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Hello everyone and welcome . I'm so 

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delighted you're with us here today . 

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I'm Kathy Roth UK , the Ceo and founder 

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of Blue Star Families . We are your 

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military family veteran family 

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organization here to support you in 

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your military lifestyle journey 

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throughout the pandemic . We've walked 

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beside you getting answers to your 

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pandemic related questions from leaders 

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in our government and military . 

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Throughout this hour , you'll you'll 

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hear from our leaders about what's 

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going on today . We have the 

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opportunity for you to submit questions 

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to our live chat feature on our website . 

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Um if you are watching us on one of our 

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other hosted live streams , either 

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through the D O . D . Or Military Times 

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and you have a question , you can come 

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to the Blue Star Families website to 

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submit to the chat . We've also 

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collected your questions upon 

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registration . Blue Star Families is 

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very excited to carry this content 

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today because we care about our forces 

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and their families . We want to help 

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keep you and your family safe . We want 

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to help you get the answers you need . 

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We are all about collaboration and we 

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are very grateful for the scientists , 

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the experts at the Department of 

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Defense at the V . A . And throughout 

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government who are joining us today and 

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with that it is my great pleasure to 

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introduce a friend of Blue Star 

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families and our military community . 

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Dr Tony Fauci um Dr Fauci , thank you 

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so much for joining us a third time is 

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a real pleasure for me to see you . I 

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know you know and many of our viewers 

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know that Covid has had an outsized 

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effect on our military force , not only 

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because it disrupts our lives more than 

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most because of the impact on our pcs 

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moves and getting resettled into 

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communities . But national guardsmen 

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are deployed at an unprecedented amount 

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badly . Covid . Just recently , the 

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president activated 1000 more National 

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Guard members on top of the guardsmen 

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activated by local state forces , 

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creating a bigger burden on the mission . 

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And so getting the pandemic under 

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control means a lot to our mission 

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means a lot to us that you're here 

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today . Can I invite you to kick us off 

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with a few words before . Thank you 

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very much Kathy . It's really a great 

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pleasure really . I mean that to have 

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the opportunity to interact with such 

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an extraordinary organization given the 

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profound respect I have for our 

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military and our military families . Um , 

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we're dealing as we all know now with 

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an unprecedented outbreak with COVID-19 

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that continually re challenges us with 

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new variants . We've gone from the 

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original strain , the ancestral strain 

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through alpha and Beta and Delta . And 

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now we're dealing with a micron , which 

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is very unusual because of its 

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extraordinary capability of spreading 

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so efficiently from human to human . We 

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are now having record numbers of cases , 

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record numbers of hospitalizations and 

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we are still at a situation We're 

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approaching about 2000 deaths or so per 

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day . So even though there are things 

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we can chat about , you know , our Q 

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and A and our discussion about the 

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nature of a micron as the fact that it 

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is known now through multiple 

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observations in different countries to 

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be inherently a bit less severe . 

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Nonetheless , the sheer volume of 

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infections is making this a real 

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challenge . So just with that as a 

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brief introduction and expressing my 

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delight at being with , you would be 

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happy to answer any questions that you 

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have . So thank you . Thank you . I 

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have a lot of questions so I'll jump 

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right in because I know people are 

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waiting . Um when do you think if you 

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can say , when do you think the current 

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surge will peak and decline ? Well 

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Kathy , it's not going to be uniform 

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throughout the country because we have 

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different dynamics from different 

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regions of the country right now . 

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There's no doubt that in new york city 

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and other parts of new york state and 

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in New Jersey it has already peaked and 

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is rather dramatically on its way down . 

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We're seeing that also in bigger cities 

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such as Chicago . Whereas in cities in 

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the south it has not yet peaked and 

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likely will have more of a slower 

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incline and a slower decline such as in 

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places like New Orleans and in other 

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cities in Louisiana that I've had the 

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opportunity to have good conversations 

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with our health authorities down there . 

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Getting back to when the entire country , 

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we'll be in a situation where it turns 

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around , I think as I mentioned , we're 

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already starting to see that in some 

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cities . I would imagine as we get into 

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february , into the middle of february 

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1st few weeks of february , it is very 

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likely that most of the states in the 

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country will have turned around with 

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their peak and are starting to come 

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down with regard to cases and then 

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obviously hospitalizations . Okay . Is 

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the warmer weather our friend with this 

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or is it not really related ? Well , I 

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put it another way , Kathy the warmer 

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weather may not be our friend , but the 

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colder weather is definitely our enemy . 

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And the reason I say that is that this 

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virus , unlike other respiratory 

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viruses does pretty well in the warm 

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weather when people are outside as 

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opposed to inside any respiratory 

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infection is less likely to spread 

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since respiratory infections spread 

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where there is enclosed places with 

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poor ventilation . You get that mostly 

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in the winter because of the colder 

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weather throughout most regions of the 

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country . And that's one of the reasons 

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why one of the Tenants of good public 

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health practices that when you are 

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indoors in a congregate setting even 

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though you're vaccinated and boosted , 

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you still should wear a mask Makes a 

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lot of sense . So thank you . This next 

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question is is mine . I snuck it in but 

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a lot of other people ask you to , we 

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hear a lot , we need to learn to live 

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with the virus . But what exactly does 

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that mean ? And and do you think that's 

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true ? Well it's true in some respects . 

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As long as you don't over interpret it 

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when you say live with the virus , you 

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mean to get the level of spread in the 

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community with its subsequent impact on 

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severe disease and hospitalization that 

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you get it to such a low level that in 

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fact it is indistinguishable from many 

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of the other respiratory infections 

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that we've learned to deal with and 

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live with like respiratory since sexual 

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virus , RsV , para influenza , 

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adenovirus and influenza of course . So 

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getting it down to a low enough level 

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that it doesn't disrupt our lives , our 

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economy and doesn't create continual 

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fear of illness , severe illness in the 

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community . For one thing is for sure 

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Cathy we're not there yet Because when 

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you have a 156,000 people in the 

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hospital and 800,000 new cases a day 

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and 2000 deaths per day , that's not a 

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level that we want to learn to live 

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with . We've got to get that level much , 

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much lower than that . Yeah , that's a 

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that's a that's a very clear and I 

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think an important message for us and 

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it leads into my next question for 

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individual families , what's the best 

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way , what's the best way to keep the 

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family safe when we leave the house ? 

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Well , there are some fundamental 

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tenets of public health with covid that 

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I know many of the families are already 

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practicing is that is to get vaccinated 

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and if you are vaccinated , make sure 

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you get your boost within five months . 

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If it's an MRNA in two months . If it's 

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a J and J , the other is to be very 

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prudent in what you do . For example , 

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if you go into congregate settings , 

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indoor congregate settings and you do 

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not know of what the status is of the 

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people around you absolutely wear a 

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well fitted high quality mask . And 

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where it consistently . The other thing 

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that you could do is that when you were 

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engaged in social interactions like 

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you're having family dinners or friends 

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over for dinner , if you have the 

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opportunity , you might want to take 

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the extra step of getting a rapid test . 

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One of those antigen tests , Which is 

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not 100% sensitive , but they are very 

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helpful in giving you a field , 

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particularly if you do more than one 

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test as to whether or not you might 

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have an infection that's without any 

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symptoms that you might inadvertently 

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spread it within the family unit ? 

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Terrific . Um in terms of Children , is 

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there , should we be using in 95 candy 

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95 masks for Children right now . And 

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is there a difference between those two 

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options ? Well , the most important 

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thing for anyone is to wear the highest 

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quality mask that fits well and 

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that you can tolerate , namely you 

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don't want the very , very best of the 

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mask and you can't keep it on for any 

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more than 10 or 15 minutes . So it's a 

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combination . The best mask you can get . 

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And the order of gradation is n 95 . 

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Clearly the best kn 95 Next multiple 

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ply surgical masks and cloth masks , if 

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you get a good fit . The one thing that 

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the CDC says that's very important is 

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that any mask is better than no mask . 

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That's the first thing . And if you're 

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going to wear a mask , one needs to be 

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well fitted . Which gets to your real 

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question is , what about Children ? We 

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don't have really standard , easily 

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available N 95 masks for Children . We 

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will be getting them and they're being 

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ordered and will be distributed not 

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only in 95 but K and 95 for a 

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child in which you don't know what to 

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do . If you get a multiple ply mask , 

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that's a cloth mask that fits to the 

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child , That's the best thing . If you 

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can get a Children pediatric surgical 

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mask , that would also be good . 

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Wonderful . So here's one for a sound 

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bite . If someone had only 30 seconds 

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with someone , what do you think is the 

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most compelling argument you found to 

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persuade someone to either vaccinate or 

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wear a mask ? Yeah . Look at the 

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statistics , they are stunningly 

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impressive . If you look at people who 

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are unvaccinated compared to vaccinated . 

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The latest statistics are an 

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unvaccinated person has a 10 times 

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greater chance of getting infected . A 

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17 times greater chance of getting 

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hospitalized and a 20 times greater 

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chance of dying compared to a 

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vaccinated person . Those statistics 

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alone should get you to be really 

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enthusiastic about protecting yourself 

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and your family also masks clearly 

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now have shown to be very effective and 

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not only protecting you from getting 

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infected but protecting you from 

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transmitting it to someone else . Yeah . 

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Those are really compelling numbers . 

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Would you just tell me the numbers one 

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more time because I'm going to use them 

274
00:11:23,990 --> 00:11:27,480
as a manager unvaccinated compared to 

275
00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,770
vaccinated ? Unvaccinated as a 10 times 

276
00:11:30,770 --> 00:11:33,760
greater chance of being infected . A 17 

277
00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:35,680
time chance greater of getting 

278
00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:38,340
hospitalized and a 20 times greater 

279
00:11:38,340 --> 00:11:40,840
chance of dying when you compare it to 

280
00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,800
a vaccinated person . Yeah . Right . 10 

281
00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,890
1720 or one if you get it right . I 

282
00:11:46,890 --> 00:11:50,720
like it . Okay . Um so we 

283
00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:52,831
talked about getting the booster five 

284
00:11:52,831 --> 00:11:54,776
months after the M . N . R . A two 

285
00:11:54,776 --> 00:11:56,887
months after the J . And J . But what 

286
00:11:56,887 --> 00:12:00,180
happens after 2 , 56 months after that 

287
00:12:00,180 --> 00:12:03,510
booster ? Are we doing that fourth shot ? 

288
00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:05,942
We don't know that yet , Kathy , that's 

289
00:12:05,942 --> 00:12:08,053
a great question . A very appropriate 

290
00:12:08,053 --> 00:12:10,276
question . We do not know at this point 

291
00:12:10,276 --> 00:12:12,740
With the durability of the protection 

292
00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,150
afforded by the 3rd shot . We're 

293
00:12:16,150 --> 00:12:18,570
studying that very carefully . If the 

294
00:12:18,570 --> 00:12:20,720
protection diminishes and I mean 

295
00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:22,831
clinical protection because without a 

296
00:12:22,831 --> 00:12:25,630
doubt the antibody levels will go down . 

297
00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,200
That's a natural phenomenon . You get 

298
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,360
vaccinated , you get a high level of 

299
00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,471
antibody and it starts to come down . 

300
00:12:32,471 --> 00:12:34,582
it has to be that way . Otherwise you 

301
00:12:34,582 --> 00:12:36,804
would have such high levels of antibody 

302
00:12:36,804 --> 00:12:38,916
to every single thing you get exposed 

303
00:12:38,916 --> 00:12:40,749
to that . You'd wind up having a 

304
00:12:40,749 --> 00:12:42,850
difficult physiological problem . 

305
00:12:42,860 --> 00:12:46,420
However the critical issue is how long 

306
00:12:46,420 --> 00:12:49,120
does the protection against significant 

307
00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,650
disease last and significant disease is 

308
00:12:52,650 --> 00:12:55,540
highly symptomatic in a hospital or 

309
00:12:55,540 --> 00:12:57,910
dying . That's the thing you need to 

310
00:12:57,910 --> 00:13:00,560
worry about as opposed to the number of 

311
00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:03,760
cases that you prevent , particularly 

312
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:05,593
if many of the cases are without 

313
00:13:05,593 --> 00:13:09,240
symptoms . If someone's 

314
00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,020
gotten a macron , they got their their 

315
00:13:12,030 --> 00:13:14,141
first shot , their second shot , they 

316
00:13:14,141 --> 00:13:16,197
got their booster , they've gotten a 

317
00:13:16,197 --> 00:13:18,141
micron . Should they have a higher 

318
00:13:18,141 --> 00:13:20,141
degree of confidence about their um 

319
00:13:20,141 --> 00:13:22,308
their their protective factors or they 

320
00:13:22,308 --> 00:13:24,252
really just at the same place that 

321
00:13:24,252 --> 00:13:26,363
someone who hasn't gotten sick . No , 

322
00:13:26,363 --> 00:13:28,530
no , actually that's a good question . 

323
00:13:28,530 --> 00:13:30,586
If a person is infected and recovers 

324
00:13:30,586 --> 00:13:33,570
and then gets vaccinated , the level of 

325
00:13:33,570 --> 00:13:36,670
their protection is extremely high . 

326
00:13:36,780 --> 00:13:40,230
And also if someone gets vaccinated 

327
00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:42,350
boosted and then gets a breakthrough 

328
00:13:42,350 --> 00:13:44,450
infection , the level of their 

329
00:13:44,450 --> 00:13:47,060
subsequent protection is very , very 

330
00:13:47,060 --> 00:13:50,020
high . So natural infection with or 

331
00:13:50,020 --> 00:13:52,298
without vaccination is good protection . 

