WEBVTT - Vaccine Distribution and Potential Holiday Spikes

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser from Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Earlier you heard our David Weston catching up with Dr

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<v Speaker 1>Anthony Faucci talking about him about Dr Facci actually getting

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<v Speaker 1>the COVID nineteen vaccine and talking about that experience a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit more about where we are when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to the coronavirus. Great to have with us once again.

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<v Speaker 1>Also a really smart voice in one of our go

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<v Speaker 1>to voices when it comes to COVID is Bruce Farber.

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<v Speaker 1>He's chief of Infectious Diseases at north Well Health massive

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<v Speaker 1>hospital and healthcare system in New York State that has

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<v Speaker 1>seen so much when it comes to the virus and

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<v Speaker 1>also was where the first vaccination happened last week. I

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<v Speaker 1>believe it was the Visor vaccine at the north Well

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<v Speaker 1>Health System. Dr Farber joining us on the phone from Inhasset,

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<v Speaker 1>New York. Dr Farber, nice to have you back with us.

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<v Speaker 1>How are you. I'm well, Thanks for having me. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>tell me a little bit about the vaccine rollout, how

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<v Speaker 1>it's going at your hospital system. It's going well, It's

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<v Speaker 1>going to take a while. It's a massive effort. Um

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<v Speaker 1>So far, we have vaccinated a fairly large number of people.

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<v Speaker 1>I believe it's approaching I don't know, two thousand or so. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>We're rolling it out to priority groups, nurses on the

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<v Speaker 1>front line, UM, custodians on the front line, UM, your workers, hospitalists,

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<v Speaker 1>pulmonary critical care people, people working in the COVID units,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's going well. It's just a time consuming process,

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<v Speaker 1>and then eventually we will roll it out to the

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<v Speaker 1>general community. Do you say time consuming, what do you mean?

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<v Speaker 1>Just you mean in terms of the administration of it

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<v Speaker 1>and keeping track of it, and and just finding the

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<v Speaker 1>right people to make sure that the the priority people

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<v Speaker 1>are getting it or what. All of those things gone

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<v Speaker 1>by appointment only people cannot walk in. There has to

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<v Speaker 1>be social distancing. The patients are the people being vaccinated

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<v Speaker 1>have to be observed fifteen minutes, they have to be

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<v Speaker 1>observed for thirty minutes if they've had a history of

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<v Speaker 1>a severe allergic reaction to UH another product. And that

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<v Speaker 1>all just takes time because and and as you know,

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<v Speaker 1>this vaccine is very unforgiving. The the Madura vaccine is

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<v Speaker 1>only good for six hours after it's been thought and

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<v Speaker 1>the Fiser vaccine for a little bit longer, but has

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<v Speaker 1>the horrible freeze chain associated with it. So all of

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<v Speaker 1>these factors make this totally different than you know, influenza

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<v Speaker 1>at a at a drug store. Yeah, very different. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>have you gotten the vaccine? Yes, I have I got

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<v Speaker 1>last week. And what was your experience in getting it?

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<v Speaker 1>That was one of the things that we were kind

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<v Speaker 1>of intrigued listening to Dr Anthony Fauci kind of to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about the process and how it felt. Well. Quite frankly,

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<v Speaker 1>I was delighted. I couldn't wait to get the vaccine.

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<v Speaker 1>I um can't wait to get the second dose. To me,

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<v Speaker 1>it's an amazing vaccine. The efficacy is much better than

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<v Speaker 1>any of us had anticipated. And as you know, living

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<v Speaker 1>in New York or anywhere in the United States, COVID

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<v Speaker 1>is all around us, There's no question about it. So

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine itself was much less painful, and my side effects

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<v Speaker 1>were trivial. They left in six hours. I took tail

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<v Speaker 1>and all I felt a little, you know, malaise, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's it, right, And if you take a singles vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>or some other vaccines, you can feel that as well,

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<v Speaker 1>if not worse. Um. What's interesting is, though we were

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<v Speaker 1>having kind of internal discussions here around our newstable in

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<v Speaker 1>our studio of just this whole idea. This was off air,

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<v Speaker 1>but just it's kind of staggering how what we've had

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<v Speaker 1>to endure the last nine ten months because of COVID

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<v Speaker 1>and yet there are a lot of people and even

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<v Speaker 1>members of the medical community who are hesitant, especially in

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<v Speaker 1>the black communities, that are hesitant about taking this vaccine,

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<v Speaker 1>no question about it. I mean, that's a big problem,

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<v Speaker 1>and we need to communicate very well. As I have

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<v Speaker 1>said before, there are many loud voices against the vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>and there have not been enough voices pro vaccine UM.

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<v Speaker 1>But this disease is affecting the African American community in

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<v Speaker 1>a disproportionate manner. They have more cases, higher mortality UM

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<v Speaker 1>and many more cool mobidities that make the prognosis worse.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think it's essential that we gain their trust

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<v Speaker 1>and I think we need to reach out to them,

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<v Speaker 1>and we are in the process of doing that UM

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<v Speaker 1>at north Well, and I think more and more needs

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<v Speaker 1>to be done. And you're absolutely right, well what are

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<v Speaker 1>you doing in terms of of reaching out? And I'm

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<v Speaker 1>just curious because there is as you know, because of

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<v Speaker 1>the history that we've seen with the Black communities in

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<v Speaker 1>the past, UM with syphilis in terms of really being

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<v Speaker 1>treated poorly UM by the medical community. So I'm just curious,

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<v Speaker 1>how is that outreach going. I was talking with the

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<v Speaker 1>head of more House Medical College yesterday and she said,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, there are studies out there that show that

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<v Speaker 1>black individuals and Black Americans want to be treated by

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<v Speaker 1>black doctors and that that's where they find it, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>their comfort level, their efficacy in terms of treatment. So

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<v Speaker 1>I'm wondering, how is that outreach going and what are

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<v Speaker 1>you guys doing to to make sure that everybody who

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<v Speaker 1>needs to get this vaccine really gets it. Well, it

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<v Speaker 1>just started, and the initiation is with community groups with

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<v Speaker 1>leaders in the black community. A lot of them are

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<v Speaker 1>in churches and other community groups. And the concept is,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we're starting there, UM. So it's going to

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<v Speaker 1>take time, but there will be UM an outreach in

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<v Speaker 1>those communities. We will make it easy for people in

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<v Speaker 1>those communities to get vaccinated. Uh. They will be physically

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<v Speaker 1>near them. There's transportation issues, UM, and and there's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of work ahead of us to to do that

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<v Speaker 1>right right exactly, to to do that outreach. UM. Just

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<v Speaker 1>got about a minute here and then we'll take a

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<v Speaker 1>break and come back and talk somewhere. What are you

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<v Speaker 1>seeing in terms of COVID cases right now? There's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of them. Quite frankly, our census is uh slightly

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<v Speaker 1>more than a thousand at Northwell Health. Um, that's dramatically

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<v Speaker 1>higher than it was. It's you know, as close to

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<v Speaker 1>ten times as high as it was two months ago.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not as is the whatever number that we hit

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<v Speaker 1>in March, but it's very alarming and quite frankly, it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's a huge problem again. So Dr farber Um, I

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<v Speaker 1>was getting ready for a weekend show, kind of planning

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<v Speaker 1>for it, and it'll go out, um, you know, between

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<v Speaker 1>the holidays. And one of the things I wrote in

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<v Speaker 1>the introduction was, you know, we've been all predicting this

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<v Speaker 1>long dark winter, and it's really upon us, isn't it

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<v Speaker 1>when it comes to the vaccine, and really rather when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to the virus. Yeah, there's no question about it.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think we better double down on on the options,

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<v Speaker 1>the few options that we have until large segment of

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<v Speaker 1>the population gets vaccinated, hopefully by the spring. So I

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<v Speaker 1>think we should be very careful. It's dangerous out there

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<v Speaker 1>well and when it comes to you said, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you're seeing a lot more cases. You said, I think

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<v Speaker 1>a thousand at north while still below the peaks that

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<v Speaker 1>we saw in the springtime, but nonetheless a big jump

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<v Speaker 1>in cases. What kind of cases are you seeing? Is

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<v Speaker 1>it younger people, is it more manageable cases? What do

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<v Speaker 1>we know about kind of what kind of COVID cases

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<v Speaker 1>we're seeing at this point? Yeah, I mean, on a

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<v Speaker 1>positive note, UM, the mortality is much lower than it

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<v Speaker 1>was in the spring. Um our leape of stay is

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<v Speaker 1>much lower than it was in the spring, which makes uh,

