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GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
ERICA BROWN, REPRESENTING HARRIS COUNTY, UH, DR. DAVID PURSE, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SPECIAL THANKS TO KATHY FINNER, PAST PRESIDENT OF ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, WHO PROVIDES THE QUESTIONS.
AND OUR PRODUCER THIS MORNING IS, UH, DAVID CASTILLO.
I'M STEVEN WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HOW WELL VACCINES WORK IN SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN? SO I'LL TAKE THAT ONE TO GET STARTED.
SO THIS WAS A, THE FDA LOOKED AT THE STUDIES CAME FROM PFIZER, AND THEY LOOKED AT, UH, OVER ABOUT 4,500, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN 4,500 KIDS, AND THEY FOLLOWED THEM FOR TWO MONTHS, WHICH SOME OF THE CRITICS SAID THAT WAS TOO SHORT OF A TIME.
BUT, UH, IN THAT PERIOD, THERE WERE, UH, BETWEEN THE KIDS WHO GOT VACCINATED AND THOSE WHO DIDN'T, 'CAUSE IT WAS A PLACEBO CONTROLLED TRIAL.
UH, THE ONLY THREE KIDS THAT GOT VACCINE BECAME INFECTED WHILE 16 KIDS IN THE OTHER GROUP THAT DIDN'T GOT PLACEBO, THEY GOT INFECTED.
THEY CALCULATED THAT TO BE ABOUT A 91% EFFECTIVE RATE.
WE THINK IT'S ABOUT 91% EFFECTIVE, WHICH ACTUALLY IS REALLY GOOD.
AND, AND JUST PUT THAT IN CONTEXT.
REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, FOR A VACCINE TO WORK 90% OR BETTER, LIKE WE'RE HEARING ABOUT WITH THESE MRNA VACCINES, THAT'S THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.
MOST VACCINES LIKE THE FLU VACCINE, IF WE GET A 60 70% EFFICACY WITH THE FLU VACCINE, WE'RE THRILLED.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT, SO THESE 90% NUMBERS ARE REALLY TERRIFIC.
WHICH VACCINES GIVE THE BEST PROTECTION AGAINST BREAKTHROUGH INFECTIONS? SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION, ESPECIALLY, UM, CONSIDERING THE VARIANTS, SPECIFICALLY THE OMICRON VARIANTS THAT ARE OUT NOW.
UM, PREVIOUS DATA SHOWS THAT THE MODERNA, UH, VACCINE WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFECTIVE THAN PFIZER, UM, AGAINST THE ALPHA AND THE DELTA STRAINS, BUT WE ARE REALLY NOT SURE YET, UM, IF ANY VA ANY VACCINE IS, UH, MORE EFFECTIVE AGAINST THE OMICRON VARIANT.
ALTHOUGH, UM, THE DATA DOES CONTINUE TO SHOW THAT THERE'S LESS, THAT THERE IS, UM, LESS SEVERITY OF ILLNESS WITH VACCINATIONS, WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD CONTINUE GETTING YOUR VACCINES.
HOW SAFE AND EFFECTIVE ARE SECOND BOOSTER SHOTS? ARE THERE SIDE EFFECTS TO GETTING THE FOURTH DOSE OF THE VACCINE? SO, UH, THERE'S BEEN SOME STUDIES THAT LOOKED AT THIS AND THEY'VE, THEY'VE ALL COME OUT SHOWING THAT REGARDLESS OF, UH, PRETTY MUCH REGA OF THE, OF THE VACCINES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES, THEY'RE ALL PRETTY SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.
AND THE, THE SIDE EFFECT PROFILE IS, UH, SIMILAR, IN FACT, PERHAPS EVEN A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN, UH, EARLIER BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO HAD PROBLEMS WITH EARLIER VACCINES TEND NOT TO GET THE, THE BOOSTERS.
SO THOSE FOLKS WHO DIDN'T HAVE PROBLEMS BEFORE TEND NOT TO HAVE 'EM WITH SUBSEQUENT DOSES, AND THE EFFICACY IS PRETTY GOOD.
THE ONLY, THE ONLY PROBLEM, IF YOU WILL, IS THAT THERE, THERE APPEARS TO BE THAT THE ANTIBODY LEVELS THEY STIMULATE DON'T LAST AS LONG, BUT THIS GETS LOST BECAUSE PEOPLE, THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED, UH, THE HUMORAL, UH, RESPONSE.
BUT WHAT IS FORGOTTEN IN THIS CONVERSATION IS THE CELLULAR RESPONSE THAT'S, SO YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM HAS A LITTLE BIT OF A SHORT-TERM MEMORY AND A LONG-TERM MEMORY.