332
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,329
But natural infection followed by 

333
00:13:54,329 --> 00:13:56,400
vaccination , it really gives you a 

334
00:13:56,410 --> 00:13:59,710
very high level of protection and I do 

335
00:13:59,710 --> 00:14:01,821
hear from folks I've gotten it once , 

336
00:14:01,821 --> 00:14:03,988
I've gotten it twice . I don't need to 

337
00:14:03,988 --> 00:14:05,988
get vaccinated . Can you respond to 

338
00:14:05,988 --> 00:14:08,520
that ? Yeah , I mean I don't think you 

339
00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:11,350
can deny that if you've been infected 

340
00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,270
even once or twice that you're not 

341
00:14:14,270 --> 00:14:16,437
going to have a degree of protection , 

342
00:14:16,437 --> 00:14:18,603
you will , that's just a fact . But if 

343
00:14:18,603 --> 00:14:20,770
you want to get an optimal degree , an 

344
00:14:20,770 --> 00:14:22,810
even greater degree of protection , 

345
00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,460
there is no doubt that vaccination 

346
00:14:25,940 --> 00:14:28,670
following infection gives you a very 

347
00:14:28,670 --> 00:14:32,400
high level of protection . Um 

348
00:14:32,410 --> 00:14:34,830
Yes , dr Fauci I know you know that a 

349
00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,460
lot of people in the country are weary 

350
00:14:37,940 --> 00:14:39,940
um but no one has a right to be any 

351
00:14:39,940 --> 00:14:42,051
more weary than you do because you've 

352
00:14:42,051 --> 00:14:43,940
been working with this longer and 

353
00:14:43,940 --> 00:14:46,051
harder and deeper and with a lot more 

354
00:14:46,051 --> 00:14:48,510
saurus than most people have . So how 

355
00:14:48,510 --> 00:14:51,130
do you keep your energy up in your 

356
00:14:51,130 --> 00:14:53,360
positivity ? What can you offer to 

357
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,960
folks to keep keep ourselves positive ? 

358
00:14:56,340 --> 00:14:59,600
Well , I'm not sure I can offer it to 

359
00:14:59,610 --> 00:15:02,000
regular people who are out there doing 

360
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,350
their things because what I'm doing is 

361
00:15:05,350 --> 00:15:07,520
something really unusual . It's my 

362
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,740
responsibility to not only protect 

363
00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:13,380
myself and my family , which we do by 

364
00:15:13,380 --> 00:15:15,330
vaccination and mask wearing and 

365
00:15:15,330 --> 00:15:17,570
boosting etcetera , but it's my 

366
00:15:17,570 --> 00:15:21,010
responsibility for the science and the 

367
00:15:21,010 --> 00:15:23,010
public health to protect the entire 

368
00:15:23,010 --> 00:15:26,120
nation and indirectly , really the rest 

369
00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,287
of the world because the United States 

370
00:15:28,287 --> 00:15:31,100
is such a leader in the global health 

371
00:15:31,110 --> 00:15:34,930
response to this pandemic . So I I 

372
00:15:34,930 --> 00:15:37,440
stay very , very focused and although 

373
00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,330
it's exhausting and although I really 

374
00:15:40,330 --> 00:15:42,497
literally haven't had a day off in two 

375
00:15:42,497 --> 00:15:45,790
years . Um the fact is if you focus on 

376
00:15:45,790 --> 00:15:48,110
what your goal is and what your 

377
00:15:48,110 --> 00:15:50,980
responsibility is , you don't have time 

378
00:15:50,980 --> 00:15:53,202
to think about being exhausted or being 

379
00:15:53,202 --> 00:15:55,680
tired . You just want to end it , get 

380
00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:57,847
it over with , get the country back to 

381
00:15:57,847 --> 00:15:59,870
normality and then I'll worry about 

382
00:15:59,870 --> 00:16:03,030
taking a rest . You know , I think that 

383
00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,300
resonates a lot for me and probably for 

384
00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:07,750
a lot of our community because for 

385
00:16:07,750 --> 00:16:09,528
those of us who are part of the 

386
00:16:09,528 --> 00:16:11,694
military community were very motivated 

387
00:16:11,694 --> 00:16:13,917
around the mission of protecting people 

388
00:16:13,917 --> 00:16:16,028
in the country . For those of us that 

389
00:16:16,028 --> 00:16:17,861
blue star families and our other 

390
00:16:17,861 --> 00:16:19,472
military and veteran support 

391
00:16:19,472 --> 00:16:21,472
organizations were really motivated 

392
00:16:21,472 --> 00:16:23,528
around supporting the force . And we 

393
00:16:23,528 --> 00:16:25,639
see that this pandemic is a threat to 

394
00:16:25,639 --> 00:16:27,806
our forces , a threat to our readiness 

395
00:16:27,806 --> 00:16:30,028
and it's a threat to our emissions . As 

396
00:16:30,028 --> 00:16:32,194
I mentioned , we're using the National 

397
00:16:32,194 --> 00:16:31,730
Guard , which is not inappropriate , 

398
00:16:31,730 --> 00:16:33,897
but we're using them to fight covid at 

399
00:16:33,897 --> 00:16:36,119
home . That means they're not available 

400
00:16:36,119 --> 00:16:38,286
available to train and be prepared for 

401
00:16:38,286 --> 00:16:41,010
external national security um 

402
00:16:41,020 --> 00:16:43,820
challenges . And because we live in our 

403
00:16:43,820 --> 00:16:45,660
communities , we are constantly 

404
00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:47,882
exposing our force to the risk of being 

405
00:16:47,882 --> 00:16:49,938
infected . Which if we could all get 

406
00:16:49,938 --> 00:16:52,980
together and uh create community level 

407
00:16:52,980 --> 00:16:55,740
protection , we wouldn't be um , we 

408
00:16:55,740 --> 00:16:57,740
won't be at risk for , so maybe for 

409
00:16:57,740 --> 00:16:59,851
those of us in our community , we can 

410
00:16:59,851 --> 00:17:03,170
take that same mission uh focused to 

411
00:17:03,170 --> 00:17:05,114
keep keep our energy going because 

412
00:17:05,114 --> 00:17:07,226
we're doing something bigger than our 

413
00:17:07,226 --> 00:17:09,392
day to day lives . Right . Well , that 

414
00:17:09,392 --> 00:17:11,720
is true . I think that the idea of 

415
00:17:11,820 --> 00:17:14,180
sacrifice and devotion to a cause is 

416
00:17:14,180 --> 00:17:17,000
really the hallmark of the military and 

417
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,167
their families . So I think we're very 

418
00:17:19,167 --> 00:17:21,333
much in the same boat in that regard . 

419
00:17:21,333 --> 00:17:25,180
Yeah . Um would you consider 

420
00:17:25,190 --> 00:17:28,750
the vaccine to be putting 

421
00:17:28,750 --> 00:17:31,060
something unnatural in your body ? This 

422
00:17:31,060 --> 00:17:33,227
is something that I sometimes hear , I 

423
00:17:33,227 --> 00:17:35,338
don't want to put something unnatural 

424
00:17:35,338 --> 00:17:37,116
in my mind . Well , what's more 

425
00:17:37,116 --> 00:17:39,282
unnatural than the vaccine is actually 

426
00:17:39,282 --> 00:17:42,130
the infection itself ? So I mean I 

427
00:17:42,130 --> 00:17:45,370
think people need to understand that 

428
00:17:45,380 --> 00:17:47,690
the using the word unnatural is really 

429
00:17:47,690 --> 00:17:49,857
inappropriate . You're doing something 

430
00:17:49,857 --> 00:17:52,030
that before it goes into the general 

431
00:17:52,030 --> 00:17:55,050
population has been tested on tens of 

432
00:17:55,050 --> 00:17:58,440
thousands of people for safety and 

433
00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:01,460
effectiveness . And right now globally 

434
00:18:01,940 --> 00:18:04,240
We've distributed about nine billion 

435
00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,190
doses of the vaccine in the United 

436
00:18:07,190 --> 00:18:09,460
States . You know , we have 

437
00:18:10,740 --> 00:18:14,460
literally um hundreds of 

438
00:18:14,460 --> 00:18:17,770
millions of courses of vaccinations 

439
00:18:17,770 --> 00:18:21,360
that have been uh delivered . We have 

440
00:18:21,610 --> 00:18:25,060
63% of the entire population Has been 

441
00:18:25,060 --> 00:18:27,680
fully vaccinated , 72% of received at 

442
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:29,800
least one dose . We have a lot of 

443
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,250
experience . So people who say , well 

444
00:18:32,260 --> 00:18:34,371
I'm not quite sure about it . This is 

445
00:18:34,371 --> 00:18:36,538
something unnatural . Just look at the 

446
00:18:36,538 --> 00:18:39,560
experience . Together with the data 

447
00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:41,616
that I gave you about the difference 

448
00:18:41,616 --> 00:18:44,160
between an unvaccinated person and a 

449
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,790
vaccinated person with regard to 

450
00:18:46,790 --> 00:18:49,360
disease , hospitalization and deaths . 

451
00:18:52,340 --> 00:18:56,200
Um , here's another question . Um uh 

452
00:18:56,210 --> 00:18:58,710
could you explain scientifically or 

453
00:18:58,710 --> 00:19:01,210
medically how the um akron variant 

454
00:19:01,210 --> 00:19:03,570
affects individuals differently than 

455
00:19:03,570 --> 00:19:06,210
the original variants or the delta 

456
00:19:06,220 --> 00:19:08,960
variant affected people . It doesn't 

457
00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:10,600
really affect them in a in a 

458
00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,430
substantially different way because the 

459
00:19:13,430 --> 00:19:15,263
way you get infected through the 

460
00:19:15,263 --> 00:19:17,263
respiratory tract you can either be 

461
00:19:17,263 --> 00:19:19,374
without symptoms , mildly symptomatic 

462
00:19:19,374 --> 00:19:21,690
or you can get severely ill . The one 

463
00:19:21,690 --> 00:19:25,560
thing that is somewhat of a positive 

464
00:19:26,140 --> 00:19:30,020
is that on a case by case basis in data 

465
00:19:30,020 --> 00:19:32,020
that we've gotten from South africa 

466
00:19:32,020 --> 00:19:33,909
from the U . K . And now a lot of 

467
00:19:33,909 --> 00:19:36,670
accumulating data in the United States 

468
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:39,600
indicates that on a case by case basis 

469
00:19:39,610 --> 00:19:43,210
a micron is less severe . In other 

470
00:19:43,210 --> 00:19:46,180
words , less likelihood of being 

471
00:19:46,180 --> 00:19:49,610
hospitalized longer . 

472
00:19:49,690 --> 00:19:53,240
Excuse me , shorter time of duration of 

473
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,860
being in the hospital , less of a 

474
00:19:55,860 --> 00:19:58,850
requirement from mechanical ventilation . 

475
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,780
That's the good news . The sobering 

476
00:20:01,780 --> 00:20:05,120
news is that a macron is so 

477
00:20:05,260 --> 00:20:08,740
extraordinarily efficient in spreading 

478
00:20:08,740 --> 00:20:11,710
from person to person that the sheer 

479
00:20:11,710 --> 00:20:15,450
volume and numbers of infected people 

480
00:20:15,940 --> 00:20:19,230
can counter and obviate the positive 

481
00:20:19,230 --> 00:20:23,020
aspect of it being less virulent . 

482
00:20:23,020 --> 00:20:26,870
For example , as a you know 

483
00:20:26,870 --> 00:20:30,050
as a an analogy if you have 

484
00:20:31,540 --> 00:20:34,940
An infection that infects 50% 50 

485
00:20:34,940 --> 00:20:38,490
people and 10% of the infections are 

486
00:20:38,490 --> 00:20:41,610
serious , Then you have five serious 

487
00:20:41,610 --> 00:20:45,060
infections . However if you have a 

488
00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:48,670
virus That only 1% of the people 

489
00:20:49,140 --> 00:20:51,940
get serious But 500 of them are 

490
00:20:51,940 --> 00:20:55,180
infected . You add the math and you 

491
00:20:55,180 --> 00:20:56,791
have more seriously infected 

492
00:20:56,791 --> 00:20:59,550
individuals than with the less virulent 

493
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,180
virus . That's why we can't be 

494
00:21:02,180 --> 00:21:05,460
complacent when it comes to a micron . 

495
00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,130
Um , well I'm a chronic or delta come 

496
00:21:10,130 --> 00:21:12,352
back in a wave or once they come and go 

497
00:21:12,352 --> 00:21:15,260
they're gone . Well , you know , one of 

498
00:21:15,260 --> 00:21:18,230
the things that is peculiar about 

499
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,430
coronavirus is that's different than 

500
00:21:21,430 --> 00:21:24,550
smallpox or measles 

501
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,810
is that smallpox , once you get 

502
00:21:27,810 --> 00:21:30,170
infected , you're protected for life 

503
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,440
mostly because smallpox doesn't mutate 

504
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,990
very much your change . So if you get 

505
00:21:35,990 --> 00:21:38,580
re exposed to smallpox , you're not 

506
00:21:38,580 --> 00:21:40,850
gonna get reinfected . The same holds 

507
00:21:40,850 --> 00:21:44,210
true for measles measles . Once you get 

508
00:21:44,210 --> 00:21:47,610
infected , you're , you are protected 

509
00:21:47,610 --> 00:21:50,830
for life mostly because measles doesn't 

510
00:21:50,830 --> 00:21:53,550
change that much . The reason I can't 

511
00:21:53,550 --> 00:21:56,720
say the same thing for our micron or 

512
00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,610
fidel to is that the durability of the 

513
00:22:00,610 --> 00:22:04,000
protection isn't life long . So you 

514
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,111
could be protected for a few months , 

515
00:22:06,111 --> 00:22:08,333
five months , six months , seven months 

516
00:22:08,333 --> 00:22:10,556
a year , two years , who knows ? But it 

517
00:22:10,556 --> 00:22:13,010
isn't lifelong . So there is the 

518
00:22:13,010 --> 00:22:16,150
likelihood that if you get exposed over 

519
00:22:16,150 --> 00:22:18,860
a period of time that you might get 

520
00:22:18,860 --> 00:22:21,170
reinfected , which is the reason why 

521
00:22:21,540 --> 00:22:23,762
getting back to a previous question you 

522
00:22:23,762 --> 00:22:27,030
asked me why it's important even though 

523
00:22:27,030 --> 00:22:30,580
you have been infected with delta or 

524
00:22:30,580 --> 00:22:33,750
with a micron to get vaccinated because 

525
00:22:33,750 --> 00:22:37,220
then you would greatly heighten your 

526
00:22:37,220 --> 00:22:38,831
degree of protection against 

527
00:22:38,831 --> 00:22:40,910
reinfection . Yeah , that's great . 

