Oklahoma reports 13 additional coronavirus deaths, more than 1,000 new positive cases – KOCO Oklahoma City

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JASON: THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION SAYS THE NEW GUIDELINES MEANT TO HELP SCHOOLS REOPEN, NOT KEEP ENCLOSED. MAGGIE: DR. REDFIELD ONCE US FOR THE LATEST ON THE CDC GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS, MASK MANDATES, AND THE OUTLOOK FOR A VACCINE. GOOD MORNING TO YOU, SIR. DR. REDFIELD: GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. MAGGIE: OKLAHOMA’S LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOW AN ONLINE CHARTER SCHOOL, AS THOUSANDS OF OKLAHOMA FAMILIES ARE CHOOSING THIS VIRTUAL OPTION AMID THE PANDEMIC. OTHER DISTRICTS IN OUR STATE ARE DELAYING THE START OF SCHOOL OR STARTING THE SEMESTER ONLINE. CLEARLY, FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT RETURNING TO LEARN IN PERSON. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? DR. REDFIELD: I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE SET THE GOAL LINE TO GET THE K-12’S BACK INTO FACE-TO-FACE LEARNING. WE LOOK AT THE PUBLIC HEALTH OF THE K-12’S, THERE REALLY IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONSEQUENT OF HAVING THESE SCHOOLS CLOSED. THAT SAID, IT IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT THAT WE DO IT SAFELY AND SENSIBLY. EACH OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT THE GUIDANCE WE PROVIDE AND TRY TO SEE HOW THEY CAN CONVERT THAT INTO A PRACTICAL REOPENING OF THEIR SCHOOLS. AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE GOAL LINE SHOULD BE TO TRY TO GET BACK TO FACE-TO-FACE LEARNING ONE STEP AT A TIME. JASON: HERE IN OKLAHOMA, IT HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED THAT UNDERFUNDING OF SCHOOLS IS AN ISSUE. NOT EVERYONE HAS EQUAL ACCESS TO RESOURCES. ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT LOWER INCOME SCHOOLS NOT HAVING THE INFRA-STRUCTURE AND RESOURCES TO SAFELY REOPEN AND WELCOME THOSE TO BACK — THOSE STUDENTS BACK? DR. REDFIELD: I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE SCHOOLS HAVING THE RESOURCES TO HAVE QUALITY OUT OF CLASS LEARNING, IN TERMS OF HOME LEARNING, ETC.. OBVIOUSLY FOR BOTH REASONS, I THINK IT IS GOOD THAT THE NEXT BILL IS GOING TO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL MONEY IN IT TO SCHOOL TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS WIRED FOR SAY CASH FOR SAFELY — INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS REQUIRED FOR SAFELY REOPENING SCHOOLS, BUT ALSO THAT THERE IS ADEQUATE RESOURCES, PARTICULARLY FOR THE DISADVANTAGED, TO GETTING QUALITY LEARNING EXPERIENCE. JASON: A PERSON TWEETED THREATS — THE PRESIDENT TWEETED THREATS TO WITHHOLD FUNDING FROM SCHOOLS THAT DID NOT REOPEN. WE HEAR EVERYDAY FEARS ABOUT BEING RETURNED TO THE CLASSROOM. IS THERE UNDUE PRESSURE BEING PUT ON THEM TO RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM? ALEX: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT EACH — DR. REDFIELD: IT IS IMPORT THAT EACH LOCAL JURISDICTION LOOK AT HOW BEST TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR THE STUDENTS THEY SERVE. IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT IN THE PROCESS, IT IS A SERIOUS ATTEMPT TO MAKE SURE WE PROTECT THE VULNERABLE, THOSE TEACHERS THAT HAVE COMORBIDITIES, BUT ALSO THOSE CHILDREN THAT MAY HAVE COMORBIDITIES I HAVE A GRANDSON, ONE OF MY 11 GRANDCHILDREN HAS CYSTIC FIBROSIS, SO SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS ARE GOING TO NEED TO BE MADE. I THINK THE KEY IS THAT WE NEED TO REOPEN THESE SCHOOLS SAFELY AND SENSIBLY. RECOGNIZE THAT THE GOAL LINE IS TO GET THE K-12 SPEC TO FACE-TO-FACE LEARNING. MAGGIE: WHEN DO YOU EXPECT A VACCINE, AND WITH A VACCINE, HOW LONG THE EVENT’S WE WILL BE PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING, WEARING MASKS, AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS? DR. REDFIELD: IT IS CLEAR THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING AND WEARING OF FACE MASKS NOW IS GO. WE ARE NOT DEFENSELESS AGAINST THIS VIRUS. THIS IS A POWERFUL WEAPON THAT WE HAVE, WEARING A FACE MASK, SOCIAL DISTANCING, WASHING OUR HANDS, STAYING OUT OF CROWDED PLACES, STAYING OUT OF INDOOR RESTAURANTS THAT ARE CROWDED. OBVIOUSLY, BARS. IF WE PRACTICE THOSE THINGS, WE CAN BRING THIS OUTBREAK REALLY UNDER CONTROL. THAT SAID, THE COUNTERMEASURES OF A VACCINE IS ON THE HORIZON. YOU HEARD THIS WEEK WE HAD TWO LARGE FACE THREE TRIALS BEGIN. NEXT WEEK I THINK THERE WILL BE A THIRD. WE ARE ON A VERY RAPID PACE TO BEGIN A VACCINE. I THINK IT IS