AND SO WITH SUBSEQUENT BOOSTER SHOTS, IT APPEARS THAT THE SHORT-TERM MEMORY, THE, THE ANTIBODIES GETS A LITTLE BIT SHORTER.
BUT WE BELIEVE THAT THE LONG-TERM, THE CELLULAR, UH, IMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE LONG-TERM MEMORY, IF YOU WILL, THAT THAT IS PROBABLY GROWING WITH THESE SUBSEQUENT SHOTS.
BUT THAT'S HARDER TO MEASURE AND TO, UH, DESCRIBE TO THE PUBLIC DO VACCINES, A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TREATMENT WORK AGAINST BA TWO VIRUS.
SO THERE, THERE IS SOME PROTECTION WITH, UH, MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES, UM, BUT, UM, IT, IT, AND IT PROTECTS MORE AGAINST SEVERE DISEASE AND LESS AGAINST ACTUAL INFECTION.
UM, THERE WAS, UM, SORE WAS PULLED BY THE FDA BECAUSE IT DID SHOW THAT IT WAS NOT EFFECTIVE.
BUT CURRENTLY, UM, BETEL AND, UH, VACHEL ARE OUT, UM, AND ARE PROVING TO HAVE SOME EFFECTIVENESS CONFIRMING THAT FULLY VACCINATED MEANS TWO SHOTS.
SO THIS HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A PUBLIC MESSAGING, YOU KNOW, AREA OF CONFUSION.
SO FULLY VACCINATED DOES MEAN THE FIRST TWO SHOTS, BUT THE OTHER TERM THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING MORE AND MORE IS ARE YOU UP TO DATE ON YOUR VACCINATIONS? SO THAT THEN GOES TO WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE FOR BOOSTER SHOTS.
AND SO, YES, FULLY VACCINATED MEANS THE TWO SHOTS, BUT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR THAT BEING USED LESS AND LESS AND MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT ARE YOU UP TO DATE? AND THAT INCLUDES THE BOOSTERS.
UH, THE NEXT QUESTION WAS A SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION.
IN OUR EXECUTIVE MEETING EARLIER THIS WEEK, THE US HAS WASTED OVER 82 MILLION COVID VACCINE DOSES.
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SOME OF THIS IS DUE TO DECLINING DEMAND AND VOLUME HANDLE.THIS SEEMS LIKE A COLOSSAL WASTE OF MONEY.
THERE HAS BEEN ONGOING CONCERN ABOUT VACCINE SHORTAGES.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? SO, I, I, FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO, TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORD WASTED.
I, I'M NOT SURE THAT IT'S THE APPROPRIATE TERM HERE IN CONNOTATION, UM, FOR WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING.
UM, SO IN ORDER TO HAVE ENOUGH VACCINE AVAILABLE FOR OUR POPULATION, UM, THE UNITED STATES PURCHASED ADEQUATE AMOUNTS OF VACCINE.
UNFORTUNATELY, THOUGH, UM, AS WITH ANYTHING WITH THE EXPIRATION DATES OF THE VACCINE, UM, AS WELL AS IN SOME AREAS, UM, UNDER USAGE IN GETTING VACCINATED, UM, WE'VE HAD TO DISCARD SOME OF THE VACCINES, WHICH, WHICH EQUATES TO THE 82 MILLION.
UM, SO I THINK WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PUT IT IN CONTEXT OF, UM, WHY IT, IT WAS NOT AN INTENTIONAL WASTE.
I DON'T THINK THAT THERE WAS NECESSARILY POOR PLANNING.
UM, UM, IT JUST UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THE, THE VACCINES DO EXPIRE.
UM, AND WE HAVE NOT HAD, UM, IN SOME AREAS PEOPLE, EVERYBODY IN FACT GETTING VACCINATED.
UM, AND WITH REGARD TO THE SHORTAGES, UM, THE CONCERN IS THAT WE WILL NOT HAVE, UM, ENOUGH BUDGETED FUNDS, UM, UM, FROM THE FEDS IN ORDER TO PURCHASE VACCINE IN THE FUTURE.
AND THAT, THAT'S REALLY A DISCUSSION, UM, AMONGST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S NECESSARILY A SHORTAGE OF VACCINE.
UM, THERE'S JUST ONGOING DISCUSSION, UM, AS WAS, UM, DISCUSSED OR, OR, UM, IMPLIED IN THE PREVIOUS QUESTION ABOUT, UM, HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE WILLING TO SPEND TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL VACCINE.
FDA JUST RELEASED AN ANALYSIS OF NOVAVAX THAT APPEARS TO BE ABOUT 90% EFFECTIVE.
