WEBVTT - Bonus: Dr. Anthony Fauci breaks down confusion around the Delta variant, breakthrough cases, and more 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:07.080 Hi everyone, I'm Katy Curic and welcome to Next Question. 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:10.200 I'm popping back on the podcast to share an important 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:14.240 conversation I recently had with Dr Anthony Fauci. Of course 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:17.919 he needs no introduction. There is a lot to discuss, 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:23.439 breakthrough cases, vaccine mandates, booster shots, when and where you 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:27.320 should be masking up, and the possibility of a variant 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:32.800 worse than delta. I know, lots of scary news, but 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.720 we're here to explain it all. Take a listen, spread 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:40.240 the word, and let's end this pandemic already, right, guys. 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:42.440 I know I am sick of it, and I'm sure 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:45.800 you are too. A friend of mine recently described getting 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:51.720 the vaccine shots as the Fauci alci, So please get 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:59.040 yours if you haven't already. Okay, here's Dr Fauci. Dr Fauci. 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:02.720 This pandemic was supposed to be in our rear view 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:06.800 mirror at this point, but as you recently said, the 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:11.760 country may be in trouble this fall. How frustrated are you? Well, 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.440 it is. It is a frustration, Katie, but it's just 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:17.720 the reality. The virus that we're dealing with is a 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:21.039 different virus than we were dealing with several months ago, 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:23.240 and we just have to deal with the reality of 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:27.960 that it's a more formidable virus. It translates much more efficiently, 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:31.600 and even individuals who have vaccinated, even though they are 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:36.760 largely protected from serious disease, nonetheless can get infected and 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.880 even transmitted. Let me ask you about that, because I 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.880 think Dr Fauci there's been a lot of confusion about 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:46.360 this delta variant even if you're vaccinated. The CDC says 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:49.080 you can spread it and compared it in fact to 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:52.320 the chicken pox, but the White House COVID Response Team 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:56.480 pushed back on that assessment. Can you clarify once and 0:01:56.520 --> 0:02:01.400 for all if vaccinated people can spread the delta variant 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:06.240 at the same rate as unvaccinated people. Okay, let me 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:08.880 first say one thing that will be a background that 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:13.400 will clarify the vaccine is doing exactly what we wanted 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:17.640 it to do. It's preventing people from getting seriously ill. 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:22.720 That's the reason why you get vaccinated. However, this virus 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:27.120 is so transmissible that it can infect even though it's 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:33.960 a small fraction. It can infect vaccinated people almost invariably 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:37.680 in a way that they're either without symptoms or only 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:41.200 mildly symptomatic, So it's less that it's going to make 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:45.840 the vaccinated person sick. It's more that it's going to 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:51.320 allow the vaccinated person to transmit it to someone else 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:56.240 who might get sick, like a vulnerable person in the family, 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:01.840 an elderly individual, a child who's unvacccinated. So the issue 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:08.000 with a person who is vaccinated who gets infected, the 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:11.200 level of virus in the naso pharynx of that person 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:16.400 is relatively equivalent to that of an unvaccinated person, which 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:20.760 means there's a mechanism to say that that person very 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:23.840 well might be able to transmit it, and in fact, 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:29.760 we have documented cases where a vaccinated infected person did 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:35.480 transmit So it can be transmitted in a vaccinated person 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.960 at the same rate as an unvaccinated You know, it 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:42.360 is potentially. I want to clarify for you because I 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.040 do want to make sure there's no confusion. The level 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:48.880 of virus in the naso pharynx of a person who's 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:53.520 vaccinated and infected is the same level as the level 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:57.240 of virus in the nasal pharynx of an unvaccinated person, 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:01.280 So you can make a reasonable some shan that they 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:05.600 can be equivalent in how they transmit. However, there's one 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:10.120 thing that works in favor of the vaccinated person. That level, 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:13.520 though it starts off the same as an unaffected as 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:18.839 an unvaccinated person, it decreases much more quickly because of 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:24.400 the vaccine exactly