1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlton. It's day three one 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Today's main story. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,240 Speaker 1: The c d c s new director has two tough 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: jobs ahead, responding to the pandemic and restoring the organization's 5 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: battered reputation. But first, here's what happened in virus news today. 6 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: Johnson and Johnson's one shot vaccine generated strong protection against 7 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen in a large, late stage trial. The news 8 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: raises hope that it can rapidly reshape a stumbling immunization campaign. 9 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: In a statement today, the company said that while the 10 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: vaccine was shown to prevent six of moderate to severe 11 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,479 Speaker 1: cases of COVID nineteen, it was particularly effective at keeping 12 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: people from getting severely ill. The shot also prevented one 13 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: of hospitalizations and deaths. J and J will deliver about 14 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: two million doses of its COVID nineteen vaccine when it 15 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: receives an emergency use authorization in the US. That's according 16 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,960 Speaker 1: to a government accountability report published yesterday. J and J 17 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:32,319 Speaker 1: plans to file with the U S Food and Drug 18 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: Administration for that authorization next week. The European Union's Drug 19 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: Regulator cleared a COVID nineteen vaccine from Astra Zenica and 20 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: the University of Oxford for all adults today. A shortfall 21 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: and expected deliveries has raised tensions between the company and 22 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:56,279 Speaker 1: the block. The Astra Oxford vaccine will be the third 23 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: available in the EU after shots from Fiser and modern Up, 24 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: and it could help alleviate the shortage of shots in 25 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: the region. The EU currently trails the UK and the 26 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: US in vaccinations. Finally, the spread of a new UK 27 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: strain of COVID nineteen stabilized or fell in most British regions, 28 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: with the country under a severe lockdown. That's even as 29 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: overall caseloads remained high. The news suggests the UK's restrictions 30 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: have helped arrest transmission of a strain officials have warned 31 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: is more deadly and easier to spread. And now for 32 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: today's main story for SHELL, Will Lensky, the new leader 33 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,519 Speaker 1: of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, faces two 34 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: difficult missions at the same time, leading the agency's COVID 35 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: nineteen response and trying to restore the agency's stature post Trump, 36 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: I spoke with John Tazzi about the job ahead for 37 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: Wilenski and how she plans to achieve it. President Biden 38 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: recently tapped Dr Rochelle Wilenski to be the new leader 39 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I'm just wondering, 40 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: you know, what do we know about her? What's her background? Sure? 41 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: Rachelle Wilenski is most recently was chief of Infectious Diseases 42 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: at Massachusetts General Hospital, prestigious hospital in Boston. She's a 43 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: professor at Harvard and basically has spent a career in 44 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: infectious disease care and research. She's done a lot of 45 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: work on HIV and AIDS and has advised national and 46 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: international organizations on HIV policy. UM So she's a well 47 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: respected and high profile infectious disease for position. And you know, 48 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: before going to c DC, she was actually treating patients 49 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: with COVID nineteen in in the hospital over the past year. 50 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: You know, what were some of the factors that led 51 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: the Biden administration to select her for this role. Yeah, 52 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: it's an interesting choice because she's not someone who's had um, 53 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: you know, leadership roles in public health before. Um you know, 54 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: she hasn't run a city or state Health Department. She 55 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: hasn't worked at c d C, but we know from 56 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: reporting that she came highly recommended by a number of people, 57 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: including Dr Anthony Faucci, who, um, you know, it's obviously 58 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: a Biden advisor and top infectious disease official in the US. 59 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: So I think you know, from from what we've heard, 60 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:55,160 Speaker 1: that fact she's sort of endorsement of Wilenski was an 61 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: important part of um, you know how she was chosen 62 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: for this position. You know, Dr Wilenski is stepping into 63 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: the leadership of this agency at a very troubling time. 64 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: You know, what are some of the big challenges and 65 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: issues she's going to be facing in her first few 66 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 1: weeks in the role. Yeah, I think it's really twofold. First, 67 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: there's obviously the COVID nineteen pandemic and trying to jump 68 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: into the US response, uh and really shift the response 69 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: in a different direction with a greater role for the 70 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: federal government under the Biden administration. Part of what face 71 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:42,039 Speaker 1: confronting is new variants of the virus that are emerging 72 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: that the CDC is trying to monitor and understand. She's 73 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: also facing the vaccine rollout, you know, so all these 74 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: sort of things in progress UM operationally that the CDC 75 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: has to respond to the second part of it, UM, 76 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: which is maybe as challenging or more, is that the 77 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: CDC as an institution has really been diminished over the 78 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: past year. They were often not at the kind of 79 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: forefront of the public response in the Trump administration. Their 80 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: briefings basically ceased very early into the pandemic in the US, 81 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: you know, and there was a lot of reporting about 82 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 1: how really political considerations interfered with their operations, and I 83 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: think so there's been a sort of a crisis of 84 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: um credibility of just visibility really at the c d C, 85 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: where this you know, renowned institution worldwide for public health 86 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: sort of suffered in some ways during during the response 87 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: to the pandemic that was so severe in the US. 88 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,920 Speaker 1: We should also mention that, you know, the CDC did 89 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: make some mistakes in in the response UM, you know, 90 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: and most notably very early on, there were problems with 91 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: the test kids used to detect the coronavirus in the 92 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: US that sort of blind decided the whole country. We 93 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: didn't have enough testing early on to understand how the 94 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: virus was spread, and you know, some people we talked to, 95 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: including the former director of the CDC under President Obama, 96 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: have called for, you know, an assessment and accounting for 97 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: what happened and how that happened. So has Dr Lensky 98 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: given an indication about how she might go about trying 99 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: to get this agency's reputation, particularly with regard to COVID 100 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: nineteen and the rollout in the US. How can she 101 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: get the CDC back on track. I think what she 102 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: has said, and you know, it's consistent with what the 103 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: Biden administration has said broadly, is that they're going to let, 104 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: you know, let the science and the facts speak and 105 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: kind of be able to showcase the work of the 106 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: career scientists at CDC um to make sure that those 107 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: folks and their research are getting to the public, that 108 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: federal messaging around the c d C S guidance is 109 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: prominent and clear. And you know, one of the first 110 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: things she did on the day she took office when 111 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: Biden was inaugurated, was to order a review of existing 112 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: CDC guidance on COVID nineteen and to sort of assess 113 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: what the agency has put out already and you know, 114 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: revise it if if appropriate. So you know, that's UM. 115 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: I think it's it's too early to kind of have 116 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:40,199 Speaker 1: a good sense of exactly what changes we might see, 117 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: but one of them certainly is, UM, you know, just 118 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: a higher profile for for the agency broadly and going 119 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,559 Speaker 1: forward with that, you know, under the Biden administration, what 120 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 1: will be or what can we expect to see as 121 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 1: far as the CDC in terms of perhaps new roles 122 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: or responsibilities that might differ from what we saw the 123 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: agency doing under say, the Trump administration. Yeah, it's a 124 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: good question, UM, and I think you know, a big 125 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: part of it will be that kind of broader public 126 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:16,559 Speaker 1: profile for the agency, for the director for career scientists. 127 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: You know, there are some specific things that Biden has 128 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: indicated he wants the CDC to do in the COVID 129 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: National Strategy that the President released early on. You know, 130 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: it's supposed to help expand testing with a sort of 131 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: testing support teams that will work in schools and potentially 132 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: other settings. It's going to create a testing plan for 133 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: the federal workforce. It's going to kind of update its 134 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: guidance and UM help you know, different UH stakeholders in 135 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: industry or in you know, states or other communities really 136 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,679 Speaker 1: be able to monitor the spread of COVID and kind 137 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: of understand when you know, how to spawned if the 138 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: virus is increasing or kind of really metrics driven guidance 139 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: is what they've focused. I think there's also, you know, 140 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: a big equity component that the agency is taking on 141 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: in terms of addressing COVID's impact in communities of color 142 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: or invulnerable communities, and particularly with the vaccine roll out 143 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 1: um you know, making sure that those communities are being 144 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: considered and being reached. So, you know, there's a lot 145 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,680 Speaker 1: on the agency's plate. I think it's still pretty early 146 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: to understand exactly what role it will take further along 147 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: in the Biden administration. That was John Tozzi, and that's 148 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: it for our show today. For coverage of the outbreak 149 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: from one bureaus around the world, visit Bloomberg dot com 150 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: slash coronavirus and if you like the show, please leave 151 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:00,079 Speaker 1: us a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 152 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: It's the best way to help more listeners find our 153 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:08,199 Speaker 1: global recording. The Prognosis Daily edition is produced by Top 154 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: foreheads Magnus Henrickson and me Laura Carlson. Today's main story 155 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: was reported by John Tozzi. Original music by Leo Sidrin. 156 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: Our editors are Rick Shine and Francesco Levi. Francesco Levi 157 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,600 Speaker 1: is Bloomberg's head of podcasts. Thanks for listening.