528
00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:42,920
That's great information . That's a 

529
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,460
great perspective on it . Um , you know , 

530
00:22:45,470 --> 00:22:47,730
with all risks , there are 

531
00:22:47,730 --> 00:22:49,897
countervailing risks . Right ? And and 

532
00:22:49,897 --> 00:22:52,200
other one by , by following one by 

533
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,311
being prudent in one area . We expose 

534
00:22:54,311 --> 00:22:56,311
ourselves to risk and others . Um , 

535
00:22:56,311 --> 00:22:58,478
military families as you know , face a 

536
00:22:58,478 --> 00:23:00,478
lot of disruption , a lot of family 

537
00:23:00,478 --> 00:23:02,589
separation . Sometimes if a member of 

538
00:23:02,589 --> 00:23:05,570
the family um contracts the disease and 

539
00:23:05,570 --> 00:23:07,903
quarantined from the rest of the family , 

540
00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:10,200
it creates um , it creates an 

541
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:11,978
additional separation . And I'm 

542
00:23:11,978 --> 00:23:14,144
thinking particularly of the situation 

543
00:23:14,144 --> 00:23:16,367
where you have a family that may be far 

544
00:23:16,367 --> 00:23:18,533
from extended family and relatives , a 

545
00:23:18,533 --> 00:23:20,756
young child who maybe 12 or three years 

546
00:23:20,756 --> 00:23:23,560
old and a mom who may get covid . 

547
00:23:24,540 --> 00:23:26,930
Are there risks to separating the child 

548
00:23:26,930 --> 00:23:30,270
from the mother for 10 days , two weeks . 

549
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,184
That can feel very real . Can feel 

550
00:23:33,184 --> 00:23:35,770
psychosocial that might make you feel 

551
00:23:35,770 --> 00:23:37,992
like I'd rather keep the mother and the 

552
00:23:37,992 --> 00:23:40,159
child together than I want to separate 

553
00:23:40,159 --> 00:23:41,992
them because of the risk for the 

554
00:23:41,992 --> 00:23:44,214
younger person . What are your thoughts 

555
00:23:44,214 --> 00:23:46,270
about ? You know , that is a natural 

556
00:23:46,270 --> 00:23:48,580
feeling very understandable , but 

557
00:23:48,580 --> 00:23:51,020
something we have to deal with because 

558
00:23:51,020 --> 00:23:54,690
if you look at the effect of covid 

559
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,210
on kids , it was felt to be , you know , 

560
00:23:58,220 --> 00:24:00,960
not particularly important . Well , it 

561
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,480
is true if you want to be perfectly 

562
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,420
frank and candid about the data that a 

563
00:24:07,420 --> 00:24:10,630
child who gets infected is much less 

564
00:24:10,630 --> 00:24:14,580
likely to get a severe manifestation of 

565
00:24:14,580 --> 00:24:18,560
covid . However , the risk is not zero 

566
00:24:18,940 --> 00:24:21,700
and we have plenty of Children when you 

567
00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:23,922
look at Children's hospitals throughout 

568
00:24:23,922 --> 00:24:26,530
the country , plenty of Children who 

569
00:24:26,530 --> 00:24:28,860
are severely ill with 

570
00:24:29,350 --> 00:24:32,450
COVID-19 Requiring Hospitalization , 

571
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,890
some even dying . So although the risk 

572
00:24:35,890 --> 00:24:38,370
is less than in an adult you have to 

573
00:24:38,370 --> 00:24:41,100
balance and you're right . People make 

574
00:24:41,100 --> 00:24:44,410
decisions based on the relative risk 

575
00:24:44,420 --> 00:24:46,570
that they're willing to take . You 

576
00:24:46,570 --> 00:24:48,459
would recommend that if you could 

577
00:24:48,459 --> 00:24:51,720
tolerate a brief separation from the 

578
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,360
family during that period of recovery 

579
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,820
then do it . If it becomes impossible 

580
00:24:59,170 --> 00:25:01,640
then you have to assume the risk of 

581
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,900
spreading it to the child . Those are 

582
00:25:03,900 --> 00:25:06,122
just real world issues you have to deal 

583
00:25:06,122 --> 00:25:09,080
with . I appreciate that and I 

584
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,500
appreciate the you know the compassion 

585
00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:13,611
and reality and that answer . I think 

586
00:25:13,611 --> 00:25:15,833
that's really helpful to people related 

587
00:25:15,833 --> 00:25:17,889
to that . Is do you have any updates 

588
00:25:17,889 --> 00:25:19,889
about when the vaccine for Children 

589
00:25:19,889 --> 00:25:21,611
under the age of five might be 

590
00:25:21,611 --> 00:25:24,850
available ? Well Kathy I hope very soon 

591
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,410
you never want to outguess or get ahead 

592
00:25:28,410 --> 00:25:31,440
of the F . D . A . But the studies that 

593
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,920
were done showed that the dose that was 

594
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,390
used in kids six months to 24 

595
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,800
months was the correct dose that showed 

596
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,770
that that was not inferior to the 

597
00:25:44,770 --> 00:25:48,330
response in adults . However in a very 

598
00:25:48,330 --> 00:25:51,330
disappointing way the dose that was 

599
00:25:51,330 --> 00:25:54,990
used for Children 24 months to four 

600
00:25:54,990 --> 00:25:58,860
years did not induce a response that 

601
00:25:58,860 --> 00:26:01,320
was felt to be adequate . So they're 

602
00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,080
determining now that for Children 

603
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,140
within that age group It is likely that 

604
00:26:07,140 --> 00:26:10,450
it will be a three dose vaccine 

605
00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,410
and that being the case it's gonna take 

606
00:26:13,410 --> 00:26:16,490
a little longer to get those data to 

607
00:26:16,490 --> 00:26:20,040
the FDA and approved . My hope it's 

608
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,151
that it's going to be within the next 

609
00:26:22,151 --> 00:26:24,151
month or so and not much later than 

610
00:26:24,151 --> 00:26:26,560
that . But I can't guarantee that 

611
00:26:26,940 --> 00:26:30,820
because I can't outguess the FDA . I'm 

612
00:26:30,820 --> 00:26:34,000
going to have to leave that to them . I 

613
00:26:34,010 --> 00:26:36,177
know we're almost out of time but I'll 

614
00:26:36,177 --> 00:26:38,820
ask one more question and then let you 

615
00:26:38,830 --> 00:26:41,052
make any closing comments you'd like to 

616
00:26:41,052 --> 00:26:43,120
make . Um are there any are we 

617
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,040
anticipating getting the vaccine in and 

618
00:26:46,050 --> 00:26:48,690
in a pill form or a non shot 

619
00:26:48,700 --> 00:26:51,160
uh protocol for people who are 

620
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,327
uncomfortable with that ? Well , it is 

621
00:26:53,327 --> 00:26:55,710
unlikely it will be a pill and more 

622
00:26:55,710 --> 00:26:57,710
likely would be something where you 

623
00:26:57,710 --> 00:27:00,600
spray like the flu mist with influenza . 

624
00:27:00,610 --> 00:27:02,221
So I don't think it would be 

625
00:27:02,221 --> 00:27:03,888
necessarily although it's not 

626
00:27:03,888 --> 00:27:06,500
impossible . It won't necessarily be 

627
00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:08,800
something where you swallow as a pill 

628
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,270
but more likely something that you 

629
00:27:11,270 --> 00:27:13,580
could put a patch on you and it 

630
00:27:13,580 --> 00:27:16,850
penetrates in the skin or spraying in 

631
00:27:16,850 --> 00:27:19,240
the nose or in the throat . That might 

632
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:21,462
actually do that . And there's a lot of 

633
00:27:21,462 --> 00:27:23,940
good research going on right now to try 

634
00:27:23,940 --> 00:27:26,760
and develop an alternative type of 

635
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:28,538
vaccine that doesn't require an 

636
00:27:28,538 --> 00:27:32,440
injection . Fantastic dr Fauci . I need 

637
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:34,273
to let you know that we have had 

638
00:27:34,273 --> 00:27:36,384
literally tens of thousands of people 

639
00:27:36,384 --> 00:27:38,820
join us to hear you speak to us today . 

640
00:27:38,830 --> 00:27:40,552
It really means so much to our 

641
00:27:40,552 --> 00:27:42,608
community to have the opportunity to 

642
00:27:42,608 --> 00:27:44,608
directly ask the questions and so I 

643
00:27:44,608 --> 00:27:46,774
know you're so very busy but we really 

644
00:27:46,774 --> 00:27:48,830
are so grateful for you sharing your 

645
00:27:48,830 --> 00:27:50,997
time and all the information with us . 

646
00:27:50,997 --> 00:27:53,219
Well , thank you very much Kathy , it's 

647
00:27:53,219 --> 00:27:55,386
not only my pleasure but I consider it 

648
00:27:55,386 --> 00:27:57,552
an honor to help in any way that I can 

649
00:27:57,552 --> 00:27:59,719
with the military and their families . 

650
00:28:00,140 --> 00:28:02,251
Alright , good . I hope we get to see 

651
00:28:02,251 --> 00:28:04,140
you again , but not in the in the 

652
00:28:04,140 --> 00:28:06,700
middle of a search . Very good . Thank 

653
00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:09,170
you very much . Take care . Thank you , 

654
00:28:09,180 --> 00:28:12,940
bye bye bye bye . Well I know 

655
00:28:12,940 --> 00:28:16,340
you join me in thanking our 

656
00:28:16,350 --> 00:28:18,350
government and military leaders for 

657
00:28:18,350 --> 00:28:20,540
joining us um in this journey and we 

658
00:28:20,540 --> 00:28:23,770
are now very honored to have a very 

659
00:28:23,770 --> 00:28:25,603
special guest , the Secretary of 

660
00:28:25,603 --> 00:28:27,770
Veterans Affairs , Denis McDonough who 

661
00:28:27,770 --> 00:28:29,937
has been with us on this journey for a 

662
00:28:29,937 --> 00:28:32,159
while from the beginning of his time in 

663
00:28:32,159 --> 00:28:34,270
office , Denis McDonough and his team 

664
00:28:34,270 --> 00:28:36,381
at via have put the pandemic in their 

665
00:28:36,381 --> 00:28:38,603
crosshairs and have worked very hard to 

666
00:28:38,603 --> 00:28:40,548
try to keep our veterans and their 

667
00:28:40,548 --> 00:28:43,470
families safe . So um thank you uh 

668
00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,647
Secretary McDonough for joining us and 

669
00:28:45,647 --> 00:28:47,147
saying a few words today , 

670
00:28:51,340 --> 00:28:54,270
Good afternoon Kathy . Thanks for 

671
00:28:54,270 --> 00:28:56,800
getting us back together . Especially 

672
00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:59,550
during this a micron surge . You know , 

673
00:28:59,940 --> 00:29:02,260
the best advice I can give everyone is 

674
00:29:02,260 --> 00:29:06,050
this . Listen to Dr Fauci follow his 

675
00:29:06,050 --> 00:29:08,760
guidance . Listen to your personal care 

676
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,460
providers . Follow their guidance . Why ? 

677
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:14,929
Because it's the best way to keep 

678
00:29:14,929 --> 00:29:17,390
yourself safe . The best way to keep 

679
00:29:17,390 --> 00:29:20,110
your family safe because we owe it to 

680
00:29:20,110 --> 00:29:22,950
each other to help keep everyone safe 

681
00:29:23,740 --> 00:29:26,610
and you know what ? Because we owe it 

682
00:29:26,610 --> 00:29:28,721
to our nation's incredible healthcare 

683
00:29:28,721 --> 00:29:31,350
workers . Since the pandemic hit , 

684
00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:33,573
they've been risking their lives 

685
00:29:33,573 --> 00:29:37,430
nonstop for you , for me , for vets , 

686
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:39,860
for our country , For all of us . 

687
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,240
That's no exaggeration . It's been 

688
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:45,129
nearly two years since we started 

689
00:29:45,129 --> 00:29:47,420
celebrating their courageous , tireless 

690
00:29:47,420 --> 00:29:49,760
service . Has the pandemic gained a 

691
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,360
foothold ? Remember people in new york 

692
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,820
city banging pots and pans at hospital 

693
00:29:55,820 --> 00:29:57,931
shift changes to show their gratitude 

694
00:29:57,931 --> 00:30:00,860
to healthcare workers ? Well , people 

695
00:30:00,860 --> 00:30:03,027
aren't banging pots and pans anymore , 

696
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:05,351
but those great medical professionals 

697
00:30:05,351 --> 00:30:09,260
are still at it in new york and 

698
00:30:09,260 --> 00:30:11,570
across the country , they haven't let 

699
00:30:11,570 --> 00:30:14,840
up day after day , night after night , 

700
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,440
they're still risking their lives , 

701
00:30:18,310 --> 00:30:21,100
their family's lives for us , 

702
00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,570
and nowhere is that more true than 

703
00:30:24,570 --> 00:30:27,500
among our via employees serving 

704
00:30:27,500 --> 00:30:29,500
veterans , their families and their 

705
00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:32,560
caregivers , serving you , your 

706
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,880
families , your caregivers , they're 

707
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,170
working grueling excruciatingly long 

708
00:30:39,170 --> 00:30:42,650
hours to save lives . They've 

709
00:30:42,650 --> 00:30:44,539
vaccinated more than four million 

710
00:30:44,539 --> 00:30:48,330
veterans , 80,000 spouses and 21,000 

711
00:30:48,330 --> 00:30:51,800
caregivers Boosted more than 1.2 

712
00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,570
million veterans . It's hard and risky 

713
00:30:54,570 --> 00:30:58,550
work , particularly now , here's how we 

714
00:30:58,550 --> 00:31:02,140
know we track it . Earlier this month 

715
00:31:02,140 --> 00:31:04,100
on one day , there were more than 

716
00:31:04,110 --> 00:31:06,950
15,000 v . A healthcare professionals 

717
00:31:06,950 --> 00:31:09,160
unable to work due to Covid . 

718
00:31:10,540 --> 00:31:13,120
Now , the previous high on this metric 

719
00:31:13,130 --> 00:31:16,470
was in December 2020 When there were 

720
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:20,460
about 6000 unable to work due to Covid , 

721
00:31:22,940 --> 00:31:24,829
they've been traveling across the 

722
00:31:24,829 --> 00:31:27,051
country . Two places they're needed the 

723
00:31:27,051 --> 00:31:29,162
most leaving their families behind to 

724
00:31:29,162 --> 00:31:31,230
do it . In fact , over the course of 

725
00:31:31,230 --> 00:31:33,350
the pandemic via personnel have 

726
00:31:33,350 --> 00:31:35,660
deployed beyond their duty stations 

727
00:31:35,670 --> 00:31:39,050
over 5000 times helping care for 

728
00:31:39,050 --> 00:31:40,994
veterans and their people in their 

729
00:31:40,994 --> 00:31:44,760
communities . And when non vets need 

730
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,890
their help , They have stepped up as 

731
00:31:46,890 --> 00:31:49,360
part of our 4th mission to help COVID 

732
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:52,880
patients in need all while never once 

733
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,220
denying a bed to a veteran . In fact , 

734
00:31:56,250 --> 00:31:59,620
right now , we have made about 130 beds 

735
00:31:59,620 --> 00:32:02,020
available to non veterans in 10 

736
00:32:02,020 --> 00:32:05,850
different states . In short , they're 

737
00:32:05,850 --> 00:32:08,460
showing their immense strength and 

738
00:32:08,460 --> 00:32:10,627
determination under the most difficult 

739
00:32:10,627 --> 00:32:12,750
of circumstances because of their 

740
00:32:12,750 --> 00:32:16,520
enduring devotion to veterans . I am so 

741
00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,170
proud of them and so thankful for them 

742
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:24,000
as I know we all are . And the best way 

743
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,520
to show them gratitude these days isn't 

744
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,300
by banging pots and pans , it's by 

745
00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:32,170
following dr Fauci's advice . It's by 

746
00:32:32,170 --> 00:32:35,350
getting vaccinated or boosted . Why ? 

747
00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:38,730
Well , it's simple , it's the most 

748
00:32:38,730 --> 00:32:40,786
important thing we can do to protect 

749
00:32:40,786 --> 00:32:42,952
our veterans . It's the most important 

750
00:32:42,952 --> 00:32:45,063
thing we can do to protect our active 

751
00:32:45,063 --> 00:32:47,620
duty forces and we owe it to those who 

752
00:32:47,620 --> 00:32:50,120
are giving so much of themselves for 

753
00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,800
you and for me And we owe it to 

754
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,650
ourselves because ending the spread of 

755
00:32:56,650 --> 00:32:59,360
COVID-19 is our call to service 

756
00:33:00,540 --> 00:33:03,350
and it's the right thing for us to do . 

757
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:06,651
You'll find a lot of helpful 

758
00:33:06,651 --> 00:33:09,080
information on RV a website at the 

759
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:11,024
address you see here on the screen 

760
00:33:11,024 --> 00:33:13,850
below , we can get through this , 

761
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,360
we'll do it together . Thank you . 

762
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,270
God bless you . God bless our great via 

763
00:33:22,270 --> 00:33:25,150
employees And may we all serve veterans 

764
00:33:25,150 --> 00:33:26,983
as well as they have served us . 

765
00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:32,896
Secretary Mcdonald . That was really 

766
00:33:32,896 --> 00:33:34,896
great and I really appreciate those 

767
00:33:34,896 --> 00:33:36,896
words and it means so much that you 

768
00:33:36,896 --> 00:33:39,118
show up for us , um , and for our whole 

769
00:33:39,118 --> 00:33:41,290
community . So , um , thank you . And 

770
00:33:41,290 --> 00:33:43,750
now it's my great pleasure to introduce 

771
00:33:43,750 --> 00:33:45,730
someone new to this forum . Major 

772
00:33:45,730 --> 00:33:47,730
general paul fredericks , who's the 

773
00:33:47,730 --> 00:33:50,010
joint staff surgeon at the pentagon . 

774
00:33:50,020 --> 00:33:52,190
When we asked around who is one of the 

775
00:33:52,190 --> 00:33:55,120
most trusted voices among active duty 

776
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,450
military . We heard uh , dr fredericks , 

777
00:33:58,540 --> 00:34:00,596
we heard that from people throughout 

778
00:34:00,596 --> 00:34:02,707
the pentagon and throughout the press 

779
00:34:02,707 --> 00:34:04,840
corps and in the ranks and field . So 

780
00:34:05,140 --> 00:34:07,140
dr fredericks were really delighted 

781
00:34:07,140 --> 00:34:09,307
that you can join us today and give us 

782
00:34:09,307 --> 00:34:11,310
some advice and some insight from , 

783
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:13,264
from your position and and it's so 

784
00:34:13,264 --> 00:34:15,264
great to get a chance to meet you . 

785
00:34:15,264 --> 00:34:17,740
Thank you . Well , thank you very much , 

786
00:34:17,740 --> 00:34:20,540
Kathy . And uh , let me start by saying 

787
00:34:20,550 --> 00:34:23,030
how grateful I am for what you all are 

788
00:34:23,030 --> 00:34:26,560
doing and how valuable forums like this 

789
00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,360
are . And this is not just me speaking 

790
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:31,249
as the joint staff surgeon . This 

791
00:34:31,249 --> 00:34:34,570
Thursday . My dad turns 95 , he was 

792
00:34:34,580 --> 00:34:37,640
World War II Navy vet . My wife is a v 

793
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:40,040
a doc , former army doc . And we've got 

794
00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,000
a younger son at the Naval Academy 

795
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,490
right now . So I'm part of your 

796
00:34:45,500 --> 00:34:49,070
extended bluestar family there and so 

797
00:34:49,070 --> 00:34:51,181
grateful for what you all are doing . 

798
00:34:51,740 --> 00:34:53,684
And I'm grateful for the chance to 

799
00:34:53,684 --> 00:34:55,920
share an update . And I wanna speak 

800
00:34:55,930 --> 00:34:58,460
really from the operational perspective , 

801
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,062
you know , the great news in all of the 

802
00:35:01,062 --> 00:35:03,580
challenges of this pandemic is that our 

803
00:35:03,580 --> 00:35:05,890
military has continued to defend our 

804
00:35:05,890 --> 00:35:08,690
nation for the last two years in spite 

805
00:35:08,690 --> 00:35:11,210
of all of the challenges that we faced 

806
00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:14,462
and in large part that's due to you all 

807
00:35:14,462 --> 00:35:16,780
at home , making it possible for those 

808
00:35:16,780 --> 00:35:18,990
of us who are still in uniform to do 

809
00:35:18,990 --> 00:35:21,540
what we have to do . And so , you know , 

810
00:35:21,540 --> 00:35:23,484
you'd ask the question of dr Fauci 

811
00:35:23,484 --> 00:35:25,373
earlier about how do families get 

812
00:35:25,373 --> 00:35:28,760
through this , please ? No . How 

813
00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,870
incredibly great we are for the 

814
00:35:31,870 --> 00:35:34,970
sacrifices you are making so that we 

815
00:35:34,970 --> 00:35:37,750
can do what we're doing . You know , 

816
00:35:37,750 --> 00:35:39,806
there's not a there's not a day that 

817
00:35:39,806 --> 00:35:41,861
goes by , especially with this surge 

818
00:35:41,861 --> 00:35:43,861
when we've got tens of thousands of 

819
00:35:43,861 --> 00:35:46,028
people out sick that we don't have the 

820
00:35:46,028 --> 00:35:48,350
discussion . But what about my kids ? 

821
00:35:48,710 --> 00:35:50,740
What about my spouse ? What about 

822
00:35:50,740 --> 00:35:54,260
school and I can assure you all the way 

823
00:35:54,260 --> 00:35:56,482
up to the level of the chairman , those 

824
00:35:56,482 --> 00:35:58,593
are things that we think about and we 

825
00:35:58,593 --> 00:36:00,704
know that you're there helping us get 

826
00:36:00,704 --> 00:36:02,871
through that . So let me say thank you 

827
00:36:02,871 --> 00:36:04,871
on behalf of all of us here who are 

828
00:36:04,871 --> 00:36:07,810
working with you to continue to support 

829
00:36:07,810 --> 00:36:09,977
and defend our nation . The other part 

830
00:36:09,977 --> 00:36:12,440
that you're helping us do is to take 

831
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:14,551
care of those who need medical care . 

832
00:36:14,551 --> 00:36:16,960
So you just heard from Dr . Fauci , who 

833
00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,560
I first met in 1989 as a medical 

834
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:23,060
student and what an incredible servant 

835
00:36:23,060 --> 00:36:25,500
leader he is for our country and you 

836
00:36:25,500 --> 00:36:27,611
heard what the V . A . Is doing . But 

837
00:36:27,611 --> 00:36:29,722
as many of you know , the D . O . D . 

838
00:36:29,722 --> 00:36:31,833
Is also stepping up again . So we had 

839
00:36:31,833 --> 00:36:33,950
about 400 people deployed last week 

840
00:36:34,730 --> 00:36:37,060
helping hospitals around the country . 

841
00:36:37,060 --> 00:36:39,060
We've got another 500 going out the 

842
00:36:39,060 --> 00:36:42,020
door this week And another 500 military 

843
00:36:42,020 --> 00:36:44,242
medics going out shortly behind that to 

844
00:36:44,242 --> 00:36:46,353
help hospitals all over the country . 

845
00:36:46,740 --> 00:36:48,796
That's important for many of you all 

846
00:36:48,796 --> 00:36:50,796
because you rely on the D . O . D . 

847
00:36:50,796 --> 00:36:52,796
Healthcare system for care . And if 

848
00:36:52,796 --> 00:36:55,110
those military medics are not at home 

849
00:36:55,230 --> 00:36:58,320
taking care of you all that is going to 

850
00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:00,660
have some impacts and and we know that 

851
00:37:00,660 --> 00:37:02,771
and we're very aware of that , but we 

852
00:37:02,771 --> 00:37:04,882
also know that during this great need 

853
00:37:04,882 --> 00:37:06,771
and challenge that our country is 

854
00:37:06,771 --> 00:37:09,200
facing the body is who the country 

855
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:12,100
turns to for support . We also know and 

856
00:37:12,100 --> 00:37:13,989
you mentioned this Kathy that the 

857
00:37:13,989 --> 00:37:16,211
National Guard is playing a huge role . 

858
00:37:16,211 --> 00:37:18,267
We've gone from 12,000 guardsmen and 

859
00:37:18,267 --> 00:37:20,530
women deployed a month ago To now close 

860
00:37:20,530 --> 00:37:22,490
to 20,000 guards members who are 

861
00:37:22,490 --> 00:37:24,910
stepping up many of the medics , but 

862
00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:27,950
also across the many capabilities that 

863
00:37:27,950 --> 00:37:29,672
the guard brings to help their 

864
00:37:29,672 --> 00:37:31,890
communities and that has an impact to 

865
00:37:31,890 --> 00:37:33,946
help the communities . But it has an 

866
00:37:33,946 --> 00:37:36,370
impact on each of your families as 

867
00:37:36,370 --> 00:37:38,592
you're supporting that guards member or 

868
00:37:38,592 --> 00:37:40,870
that active duty member who's deployed . 

869
00:37:40,870 --> 00:37:42,814
And so I'll say thank you for that 

870
00:37:42,814 --> 00:37:45,037
again . I get asked a lot , what can we 

871
00:37:45,037 --> 00:37:47,037
do ? And I think you asked Dr Fauci 

872
00:37:47,037 --> 00:37:49,259
that and I would echo what you've heard 

873
00:37:49,259 --> 00:37:51,481
already . The most important thing that 

874
00:37:51,481 --> 00:37:53,481
we ask you all to continue to do is 

875
00:37:53,481 --> 00:37:55,648
keep faith with your service members . 

876
00:37:55,648 --> 00:37:58,200
If you're a military family , none of 

877
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,780
us would ever have hoped to live 

878
00:38:01,780 --> 00:38:04,070
through something like this . This 

879
00:38:04,070 --> 00:38:05,800
happens once every 100 years . 

880
00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:07,856
Hopefully we'll never see it again . 

