A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
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June 7, 2020 - Global - 6,700,000/393,000; USA -1,930,000/709 Sunday - no health people on Sunday Shows. Nation gripped with protests, demonstrations and violence over death of George Floyd and other assaults on blacks. A couple of days ago the POTUS ordered the clearance of Lafayette Park to get to St John's Church to do a photo op with a bible. Police crushed a peaceful crowd. Major PR reaction. Gen Milley and Sec. of Defense Asper being sharply criticized for being there and participating in the process. They were probably taken by surprise of what they were involved in. Milley wearing combat fatigues (not good). Protests spreading worldwide. Disturbing trend over past few days in number of new cases per day with 29,000 today. This is not rapidly going down regarding new cases, in fact going up. USG claiming that this is due to doing more testing, but that cannot explain it all. Could be result of crowds during Memorial Day and if so, we can expect more as country opens, in some cases prematurely. Also, deaths keep coming down.
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June 8, 2020 - Global - 7,000,000/399,000; USA- 1,950,000/111,000 Melissa Healey of LA Times; 980,000/1 13,000 PRESS: Univision TV; WRC TV - Doreen Gentzler; NY Times interview; WGN TV Chicago; iHeart Latino Radio with Enrique Santos; Spectrum News TV; taped Bio Fireside Chat (for tomorrow);
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June 9, 2020 - Phone call with Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) about "after action" evaluation of our response. Big controversy when the WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove said that transmission from asymptomatic person was "very rare". She got blasted for this since there was no data to indicate this. We feel that there is substantial transmission since asytmptomatics have equivalent viral load in nasopharynx as do people with Sxs. Also data from Teddy Roosevelt aircraft carrier and prisons and nursing homes and meat packing plants indicate that transmission occurs a lot from asymptomatics. Lovely "thank you" by the Weill Cornell Medicinegraduating students for my sending them a video brief "Commencement Address" for their "virtual graduation". Several state are showing increases in number of cases and % of tests that are positive. Coud be the beginning of a rebound. NYC has opened as had DC. Other states getting "itchy" to open. Major sentiment to move forward. We will soon face the problem that if we see blips that are not contained by contact tracing, will the administration say damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead or will they pull bak. I suspect the former. Weill Cornell Medicine Student Thank you Video https://vimeo.com/426254316 Password: wcm PRESS: Yahoo Finance TV; Interview with Melissa Healey of LA Times;
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June 10, 2020 - Global - 7,100,000/405,000; USA - 1,980,000/113,000 Reports of multiple states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Alaska, Arizona, California, Utah, Tennessee,etc. having the highest single day number of cases reported. Cannot just be due to increased testing. Concern that the opening of states will be Global USA ine about Christine. ,050,000/1 14,000 followed by increased infections that will be difficult to contact trace since many are asymptomatic. Spoke with the David Barr group again last night and they feel that they will not be able to adequately contact trace if a uptick occurs. Also, there is a growing urge for peope to "get out". Did a Zoom call with Francis Collins and the activists - Peter Staley, James Krellenstein about PrEP for COVID. PRESS: Good Morning America ABC; NPR - Science Friday with Ira Flatow (taped); CBC Canadian TV; Newsy Documentary; Bill Nye "Science Rules"; Voice of America TV with Lesia Bakalets; Interview with the Daily Telegraph;
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2020-06-11 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
June 11, 2020 - Global USA Had good conversation (having these every 2 weeks) today with Bill Gates on status of mAb (Regeneron, Lilly, etc.). Also, discussing other therapies. Also, discussed vaccines. Great article in Elle magazine about Christine. Big issue with companies that we are dealing with for COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna is acting like and asshole in that they want the USG money but are resisting having the NIAID network (Larry) control the trial They have the IND and so the trial is really theirs. Moncef and I and John Mascola had important call where Moncef indicated that he himself is concerned that a single network with one leader can be responsible for 3 (Moderna, Astrazeneca, J & J) and possible 5 (Sanofu, Novovax) trials. Abd so we decided that Moncef would put in writing that the companies can run their own trials in our network, but they must harmonize with regard to protocol design (with some variations), single DSMB, consistent lab results, and same primary and secondary endpoints. If they do not agree, then BARDA does not give them money. I am still concerned about Deb's negative opinion and tendency towards EUA. Spoke with Gary Bettman, Commissioner of NHL about their plan for a "bubbled" season → test all players and isolate them in a bubble and play the season like a tournament.. MLB and NFL considering such a plan. PRESS: CNBC "The Street" with Jim Cramer (interviewed by Katherine Ross); "The Stadium" TV Marquis Network.
