% MUCH.%>> THANK YOU.
% >>> IN COVID-19 NEWS, MILWAUKEE
% IS REINSTATING MASK GUIDANCE AND
% DANE COUNTY IS EXTENDING THE
% EMERGENCY HOTEL SHELTER PROGRAM
% FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING
% HOMELESSNESS.%THESE MEASURES
AS WISCONSIN
% TOPPED 2,000 POSITIVE CASES OVER
% ONE DAY THIS WEEK.
% A NUMBER NOT SEEN SINCE EARLY
% JUNE, ACCORDING TO THE WISCONSIN
% DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES.
% THE STATE'S OFFICIAL POSITIVITY
% RATE SITS AT OVER 13%.
% BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY AN
% UNDERCOUNT WITH AT-HOME TEST
% RESULTS NOT APPEARING IN THESE
% NUMBERS.
% WHERE ARE WE HEADED WITH THIS
% ENDURING PANDEMIC AT THIS POINT?
% WE ASKED NATIONAL EXPERT MICHAEL
% OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR OF THE
% CENTER FOR INFESTER DISEASE
% RESEARCH AND POLICY, AT THE
% UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA.
% HE JOINS US FROM MINNEAPOLIS.
% AND THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
% >> THANK YOU.
% >> SO WHAT ARE THE ESTIMATES FOR
% HOW BIG OF AN UNDERCOUNT IT IS
% IN POSITIVE CASES CURRENTLY
% POSTED ON PUBLIC DASHBOARDS?
% >> WE JUST REALLY DON'T KNOW.
% I WILL HAVE TO SAY, USING THAT
% OLD RURAL WISCONSIN APPROACH TO
% UNDERSTANDING LIFE WHERE YOU WET
% YOUR FIGURER AND PUT IT UP IN
% THE AIR AND THAT'S HOW YOU
% DETERMINE WHICH WAY THE WIND IS
% COMING, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT
% WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IN TERMS
% OF LOOKING AT COVID CASES.
% WE HAVE MAJOR UNDERCOUNTS
% BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NOT GETTING
% TESTED, USING THE PCR TESTING
% THAT WOULD GIVE YOU RESULTS THAT
% GET REPORTED.
% IF YOU NOTED, MANY PEOPLE WHO
% ARE USING AT-HOME TESTING, THOSE
% RESULTS, FIRST OF ALL, ARE
% SOMEWHAT CHALLENGING AND WE KNOW
% A LOT OF PEOPLE RIGHT NOW ARE
% TESTING NEGATIVE WHEN IN FACT
% THEY HAVE POSITIVE.
% IN ADDITION, THEY'RE NOTE
% GETTING -- THEY'RE NOT GETTING
% REPORTED.%SO AT THIS TIME IT
'S CLEAR THERE
% ARE MANY, MANY MORE CASES
% OCCURRING IN THE COMMUNITY.
% I PERSONALLY KNOW OF MORE PEOPLE
% IN MY OWN LIFE RIGHT NOW THAT
% ARE INFECTED THAN I'VE SEEN AT
% ANY TIME IN THE ENTIRE PANDEMIC.
% SO THE ONE THING THAT WE ARE
% USING RIGHT NOW AS A MEASURE
% INDIRECTLY OF WHAT'S HAPPENING
% IS HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS.
% AND UNFORTUNATELY BOTH OF THOSE
% ARE CREEPING UP QUICKLY
% THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
% >> OUR STATE LAB SAYS THAT THE
% BA.5 VARIANT HAS NOW THE
% DOMINANT ONE.
% WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS
% VARIANT?%>> WELL, AS WE'VE BE
EN TALKING
% ABOUT, ON THIS VERY SHOW THE
% BETTER PART OF THE LAST TWO
% YEARS, THIS VIRUS CONTINUES TO
% THROW 210-MILE-AN-HOUR
% CURVEBALLS AT US.
% BA.5 IS NOW ONE THAT CAN INVITED
% THE IMMUNE PROTECTIONS OF THE
% VACCINES BUT EVEN THOSE WHO HAD
% BA1, THE EARLIER SUBVARIANT OF
% OMICRON IN DECEMBER AND JAN, ARE
% NOW GETTING INFECTED WITH BA.5.
% SO THIS IS ONE OF THE ISSUES WE
% HAVE WITH THE COVID SITUATION,
% IS IN FACT THAT THE IMMUNE
% INVASION OF THESE NEWER VARIANTS
% IS A PROBLEM FOR US IN TERMS OF
% JUST UNDERSTANDING JUST HOW MANY
% NEW INFECTIONS WILL OCCUR, WHAT
% WILL HAPPEN.
% WE JUST DON'T KNOW AT THIS
% POINT.
% >> SO QUOTING FROM AN ATLANTA
% ARTICLE, MORE VARIANTS MEAN MORE
% INFECTIONS, MORE INFECTIONS MEAN
% MORE VARIANTS.
% HOW DOES THIS CYCLE LOOK MOVING
% FORWARD, SAY, INTO THE FALL?
% >> WELL, IT'S CLEAR THAT, YOU
% KNOW, YOU CAN'T GET TO THE POINT
% EVENTUALLY OF WHERE, YOU KNOW --
% ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT
% SOMETHING ACROSS THE FOOTBALL
% FIELD AND YOU GET INFECTED.
% THAT'S NOT GOING TO GOING TO
% HAPPEN.
% BUT EACH TIME THE VARIANT
% EMERGES AND TAKES OVER, IT MEANS
% THAT ARE NO, SIR INFECTIOUS AND
% ABLE TO INFECT.
% WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE, AFTER
% BA.5, WILL WE HAVE A BA7.
