIONS, WHAT SYMPTOMS ARE YOU SEEING AFTER EACH SHOT OF THE SAME VACCINE? DO THEY GET PROGRESSIVELY BETTER OR WORSE? WE'VE STILL BEEN HEARING ANECDOTALLY, UM, THE SAME SORT OF LOCALIZED SYMPTOMS MAYBE AFTER, FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND.
IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, PRONOUNCED, BUT IT'S STILL THAT LOCALIZED REACTION.
SOME PEOPLE JUST TALK ABOUT FATIGUE, THEY HAVE HEADACHE, UM, UH, TENDERNESS AT THE SIDE OF, UM, INJECTION, BUT THOSE LOCALIZED REACTIONS, I'M ATTENDING A LARGE INTERNATIONAL EVENT REQUIRING VACCINATIONS OR RECENT TESTS SINCE IT IS IN HOUSTON.
WHAT IS A SAFE DEFINITION OF FULLY VACCINATED OR SHOULD THE RULES OF EACH COUNTRY BE USED? WELL, CERTAINLY IF THEY'RE HAVING THAT EVENT IN, IN OUR JURISDICTION, IN OUR, IN OUR COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, REALLY UTILIZING OUR LANGUAGE FOR WHAT FULLY VACCINATED WOULD BE, IT MIGHT BE A CHALLENGE TO THINK OF IT DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT VACCINES THAT WE AREN'T CURRENTLY USING.
SO TO SEE ABOUT THEIR SERIES WHEN WE IN FACT DON'T USE THOSE PARTICULAR VACCINES HERE, MIGHT POSE A CHALLENGE.
BUT FOR OUR GUIDANCE HERE, YOU KNOW, FULLY VACCINATED IS HAVING YOUR TWO DOSES.
SO, UH, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S SORT OF AT LEAST THE MINIMUM.
AND THEN, BECAUSE THE LARGE GATHERING THAT YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE PEOPLE TRAVELING FROM INTERNATIONAL, THIS WAS A EARLIER QUESTION THAT WAS POSED, SHOULD YOU STILL THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WEARING YOUR MASK, GIVING YOUR OWN PERSONAL, UM, RISKS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA CONSIDER.
OKAY, BECAUSE THE PUB IS TIRED OF VACCINE CONVERSATIONS AND SOME STILL AFRAID TO RECEIVE EBIT ONE.
DO YOU PREDICT ANY UPTAKE OR OTHER ILLNESSES TYPICALLY PREVENT IT USING VACCINES LIKE FLU AND MEASLES? SO THIS IS A REALLY, UM, INTERESTING QUESTION.
UM, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN, UM, A DECREASE IN, UM, UM, VACCINATIONS FOR OUR PEDIATRIC POPULATION, EVEN EVEN PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO, WHICH SPARKED A FEW OUTBREAKS OF SOME THINGS.
UM, THEN WHEN THE PANDEMIC CAME BECAUSE OF ACCESS, WE SAW, UH, UM, EVEN LESS VACCINATION RATES, BUT REALLY BECAUSE PHYSICIAN'S OFFICES AND, AND ACCESS TO VACCINATION, UM, ALL OF THAT WAS CLOSED FOR SOME TIME.
UM, I THINK THAT, THAT IT'S STILL GONNA REMAIN, UM, UP IN THE AIR ABOUT, ABOUT HOW, WHAT THE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE AS WE GO FORWARD.
I THINK THAT, THAT WE HAVE A, A DUTY AS A LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS TO, TO, UM, LET PEOPLE KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE AND SAFE, UM, THE VACCINES ARE FOR THINGS LIKE MEASLES AND MUMPS AND VARICELLA AND ALL OF THOSE PEDIATRIC IMMUNIZATIONS BECAUSE THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE TYPICALLY DON'T SEE VERY MUCH IN OUR COUNTRY, UM, BUT
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CAN HAVE DEVASTATING EFFECTS IF WE DO SEE THEM.UM, AND THE REASON WE DON'T SEE THEM ANYMORE IS BECAUSE OF OUR VACCINATION STATUS.
SO I, I THINK WE NEED TO, TO REALLY, UM, UM, DO SOME EDUCATION TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, UM, WHY THEY'RE NECESSARY.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN, WE CAN GAIN THE TRUST OF THE PUBLIC BACK.
SO, UM, BA FOUR, UM, UM, IS HERE, THERE, THERE ARE, UM, A FEW CASES, UM, INCLUDING IN TEXAS.
UM, SO OMICRON VARIANTS, BA FOUR AND BA FIVE, UM, HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN THE WASTEWATER.
