JOINING US, DR. JOSEPH FAIR, AN
MSNBC SCIENCE CONTRIBUTOR,
RECENTLY RECOVERED HIMSELF FROM
THE CORONAVIRUS.
ALL RIGHT.
SO THIS IS A STEROID.
AND I HAD SEEN REPORTS OF OTHER
STEROIDS IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAYBE
REVITALIZE THE LUNGS WHEN
THEY’VE BEEN ATTACKED AND THINGS
LIKE THAT.
AS A POTENTIAL TREATMENT.
EXPLAIN WHY THIS SEEMS TO BE
WORKING.
>> WELL, YOU KNOW,
THEORETICALLY, THE WAY THIS
WORKS, SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR
TO THE MORTALITY THAT RESULTS
FROM COVID-19 IS YOUR OWN IMMUNE
SYSTEM.
SO YOUR OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM IS
OVERREACTING TO A PATHOGEN THAT
IT’S NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE.
AND IT CAUSES YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
THROWING EVERYTHING IT CAN ON
IT.
THE WAY A STEROID WOULD AFFECT
THAT IS TO DAMPEN THAT IMMUNE
RESPONSE, LIMITING THE HARM THAT
YOUR OWN BODY DOES TO ITSELF
WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL.
WHICH, WHEN PEOPLE ARE
VENTILATED, THAT’S A LOT OF
WHAT’S GOING ON AND WHAT THEY
ARE FEELING AND WHY THEY FEEL SO
BAD AND ARE SICK AT THAT POINT
IN TIME.
NOT NECESSARILY BECAUSE OF THE
VIRUS BUT BECAUSE OF WHAT YOUR
OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM IS DOING TO
IT.
THIS DAECHBLMPENS THAT RESPONSE
ALLOWS YOU TO OVERCOME IT
YOURSELF WITHOUT OVERREACTING, I
SHOULD SAY.
>> NOW WHAT THIS TREATMENT IS
AND ISN’T.
THIS IS NOT FOR THOSE THAT HAVE
LOST THEIR SENSE OF TASTE OR
SMELL, RIGHT?
THIS IS --
>> CORRECT.
>> THIS IS ONLY A TREATMENT WHEN
YOU ARE IN THE ICU ON OXYGEN?
>> THAT’S CORRECT.
THIS IS -- AS FAR AS WHAT I GAIN
FROM THIS STUDY, THIS WOULD BE
FOR THE MOST CRITICALLY ILL
PATIENTS, AND THIS DID HAVE --
IF THE STUDY HOLDS UP.
THAT WAS A PRESS RELEASE, NOT A
PAPER.
WE HAVEN’T SEEN THE DATA YET.
IF IT HOLDS UP AND DOES COME
FROM OXFORD WHICH LENDS IT SOME
CREDIBILITY ALREADY, BUT IF IT
HOLDS UP, WHAT WE SHOULD SEE IS
AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF
PEOPLE THAT SURVIVE THE DISEASE.
IT’S DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO BE
FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE HAVING MILD
TO MODERATE SYMPTOMS AND HOME
SELF-TREATING.
THIS WILL BE FOR YOUR MOST
CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS.
>> SO JOSEPH FAIR, THE CAPITAL
CITY, BEIJING, IS NOW UNDER
LOGDOWN BECAUSE OF ANOTHER
OUTBREAK THERE.
THERE WERE REPORTS THIS OUTBREAK
MAY BE MORE CONTAGIOUS THAN THE
ORIGINAL OUTBREAK IN WUHAN,
CHINA.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT
IN YOUR KNOWLEDGE AS A
VIROLOGIST?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, I CAN’T
NECESSARILY POINT OUT TO THE
SCIENCE THAT SAYS IT’S MORE
CONTAGIOUS.
BEIJING HAS A LOT MORE PEOPLE
THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN CHINA.
WUHAN HAS A STRIKING NUMBER OF
PEOPLE ITSELF BUT BEIJING HAS
JUST UNDER 22 MILLION PEOPLE.
THERE IS NO OPTION WHATSOEVER TO
SOCIALLY DISTANCE HAVING SPENT A
CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME IN
BEIJING MYSELF.
SO THAT, COMBINED WITH THE FACT
THAT EVEN IN OUR OWN EXPERIENCE
HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, WE
SEE A VERY SIGNIFICANT PORTION
OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE INFECTED
THAT ARE EITHER ASYMPTOMATIC OR
STILL SPREADING THE VIRUS WHILE
PRESYMPTOMATIC.
