* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:15]
          GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO COVID-19 TALK. 
          I'M YOUR HOST, DR. 
          JANINA WHITE WITH THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, FILLING IN FOR DIRECTOR STEVEN WILLIAMS. JOINING US TODAY ARE OUR LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES, DR. 
          ERICA BROWN, WITH HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH, AND DR. DAVID PURSE WITH THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          SPECIAL THANKS TO THE ROTARY CLUB OF HOUSTON, PAST PRESIDENT KATHY FINNER AND OUR PRODUCERS, DAVID CASTILLO AND PRISCILLA KEY. 
          LET'S GET STARTED WITH OUR FIRST QUESTION, DR. BROWN. 
          IT'S BEEN REALLY WARM THIS WINTER, AND THERE SEEMS TO BE A TON OF MOSQUITOES STILL. 
          I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN EXPLOSION OF WILDLIFE AND POTENTIALLY ZOONOTIC LIKE ZIKA AS AN OUTBREAK THIS YEAR. 
          I'M NOT A BIOLOGIST, ECOLOGIST, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT, BUT WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHTS ON WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR. 
          YES, THANK YOU. 
          SO, IT HAS BEEN A MILD WINTER, UM, SO FAR. 
          LET'S, LET'S NOT JINX IT. 
          UM, AND I CAN ATTEST THAT THERE DO SEEM TO BE MORE MOSQUITOES. 
          I WOULD SHOW YOU MY ARM, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S APPROPRIATE . 
          UM, BUT THAT IN OUR EXPERIENCE, UH, SERIOUSLY, THAT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY AN INDICATION THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE MORE DISEASE. 
          UM, HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH, THE MOSQUITO VECTOR, UH, DIVISION, UM, COVERS THE ENTIRE, ENTIRE COUNTY, UM, AND WORKS TO PROTECT THE WELLBEING OF OUR, OF OUR RESIDENTS. 
          UM, THEY SPRAY, UM, THEY MONITOR, UH, UM, THE MOSQUITOES, UH, AND MAKE SURE THAT THE, UM, UM, DISEASE RATES ARE NOT GOING UP. 
          UM, SO, UM, I SAYING SAY ALL THAT TO SAY THAT WHILE WE ARE SEEING, UH, A WARMER SEASON RIGHT NOW AND WE ARE SEEING, UM, MOSQUITOES PERHAPS KIND OF OUTTA SEASON, UM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY AN INDICATION THAT THERE'S GONNA BE MORE DISEASE. 
          SO IT'S, WE JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO WE HAVE SOME VARIANT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, UH, COVID. 
          SO THE FIRST VARIANT QUESTION, DR. 
          PER THE SUB VARIANT, THE KRAKEN, IS OUR NEW VOCABULARY WORD. 
          WHAT'S THIS DEFINITION? 'CAUSE I'VE HEARD IT'S CALLED THE MOST VACCINE RESISTANT AND THE MOST TRANSMISSIBLE. 
          YEAH, YOU KNOW, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC WITH ALL THE, UH, YOU KNOW, ALPHA BETA, AND NOW WE'RE GOING WITH LETTER NUMBER COMBINATIONS, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, MOVIE CHARACTERS AND  COMIC BOOK THEME. 
          SO THE, THE KRAKEN, SO THIS IS WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE KRAKEN, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT XBB 0.1 0.5, AND, UH, THIS IS THE, A NEW VARIANT THAT HAS BEEN PRETTY PREVALENT UP IN THE NORTHEAST. 
          UH, IT IS HERE PRESENT IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA. 
          AND IT IS A NEW VARIANT THAT, UH, YOU, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, THE REASON THAT A NEW VARIANT BECOMES THE NEW VARIANT IS GENERALLY BECAUSE IT IS ABLE TO SPREAD MORE QUICKLY AND THEREFORE IS ABLE TO OUT COMPETE OUTPACE, IF YOU WILL, WHATEVER HAS BEEN IN THE COMMUNITY BEFORE. 
          SO IT IS HIGHLY TRANSMISSIBLE, UH, IT SPREADS EASILY, BUT IT ALSO HAS A COUPLE OF FEATURES THAT GIVE IT YET ANOTHER ADVANTAGE. 
          ONE IS THAT IT DOESN'T, OUR IMMUNE SYSTEMS, UH, DEFENSES, IT SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO EVADE THOSE. 
          AND THIS IS PART OF NATURAL SELECTION, RIGHT? SO THE VIRUS THAT HAS SOME SORT OF A SURVIVAL ADVANTAGE, GENERALLY ABILITY TO SPREAD MORE QUICKLY. 
          BUT HERE, AN ABILITY TO GET AROUND OUR DEFENSES OR TO NOT, WHEN YOU SAY TO GET AROUND IT ALMOST MEANS LIKE IT THINKS THIS, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY THAT. 