PLEASE EXPLAINS HOW THIS DIFFERS FROM OTHER VACCINES AND WHY MIGHT IT BE ATTRACTIVE TO CURRENTLY UNVACCINATED? IS THE SHORTAGE AND SHIPMENT EASIER? CAN THIS BE USED AS A BOOSTER? YEAH, SO NOVAVAX, THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NOVAVAX AND THE MRNA VACCINES THAT IT IS PRODUCED IN A MORE TRADITIONAL WAY.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS WITH THE MRNA VACCINES, WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS THEY'VE CREATED A, THE STRAND OF, OF MESSENGER RNA THAT IS IN THE VACCINE THAT GOES INTO YOUR CELL.
NOW, THAT IS LIKE A BARCODE, IF YOU WILL, FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR CELL TO READ TO THEN PRODUCE PROTEINS.
NOW IT'S ONLY THE PART OF THE VIRAL RNA THAT MAKES SOME, THAT MAKES THE SPIKE PROTEINS, IT DOESN'T MAKE OBVIOUSLY THE ENTIRE VIRUS.
THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE RIDICULOUS.
IT JUST MAKES THE SPIKE PROTEIN.
AND THE ADVANTAGE OF THE MRNA VACCINES IS THEY WERE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE PRETTY QUICKLY NOVAVAX, INSTEAD OF MAKING THE MRNA SEGMENT, IT ACTUALLY, THEY, THEY GIVE YOU THE, THE PROTEIN.
THEY'RE GIVING YOU THE PROTEIN TO STIMULATE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM TO RESPOND TO IT.
AND THIS IS MADE IN THE MORE TRADITIONAL WAY.
SO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN RELUCTANT TO GET VACCINATED 'CAUSE THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE NEW TECHNOLOGY AND VACCINE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION, THIS IS THE TRA THIS IS VACCINES MADE WITH THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF MAKING VACCINE, WHERE WHAT YOU GET INJECTED WITH IS ACTUALLY THE PROTEIN THAT TO STIMULATE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AS OPPOSED TO THE MRNA TO MAKE YOUR CELLS MAKE THE PROTEIN.
SO THAT'S ONE REASON WHY PREVIOUS UNVACCINATED FOLKS MAY WANNA GET VACCINATED AND THE SHIPMENT IN STORAGE IS EASIER.
IT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'VE SEEN WITH, UM, MOST OF THE OTHER VACCINES THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, OUR PRACTITIONERS ARE USED TO USING FLU VACCINE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE VACCINES, MMR, ALL THOSE VACCINES, IT'S, THE STORAGE IS ABOUT THE SAME.
AND, UM, I BELIEVE IT IS GOING TO BE RECOMMENDED AS A BOOSTER.
UM, THAT'S THE ONE THING ON THIS I NEEDED TO, TO CHECK AND, UH, I DIDN'T, WAS THE EXACT, UH, WORDING ABOUT IT BEING A BOOSTER, BUT I, I THINK THAT IT IS BEING APPROVED.
IN FACT, THE MORE I'M THINKING ABOUT IT IS BEING APPROVED AS A BOOSTER.
AS AN OPTION FOR BOOSTERS RELATED, WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING MIXING VACCINES? SO THE CDC HAS, UM, UH, GIVEN A RECOMMENDATION THAT, UM, IN FACT IN SOME CASES YOU SHOULD MIX VACCINES.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU RECEIVE THE JANSSEN OR JJ AND J VACCINE, UM, YOUR ADDITIONAL DOSES, YOUR BOOSTERS, UM, YOUR SECOND DOSES SHOULD BE EITHER, UH, PFIZER OR MODERNA.
UM, AND IT IS ALSO OKAY TO MIX BOTH PFIZER AND MODERNA, RELATIVELY SPEAKING.
INITIAL VACCINES SEEM TO GET MARKET TO MARKET VERY QUICKLY, ONE OF THESE NEW BOOSTERS.
WHY THESE NEW BOOSTERS TAKING SO LONG? ARE THEY TAKING LONG? SO, SO I DON'T THINK THAT I, I I THINK THIS PART OF THIS GOES BACK TO THE PREVIOUS QUESTION ABOUT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NEW BOOSTERS.
SO THE BOOSTERS WITH THE, UH, PFIZER AND MODERNA, THOSE AREN'T NEW AT ALL.
THOSE ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, BOOSTERS.
IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME VACCINE THAT YOU GOT THE FIRST TIME.
IT'S JUST DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE NEEDED BOOSTERS, WHAT KIND OF A BENEFIT THE BOOSTERS WOULD GIVE.
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UH, DELAYED AT ALL.BUT WITH THE, THE, WITH NOVA VACCINE, REMEMBER AROUND THE GLOBE, THERE ARE YET OTHER VACCINES WHICH ARE AVAILABLE AROUND THE GLOBE THAT JUST HAVEN'T BEEN A, YOU KNOW, HAVEN'T BEEN APPROVED BY THE F FDA A YET.