exactly. Cases are rising in forty nine states, 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:28.760 with a handful of states experiencing serious surges. But the 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:32.120 good news is the vaccination rates in many of these 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:37.240 states is increasing as well. In fact, American adults have 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:40.440 now gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. The 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:46.400 question is, is hurt im mutity still possible at this point. Yes, 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:50.560 it is, but it won't happen Katie unless we get 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.800 a vast majority of the nine three million people who 0:04:54.839 --> 0:05:00.479 are still unvaccinated who are eligible to be vaccinated. Unless 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:05.520 we get them vaccinated, they are not going to contribute 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.520 to the concept of her immunity. So her immunity, there's 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:11.920 a concept of her community, which means you have enough 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:16.040 vaccinated people plus people who were infected and protected so 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:18.760 that the virus doesn't have any place to go. There 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:23.080 aren't any vulnerable targets. We're not there yet. We don't 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:25.320 know what the percentage is. Is that going to be 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:29.080 the people who are still unvaccinated or is that going 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.960 to be eighty five or eighty We don't know. When 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.520 you don't know, you know what you do. You just 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.680 get as many people vaccinated as you possibly can. Just 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:41.560 as a delta variant has now become part of our vocabulary, 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:45.480 we're hearing about new variants, this be one six to 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:49.599 one in Florida, the delta plus variant. Which variants, Dr 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.520 Fauci are you most concerned about and are you worried 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:57.719 that the current vaccines will not be effective against them? Well, 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:01.039 I am worried more about a variant that we haven't 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:05.480 even seen yet, because they can. But the current delta 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:10.520 variant is so efficient in its ability to crowd out 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:14.200 the other variants that even though there are the variants 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:18.279 you mentioned, which there's no reason to believe that they're 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:21.680 going to be worse than the delta variant, they are 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:26.719 not being over they're not overtaking the delta variants. So 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:30.720 the one good thing is that the vaccines work quite 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:36.120 well against the delta variant in some respects. It's good 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:40.320 that the delta variant is not being outstripped. By the 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.839 others because we know we can deal with the delta 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:48.719 variant really quite well. My concern is that if we 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:53.279 allow there to be smoldering infection into the fall and 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:59.120 into the winter, because those nine million people are not 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:03.560 getting vaccinated for the most part, my concern would be, 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:07.440 you may allow a variant that we haven't even recognized 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:11.960 yet to come along and in fact be better at 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:16.520 transmitting and more serious than the delta. We haven't seen 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:20.320 that yet, So rather than be worrying about these others 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:23.520 that are around, let's make sure we don't let new 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:27.880 ones come in well our unvaccinated people. The reason we're 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:32.160 seeing these new strains and will an increase in vaccinations 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:37.000 mitigate the virus morphine in multiple ways? Well, that's a 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:42.760 good one because the answer is short, yes, Okay, that's 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:45.480 all you need to say. So, in other words, please 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:50.520 get vaccinated more with Dr Anthony Fauci. Right after this, 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:01.720 let's talk about boosters that who just announce more a 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:06.680 toorium on booster shots until more countries can get ahold 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:12.200 of the vaccine. But companies like fisers saying their efficacy 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:16.880 decreases after about six months and a number of countries Israel, Germany, 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:20.840 in the UK, among others, are starting to offer booster shots. 