          IT'S THAT IT, IT ISN'T, IT IMPACTED BY OUR, OUR, OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM DEFENSES THAT WE'VE, WE'VE BUILT UP. 
          UH, NOW OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WILL PROBABLY ADAPT, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, UH, IT IS GETTING AROUND WHAT IS COMBINATED. 
          IT HAS A GREATER OFFENDING FOR THE ACE TWO RECEPTOR. 
          AND THEN, UM, UH, THE OTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND, I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          WHEN WE TALK ABOUT VACCINE EFFICACY, WE'RE USUALLY TALKING ABOUT THE, WHAT WE CALL THE HUMERAL EFFECTS. 
          SO THIS IS THE ANTIBODIES, AND THIS IS WHERE A LOT OF TALK IS. 
          BUT WHAT WE FORGET WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS SHOW BEFORE, WHAT WE FORGET ABOUT IS THE, THE LONG-TERM IMMUNITY, THE T-CELL IMMUNITY. 
          UM, AND THAT STILL WORKS AGAINST, UH, THE KRAKEN. 
          THE THING IS, IT TAKES A COUPLE OF DAYS FOR THAT TO GET UP AND GOING AGAIN. 
          SO THAT SEEMS TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE AGAINST THE KRAKEN. 
          BUT YOU MAY STILL GET INFECTED, YOU MAY STILL GET SICK, YOU MAY BE OUTTA WORK, BUT BECAUSE YOU WERE VACCINATED OR PERHAPS BE, AND OR PERHAPS YOU, YOU WERE INFECTED BEFORE YOU DO HAVE THE LONG-TERM IMMUNITY, WE SHOULD KEEP YOU FROM BEING HOSPITALIZED. 
          SO AGAIN, JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE HEARING THAT IT GETS RUN TO DEFENSES, THAT IS NOT A REASON TO NOT GET VACCINATED TO DEVELOP BOTH SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM IMMUNITY WITH VACCINATION. 
          AND IT'S THE LONG-TERM IMMUNITY, WHICH IS PROTECTING US AGAINST THE KRAKEN. 
          THANK YOU, DR. 
          PER, UH, DR. BROWN. 
          SO TO THAT, THE XB 1.5 IS, IS INCREASING AND IMMUNITY FROM THE LAST BOOSTER IS WANING BQ 1.1 IS 40% OF CASES IN HARRIS COUNTY. 
          WHICH ONE IS WINNING THE RACE HERE? UH, SO, UM, THE B THE XBB 
          [00:05:02]
1.5, 0.1 0.5  IS, IS PUSHING THE, UH, BQ ONE ONE OUT A LITTLE BIT. 
          UM, UM, AND SO, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED AS WE SEE NEW VARIANTS. 
          THE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER AS I THINK DR. 
          PERS UM, UM, SAID IT VERY, VERY WELL, UM, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S STILL, UH, A VARIANT OF OMICRON. 
          THERE STILL IS EFFICACY, UM, WITH THE VACCINE AND THE LONG-TERM MEMORY, UM, FROM THE VACCINES AND OR INFECTION, UM, IS WHAT IS REALLY GOING TO HELP US. 
          SO THE BEST THING WE CAN DO, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO SEE VARIANTS MM-HMM . 
          LET'S JUST, LET'S JUST ACCEPT WE ARE GOING TO SEE VARIANTS. 
          SO IT'S, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A QUESTION OF WHICH ONE IS PUSHING WHICH ONE OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, UNLESS WE SEE, UM, GOD FORBID, SOMETHING THAT IS DOING SOMETHING TOTALLY, TOTALLY DIFFERENT, WHICH IS UNLIKELY AT THIS POINT, UM, BUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS CAN HAPPEN. 
          UM, BUT THE QUESTION IS, UM, HOW CAN WE BE PROTECTED? AND THE BEST WAY TO BE PROTECTED IS TO BE VACCINATED, TO BE UP TO DATE WITH YOUR BOOSTERS, UM, AS WELL, BECAUSE YOU WILL, UM, GAIN THAT LONG-TERM MEMORY, WHICH WILL PROTE PROTECT YOU AGAINST SEVERE ILLNESS AND HOSPITALIZATIONS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO THE NEXT QUESTION WITH VARIANTS IS THAT FLORIDA IS SEEING A SURGE IN CASES AND MENTIONS KRAKEN VARIANT AS A MAJOR REASON. 
          PLEASE EXPLAIN THE SPREAD OF VARIANTS BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA. 
          YEAH, SO THIS IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. 
          AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN THIS ALL ALONG, AND IN FACT, WE SEE IT EVERY YEAR WITH THE FLU. 
          IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT A MAP OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE CDC DOES PUT IT OUT WITH THEIR, THEIR, UH, WEEKLY FLU REPORT, UM, EVERY YEAR WITH THE FLU, IT, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, IT MAY START IN THE WEST COAST, IT MAY START IN THE EAST COAST, IT MAY START IN THE SOUTHERN COAST, AND THEN IT JUST SORT OF SPREADS LIKE A WAVE ACROSS THE REST OF THE NATION. 
          AND THE SAME THING WE'VE SEEN WITH THE VARIANTS WITH COVID. 
          UH, REMEMBER AGAIN, FOR EXAMPLE, THE VERY FIRST CASES WE HAD BACK IN, UM, 2020 STARTED UP IN THE NORTHWEST IN THE SEATTLE AREA, AND THEN SORT OF SPREAD ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 
          SO HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A NEW VARIANT. 
          IT HAS BEEN PREDOMINANTLY IN THE NORTHEAST. 
          WE, UH, MADE A LOT OF NEWS, AND YES, IT HAS SPREAD TO THE SOUTHEAST TO THE FLORIDA AREA. 
          WE HAVE IT HERE, WE EXPECT IT IS GONNA CONTINUE TO GO UP. 
          UM, AND IT, IT IS, IT SPREADS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT, IT SPREADS FROM ONE PERSON TO THE NEXT. 
          AND SO IT DOES, IT SPREADS LIKE A WAVE NOW, UM, IT, IT CAN ALSO TRAVEL ON AIRPLANES, SO IT'S NOT KID OURSELVES, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SEE THIS WAVE GOING ACROSS THE NATION WHEN WE SEE THESE NEW VARIANTS, UH, COME ON SCENE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO NEXT QUESTION ABOUT TRANSMISSION AND OUR CURRENT STATUS. 
          UH, NEW YORK TIMES IS SAYING WE, WE ARE IN A BUMP, WHILE OTHERS ARE SAYING WE'RE IN A SURGE. 
          WHAT'S OUR CURRENT STATE OF STATE FOR CASES AND HOSPITALIZATIONS? SO I'M GONNA ASSUME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COVID, UH, AND NOT, UH, THE FLU. 
          UM, OUR NUMBERS ARE GOING UP A LITTLE BIT. 
          UM, SO, UM, WITH HARRIS IN HARRIS COUNTY, OVERALL HOSPITALIZATIONS AND EVEN SOME OF OUR ICU ADMISSIONS ARE GOING UP. 
          UM, THE TRANSMISSION LEVEL IS CURRENTLY MEDIUM. 
          UM, AND, UH, SO THE, AGAIN, THE KEY TAKEAWAY IS REALLY TO ASSESS YOUR RISK. 
          IF YOU'RE AT HIGH RISK, UM, PERHAPS CONSIDER NOT GOING OUT INTO, UM, UM, LARGE GATHERINGS. 
          CERTAINLY, UH, WEAR MASKS, UM, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE VACCINATED AND UP TO DATE WITH YOUR BOOSTERS. 
          SO, DR. BROWN, COULD I ASK YOU, THEY ASK WHICHEVER ONE IT IS, A BUMP OR A SURGE, DOES IT SEEM TO BE POPPING UP EVERY SIX MONTHS? ACTUALLY, IT DOES. 
          UM, I, BUT THE QUESTION IS, IS THAT RAN? I RELATIVELY RANDOM. 
          WE JUST DON'T KNOW. 
          UM, BUT IT DOES SEEM TO BE POPPING UP, UM, AS YOU SAY, EVERY SIX MONTHS OR SO. 
          BUT IT MAY BE SOMETHING TOTALLY RANDOM. 
          THERE'S JUST SO MUCH INFORMATION STILL TO BE LEARNED, UM, WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE DATA IN TOTALITY. 
          SO THIS NEXT QUESTION FOR YOU, DR. 
          PER, WE KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LIKE TO DO YOUR CRYSTAL BALL . 
          SO THEY SAY, WHAT DOES THE WASTEWATER CRYSTAL WATER BOWL SHOW ? YEAH, THE WATER. 
          I LOVE THAT. 
          THE WATER BOWL, THE CRYSTAL WATER, THE CRYSTAL TOILET BOWL. 
          UM, SO WHAT IS IT IS GOOD NEWS WHERE YOU'VE SEEN, THE LAST TIME WE REPORTED IT WAS AT 999% OF THE JULY 6TH, 2020 VALUE, WHICH IS THE PEAK OF THE FIRST WAVE. 
          AND, UH, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN QUITE SOME TIME NOW, UH, ALMOST TWO MONTHS, IT IS, IT CAME DOWN. 
          SO, AND IT CAME DOWN A LOT, ABOUT 34% FROM 900 INTO 99 DOWN TO 659%. 
          THAT'S A DRAMATIC, UH, UH, DROP. 
          AND, AND USUALLY WE SEE THESE PRETTY RAPID RISES AND THEN SORT OF A LONGER TAIL. 
