>>> U.S. STORM TOMMY BALDWIN MET
WITH A MADE RESEARCH TEAM THIS
WEEK.
SCIENTISTS AT THE AIDS VACCINE
RESEARCH LABORATORY, THE TEAM
LED BY DR. THOMAS FRIEDRICH, IS
WORKING TO IDENTIFY AND
COUNTERATTACK THE RISE OF NEW
CORONAVIRUS VARIANTS.
SINCE MARCH OF 2020 THE FREE
KICK LAB HAS IDENTIFIED OR
SEQUENCED MORE THAN 6,000
VARIETIES -- VIRUSES FROM DANE
AND MILWAUKEE COUNTIES.
WE SPEAK THOUSAND TO A PRIMARY
MEMBER OF THE RESEARCH TEAM, LAB
SCIENTIST CAT WERE AINA BRAUN.
-- KATARINA BRAUN.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO
SEQUENCE THE COVID VIRUSES?
>> YEAH, SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IN
OUR SEQUENCING IS DISORT OF
BREAK -- SORT OF BREAKING THAT
VIRUS APART AND TAKING A LOOK AT
THE GENETIC FINGERPRINT INSIDE
THE VIRUS.
AND WE CAN SORT OF IDENTIFY
SLIGHT GENETIC VARIATIONS THAT
DIFFER FROM ONE VIRUS THAT'S
INFECTING ME VERSUS ONE THAT'S
INFECTING YOU.
IT'S IMPORTANT SO WE CAN TRACK
THE VIRUS AS IT MOVES THROUGH
SPACE AND TIME, WHICH ALLOWS US
TO TARGET PUBLIC HEALTH
GUIDANCE.
BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO
IDENTIFY THOSE PARTICULAR
VARIANTS WHICH YOU'VE SEEN IN
THE NEWS RECENTLY, THE VARIANTS
OF CONCERN.
>> YEAH, SO WHEN DID YOU START
SEEING THOSE?
IF YOU'VE BEEN SEQUENCING SINCE
MARCH OF LAST YEAR, WHEN DID YOU
START SEEING THE VARIANTS POP
UP?
>> SURE.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A TOUGH
QUESTION TO ANSWER, BECAUSE THE
VIRUS ITSELF, EVERY VIRUS IS
SLIGHTLY -- IS A VARIANCE OF THE
LAST VERSION.
SO THERE'S QUITE A FEW GENETIC
VARIATIONS THAT WE NOTICED.
SO WE'VE BEEN NOTICING THEM OVER
THE PAST YEAR.
THE ONES THAT ARE OF PARTICULAR
INTEREST AND THAT WE JUST
STARTED SEEING POP UP IN
WISCONSIN OVER THE PAST FEW
MONTHS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE
CONFER INCREASED
TRANSMISSIBILITY.
SO MAKE THE VIRUS EASIER TO
SPREAD AND IN SOME CASES MAY
MAKE THE VACCINE A LITTLE BIT
LESS EFFECTIVE.
>> SO IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU'VE
FOUND CIRCULATING IN
WISCONSIN,WHAT ARE THE VARIANTS
OF CONCERN THAT YOU FOUND AND
ARE YOU ABLE TO PINPOINT, YOU
KNOW, CLUSTERS OF THEM IN PARTS
OF THE STATE?
>> SURE.
SO WE'RE WORKING REALLY CLOSELY
WITH PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE STATE
OF WISCONSIN TO IDENTIFY IN
PARTICULAR TRAVEL-ASSOCIATED
CASES, INTO THE STATE THAT MAY
BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE
VARIANTS OF CONCERN.
SO USING THAT APPROACH, WE HAVE
BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY A FEW SORT
OF OUTBREAKS ASSOCIATED WITH
TRAVEL.
BUT THE VARIANT THAT SEEMS TO BE
POPPING UP MOST COMMON IS THE --
CALLED B.1.1.7 AND THAT'S THE
VARIANT THAT WAS FIRST
IDENTIFIED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
THIS PAST FALL.
SO THAT'S THE ONE THAT'S STILL
PRETTY RARE IN OUR STATE.
BUT IT'S DEFINITELY ON THE RISE.
>> SO IS IT YOUR EXPECTATION
THAT THE SPREAD OF THIS U.K.
