‘We can’t rest complacently in the shield that the vaccines alone give us’: Doctor

Dr. Sejal Hathi, Physician & Faculty, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and host of “Civic Rx” podcast, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the latest on the coronavirus pandemic.

Video Transcript

- I want to continue the conversation now with Dr. Sejal Hathi faculty at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and host of Civic RX the podcast. Dr. Hathi, good to see you. I want to begin with what Anjalee was just talking about. These boosters and push back from the World Health Organization. Basically saying, or urging the US, to hold off on those boosters until they can get the rest of the world vaccinated, with at least one or two shots. What's your take on that?

SEJAL HATHI: Well, it's great to be here. Thanks for the question. I am entirely aligned with the World Health Organization here. Let me make this clear. President Biden, as commander in chief of the United States, his first and foremost priority is to safeguard the health of Americans in this country. And that is precisely what he is doing and what the administration is attempting with today's announcement.

That said, our health has never been more inextricably intertwined with the health of the millions of people across the globe who have yet to be vaccinated. Less than 1% of doses thus far, about 0.3% of doses have gone to low and middle income countries.

And while the United States has committed 600 million doses abroad that is just a drop in the bucket of the billions more doses needed to vaccinate the world. Why is this important? The more that we allow people to go unvaccinated, the more likely it becomes that the virus spreads and new mutations emerge. And those mutations, because we live in a globalized society, will inevitably infiltrate our borders. And could make this pandemic much more protracted than it already is.

And so, unfortunately, I agree with the World Health Organization that I'm just not seeing a convincing case for giving boosters, third doses, to the vast majority of immuno-competent, healthy Americans, while the rest of the world languishes without even a single dose.

- So what would your recommendation be, though, to those in this country who are fully vaccinated, hearing this information today. And wondering if when the eight month mark comes for them, should they be going out and getting that booster shot if it's available to them?

SEJAL HATHI: If it's available, I would say absolutely, go ahead and get the vaccine. Whether you're unvaccinated, whether you've received one dose, or whether you've received two doses. But it's imperative, nonetheless, that you continue to practice public health guidance, including masking, physical distancing, wearing, I should say also, quality masks, so ideally KN95 or N95 masks, if you can tolerate them, avoiding crowded gatherings, and advocating for improved filtration and ventilation systems in the workplaces and schools that you inhabit. Because what the most recent studies attest, most powerfully to me, is that vaccines must be only the first important layer, but only a single layer of protection that we adopt against this virus. We cannot rest complacently in the shield that the vaccines, alone, give us. We need the additional protection of masking.

Let me just add that Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, as we all saw, was found to have contracted COVID-19 earlier this week. He had received, by his own admission, a third shot, a booster dose of the vaccine. We don't know when that was given. But what that only demonstrates to us is that it's not enough simply to be vaccinated. You must mask, unlike what the governor was doing. You must practice public health guidance, social distancing as well.

- Speaking of masking, we are seeing a big debate play out regarding our children. Those who are under 12 and unable yet to get the vaccine playing out in states like Texas, like Florida, like Arizona, where in some areas, they're penalizing school districts who are looking to mandate mask wearing for children in schools. Do you think, at this point, it would be wise for the federal government to step in and mandate mask wearing for the youngest, and now at this point, most vulnerable of our population, because they are unable to get the vaccine right now.

SEJAL HATHI: A lot of individuals, epidemiologists, the federal government itself, are asking themselves this question. Now, I am not going to pretend knowledge of the political liabilities or legal repercussions of mandating such a vaccine nationally. But we've already seen the Biden administration extend a hand to school officials in Florida, and in Texas, where much of these debates are unfolding now, to assure them of their support. And also, I should say press secretary Jen Psaki, just last week announced that if Florida Governor Ron DeSantis were to withhold school superintendents money if they mandated masks, the federal government would step in and potentially reimburse those superintendent's costs.

So there are mechanisms, there are interventions in place, legal interventions that the federal government could embrace to protect those school districts that are simply trying to follow CDC guidance. And so, let's hope that many of these Republican governors do see that this is not what they should be doing. That in the midst of a raging pandemic, they should be supporting districts in imposing masks. But if they don't see that light, if they don't recognize the importance of that, then there are things the Federal government can do to step in and ensure that those school districts are supported, nonetheless.

- Doctor, real quickly here, I know we're seeing a rise in breakthrough infections in the vaccinated. Is there data, yet, showing that those who are getting these infections, that it's becoming more serious, even for the vaccinated, meaning there are more hospitalizations and more deaths among that group?

SEJAL HATHI: No. And that is an excellent distinction to highlight here. Even of the three studies that the CDC analyzed in its report and its announcement today, we still are seeing 80% efficacy against symptomatic, even mildly symptomatic infection, and 90% or higher efficacy against serious disease. That is either hospitalization or death. And that is really what vaccines were designed to prevent. Vaccines were designed to prevent serious illness and death, not mild or asymptomatic infections.

In California, to give you another example, my home state, hospitalizations among those with breakthrough infections represent just 0.07% of the nearly 22 million immunized residents of that state. And breakthrough, that's an even smaller percentage. So that is still impressively robust protection. And in my view, and not data persuasive enough to merit this morning's announcement for booster doses for the vast majority of the American public,

- All right Dr. Sejal Hathi, faculty there at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Thanks for your time today.