WEBVTT - Coronavirus Facts.  Dr. Dean Blumberg Talks to Armstrong & Getty

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<v Speaker 1>It's going to be at least a matter of several weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's unpredictable, but if you look at historically

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<v Speaker 1>how these things work, it'll likely be anywhere from a

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks top to eight weeks or more. At least

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of months of this probably likely. Yeah, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>we'd like to welcome to the Armstrong and Getty Show.

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<v Speaker 1>Dr Dean Blomberg, the Chief of Pediatric Diseases at the

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<v Speaker 1>University of California Davis. You see Davis Children's Hospital. Dr Blomberg,

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<v Speaker 1>how are you, sir? Good? How are you excellent? We're

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<v Speaker 1>grateful that you took a little time to come on today.

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<v Speaker 1>We have all sorts of questions, but as long as

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<v Speaker 1>you're the chief of pediatric diseases, do you have any

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<v Speaker 1>idea to APPI deemeologists have any idea why children, thank god,

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to not be as affected as adults by the coronavirus. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we're not sure, but we're familiar with other infections that

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<v Speaker 1>behave similarly, like hepatitis A or West Nile virus or

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<v Speaker 1>even mononucleosis. Children seem to be affected very mildly or

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<v Speaker 1>often asymptomatic with those infections, and it's really older individuals

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<v Speaker 1>who are hit much harder. Yeah, as a parent a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of young kids, that does lower the crisis level

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<v Speaker 1>on this thing for me, right, absolutely. Well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're also worried about so many things, but it is

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<v Speaker 1>one less thing to worry about. Well, listen, I took

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<v Speaker 1>just enough microbio to be dangerous. But is it something

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<v Speaker 1>to do with their immune systems or their lung function

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<v Speaker 1>or what? Do you have any idea? Yeah, I think

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's probably both of those. It's probably that their

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<v Speaker 1>lungs are healthy and their immune systems. Either their immune

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<v Speaker 1>systems are stronger and they're able to fight this off better.

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<v Speaker 1>Or it's also possible that they haven't had um much

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<v Speaker 1>experience with similar viruses, so their immune systems haven't been

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<v Speaker 1>primed um yet and so they fight off the virus differently. Interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>That is interesting. Yeah, and I'm hoping science leaps ahead

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<v Speaker 1>as they figure these things out. It's like my kids,

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<v Speaker 1>because they've got so many other colds and flues currently,

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<v Speaker 1>there's not room for another one. There you go. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>So let's talk about vaccines briefly. I think we've all

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<v Speaker 1>heard that it will take at least a year to

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<v Speaker 1>get a vaccine going, why does it take that long? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we don't have any coronavirus vaccines. It's different with influenza.

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<v Speaker 1>So on two thousand nine, when we had H one

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<v Speaker 1>N one, we know how to make influenza vaccines, and

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<v Speaker 1>we could just plug that one into the pipeline. We

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<v Speaker 1>knew we'd have a vaccine within three to six months.

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<v Speaker 1>But we don't have a pipeline for coronavirus vaccines um,

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<v Speaker 1>and so we really have to start from scratch. Is

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<v Speaker 1>there a particular number that makes sense for these gatherings?

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<v Speaker 1>Because there are states, county cities, whatever has said no people, no,

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<v Speaker 1>no gatherings over thousands, Some people say no gatherings over five,

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<v Speaker 1>some people say no gatherings over to fifty. Does that

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<v Speaker 1>make sense to you, because it seems like to me,

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<v Speaker 1>if you've got forty people in a room close together,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a problem. Also, absolutely, Yeah, these numbers are arbitrary.

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<v Speaker 1>Um you know that. Yeah, yeah, but obviously you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it just depends on your threshold, and so it depends

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<v Speaker 1>how worried public officials are and the penetration of the

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<v Speaker 1>virus in the community. So, for example, we know that

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<v Speaker 1>that California, Washington, and New York are real hotspots right now,

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<v Speaker 1>um from the testing, although we don't know other places

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<v Speaker 1>that are affected in the US because there really hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>been that much testing. Do we know why the normal

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<v Speaker 1>flu tends to go away every spring? It has to

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<v Speaker 1>do with temperature and humidity, and it also has to

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<v Speaker 1>do with social um interactions, so that people get outside more,

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<v Speaker 1>they're less crowded inside. And so we're hoping that coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>just naturally dies down as the weather warms up. But

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<v Speaker 1>we don't know if that's going to happen. And I'll

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<v Speaker 1>go back again to influenza H one and one in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand nine. Remember that one started in the spring

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<v Speaker 1>and in the summer we it really ramped up and

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<v Speaker 1>we had increased transmission. So we're not sure that coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>is going to go away in the summer. And at

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<v Speaker 1>helping I was rooting for that and that killed how

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<v Speaker 1>many people? The number I saw the number an earlier day.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a ton of people. And it didn't get

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<v Speaker 1>near the attention. This is no, it didn't, But um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I think that's because we thought we had

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<v Speaker 1>more control over it because we did expect a vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>and we have anti virals available for influenza, and we

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<v Speaker 1>don't have anything available for this right now. Dr Dean

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg is the Chief Pediatric Diseases at the u C.