UM, THE PREDOMINANT STRAIN, THOUGH STILL CONTINUES TO BE BA TWO AND THEN THE BA 2.1, 2.1
NO, SAY IT BACKWARDS THREE TIMES.
WHICH VARIANTS ARE MOST SIMILAR IN THEIR REACTION TO VACCINES FOR BOTH PROTECTION AND SIDE EFFECTS? I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO ASK WITH THAT QUESTION, STEVEN.
WHICH VARIANTS ARE MOST SIMILAR IN THEIR REACTIONS TO VACCINES FOR BOTH PROTECTION AND SIDE EFFECTS? I GUESS, WHICH THEY'RE ASKING.
CAN I BREAK IT DOWN BIT? WHICH YOU GOT IT.
I THINK, I THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SEVERITY OF ILLNESS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT SEVERITY OF ILLNESS, UM, RIGHT, THE WUHAN STRAIN, THE ALPHA AND THE DELTA VARIANTS, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE RELATIVELY SIMILAR IN THEIR SEVERITY OF ILLNESS, RIGHT? BUT I THINK THAT THAT ALSO IS, UM, A LITTLE BIT COMPLEX BECAUSE AT THE TIME THROUGH AT LEAST SOME OF THAT, WE DIDN'T HAVE VACCINES.
UM, SO I'M NOT SURE YOU CAN REALLY, REALLY MAKE THAT STATEMENT OTHER THAN TO SAY THOSE, UM, IN TERMS OF ILLNESS WERE A LITTLE BIT MORE SEVERE.
UM, THE OMICRON VARIANTS AND THE BA TWO AND THE 2.1, 2.1 AND A FOUR AND FIVE AND ALL THE, THE OTHER OMICRON FRIENDS, UM, UM, ARE A LITTLE BIT LESS SEVERE IN ILLNESS, BUT THEY SPREAD A LITTLE BIT EASIER.
UM, SO I, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET AT, WHICH, WHICH, WHICH MEANS THAT THOSE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE VERY SIMILAR REACTIONS TO VA VACCINES, CORRECT? PLEASE VERIFY AND EXPLAIN THE STATEMENT.
RECUMBENT PROTEIN VACCINES STANDS UP TO COVID.
RECUMBENT PROTEIN VACCINE STANDS UP TO COVID.
SO THEY'RE ASKING RECOMBINANT VACCINES STAND UP TO COVID, BUT THAT'S A TYPE OF VACCINE STRUCTURE.
SO IF THEY'RE ASKING, ARE SCIENTISTS LOOKING AT RECOMBINANT VACCINES? THEY ARE, ONE CONSIDERATION IS THEY'RE LOOKING AT THEM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW WHAT, WHAT'S WHAT I'VE READ ABOUT THAT IS THAT THE COST TO DEVELOP THAT TYPE OF VACCINE STRATEGY IS LESS THAN OUR CURRENT VACCINE COST FOR STRATEGY.
AND SOME COUNTRIES RIGHT NOW STILL DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO VACCINES.
SO USING A RECOMBINANT IS A STRATEGY TO HELP MAYBE DELIVER ADDITIONAL VACCINES TO THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT REALLY HAVE RIGHT NOW ARE STILL HAVING TROUBLE GETTING ACCESS.
ARE, ARE THOSE VACCINES JUST AS EFFECTIVE? SO THOSE STUDIES ARE OCCURRING.
AND SO THAT'S THE ARGUMENT OF THE EQUITY AND THE STRATEGY IS THAT THEY ARE, UH, SUGGESTING THAT THEY'RE EFFECTIVE.
THEY OFTEN HAVE DIFFERENT CONSIDERATIONS.
THEY'RE LOOKING AT IT JUST BEING A ONE DOSE.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO REALLY ENTRENCH AND GET THOSE VACCINES TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS, THEN THIS IS ANOTHER OPTION.
SO THERE ARE ONGOING STUDIES ABOUT THIS.
I'M FLYING NEXT WEEK, SO HOPEFULLY THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ME.
ALLEGEDLY A FLIGHT ATTENDANT ON ONE AIRLINE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TAKE OFF THOSE MASKS SO THAT WE CAN SEE YOUR SMILE.
WHEN WOULD YOU ENDORSE THE ELIMINATED MASK ON A PLANE?
I WOULD NOT, WELL, THREE, I WOULDN'T, THAT'S IT.
AND WE KEEP REFERENCING THE, YOU KNOW, THAT PERSONAL CONSIDERATION.
AND SO WHAT'S SO CHALLENGING IS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT, I THINK I SAID IT BEFORE TOO, OUR TRAVEL IN THIS COUNTRY IS SO INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL.
YOU DON'T KNOW WHO REALLY IS NEXT TO YOU AND WHAT FLIGHT THEY CONNECTED TO OR WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE.