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.280 Where do you stand on boosters for the US. I 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.800 think we can do both, Katie. I think if we 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:34.320 need an additional boost an initial dose to get the 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:39.400 optimal protection because it essentially attendued for a while. I 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:42.920 believe that we can do that in this country, particularly 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.640 for people who are immunely suppressed, people who are on 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:49.959 cancechemo therapy, people who have transplant, they very well may 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:55.480 need as part of their primary regimen a three shot 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:58.559 boost of an m R and A. We are doing 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.960 a lot, and we will be doing more to supply 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:07.600 doses internationally. I believe that we are capable, not only 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:12.360 our own nation, but also the other wealthy nations in 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:16.000 the world can do both. You certainly want to pay 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:21.040 very good attention to getting vaccine doses to the developing world, 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:23.920 but I believe you can do both. You can boost 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.000 and get doses to them. If you get a J 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:29.280 and J or a Maderna vaccine. Can you get a 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:33.120 fisor boostere you have to stick with one brand. Well, 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:36.200 we're doing studies right now. They're referred to as mix 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:41.160 and match studies to see if there's any issue with 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:44.800 giving one vaccine as the prime followed by the other 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:47.640 is the boost, or giving two of the same and 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:52.200 then let the third one be different. As as a scientist, 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:54.360 I don't think there's going to be an issue with that, 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.960 but you want to formally prove it, and that's the 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:59.559 studies that are being done to do that. A lot 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:03.240 of duct ers in hospitals nationwider saying the population of 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.600 patients they're seeing this go around is very different than 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:12.320 the initial surges. They're younger, they're in their twenties and thirties, Younger, sicker, quicker. 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:14.960 Do we know why it is that, in your view, 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:19.200 convincing younger people to get vaccinated. Well, in answer to 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.800 your second question, I hope the realization that you're not 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:27.120 exempt from getting either seriously ill with COVID nineteen or 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:31.000 even getting long COVID after you recover, which is something 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:35.479 that people should take seriously, namely the persistence of symptoms. 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.520 One of the likely reasons that may be more than 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:40.880 one one. One of the reasons you might be seeing, 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:46.679 relatively speaking, more young people being hospitalized is that first 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:51.679 you're dealing with a very transmissible virus, so everybody who's 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:58.720 unvaccinated is getting infected. The seeing more young versus older 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:03.000 because we all we know that the elderly population is 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:08.320 already vaccinated, so there's a skewing that among the unvaccinated, 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:12.520 relatively speaking, more of them are young. So it is 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:17.320 not surprising that when you look at hospitalizations you're seeing 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:21.520 relative to the elderly, it looks like they're are more 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:25.040 young than are being hospitalized. That's very true because the 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.239 elderly are more protected because more of them are vaccinated. 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.800 Let's talk about breakthrough cases. My understanding is they're being 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:37.640 trapped only if they require hospitalization or death. Shouldn't we 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:41.920 be tracking breakthrough cases among the general population. I imagine 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:45.800 that would be pretty difficult to do, but especially if 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:49.000 you're some asymptomatic. But isn't that something we should be 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:52.320 focused on so we can get real numbers about the 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:57.360 you know, who is getting COVID after vaccination? Well, yeah, 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.800 but you really want to do it what the Israelis 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:01.920 have done and what the Brits have done, But most 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.920 of the Israelis is rather than do it generally the 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:10.199 population that when you get someone who's infected and they're asymptomatic. 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.640 You test all of their context, not just the context 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:17.640 of the sick people. And the CDC is going to 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:20.800 be starting to do that, in fact, they already are. 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:23.600 Was that a mistake to not do it right away, 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:27.360 because I don't know it just hospitalizations or deaths seem 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:32.840 to be uh, you know, not the not the whole picture. Yeah, no, Kattie, 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.440 I'm not going to answer that directly. When I say 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.240 something of a mistake or not, it's an automatic sound bite. 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:44.199 It's not productive, So I'll refrain size the CDC's protocol. 