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<v Speaker 1>Davis Children's Hospital, also head of Infection Control at Shriner's

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<v Speaker 1>Hospital for Children in Northern California. And and by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>just as an a side, if you don't support the

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<v Speaker 1>Shriners Hospitals, I'm talking to the audience there. They do

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<v Speaker 1>miraculous work. It's really a wonderful organization. But um, you

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned that it's possible that the sunlight and humidity and

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<v Speaker 1>humidity will help kill off the virus. That study that

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<v Speaker 1>got so much attention that the virus can live for

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<v Speaker 1>three days on stainless steel and the rest of it.

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<v Speaker 1>I've heard medical authorities saying, look, that's in a lab condition.

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<v Speaker 1>In the real world, that probably won't last nearly that long.

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<v Speaker 1>But what's your take on that The vast majority of

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<v Speaker 1>transmission occurs via the respiratory route, so coughing and sneezing

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<v Speaker 1>and being close to somebody who's symptomatic. Yes, the virus

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<v Speaker 1>can survive on surfaces, but we don't even know it

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<v Speaker 1>what concentration on the surface that it's going to be infectious,

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<v Speaker 1>So that plays a very small role. That's that's really

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<v Speaker 1>interesting because there's so much focus on wiping down door

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<v Speaker 1>handles and all that sort of stuff. But you're saying,

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<v Speaker 1>the most likely way I'm going to get it is

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<v Speaker 1>being in a room or so many coughs and I

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<v Speaker 1>breathe it in. Yeah, within six feet of somebody, because

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<v Speaker 1>those respiratory droplets are pretty big and so gravity takes

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<v Speaker 1>over and then they end up falling to the ground.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm happy they stay six ft away from everyone. These

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<v Speaker 1>are high times from missing throws. Those pictures that you

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<v Speaker 1>see of people like in in those biohazard suits that

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<v Speaker 1>are spraying spraying down outdoor areas, I think that's men

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<v Speaker 1>to inspire confidence than than actually do anything interesting. And

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<v Speaker 1>if that works economically speaking, is probably worth the effort.

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<v Speaker 1>But so doesn't a side doctor. Does it make you insane?

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<v Speaker 1>Taking in medical news in the mainstream media, Well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I get a lot of news in the mainstream media

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<v Speaker 1>that from the medical things because a lot of things

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<v Speaker 1>are slow to come out in the medical um in

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<v Speaker 1>the medical literature. But still the half wits on table news.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's be honest with each other. I gotta think of

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<v Speaker 1>the stuff you see on TV, for instance, you think

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<v Speaker 1>that's not right, that's not close to right, that's half right. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, seems like a bit much, but yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean talk radio we exaggerate everything speaking of it.

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<v Speaker 1>Dr Dean Blomberg is the chief of pediatric diseases that

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<v Speaker 1>you see Davis Children's Home. But my final question is

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<v Speaker 1>is there something, as an expert, like, is there a

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<v Speaker 1>line that would get crossed where you'd think, oh, this

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<v Speaker 1>is even bigger than we thought. Is there something like

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<v Speaker 1>that or is it already happened. I think it's already happened.

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<v Speaker 1>And the balance is that we're all susceptible to this

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<v Speaker 1>virus because nobody has ever had this before. Nobody's ever

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<v Speaker 1>and exposed to it before, so we could all get

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<v Speaker 1>it and that's the scary part. And on the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>the vast majority of people who get it are going

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<v Speaker 1>to have mild disease, So you know, the panic is

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere in between those two. But the point is, and

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<v Speaker 1>this probably bears repeating, for people like ourselves who tend

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<v Speaker 1>to be a little more skeptical, a little more cynical,

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<v Speaker 1>not easily frightened. The point is we need to keep

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<v Speaker 1>the total number of cases low enough that the severe

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<v Speaker 1>cases don't overwhelm our our unit units, in our our

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<v Speaker 1>supply ventilators. Correct. Yeah, absolutely so. You might have heard

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<v Speaker 1>of the flattening of the curve, and the idea is

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<v Speaker 1>that we don't want everybody to get sick all at once.

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<v Speaker 1>We know cases are going to increase in the coming weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>but if they increase, for it, really rapidly, then this

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<v Speaker 1>could overwhelm the healthcare system. And remember, healthcare workers are

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<v Speaker 1>part of the community too, and they could get affected.

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<v Speaker 1>And if they're affected, then there's even less healthcare workers

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<v Speaker 1>to take care of sick people. Well said Dr Dean Bloomberg.

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<v Speaker 1>We appreciate your time very much. Excellent job. I hope

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<v Speaker 1>we can stay in touch. That'd be great. Thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks well done, Armstrong and Jetty