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<v Speaker 1>which makes us have more bed capacity. We have not

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<v Speaker 1>had to shut down our essential services. UM. People are

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<v Speaker 1>doing better and I think a lot has changed since

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<v Speaker 1>the spring. We're smarter, UM, more knowledgeable, have better protocols

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<v Speaker 1>to take care of these patients. That's not to say

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<v Speaker 1>that it's a different virus. It is not UM and

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<v Speaker 1>the patient population is slightly younger than it was in

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<v Speaker 1>the spring, but not dramatically. Okay, that's interesting, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>still as lethal correct or has the potential to be. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>certainly has the potential to be. Our death rates are

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<v Speaker 1>much lower than they were in the spring. But yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it certainly can be lethal in terms of the death

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<v Speaker 1>rates being lower. Is that because as you said, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you guys, we've talked about this a lot on air

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<v Speaker 1>with with you and with others. You know, we didn't

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<v Speaker 1>have a playbook. We didn't have a medical playbook, and

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<v Speaker 1>so everybody was kind of learning as we were going.

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<v Speaker 1>But now we have a little bit of a playbook

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<v Speaker 1>in terms of how to treat patients, how to treat

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<v Speaker 1>patients differently and look at and look at the cases.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that fair? Is that why maybe it's not so

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<v Speaker 1>lethal lethal or the mortality rate is much lower. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>there's no question that there was a learning curve, not

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<v Speaker 1>to mention the overwhelming demand and the terrible situation with

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<v Speaker 1>the need to redeploy so many people UM and so

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<v Speaker 1>keeping it under control, knowing about better management of the

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<v Speaker 1>UM of the airway, avoiding the ventilator with high flow

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<v Speaker 1>oxygen and bypath which we're now doing keenly now, proning

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<v Speaker 1>uh DECCA drawn m dissevere uh ane coagulation. All of

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<v Speaker 1>those things have significantly improved the way UM people are managed,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's much more protocol driven than it was before.

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<v Speaker 1>So your understanding of how maybe the next month or so,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a couple of months look for us in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of k says and dealing with it. And then as

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<v Speaker 1>your understanding of further rollout and distribution of the vaccine,

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<v Speaker 1>what are your expectations for maybe what spring and summer

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe summer is maybe more realistic for us to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about what it looks like for maybe the New

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<v Speaker 1>York metro earlier area, maybe for the country overall. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm hopeful that by the summer things will be dramatically better.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think that we're going to be rid of

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<v Speaker 1>COVID anytime soon, and I still think people will be

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<v Speaker 1>We will be wearing masks in the summer, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what percent of the population will be

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<v Speaker 1>vaccinated by them, particularly with many people still afraid of

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<v Speaker 1>the vaccine. So I think it will be dramatically better,

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<v Speaker 1>but I don't think it's going to be gone. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think, well, you know, we also have to watch

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<v Speaker 1>these mutant viruses. Um This is an unpredictable virus, and

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<v Speaker 1>I think every time we underestimate it, we get burned.

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<v Speaker 1>Did the news out of the UK just got about

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<v Speaker 1>forty seconds left or the variant? Did that scare you

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit, Yes, quite frankly it does. Anytime this

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<v Speaker 1>virus mutates, it scares me. I think we'll be able

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<v Speaker 1>to handle this one. And it certainly doesn't seem to

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<v Speaker 1>be more virulent. It may be more infectious, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>but you've got to watch these mutants. That vaccine may

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<v Speaker 1>need to be changed someday, um, hopefully in the distant future,

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<v Speaker 1>but who knows. Yeah, well, it's just kind of unbelievable.

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<v Speaker 1>One headline after another. UM, thank you so much. I

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<v Speaker 1>know your world is busy and crazy and you've been

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<v Speaker 1>so kind to always find time for us. So thank

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<v Speaker 1>you so much. Have a safe and healthy holiday season.

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<v Speaker 1>Dr Bruce Farber his chief of infectious Diseases at North

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<v Speaker 1>While Health, as I said earlier, a massive hospital and

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<v Speaker 1>healthcare system in New York State. They have been dealing

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<v Speaker 1>with this virus and uh situation from day one here

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<v Speaker 1>in the New York metro area and kind of continue

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<v Speaker 1>to do in this next wave. Uh so. Dr Farber

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<v Speaker 1>joining us from Inhasset, New York,