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:47.840 I think the c DHC tries their very best. They 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.520 don't always get it right, but they definitely try their best, 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.880 and they're very competent. Last weekend, almost four hundred thousand 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:58.360 people went to Lollapalooza. Attendees this was a big music 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:02.360 festival in Chicago. Attend needed to provide their vaccine card 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:07.080 or negative COVID task in order to go. But looking 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:11.000 at those photos and Millennial Park that they freaked you out. 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:14.760 I was a bit taken aback by the by the 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:17.040 film clips that I saw. There were a lot of 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:21.720 people crowded around together, you know, and given the fact 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:27.600 that we know that vaccinated people can spread infection, and 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:31.920 even though we know that outdoors is always safer than indoors, 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.320 there was a really lot of crowded that we saw 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:37.560 in those films. So I got a little bit concerned 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.400 about that myself. Would you avoid those kinds of crowds 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:44.440 if it were you, or if it were me or 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:48.360 my daughters. I'm pretty risk averse, Katie, so I would 0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:51.320 even though I'm vaccinated, I don't think I would go 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:55.360 to a really massively crowded where you essentially face to 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:59.760 face with somebody. I would be concerned about that. They've 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:04.160 been suggestions, most notably by former HHS Secretary Alex A. 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:08.760 S Our. President Trump could do more to convince the unvaccinated. 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.719 Nearly of Republicans say they're not planning to be vaccinated, 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:16.120 and the Democrats could be giving President Trump work credit 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.840 for Operation Work Speed. Do you agree and are there 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:27.440 other ways to depute the simple act of getting vaccinated? Well, 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:31.320 I think there needs to be deep politicizing always when 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:34.480 you're in a public health issue. I've been saying that 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:38.040 for a year and a half. Sometimes it has gotten 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:41.480 me to be the brunt of people's criticism because there 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:46.640 is politicization, usually by people who are trying to exam 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:50.280 for example, say we shouldn't be doing the things that 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:54.880 are public health measures, and I think that that's really unfortunately. 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:59.120 What I'm what I'm hardened by is that we are 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:04.360 seeing Republican leaders who are saying get vaccinated. I mean, 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.000 Governor asked Asa Hutchinson is beating the bushes in Arkansas 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:12.680 doing that. Steve Scalise has has really been promoting vaccines. 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:18.160 Even even Governor de Santis in Florida has been saying 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:21.080 that despite the fact that he is saying that he 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:25.840 doesn't want there to be masked mandates, he is encouraging vaccination, 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:28.960 which is good. New York City will be become the 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:32.720 first US city to will require proof of at least 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:36.920 one vaccination shot in order to interplaces like bars, restaurants, 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:40.440 and gems. Do you think the strategy should be adopted nationwide? 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:43.160 It seems to be a pretty good way to motivate 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.680 people to get vaccinated. I do think that as a 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.080 public health person, we should be putting more pressure on 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:53.600 people to get vaccinated. And I believe when the f 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:58.080 DA comes through, hopefully within the next few weeks, to 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:03.920 make this in officially approved vaccines plural as opposed to 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.200 just an eu A. I hope that we will then 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.840 have people feel much more empowered to do some kind 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:16.520 of mandating, For example, universities and colleges saying you're not 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:18.840 going to be able to come in person unless you 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.960 get vaccinated. I think that would chuck a lot of 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:25.920 young people who are who are resistant to get vaccinated. 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:29.400 I think large corporations will be doing the same thing. 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.520 I was gonna ask you that Google, Microsoft, Tyson's Foods 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:37.480 requiring employees to be fully vaccinated. Do you think that 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:42.720 more will be empowered after I'm Katie, I'm convinced to that. 