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YOU KNOW, YOUR PERSONAL RISK STRATIFICATION MAY BE DIFFERENT IF YOU FIND YOURSELF AT A CERTAIN THRESHOLD ABOUT YOUR OWN PERSONAL RISK.AND SO TO WHAT DR. BROWN JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, I WOULD STILL HAVE MY MASK GIVEN THAT WE KNOW THERE'S UPTICKS IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE, IN OUR COUNTRY, RIGHT? AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT OTHER, OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY ARE ALSO OF THE WORLD ARE STILL HAVING SORT OF OUTBREAKS.
SO I WOULD HAVE MY, I WOULD STILL CONTINUE TO WEAR MY MASK.
WHAT IS COVID KILLING MOUTHWASH? UM, SO THERE ARE SOME STUDIES THAT HAVE SHOWN, UM, THAT AN OVER-THE-COUNTER MOUTHWASH, UM, CAN KILL VIRUSES.
UM, HOWEVER, THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY LARGE SCALE CLINICAL TRIALS.
UM, SO I, I REALLY WOULD NOT TAKE THIS AS A TREATMENT PLAN AT THIS TIME.
AND I WONDER TOO, DR. BROWN, YOU KNOW, YOU THINK ABOUT MOUTHWASH AND SO, UM, THERE'S A CONSIDERATION THAT THEY THINK OF IT AS ANTISEPTIC, BUT WE'RE NOT USING ANTISEPTIC TERMINOLOGY IN, IN THIS VACCINE VIRUS CONVERSATION.
SO SORT OF TWO DIFFERENT CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT WHY SOMEONE MAY SAY, WELL, WHAT ABOUT MOUTHWASH? IT HAS THESE, THESE PROPERTIES, BUT OFTEN THAT'S ABOUT ANTISEPTIC.
YES, PLEASE UPDATE THE PROTOCOL ON DELAYING MAMMOGRAMS AFTER HAVING A COVID SHOT.
SO SAME CONSIDERATION THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A MOVING, UH, NEEDLE.
AND EARLY IN THE PANDEMIC THERE WERE, UH, COMMENTS ABOUT OR INFORMATION ABOUT HAVING ADENOPATHY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, RADIOLOGISTS AND, AND, UH, INDIVIDUALS IN THAT, UH, ARENA HAS SOME CAUTION, UH, WITH REGARDS TO HOW LONG YOU SHOULD WAIT.
BUT WHAT WE REALIZED NOW TOO IS WHAT WE DIDN'T WANNA SEE HAPPEN IS PATIENTS PROLONGING GETTING A MAMMOGRAM WHO NEEDED TO HAVE A MAMMOGRAM DONE ON THEIR ROUTINE SCHEDULE.
SO REALLY RIGHT NOW, IF YOU CAN WAIT FOUR WEEKS BECAUSE IT'S SCHEDULED THAT WAY, ABSOLUTELY WAIT ABOUT FOUR WEEKS JUST TO ENSURE THAT THAT ADENOPATHY DOESN'T SORT OF COMPROMISE OR CONFLICT WITH WHAT THE READING MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
BUT IF YOU HAVE A REASON FOR MORE URGENCY, PLEASE SPEAK TO YOUR RADIOLOGIST BECAUSE THEY MAY IN FACT SAY, NO, COME IN AND LET'S DO THAT STUDY.
AND THEN WE'LL TAKE INTO EFFECT THAT YOU'VE HAD YOUR VACCINATION, REGULAR SEASONAL VIRUSES ARE BACK.
NOW THAT WE HAVE LEFT THAT OUR SAFEGUARDS DOWN, IT JUST SAID, WE MUST WAKE UP OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.
WHAT WILL THAT DO? UM, SO I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF WAKING UP OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.
CERTAINLY WE ENCOURAGE VACCINATION, WE ENCOURAGE BOOSTERS.
UM, AND, AND THEN JUST OUR, OUR REGULAR SUPPLEMENTS, WHICH WE KNOW CAN HELP TO BOOST OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM, OUR VITAMIN CS, OUR VITAMIN E, UM, EXERCISE, DRINK PLENTY OF WATER, GET PLENTY OF REST, UM, AND JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY.
SOUNDS LIKE THANK YOU FOR JOINING.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US WITH COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
JAN WHITE, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
ERICA BROWN, REPRESENTING HARRIS COUNTY.
SPECIAL THANKS, THE PAST PRESIDENT OF ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, UH, KATHY FINNER FOR PROVIDING OUR QUESTIONS AND OUR CO-PRODUCERS, MORGAN ASHTON, DAVID CASTILLO.
I'M STEVEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.