[COVID-19 Talk with Local Health Authorities (#87)]
[00:00:15]
WELCOME TO WEEK 87 OF COVID-19 TALK.
I'M YOUR MODERATOR THIS MORNING, MORGAN ASH WITH THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, FILLING IN FOR DIRECTOR STEVEN WILLIAMS. OF COURSE, WE'RE JOINED BY OUR LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, DR. DAVID PURSE WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, DR.
ERICA BROWN WITH HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND WE HAVE OUR GREAT PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEY AND SPECIAL THANKS TO ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, PAST PRESIDENT KATHLEEN VINEGAR.
WE HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS THIS MORNING, SO LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT.
THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER HAS STARTED RESTARTED.
ITS COVID SNAPSHOT NOW COMING IN YOUR EMAIL BOXES EVERY TUESDAY, REPORTING A LOT OF THE CASES AND A LOT OF HOSPITAL HOSPITALIZATIONS.
YOU KNOW, WHAT AREA OF TEXAS DOES THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER SNAPSHOT REPRESENT? SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES, WHICH ARE TYPICALLY LINKED BY, UM, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS ARE REPORTED.
UM, AND THAT INCLUDES, UH, AUSTIN, BRAZORIA CHAMBERS, FORT BEND, GALVESTON, HARRIS.
UM, AND OF COURSE, THOUGH, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT THE TMC SNAPSHOT, IT IS THE SURROUNDING AREAS FROM HOUSTON, NOT FROM HARRIS COUNTY AS A WHOLE.
PERT WASTEWATER ON JULY 11TH SHOWED A 927% VIRAL LOAD, UH, COMPARED WITH LAST WEEK AND A 31% POSITIVITY RATE.
SHOULD WE RUN BACK IN OUR COVID CAVES?
SO, UM, LOOK, THE NUMBERS ARE GOING UP.
INTERESTINGLY, THIS RATE OF INCREASE HAS BEEN STEADY, WHEREAS PREVIOUSLY THE RATES OF INCREASE IN WASTEWATER VIRAL LOAD HAS BEEN A MUCH STEEPER.
SO IT'S A, IT'S INTERESTING HOW IT'S, IT'S CHANGED AND THAT IT'S NOT AS RAPID AN INCREASE AND DRAMATIC AN INCREASE, UH, BUT IT'S VERY, VERY STEADY, AND THAT MAKES ME THINK THAT THERE'S MOMENTUM.
SO I'M AFRAID WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SEE THAT AND OUR POSITIVITY RATES DOING THE SAME THING.
SO WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE NOT SEEING IS A, A PARALLEL INCREASE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS.
AND SO TO THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, SHOULD WE RUN BACK IN OUR CAVES? I THINK WE'RE AT THE POINT NOW WHERE WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE WITH THIS, BUT THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE FORGET ABOUT IT.
REMEMBER, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING HOSPITALIZED, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE DYING, AND ALL OF THOSE HOSPITALIZATIONS OR DEATHS ARE PREVENTABLE.
WE STILL HAVE A SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO EVERYBODY ELSE TO GET TESTED.
ISOLATE YOURSELF WHEN YOU'RE ILL AND, UM, AND CONSIDER QUARANTINING IF YOU'RE GONNA BE SOMEBODY WHO COULD BE EXPOSING IF VULNERABLE PERSON.
SO IT'S NOT TIME TO JUST FORGET ABOUT THIS.
AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WEARING THOSE MASKS DO A LOT OF GOOD.
NOW, ON THE LAST PROGRAM, YOU GUYS SAID THAT IN GENERAL, HOME TESTS ARE PRETTY ACCURATE WHEN TAKEN AT THE PEAK OF INFECTION.
TWO CLOSE FA FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE PERSON ASKING THIS QUESTION, UH, TESTED POSITIVE AT, AT-HOME TESTS.
BUT WHEN THEY WENT TO THE PHARMACY AND GOT A RAPID TEST, IT WAS NEGATIVE.
UH, YOU KNOW, ARE THESE HOME TESTS STILL PICKING UP THIS BRAND NEW OMICRON VARIANT? AND I'LL ADD SOMETHING TO THIS.
I HAVE A, A STEPDAUGHTER AT MY HOUSE WHO HAS EVERY SYMPTOM OF COVID-19.
BUT IS, UM, ON DAY TWO TESTING NEGATIVE, UM, ON AN AT-HOME TEST, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? GO GET A PCR.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, MORGAN.
UM, SO, UH, YES, WE DID TALK LAST WEEK ABOUT, UM, THE ACCURACY OF AT HOME TESTS.
UM, AND I THINK THE KEY IS TIMING.
NUMBER ONE, SOME OF THE AT HOME TESTS, UH, DO EVADE SOME OF THE NEWER STRAINS, THE NEWER VARIANTS, UM, BUT IT'S STILL WORTH GETTING THE TEST.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE ALSO, MOST OF THEM ARE PRETTY GOOD AT PICKING UP, UM, VIRAL LOAD ONCE YOU REALLY DO HAVE A HIGH VIRAL LOAD AND YOU'RE FURTHER ALONG IN YOUR SYMPTOMS. SO THE KEY IS TIMING OF TEST.
OKAY? SO TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT YOUR, YOUR, UM, FAMILY MEMBER AT HOME, THE, THE KEY IS TEST AGAIN.
SO IF YOU TEST TODAY, AND THE TEST IS NEGATIVE, TEST AGAIN TOMORROW.
OKAY? AND THAT GOES FOR ANY OF THE AT-HOME TESTS.
NOW, THERE ARE SOME AT-HOME TESTS THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE BETTER THAN OTHERS.
UM, AND YOU CAN CERTAINLY, UH, EXPLORE THAT, UM, ON THE CDC WEBSITE, WHICH WILL TELL YOU WHICH ONES ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS IF PICKING UP.
BUT THE GOLD STANDARD ALSO IS STILL TO YOUR QUESTION, A PCR TEST.
BUT AT-HOME TESTS DO HAVE VALUE AT THE PEAK OF SYMPTOMS, OR IF YOU, JUST, TO YOUR POINT, YOU KNOW THAT SOMEBODY HAS SYMPTOMS AND YOU JUST FEEL LIKE I, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST NOT GETTING THE RESULT YET, TEST AGAIN.
AND OFTENTIMES THE TEST WILL BECOME POSITIVE BECAUSE THE VIRAL LOAD WILL BE HIGH ENOUGH TO DETECT.
THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING MY HUSBAND, BUT I WENT AHEAD AND MADE HER AN APPOINTMENT FOR A PCR TEST THIS MORNING, UH, BECAUSE WHEN, YOU KNOW,
[00:05:01]
I HAD COVID A COUPLE WEEKS AGO AND IT WAS LIKE DAY THREE BEFORE I TESTED POSITIVE AT AN AT-HOME TEST.SO KEEP TESTING IS GREAT ADVICE.
WELL, CASES ARE ON THE RISE IN EUROPE.
UM, ARE WE STILL THINKING THAT WE'RE ABOUT TWO WEEKS BEHIND THO THAT KIND OF A SURGE? AND WHAT DOES THAT TELL US ABOUT THE FUTURE HERE IN THE US? YEAH, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, CASES IN EUROPE, THERE, THEY ARE STILL ON THE RISE IN MANY COUNTRIES.
NOW, I, I BELIEVE IN THE UK AND IN GERMANY, UH, OR I'M SORRY, AND IN FRANCE, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY MAY HAVE PEAKED, BUT THERE MAY BE, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY JUST PEAKED.
SO WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT.
AND YEAH, WE HAVE TRAILED BEHIND, UH, EUROPE BY A COUPLE OF WEEKS, UH, HISTORICALLY AND NEW YORK CITY AS WELL.
AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S HARD TO KNOW FOR SURE, BUT, UM, CLEARLY OUR NUMBERS ARE GOING UP AT A VERY STEADY RATE.
OUR CRYSTAL BALLS ARE NOT VERY GOOD, BUT I WOULD ANTICIPATE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA CONTINUE TO SEE A RISE.
UM, AND, AND THEN, YEAH, AND THEN THE OTHER THING I JUST WANNA ADD ONTO THE, TO THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, IF YOU'VE GOT SYMPTOMS OF A VIRAL ILLNESS AND YOU'RE TESTING NEGATIVE, PERHAPS IT'S NOT COVID, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SPREAD TO SOMEBODY ELSE.
SO NEXT COMING UP IS WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT AN ARTICLE, AND THERE'S SEVERAL, UH, UH, STATEMENTS FROM THIS ARTICLE THAT YOU GUYS ARE GONNA LET US KNOW IF THEY'RE KIND OF MYTHS OR FACT, OR MAYBE SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN.
SO THE ARTICLE COMES FROM THE TAI E, AND IT'S CALLED GET READY FOR THE FOREVER PLAGUE, PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS COVID-19 COM COMPENCY COMPLACENCY,
UM, THIS HAS CAUSED QUITE A DEBATE.
SO LET, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS.
IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO BE IN REINFECTED WITH THE ONE OF OMICRON VARIANTS EVERY TWO TO THREE WEEKS.
UM, SO YES, THERE, THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW STUDIES THAT IT, THAT HAVE SHOWN IT'S POSSIBLE TO GET INFECTED WITH ANOTHER VARIANT AND EVEN A FEW CASES OF AN OMICRON SUB VARIANT.
BUT AGAIN, THIS IS AN AREA THAT MORE STUDY NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S ALL RETROSPECTIVE STUDY, RIGHT? SO WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A FINAL ANSWER ON IT, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE REINFECTED WITH A COVID VARIANT.
PER, WHAT DO YOU THINK? UM, WELL, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, DR. BROWN IS EXACTLY RIGHT.
YOU, I THINK EVERY TWO TO THREE WEEKS IS A LITTLE AGGRESSIVE IN THIS QUOTE OR IN THE QUESTION, BUT TO BE REINFECTED WITH THE NEXT WAVE, REMEMBER WE GET ANOTHER WAVE BECAUSE THE VARIANT, BECAUSE WE HAVE A NEW VARIANT AND THE, THE VIRUS SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGED ENOUGH THAT CAN SPREAD AROUND THE COMMUNITY AGAIN.
SO, WHICH MEANS, YEAH, YOU COULD GET INFECTED WITH WHATEVER THE NEXT WAVE IS.
SO AGAIN, ANOTHER REASON TO NOT DROP OUR GUARD AND RECOGNIZE THIS AIN'T OVER ALL.
UH, DR PER SECOND STATEMENT FROM THIS ARTICLE.
EVEN MILD COVID CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF HEART PROBLEMS OR LASTING DAMAGE TO AIRWAYS.
SO, UM, UM, WE, WE HAVE, WE KNOW THAT, UM, LONG COVID CAN CAUSE, UM, MYOCARDITIS OR PERICARDITIS, WHICH IS DAMAGE TO THE HEART.
UM, UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE'RE NOT QUITE CLEAR ON ALL OF THE, THE, THE LONG-TERM LASTING EFFECTS OF COVID.
BUT WE DO KNOW THAT THERE CAN BE LASTING DAMAGE, UM, FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, SO I, I WOULD SAY IF WE'RE GOING ON A TRUE OR IS THAT TRUE OR FALSE? YES, THAT IS TRUE.
AND I WOULD ONLY ADD THAT EVERY TIME SOMEBODY BECOMES INFECTED IN TERMS OF LONG COVID, YOU'RE ROLLING THE DICE AGAIN.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST 'CAUSE YOU GOT SICK WITH COVID ONE TIME, YOU DIDN'T GET ANY LONG COVID SYMPTOMS, THAT REALLY DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU'RE NOT AT RISK FOR IT.
THE NEXT TIME YOU GET INFECTED.
THE NEXT STATEMENT IS, THE BEST WAY TO PRODUCE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES IS TO QUOTE SPEED THE SPREAD OF OMICRON.
HUH? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? SO I'M GONNA TAKE A GUESS AT WHAT I THINK IT MEANS.
UM, SOMETHING WE TOUCHED ON LAST TIME, I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO TALK, DISCUSS HERD IMMUNITY.
SO, UM, AT THIS POINT, UM, IT'S GONNA BE HARD FOR US TO ACHIEVE HERD IMMUNITY IN, IN THE TRADITIONAL WAYS, UM, BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY SEEN SO MANY SUB VARIANTS.
UM, SO I, I, I WOULD SAY THIS IS AN, AND THIS, THIS ONE IS FALSE.
UM, IT, IT'S NOT THE BEST WAY, UM, UM, TO SPEED UP, UM, IS TO SPEED UP THE SPREAD OF OMICRON.
PER SAID, UM, IT, IT, THE MORE YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST, UM, THE VARIANTS, THE BETTER, UM, FOR YOU AND FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC OF THIS, AND THIS KIND OF GOES BACK TO THE 1960S, I GUESS, WHEN THEY TALKED ABOUT KIDS HAVING MEASLES PARTIES AND STUFF AND, YOU KNOW, CHICKENPOX PARTIES AND, AND, UH, INDUCED IMMUNITY.
BUT THERE'S A FLAW IN THIS THINKING, AND PART OF IT IS THAT IF YOU BECOME INFECTED WITH WHATEVER VARIANT, IF THERE'S ANOTHER VARIANT THAT COMES ALONG, IT'S IT, WE GO BACK TO SQUARE ONE, WE START ALL OVER AGAIN.
[00:10:01]
ARE COMING FROM PEOPLE WHO GET INFECTED AND HAVE COMPLICATED MEDICAL PROBLEMS. WE BELIEVE, SUCH THAT THEY LIKE HARBOR IT FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME, GIVING THEIR BODY AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE NEXT VARIANT.SO IF WE WERE TO USE THIS THEORY AND, AND GET EVERYBODY INFECTED AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE, THAT WOULD THEN INCLUDE THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO CREATE THE NEXT VARIANT AND PUT US BACK TO SQUARE ONE AGAIN.
SO WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO STOP IT AS TRACKS TODAY TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, OTHERWISE, WE'RE ALMOST GUARANTEEING WE'RE GONNA GET OURSELVES YET ANOTHER VARIANT AND CAUSE US TO START ALL OVER AGAIN.
WELL, THE, UM, I'M GONNA SKIP THE NEXT TWO STATEMENTS AND KIND OF DO, DO SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
AND THAT IS, I THINK ALL OF US GOT AN ALERT THIS MORNING OR YESTERDAY AFTERNOON THAT NO VVA COVID-19 VACCINE IS NOW RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN ADULTS AGES EIGHT AND 18 AND OVER.
AND THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE CDC.
WHAT DO WE THINK ABOUT IT? SO, UM, UM, I NOVAVAX JUST, JUST TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, UM, TYPE OF VACCINE FOR THOSE WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT AN MRNA VACCINE, UH, UM, AND HAVE HAD SOME HESITANCY.
UM, I DID SEE TO YOUR, JUST SKIPPING AROUND A LITTLE BIT, THERE WAS A, THERE'S SOME, SOME QUESTION ABOUT IT BEING USED AS A BOOSTER.
WE DON'T HAVE GOOD DATA YET ABOUT NOVAVAX BEING USED AS A BOOSTER, BUT IF, IF ANYONE IS, IS STILL HESITANT ABOUT GETTING VACCINATED, THIS MAY POTENTIALLY BE, UH, UM, UM, AN OPTION FOR YOU BECAUSE IT IS NOT AN MRNA VACCINE, IT'S A PROTEIN, UM, UM, THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE SPIKE PROTEIN, WHICH WILL INDUCE ENOUGH IMMUNE RESPONSE, UM, SIMILAR TO THOSE OF MRNA VA UH, VACCINES.
BUT AGAIN, IT'S NOT AN MRNA VACCINE, SO IT'S A GOOD OPTION FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PERHAPS BEEN HESITANT AND, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET MORE PEOPLE VACCINATED, AND THAT IS THE VISION EVERY SINGLE DAY.
ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT QUESTION I'M GONNA ASK IS SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO KNOW, AND I THINK A LOT OF US DO.
WHY IS 50 YEARS OF AGE THE CUTOFF FOR GETTING THAT NEXT BOOSTER? IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, 6, 7, 8 MONTHS SINCE WE'VE GOTTEN OUR LAST ONE.
SO IF YOU'RE, IF YOU ARE 50 AND OR YOUNGER THAN 50, 49 AND YOUNGER, AND YOU WANNA GET A FOURTH SHOT, A SECOND BOOSTER, UH, THERE'S NO RULE THAT SAYS THAT YOU CAN'T, BUT THERE, IT'S, THE REVERSE IS IF YOU'RE 50 AND OVER, THEY'RE RECOMMENDING THAT YOU SERIOUSLY CONSIDER GETTING, UH, THE FOURTH SHOT, SECOND BOOSTER.
SO, UM, AND WHY 50? YOU KNOW, UH, 10 YEARS AGO I WOULD'VE BEEN OFFENDED BY THAT, UH,
NOW, WAIT A MINUTE, NOW IT'S 50.
UM, YEAH, I, I, I CAN'T, I CAN'T, UH, VOUCH FOR WHY THEY PICKED 50 AS OPPOSED TO 60 OR 65.
OKAY, IF B ONE IS GONE AND THE CURRENT VACCINE IS DOING NOTHING FOR THE CURRENT STRAIN, WELL, ACCORDING TO THIS PERSON ASKING THE QUESTION, SHOULDN'T WE BE PUTTING ALL THIS BOOSTER TALK ON THE BACK BURNER? SO THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY A COMPLICATED QUESTION.
AND, UM, I THINK THE, THE SIMPLE ANSWER TO A VERY COMPLICATED QUESTION IS NO.
UM, THE, THE, THE KEY IS THAT THE VACCINES DO NOT, UM, UM, THEY, THEY MAY LESSEN A LITTLE BIT IN EFFICACY, UH, FOR THE VARIANTS, BUT THERE'S STILL SOME VALUE IN GETTING VACCINATED BECAUSE YOU STILL GET SOME IMMUNE BOOST.
AND THEN AS WE ADD ON WITH THE BOOSTERS, AND THEN LONGER TERM PERHAPS WITH THE BIVALENT, THAT WILL AGAIN, GIVE YOU AN IMMUNE BOOST AND GIVE YOU MORE PROTECTION.
THE KEY IS TO GET AS MUCH PROTECTION AS WE CAN AS WE GO THROUGH THESE WAVES OF, OF CHANGES AND SUB VARIANTS.
SO YES, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NEWER, UM, VARIANTS MAY BE A LITTLE BIT ELUSIVE TO, TO THE VACCINES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, BUT THERE IS SOME VALUE BECAUSE THERE IS SOME EFFICACY WITH EVEN THE VACCINES THAT WE HAVE.
AND IT'S ALREADY BEEN SHOWN THAT EVEN THE, AGAIN, I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT THE GOAL HAS NEVER BEEN TO NOT GET COVID WITH THE VACCINES.
THE GOAL HAS BEEN TO PREVENT SEVERE ILLNESS AND DEATH, AND THE DATA IS CLEAR, CLEARLY SHOWING THAT WE'RE DOING THAT, EVEN WITH HOSPITALIZATIONS RISING A LITTLE BIT, DEFINITELY WITH, WITH, UM, INFECTIONS RISING, WE'RE NOT SEEING AS MUCH SEVERE, SEVERE ILLNESS, MEANING ICU ADMISSIONS AND DEATH AS WE HAD PREVIOUSLY SEEN.
SO THERE'S DEFINITELY VALUE IN CONTINUING TO GET VACCINATED.
ALL OF THAT IS GOOD NEWS, AND WE WANNA SEE A LOT MORE OF THAT.
SO KEEP GETTING THOSE BOOSTERS WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE READY FOR THEM.
ALL RIGHT, SO THE NEXT QUESTION IS, CAN I GET PAXLOVID TO CARRY AROUND WHEN I TRAVEL OR AS A PRESCRIPTION NEEDED? UM, AND I THINK WHENEVER I HEAR THE WORD PAXLOVID, I'M THINKING ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, WHAT'S CALLED THE, UM, WHEN IT COMES BACK, YOU KNOW, THE REBOUND EFFECT.
[00:15:02]
UH, SO IT IS STILL A THING.PERSONALLY, I THINK THAT, THAT THE REBOUND, UH, COMMENT OR COMMENTARY IS A LITTLE BIT OVERBLOWN BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO, UH, GET COVID, THEY HAVE MILD SYMPTOMS, THEY DON'T GET TREATED WITH PAXLOVID, AND THEN FIVE OR SIX DAYS LATER, THEIR SYMPTOMS GET, GET BAD.
AND SO HAD THEY BEEN ON PAXLOVID, THEY WOULD'VE SAID, OH, I REBOUNDED.
AND IT'S JUST THAT THE TIMING OF WHEN THEIR SYMPTOMS GOT GOT WORSE.
SO THERE'S A, I PERSONALLY THINK THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF, OF, UH, OVER ATTENTION TO THAT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, FOR THE FOLKS WHO DID GET PAXLOVID THROUGH SYMPTOMS, ABATED, AND THEN WHEN THEY STOPPED TAKING IT, THEY CAME BACK.
YEAH, I MEAN, IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE THAT MAYBE THE PAXLOVID WAS WORKING AND THEN WHEN IT RAN ITS COURSE, THE, THE VIRUS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
UM, BUT THE ORIGINAL PART OF THE QUESTION WAS, YOU KNOW, CAN I GET IT ON STANDBY? AND IT IS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN AS A PRESCRIPTION FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTIVELY INFECTED.
UH, UH, PHARMACISTS ARE NOW ABLE TO PRESCRIBE IT, BUT AGAIN, YOU'RE ONLY GONNA BE GETTING THAT PRESCRIPTION WRITTEN AND, AND FILLED GENERALLY IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY HAVING SYMPTOMS AND TESTED, TESTED POSITIVE.
PER IN OVID, A SPRAY MANUFACTURED IN ISRAEL IS SAID TO REDUCE THE VIRAL LOAD OF COVID.
IT WAS GIVEN EUA THERE QUITE A FEW MONTHS AGO.
WHEN A PREVENTATIVE, WHEN A PREVENTATIVE IS SEEING SUCH GREAT RESULTS, WHY IS IT DELAYED HERE IN THE US? SO AGAIN, GREAT QUESTION.
UM, BUT THE, THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE HERE, UH, IN, IN WORKING THROUGH FDA APPROVALS IS REALLY MEANT TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC.
SO WHILE WE MAY SEE GREAT RESULTS, UM, AND SOMETIMES IT MAY BE A VERY SMALL POPULATION, A VERY DISTINCT POPULATION THAT WE SEE GREAT RESULTS.
UM, SO THE, THE PROTECTIONS THAT THE FDA HAS IN PLACE TO REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE DATA AND DOES IT SUPPORT WHAT IT SAYS IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO BEFORE RELEASING THINGS, UM, IS REALLY A, A GOOD PROCESS.
SO I KNOW THAT THEY'RE TAKING A LOOK AT THIS AND WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE.
UM, A RECENT NATIONAL BRIEFING MENTIONED THAT 105 MILLION DOSES OF THE PFIZER VACCINE WERE ORDERED AND ARE EXPECTED TO BE HERE IN A COUPLE MONTHS.
SO, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS BOTH PFIZER AND MODERNA DID SUBMIT DATA TO THE FDA AND BY VALENT VACCINE, BUT THE REAL NEWS HERE IS THAT THE FDA ON JUNE 30TH, I BELIEVE, UH, THEIR COMMITTEE MET AND SAID THAT, UH, THE B ONE BA ONE VARIANT IS REALLY NO LONGER THE ACTIVE ISSUE.
IT'S THE BA FOUR, BA FIVE, AND THEY BASICALLY SENT 'EM BOTH BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD TO COME UP WITH A BIVALENT VACCINE THAT WILL PROTECT AGAINST VA FOUR AND BA FIVE.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT IS NOW PUSHED BACK THE DELIVERY DATE ON A BIVALENT VACCINE TO PROBABLY NOVEMBER.
OKAY, NEXT QUESTION IS A FUN ONE.
DID THAT THERE COULD BE COVID TRANSMISSION BETWEEN YOUR, IN YOUR, SO I HAVE TO LOOK THIS UP.
UM, THERE, THERE HAS BEEN A REPORT APPARENTLY FROM A CAT TO A HUMAN IN THAILAND.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S THE, THE, THE DATA DOES SUGGEST THAT THE VETERINARIAN MAY HAVE BEEN INFECTED BY THE CAT, UM, AND THIS, BUT THIS IS ISOLATED.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS WHERE WE REALLY NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE CASE ITSELF AND ALL OF THE DATA THAT SUPPORTS THE CASE TO REALLY BE ABLE TO SAY, UM, THAT THIS TRULY HAS HAPPENED.
I WILL SAY IN HARRIS COUNTY, AS FAR AS I KNOW, DAVID, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING DIFFERENT.
UM, WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY INSTANCES OF HOUSEHOLD PET TRANSMISSIONS.
SO, UH, DO YOU GUYS KNOW OF ANY DATA, UH, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HEARD THAT IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A STUFFY NOSE FROM LIKE A COLD OR ALLERGIES OR SOMETHING, THAT IT CAN HELP PREVENT THE COVID VIRUS FROM GETTING BEHIND THERE AND GETTING YOU GETTING INFECTED WITH COVID? IS THAT TRUE? YEAH, SO I'VE NOT HEARD THAT.
AND QUITE HONESTLY, I WOULD THINK THAT IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A STUFFY NOSE, IT'S GOING TO INCREASE YOUR LIKELIHOOD BECAUSE THAT TISSUE IS INFLAMED.
NOW, UM, DEPENDING ON WHY IT'S INFLAMED, UH, MAY MAKE A DIFFERENCE, BUT NOW YOU HAVE MORE SURFACE AREA 'CAUSE IT'S NOW LARGER, IT'S BALLOONED UP.
SO MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR VIRUS TO LAND ON IT.
AND ONCE IT'S IN YOUR SYSTEM, WHETHER IT BE IN YOUR NOSE OR IN YOUR THROAT OR IN YOUR LUNGS, ONCE IT'S IN YOU, IT'S IN YOU.
OKAY? SO WHETHER YOU HAVE COVID OR A COLD OR ANYTHING IN BETWEEN, IF YOU'RE COUGHING AND SNEEZING, UH, SHOULD YOU TAKE, COULD YOU, SHOULDN'T YOU BE KEEPING THAT MASK ON NO MATTER WHAT, EVEN IF YOU TEST NEGATIVE? SO AGAIN, UM, UM, I THINK DR.
PER MADE A GREAT POINT EARLIER.
UM, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE TESTING, UM, IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS, YOU HAVE SOMETHING.
UH, AND SO THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS TO QUARANTINE OR ISOLATE, KEEP OURSELVES AWAY FROM PEOPLE AS BEST AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING CAN BE SPREAD NO MATTER WHAT IT IS.
AND IF WE'RE GOING TO BE OUT IN THE PUBLIC OR HAVE A NEED TO DO SOMETHING, THEN YES, IT IS BEST TO WEAR A MASK.
UM, IT IT, BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOMETHING IS THE POINT, RIGHT? SO THE SAN DIEGO
[00:20:01]
SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS REINSTATED INDOOR MASK WEARING ANY CHANCE THAT THAT CAN BE COMING BACK TO TEXAS OR HOUSTON IN PARTICULAR? YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND LET ME JUST START OFF BY SAYING I REALLY FEEL FOR THE SCHOOL BOARDS, THEY, NUMBER ONE, THEY DID A TERRIFIC JOB OF TRYING TO NAVIGATE AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT SITUATION, UH, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH, WITH PARENTS BEING VERY, VERY, UH, FIRMLY FEELING ONE WAY OR THE EXACT OPPOSITE ON THINGS LIKE MASKING AND, YOU KNOW, IN SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.AND SO AS YOU MOVE FORWARD, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT'S GONNA GET ANY EASIER, AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT GONNA TRY TO, UH, SPEAK FORWARD NOR PREDICT WHAT, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE GONNA DO.
BUT I, I WILL POINT OUT IT'S A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT QUESTION AND THERE'S A LOT OF PASSION.
UM, AND THE, THE SCIENCE IS BETTER TODAY THAN WHAT WE HAD A FEW YEARS AGO, BUT IT'S STILL NOT NECESSARILY GONNA MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD'S GONNA HAVE TO MAKE.
IT'S NOT GONNA MAKE IT EASY WHEN IT COMES TO KIDS.
AND SPEAKING OF KIDS WASHINGTON, DC SCHOOLS ARE REQUIRING CHILDREN 12 AND OVER TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19.
