Tony's Diary Package — page 578

nline interview with Lauren Neergaard; 21,000,000/356,000 • Big discussion and debate in the press about whether to give more single doses of vaccine and wait few months before the second dose. The UK is doing this with the AZ vaccine. There is no scientific data to justify this. They are doing it because they want to give more people first doses. Our problem is not more people than doses, it is that we are not injecting as many people (4 million) with the doses that we have (14 million). Much discussion in the press about this. • Had Zoom meeting with Biden and Harris. Meeting led by Jeff Zients. Present was Ron Klain, Natalie Quillian, Marcella Nunez-Smith, David Kessler, Vivek Murthy, Rochelle Walensky, Bechara Choucair. Topic was that Biden wants to announce in a speech 3 transforming steps that he will initiate regarding vaccines. Natalie presented our plan and there was discussions about using pharmacies first and then as we get more doses, opening up "Community Vaccine Centers". I described status of the outbreak. Biden is much more in favor of federal presence than is the Trump administration. Slide deck is below: Slide Deck - COVID Policy Briefing 1 5.pd PRESS: Interview with Newsweek UK; AP Online interview with Lauren Neergaard; January 6, 2021 - Global - 84,800,000/1,900,000; USA - 21,000,000/356,000 Spoke on chat with Chiefs of Police and with Presidents of Jesuit Schools (led by Fr. Dan Lahart of Regis) Made rounds on COVID-19 patient at Clinical Center. I have been doing this about 1X per week. Saw patient today with COVID disease - 73 y.o. AA male, ex-marine, ex-State Trooper. Says this is worse he has ever felt. • My group (Mascola, Graham, Lane, Marston briefed the ART team led by Lu Borio and Marcella Nunez-Smith and David Kessler. We spoke about the mutant viruses in UK and RSA and their impact on mAbs and vaccines. 1. There is a significant increase in test positivity rate and a high hospital admission rate/case across all age groups 2. I have included the top 10 states for cases and it is a mix of states that were surging prior to the Holidays NY, TX, FL, GA, AZ and states that were improving or stabilzing prior to the Holidays CA, PA, OH, IL, NJ and tracking these states will be key to estimating the impact of the Holidays on cases and eventually hospitalizations The Fall surge in the Northern Plain states was more aggressive and we warned if this type of surge hit populous states this would threaten the health care system - this is what we are seeing in CA and to be clear this is spreading across the Sunbelt and into the North East.