IT’S VERY REASONABLE TO THINK
THAT COULD HAVE OCCURRED BETWEEN
WHEN THEY DECLARED THE OUTBREAK
MORE OR LESS OVER IN WUHAN AND
NOW CASES ARRIVING IN BEIJING.
BUT IT’S STILL A WORRISOME
DEVELOPMENT, IT BEING THEIR
CAPITAL AND HOW DENSELY
POPULATED IT IS AND CONNECTED TO
THE REST OF THE WORLD, FRANKLY.
>> WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT MEANS
FOR WHAT WE’RE GOING TO END UP
SEEING HERE?
THERE ARE I NUMBER OF STATES
THAT REOPENED EARLY THAT ARE
SEEING A SPIKE IN THEIR CASES.
THERE ARE OTHER STATES THAT HAVE
HAD THEIR CASE NUMBERS FALL
DRAMATICALLY.
NEW YORK IS ONE OF THEM THAT ARE
STARTING THE PROCESS OF
REOPENING.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF LOCAL
OFFICIALS, CERTAINLY A LOT OF
NATIONAL OFFICIALS ARE VERY HESS
TENT
ITANT TO LOOK DOWN ANY CITY, HOW
MUCH WORSE IT MIGHT MAKE THE
ECONOMY.
>> YEAH, I DON’T THINK
REALISTICALLY WE’LL SEE ANOTHER
LOCKDOWN IN THE UNITED STATES.
I DON’T THINK THE AMERICAN
PUBLIC WOULD ACCEPT IT AT THIS
POINT.
AND WE CAN -- I THINK WE’LL DO A
RETROSPECTIVE OF WHY ALL THAT IS
AND WHY IT HAPPENED THAT WAY
ONCE THIS SAUL OVERIS ALL OVER,
DON’T THINK PEOPLE WOULD STAND
FOR IT AGAIN.
WHAT IT DOES MEAN, WHEN WE’VE
TALKED ABOUT THE SECOND WAVE IN
THE PAST, THAT IS -- WE WERE
TALKING MORE ABOUT A NATURAL
SECOND WAVE THAT WE’D SEE A DIP
POSSIBLY IN THE SUMMER AND
MONTHS IN THE COLD AND FLU
SEASON THAT WE NATURALLY SEE.
WHAT BEIJING TELLS US IS THEY’RE
NOT SEEING THAT DIP.
THEY ARE HAVING NEW OUTBREAKS.
WE’RE SEEING THAT OURSELVES
HERE.
WE’RE HAVING THAT SAME
EXPERIENCE.
AND THAT WE’RE UNDERGOING A
SELF-INDUCED SECOND WAVE HERE IN
THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE WE
JUST DECIDED TO RELAX OUR
EFFORTS WHICH WE’RE WORKING
SUCCESSFULLY IN A NUMBER OF
STATES.
SO THIS IS REALLY A HUMAN
BEHAVIOR INDUCED SECOND WAVE
THAT WE’RE SEEING.
>> JOSEPH FAIR, I THINK YOU USED
THE WORD BEFORE, ENDEMIC AT THIS
POINT.
SECOND WAVE, ENDEMIC.
DOES IT REALLY MATTER?
ARE WE TALKING --
>> I DON’T THINK IT MATTERS AT
THIS POINT TO BE FRANK.
WITH THE KIND OF LACK OF
RESPONSE THAT WE’RE SEEING, YOU
KNOW, EVEN SPEAKING ABOUT IT IN
THE PAST TENSE AT CERTAIN POINTS
IN THE PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY,
IT’S LIKE WE’VE ALREADY MOVED ON
AND WE’RE STILL MIDPANDEMIC.
THAT BEING SAID, I THINK WE’RE
GOING TO CONTINUE DOWN THIS SAME
PATH.
I THINK WE ARE GOING TO EITHER
BECOME -- DEVELOP AN ENDEMIC
SITUATION WITH THE VIRUS ITSELF
OR WE’LL HAVE A VACCINE.
THOSE ARE GOING TO BE OUR ONLY
TWO WAYS OUT.
A VACCINE IS NOT GUARANTEED, AS
I TOLD YOU THIS WEEKEND.
AND IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT’S
NECESSARILY GOING TO HAPPEN
FAST.
SO THERE ARE GOING TO BE VERY
LONG-TERM RAMIFICATIONS TO OUR
ACTIONS NOW.
>> THIS IS WHY THE NEWS ON THE
THERAPEUTICS MAY MATTER MORE IN
THE SHORT TERM THAN ANYTHING
ELSE BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW HOW