881
00:38:08,020 --> 00:38:10,610
But please know we all want this to be 

882
00:38:10,610 --> 00:38:13,260
over as soon as possible and you're 

883
00:38:13,260 --> 00:38:15,450
helping us when you get vaccinated , 

884
00:38:15,540 --> 00:38:17,707
you're helping us . When you make sure 

885
00:38:17,707 --> 00:38:19,762
that kids are able to go to school , 

886
00:38:19,762 --> 00:38:21,873
you're helping us as we fight through 

887
00:38:21,873 --> 00:38:23,770
this latest enemy that we face by 

888
00:38:23,770 --> 00:38:25,770
making sure that those common sense 

889
00:38:25,770 --> 00:38:28,430
things that Dr Fauci talked about not 

890
00:38:28,430 --> 00:38:30,486
having the big parties as much as we 

891
00:38:30,486 --> 00:38:32,597
would all love to celebrate things as 

892
00:38:32,597 --> 00:38:34,819
much as we want this to be over with so 

893
00:38:34,819 --> 00:38:36,986
that you're active duty service member 

894
00:38:36,986 --> 00:38:39,152
or your guardsmen or your guards woman 

895
00:38:39,152 --> 00:38:40,986
and your family there is able to 

896
00:38:40,986 --> 00:38:42,930
continue to do the things that our 

897
00:38:42,930 --> 00:38:45,097
nation depends on them to do . And the 

898
00:38:45,097 --> 00:38:47,263
last thing that I'll leave you with is 

899
00:38:47,263 --> 00:38:49,620
in the very best of times we asked a 

900
00:38:49,620 --> 00:38:51,790
great deal of our military families . 

901
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,087
We're asking even more now and we know 

902
00:38:55,087 --> 00:38:58,930
that please please please keep using 

903
00:38:58,930 --> 00:39:01,620
forms like these to ask your questions , 

904
00:39:01,630 --> 00:39:03,640
share your concerns , bring them 

905
00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:05,751
forward whether it's the seaq through 

906
00:39:05,751 --> 00:39:07,696
your command chain or reaching out 

907
00:39:07,696 --> 00:39:10,260
directly to me so that we know where we 

908
00:39:10,270 --> 00:39:12,437
are making it more difficult and where 

909
00:39:12,437 --> 00:39:14,548
we need to try and fix things because 

910
00:39:14,548 --> 00:39:17,070
we need you all desperately to help us 

911
00:39:17,070 --> 00:39:19,237
get through this . Thank you again for 

912
00:39:19,237 --> 00:39:21,348
all that you're doing . God bless you 

913
00:39:21,348 --> 00:39:24,020
all . Thanks again . Cathy Thank you 

914
00:39:24,020 --> 00:39:27,880
General fredericks . And 

915
00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:29,824
now that we've met you , we're not 

916
00:39:29,824 --> 00:39:31,991
gonna let you get too far away . So we 

917
00:39:31,991 --> 00:39:34,213
look forward to seeing you again soon . 

918
00:39:34,213 --> 00:39:34,160
But I have to say I found those very 

919
00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:36,327
moving words and I know I'm gonna hold 

920
00:39:36,327 --> 00:39:38,438
onto them to that . This is a special 

921
00:39:38,438 --> 00:39:40,493
calling for those of us connected to 

922
00:39:40,493 --> 00:39:42,493
the military to keep keep the fight 

923
00:39:42,493 --> 00:39:44,690
going longer . And uh not if I may 

924
00:39:44,700 --> 00:39:46,867
borrow a phrase not put down our packs 

925
00:39:46,867 --> 00:39:48,922
yet because of the role we play . So 

926
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,300
good words . Um and now it is my 

927
00:39:52,300 --> 00:39:55,370
pleasure to bring back our great friend 

928
00:39:55,380 --> 00:39:57,820
Kobe Langley , Senior Vice President of 

929
00:39:57,820 --> 00:39:59,876
Services , the Armed Forces from the 

930
00:39:59,876 --> 00:40:02,042
american red cross to speak again with 

931
00:40:02,042 --> 00:40:03,931
Lieutenant General Ronald place , 

932
00:40:03,931 --> 00:40:06,042
Director of the Defense Health Agency 

933
00:40:06,042 --> 00:40:08,264
to once again answer more questions and 

934
00:40:08,264 --> 00:40:10,542
get more answers part of the community . 

935
00:40:10,542 --> 00:40:12,487
I want to thank you Kobe . General 

936
00:40:12,487 --> 00:40:14,376
place for joining us once again . 

937
00:40:18,310 --> 00:40:22,200
Yeah , so Kathy as 

938
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:24,311
always , thanks so much . You've been 

939
00:40:24,311 --> 00:40:26,478
an amazing partner to the american red 

940
00:40:26,478 --> 00:40:28,422
cross and an amazing leader to our 

941
00:40:28,422 --> 00:40:30,589
veteran military family community . Um 

942
00:40:30,589 --> 00:40:32,478
it's always a pleasure to be here 

943
00:40:32,478 --> 00:40:34,478
talking with you and senior leaders 

944
00:40:34,478 --> 00:40:36,589
about this . Really important issue . 

945
00:40:36,589 --> 00:40:36,550
It is the most important issue to our 

946
00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:38,782
our veteran military family community , 

947
00:40:38,910 --> 00:40:41,021
your own place . It's good to see you 

948
00:40:41,021 --> 00:40:43,188
again . The world's change . It's very 

949
00:40:43,188 --> 00:40:45,410
different than what it was . You know , 

950
00:40:45,410 --> 00:40:47,577
even three or four months ago a macron 

951
00:40:47,577 --> 00:40:49,688
is all over the place and our veteran 

952
00:40:49,688 --> 00:40:52,021
military family community are concerned , 

953
00:40:52,021 --> 00:40:54,132
you know , um we're doing what we can 

954
00:40:54,132 --> 00:40:56,243
to be vaccinated . I'm super proud of 

955
00:40:56,243 --> 00:40:58,521
our Red Cross team over 90% vaccinated . 

956
00:40:58,521 --> 00:41:00,466
Of course the military has done an 

957
00:41:00,466 --> 00:41:02,354
amazing job of getting almost the 

958
00:41:02,354 --> 00:41:04,577
entire active force vaccinated . That's 

959
00:41:04,577 --> 00:41:06,632
thanks to your leadership and and of 

960
00:41:06,632 --> 00:41:08,799
course the leadership of our secretary 

961
00:41:08,799 --> 00:41:11,021
Secretary Austin . Um we're here to ask 

962
00:41:11,021 --> 00:41:13,354
you some questions about what's changed . 

963
00:41:13,354 --> 00:41:15,354
Well , yeah , thanks Kobe . And and 

964
00:41:15,354 --> 00:41:17,521
thanks again to the american Red cross 

965
00:41:17,521 --> 00:41:19,743
and blue Star families for hosting this 

966
00:41:19,743 --> 00:41:21,854
town hall . My personal view , you've 

967
00:41:21,854 --> 00:41:21,660
been extremely helpful throughout the 

968
00:41:21,660 --> 00:41:23,493
pandemic , ensuring our military 

969
00:41:23,493 --> 00:41:25,660
families and our Veterans get the most 

970
00:41:25,660 --> 00:41:27,716
current and accurate information and 

971
00:41:27,716 --> 00:41:29,771
from good sources to write sources . 

972
00:41:29,771 --> 00:41:31,438
There's a lot to cover in our 

973
00:41:31,438 --> 00:41:33,660
discussion . But if I could open just a 

974
00:41:33,660 --> 00:41:36,580
little bit of background information on 

975
00:41:36,580 --> 00:41:38,524
where we are and responding to the 

976
00:41:38,524 --> 00:41:40,710
pandemic like the rest of the civilian 

977
00:41:40,710 --> 00:41:42,821
healthcare sector . The Department of 

978
00:41:42,821 --> 00:41:44,988
Defense has been affected and is being 

979
00:41:44,988 --> 00:41:47,099
affected by the spread of the omicron 

980
00:41:47,099 --> 00:41:49,210
variant Positive cases are up . We've 

981
00:41:49,210 --> 00:41:50,988
seen the number of hospitalized 

982
00:41:50,988 --> 00:41:53,099
patients with COVID-19 also go up but 

983
00:41:53,099 --> 00:41:55,210
consistent with the national trends . 

984
00:41:55,210 --> 00:41:57,377
Much smaller percentage of in patients 

985
00:41:57,377 --> 00:41:59,654
are requiring intensive care unit care . 

986
00:41:59,654 --> 00:42:01,821
That's good news in our hospitals . At 

987
00:42:01,821 --> 00:42:03,710
least the vast majority of people 

988
00:42:03,710 --> 00:42:05,266
hospitalized with covid are 

989
00:42:05,266 --> 00:42:08,410
unvaccinated . Still since the vaccines 

990
00:42:08,410 --> 00:42:10,410
have become available to all of our 

991
00:42:10,410 --> 00:42:12,521
service members and families with one 

992
00:42:12,521 --> 00:42:14,632
exception are only deaths of those in 

993
00:42:14,632 --> 00:42:16,799
uniform . Were among those individuals 

994
00:42:16,799 --> 00:42:19,021
who had not been fully vaccinated . The 

995
00:42:19,021 --> 00:42:21,021
one service member fully vaccinated 

996
00:42:21,021 --> 00:42:22,854
received the single dose J and J 

997
00:42:22,854 --> 00:42:26,590
vaccine uh several . I mean a long time 

998
00:42:26,590 --> 00:42:28,923
ago when it when it originally came out . 

999
00:42:28,923 --> 00:42:30,979
So the point to all that . Why did I 

1000
00:42:30,979 --> 00:42:33,034
give you all the data ? The point is 

1001
00:42:33,034 --> 00:42:34,979
the vaccines work and their safety 

1002
00:42:34,979 --> 00:42:36,979
profiles extraordinary . We may get 

1003
00:42:36,979 --> 00:42:38,979
into that a little bit depending on 

1004
00:42:38,979 --> 00:42:41,201
what your questions are . So the bottom 

1005
00:42:41,201 --> 00:42:43,368
line , if you listen to nothing else , 

1006
00:42:43,368 --> 00:42:45,312
not only for yourself but for your 

1007
00:42:45,312 --> 00:42:47,479
family , your community strongly urged 

1008
00:42:47,479 --> 00:42:49,534
everyone to get vaccinated and get a 

1009
00:42:49,534 --> 00:42:51,701
booster when appropriate . Now for the 

1010
00:42:51,701 --> 00:42:51,370
for the military health system 

1011
00:42:51,370 --> 00:42:53,537
specifically , we also have healthcare 

1012
00:42:53,537 --> 00:42:55,426
staff were out sick and following 

1013
00:42:55,426 --> 00:42:57,648
isolation procedures or in quarantine . 

1014
00:42:57,648 --> 00:42:59,259
And and that's a challenge . 

1015
00:42:59,259 --> 00:43:01,314
Vaccination is a requirement for our 

1016
00:43:01,314 --> 00:43:03,481
healthcare workers , both civilian and 

1017
00:43:03,481 --> 00:43:05,314
military . And we're encouraging 

1018
00:43:05,314 --> 00:43:05,030
boosters to our staff as well , which 

1019
00:43:05,030 --> 00:43:07,620
minimizes illnesses amongst our team 

1020
00:43:08,070 --> 00:43:11,250
and protects for our our patients . And 

1021
00:43:11,250 --> 00:43:13,083
finally for the broader national 

1022
00:43:13,083 --> 00:43:15,139
response , the Department of Defense 

1023
00:43:15,139 --> 00:43:17,250
still doing an awful lot . One of the 

1024
00:43:17,250 --> 00:43:19,250
first things that Secretary Defense 

1025
00:43:19,250 --> 00:43:21,472
Austin communicated on his first day in 

1026
00:43:21,472 --> 00:43:23,417
the pentagon and really within the 

1027
00:43:23,417 --> 00:43:25,583
first couple of hours that he was even 

1028
00:43:25,583 --> 00:43:27,806
in the building and the job is that the 

1029
00:43:27,806 --> 00:43:30,028
pandemic was a national security threat 

1030
00:43:30,028 --> 00:43:31,972
and that the Department of Defense 

1031
00:43:31,972 --> 00:43:31,590
would be part of the whole of 

1032
00:43:31,590 --> 00:43:33,201
government response and I'll 

1033
00:43:33,201 --> 00:43:35,312
acknowledge that our military medical 

1034
00:43:35,312 --> 00:43:37,423
personnel have answered and continued 

1035
00:43:37,423 --> 00:43:39,479
to answer that call . In addition to 

1036
00:43:39,479 --> 00:43:41,534
the millions of vaccines . We talked 

1037
00:43:41,534 --> 00:43:43,534
about that last time . What's going 

1038
00:43:43,534 --> 00:43:45,757
around and who's doing it ? We've we've 

1039
00:43:45,757 --> 00:43:47,646
helped staff overwhelmed civilian 

1040
00:43:47,646 --> 00:43:49,868
hospitals continue to do that . To this 

1041
00:43:49,868 --> 00:43:51,812
day . We've shared masks and other 

1042
00:43:51,812 --> 00:43:53,979
personal protective equipment with our 

1043
00:43:53,979 --> 00:43:53,760
civilian colleagues . We played 

1044
00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:55,649
hospital ships and combat support 

1045
00:43:55,649 --> 00:43:57,593
hospitals to some locations . Mass 

1046
00:43:57,593 --> 00:43:59,816
vaccinations , right . The list goes on 

1047
00:43:59,816 --> 00:44:01,982
and on and on . We're proud of that at 

1048
00:44:01,982 --> 00:44:03,816
least . I think it's it's likely 

1049
00:44:03,816 --> 00:44:05,927
apparent that I'm really proud of our 

1050
00:44:05,927 --> 00:44:08,260
entire military team soldiers , sailors , 

1051
00:44:08,260 --> 00:44:10,427
airmen marines guardians , medical and 

1052
00:44:10,427 --> 00:44:12,538
nonmedical who've been out there side 

1053
00:44:12,538 --> 00:44:14,720
by side in our communities getting 

1054
00:44:14,720 --> 00:44:16,831
people vaccinated and and taking care 

1055
00:44:16,831 --> 00:44:19,053
of those who fall ill . Now I know that 

1056
00:44:19,053 --> 00:44:21,053
many people are tired and just want 

1057
00:44:21,053 --> 00:44:23,310
this to be over with . But the pathway 

1058
00:44:23,330 --> 00:44:25,970
to a safer place is vaccinations and 

1059
00:44:25,970 --> 00:44:27,970
where appropriate boosters . And if 

1060
00:44:27,970 --> 00:44:30,137
more boosters are additional doses for 

1061
00:44:30,137 --> 00:44:32,359
the immune compromised . The number one 

1062
00:44:32,359 --> 00:44:34,930
thing is vaccinations , vaccinations , 

1063
00:44:34,930 --> 00:44:37,097
vaccinations . So thanks for having me 

1064
00:44:37,097 --> 00:44:39,263
here today . And I look forward to the 

1065
00:44:39,263 --> 00:44:41,486
questions . So jerome place . Thanks so 

1066
00:44:41,486 --> 00:44:43,708
much again for that . You know for that 

1067
00:44:43,708 --> 00:44:45,874
amazing introduction . And I agree . I 

1068
00:44:45,874 --> 00:44:48,152
mean the amount of work that D . O . D . 