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June 12, 2020 - Global - 7,300.000/415,000; USA - 2,050,000/114,000 Did Council on Foreign Relations Zoom meeting; 6,000/117,000 Crazy situation where WH approved nothing and then after the Podcast with Caputo, he said "The WH did not want you to do Wolf Blitzer yesterday since it competed with the POTUS on TV and so I asked for today, but they gave no response and so let us just go ahead and do it." Tough to figure out what if any strategy they have about getting me out to the media. There is a resurgence of cases in those cities that are opening up and now the model is projecting 1000 deaths per day with total of 170,000 deaths PRESS: RAI - Italian National TV; Yahoo News TV; ABC News Podcast with Jonathan Karl; WAMU Diane Rehm Podcast; Local TV stations in Buffalo, New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Atlanta; Podcast with Michel Caputo; CNN Situation Room with Wolf Bitzer;
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June 13, 2020 - Global - 7,400,000/418,000; USA - 2,116,000/117,000 Got call from Alex Gorsky (CEO and Chairman at J & J) expressing concern on the part of the company CEOs regarding whether Gen. Gus Perna (as competent as he is supposed to be in military matters) can actually pull off the massive distribution of vaccine when it is ready including providing needles, syringes, etc. I have the same issue since Gus seems like a good person but every time Alex or Esper says something, he says "Yes sir, we are on it and will get it done" Seems too over-confident. Does he really know what he is doing? Got call from Gov. Cuomo at 8:00 AM but missed it because I was running on the C & O Canal. When I called him back he as on a helicopter and will call me back later. When he called back, he expressed how much in denial the POTUS is. He speaks with the POTUS regularly and tells him he needs to admit that cases are increasing, and he is going to help in suppressing them instead of denying them. NYC is doing well by carefully opening according to my recommendations. Cuomo says that I am the only one left in the USG who is speaking truth. He has given up on Deb and somewhat on Bob (who actually has been speaking up lately) Denial on part of administration saying that increases in case in CA, AZ, TX, NC are merely increases in testing and/or real increases, but mostly Americans returning from Mexico to get care since Mexico is exploding with infections right now. Clearly there are increases in cases and hospitalizations PRESS: None but many shows are showing recent clips to make points. J0; USA -- 2,100,000/1 16,000 |00,000/1 16,000;
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June 14, 2020 (SUNDAY) - Global - 7,600,000/425,000; USA - 2,100,000/116,000 Riots continue with more police killing of African American men, this time in Atlanta with killing of Rayshard Brooks as he was running away after scuffle with police leading to firing of officer and resignation of Police Chief Erika Shields. Becoming clear that the increase in infections in CA, AZ, TX, NC, etc. are real increases in addition to increased testing. Had conversation with Fred Hiatt (Washington Post Editor of Editorial Page) about my evaluation of the situation. I indicate that it should n0t be pure public health versus "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead", i.e. not shut down versus "liberate the state/city". We should expect some cases as we open. It is critical to how we handle these with identification, isolation, and contact tracing. PRESS: No Sunday Shows, but showing clips of my prior comments.
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June 15, 2020 - Global - 7,700,000/428,000 USA - 2,100,000/116,000; Governor's call today at WH and I was not invited. BARDA requesting FDA to pull back the EUA for Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine, I was always against the EUA for HC and Ch since I did not believe that it fulfilled the criteria (some indication of efficacy) for an EUA: see link below. Also, this is the issue that Rick Bright has blown the whistle on, i.e. saying that he was pressured into recommending to FDA (when he was head of BARDA) to issue the EUA. Got call from Michael Caputo today asking if I thought that the POTUIS should cancel his campaign rally. I told him definitely yes. https://www.fda.gov/media/138945/download Call from Jeremy Berg at Pitt sending me as Cell Host & Microbe by a Chinese group Shi-Hui Sun et al: A mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Pathogenesis. 28: 110, July 8, 2020 (Online first) indicating that the Chinese were making CRISPR.Cas9 knockin mice for ACE-2 that were made 30 weeks ago, which would be August, 2019. Why would they be doing that last summer??? They could have been studying SARS, but they already had mouse models. Possible they just wanted to use a better technique (CRISPR) OR they knew that SARS-CoV-2 already existed and the outbreak was already ongoing. Global USA Spoke with Howard Zucker, Commissioner of Health for NY State. He wanted advice about a possible National Policy for opening up universities. I referred him to CDC, but also to Silvia Burwell to see what she is doing with AU. PRESS: NEJM Poodcast about our HIV paper in the series for the 50th Anniversary of NAM;