Is The “Double Mutant’ Variant As Scary As It Sounds? Dr. Mario Ramirez Weighs In | Katy Tur | MSNBC
A TOUR OF A VACCINATION SITE IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, AHEAD OF HIS REMARKS ON THE STATE OF THE VACCINE ROLLOUT NEXT HOUR. THE BIG HEADLINE WILL BE THE ANNOUNCEMENT ALL AMERICAN ADULTS WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A VACCINE ON APRIL 19th. THAT IS TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY. EARLIER THEN EXPECTED. THE PRESIDENT WILL LIKELY CREDIT A BETTER THAN EXPECTED ROLLOUT, MORE THAN 4 MILLION AMERICANS RECEIVED SHOTS ON SATURDAY ALONE, AND MORE THAN 167 MILLION DOSES HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUT SO FAR. THAT MEANS THE WHITE HOUSE IS ON TRACK TO BEAT ITS COLD OF 200 MILLION VACCINATIONS BY APRIL. AND WHILE SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY IS SEEING A SPIKE IN NEW CASES, DR. FAUCI SAYS HE’S HOPEFUL WITH THE SPEED AT WHICH VACCINES ARE BEING ROLLED OUT WILL PREVENT A SURGE IF WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW SAFETY PRECAUTIONS. >> AS LONG AS WE KEEP VACCINATING PEOPLE EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY, I DON’T THINK THAT WILL HAPPEN. THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE WILL SEE INCREASES IN CASES. WHETHER IT EXPLODES INTO A REAL SURGE OR NOT REMAINS TO BE SEEN, AND I THINK THE VACCINE WILL PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING. >> JOINING ME NOW, CORRESPONDENT PRISCILLA THOMPSON IN MICHIGAN, AND THE MANAGER OF OPPORTUNITY LABS, DR. RAMIREZ, HE SERVED AS PANDEMIC AND EMERGING THREATS COORDINATOR AT HHS DURING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, AND A WARNING TO BOTH OF YOU IF THE PRESIDENT COMES OUT I WILL HAVE TO INTERRUPT YOU. LET’S GET RIGHT INTO THIS. PRISCILLA, TELL US WHAT YOU CAN ABOUT WHAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE. >> Reporter: KATY, MICHIGAN HAS BEEN THE LEADING THE COUNTRY FOR THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS IN TERMS OF COVID-19 CASES, AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST — IN RECENT DAYS THEY HAVE SEEN SOME OF THEIR HIGHEST NUMBERS SINCE DECEMBER IN TERMS OF NEW CASES PER DAY, AND YOU MENTIONED PRESIDENT BIDEN WILL BE SPEAKING ABOUT EXPANDING VACCINE ACCESS AND THAT’S SOMETHING MICHIGAN DID JUST THIS WEEK, ALLOWING ANYBODY OVER THE AGE OF 16 TO RECEIVE THAT VACCINE. THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FROM WHAT WE ARE HEARING FROM HEALTH CARE WORKERS HERE AT A HOSPITAL IN LANSING, THE FARROW HOSPITAL HERE IN LANSING, BECAUSE PATIENTS IN THE EMERGENCY BEDS ARE 18 TO 49, AND PEOPLE WHO PRIOR TO THIS WEEK DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE VACCINE, AND I ASKED DOCTORS WHAT IS DRIVING THE SPREAD IN THAT COMMUNITY. TAKE A LISTEN TO WHAT ONE DOCTOR SHARED WITH ME. >> BECAUSE YOUNGER PEOPLE TEND TO MOVE AROUND MORE, AND MAYBE ARE A LITTLE LESS CAREFUL ON AVERAGE WITH THEIR ISOLATION OR DISTANCING AND USE OF PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY MAY THEREFORE BE MORE CONTAGIOUS BEFORE THEY BECOME ILL ENOUGH TO BE IN THE HOSPITAL OR ISOLATED AT HOME, AND THAT, I THINK, IS PART OF WHAT’S MAKING A SPIKE IF YOU WILL WORSE ALONG WITH THE VARIANTS WE’RE STARTING TO SEE. >> Reporter: THE OTHER BIG QUESTION HERE, OF COURSE, IS WILL THERE BE ENOUGH SUPPLY TO MEET THIS NEW DEMAND. WE KNOW THE WHITE HOUSE IS SENDING