VARIANT IN PARTICULAR WILL
CONTINUE TO INCREASE HERE AS IS
THE CONCERN OF PUBLIC HEALTH
OFFICIALS?
>> THAT'S DEFINITELY THE CURRENT
CONCERN.
IT'S STILL EARLY.
THERE'S ONLY, YOU KNOW, LESS
THAN A FEW HUNDRED CASES IN THE
STATE CURRENTLY.
BUT OUR SURROUNDING STATES HAVE
SEEN A RISE AND WE'RE ALSO
SEEING A RISE -- IT'S ALSO MORE
TRANSMISSIBLE.
SO IT'S PARTICULARLY GOOD AT
SPREADING.
SO WE DO EXPECT TO SEE
INCREASING NUMBER OF CASES OF
THIS PARTICULAR VARIANT.
>> IT ALSO SEEMS LIKE KIND OF AN
OBVIOUS QUESTION BUT IS THIS WHY
WE ARE NOW SEEING AN UPTICK IN
OVERALL CASES?
>> IT'S HARD TO SAY.
LIKE I SAID, THERE ARE
RELATIVELY NEW OF THESE
PARTICULAR VARIANTS, THE B.1.1.7
IN WISCONSIN.
IT COULD BE CONTRIBUTING.
I ALSO THINK PUBLIC HEALTH DATA
POINTS TOWARDS PEOPLE BECOMING A
LITTLE BIT MORE RELAXED WITH
THEIR MASK WEARING, THE WEATHER
IS GETTING WARMER AND PEOPLE ARE
WANTING TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER.
AND YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE
RELAXATIONS ARE ALLOWING THE
VIRUS TO SPREAD.
>> I KNOW THAT MICHIGAN AND
MINNESOTA, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE
LARGE NUMBERS OF THESE VARIANTS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO WAY TO PUT
UP A BORDER FENCE AT STATE
LINES, BUT WHAT IS THE BEST WAY
TO SUPPRESS THE SPREAD OF THESE
VARIANTS IN WISCONSIN IN YOUR
MIND?
>> UH-HUH.
IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND I THINK IT'S THE QUESTION
THAT PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE
CURRENTLY TACKLING.
ONE THING TO DO IS TO TRACK AND
LIMIT TRAVEL INTO AND OUT OF THE
STATE OF WISCONSIN.
THAT'S INCREASINGLY HARD AS
PEOPLE WANT TO TRAVEL.
AND THE OTHER THING IS TO JUST
GET PEOPLE VACCINATED AS QUICKLY
AS POSSIBLE.
WE KNOW THE VACCINE PREVENTS --
DOES A GOOD JOB AT PROTECTING
AGAINST THIS PARTICULAR VARIANT
THAT'S ON THE RISE IN WISCONSIN.
SO AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN GET
PEOPLE VACCINATED IS DEFINITELY
ONE OF THE PRIMARY MEASURES WE
CAN DO TO REDUCE THE SPREAD.
>> KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT
THE SPREAD AND THE
INFECTIOUSNESS OF SOME OF THESE
VARIANTS, WOULD WE OR SHOULD WE
REVERT TO SAFETY PRACTICES LIKE
MANDATES IF A SURGE KIND OF
TAKES HOLD AGAIN?
>> YEAH.
I THINK IT'S A HARD QUESTION.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE IN THE
PUBLIC'S BEST INTEREST IN TERMS
OF PROTECTING THE MOST NUMBER OF
PEOPLE.
IN TERMS OF PUBLIC SUPPORT, I
DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE
THERE.
I KNOW THAT SCIENTISTS AND
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS AND
PHYSICIANS YOU'LL KNOW THAT THE
BEST WAY TO -- ALL KNOW THAT THE
BEST WAY TO PROTECT OUR ENTIRE
COMMUNITY IS TO GET EVERYONE,
INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO ARE
DISPROPORTIONATELY SORT OF
LIMITED IN TERMS OF THEIR ACCESS
TO THE VACCINE, TO GET EVERYONE
VACCINATED AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE AND ALSO NOT JUST IN
WISCONSIN, BUT AS YOU MENTIONED,
THE VIRUS DOESN'T CARE ABOUT
STATE OR GEOGRAPHIC BORDERS.
SO GETTING PEOPLE VACCINATED
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND
ACROSS THE WORLD IS REALLY
IMPORTANT HERE.
>> ALL RIGHT.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR