[COVID-19 Talk with Local Health Authorities (#88)]
[00:00:15]
GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID-19 TALK.
JANINA WHITE WITH HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, FILLING IN FOR DIRECTOR STEVEN WILLIAMS. JOINING US TODAY FOR THE LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES.
HOW, UM, WE NORMALLY DO EVERY OTHER WEEK IS DR. DAVID PERTH WITH THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS DR.
ERICA BROWN WITH HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, PAST PRESIDENT KATHLEEN FINNER AND OUR PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEYS.
LET'S GET STARTED WITH OUR FIRST QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS TODAY, SO WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO GET THROUGH ALL YOUR QUESTIONS AS WE ARE ABLE TO.
SO, CURRENT STATUS CDC REPORTS AT 21% OF THE UNITED STATES POPULATION IS LIVING IN A HIGH COVID COMMUNITY LEVEL.
WILL YOU DEFINE OUR AREA IN THAT DEFINITION? UM, SO I'LL TAKE THAT.
UM, BASED ON THE CRITERIA FOR THE COMMUNITY LEVELS, UH, HARRIS COUNTY IS PART OF THAT 21% IN THE HIGH CATEGORY, UM, BECAUSE OF OUR HIGH LEVELS OF COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION.
UM, SO THE GOOD NEWS THOUGH, IS THAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE SIGNS, UM, THAT THE MOST RECENT WAVE HAS PEAKED.
UM, AND WE, WE DO HAVE A STRONG HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, WHICH IN THIS WAVE, UM, UM, THANKFULLY HAS NOT BEEN OVERRUN.
UM, BUT WE ARE IN THAT, IN THAT HIGH 21%.
THE, UH, QUESTION KIND OF, UH, KIND OF GOES ALONG WITH THAT.
I THINK YOU'VE MENTIONED THAT DR. BROWN, BUT WITH REGARDS TO MAYBE THE CITY HAS COVID PLATEAUED IN OUR AREA.
YEAH, SO I'LL, I'LL JUMP ON THAT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE THAT YOU PEAKED, UM, UNTIL AFTER THE FACT, GENERALLY, RIGHT? WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THE GRAPHS AND YOU SEE THE, THE PEAK BEHIND YOU.
BUT IT DOES LOOK LIKE HOSPITALIZATIONS OVER THE LAST WEEK OR TWO HAVE, UH, HAVE FLATTENED OUT.
UH, IT JUST, THEY'RE NOT RISING.
THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE STARTING TO MAYBE DRIFT DOWN A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'VE SEEN THE WASTEWATER HAS STARTED TO GO DOWN SLOWLY, AND THAT USUALLY DOES PREDICT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S, UH, PLATEAUED.
BUT IF TWO, THREE WEEKS FROM NOW IT GOES UP AGAIN, THEN IT WASN'T A PLATEAU.
BA FIVE THROWBACK SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN REPORTED SUCH AS A NAUSEA.
ARE THERE OTHER SYMPTOMS SUCH AS SORE THROAT, COUGH, CONGESTION, AND FATIGUE? SO, UM, INIA, WHICH IS LOSS OF SMELL, UH, IS NOT COMMON WITH OMICRON, UH, SUB VARIANCE, BUT IT DOES OCCUR IN SOME PATIENTS.
AND WE DO KNOW THAT IT WAS A SYMPTOM IN THE PRECEDING VARIANTS.
THE, UH, OFTEN THE DELTA VARIANTS, UM, NOWADAYS, SORE THROAT, SNEEZING, RUNNY NOSE, ANY OF THE, THE NORMAL COLD SYMPTOMS ARE THE MOST COMMONLY REPORTED WITH BA FIVE.
UM, AND THERE'S ALSO BEEN REPORTED, AGAIN, UM, WITH THE FEVER, SOME NIGHT SWEATS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
A VIEWER SAYS THEY'RE CONCERNED BY A TWEAK BY A MOLECULAR VIROLOGIST.
MARK JOHNSON, WHO SAID, SOME, IF NOT ALL OF THE CRYPTIC IMAGES ARE COMING FROM ASYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE WITH VERY LONG-TERM INFECTION.
PLEASE EXPLAIN CRYPTIC LINEAGES IN CONNECTION WITH WASTEWATER IN WEIRD SUB VARIANTS.
THAT'S A LOT OF, THAT'S MORE THAN ONE QUESTION, BUT, UH, SO FIRST OF ALL, IT DOES A, THERE IS A, A PRETTY PLAUSIBLE THEORY THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE LONG INFECTIONS, THIS WOULD BE PREDOMINANTLY, WE BELIEVE PEOPLE ARE IMMUNE COMPROMISED AND THEREFORE THEY CAN'T CLEAR THE INFECTION, UH, AS QUICKLY AS SOMEBODY WHO'S GOT A ROBUST IMMUNE SYSTEM.
BUT RATHER IT WOULD LINGER ON.
REMEMBER, EVERY TIME THAT THE VIRUS, UH, REPLICATES, THERE'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR A MUTATION TO OCCUR.
AND SO THERE IS A THEORY THAT WE'RE SEEING THE MUTATIONS IN THESE CRYPTIC LINEAGES AS THIS, THE WRITER, THE QUESTIONER, UH, PUTS IT, UH, MAY COMING FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE HAVING LONG ILLNESSES BECAUSE THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE, ARE CO BY JUST NOT, NOT CLEARING IT.
NOW, HOW THAT TRANSLATES INTO WASTEWATER IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE THERE'S A NEW VARIANT THAT SORT OF, YOU KNOW, GETS ON THE RADAR MM-HMM
UH, OUR FOLKS WHO DO THE WASTEWATER, THEY NEED TO LEARN ABOUT THAT, LEARN THAT THE SEQUENCE OF THAT NEW, UH, VARIANT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE ACTUALLY LOOK FOR.
WE ACTUALLY LOOK FOR THE RNA SEQUENCE IN THE, UH, WASTEWATER THAT IS, UH, RECOGNIZED AS BEING THE NEW LINEAGE.
SO, UM, SO BY DEFINITION, WHEN A NEW VARIANT OCCURS, IT HAS TO SPREAD A LITTLE BIT IN A COMMUNITY BEFORE WE DO THE ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFY IT, AND THEN WE TELL EVERYBODY ELSE ABOUT IT AND THEY, YOU CAN START LOOKING FOR IT.
I DUNNO IF THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION VERY WELL, BUT THAT'S MY ANSWER.
I'M GONNA SWITCH TO LONG COVID LONG COVID QUESTION IS, IT APPEARS SOME PEOPLE HAVE HAD LONG COVID FOR MOST OF THE PANDEMIC.
DO WE KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD AT LEAST ONE LONG-TERM ISSUE?
[00:05:01]
UM, I THINK IT'S, THE JURY IS STILL OUT, UH, ON THAT, UH, IN PARTICULAR, BUT I, IT APPEARS THAT MAYBE 30% OR SO OF PEOPLE, UM, DO HAVE SOME, UM, UM, SYMPTOMS SIMILAR TO LONG COVID.BUT AGAIN, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED IN PREVIOUS TALKS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF, UM, UH, RESEARCH BEING DONE ON LONG COVID.
SO I DON'T THINK THAT WE'LL HAVE FINAL ANSWERS OR SPECIFIC ANSWERS FOR SOME TIME.
DO YOU KNOW HOW FREQUENTLY KIDS GET LONG COVID? EITHER OF YOU LE LESS FREQUENTLY?
SO WE, WE DO, WE DO HAVE SOME DATA, UH, AROUND THAT THAT, UM, OUR EPI TEAM HAS TAKEN A LOOK AND THERE'S SOME STUDIES ESTIMATE THAT LESS THAN 2% GET LONG COVID, UM, WHO ARE, WHO ARE CHILDREN.
SO IT DOES OCCUR, BUT IT'S LESS THAN 2%.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY, I GOTTA DO THE PLUG.
IT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THOSE REASONS WHY CHILDREN SHOULD BE VACCINATED TO PREVENT AGAINST LONG COVID SO THAT WE HAVE 0% THAT GET LONG COVID.
SO LET'S SWITCH TO VACCINES BOOSTERS AND TREATMENT.
IT'S BEEN WIDELY ADVERTISED THAT PHARMACISTS CAN DISPENSE PAX PAXLOVID.
WHEN WILL THEY RECEIVE PERMISSION, AS DOES THIS NOT APPEAR TO BE THE CASE? SO THAT WAS FOR ME.
UM, CAN YOU READ THE QUESTION AGAIN? THEY SAID IT'S BEEN WIDELY ADVERTISED THAT PHARMACISTS CAN DISPENSE PAX.
WHEN WILL THEY RECEIVE PERMISSION? BUT I THOUGHT THEY THEY SHOULD BE.
YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, SO I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHAT I DID WHEN THIS CAME UP.
IT IS, I FOUND THIS A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING TOO.
SO AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, THEY RECOMMENDED THAT PHARMACISTS BE ABLE TO DO IT, BUT ACTUALLY PHARMACISTS ABILITIES IS CONTROLLED AT THE STATE LEVEL AND THEN AGAIN AT THEIR EMPLOYER LEVEL.
SO I, YOU KNOW, WHERE IN MY WORLD, I, I, I GOT A COUPLE PHARMACISTS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND I ASKED THEM, AND IN, UH, MOST OF THEM, THEIR EMPLOYER HAD NOT AUTHORIZED THEM TO GIVE IT YET.
UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT REASONS WERE GIVEN, AND I'M JUST GETTING THIS FROM JOE, THE PHARMACIST.
ONE WAS THAT THEIR EMPLOYER WAS CONCERNED 'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF CONTRAINDICATIONS AND THEY'RE CONCERNED THAT THE, THE PHARMACISTS, UH, HAVEN'T BEEN ADEQUATELY TRAINED IN RECOGNIZING THE CONTRAINDICATIONS TO GIVE IT YET.
AND THEN IN THE OTHER ONE, IT JUST SAID THAT AGAIN, IT'S BECAUSE IT TAKES QUITE A BIT OF TRAINING.
THEY HADN'T GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE THEY HAD TRAINED THEIR PHARMACISTS YET.
SO I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY IF TEXAS HAS BEEN THUMBS UP OR THUMBS DOWN ON IT, BUT I SUSPECT IT'S THUMBS, THUMBS UP.
BUT I DON'T SPECIFICALLY KNOW, UH, WHERE THE TEXAS BOARD OF PHARMACY IS ON THAT.
THERE'S A COMMENT THAT PAXLOVID REINFECTION IS ABOUT 40% AND NOT 2% AS HAS BEEN REPORTED.
SO SOMEWHERE THEY SAW, UH, DISCREPANCY IN THE PERCENT, WHY IS THE CLINICAL TRIAL TO EXTEND THE AMOUNT OF TIME TO TAKE IT AND THUS REDUCING REINFECTION TAKING SO LONG? YEAH.
SO AGAIN, UM, IT'S REALLY A SAFETY ISSUE, RIGHT? THE STUDIES TAKE, TAKE A LONG TIME BECAUSE, UM, YOU, YOU NEED A A, A COHORT, YOU NEED A, A DIVERSE POPULATION OF PEOPLE TO SEE HOW IT AFFECTS DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
UM, AND THEN THE REALITY IS YOU NEED TIME TO STUDY THE EFFECTS.
UM, UM, SO, UM, THIS IS PART OF THE NORMAL PROCESS OF, OF STUDYING ANY MEDICATION.
UM, UM, SO THE, AGAIN, THIS IS JUST SOMETHING THAT WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE HOW THINGS TURN OUT.
UH, THINKING ABOUT, UH, COVID VACCINES IN THE FALL, WHAT'S THE LATEST ETA ON BIVALENT VACCINES? HAVE YOU ALL HEARD OF AN ETA ON THAT? YEAH.
UH, SO THE, YOU KNOW, PFIZER AND MODERNA ACTUALLY HAD A BIVALENT VACCINE THAT WAS, UH, SUBMITTED TO THE FDA THAT HAD PROTECTION AGAINST THE ORIGINAL, WHAT WE CALL WILD TYPE AND THEN ALSO, UH, BA ONE.
BUT BY THAT TIME, BA ONE WAS NO REALLY NO LONGER REALLY AN ISSUE.
AND SO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOLD THEM TO GO BACK AND COME UP WITH A BA FIVE.
SO IT WAS LOOKING LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, SEPTEMBER, AUGUST, LATE AUGUST, EARLY SEPTEMBER, THEY WERE GONNA BE ABLE TO COME OUT WITH ONE THAT HAD A VIOLENT VALENT FOR BA ONE.
AND THEN THE FEDS SAID, NO, GO BACK AND DO SOMETHING WITH BA FIVE.
AND AT THAT POINT THEY SAID IT WOULD BE NOVEMBER, BUT MORE RECENTLY THEY'RE SAYING THEY THINK THEY ACTUALLY MAY BE ABLE TO GET 'EM THOSE THAT FIVE OUT BY SEPTEMBER.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S A LOT OF SHIFTING IN ESTIMATES.
BUT I, I, I THINK SEPTEMBER IS PROBABLY NOT IMPOSSIBLE 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE MANUFACTURERS ARE SAYING.
AND UM, CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, IF NOT SEPTEMBER, UH, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, I WOULD BELIEVE ANECDOTAL COMMENTS ARE THAT MODERNA VACCINES AND BOOSTERS HAVE MORE SEVERE REACTIONS THAN PFIZER.
WHILE IT MAKES SENSE TO MIX THE VACCINES FOR BOOSTERS, I HESITATE TO PURPOSELY OPT TO GET A MORE SERIOUS REACTION.
SO, SO IT IS RECOMMENDED, CERTAINLY IF YOU'VE GOTTEN A JANSSEN VACCINE
[00:10:01]
TO MIX VACCINES, RIGHT? IT'S REQUIRED ACTUALLY TO BE FOR, FOR COMPLETE IMMUNITY FOR, FOR JANSSEN.UM, AND IT, AND IT IS RECOMMENDED FOR BOTH MODERNA AND PFIZER TO MIX.
I THINK THAT THE KEY TO THIS QUESTION IS REALLY ANECDOTAL.
IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHO YOU'VE, WHO YOU ASK.
I'VE HAD, UM, SOME PEOPLE SAY THEY'VE HAD NO REACTION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE, UM, UM, UM, VACCINATION, UH, COURSE I'VE HAD PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE HAD REACTION EVERY SINGLE TIME, WHETHER IT BE PRIMARY SERIES OR BOOSTER.
I THINK THAT IT IS REALLY, UM, UM, DEPENDENT ON THE PERSON AND I WOULD RECOMMEND, UH, ACTUALLY THE MIXING OF, OF THE BOOSTERS BECAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S DATA THAT DOES SHOW THAT, THAT IT'S BENEFICIAL.
WHAT'S THE YOUNGEST? A CHILD CAN RE WHAT, WHAT IS YOUNGEST? SO WHAT IS THE YOUNGEST AGE OF A CHILD THAT CAN RECEIVE A VACCINATION? CURRENTLY? YEAH, IT'S CURRENTLY, IT'S SIX, IT'S SIX MONTHS.
BUT IF, YOU KNOW, IF I COULD COMMENT ON THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, JUST, YOU KNOW, ANECDOTALLY, SO IN MY EXPERIENCE, I GOT THREE MODERNA SHOTS.
AND THEN FROM MY FOURTH SHOT, MY SECOND BOOSTER, I SWITCHED OVER AND GOT, UH, PFIZER.
AND WITH MY THREE MODERNA SHOTS, EACH ONE OF 'EM, I, I FELT KIND OF CRUMMY.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, NOT TERRIBLY BAD, BUT CRUMMY ENOUGH THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I GOT MY SHOT ON A FRIDAY, SO I FEEL CRUMMY OVER THE WEEKEND.
AND THEN WHEN I GOT THE, THE PFIZER SHOT, UH, DID THE SAME THING, GOT IT EARLY ON A FRIDAY MORNING, AND BOY, BY SATURDAY AT NOON I WAS STILL FEELING GREAT.
AND I THOUGHT, WOW, I, I DODGED A BULLET HERE.
I JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M WELL PAST 24 HOURS AND I'VE NOT HAD ANYTHING.
BUT 30 MINUTES LATER I WAS FEELING FAIRLY MISERABLE.
AND FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS I WAS, YOU KNOW, I FELT WORSE WITH THAT ONE THAN I DID WITH THE ONES BEFORE.
I DON'T, WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, IT'S AGAIN, ANECDOTE, I CONVINCED MYSELF THAT THE MORE SEVERE REACTION I GOT WAS THAT MY IMMUNE SYSTEM WAS RESPONDING MORE ROBUSTLY, AND THAT WAS REALLY GOOD FOR ME.
SO WHILE I FELT MISERABLE, I FELT GOOD AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SO FOR THE PERSON WHO WRITES THE QUESTION IS WORRIED, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULDN'T, I WOULD BE MORE FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE I GET ALL THE VACCINES I NEED AND LESS WORRIED ABOUT HOW CRUMMY YOU'RE GONNA FEEL FOR A DAY.
BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA FEEL CRUMMY FOR A DAY NO MATTER WHAT YOU GET.
IF, IF YOU FEEL REALLY CRUMMY, MAYBE THAT'S GOOD.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU GET VACCINATED.
DON'T TRY TO AVOID THE, THE CRUMMY FEELING AFTER THE SHOT.
IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAT YOU GET VACCINATED.
I'M GONNA REMEMBER THAT WHEN I'M TALKING TO MY KIDDOS ABOUT GETTING VACCINATED.
YOU MIGHT FEEL CRUMMY, BUT YOU'RE GONNA BE SO MUCH HEALTHIER AFTERWARDS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING OUT OF CHINA.
IT'S BEING USED TO TREAT THE NORMAL, THEY HAVE IN QUOTATIONS, NORMAL TYPE COVID, WHICH IS REFERS TO INFECTIONS WITH SIGNS OF PNEUMONIA, BUT IT'S NOT IN PATIENTS WITH A SEVERE CONDITION.
IS THAT AVAILABLE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES? YOU GUYS KNOW, SO IT IS, YES.
AND, AND, UH, AND THIS MEDICATION ACTUALLY HAD TO LOOK IT UP, WAS DEVELOPED FOR TREATMENT OF HI MM-HMM
I'M GONNA SWITCH GEARS 'CAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME MONKEYPOX QUESTIONS.