ANY TALK OR THOUGHTS ABOUT A NATIONAL MANDATE? SO THIS IS ANOTHER AREA, UM, WHERE I HAVE NOT HEARD, UM, AND AGAIN, I DR PER FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN THAT THERE, UM, IS DISCUSSION ABOUT A NATIONAL MANDATE.
PIERCE'S, UM, SENTIMENTS ABOUT, UM, THOSE WHO ARE IN, UM, UM, THE, THE SCHOOL, UH, PROFESSION, EVERYBODY IN THE SCHOOL PROFESSION, IT IS A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT JOB AND IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION TO MAKE, UH, AND BALANCE THE SOCIAL WELLBEING VERSUS THE, THE, THE MEDICAL WELLBEING, UM, OF CHILDREN AND OF THE, THE TEACHERS IN THE SCHOOLS.
BUT NO, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING, UM, UM, ABOUT THAT.
NOW THE CDC HAS STOPPED REPORTING COVID LEVELS ON CRUISES, AND WHILE WE'RE SURE THAT THE COVID IS INDUSTRY IS REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT, IS IT REALLY THE SMART CHOICE SINCE WE'RE CONTINUING TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS RISE AROUND THE WORLD? YEAH, YOU KNOW, SO THE CRUISE INDUSTRY, I'VE NEVER BEEN ON A CRUISE, BUT I SURE DO LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN I CAN GO ON A CRUISE.
UH, 'CAUSE THEY SOUND LIKE A TR THEY SOUND LIKE A LOT OF FUN.
ALL MY FRIENDS WHO GO ON A CRUISE AND SAY, YOU GOTTA DO A CRUISE, THEY'RE SO MUCH FUN.
I HAVE SOME FRIENDS THAT JUST DO ONE AFTER ANOTHER, IT SEEMS LIKE ANYWAYS.
UH, BUT WHEN WE'VE GOT ILLNESSES THAT ARE SPREADING AROUND THE GLOBE, WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE AND YOU PUT 'EM INTO A CONDENSED SPACE LIKE THAT AND YOU KEEP 'EM THERE, UH, TOGETHER, YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE VIRUS WANTS TO DO IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE ABLE TO SPREAD.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE CRUISES ARE GONNA, ARE, ARE, ARE A CHALLENGE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, AGAIN, WE ARE IN THIS AWKWARD TIME OF THE PANDEMIC WHERE PEOPLE ARE GETTING INFECTED, BUT WE'RE SEEING LESS MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S NOT ZERO MORTALITY, RIGHT? SO, UM, THESE ARE REALLY DIFFICULT PERSONAL DECISIONS.
UH, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW I'M NOT GONNA GO ON A CRUISE.
I DON'T WANT TO GET LONG COVID OI AM FORTUNATELY QUITE HEALTHY, BUT IF I HAD BAD HEART DISEASE OR IF I HAD LUNG PROBLEMS OR ANYTHING ELSE, I, I WOULD REALLY THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT GOING ON A CRUISE.
NOW THIS IS, UM, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO, UH, LAST WEEK.
AND THE FIRST ONE I THINK IS KIND OF INTERESTING, AND I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER THOUGHT TO EVEN ASK THIS.
DO HOSPITAL HOSPITALIZATIONS AND EVEN POSSIBLY DEATH, DOES THAT INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF TIMES YOU'VE HAD COVID? SO, UH, THIS IS A REALLY CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC.
UM, UM, AND AGAIN, I, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE THE JURY IS OUT, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE STILL ANALYZING THE DATA, BUT, UM, AS DR PER MENTIONED EARLIER, EVERY TIME YOU GET AN INFECTION, UM, WITH COVID, YOU ARE TAKING A RISK.
SO I, THE, THE, THE BROADER ANSWER IS, UM, YES, THERE'S A RISK OF HOSPITALIZATION, THERE'S A RISK OF DEATH.
UM, DOES IT INCREASE EVERY TIME YOU GET INFECTED? UM, WE WE'RE NOT SURE YET WHETHER, WHETHER THE, I THINK THE QUESTION IS, DOES THE SEVERITY OF ILLNESS INCREASE TO THE POINT WHERE YOU NEED TO BE HOSPITALIZED AND OR COULD POTENTIALLY DIE FROM COVID? UM, WE'RE NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE ABOUT THAT FOR THE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED AND THOSE WHO ARE, UM, UH, OLDER OR AS DAVID MENTIONED, HAVE SOME, SOME SPECIFIC CONDITIONS POTENTIALLY, YES, BECAUSE IT WEAKENS THE SYSTEM.
THAT'S A VERY GOOD ANSWER, DR. BROWN.
ANOTHER QUESTION, UM, THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO LAST TIME IS, ARE UNVACCINATED PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER FROM LONG COVID THAN THEIR VACCINATED PEERS? YEAH, SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT, UH, DO PUT YOU AT, AT, UH, INCREASED RISK.
AND ONE OF THEM IS BEING UN UNVACCINATED, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, TO THE, THE FOLKS, AND WE, WE SAW THIS WITH, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY IN THE LAST WAVE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING ADMITTED AND GOING TO THE ICU, IT WAS PREDOMINANTLY, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY UNVACCINATED.
[00:25:01]
BUT WITH THE, THE LAST WAVE, IT WAS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY, NOT EXCLUSIVE, BUT ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY UNVACCINATED FOLKS.AND SO BEING UNVACCINATED PUTS YOU AT YOUR HIGHEST RISK FOR ALL THE COMPLICATIONS, WHETHER IT BE LONG COVID OR HOSPITALIZATION OR DEATH OR WHATEVER.
SO, YOU KNOW, PROTECT YOURSELF, GET VACCINATED, YOUR RISK.
AND, AND THOSE, AND IT'S GO TO THE POINT OF QUESTION, THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANNA GET VACCINATED SAY THERE'S PROBLEMS THAT THEY DON'T LIKE THIS ABOUT THE VACCINE, THEY DON'T LIKE THAT ABOUT THE VACCINE, THEY DON'T LIKE THE OTHER THING ABOUT THE VACCINE.
OKAY, YOU'RE FINE, THAT'S FINE.
AND THERE'S A KERNEL OF TRUTH TO EACH OF THOSE.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOUR RISK OF HAVING A BAD PROBLEM WITH THE VACCINE IS MUCH, MUCH LOWER.
IT MAY NOT BE ZERO, BUT IT'S WAY LOWER THAN IF WITH THE VIRUS.
THERE IS NOT A NO RISK OPTION HERE.
IF YOU THINK I'M GONNA GET THROUGH ALL THIS AND NEVER GET EXPOSED TO THE VIRUS, I, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT'S REALISTIC.
AND NOW WE GOT THE NEW NOVAVAX, SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL PUT SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ON THE YES SIDE OF GETTING VACCINATED.
MY NEXT QUESTION IS, CAN YOU REVERSE NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY COVID? UH, I, I THINK THIS SPEAKS A LITTLE BIT TO THE, THE LONG COVID QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, UM, WITH APPROPRIATE TREATMENTS YOU CAN SEE IMPROVEMENTS IN, IN MANY THINGS.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON, UM, THE SYMPTOMS THAT YOU END UP HAVING.
UM, SOMETIMES, UM, WE, WE HAVE SEEN SOME STROKES AND THINGS OCCUR, AND AGAIN, DEPENDING ON THE REHABILITATION AND THE SEVERITY OF THE STROKE, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHERE REVERSE IS, IS THE CORRECT WORD, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY WE CAN IMPROVE, UM, THE OUTCOMES.
AND BEFORE WE WRAP THIS UP, I DID HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION FOR YOU, DR. BROWN, ON THE NEWS YESTERDAY, I NOTICED THAT THE HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH HAD JUST REVEALED A MONKEYPOX, UH, HOTLINE.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO, TO TALK ABOUT THAT BEFORE WE GO? UM, THANK YOU MORGAN.
SO, UM, AND OF COURSE I DON'T HAVE THE PHONE NUMBER RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
BUT YES, SO WE HAVE LAUNCHED A MONKEYPOX HOTLINE FOR ANYBODY WHO HAS CONCERN THAT THEY'VE BEEN EXPOSED OR, UM, MAY BE INFECTED WITH MONKEYPOX.
UM, AND SO THIS IS A 24 HOUR HOTLINE, UM, FOR OUR HARRIS COUNTY RESIDENTS TO CALL.
AND THEN WE, WE WILL CONNECT YOU TO ONE OF OUR EPIDEMIOLOGY TEAM TO EITHER GUIDE YOU TO THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES IN YOUR LOCAL DISTRICT OR, UM, TO ONE OF OUR EPIS IN, UH, HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, AND THEN WORK THROUGH, IS THERE A NEED FOR YOU TO BE TESTED? AND THEN ALSO, IS THERE A NEED FOR YOU TO BE VACCINATED IF YOU MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA? I DO HAVE THE NUMBER AND IT, I DO.
SO THE NUMBER IS 8 3 2 9 2 7 0 7 0 7.
AND WHEN WE EDIT THIS, WE'RE GONNA PUT THAT NUMBER RIGHT THERE ON THAT SCREEN AND WE'LL BE SHARING THAT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
BUT IT IS TIME TO WRAP THIS, UH, EDITION OF COVID TO 19 TALK WITH LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES UP THIS MORNING.
WE WANNA THANK OUR PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEY AND SPECIAL THANKS TO ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, PAST PRESIDENT KATHLEEN VINEGAR.
I'M MORGAN ASH, INFOR, DIRECTOR OF STEPHEN WILLIAMS. HAVE A GREAT DAY.