1069
00:44:48,152 --> 00:44:50,374
Did to get this work work force , total 

1070
00:44:50,374 --> 00:44:52,430
force ready and vaccinated was truly 

1071
00:44:52,430 --> 00:44:54,319
amazing . And your leadership and 

1072
00:44:54,319 --> 00:44:56,208
Secretary Austin's leadership was 

1073
00:44:56,208 --> 00:44:57,986
exactly what was needed at this 

1074
00:44:57,986 --> 00:45:00,152
critical time . But you know we we now 

1075
00:45:00,152 --> 00:45:02,041
know that the vaccines are widely 

1076
00:45:02,041 --> 00:45:04,380
available to all americans And our 

1077
00:45:04,380 --> 00:45:06,436
communities are really curious as to 

1078
00:45:06,436 --> 00:45:08,480
whether vaccines are available in a 

1079
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:10,369
different way to our military and 

1080
00:45:10,369 --> 00:45:12,424
veteran connected families . Perhaps 

1081
00:45:12,424 --> 00:45:14,647
that beauty facilities . And what about 

1082
00:45:14,647 --> 00:45:18,000
boosters ? Yeah . Well sure . Great 

1083
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,150
question . I think that the number one 

1084
00:45:21,150 --> 00:45:24,610
thing is that we have plenty of vaccine , 

1085
00:45:24,620 --> 00:45:27,130
Primary doses . Second doses boosters . 

1086
00:45:27,140 --> 00:45:30,110
It's not a supply problem . The only 

1087
00:45:30,110 --> 00:45:32,054
the only problem could be a desire 

1088
00:45:32,054 --> 00:45:34,166
problem . Right are people willing to 

1089
00:45:34,166 --> 00:45:36,510
be vaccinated but it's out there and we 

1090
00:45:36,510 --> 00:45:39,360
have it everywhere and in fact we have 

1091
00:45:39,370 --> 00:45:42,290
all of the kinds available in America , 

1092
00:45:42,290 --> 00:45:44,401
the fighter kinds , the Moderna kinds 

1093
00:45:44,401 --> 00:45:46,640
that the J . And jake in . The one 

1094
00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:48,807
thing that that I will tell for all of 

1095
00:45:48,807 --> 00:45:51,360
our beneficiaries is that While some 

1096
00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:53,760
locations may only have one kind , most 

1097
00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:56,400
have more than one manufacturer I guess 

1098
00:45:56,400 --> 00:45:58,400
is probably the right way to say it 

1099
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:00,567
more than one manufacturer . Some will 

1100
00:46:00,567 --> 00:46:02,733
only have one but it will never be the 

1101
00:46:02,733 --> 00:46:04,844
J . And J . One if it's the only kind 

1102
00:46:04,844 --> 00:46:06,956
just based on the the efficacy of the 

1103
00:46:06,956 --> 00:46:09,320
difference at the M . RNA vaccines . If 

1104
00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:11,431
you look at the CDC guidance it's the 

1105
00:46:11,431 --> 00:46:14,250
preferred ones . But but for those who 

1106
00:46:14,250 --> 00:46:16,472
want the J . And J . We still have that 

1107
00:46:16,472 --> 00:46:18,694
as well . So it should be there now the 

1108
00:46:18,694 --> 00:46:21,028
way to do it at least in our facilities . 

1109
00:46:21,028 --> 00:46:23,250
My recommendation is go to the military 

1110
00:46:23,250 --> 00:46:25,417
medical treatment facilities website . 

1111
00:46:25,417 --> 00:46:27,790
It'll it'll tell you what are the hours 

1112
00:46:27,790 --> 00:46:30,012
you have to make an appointment ? Is it 

1113
00:46:30,012 --> 00:46:32,234
walk ins ? How does all that work ? All 

1114
00:46:32,234 --> 00:46:34,290
that information is available on the 

1115
00:46:34,290 --> 00:46:36,430
individual websites of the medical 

1116
00:46:36,430 --> 00:46:38,597
treatment facilities in question ? And 

1117
00:46:38,597 --> 00:46:40,486
there's also the frequently asked 

1118
00:46:40,486 --> 00:46:42,819
questions and all those sorts of things . 

1119
00:46:42,819 --> 00:46:44,986
So people who are curious about , what 

1120
00:46:44,986 --> 00:46:44,870
does it mean ? How does it work ? How 

1121
00:46:44,870 --> 00:46:46,981
long it's gonna take ? Those sorts of 

1122
00:46:46,981 --> 00:46:48,981
things ? Now at one point that I'll 

1123
00:46:48,981 --> 00:46:51,148
make relatively clear though are MTs I 

1124
00:46:51,148 --> 00:46:53,470
think you know our for our active duty 

1125
00:46:53,470 --> 00:46:55,470
service members or activated garden 

1126
00:46:55,470 --> 00:46:57,610
reserve men and their families . It's 

1127
00:46:57,610 --> 00:47:00,440
for retirees , full retirees and their 

1128
00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:03,220
families . In many cases it's for our D . 

1129
00:47:03,220 --> 00:47:05,360
O . D . Personnel who are able to get 

1130
00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:08,270
this vaccine on our installations and 

1131
00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:10,390
appropriate contractors where where 

1132
00:47:10,390 --> 00:47:12,270
it's it's been approved for this 

1133
00:47:12,270 --> 00:47:14,810
contracting organization . But non 

1134
00:47:14,810 --> 00:47:17,640
retired veterans should seek 

1135
00:47:17,650 --> 00:47:20,330
vaccination in a V . A . Facility or in 

1136
00:47:20,330 --> 00:47:22,274
their civilian communities because 

1137
00:47:22,274 --> 00:47:24,380
we're not authorized for non retired 

1138
00:47:24,380 --> 00:47:26,602
veterans to get their vaccinations with 

1139
00:47:26,602 --> 00:47:30,270
us . That makes perfect sense . I 

1140
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:32,502
appreciate that guidance . And you know 

1141
00:47:32,502 --> 00:47:34,613
I I did actually I went on the walter 

1142
00:47:34,613 --> 00:47:36,613
reed website and I also went on the 

1143
00:47:36,613 --> 00:47:38,724
Fort Belvoir website and you're right 

1144
00:47:38,724 --> 00:47:40,391
it's it's right there all the 

1145
00:47:40,391 --> 00:47:42,502
information is available about how to 

1146
00:47:42,502 --> 00:47:44,224
set an appointment and and the 

1147
00:47:44,224 --> 00:47:46,447
availability so appreciate getting that 

1148
00:47:46,447 --> 00:47:48,669
guidance directly from you . So general 

1149
00:47:48,669 --> 00:47:50,558
place . Um That was again amazing 

1150
00:47:50,558 --> 00:47:52,970
information . We do know that our 

1151
00:47:52,970 --> 00:47:55,190
military communities are diverse in 

1152
00:47:55,190 --> 00:47:57,357
terms of where they live as well . Not 

1153
00:47:57,357 --> 00:47:58,912
everybody lives on military 

1154
00:47:58,912 --> 00:48:01,134
installations anymore . A great members 

1155
00:48:01,134 --> 00:48:03,023
of our community live outside the 

1156
00:48:03,023 --> 00:48:05,134
installation over half right live off 

1157
00:48:05,134 --> 00:48:07,301
of installation . And so when military 

1158
00:48:07,301 --> 00:48:09,301
members have to rely on their local 

1159
00:48:09,301 --> 00:48:11,246
community needs . You know the DND 

1160
00:48:11,246 --> 00:48:13,910
facilities are accessible to them . Um 

1161
00:48:13,910 --> 00:48:15,890
Where where should those military 

1162
00:48:15,890 --> 00:48:18,760
families go ? Sure . So for anyone who 

1163
00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:21,220
either doesn't have access to M . T . F . 

1164
00:48:21,220 --> 00:48:23,553
Or chooses just before convenience sake . 

1165
00:48:23,553 --> 00:48:25,776
They want to do it somewhere else . Our 

1166
00:48:25,776 --> 00:48:27,942
recommendations are these first find a 

1167
00:48:27,942 --> 00:48:29,609
local pharmacy and again most 

1168
00:48:29,609 --> 00:48:31,831
communities have have that available on 

1169
00:48:31,831 --> 00:48:33,998
a community website as well but find a 

1170
00:48:33,998 --> 00:48:35,887
local pharmacy . The advantage of 

1171
00:48:35,887 --> 00:48:38,780
pharmacies . It it is almost never that 

1172
00:48:38,780 --> 00:48:40,947
there's a copay that's associated with 

1173
00:48:40,947 --> 00:48:43,058
the pharmacy . You can also get it at 

1174
00:48:43,058 --> 00:48:45,280
your your your primary care providers . 

1175
00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:47,660
But there's sometimes copays associated 

1176
00:48:47,740 --> 00:48:49,851
with getting vaccines and other other 

1177
00:48:49,851 --> 00:48:52,430
care within the the the primary care 

1178
00:48:52,430 --> 00:48:54,374
provider your your P . C . M . S . 

1179
00:48:54,374 --> 00:48:55,874
Office . So the number one 

1180
00:48:55,874 --> 00:48:58,097
recommendations of pharmacy if you have 

1181
00:48:58,097 --> 00:48:58,050
other things that you need to do with 

1182
00:48:58,050 --> 00:49:00,217
your PCM it's just more convenient get 

1183
00:49:00,217 --> 00:49:02,439
it , get it at your doctors , your your 

1184
00:49:02,439 --> 00:49:04,606
P . A . S . Office or wherever it is . 

1185
00:49:04,606 --> 00:49:03,950
But that's the other way that that 

1186
00:49:03,950 --> 00:49:06,283
folks can get it . That's super helpful . 

1187
00:49:06,283 --> 00:49:08,450
Yeah that's where I got my three doses 

1188
00:49:08,450 --> 00:49:10,672
and you know my two doses of my booster 

1189
00:49:10,672 --> 00:49:12,839
I got at the local pharmacy and you're 

1190
00:49:12,839 --> 00:49:15,061
right there was zero copay . But that's 

1191
00:49:15,061 --> 00:49:14,990
that's really good advice I think . You 

1192
00:49:14,990 --> 00:49:17,460
know sometimes people might want to go 

1193
00:49:17,460 --> 00:49:19,682
to the primary care provider and that's 

1194
00:49:19,682 --> 00:49:21,849
ok too but you may have to you have to 

1195
00:49:21,849 --> 00:49:23,849
do the co pay with that . So thanks 

1196
00:49:23,849 --> 00:49:25,960
thanks for that helpful information . 

1197
00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:28,660
So the general place it's been amazing 

1198
00:49:28,670 --> 00:49:31,990
on how quickly and rapid 

1199
00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:34,320
testing has become an issue in the 

1200
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:36,542
community at large and I know it's it's 

1201
00:49:36,542 --> 00:49:38,653
an issue and it's a challenge for the 

1202
00:49:38,653 --> 00:49:41,820
entire world and the United States . Um 

1203
00:49:41,830 --> 00:49:43,790
But it's so important that we have 

1204
00:49:43,790 --> 00:49:46,270
available testing particularly because 

1205
00:49:46,270 --> 00:49:48,492
of the speed . You know of this variant 

1206
00:49:48,492 --> 00:49:50,548
how quickly it's spreading across of 

1207
00:49:50,548 --> 00:49:52,659
the United States and the globe . And 

1208
00:49:52,659 --> 00:49:54,826
so we're really interested in learning 

1209
00:49:54,826 --> 00:49:56,937
learning learning more from you about 

1210
00:49:56,937 --> 00:49:59,103
the availability of testing at D . O . 

1211
00:49:59,103 --> 00:50:01,326
D . Facilities for service members . Um 

1212
00:50:01,326 --> 00:50:03,492
And then what about family members and 

1213
00:50:03,492 --> 00:50:06,880
their dependents ? Well I appreciate 

1214
00:50:06,880 --> 00:50:09,270
the question of all the things that we 

1215
00:50:09,270 --> 00:50:11,381
may be talking about today . While it 

1216
00:50:11,381 --> 00:50:13,326
seems simple right ? It's a test . 

1217
00:50:13,326 --> 00:50:15,700
Let's just do a task . It may well be 

1218
00:50:15,700 --> 00:50:17,311
at least from a bureaucratic 

1219
00:50:17,311 --> 00:50:19,256
perspective . The most complicated 

1220
00:50:19,256 --> 00:50:21,311
topic topic that we're going to talk 

1221
00:50:21,311 --> 00:50:23,533
about I think everybody knows . But for 

1222
00:50:23,533 --> 00:50:25,478
those who don't there's really two 

1223
00:50:25,478 --> 00:50:27,311
different kinds of tests . Their 

1224
00:50:27,311 --> 00:50:29,589
laboratory performed tests . You go in , 

1225
00:50:29,589 --> 00:50:29,150
you get a swab and somebody else takes 

1226
00:50:29,150 --> 00:50:31,317
care of it and then some that are self 

1227
00:50:31,317 --> 00:50:33,820
administered . So let me let me walk 

1228
00:50:33,820 --> 00:50:36,042
through the process just a little bit . 