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:45.200 I think that if you talk to people you know 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:47.480 off the record that don't want to be talking about 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:51.400 it publicly, they're saying that once they get the backup 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.160 of a fully approved vaccine, they will be much more 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:59.600 enthusiastic about mandating for their enterprise that you need to 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:05.040 be eaccinated. After this break, Dr Fauci answers your most 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:16.600 pressing questions. We're gonna do a quick round robin of 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:21.119 practical advice from questions we got from social media. Dr Fauci, 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:25.879 should people be wearing masks regardless of their vaccination status 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.960 indoors I think is probably more specific. Yes, that's a 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:33.720 CDC recommendation and I totally agree with it. How do 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:37.960 the COVID variants affect children under five? I'm concerned about 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.639 them getting sick from the virus with a new variants 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:44.600 and no protection. Well, you should be concerned, because everyone 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:48.680 is susceptible, whether you're a child, an adult, or an elderly. 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:53.400 If you're unvaccinated, you are susceptible. It is true that 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:58.600 young children generally do not get as seriously involved with 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:03.320 a severe full of COVID nineteen when they're very, very young. 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:06.800 But we are starting to see in real time that 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:09.960 there are now young people who you would have expect 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:13.600 were less likely who are getting seriously ill. There have 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:16.280 been close to four hundred, about three hundred and fifty 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:20.920 plus children who have died thus far from COVID nineteen. 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.400 That's more than influenza in any given year. That's more 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:28.360 than a respiratory since the ChIL virus in any given year. 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.040 That's still a mystery. Well, why some people get sick 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:37.440 and some people don't? Soul Sorry, One Florida grandmother who's 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:40.160 fully vaccinated, wanted me to ask you if she should 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:43.120 wear a mask when visiting her babysitting her fourign six 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.840 year old grandsons, especially since they're not required to wear 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:52.680 a mask in school. If Grandma is unvaccinated, she doescinated, 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:55.800 then she doesn't need to wear a mask. But does 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:59.320 she doesn't need to worry about the delta variant being 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:03.199 transfer from the children to her. No, when you are 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:07.239 in the home setting, if you have vaccinated and you 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:10.040 have children in the home setting, you do not need 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:14.639 to wear a mask. Speaking of schools, there is still 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.399 no real consensus on how to keep kids uh safe 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:22.280 in school as well as teachers, and that's creating a 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:24.840 ton of anxiety. As you know, people are kind of 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:27.080 pulling out their hair thinking, oh my god, do I 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:31.440 have to deal with this again this school year? Um, 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:34.000 what do you say to parents and school officials facing 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:37.840 another uncertain year? Well, there are a couple of ways 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:43.160 to safeguard children and get them back to school in person. 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:47.719 It is a very important primary goal in the full 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:52.600 to get the children in class and not virtual because 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:56.840 we are well aware of the delaterious effects on children, 0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:02.560 their development, their mental health, there, educational development, to get 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:05.640 them in school. Therefore, we've got to make sure they're 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.560 safe in school. There are a couple of ways to 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:11.960 do that. Get the people who are eligible to be 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:19.080 vaccinated around the children, get them vaccinated, teachers, school staff, 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:23.040 and anybody else. For those who are not able to 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.760 be vaccinated, the only way you can protect them, and 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:33.440 the CDC recommendations are clear. In school, everyone should be masked, 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:38.920 whether you're vaccinated or not. That's a very clear recommendation 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:42.399 by the c d C. When will the vaccine be 0:20:42.440 --> 0:20:46.399 available for children under twelve, We don't know the answer 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:49.600 to that, Katie. We are doing studies to getting information 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:54.160 that would be able to validate a decision to do that. 