MAYBE THOSE COMPANIES DIDN'T SUBMIT, OR FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY, THAT THERE ARE MORE VACCINES AROUND THE WORLD.
AND SO PART OF IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, JUST THE BUREAUCRACY OF NUMBER ONE, THOSE COMPANIES PUTTING FORTH AN EUA REQUEST.
UM, UH, I'VE NOT SEEN THAT THE FDA HAS BEEN DRAGGING ITS HEELS ON THESE REQUESTS AT ALL.
SO, UM, IT'S MORE OF A BUSINESS DECISION, I THINK, ON THOSE THAT ARE MAKING THE VACCINES AND GET, BRING IT TO THE, TO THE U TO THE FDA RATHER.
A DISEASE SPECIALIST AT HARVARD SAID SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT BE INFECTIOUS AT THE END OF THEIR COURSE, EVEN IF STILL ANTIGEN POSITIVE, WHEREAS OTHERS MAY BE INFECTIOUS, EVEN IF ANTIGEN NEGATIVE.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY WE SHOULD BOTHER? UM, SO, UH, IN FACT, BOTH, UH, STATEMENTS CAN BE TRUE.
UM, UM, THERE ARE, AND WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY STILL INVESTIGATING, UH, WHY THAT IS.
UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME WHO STILL CAN, UM, TEST POSITIVE BECAUSE THEY, THEY HAVE THE, I'LL SAY THE ENVELOPE, UH, FOR COVID.
UM, BUT WITHIN THAT ENVELOPE, IF WE THINK ABOUT IT, UM, LIKE A PIECE OF MAIL WITHIN THAT ENVELOPE, THE CONTENTS OF THE ENVELOPE, WHICH IS THE IMPORTANT PART, UM, THAT PERHAPS CAUSES, UM, SEVERE ILLNESS, UM, UM, IS IT DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE OR, UM, IS, IS UH, DORMANT.
UM, SO THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO, WHEN WE USE A PCR TEST, UM, WE CAN DETECT THE SPIKE PROTEIN, BUT HOW EFFECTIVE THAT PROTEIN IS AT CAUSING INFECTION IS STILL, UM, AN ISSUE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO STUDY.
SO YOU MAY HAVE SOMEBODY WHO TESTS POSITIVE AND IS NOT INFECTIOUS, AND YOU MAY HAVE SOMEBODY WHO TESTS POSITIVE AND IS INFECTIOUS, AND IT'S ALSO A FUNCTION OF WHAT POINT IN TIME ARE YOU TESTING, WHICH IS WHY, IF YOU NOTICE, ESPECIALLY IN, UM, A LOT OF THE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TODAY THAT THE TIMEFRAME IN WHICH YOU TEST IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'S THE TIMEFRAME OF THE HIGHEST INFECTIVITY RATES, UM, UM, WHEN THE VIRUS IS, IS, UM, UM, REPLICATING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND IS, UM, CAUSING THE, THE SEVERE OF, OF ILLNESS AT THAT TIME.
UM, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT PLAY INTO THIS.
AND AGAIN, BOTH STATEMENTS CAN BE TRUE AND WE'RE STILL DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH AROUND WHY THAT IS.
DAVID, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON THAT.
NO, I, I THINK YOU ANSWERED IT QUITE WELL.
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE AT-HOME COVID TESTS? MY DOCTOR DIDN'T TAKE THE RESULTS SERIOUSLY AND WANTED A REAL TESTING FOR ACCURACY
SO, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THAT A LOT OF WHAT DR. BROWN JUST SAID SORT OF ANSWERED THE QUESTION.
AND SO TO PUT THIS, UM, DIFFERENTLY, THE PCR TEST, AS DR. BROWN POINTED OUT, THE PCR TESTS ARE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE.
SO THEY WILL, IN THIS DOCTOR, IN THIS CASE, MAY HAVE WANTED A PCR TEST.
LET'S SAY THE PATIENT HAD SYMPTOMS WHICH WERE SUGGESTIVE OF COVID, BUT THEIR HOME TESTS WERE NEGATIVE AND THE DOCTOR WANTED A PCR TEST 'CAUSE THEY'RE MUCH MORE SENSITIVE.
AND SO THEY WILL PICK UP A, THEY'LL, UH, DEMONSTRATE A POSITIVE RESULT GENERALLY EARLIER IN SOMEBODY'S COURSE OF ILLNESS THAN THE THE AT-HOME TEST AND AT THE OTHER END OF THE ILLNESS.
THE SAME THING IS TRUE IS THAT, IS THAT PEOPLE MAY BE IMPROVING, THEY MAY BE FEELING BETTER, THEIR VIRAL LOAD MAY BE DROPPING OFF, BUT THE PCR TEST WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSITIVE 'CAUSE IT'S STILL GONNA BE ABLE TO DETECT THE ENVELOPE.