% A 2.75 WHICH MAY HAVE THIS
% ADDITIONALT PROS TO MAKE IT THE
% DOMINANT -- PROPERTIES TO MAKE
% IT THE DOMINANT VARIANT.
% BUT WE HAVE TO BE CONCERNED
% ABOUT PRIOR SIGMA.
% WHAT'S NEXT?
% WE DON'T KNOW.
% AND SO I THINK WE HAVE TO EXPECT
% AT THIS POINT THE UNEXPECTED.
% WHEN WE TALKED ON THIS SHOW A
% YEAR AGO, WHO COULD HAVE
% IMAGINED YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN
% CHRON?
% WHO WOULD HAVE IMAGINED HOW IT
% WOULD BE SO HIGHLY INFENCER AND
% SPREAD THROUGH -- INFECTIOUS AND
% THE LEAD THROUGH THE
% COMMUNITIES?%WHAT WILL IT WIL
L BE IN THE WINT
% OR FALL, WE DON'T KNOW.
% THE U.S. IS DONE WITH THE
% PANDEMIC.%WE'RE LOOKING ACRO
SS THE BOARDS.
% THE CITIZENS ARE DONE WITH IT
% BUT THE VIRUS ISN'T DONE.
% THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO
% RECONCILE.%>> IT SEEMS THAT F
OLKS HAVE
% PRETTY MUCH QUIT WEARING MASKS.
% SHOULD WEB?
% >> WELL -- SHOULD WE BE?
% >> I STILL WEAR MINE IF I'M IN A
% PUBLIC SETTING WHERE I MAY BE
% EXPOSED TO SOMEONE ELSE'S AIR.
% AND WE ARE SEEING MANY, MANY
% CASES RIGHT NOW OCCURRING FROM
% BEING IN PUBLIC SETTINGS WHERE
% PEOPLE ARE NOT WEARING ANY KIND
% OF RESPIRATORY PROTECTION.
% EVEN THOSE WHO THINK IF I JUST
% TAKE IT OFF FOR 45 MINUTES TO
% EAT IN A RESTAURANT, I'M OKAY.
% THAT'S NOT TRUE.
% WE HAVE MANY CASES OCCURRING
% THERE.
% WHAT THE CHALLENGE IS RIGHT NOW,
% IS IF THESE ARE MILDER
% ILLNESSES, AS A NUMBER OF THEM
% ARE, THAT'S THE PRICE I PAY TO
% LIVE IN A WORLD OF COVID.
% I WANT TO LIVE MY LIFE.
% WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT.
% I WANT TO DO THAT.
% BUT IF YOU'RE AT RISK FOR
% SERIOUS ILLNESS,
% HOSPITALIZATIONS, OR DEATH, YOUR
% OLDER, YOU HAVE UNDERLYING
% IMMUNE CRIMINAL PRI MILDS
% CONDITIONS, YOU'RE --
% COMPROMISED CONDITIONS, YOU'RE
% OVERWEIGHT, ALL THOSE FACTORS
% RIGHT NOW, YOUR BEST BET IS TO
% ONE, BE AS VACCINATED AS YOU CAN
% BE.
% IF YOU CAN GET FOUR DOSES BY
% ABLE GET IT OR THREE DOSES.
% BUT IN ADDITION, PROTECT
% YOURSELF IN THE PUBLIC SETTING,
% YOU WANT TO GO OUT IN THE
% PUBLIC, HAVE THAT N95
% RESPIRATORY ON AND THAT CAN GO A
% LONG BASIS IN ALLOWING YOU --
% WAYS IN ALLOWING TO GO TO MOVIES
% AND CONCERT.
% IF YOU HAVE THAT PROTECTION ON,
% THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
% >> SHOULD WE HOLD OUT HOPE FOR A
% VARIANT-SPECIFIC BOOSTER
% REPORTEDLY COMING THIS FALL?
% >> YOU KNOW, I AM NOT A BIG FAN
% OF THE -- SUBVARIANT BOOSTERS IN
% THE FACT -- THINK OF THE
% FOLLOWING.
% WE JUST DONE TALKING ABOUT BA.5
% IS NOW INFECTING PEOPLE WHO HAD
% BA.1.
% SO THERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE
% SUBVARIANT THAT IS NOT
% SUCCESSFULLY PROTECTING YOU IF
% THAT WERE A VACCINE.
% NOW, IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING
% TO HAPPEN GOING FORWARD IN THE
% NEXT FOUR TO FIVE WEEKS TO
% SEVERAL MONTHS, SOMETHING IS
% GOING TO REPLACE BA.5.
% SO EVEN IF YOU HAVE A SUBVATOR
% VACCINE -- SUBVARIANT VACCINE,
% THERE'S NO INDICATION THAT WILL
% PROTECT YOU MORE.
% SO I THINK IF WE CHASE THIS
% VIRUS BY JUST TRYING TO CATCH UP
% WITH THE SUBVARIANT DEVELOPMENT
% AND THEY MAKE NEW VACCINES,
% WE'LL ALWAYS BE A DAY LATE AND A
% DOLLAR SHORT.
% THE STILL MOST IMPORTANT THING
% IS GET THE REGULAR VACCINE WE
% HAVE RIGHT NOW, KNOWING THAT IT
% WON'T NECESSARILY PROTECT YOU
% FROM GETTING INFECTED BUT IT CAN
% GO A LONG WAYS IN PROTECTING YOU
% SERIOUS ILLNESS,
% HOSPITALIZATIONS, OR DEATHS.
% >> DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, THANKS
% VERY MUCH FOR YOUR INFORMATION.