AND SO LET ME ASK YOU GUYS MAYBE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT MONKEYPOX FROM SOME OF THE, UH, VIEWERS.
SO THEY, THEY MENTIONED MONKEYPOX IS NOW A GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY WITH 125 LOCAL CASES THIS WEEK AND A 635% INCREASE IN THE LAST THREE WEEKS.
WHAT DOES THAT DESIGNATION PROVIDE? SO IT'S, THAT'S THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION.
WHAT IT PROVIDES, IT, IT STIMULATES A COORDINATED EFFORT AMONGST, UH, NATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE.
UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE UNITED STATES HERE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN DECLARE A, A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, THE STATE THE GOVERNOR CAN DO IT.
THAT, THAT, IT DOESN'T EQUATE TO THAT.
WHAT IT DOES AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL IS IT, IT BRINGS, UH, INTERNATIONAL, UH, GOVERNMENTS TOGETHER TO START FOCUSING ON THIS IN A MORE COORDINATED FASHION.
THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT IT DOES BASICALLY, IS THE MONKEYPOX VACCINE.
UM, OR THEY'RE ASKING WHAT IS THE MONKEYPOX VACCINE? IS IT THE SAME AS THE SMALLPOX? SO IT IS ACTUALLY THE SAME VACCINE, IT'S THE SMALLPOX VACCINE.
SO IS THE GENOS VACCINE, UH, IS THE ONE THAT WE ARE USING, UH, HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND, AND, UM, UM, CERTAINLY IN TEXAS, THERE IS ALSO AN ACAM 2000 VACCINE THAT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, UM, MECHANISM OF VACCINATION THAN WE'RE USED TO.
UM, AND SO, UM, THE GENOS IS, IS THE TRADITIONAL ROUTE, WHICH IS JUST A SHOT IN THE ARM AND PRODUCES SOME LOCAL SORENESS.
AND, UM, AND, AND, AND REACTIONS THAT AGAIN, WE'RE USED TO, UM, BUT THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT ONES THAT, THAT ARE POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES.
SO SOMEONE SAYS THEY HAD SMALLPOX VACCINE AS A CHILD,
[00:15:01]
THEY MUST BE, THEY HAD SMALLPOX AS A CHILD, THEY PUT SMALL, WELL, NO, I HAD SMALLPOX VACCINE AS A CHILD.SHOULD I RECEIVE ANOTHER SHOT? ABSOLUTELY, YES.
SO THE, THE, THE, UM, VACCINE LASTS FOR ABOUT THREE TO FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND SO THE REASON THAT MOST OF US DID NOT GET THE SMALLPOX VACCINE IS BECAUSE DUE TO GREAT VACCINATION, UM, WHEN IT WAS A THING IN THE UNITED STATES BACK IN THE, IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES, IT WAS ERADICATED.
AND SO THERE WAS NO NEED TO CONTINUE TO VACCINATE.
UM, BUT IF, IF YOU FIND YOURSELF AT, AT, AT RISK, IF YOU'RE A VULNERABLE POPULATION AND YOU FIND YOURSELF AT RISK FOR MONKEYPOX, EVEN IF YOU'VE HAD SMALLPOX OR YOU'VE BEEN VACCINATED IN THE PAST, YOU NEED TO GET VACCINATED AGAIN.
NOW THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT, AND MAYBE BOTH OF YOU CAN TAKE A PIECE OF IT, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT VACCINE DISTRIBUTION IN THE HARRIS CITY, HARRIS COUNTY, UM, JURISDICTION AND SORT OF WHAT, WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH MONKEYPOX IN OUR REGION, BASICALLY.
SO WE'RE SHIFTING A MONKEYPOX VACCINE NOW, RIGHT? WELL THERE, THE, THE VACCINE AND KIND OF EFFORTS AROUND HOW WE'RE HANDLING VACCINATION DISTRIBUTION.
OKAY, SO LET ME TAKE, I'LL TAKE THE FIRST STAB AT THIS AND I, AND I LIKE TO DO SOME OF MY BACK OF THE NAPKIN MATH ON THIS.
SO IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THE NUMBERS ARE DIFFERENT FOR HARRIS COUNTY, BUT I THINK THE PERCENTAGE WIND UP BEING ABOUT SAME.
THE CITY USES POPULATION OF 2.3 MILLION IF YOU LOOK.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH MONKEYPOX IS PREDOMINANTLY BEING SPREAD RIGHT NOW IN THE MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN COMMUNITY.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT MOST ESTIMATES, THERE'S NO SOLID WAY TO GET A, A FIRM VALUE, BUT MOST ESTIMATES ARE THAT IN METROPOLITAN AREA, ABOUT 7% OF THE POPULATION ARE MEMBERS OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY.
SO 2.3 MILLION TIMES 7% IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THAT'S 161,000 IF YOU ASSUME THAT HALF OF THEM ARE MEN, UH, THAT MAKES IT 80,500.
NOW, UM, SOME OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE IN MONOGAMOUS RELATIONSHIPS AND PROBABLY ARE NOT AT RISK FOR GETTING MONKEYPOX.
AND SOME OF THEM ARE HAVING MULTIPLE SEX PARTNERS AND ANONYMOUS SEX AND, AND MULTIPLE SEX PARTNERS AT ONCE.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE RISK LIES.
SO IF WE START OFF WITH THE VALUE OF 80,500, UH, WE GOT OUR FIRST SHIPMENT OF VACCINE IN THE AREAS ABOUT 5,000 DOSES.
WE SPLIT THAT WITH HARRIS COUNTY AND WITH SOME OTHER PROVIDERS.
AND WE'VE NOW JUST, UH, A COUPLE DAYS AGO GOT OUR SECOND SHIPMENT, WHICH IS ABOUT 6,700 DOSES.
SO PUT THOSE TWO OF THOSE TOGETHER.
LET'S, LET'S ROUND THAT UP AND WE'LL SAY IT'S ABOUT 12,000 DOSES.
AND SINCE IT'S A TWO DOSE, UH, COURSE THAT MEANS WE'VE ONLY GOT ENOUGH FOR 6,000 PEOPLE AND WITH EIGHT POTENTIALLY 80,500 FOLKS AVAILABLE, AND WE'VE ONLY GOT 6,000 COURSES AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH TO, UH, PROTECT EVEN IF, EVEN IF WE WERE JUST TO TARGET THE MSM COMMUNITY, THE ENTIRE MSM COMMUNITY, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE NOT EVEN 10%, UH, COVERAGE THERE.
SO, UH, I JUST WANNA GIVE THAT AS A PERSPECTIVE AS TO HOW MUCH VACCINE WE HAVE COMPARED TO THE, UH, THE NEED OR THE DEMAND.
AND THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
MY OTHER POINT I'LL MAKE IS THAT RIGHT NOW WE, FROM PUBLIC HEALTH, OUR JOB IS TO TRY TO STOP OR SLOW DOWN AT LEAST THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE TRYING TO TARGET THE PEOPLE WE THINK ARE HAVING MULTIPLE SEX PARTNERS IN THE MSM COMMUNITY.
WE RECOGNIZE AND APPRECIATE PEOPLE.
A DIFFERENT SET OF PEOPLE MAY BE AT GREATER RISK SHOULD THEY BECOME INFECTED.
AND SOME IN PARTICULAR, I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO'VE GOT IMMUNE SYSTEM PROBLEMS AND IF THEY WERE TO BECOME INFECTED, THEY WOULD HAVE A, A GREATER RISK OF COMPLICATIONS.
THOSE ARE OVERLAPPING, BUT THEY'RE NOT THE SAME GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS.
AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE IS HOW DO WE TRY TO SLOW DOWN THE SPREAD, PROTECT THE OVERALL COMMUNITY, AND AT THE SAME TIME PROTECT THOSE, UH, WHO MAY BE AT GREATEST RISK FOR, UH, COMPLICATIONS.
AND THE LAST THING I'LL SAY BEFORE I LET DR. BROWN TALK, 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN RAMBLING, IS THAT ANOTHER THING, KEEP IN MIND IT'S A TWO SHOT SERIES FOR THE VACCINE FOUR WEEKS APART, AND THEN YOU PROBABLY DON'T REALLY ACHIEVE MAXIMUM PROTECTION UNTIL TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SECOND SHOT.
AND IN ADDITION, IT'S A VERY GOOD VACCINE, IT'S 85% EFFECTIVE, AND THAT'S FOR VACCINES.
85%, WHICH IS NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT WHAT IS 100% EFFECTIVE AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT SIX WEEKS FOR IS TO JUST NOT ENGAGE IN HIGH RISK BEHAVIORS FROM NOW UNTIL THIS THING IS OVER AND YOU'LL HAVE THE BEST PROTECTION POSSIBLE AND IT BEGINS IMMEDIATELY AND IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT EFFECTIVE.
I DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING ELSE.
OKAY, WELL ONE, SO I WILL ASK THOUGH, SOMEONE DID ASK THOUGH, IF I AM POSITIVE, THEN SHOULD I BE GOING REACHING OUT TO TRY TO GET A VACCINE? YEAH, SO THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, UM, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO EDUCATE.
IF YOU HAVE MONKEYPOX YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR VACCINATION AT THAT POINT.