          SO A 30%, 34% DROP IN ONE WEEK IS, IS RATHER REMARKABLE. 
          WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WEEK, BUT CERTAINLY MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. 
          EMPLOYERS KNOW THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE SICK 
          [00:10:01]
OF THE WORDS, COVID AND MASKS, HIGH NUMBERS OF EMPLOYEES ARE ACTUALLY SICK FROM THE TRIPLE DEMIC OF COVID FLU AND RSV. 
          WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST TO AN INDIVIDUAL COMPANY ABOUT HOW TO HANDLE THESE RECORD NUMBERS OF ABSENCES WITHOUT ANY GUIDANCE FROM SORT OF THAT, UM, STATE FEDERAL KIND OF, UH, OFFICIALS? YES, SO, UM, ACTUALLY THERE IS GUIDANCE FROM, UM, UM, YOUR LOCAL OFFICIALS IN HARRIS COUNTY AND IN HOUSTON, UM, AS THE NUMBERS ARE RISING. 
          UM, AND I, IT IS ON BOTH OF OUR WEBSITES ABOUT, UM, HOW TO MANAGE. 
          SO, UM, BECAUSE WE ARE CURRENTLY YELLOW, WE ARE AT 75% OCCUPANCY. 
          UH, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO WEAR MASKS, AND I KNOW PEOPLE ARE SICK OF IT. 
          I'M SICK OF IT, BUT NONETHELESS, UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO, UM, KEEP US SAFE AND PROTECT US FROM, UH, ADDITIONAL SPREAD. 
          I THINK ANOTHER KEY IS, YES, UNFORTUNATELY, IF SOME OF YOUR WORKFORCE IS SICK, THE KEY IS THEY, THEY DO NEED TO STAY HOME. 
          IF THERE'S WORK THAT CAN BE DONE AT HOME, THEN THAT'S GREAT, BUT THE KEY IS THEY DO NEED TO STAY AT HOME BECAUSE YOU'RE ONLY GOING TO GO THROUGH THE REST OF YOUR WORKFORCE IF THEY DON'T. 
          AND SO WE HAVE TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF PATIENCE. 
          UM, WE SEE A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. 
          WE GOT REALLY EXCITED WHEN IT, WHEN THE MASK MANDATES WERE TAKEN OFF, BUT WE'RE NOT TO THE END YET. 
          AND SO WE STILL HAVE TO, UM, USE SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE KNOW WORK. 
          THAT'S GOOD, BECAUSE THEY ASKED NEXT ONE, LARGE HOUSTON EMPLOYER HAS HAD A MASS POLICY UNTIL THIS WEEK. 
          IS THIS THE TIME TO LIFT PRECAUTIONS? I THINK YOU KIND OF MENTIONED THAT IN YOUR COMMENTS THAT EITHER ONE OF YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT OR DR. 
          PER, SO YEAH, I'LL, I'LL JUMP IN AND I WANNA ECHO EVERYTHING THAT DR. BROWN SAID. 
          I ALSO WANNA REMIND BOTH EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYERS THAT REGARDLESS OF IF YOU'VE GOT A VIRAL SYNDROME, RIGHT, YOU GOT SNIFFLES, YOU GOT BODY ACHES, YOU GOT MAYBE A LITTLE FEVER, YOU KNOW, IT ALMOST DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU'VE GOT, YOU ARE CONTAGIOUS. 
          MM. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, FOR THE EMPLOYERS WHO WANT TO, WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO CONTINUE WITH THE MASK, UH, MANDATES WHILE AT WORK, I, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF HEARTBURN ABOUT THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ABSENTEEISM, IF YOU GOT A BUSINESS TO RUN, AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE MOST COMMONLY INFECTED, UNFORTUNATELY, IS FROM FAMILY MEMBERS. 
          BUT THE SECOND MOST COMMON PLACE TO GET IS FROM COWORKERS. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF AN EMPLOYER WANTS TO DO THAT, I, I UNDERSTAND THE BURNOUT. 
          I, BUT YOU KNOW, LET'S FACE IT, YOU GOT A BUSINESS TO RUN AND YOU GOT A 20, 30, 40% ABSENTEEISM OF YOUR EMPLOYEES, UH, IT MAKES IT REALLY DIFFICULT TO RUN THAT BUSINESS. 
          AND IF EVEN HALF OF THOSE WERE CAUGHT AT WORK, YOU COULD HAVE PREVENTED THOSE. 
          SO ANYWAYS, IT'S A TOUGH DECISION, BUT IT'S A BUSINESS DECISION JUST AS WELL. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO NEXT QUESTION, HOW LONG AFTER COVID CAN YOU DONATE BLOOD? AND I'LL JUST, EITHER ONE OF YOU WANNA ANSWER. 