REASONABLE THAT WE MAY HAVE AN APPROVED VACCINE BEFORE THE END OF THIS YEAR, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WE WILL HAVE TO BEGIN TO SEE HOW THAT VACCINE CAN BE EXPANDED AND DISTRIBUTED TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC OVER THE FIRST QUARTER, SECOND QUARTER OF NEXT HER. JASON: THE NEWS OF THAT VACCINE IS GOOD HERE. WANT TO GO BACK TO WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT MASKS. THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF POLES SHOWING MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ARE IN SUPPORT AS WELL. ONE SAID 72% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT MASKS. QUINNIPIAC SAID 80% OF TEXANS APPROVED, 79% OF FLORIDIANS APPROVED. WITH ALL OF THIS APPROVAL, WHY NOT RECOMMEND A MASS MANDATE? DR. REDFIELD: I WANT TO BE VERY HERE, MASKS WORK. THEY ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AND OUR MOST POWERFUL WEAPON AGAINST THIS VIRUS. IF WE ALL UNIVERSALLY WORE A FACE MASK FOR 12 WEEKS, THIS OUTBREAK WOULD BE REALLY UNDER CONTROL. THE VIRUS CAN’T EFFECTIVELY TRANSMIT ITSELF WHEN IT HAS TO GO THROUGH MY FACE COVERING IN YOUR FACE COVERING. THE OTHER ISSUE ON WHETHER THERE IS MANDATE OR NOT MANDATE, DIFFERENT GOVERNORS HAVE CHOSEN TO MANDATE. OTHERS HAVE NOT CHOSEN. I AM NOT SURE THAT MANDATES MAKE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO USE MASKS. I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO WORK TO GET ALL AMERICANS TO ACCEPT WEARING A FACE COVERING AS THEIR VERY IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY. I AM HER MINDED WHEN PRESIDENT KENNEDY SAID DON’T ASK WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY. I NEED EVERYBODY RIGHT NOW IN THE WAR AGAINST THIS CORONAVIRUS , AND WHAT I NEED EVERYBODY TO DO IS TO WEAR A FACE COVERING. IF WE ALL, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE NOT ONLY SCHOOLS REOPEN, WE WOULD SEE SPORTS COME BACK. WE WOULD REALLY BE ABLE TO GET TO WHAT WE USED TO REALIZE, BUT MASKS ARE NOT GOING TO WORK IF 50% OR 75% OR 85% OF US WEAR THEM. THIS IS AN INTERVENTION WE ALL NEED TO DO TOGETHER, AND I CALL ON ALL OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO EMBRACE THE FACE MASK THE POWERFUL WEAPON IT IS AGAINST THIS ENDEMIC. MAGGIE: WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE THAT NEED TO BE INOCULATED TO STOP THE SPREAD? DR. REDFIELD: YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT HERD IMMUNITY, WE RELATE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 70% AND 85% OF THE POPULATION TO REALLY BE IMMUNE TO THE VIRUS FOR THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS TO REALLY BE UNDER CONTROL. RIGHT NOW, PROBABLY ON THE ORDER OF SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 6% PAY SENT — 6% TO 8% HAS BEEN INFECTED WITH THIS VIRUS. BUT I HAVE BEEN IN VACCINE DEVELOPMENT FOR MORE THAN YEARS IN MY CAREER, AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN VACCINE DEVELOPMENT FORWARD MORE FULLY — MORE PURPOSEFULLY AND MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH A GOVERNMENT PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIP THAT I AM WITNESSING NOW UNDER THIS OPERATION SPEED — OPERATION WARP SPEED. WHO WOULD BELIEVE WITHIN FOUR MONTHS, WE NOW HAVE TWO PHASE THREE TRIALS THAT ARE OPERATIONAL TO PROVE EFFICACY, AND SOON WE WILL HAVE A THIRD? SO THERE’S HIGH PROBABILITY THAT IF THESE SEEN ARE THE RIGHT ONES, THAT WE WILL HAVE EVIDENCE TO SHOW THEY ARE SAFE AND THEY WORK BEFORE THE END OF OCTOBER, BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER, WITH THE POTENTIAL TO HAVE A VACCINE AVAILABLE, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE AT HIGHEST RISK EITHER BECAUSE OF THEIR VULNERABILITY OR THE JOBS THAT THEY DO, SO WE CAN BEGIN TO ADD THAT VACCINE TO OUR COUNTERMEASURES. BUT IT SHOULD NOT UNDERESTIMATE WHAT WE HAVE TODAY, AND I’M GOING TO COME BACK TO IT AGAIN. WHAT WE HAVE TODAY IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON. VACCINES MAY NOT WORKING EVERYBODY AREA I WILL TELL YOU, I FACE COVERING MY FACE MASK WILL PROTECT YOU AND THOSE AROUND YOU FROM TRANSMISSION OF THIS VIRUS. I AM GOING TO COME BACK TO JUST ASKING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO EMBRACE IT. PICK UP THAT RESPONSE ABILITY. BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. HELP US GET THROUGH THE NEXT FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS AND GET THIS EPIDEMIC UNDER CONTROL. JASON: WE ARE OUT OF TIME. CDC DIRECTOR ROBERT REDFIELD, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND TALKING ABOUT THE FIGHT AGAINST THIS VIRUS. DR. REDFIE