UM, AS FOR WHAT WE KNOW TODAY, YOUR NATURAL IMMUNITY,
[00:20:01]
UM, WILL PROTECT YOU.SO NO, IF YOU HAVE MONKEYPOX, YOU DO NEED TO ISOLATE UNTIL THE RASH IS COMPLETELY HEALED.
MEANING THERE IS A NEW LAYER OF SKIN, THERE'S NO SCABS, THERE'S NO SORES, UM, THERE'S A COMPLETELY NEW LAYER OF SKIN YOU SHOULD ISOLATE AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU KEEP THOSE AREAS COVERED BECAUSE AGAIN, IT IS TRANSMITTED THROUGH DIRECT CONTACT.
SO I, I'M GONNA PIVOT BACK 'CAUSE THAT GOES WITH WHAT YOU MENTIONED WITH REGARDS TO KNOWING YOUR STATUS TESTING AND KNOWING YOUR RESULT BACK TO COID.
UM, BEFORE WE CLOSE OUT, WE HAVE ABOUT SIX OR SO MORE QUESTIONS, SO I THINK WE CAN GET THROUGH THEM ALL.
SOMEONE'S ASKING THEN WHEN THEY TEST WITH AN ANTIGEN TEST, SHOULD THEY ISOLATE UNTIL THEIR, UH, ANTIGEN TEST COMPLETELY IS NEGATIVE? SO GO AHEAD, DAVID.
OH, I WAS GONNA SAY, SO THE CDC ISN'T RECOMMENDING THAT YOU CONTINUE TO TEST LIKE THAT.
AND THE REASON IS, IS THAT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO WILL CONTINUE TO TEST POSITIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE PAST THE CLINICAL ILLNESS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY'RE PAST THE LIKELIHOOD OF BEING ABLE TO SPREAD IT.
SO IF YOU CONTINUE TO TEST, YOU MAY, YOU MAY CONTINUE TO TEST POSITIVE AND YET AND ISOLATE YOURSELF, WHICH EVERYBODY WOULD APPRECIATE, BUT IT MIGHT BE UNNECESSARY.
SO REALLY WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS ONCE YOU TEST POSITIVE, YOU KNOW, ISOLATE YOURSELF FOR AT LEAST FIVE DAYS.
AND AT THE END OF THE FIVE DAYS, IF YOU'RE SYMPTOM, IF YOU'RE, CERTAINLY, IF YOU'RE FEVER FREE FOR 24 HOURS AND WHATEVER OTHER SYMPTOMS YOU HAVE ARE IMPROVING, YOU'RE PROBABLY NO LONGER INFECTIOUS TO OTHERS.
BUT IF AT FIVE DAYS, IF YOU'RE STILL FEELING CRUMMY AND YOU STILL HAVE SYMPTOMS, YOU KNOW, STRETCH IT OUT TO 10 DAYS AND BASICALLY THE THE 10 DAYS, ASK YOURSELF THE SAME QUESTIONS.
AND IF AT 10 DAYS YOU'RE STILL HAVING SYMPTOMS, THEN YOU MIGHT WANT TO REACH OUT TO, UH, UH, YOUR PERSONAL, UH, CARE PHYSICIAN IN ORDER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
CAN EITHER ONE OF YOU WEIGH IN ON IMPRINTING WHERE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM COULD DEVELOP A ROBUST RESPONSE TO AN EARLY VIRUS AND PREVENT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM FROM ADAPTING TO WARD OFF AN EVOLVING VIRUS? UM, SO, SO THIS IS A PRETTY COMPLICATED QUESTION, UH, UH, ABOUT IMPRINTING.
AND ACTUALLY, UH, IT COULD GO EITHER WAY.
SO IMPRINTING, UM, UM, IS WHERE THE, THE BODY IS, IS, UM, EXPOSED TO A SPECIFIC PROTEIN THAT IS THOUGHT TO, UH, INVOKE, UH, A HIGH IMMUNE RESPONSE, BUT IT CAN ALSO INVOKE A HIGH IMMUNE, UH, REACTION AS WELL.
UM, SO I, I'M NOT SURE WE REALLY HAVE TIME TO GET INTO ALL THE SCIENCE OF IT.
UM, BUT UH, THE, THE KEY THAT I THINK, AND DAVID, I PLEASE CHIME IN, IS THAT IT CAN ACTUALLY GO EITHER WAY IN TERMS OF IMPRINTING, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A GREAT THING IN TERMS OF INVOKING AN IMMUNE RESPONSE BECAUSE IT CAN ALSO INVOKE A RESPONSE THAT YOU DON'T WANNA SEE AS WELL.
THAT, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S RIGHT.
AND THAT'S ALSO ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THEY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET MORE THAN JUST ONE OF THE, THE VACCINES.
'CAUSE THERE ARE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO THAT WOULD, UH, THEORETICALLY ALLOW YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM TO REMAIN ABLE TO RESPOND TO A WIDER VARIETY.
SO THE PROBLEM WITH IMPRINTING IS THAT IF YOU, YOU DEVELOP AN IMMUNE RESPONSE TO JUST THIS ONE NARROW PROTEIN, THEN THE ONES THAT ARE JUST LIKE IT, YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WON'T, WON'T RESPOND TO BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT OVERTRAINED IF YOU WILL.
AND SO, UM, IF, IF YOU, IF YOU'VE BEEN VACCINATED AND YOU GOT INFECTED, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU'VE GOT A BROADER SCOPE OF REACTION IF YOU USE MULTIPLE VACCINES.
IT MAY A BROAD BUT A BROADER SCOPE.
BROWN'S INITIAL POINT, THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY COMPLICATED AND IT CAN GO ANY ONE OF A COUPLE OF WAYS.
SO MASKS, UH, A PUBLISHED ARTICLE SHOWED A STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF MASK USE SHOWING THE PROBABILITY OF GETTING COVID FOR MASK WEARERS VERSUS NON MASK WEARERS WAS 7% VERSUS 52%.
WILL YOU SAY THE TYPE OF MASK MATTERS LESS THAN AT LEAST WEARING SOME TYPE OF MASK? SO YOU KNOW, INITIALLY RIGHT, WE, WE, WE HAD, UM, PPE SHORTAGE AND SO THERE WASN'T AT, AT A TIME MESSAGING WHERE SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING, RIGHT? BUT THERE WERE, THERE WERE OBVIOUS, UH, EXAMPLES AND STUDIES DONE WHERE CERTAINLY, UM, JUST A FACE COVERING A CLOTH FACE COVERING WAS NOT ADEQUATE TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID.
UM, SO I THINK THAT AT THIS POINT WE CAN CLEARLY SAY, AND BECAUSE PPE IS WIDELY AVAILABLE, FACE MASKS ARE WIDELY AVAILABLE, THAT IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE THE TYPE OF FACE MASK YOU WEAR IF YOU ARE WEARING A MASK, UM, JUST TO, UM, PROTECT YOURSELF, UH, IN A CROWD, UM, YOU DON'T HAVE SYMPTOMS, UM, AND YOU'RE OUT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS A SURGICAL MASK IS, IS APPROPRIATE IF YOU ARE AROUND SOMEONE WHO YOU IS KNOWN TO HAVE COVID OR YOU YOURSELF PERHAPS HAVE SYMPTOMS, AN N95 OR A KN 95 MASK IS BEST.
SO YES, THE MASK DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND CERTAINLY AT THIS POINT, UM, WE WOULD NOT ENCOURAGE OR RECOMMEND CLOTH MASKS AT ALL BECAUSE THEY REALLY ARE NOT AFFORDING PROTECTION.
[00:25:02]
THANK YOU, DR. BROWN.SO MY LAST QUESTION IS, WE'RE BACK TO A VACCINE QUESTION, BUT THIS IS ON POLIO, SO LET'S SEE HOW WE GO.
WITH POSITIVE CASES OF POLIO FOUND, WHEN SHOULD CONSIDERATION BE GIVEN TO GETTING THE ONE TIME LIFETIME BOOSTER? YEAH, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE IN A HIGHLY VACCINATED COMMUNITY LIKE MOST OF THE UNITED STATES, THEN YOU, YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IT SO MUCH.
UH, BUT THERE ARE COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES THAT DON'T HAVE, THAT HAVE VERY LOW FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT REASONS, CULTURAL REASONS OR RELIGIOUS REASONS.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE AT, THAT ARE AT RISK.
NOW, WE JUST RECENTLY HAD A CASE OF POLIO IN THE UNITED STATES, FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME, UH, BECAUSE IT'S NOT ERADICATED AROUND THE GLOBE.
UM, SO, UH, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I ANSWERED THE QUESTION VERY WELL, BUT, UM, BUT YEAH, SO POLIO, THE POLIO VACCINE IN THE UNITED STATES, MOST PEOPLE HAVE GOT BACKSTAGE.
WE DON'T HAVE MUCH POLIO IN THE UNITED STATES.
WE'VE BASICALLY GOT A LOT OF HERD IMMUNITY FOR MOST OF THE UNITED STATES.
WELL, I JUST WANNA SAY AGAIN, THANKS EVERYONE FOR JOINING US TODAY WITH THE LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, DR. DAVID PERSCH WITH THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, DR.
ERICA BROWN, WITH HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, KATHY FINNER, OUR PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEYS.
JANINA WHITE WITH HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AGAIN, SITTING IN FOR OUR DIRECTOR STEVEN WILLIAMS. THANK YOU SO MUCH.