1229
00:50:36,042 --> 00:50:38,209
So first for the provider administered 

1230
00:50:38,209 --> 00:50:40,153
test those that we go to someone's 

1231
00:50:40,153 --> 00:50:42,264
office , they do a swab and they take 

1232
00:50:42,264 --> 00:50:44,460
care of it for D . O . D . 

1233
00:50:44,470 --> 00:50:46,720
Beneficiaries . At most of our D . O . 

1234
00:50:46,720 --> 00:50:48,831
D . Facilities we provide that that's 

1235
00:50:48,831 --> 00:50:50,998
called pcr polymerase chain reaction . 

1236
00:50:50,998 --> 00:50:53,090
Pcr testing for service members , 

1237
00:50:53,090 --> 00:50:55,034
families retires and anybody who's 

1238
00:50:55,034 --> 00:50:57,260
eligible for care within our system we 

1239
00:50:57,260 --> 00:50:59,990
can do all that if they're your regular 

1240
00:50:59,990 --> 00:51:03,520
provider or some in the community says 

1241
00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:06,020
that yes it's necessary for you to be 

1242
00:51:06,020 --> 00:51:08,131
tested for it . That's something that 

1243
00:51:08,131 --> 00:51:10,076
we can do . It's called a provider 

1244
00:51:10,076 --> 00:51:12,076
order test . That's the easy part . 

1245
00:51:12,260 --> 00:51:14,410
It's a complex test that we do . But 

1246
00:51:14,410 --> 00:51:16,640
from the beneficiary side , it's pretty 

1247
00:51:16,640 --> 00:51:19,680
easy . The second the over the counter 

1248
00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:21,600
self administered antigen test , 

1249
00:51:21,930 --> 00:51:23,652
there's all kinds of different 

1250
00:51:23,652 --> 00:51:25,819
approaches . And I think this is where 

1251
00:51:25,819 --> 00:51:28,152
the challenge will be for understanding . 

1252
00:51:28,152 --> 00:51:30,250
Now , some towns , some communities 

1253
00:51:30,250 --> 00:51:32,139
have made them free of charge for 

1254
00:51:32,139 --> 00:51:34,250
people in their community . If that's 

1255
00:51:34,250 --> 00:51:36,560
happening in your community , then by 

1256
00:51:36,560 --> 00:51:38,616
all means make yourself available to 

1257
00:51:38,616 --> 00:51:40,671
them . If that's something that's of 

1258
00:51:40,671 --> 00:51:42,950
interest to you , I knew it had some 

1259
00:51:42,950 --> 00:51:46,410
are available online for our patients . 

1260
00:51:46,420 --> 00:51:48,420
Almost always , you have to pay for 

1261
00:51:48,420 --> 00:51:52,150
those that are online . But for but for 

1262
00:51:52,150 --> 00:51:55,160
the Tricare program , that's not the 

1263
00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:58,960
way our system works for us . For 

1264
00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:01,740
tricare to cover something , any sort 

1265
00:52:01,740 --> 00:52:03,962
of test , we'll talk specifically about 

1266
00:52:03,962 --> 00:52:06,073
covid test , but any sort of test has 

1267
00:52:06,073 --> 00:52:09,030
to be determined medically necessary by 

1268
00:52:09,030 --> 00:52:11,690
an authorized provider . And a lot of 

1269
00:52:11,690 --> 00:52:14,390
that's because of Tricare law that that 

1270
00:52:14,390 --> 00:52:16,980
we have to follow . Now , the Tricare 

1271
00:52:16,980 --> 00:52:19,091
health plan provides , you know , all 

1272
00:52:19,091 --> 00:52:21,147
kinds of different ways . So if it's 

1273
00:52:21,147 --> 00:52:23,258
based on symptoms , your provider can 

1274
00:52:23,258 --> 00:52:25,258
say yes , you need a test or you're 

1275
00:52:25,258 --> 00:52:27,424
gonna have a surgical procedures . For 

1276
00:52:27,424 --> 00:52:27,210
example , you don't have any symptoms . 

1277
00:52:27,210 --> 00:52:29,099
But before you go in the hospital 

1278
00:52:29,099 --> 00:52:31,099
according to the ambulatory surgery 

1279
00:52:31,099 --> 00:52:33,321
center to have something don't have any 

1280
00:52:33,321 --> 00:52:35,321
symptoms . But we want to make sure 

1281
00:52:35,321 --> 00:52:35,110
we're doing at a time that's safest for 

1282
00:52:35,110 --> 00:52:38,100
you and safest for the healthcare team 

1283
00:52:38,100 --> 00:52:39,933
that's going to be providing the 

1284
00:52:39,933 --> 00:52:42,100
surgical care . We may . Well , that's 

1285
00:52:42,100 --> 00:52:41,960
medically necessary . We're going to 

1286
00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:44,016
test you before you have it . So for 

1287
00:52:44,016 --> 00:52:45,830
whatever your provider says is 

1288
00:52:45,830 --> 00:52:48,780
medically necessary . That's also easy . 

1289
00:52:49,130 --> 00:52:51,297
It's covered by terry care . It's it's 

1290
00:52:51,297 --> 00:52:53,670
no charge to the individual beneficiary 

1291
00:52:53,680 --> 00:52:55,940
and there's no limit . There's no limit 

1292
00:52:55,940 --> 00:52:58,162
per day per week , per month per year . 

1293
00:52:58,162 --> 00:53:00,110
Medically necessary is medically 

1294
00:53:00,110 --> 00:53:02,277
necessary . Now , what we're trying to 

1295
00:53:02,277 --> 00:53:04,443
work through is the latest guidance on 

1296
00:53:04,443 --> 00:53:06,610
at home testing kits . What the CDC is 

1297
00:53:06,610 --> 00:53:08,666
saying , what the federal government 

1298
00:53:08,666 --> 00:53:10,888
and the White House are saying . And it 

1299
00:53:10,888 --> 00:53:13,054
is there a way for us to include those 

1300
00:53:13,054 --> 00:53:15,166
who are covered by tricare to be part 

1301
00:53:15,166 --> 00:53:17,388
of that ? The absolute moment , we have 

1302
00:53:17,388 --> 00:53:19,443
some sort of change . And other than 

1303
00:53:19,443 --> 00:53:21,443
medically necessary . We'll put all 

1304
00:53:21,443 --> 00:53:23,610
that on our website will probably have 

1305
00:53:23,610 --> 00:53:25,166
some sort of public affairs 

1306
00:53:25,166 --> 00:53:27,388
announcement , that sort of thing . But 

1307
00:53:27,388 --> 00:53:29,666
for now and for the foreseeable future , 

1308
00:53:29,666 --> 00:53:31,900
it's only if it's medically necessary 

1309
00:53:31,940 --> 00:53:34,710
and an authorized by Tricare 

1310
00:53:34,710 --> 00:53:37,150
appropriate provider or someone within 

1311
00:53:37,160 --> 00:53:39,380
our system . And then finally , a 

1312
00:53:39,390 --> 00:53:41,223
little bit of a word about those 

1313
00:53:41,223 --> 00:53:43,334
antigen tests , Those at home tests . 

1314
00:53:43,350 --> 00:53:45,550
There is a high number of false 

1315
00:53:45,550 --> 00:53:48,430
negatives meaning that that it says 

1316
00:53:48,430 --> 00:53:50,597
that you don't have covid but that you 

1317
00:53:50,597 --> 00:53:53,020
do . So if you feel sick , you should 

1318
00:53:53,020 --> 00:53:55,131
still isolate , right ? I mean you're 

1319
00:53:55,131 --> 00:53:57,076
sick so that's the case , you know 

1320
00:53:57,076 --> 00:53:59,187
isolate yourself and then consider if 

1321
00:53:59,187 --> 00:54:01,298
you're still sick 24 hours from there 

1322
00:54:01,298 --> 00:54:03,242
another at home test or perhaps an 

1323
00:54:03,242 --> 00:54:05,187
appointment with your primary care 

1324
00:54:05,187 --> 00:54:07,409
provider and get one of the provider of 

1325
00:54:07,409 --> 00:54:09,631
the pcR tests within our organization . 

1326
00:54:09,631 --> 00:54:12,450
So those tests if you're positive 

1327
00:54:12,460 --> 00:54:14,990
you're positive but if you're antigen 

1328
00:54:14,990 --> 00:54:18,380
test is is is negative there is a 

1329
00:54:18,380 --> 00:54:20,720
potential that it's a it's a false 

1330
00:54:20,720 --> 00:54:22,776
negative and you still may have it . 

1331
00:54:22,776 --> 00:54:24,880
Okay so general place I heard some 

1332
00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:26,713
really interesting and important 

1333
00:54:26,713 --> 00:54:28,713
information there so I just want to 

1334
00:54:28,713 --> 00:54:30,769
recap it really quick . Um One thing 

1335
00:54:30,769 --> 00:54:32,380
you said which I thought was 

1336
00:54:32,380 --> 00:54:34,380
particularly important was the fact 

1337
00:54:34,380 --> 00:54:36,713
that if you get a test outside of the D . 

1338
00:54:36,713 --> 00:54:38,824
O . D . Tricare system , if you don't 

1339
00:54:38,824 --> 00:54:40,658
go see a tricare provider you're 

1340
00:54:40,658 --> 00:54:42,602
probably gonna have to come out of 

1341
00:54:42,602 --> 00:54:44,769
pocket for that test . I think that is 

1342
00:54:44,769 --> 00:54:46,991
a really important point even if you're 

1343
00:54:46,991 --> 00:54:49,102
doing at home testing and uh and that 

1344
00:54:49,102 --> 00:54:51,158
at home testing right now because it 

1345
00:54:51,158 --> 00:54:53,102
doesn't unless it's recommended by 

1346
00:54:53,102 --> 00:54:55,213
tricare provider it's not going to be 

1347
00:54:55,213 --> 00:54:57,436
covered by by tricare , which I thought 

1348
00:54:57,436 --> 00:54:59,491
was an important point . Um And then 

1349
00:54:59,491 --> 00:55:01,602
you also talked about false negatives 

1350
00:55:01,602 --> 00:55:03,769
uh and false positive positive which I 

1351
00:55:03,769 --> 00:55:05,880
thought was really interesting . What 

1352
00:55:05,880 --> 00:55:05,850
you said was it doesn't really matter 

1353
00:55:05,850 --> 00:55:08,270
if you take an antigen test or a pcr 

1354
00:55:08,270 --> 00:55:10,660
test if you're positive you're positive . 

1355
00:55:10,670 --> 00:55:12,726
I don't know that most people really 

1356
00:55:12,726 --> 00:55:14,837
know that . I think when people think 

1357
00:55:14,837 --> 00:55:16,892
of the uh the antigen test , um they 

1358
00:55:16,892 --> 00:55:19,059
think that it's just not as accurate . 

1359
00:55:19,059 --> 00:55:21,114
But um I think it's really important 

1360
00:55:21,114 --> 00:55:23,226
because if you get that positive then 

1361
00:55:23,226 --> 00:55:26,190
you really do have to um take the time 

1362
00:55:26,190 --> 00:55:28,357
that you need to recover . And I think 

1363
00:55:28,357 --> 00:55:30,890
that's really important . Exactly right . 

1364
00:55:30,890 --> 00:55:32,850
Thanks . So sometimes these 

1365
00:55:32,850 --> 00:55:35,860
conversations happen without any 

1366
00:55:35,860 --> 00:55:37,971
planning . You're just sitting down , 

1367
00:55:37,971 --> 00:55:40,082
talking with a friend or talking with 

1368
00:55:40,082 --> 00:55:42,027
the family member and you want the 

1369
00:55:42,027 --> 00:55:44,027
pitch . So what in your mind you've 

1370
00:55:44,027 --> 00:55:46,240
been now at this for years fighting 

1371
00:55:46,240 --> 00:55:48,950
this terrible , terrible pandemic . 