AS DR. BROWN POINTED OUT, EVEN THOUGH INTACT INFECTIOUS VIRUS MAY NOT LONG, MAY NO LONGER BE PRESENT.
AND SO IT HAS TO DO WITH WHICH TESTS YOU'RE USING AND THE TIMING IS, AS SHE POINTED OUT.
AND SO THE, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE A PCR TESTS ARE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE AND EXTREMELY ACCURATE.
THE HOME TESTS I SEE ANYWHERE FROM 80 TO 90% INACCURACY DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU READ.
AND IT ALSO DEPEND ON THE TIME.
SO IF YOU TEST THE FIRST, SO IF YOU GET EXPOSED TO SOMEBODY AND YOU HAVE NO SYMPTOMS AND YOU TEST AND YOU'RE NEGATIVE, THAT MAY BE THAT YOU'RE NEGATIVE.
IT MAY BE THAT YOU TESTED TOO EARLY, YOU START DEVELOPING SYMPTOMS, YOU FEEL A LITTLE CRUMMY, YOUR AT HOME TEST MAY VERY WELL BE NEGATIVE AND TWO DAYS LATER TURN POSITIVE.
BUT IF ON THE FIRST DAY WHEN YOU HAD A NEGATIVE AT HOME TEST, YOU DID A PCR TEST, IT MIGHT'VE BEEN POSITIVE.
NOW, TWO DAYS LATER WHEN YOU'RE AT HOME, TEST IS POSITIVE.
THAT'S 'CAUSE YOU'RE REALLY PRETTY INFECTIOUS AT THAT POINT.
I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS LEFT Y'ALL, SO I'M GONNA MOVE IT FASTER.
MY DOCTOR SAID, IF YOU HAVE BEEN VACCINATED, ESPECIALLY BOOSTED THE HOME TESTS ARE NO GOOD.
NOT TRUE THAT THEY'RE NO GOOD.
IT, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE TIMING.
UM, AND THEN ALSO IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING ELSE.
BUT IN TERMS OF, UM, THE HOME TEST BEING NO GOOD IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, THAT'S NOT TRUE.
IT REALLY IS A FUNCTION OF TIMING.
THE KINE COVID-19 TEST MORE ACCURATE THAN THE ANTIGEN TESTS.
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I WOULDN'T SAY THEY'RE MORE ACCURATE, BUT THEY'RE REALLY, IT'S AMAZING HOW GOOD THESE DOGS ARE AT SMELLING PEOPLE AND DETECTING WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE INFECTED.UM, THOSE WEEKS ARE GOING BY 90 SOME PERCENT MORE THAN 95% ACCURATE.
IS THE PANDEMIC OVER YET DR. ANTHONY FCI ONCE TOLD PBS THAT THE US WAS OUT OF THE PANDEMIC PHASE? UH, I, I WOULD SAY NO.
UM, I, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE ACHIEVING, UM, SOME GREAT MILESTONES IN A POSITIVE WAY.
WE'RE ALSO ACHIEVING SOME NEGATIVE MILESTONES IN THE NUMBER OF CASES ACROSS THE WORLD.
BUT NO, THE PANDEMIC IS NOT OVER.
UM, AND WE NEED TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE WINTERTIME.
HOW PROTECTED AM I FROM COVID-19 IF I WEAR A MASK IN PUBLIC PLACES, BUT OTHERS AROUND ME DON'T.
DEPENDS ON THE MASK, DOESN'T IT? YEAH, I I WOULD SAY IT DEPENDS ON TWO THINGS.
IF YOU'RE WEARING A SIMPLE FACE MASK, THEN YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT TERRIBLY WELL PROTECTED IF NOBODY AROUND YOU IS WEARING 'EM.
IF YOU'RE WEARING AN N95, YOU'RE MUCH BETTER PROTECTED.
UH, BUT THEN THE THING COMES TO HOW, HOW VIGILANT ARE YOU ON KEEPING THAT MASK ON, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT TERRIBLE.
THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT UNCOMFORTABLE.
AND SO PEOPLE MAY TAKE IT OFF.
SO CONNECTION BETWEEN LONG-TERM NITROGEN DIOXIDE EXPOSURE AND COVID-19 FATALITY RATE AND COVID-19 INCIDENT RATE.
SO I, I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S A SPECIFIC CONNECTION.
UM, EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF COVID, UM, NITROGEN DIOXIDE EXPOSURE CAN BE FATAL.
UM, ANYWAY, SO I I I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S A SPECIFIC CONNECTION THERE.
WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY RATES IN HARRIS COUNTY? I GUESS THE POSITIVITY RATE THEY'RE REFERRING TO? YES.
SO HARRIS COUNTY'S, UM, POSITIVITY RATE.
UM, RIGHT NOW THE TRANSMISSION IS CURRENTLY HIGH, HIGH CASE RATES 169 PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND WITH A 14 DAY AVERAGE POSITIVITY RATE OF 21.53, THAT'S HIGH.
THE WASTEWATER DATA IS SKYROCKETING.
WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS INFORMATION? SO, UH, WHAT WE DO WITH THIS IS BE AWARE THAT THE VIRUS IS OUT THERE AND IT IS SPREADING.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT, UH, VACCINATED, IF YOU'RE NOT FULLY VACCINATED, IF YOU SHOULD BE UP TO DATE AND YOU'RE NOT UP TO DATE, YOU NEED TO STRONGLY CONSIDER GOING, GETTING YOURSELF UP TO DATE 'CAUSE IT'S OUT THERE.
WE ALSO KNOW WITH THE WASTEWATER FROM A GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE, UH, UH, WHERE, WHERE, WHERE PEOPLE ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE VACCINATED.
AND SO WE DO TARGET THOSE AREAS WITH OUR OUTREACH EDUCATION.
DO WE ANTICIPATE A CHANGE IN THREAT LEVEL? NOT AT THIS TIME.
UM, AND THE, THE, JUST REALLY QUICKLY, THE REASON IS BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THE CASE RATES ARE INCREASING, UM, FORTUNATELY HOSPITALIZATION AND SEVERE ILLNESS RATES ARE NOT INCREASING AS QUICKLY.
UH, THE POSITIVITY RATE IS BACK UP.
AND WHAT ABOUT ALL THE AT-HOME TESTS NOT BEING REPORTED? YEAH, SO, UM, THE AT-HOME TESTS DON'T GET REPORTED.
SO WE DON'T GET THAT DATA, UH, MAKING US HAVE TO TAKE THE POSITIVITY RATE WITH A BIT OF, BIT OF A GRAIN OF SALT.
AND SO ONE THING WE'VE BEEN SAYING RIGHT FROM, FOR TWO YEARS NOW, WE'VE BEEN SAYING, DON'T GET HUNG UP ON THE SPECIFIC NUMBER.
ANY ONE OF THESE METRICS, WHATEVER THE VALUE IS, DON'T GET HUNG UP ON THAT SPECIFIC VALUE.
BUT WHICH WAY ARE THESE METRICS ALL MOVING? AND SO RIGHT NOW, WASTE WATER'S GOING UP, POSITIVITY'S GOING UP, HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE STARTING TO CREEP UP.
SO WHAT WE KNOW IS THE VIRUS IS SPREADING IN THE COMMUNITY.
SHOULD I LET MY KIDS GO TO SUMMER CAMP? DO YOU THINK MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND GRADUATION PARTIES CONTRIBUTED TO THE INCREASES IN CASES MY COUSIN TESTED POSITIVE THE MORNING OF HIS GRAD PARTY AND IT HAD TO BE CANCELED.
UM, SO SOME OF THIS IS YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCE.
I THINK THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT, UM, UM, SAFETY MEASURES DO, DOES THE CAMP HAVE IN PLACE? UM, WHAT IS YOUR CHILD'S VACCINATION STATUS? WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE STAFFERS? UM, AND IT'S REALLY A, A PERSONAL PREFERENCE.
UM, AS DAVID SAID, WE DO KNOW THAT, UM, THE VIRUS IS HERE AND IT IS SPREADING.
THE OMICRON VARIANTS ARE VERY TRANSMISSIBLE.
AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S SUMMERTIME PEOPLE ARE OUT.
SO OF COURSE, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, WITH PARTIES AND GRADUATION AND MEMORIAL DAY, YES, IT'S GOING TO INCREASE THE POSITIVITY RATES.
I'M HEARING THERE MIGHT BE A WAVE IN THE FALL OF WINTER THAT COULD INFECT A HUNDRED, INFECT A HUNDRED MILLION AMERICANS.
SO THAT WOULD BE ABOUT A THIRD OF THE POPULATION.
THAT WOULD BE A REALLY LARGE NUMBER.
UH, SO, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE, BUT I'D BE IMPRESSED IF WE HAD A HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE GET INFECTED.
UH, YOU KNOW, ASSUMING THAT WE DON'T GET A NEW VARIANT, WE GET A NEW VARIANT, YOU KNOW, ALL BETS ARE OFF AND WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE NEW VARIANT.
BUT, UH, THE OTHER THING IS THE FALL OR WINTER, THIS CONCEPT OF, OF THE WEATHER PATTERNS IMPACTING VIRAL SPREAD.
UH, THIS VIRUS SO FAR HAS NOT FOLLOWED THAT RULE AT ALL.
UM, ABOUT EVERY, YOU KNOW, FOUR TO SIX MONTHS WE GET A NEW WAVE.
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PATTERN.SO WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
I TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 SINCE THIS WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME.
WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW? UM, SO FOLLOW THE CDC GUIDELINES ACCORDING TO WHERE YOU ARE WITH YOUR VACCINATION STATUS, ET CETERA.
AND SO IF YOU TESTED POSITIVE FOR SURE, YOU NEED TO ISOLATE FOR A MINIMUM OF FIVE DAYS AND BE ASYMPTOMATIC AS WELL AS WEAR A MASK FOR A MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS.
ANY NEW INFORMATION ON WHETHER ASYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE GET LONG HAUL OR MORE FREQUENT REPEAT CASES.
SO WHAT WE FIND IS THAT PEOPLE ARE, ARE MINIMALLY SYMPTOMATIC AND ASYMPTOMATIC CAN STILL GET LONG HAUL.
NOW, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR RISK OF GETTING LONG HAUL INCLUDE HOW, HOW SICK YOU WERE, WHAT YOUR VI, WHAT YOUR TOTAL VIRAL LOAD WAS, WHICH KIND OF CORRELATES TO HOW SICK YOU GOT.
BUT, UM, SO THE SICKER YOU WERE, THE MORE LIKELY YOU ARE TO SUFFER SOME FORM OF LONG HAUL.
BUT, UH, WHICH LONG HAUL AND HOW SEVERE IT IS THAT AT THIS POINT SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE RANDOM, QUITE HONESTLY.
AND YEAH, IF YOU'RE ASYMPTOMATIC, YOU CAN GET LONG HAUL.
COVID IS LONG HAUL WORSE THAN THE ACTUAL VIRUS.
I THINK IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE SYMPTOMS THAT YOU GET FROM LONG HAUL.
I MEAN, UNFORTUNATE THE VIRUS ITSELF WILL COME AND IT WILL GO LONG HAUL, IS JUST THAT.
SO IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY YOUR PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ON IT.
ANY NEW INFORMATION ON WHETHER ASYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE GET LONG HAUL AND MORE FREQUENT REPEAT CASES? WE JUST ANSWERED THAT ONE.
I WENT OUTTA ORDER A BETA DELTA AND OMICRON ALL HAVE THEIR OWN GREEK LETTERS.
HOW DOES A SUB VARIANT GRADUATE TO ITS OWN TREE AND BECOME A VARIANT ON ITS OWN? SO, UM, THAT, SO THE WHO MAKES THOSE DETERMINATIONS AND THEY HAVE TO JUST, THEY HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT THE NEW VARIANT IS SUFFICIENTLY UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT FROM WHATEVER WAS BEFORE.
SO THAT'S WHY WITH OMICRON, YOU'RE GETTING, YOU KNOW, BA ONE, BA TWO, BA TWO POINT 12.1, BA FOUR, BA FIVE.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE, THERE'S ENOUGH OF A DIFFERENCE TO MAKE A DISTINCTION, BUT NOT ENOUGH OF A DIFFERENCE TO GIVE IT A WHOLE NEW LETTER.
ONE STUDY FROM EMORY UNIVERSITY SHOWED THE CHANCE OF LONG HAUL WAS MORE THAN FOUR TIMES HIGHER IN DIABETES.
ANY OTHER COMORBIDITIES SEEN AND HIGHER NUMBERS.
SO WE REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND, UM, LONG HAUL, UH, THAT WELL YET.
UM, THERE IS RESEARCH THAT'S LOOKING INTO THE AGE GREATER THAN 65, UM, HAVING A HOSPITALIZATION OR ICU ADMISSION, UM, A BMI GREATER THAN 40, UM, AND SOME OTHER CHRONIC DISEASES, BUT WE JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND QUITE WELL YET.
IS THERE RISE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS ON THE HORIZON? SO YES, BUT WITH AN ASTERISK ON THAT.
SO AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY ARE INFECTED WITH COVID, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING FROM THE WASTEWATER.
WE KNOW MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE INFECTED BECAUSE THEY'RE PUTTING IT INTO THE WASTEWATER AND THEY'RE GONNA BE ADMITTED FOR A WHOLE WIDE VARIETY OF THINGS THAT THEY WOULD ANYWAYS, APPENDICITIS, GASTRIC OBSTRUCTION, PNEUMONIAS, WHATEVER.
AND THEY'RE GONNA INCIDENTALLY TEST POSITIVE.
SO WE'LL SEE IT NOW, AN INCREASE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS BECAUSE OF COVID.
UM, ANECDOTALLY, MY COLLEAGUES WHO WORKED IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT TELL ME THAT THEY HAVE JUST RECENTLY THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS STARTED ADMITTING PATIENTS BECAUSE OF COVID AGAIN, WHICH THEY HADN'T DONE IN A WHILE, BUT NOT VERY MANY.
