Pfizer vaccine 100% effective in 12 to 15 year olds: Study

Dr. Cedric Dark, Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine & Board Member with Doctors for America, joins Yahoo Finance’s Kristin Myers and Alexis Christoforous to discuss the latest on the coronavirus.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOUROS: Welcome back. We got a sobering statistic today in the fight against COVID-19. According to new analysis from the CDC, coronavirus was the third leading cause of death in the United States last year after heart disease and cancer. The data also showed that overall, death rates were highest among Black and Native Americans, adults ages 85 and older, and men.

Joining us now is Dr. Cedric Dark. He is associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine and a board member with Doctors for America. Dr. Dark, thanks so much for being with us. Just would like your reaction on what we heard today from the CDC.

CEDRIC DARK: Well, it's not a surprise. We've had a very bungled effort at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. And it led to many unnecessary deaths. As you said, COVID-19, the third leading cause of death for the United States. It's neck and neck with cancer mortality. It's pretty sad that that's the case. Hopefully this year, we'll be able to get a handle on it with the vaccines that are rolling out and be able to see that the mortality and morbidity from this disease will decline.

KRISTIN MYERS: So Dr. Dark, considering that coronavirus is the third leading cause of death and, very worryingly, we're seeing these spikes of cases all around the country, which of course, has caused us to have the debate of if we're in the middle of another wave or if we're at the edge of another wave, wondering what we should be doing in terms of restrictions, if any, mask mandates, et cetera, especially as we see a lot of states around the country essentially move forward with reopening plans.

CEDRIC DARK: Yeah. Here in Texas, our governor reopened the Texas economy 100% about three weeks ago now or announced it three weeks ago. And it's been closer to-- yeah, it's actually three weeks ago. And I personally was suspicious that we were going to have another spike. I'm pleasantly surprised that our numbers have continued to decline in terms of hospitalizations, mortality. And I think that's been a great thing, even though it's really concerning.

Right now, the latest numbers here in Houston indicate that our COVID cases are slightly starting to level out or maybe trickle up a little bit. And I think people do need to be cautious. We need to continue to wear masks. People need to try to stay away from crowds if at all possible.

The biggest thing you can do is, if you're eligible-- and everybody in Texas right now that's an adult is eligible to get the vaccine-- is to get vaccinated. And if we can do that, if you're vaccinated, you can actually expand your bubble to other vaccinated persons and socialize with them in a safe manner, according to CDC guidelines.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOUROS: Doctor, I'm hoping you can clear something up for folks, where there has been some confusion about if you have been vaccinated, is there still a need to get tested? Because we know that the vaccine doesn't completely stop you from being able to be infected. And there are so many asymptomatic cases. So where do things stand? Or what are the CDC guidelines when it comes to, yes, if you've been vaccinated, should you still be getting tested?

CEDRIC DARK: If you're vaccinated, if you are experiencing symptoms that are consistent with COVID, you should still get tested because the vaccine doesn't eliminate the possibility of catching the disease. It just reduces it markedly. And that's one of the things that we can do. If you become symptomatic, you do need to get tested still.

One of the nice things about the COVID vaccines-- I've seen some of the preliminary data that suggests that the likelihood of asymptomatic transmission is even reduced, which is one of the things that COVID has been very dangerous because it's been spreading person-to-person without people having symptoms. So if that trend continues, that can be a welcome sight for the conclusion of this pandemic.

KRISTIN MYERS: So Doctor, speaking about vaccines, I want to ask you about vaccine hesitancy. This is something that a lot of my friends have been chatting with me about, something I've been chatting about with my parents, my other relatives, a lot of them saying, listen, I know vaccines are good for you. They believe in vaccinating their children, have gotten vaccinated themselves, but are still a little bit hesitant and a little bit nervous about getting vaccinated with something where we don't have these long-term studies, this long-term data. As you mentioned, what we have a lot of is preliminary data. So how would you address those in that crowd and that camp, women, for example, that are concerned it might impact their fertility? Now that we have states opening up vaccines to all adults, what would you tell those that are saying, you know what, I would rather be one of the last people to get vaccinated?

CEDRIC DARK: I'm not going to look down upon somebody that wants to wait and get their vaccine towards the end. Actually, I was hanging out with one of my colleagues who's a neurologist. And one of the things he told me is you don't know what you don't know. And that's true, we don't.

Fortunately for him and for many people, if you're able to stay isolated and avoid coming into contact with folks, maybe it's OK for you to wait. But for everybody else, if you are a service worker, someone like me that works in an emergency department, someone that's coming in contact with people outside your own home and you can't isolate away from everyone else, you need to get the vaccine because, in my interpretation, it is far more risky to catch this disease and deal with the long-term consequences of it, even if you survive the illness, than it would be to deal with any potential unknowns that we might have from this vaccine.

But many people are afraid of things like mRNA technology. It is safe. The data that we have thus far, it's not long-term for this particular vaccine. However, this technology has been in use for many years now in trials. And it has been deemed safe in those trials. And so hopefully people will be reassured by knowing that it is safe for them to get vaccinated.

Now, when you talk about vaccine hesitancy, one thing I do want to mention, a lot of it-- early on in the pandemic, we were very concerned about vaccine hesitancy, especially in communities of color that, in the past, the medical industry has taken advantage of. Right now, the biggest problem seems to be getting vaccines, making them available to people that actually do want it.

Most of the people that I've spoken to do want to get vaccinated. And they've just had a terrible time trying to get it. My sister, who lives in Atlanta, had to travel to Macon, Georgia to get a vaccine. She was actually looking to get it in Alabama at one point because that was the easiest thing for her to do. And so what we need to do is ramp up our vaccination capacity and to give vaccines to the people that want it as quickly as we can.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOUROS: How true it is. Myself and my family going through the same thing right now, trying to nail down a place to get a vaccine. Dr. Cedric Dark, thanks so much for being with us.