1372
00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:51,870
Help us communicate the most compelling 

1373
00:55:51,880 --> 00:55:55,450
argument to persuade somebody . Please 

1374
00:55:55,450 --> 00:55:59,370
get vaccinated and a rare mask . Well , 

1375
00:55:59,370 --> 00:56:01,426
sure as a physician , I can tell you 

1376
00:56:01,426 --> 00:56:03,426
simply , vaccines really work . The 

1377
00:56:03,426 --> 00:56:05,592
evidence that vaccines reduce the risk 

1378
00:56:05,592 --> 00:56:07,592
of being hospitalized or dying from 

1379
00:56:07,592 --> 00:56:09,703
covid is overwhelming . The reduction 

1380
00:56:09,703 --> 00:56:13,160
is huge but not perfect . Vaccination 

1381
00:56:13,160 --> 00:56:15,327
reduces the risk of transmitting covid 

1382
00:56:15,327 --> 00:56:17,680
to someone else . Vaccinations are key 

1383
00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:19,791
to all this and and just as strong as 

1384
00:56:19,791 --> 00:56:22,770
the the safety or the as the efficacy 

1385
00:56:22,770 --> 00:56:24,950
is the safety of them . The number of 

1386
00:56:24,960 --> 00:56:27,220
adverse events from these vaccines is 

1387
00:56:27,220 --> 00:56:30,050
extremely low and much better than the 

1388
00:56:30,050 --> 00:56:32,050
short and or long term effects from 

1389
00:56:32,050 --> 00:56:34,106
getting covid , I tell my family the 

1390
00:56:34,106 --> 00:56:36,272
same thing . I'm telling you if you do 

1391
00:56:36,272 --> 00:56:39,070
nothing else get vaccinated unmasks as 

1392
00:56:39,070 --> 00:56:41,292
a surgeon , as a general surgeon . I've 

1393
00:56:41,292 --> 00:56:43,403
worn masks in the opportune my entire 

1394
00:56:43,403 --> 00:56:45,070
adult life . There a layer of 

1395
00:56:45,070 --> 00:56:46,959
protection to help reduce or even 

1396
00:56:46,959 --> 00:56:49,200
eliminate the spray of droplets and the 

1397
00:56:49,200 --> 00:56:51,311
viruses that they continually talk or 

1398
00:56:51,311 --> 00:56:53,560
cough or sneeze weren't correctly 

1399
00:56:53,560 --> 00:56:57,390
though . N 95 kn 95 KF 90 

1400
00:56:57,390 --> 00:57:00,240
four's . They're much better protection 

1401
00:57:00,240 --> 00:57:02,900
than a cloth or a surgical mask . But 

1402
00:57:02,900 --> 00:57:04,956
if you're gonna buy them , make sure 

1403
00:57:04,956 --> 00:57:06,900
that you buy them from a reputable 

1404
00:57:06,900 --> 00:57:09,122
source , there's some counterfeit masks 

1405
00:57:09,122 --> 00:57:11,289
out on the market . So just be careful 

1406
00:57:11,289 --> 00:57:13,622
about that . I hope that was 30 seconds . 

1407
00:57:13,622 --> 00:57:15,844
I don't know how long it took me . That 

1408
00:57:15,844 --> 00:57:17,956
was perfect . Um and again , I just , 

1409
00:57:17,956 --> 00:57:20,178
you know , just repeating the safety of 

1410
00:57:20,178 --> 00:57:22,400
them and the efficacy of them . I think 

1411
00:57:22,400 --> 00:57:24,567
that you're right . I mean , we can we 

1412
00:57:24,567 --> 00:57:24,550
can try our very very best to convince 

1413
00:57:24,550 --> 00:57:27,410
people and hopefully they listen . Um 

1414
00:57:27,420 --> 00:57:30,190
so this is about a Macron and and you 

1415
00:57:30,190 --> 00:57:33,520
know , the uh the challenges that are 

1416
00:57:33,520 --> 00:57:37,150
Macron presents right now . And the 

1417
00:57:37,630 --> 00:57:39,630
the thing that's most concerned , I 

1418
00:57:39,630 --> 00:57:41,852
think the people is , you know , how do 

1419
00:57:41,852 --> 00:57:43,741
we keep our families safe ? Is it 

1420
00:57:43,741 --> 00:57:45,797
different than what we've been doing 

1421
00:57:45,797 --> 00:57:48,050
before ? Because um Macron is a variant 

1422
00:57:48,060 --> 00:57:50,227
or the omicron is new and different in 

1423
00:57:50,227 --> 00:57:52,449
some way . And so I think our community 

1424
00:57:52,449 --> 00:57:54,616
is really interested in knowing what's 

1425
00:57:54,616 --> 00:57:56,782
the best way to keep our entire family 

1426
00:57:56,782 --> 00:58:00,110
safe when pcs ng or traveling 

1427
00:58:00,120 --> 00:58:03,680
anywhere during the surge . Well 

1428
00:58:03,680 --> 00:58:05,870
sure . I mean hopefully you're gonna 

1429
00:58:05,870 --> 00:58:07,981
hear the same things coming out of me 

1430
00:58:07,981 --> 00:58:09,926
no matter what the situation . The 

1431
00:58:09,926 --> 00:58:11,870
first is vaccinated and boosted if 

1432
00:58:11,870 --> 00:58:13,870
appropriate , single most important 

1433
00:58:13,870 --> 00:58:15,981
step . But about a micron , as you've 

1434
00:58:15,981 --> 00:58:17,981
already described , this particular 

1435
00:58:17,981 --> 00:58:20,203
variant transmissibility or its ability 

1436
00:58:20,203 --> 00:58:22,259
to go from one person to the next is 

1437
00:58:22,259 --> 00:58:24,070
much , much , much higher . So 

1438
00:58:24,070 --> 00:58:26,292
therefore , what are the sort of common 

1439
00:58:26,292 --> 00:58:28,348
sense things ? Right . These are the 

1440
00:58:28,348 --> 00:58:28,080
same things your mom and dad told you 

1441
00:58:28,080 --> 00:58:30,302
when you're a kid if you're not feeling 

1442
00:58:30,302 --> 00:58:32,469
well , you know , isolate yourself and 

1443
00:58:32,469 --> 00:58:34,802
consider testing if you're feeling fine , 

1444
00:58:34,802 --> 00:58:36,802
but you're out somewhere else , you 

1445
00:58:36,802 --> 00:58:38,969
know , be careful about it . If you're 

1446
00:58:39,020 --> 00:58:41,160
in a , in a place , not with your 

1447
00:58:41,160 --> 00:58:43,160
family , then you know , where your 

1448
00:58:43,160 --> 00:58:45,160
masks where appropriate and grocery 

1449
00:58:45,160 --> 00:58:47,382
stores or to the restaurants at least , 

1450
00:58:47,382 --> 00:58:49,493
you know , while you're not eating or 

1451
00:58:49,493 --> 00:58:51,716
when you're , you're out to a show that 

1452
00:58:51,716 --> 00:58:53,604
sort of thing where appropriate , 

1453
00:58:53,604 --> 00:58:55,660
maintain physical distancing and you 

1454
00:58:55,660 --> 00:58:57,882
know , sometimes social settings is not 

1455
00:58:57,882 --> 00:58:57,270
appropriate to be apart . Sometimes it 

1456
00:58:57,270 --> 00:58:59,270
is . And so , you know , think that 

1457
00:58:59,270 --> 00:59:02,460
through wash your hands or use hand 

1458
00:59:02,460 --> 00:59:04,750
sanitization if you don't have access 

1459
00:59:04,750 --> 00:59:06,861
to soap and water . So just a sort of 

1460
00:59:06,861 --> 00:59:09,550
common self or common sense things that 

1461
00:59:09,550 --> 00:59:11,550
we collectively can control our own 

1462
00:59:11,550 --> 00:59:13,883
environment . It doesn't mean lockdowns , 

1463
00:59:13,883 --> 00:59:15,828
It doesn't mean you can't see your 

1464
00:59:15,828 --> 00:59:17,772
friends , it doesn't mean that you 

1465
00:59:17,772 --> 00:59:19,883
can't live life , but if you're going 

1466
00:59:19,883 --> 00:59:22,050
to be around immune compromised family 

1467
00:59:22,050 --> 00:59:24,161
or friends . Think about that and and 

1468
00:59:24,161 --> 00:59:26,328
think through what are the things that 

1469
00:59:26,328 --> 00:59:28,439
you need to do beforehand . If you're 

1470
00:59:28,439 --> 00:59:30,494
traveling through high vaccination , 

1471
00:59:30,494 --> 00:59:32,717
low positivity rates , you can probably 

1472
00:59:32,717 --> 00:59:34,772
behave a little bit differently when 

1473
00:59:34,772 --> 00:59:36,939
than when you're traveling through low 

1474
00:59:36,939 --> 00:59:39,106
vaccination , high transmittal of it . 

1475
00:59:39,106 --> 00:59:41,272
So just be aware of the circumstance , 

1476
00:59:41,272 --> 00:59:40,870
right ? We're in the military 

1477
00:59:40,880 --> 00:59:42,991
situational awareness is an important 

1478
00:59:42,991 --> 00:59:45,510
part of who we are . But if you're 

1479
00:59:45,510 --> 00:59:47,920
vaccinated and boosted where 

1480
00:59:47,920 --> 00:59:50,340
appropriate , and not immune 

1481
00:59:50,340 --> 00:59:53,620
compromised your risk or the risk of 

1482
00:59:53,620 --> 00:59:56,940
your family , if that's all of you to a 

1483
00:59:56,940 --> 01:00:00,150
severe case of covid is extraordinarily 

1484
01:00:00,150 --> 01:00:02,206
low . And that would be my advice to 

1485
01:00:02,206 --> 01:00:04,206
anybody who's moving anywhere . Pcs 

1486
01:00:04,206 --> 01:00:08,100
travel t dy whatever it is . Thanks to 

1487
01:00:08,100 --> 01:00:10,540
your own place . That's a exceedingly 

1488
01:00:10,550 --> 01:00:12,660
sound advice and I know that our 

1489
01:00:12,660 --> 01:00:14,840
community appreciates you taking time 

1490
01:00:14,840 --> 01:00:16,951
to talk with us today . Um you know , 

1491
01:00:16,951 --> 01:00:18,990
this is an important and I think 

1492
01:00:18,990 --> 01:00:21,240
pivotal moment for our country and 

1493
01:00:21,240 --> 01:00:23,462
certainly for our military families and 

1494
01:00:23,462 --> 01:00:25,684
our veteran families . So , to have you 

1495
01:00:25,684 --> 01:00:27,573
to come on here to have Secretary 

1496
01:00:27,573 --> 01:00:29,240
McDonough uh and other senior 

1497
01:00:29,240 --> 01:00:31,420
leadership had dr Fauci come and talk 

1498
01:00:31,420 --> 01:00:33,531
to us in this way . Um , it's just so 

1499
01:00:33,531 --> 01:00:35,642
meaningful and impactful and we can't 

1500
01:00:35,642 --> 01:00:37,642
thank you enough for taking time to 

1501
01:00:37,642 --> 01:00:39,420
talk with us today . And you've 

1502
01:00:39,420 --> 01:00:41,642
certainly given us a lot to think about 

1503
01:00:41,642 --> 01:00:43,364
and certainly more than enough 

1504
01:00:43,364 --> 01:00:45,087
information to stay safe . Get 

1505
01:00:45,087 --> 01:00:47,198
vaccinated and get boosted . Thanks . 

1506
01:00:47,198 --> 01:00:49,087
Yeah , thanks Kobe . And I really 

1507
01:00:49,087 --> 01:00:51,309
appreciate your invitation to come on . 

1508
01:00:51,309 --> 01:00:53,420
It's always great to talk to you that 

1509
01:00:53,420 --> 01:00:55,642
the great red Cross team and in support 

1510
01:00:55,642 --> 01:00:54,820
of Blue Star families . So thanks for 

1511
01:00:54,820 --> 01:00:55,820
having me 

1512
01:01:01,810 --> 01:01:04,800
Well , super . Thank you so much Kobe 

1513
01:01:04,800 --> 01:01:06,967
for sharing the hosting duties with me 

1514
01:01:06,967 --> 01:01:09,160
again . You make us look good . Uh , 

1515
01:01:09,170 --> 01:01:11,114
thank you Lieutenant General place 

1516
01:01:11,114 --> 01:01:13,281
really great information and I have to 

1517
01:01:13,281 --> 01:01:15,392
say um , for me personally and I hope 

1518
01:01:15,392 --> 01:01:17,614
for you , our friends who are in family 

1519
01:01:17,614 --> 01:01:19,940
who are joining us today for me getting 

1520
01:01:19,940 --> 01:01:22,107
this information was a little bit like 

1521
01:01:22,107 --> 01:01:24,107
a booster in and of itself . Um , I 

1522
01:01:24,107 --> 01:01:26,107
feel a little bit more motivated to 

1523
01:01:26,107 --> 01:01:28,310
keep going in some ways . This reminds 

1524
01:01:28,310 --> 01:01:31,160
me of how I sometimes had to think 

1525
01:01:31,160 --> 01:01:33,660
about things back in the early days of 

1526
01:01:33,660 --> 01:01:35,350
the surge and those multiple 

1527
01:01:35,350 --> 01:01:39,180
deployments to combat . You gotta , 

1528
01:01:39,190 --> 01:01:41,860
you gotta listen to the words of Janis 

1529
01:01:41,860 --> 01:01:44,082
Joplin and tell people that a woman can 

1530
01:01:44,082 --> 01:01:46,249
be tough and the case may be a man can 

1531
01:01:46,249 --> 01:01:48,304
be tough . All of us can be tough to 

1532
01:01:48,304 --> 01:01:50,416
keep this thing going . Um , and keep 

1533
01:01:50,416 --> 01:01:52,527
fighting the fight . We need to fight 

1534
01:01:52,527 --> 01:01:54,693
to keep ourselves and our force safe . 

1535
01:01:54,693 --> 01:01:57,027
Thank you everyone for joining us today . 

1536
01:01:57,027 --> 01:01:58,971
We hope you got the answers you're 

1537
01:01:58,971 --> 01:02:00,749
seeking . Blue star families is 

1538
01:02:00,749 --> 01:02:02,693
committed to standing beside you . 

1539
01:02:02,693 --> 01:02:04,916
Military and veteran connected families 

1540
01:02:04,916 --> 01:02:07,027
as we deal with the critical concerns 

1541
01:02:07,027 --> 01:02:09,249
that affect you . Whether they're covid 

1542
01:02:09,249 --> 01:02:11,610
whether they're managing a pcs moving 

1543
01:02:11,610 --> 01:02:13,690
with Children , dealing with afghan 

1544
01:02:13,690 --> 01:02:17,150
allies are so many other issues . We 

1545
01:02:17,150 --> 01:02:19,440
hope you join us in some of our future , 

1546
01:02:19,610 --> 01:02:23,180
Uh , engagements . We wish you health 

1547
01:02:23,190 --> 01:02:27,040
and happiness throughout 2022 and know 

1548
01:02:27,040 --> 01:02:29,080
that all of us together , we'll get 

1549
01:02:29,080 --> 01:02:30,640
through this . Thank you .