          SO I, THE DATA THAT I, UM, UM, AND AND THE TEAM HAVE SEEN IS THAT, UM, IF YOU TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID BUT HAVE NO SYMPTOMS, YOU CAN DONATE BLOOD 10 DAYS AFTER THE POSITIVE TEST RESULT. 
          UM, IF YOU TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID AND ARE EXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS MM-HMM. 
          THEN OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SYMPTOMATIC AND YOU SHOULDN'T BE OUT ANYWAY. 
          UM, AND SO YOU NEED TO WAIT 10 DAYS UNTIL AFTER YOU'RE SYMPTOM FREE. 
          BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS 10 DAYS, EITHER FROM THE, UM, TIME YOU TESTED POSITIVE OR 10 DAYS AFTER, YOU ARE SYMPTOM FREE. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, DR. 
          PERS TO YOUR ROLE AS WELL WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES, THE DONATION OF BLOOD IS ALWAYS YEP. 
          PIVOTAL, AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THEY SHOULD DONATE IF THEY'RE ABLE TO, IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YEAH, TRAGICALLY THE PANDEMIC DIDN'T PREVENT. 
          UM, WELL, IT DID ACTUALLY WHEN WE, WHEN WE WERE ALL WORKING FROM HOME, WE SAW THE CAR ACCIDENTS GO DOWN, BUT NOW THAT WE'RE ALL BACK AT WORK, THE NUMBER OF MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS AND UNFORTUNATELY WHAT WE CALL, YOU KNOW, THE PENETRATING INJURIES, KNIFE AND GUN CLUB SORT OF STUFF, UH, THAT HAS, THAT HAS BEEN VERY HIGH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. 
          AND THOSE PEOPLE, THOSE WHO ARE VICTIMS OF THAT TYPE OF INJURY, THEY NEED BLOOD. 
          SO YEAH, ANYBODY WHO IS, YOU KNOW, A BLOOD DONOR OR IF YOU'VE NEVER DONATED BLOOD BEFORE, YOU KNOW THE WHOLE THING FROM START TO FINISH FROM WHEN YOU LEAVE. 
          SO WHEN I GO TO DONATE BLOOD, WHICH I DO REGULARLY, I FIND THAT FROM WHEN I LEAVE UNTIL I'M BACK AT MY DESK, IT TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR. 
          YOU CALL, YOU GET AN APPOINTMENT, YOU GO BY THE BING, YOU'RE, YOU'RE OUT OF THERE. 
          IT DOESN'T HURT VERY MUCH. 
          YOU GET A, YOU KNOW, YOU GET A T-SHIRT, YOU GET A COOKIE, YOU GET A DRINK. 
          I MEAN, IT'S GREAT  AND YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE. 
          THAT'S RIGHT. 
          YES, YES. 
          SO THE NEXT QUESTION FOR THE TRANSMISSION, UH, AREA IS, ARE YOU STILL DOING CONTACT TRACING? SO IT'S CITY OR COUNTY, WHOEVER WANTS TO TAKE THIS ONE. 
          ARE YOU STILL DOING CONTACT TRACING, AND IF SO, WHAT IS IT SHOWING? UM, SO, UM, WE'RE NOT DOING, UH, WIDESPREAD CONTACT TRACING, UM, UM, THE VIRUS. 
          UM, SO MANY HAVE BEEN 
          [00:15:01]
AFFECTED BY THE VIRUS THAT, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE MORE WATCHING THE TRENDS, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          UM, FOR INSTANCE, THE WASTEWATER TESTING, UM, AS WELL AS MONITORING, SEQUENCING AND WHAT KIND OF VARIANTS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UM, IT WOULD JUST BE, UH, UNFORTUNATELY TOO RESOURCE INTENSIVE TO DO, UM, CONTACT TRACING AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE THERE'VE BEEN SO, SO MANY PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN INFECTED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          MOVING ALONG TO OUR LAST SET IS THE BOOSTERS VACCINES AND OVER THE COUNTER MEDS. 
          SO THE FIRST QUESTION, THOUSANDS OF MAINLAND CHINESE HAVE RECEIVED THE PRIMARY VACCINES, WHICH WERE MADE IN CHINA OR RUSSIA, AND ARE RUSHING TO HONG KONG TO PAY ABOUT $250 US DOLLARS TO GET A US RNA VACCINE AS A THIRD OR FOURTH SHOT. 
          WHAT GIVES, IS THIS ANY GOOD? SO THE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE OF VACCINES. 
          SO WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE I WANT TO TAKE A PILL AND I'M BETTER THE NEXT DAY, RIGHT? AND THAT'S NOT REALITY. 
          SO MOST VACCINES, IF YOU HAVE A VACCINE THAT'S GOT 60, 70% EFFICACY, WHICH MEANS IT REDUCES YOUR CHANCES OF BECOMING ILL BY ABOUT 60 TO 70%, THAT IS A GOOD VACCINE. 