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.560 We're collecting those data, will get more and more of 0:20:57.600 --> 0:21:01.840 it as we've approached the full but ultimately that will 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:05.959 be a regulatory decision by the FDA, together with an 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:11.959 advisory a condition from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:16.640 that advises the CDC. So this may take quite a while. Well, 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:19.000 I hope it doesn't take quite a while. I hope 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:23.520 we do within the next several months, but I hope 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:25.280 before the end of the year. But we don't know 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:28.640 that that's the sea. That's an FDA decision. Someone on 0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:32.000 our team is asking, if vaccinated people can spread the virus, 0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:35.000 why aren't they required to be quarantined if they've been 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:38.800 exposed to someone who has tested positive. No, you just 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:41.400 need to test if you've been exposed, you don't need 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:46.119 to quarantine. Someone says, I'm being treated for Lukenian to 0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:49.080 not make antibodies from the vaccine. What can I do 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:52.160 to protect myself? Well, that's an individual first of all, 0:21:52.200 --> 0:21:54.960 to wear a mask, that's the first thing. But I 0:21:55.040 --> 0:22:00.280 hope that we will provide protection for that individual and 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:06.600 people in her same situation by relatively quickly making the 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:11.560 decision to get an additional dose. To immune suppressed people, 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:16.840 they are a different category than a healthy or even 0:22:16.880 --> 0:22:21.160 an elderly healthy person, because a person who is either 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:26.679 immune is suppressed from transplant, from chemotherapy, or from immune 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:31.560 suppression likely never made an adequate immune response to begin with. 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:36.480 Someone asked Dr Fauci if emmy suppressing drugs reduced the 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:42.600 efficacy of the COVID vaccine. Absolutely absolutely, it does. It 0:22:42.680 --> 0:22:46.160 does so, so it's not if you're go ahead. If 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:49.240 you are immune is suppressed because of the drugs that 0:22:49.359 --> 0:22:55.399 you are taking for transplant, for cancer, chemotherapy, or for 0:22:55.480 --> 0:23:01.000 an autoimmune disease. The drugs that you receive suppress your 0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:07.359 disease also suppress your ability to respond to the vaccine. 0:23:07.960 --> 0:23:12.240 So you should talk to your doctor about getting getting 0:23:12.240 --> 0:23:16.560 a booster shot. And you know when this whole thing started, 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:20.919 I remember summer was the time when it wasn't going 0:23:21.000 --> 0:23:23.199 to be very contagious and wasn't going to be a 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:26.760 problem because people were going to be spending more time outside. 0:23:27.359 --> 0:23:30.840 So that hasn't been the case. What do you foresee 0:23:30.920 --> 0:23:34.000 for the fall and winter, more lockdowns? What do you 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:38.120 think is going to happen? I don't see lockdowns because 0:23:38.560 --> 0:23:43.720 there is substantial enough proportion of the population that it's 0:23:43.760 --> 0:23:49.040 fully vaccinated. Six there are seventy of the adults have 0:23:49.119 --> 0:23:52.879 at least a single dose that it was accomplished a 0:23:52.920 --> 0:23:56.040 couple of days ago, and we have more than eight 0:23:57.320 --> 0:24:02.600 of the elderly population that are vaccinated. Under those circumstances, 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:06.240 you're still going to have a lot of spread if 0:24:06.240 --> 0:24:09.800 we don't get that ninety three million people who are 0:24:09.840 --> 0:24:13.840 eligible to be vaccinated vaccinated, but you won't have such 0:24:13.840 --> 0:24:17.679 a situation that would trigger a lockdown. I would be 0:24:17.800 --> 0:24:22.919 very surprised if that happens. What you will have is 0:24:22.960 --> 0:24:28.520 spread of infection predominantly among the unvaccinated, and you will 0:24:28.560 --> 0:24:34.879 see hospitalizations predominantly among the unvaccinated as we go through 0:24:34.920 --> 0:24:38.560 the fall and into the winter if we don't very 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:44.119 aggressively get people vaccinated. We got so many comments about 0:24:44.359 --> 0:24:47.800 you and from people who deeply admire you, Dr Fauci 0:24:47.840 --> 0:24:50.720 and the job you've done. What's the best advice you've 0:24:50.720 --> 0:24:56.639 give been given about how to get through these tumultuous times. Well, 0:24:56.680 --> 0:24:58.360 I mean, I think what you need to do if 0:24:58.359 --> 0:25:01.159 you're in a position like I am, as a public 0:25:01.160 --> 0:25:04.920 health person and a scientist and person who develops vaccines, 0:25:05.400 --> 0:25:08.000 is to just focus on your job. We're in a 0:25:08.119 --> 0:25:11.960 very difficult position. We have things going against us. A, 0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:15.560 we have a very formidable virus and be we have 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:20.000 a very divisive society where you just can't run away 0:25:20.000 --> 0:25:22.399 from the fact that there's a lot of bad news 0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:26.639 politics going on here. We've got to focus on our job. 0:25:27.240 --> 0:25:30.040 And if you're not a medical person and you're trying 0:25:30.040 --> 0:25:35.000 to get just through this a get vaccinated and be 0:25:35.760 --> 0:25:38.919 obey or listen to as it were I wouldn't say 0:25:38.960 --> 0:25:41.879 obey because that's not an order. They're not ordering you 0:25:42.000 --> 0:25:45.919 do it, but listen to the recommendations of the c 0:25:46.040 --> 0:25:49.680 D c Dr Fauci. Always great to see you. Thank 0:25:49.720 --> 0:25:51.560 you so much for talking with me. You've got to 0:25:51.640 --> 0:25:55.359 reach people. However you can write yes, thank you for 0:25:55.440 --> 0:25:59.040 having me, Katie. It's always a pleasure to be with you. 0:26:04.240 --> 0:26:06.439 Next Question with Katie Couric is a production of I 0:26:06.600 --> 0:26:10.520 Heart Media and Katie Couric Media. The executive producers Army, 0:26:10.720 --> 0:26:15.240 Katie Couric, and Courtney Litz. The supervising producer is Lauren Hansen. 0:26:15.520 --> 0:26:20.919 Associate producers Derek Clements, Adrianna Fasio, and Emily Pinto. The 0:26:20.960 --> 0:26:24.520 show is edited and mixed by Derrek Clements. For more 0:26:24.560 --> 0:26:27.359 information about today's episode, or to sign up for my 0:26:27.440 --> 0:26:31.040 morning newsletter, wake Up Call, go to Katie currect dot com. 0:26:31.080 --> 0:26:33.760 You can also find me at Katie Curic on Instagram 0:26:33.800 --> 0:26:37.360 and all my social media channels. 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