ADDITIONAL 60,000 SHOTS TO MICHIGAN THIS WEEK AND IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO HEAR IF ANYTHING THE PRESIDENT HAS TO SAY ABOUT THAT, KATY. >> THANK YOU. DR. MARAMIREZ, WHAT IS YOUR SENS RIGHT NOW, AND WE HAVE THE GUIDELINES FROM THE CDC ON VACCINATED AMERICANS BEING ABLE TO TRAVEL, AND ALSO THE GUIDELINES ABOUT HOW IT’S NOT VERY COMMON TO GET THIS VIRUS FROM TOUCHING A SURFACE, AND THEN YOU ALSO HAVE THE SPIKES LIKE PRISCILLA WAS REPORTING ON IN MICHIGAN. WHERE ARE WE AT THE MOMENT? >> SURE, WE’RE SEEING TWO COMPETING TRENDS, KATY, AND THE FIRST IS CASE COUNTS ARE INCREASING IN ABOUT HALF OF THE STATE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THEY SEEM LIKE THEY ARE GOING UP IN YOUNGER FOLKS AS WAS JUST DISCUSSED, THOSE PEOPLE AGE 20 TO 50. THE OTHER TREND WE ARE SEEING, THOUGH, IS HOSPITALIZATIONS AND CASES ARE GOING DOWN IN THOSE PERSONS ALREADY VACCINATED, THOSE OLDER AMERICANS. AND THAT’S WHAT WE EXPECTED TO SEE, RIGHT, WE VACCINATED OLDER AMERICANS FIRST AND CASES SHOULD BE GOING DOWN IN THAT GROUP AND THAT TELLS US VACCINES ARE WORKING. AND THE THIRD PIECE THAT HAS FOLKS CONCERNED, IS THE RATE OF INCREASE OR ACCELERATION OF NEW CASES IN THAT YOUNG GROUP SEEMS TO BE PICKING UP SPEED, AND THAT’S WHY WE ARE HEARING THE MIXED MESSAGES, AND THE TAKE HOME MESSAGE IS TO GET AS MANY YOUNG PEOPLE VACCINATED AS WELL TO BLUNT THE SURGE. >> YOU CAN SEE JOE BIDEN, THE PRESIDENT HAS ENTERED THE VACCINATION SITE AND WE WILL GO THERE WHEN HE SPEAKS. THIS IS A SCARY SOUNDING NAME, A DOUBLE MUTANT VARIANT. IS IT AS SCARY AS THE NAME SOUNDS? >> NO, I DON’T THINK SO KATY. RIGHT? THIS IS PART OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS WHERE WE CONTINUE TO DISCOVER AND SEQUENCE THESE THINGS, AND THERE WILL BE MANY NEW VARIANTS IN THE FUTURE. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THIS DOUBLE MUTANT, RIGHT, IS IT HAS TWO VARIANTS THAT WE HAVE SEEN IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT WE HAVE COMBINED IN A SINGLE STRAIN, AND THE VACCINES THAT DO WORK AGAINST THE INDIVIDUAL STRAINS, AND SO IT SHOULD BE WORKING AGAINST THE DOUBLE MUTANT, AND I CAUTION FOLKS TO GET TOO WORKED UP WHEN WE SAY THERE’S ANOTHER DOUBLE VARIANT WE’RE DISCOVERING.
Joining Katy Tur to discuss the latest in covid vaccines, variants and spikes is NBC News Now Correspondent Priscilla Thompson, who is in Lansing, Michigan, and the Managing Director of Opportunity Labs, Dr. Mario Ramirez. He served as Pandemic and Emerging Threats Coordinator at HHS during the Obama Administration. Aired on 04/6/2021.
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About Katy Tur: Katy Tur is an NBC News Correspondent and anchor of the 2 p.m. ET hour of “MSNBC Live.” A dogged journalist, Tur emerged as a breakout broadcaster in 2016 while covering the entirety of the Trump campaign across all platforms for NBC News and MSNBC.
MSNBC delivers breaking news, in-depth analysis of politics headlines, as well as commentary and informed perspectives. Find video clips and segments from The Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, Meet the Press Daily, The Beat with Ari Melber, Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace, Hardball, All In, Last Word, 11th Hour, and more.
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Is The “Double Mutant’ Variant As Scary As It Sounds? Dr. Mario Ramirez Weighs In | Katy Tur | MSNBC