          NOW, WITH THE MRNAS, WHEN THEY CAME OUT WITH THIS 94, 90 5% EFFICACY, AND THE PUBLIC FIRST BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT, IT, IT UNFORTUNATELY SORT OF SET THE STANDARD THAT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO BE 95% EFFECTIVE OR ELSE YOU'RE NO GOOD. 
          THAT'S NOT THE CASE AT ALL. 
          UH, OUR FLU VACCINES ARE FREQUENTLY 60, 70% EFFECTIVE. 
          NOW, THE CHINESE VACCINE, THE CVAC UH, THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION RECENTLY REPORTED THAT IT, IT APPEARS TO BE ABOUT 50% EFFECTIVE, WHICH MEANS IT REDUCES YOUR CHANCE OF BECOMING ILL BY 50%. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S NOT GREAT, BUT THAT'S NOT TERRIBLE EITHER. 
          BUT IT ALSO DOESN'T REALLY COME UP TO THE 94 90 5% THAT WE'RE SEEING WITH THE, UH, MRNA VACCINES. 
          AND SO WITH WHAT'S GOING ON IN CHINA NOW, WITH THEM RE RELIEVING A LOT OF THOSE RESTRICTIONS, AND WE'RE SEEING THIS BIG WAVE OF ILLNESS SWEEPING ACROSS THAT NATION, IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME. 
          A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SCRAMBLING TO PROTECT THEMSELVES ANYWAY THEY CAN. 
          UM, SO, AND, AND THE MRNA VACCINES ARE MUCH MORE EFFICACIOUS, BUT I JUST, AGAIN, I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A RANGE OF EFFICACY AMONGST VACCINES AND JUST 'CAUSE YOU'RE 70% EFFECTIVE, THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE A BAD VACCINE. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S ACTUALLY FAIRLY COMMON. 
          THAT'S VERY HELPFUL, THANK YOU. 
          REPORTS THIS PAST WEEK SAID THOSE OVER 65 WHO'VE HAD A BIVALENT BOOSTER MIGHT BE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE ISCHEMIC STROKES WITHIN THE FIRST THREE WEEKS AFTER THEY'RE SHOT. 
          WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE? AND THE CDC STILL SAYS TO STAY UP TO DATE AND GET THE BOOSTER YOUR COMMENTS? SO I THINK THAT THERE'S STILL MORE RESEARCH TO BE DONE, AND I KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN SAYING THAT FOR, UH, MANY OF THESE, UH, QUESTIONS, BUT, BUT THE REALITY IS, UM, THERE IS MORE RESEARCH TO BE DONE. 
          UM, THERE WAS AN ANALYSIS DONE WHICH SHOWS THERE IS A POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN THE PFIZER, UM, BOOSTER AND, UM, UM, ISCHEMIC STROKES. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO SAY CONCLUSIVELY THAT THERE IS A LINK. 
          UM, BUT THERE IS ONGOING RESEARCH WITH THAT. 
          AND SO THUS FAR, THE CDC PFIZER, UM, UM, ALL RECOMMEND CONTINUING TO GET, UM, YOUR BOOSTERS AND I WILL SAY ALONG THE LINES OF, UM, WHAT DR. 
          PERS IS SAYING ABOUT, ABOUT EFFICACY. 
          UM, ANY VACCINE IS NOT, WITHOUT SOME RISK TAKING. 
          TYLENOL IS NOT WITHOUT SOME RISK. 
          UM, THE KEY IS THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION ARE SERVED, UM, BY GETTING THE VACCINE, GETTING BOOSTED. 
          UM, WE'VE SEEN SOME GREAT RESULTS FROM THAT. 
          UM, IT DOES NOT MINIMIZE THAT THERE MAY BE, UH, A RISK. 
          UM, AND WE, WE CERTAINLY NEED TO INVESTIGATE IS THERE A POPULATION WHO PERHAPS, UM, SHOULD AVOID THIS TYPE OF VACCINE, BUT OVERALL, THIS IS NOT, UH, A REASON NOT TO GET YOUR BOOSTER. 
          GREAT POINT, GREAT POINT. 
          CAN I, CAN I, CAN I ECHO THAT? YEAH. 
          BECAUSE I THINK DR. 
          BROWN'S POINT IS SO REALLY VERY IMPORTANT. 
          YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH THIS QUESTION AND WITH THIS REPORT THAT CAME OUT IS THE SO VERY DIFFICULT PUBLIC MESSAGING BALANCE BETWEEN, WE ARE WATCHING SO VERY CAREFULLY AND SO VERY CLOSELY. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MULTIPLE, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, THERE ARE, I, I THINK THERE ARE FIVE DIFFERENT, UH, DATABASES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR TROUBLE WITH VACCINES. 