SO, UH, YES, BUT WITH AN ASTERISK ON THAT ANSWER, I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE USE OF A AI AND SUPER COMMUTING TO ACCELERATE DRUG RESEARCH ON PAXIL LAW WITH ALL THE ADV ADVANCES IN THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY.
ARE YOU SURPRISED IT HASN'T BEEN USED PREVIOUSLY TO SPEED ON CLINICAL TRIALS? UH, I'M NOT SURPRISED.
UM, AI IS A, IS A NEWER TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, FIGURE OUT HOW, HOW TO INCORPORATE, UM, BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND, AND TECHNOLOGY INTO, UH, TRADITIONAL MEDICAL PRACTICE.
I THINK JUST LIKE MANY OF US ARE, UM, AND MORE TO COME, REFLECTIONS APPEAR ALL AROUND ME, REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER RE INFECTIONS APPEAR ALL AROUND ME, REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF VA VACCINES PEOPLE HAVE RECEIVED.
WHAT IS THE ACTUAL DATA? WHAT WAVE ARE WE IN? I THINK Y'ALL TALKED ABOUT THAT EARLIER.
YEAH, SO PEOPLE ARE GETTING, UH, INFECTED, UH, MULTIPLE TIMES.
UH, PART OF IT IS BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IF YOU WERE INFECTED EARLY ON WITH THE ALPHA BETA OR THE DELTA VARIANT, OMICRON DOESN'T SEEM TO REALLY MUCH CARE ABOUT THAT.
AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND YOU CAN GET INFECTED.
THOSE PREVIOUS INFECTIONS DON'T SEEM TO PROTECT YOU A WHOLE LOT.
ALSO, IF YOU HAVE, YOU'RE FULLY VACCINATED, GET YOUR FIRST TWO SHOTS, BUT YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE, THEN GUESS WHAT? OMICRON SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO INFECT YOU TOO.
SO, AND TO ANSWER THAT FINAL QUESTION, IF YOU LOOK AT, I USE THE SET RACK.ORG DATABASE, AND THAT WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, PERHAPS BEGINNING OUR FIFTH WAVE.
WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED FOUR WAVES.
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A WAVE, THIS WOULD BE NUMBER FIVE IN THE PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN GETTING A THIRD AND FOURTH SHOT AND A 14 DAYS FOR THE VACCINATION TO BECOME FULLY EFFECTIVE.DO WE BECOME MORE SUSCEPTIBLE ASKING BECAUSE OF EXPLANATIONS THAT A VACCINE WAKES UP YOUR SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THE ANTIBODIES ARE ALERT? YOU'RE NOT MORE SUSCEPTIBLE, YOU ARE JUST NOT IMMUNIZED, UH, UNTIL YOU'VE REACHED THAT, THAT 14 DAY PERIOD WITH THE VACCINES.
OKAY, LAST QUESTION, WHICH HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UH, VACCINES ON IT.
COVAX HAS RECEIVED APPROVAL AS A BOOSTER IN INDIA.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE KNOW? YEAH, SO A COUPLE THINGS ABOUT COVAX.
ONE IS THAT THERE IS NO, UH, PATENT ON THAT.
SO THEY HAVE MADE, THAT'S VERY GENEROUS ON THE MANUFACTURERS, WHICH ACTUALLY COME FROM SOME OF OUR FOLKS HERE IN HOUSTON AT TEXAS CHILDREN'S AND BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE.
SO WE SHOULD BE PROUD OF THAT AS HOUSTONIANS.
SO VACCINE MAKERS CAN USE THE RECIPE AND, AND MAKE LOTS AND LOTS OF VACCINE AT A VERY LOW COST.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT WONDERFUL THING.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UM, UH, THAT I, I THINK, I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT STANDS WITH GETTING FDA APPROVAL THOUGH.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S GONNA BE COMING SOON.
DID, UH, YOU WERE ABOUT TO SAY SOMETHING, DR. BROWN, YOU KNOW.
OH, I, I WAS SAYING I, I'M NOT SURE WHERE THAT ONE IS.
I ANTICIPATE THAT THAT'LL HAPPEN RELATIVELY SOON HERE.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY THE ONLY OTHER THING YOU NEED TO KNOW.
UH, I PRE, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR REALLY IN DEPTH ANSWERS TO ALL OF THE QUESTIONS TODAY.
UH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR COVID-19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
ERICA BROWN FROM HARRIS COUNTY, DR. DAVID PERCH, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SPECIAL THANKS TO PAST PRESIDENT ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, KATHY FINNER FOR PROVIDING US THESE QUESTIONS.
AND TO OUR PRODUCER, DAVID CASTILLO.
I'M STEVEN WILLIAMS, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.