          ONE OF THEM FOUND SOMETHING WHICH REACHED A LEVEL THAT BY THEIR PRESET PARAMETERS MEANT, OKAY, THIS NEEDS INVESTIGATION. 
          BUT UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT A LOT OF THE MESSAGING, WHAT, WHAT THE POPULAR MEDIA'S DONE IS THAT, OH MY GOD, THERE'S A HORRIBLE PROBLEM. 
          AND THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL. 
          THIS VACCINE IS UNDER SUCH INTENSE SCRUTINY, WHICH IS GOOD, BUT IT'S UNDER SUCH INTENSE SCRUTINY THAT ANYTIME SOMETHING LIKE, YOU KNOW, TRIPS A WIRE THAT SAYS, OKAY, WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THAT, THAT MESSAGE IS GETTING MISCONSTRUED. 
          SO DR. 
          BROWN'S POINT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AND WE'RE FINDING THINGS AND WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE IT MORE, IS, IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MESSAGE THAN 
          [00:20:01]
PEOPLE ASSUME THAT THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH THE VACCINE. 
          YOU KNOW, NO VACCINE HAS EVER GONE, UNDERGONE THIS KIND OF SCRUTINY EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE PLANET. 
          AND SO THAT'S GOOD. 
          SO LONG AS WE DON'T MISCONSTRUE WHEN WE FIND SOMETHING THAT NEEDS MORE INVESTIGATION, THAT WE DON'T JUMP TO A CONCLUSION BECAUSE THEN PEOPLE WON'T GET VACCINATED, LIKE DR. BROWN POINTED OUT. 
          AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT, YOUR CHANCES OF HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE VACCINE ARE INFINITESIMALLY SMALLER THAN YOUR CHANCES OF HAVING A PROBLEM IF YOU GET INFECTED. 
          I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY ALONE HAVE DIED FROM THE DISEASE, RIGHT? YEAH. 
          AND EVEN IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS AND THE FOLKS WHO ARE POINTING FINGERS TO THE VACCINE, THE NUMBER OF DEATHS, EVEN IF YOU BELIEVE THEM, IS STILL TINY COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO DIED FROM THE VIRUS. 
          SO ANYWAY, IT'S WHAT SHE SAID IS EXACTLY RIGHT, AND I CAN'T REINFORCE WHAT SHE SAID ENOUGH THAT IT, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, THINK MATURELY ABOUT WHAT IS BEING DISCOVERED AND HOW THIS IS BEING MANAGED. 
          ANYWAYS, I'LL SHUT UP. 
          IT'S MY, I GOT MY SOAPBOX. 
          SORRY. 
          . 
          WELL, WITH THAT PASSION, DR. 
          PERTH, REALIZING THERE IS NOTHING DEFINITIVE ABOUT WHEN THE NEXT BOOSTER WILL BE RECOMMENDED. 
          DO YOU THINK IT'LL BE SIX MONTHS OR EVERY NINE TO 12 MONTHS? UM, YEAH, SORT OF TOUGH TO PREDICT. 
          UM, BECAUSE THE OTHER THING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT COVID WILL BECOME SEASONAL, MOST LIKELY, YOU KNOW, THE SAME VIRAL SEASON AS OTHER VIRUSES. 
          BUT WE DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S, LET'S FACE IT, THIS VIRUS HAS SURPRISED US AT A RETURN. 
          RIGHT. 
          UH, WE ARE SEEING THIS ABOUT SIX MONTHS CYCLE. 
          SO I'M GONNA SORT OF, IF YOU WANNA MAKE A MISTAKE IN PUBLIC HEALTH, MAKE A PREDICTION. 
          SO LET ME GO AHEAD AND MAKE A PREDICTION, , AND, UH, I THINK IT'S, I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT AN ANNUAL VACCINE, WHICH, LIKE THE FLU VACCINE WILL PROBABLY BE TWEAKED EVERY SINGLE YEAR. 
          YEAH. 
          AS WE'VE TRACKED THE CHANGES IN THE CIRCULATING VIRUS, I, I THINK WE'RE GONNA WIND UP SIMILAR TO WHERE WE ARE WITH THE FLU. 
          GIVE IT ANOTHER YEAR, MAYBE TWO. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WELL, RAPID FIRE, WE'VE GOT A FEW MORE ON THE VARIANT. 
          FAMILY TREE ALPHA AND DELTA BRANCHES APPEAR CLOSE WITH OMICRON, FAR FROM THE OTHERS. 
          IS OMICRON MORE POTENT WITH SO MANY? IS OMICRON MORE POTENT WITH SO MANY MORE VARIANTS? NO, OMICRON SPREAD SPREADS MORE EASILY, UM, BUT IT DOES APPEAR TO HAVE LESS SEVERE SYMPTOMS. WHAT'S THE CURRENT DIRECTION OF VACCINE RESEARCH? ARE THEY LOOKING AT EXTENDED TIME COVERAGE OR MORE THAN BIVALENT EFFECTIVENESS? SO, MY UNDERSTANDING, NOT BEING A VACCINE RESEARCHER, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT A VACCINE THAT WILL BE MORE UNIVERSAL. 
          SO RIGHT NOW, LIKE WITH THE BIVALENT, YOU KNOW, THEY LOOKED AT THE BA FIVE AND, AND BROUGHT SOME OF THAT INTO IT. 
          AND I THINK WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR NOW IS SOMETHING THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE, WHAT'S THE WORD I WANTED FOR A LITTLE MORE, UM, UH, MORE INHERENT TO ANY COVID VARIANT THAT MIGHT CALL IN THE FUTURE. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S NOT MY LANE, BUT THAT'S WHAT I UNDERSTAND FROM CONVERSATIONS. 
          WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR COVID COUGH? IT JUST WON'T GO AWAY, YOU KNOW. 
          UM, THIS IS A HUGE, UM, ANNOYANCE FOR MANY, MANY PEOPLE. 
          UM, NOT JUST RELATED TO COVID, BUT TO MANY VIRUSES. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY WE JUST DON'T HAVE GOOD, UM, UM, MEDICATIONS AROUND IT. 
          THE VIRUS RUNS ITS COURSE, IT'S A SIDE EFFECT OF THE VIRUS. 
          WE CAN TREAT THE SYMPTOMS. SO THE KEY IS TO GO TO YOUR PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR, FIRST OF ALL, AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS JUST A COUGH. 
          MM-HMM. 
          AND THEN THEY CAN HELP WORK WITH YOU ON A TREATMENT PLAN TO GIVE YOU SOME SUPPORTIVE CARE, UM, AS YOU NAVIGATE THIS ANNOYING COUGH. 
          IT'S, IT'S JUST SOMETHING WE DON'T HAVE GREAT, GREAT ANSWERS TO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND AS WE GET READY FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE CANCELLATION OF THE RODEO IS WHERE WE ARE COMING SOON. 
          SO WHAT PRECAUTIONS ARE YOU RECOMMENDING TO RODEO LEADERSHIP AND PARTICIPANTS THIS YEAR? OKAY, SO LET ME JUST START BY SAYING THAT WE CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARIES FOR HAPPY THANKS, WEDDINGS, EARTH DAYS, THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, SO I I, THE THIRD, THE CANCELLATION OF THE RODEO IS NOT SOMETHING WHICH I ANTICIPATE BEING AN ANNIVERSARY SORT OF THING IN THE FUTURE. 
          BUT ANYWAYS, THAT BEING THAT ASIDE, UH, SO I'VE WORKED WITH THE, THE RODEO, ACTUALLY. 
          THEY'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM OVER THERE AND THEY'VE PUT TOGETHER THE PRECAUTIONS. 
          THEY, THEY, UH, SHARED IT WITH ME. 
          AND I THINK THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF HAND WASHING STATIONS, YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT OF HAND SANITIZER AVAILABLE. 
          UH, THERE WON'T BE ANY MASKS, UM, REQUIRED, UH, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING A FULL FLEDGED, YOU KNOW, GO FORWARD, UH, RODEO. 
          THE, THE TYPE OF RODEO THAT WE'RE USED TO. 
          UH, PEOPLE ARE GONNA NEED TO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE THE USUAL SORTS OF THINGS, IF YOU'RE ILL, DON'T GO IF YOU'RE, REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU'VE GOT, IF YOU'RE SICK AND COUGHING, YOU GOT VIRAL, DON'T GO BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GIVE IT TO SOMEBODY ELSE. 
          IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT CATCHING SOMETHING, ANYTHING YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO GO. 
          AND IF YOU DO, YOU PROBABLY WANT TO WEAR AN N95 MASK TO PROTECT YOURSELF. 
          [00:25:02]
SO OPTIMISTIC. 
          SO EXCITING. 
          'CAUSE I KNOW HOW EXCITING IT'S TO HAVE THE RODEO BACK IN, IN FULL SPEED. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          SO THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US. 
          I'M YOUR HOST, DR. 
          JANINA WHITE WITH THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          I WAS FILLING IN FOR, UH, DIRECTOR STEVEN WILLIAMS. WE HAD DR. 
          PER WITH THE HOUSTON, UH, HEALTH DEPARTMENT JOINING US TODAY, AS WELL AS DR. 
          ERICA BROWN WITH HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH. 
          SPECIAL THANKS TO THE RODEO CLUB OF HOUSTON, KATHY FINNER, PAST PRESIDENT, AS WELL AS PRISCILLA KEY, AND DAVID CASTILE, OUR PRODUCERS. 
          UNTIL NEXT TIME.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.