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‘Vaccination is very effective against the Delta variant’: Doctor

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, University Hospital CEO and former NJDOH Commissioner, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the latest on the coronavirus pandemic.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Welcome back, now to the latest on COVID-19. And the CDC today revealed that there have been more than 1,200 cases of a rare heart inflammation condition in people ages 16 to 24 who have received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. Here to talk about that and more is Dr. Shereef Elnahal, CEO of University Hospital, also former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health.

Doctor, always good to see you. I want to start with this troubling report here about over 1,000 cases of that rare heart inflammation condition in young folks getting this vaccine. Talk to me about what those symptoms are for that inflammation and is it treatable?

DR. SHEREEF ELNAHAL: Well, thanks so much for having me on. First of all, for the vast majority of people who do get myocarditis, this episode of inflammation of the heart, it is a mild condition. So usually, it's mild chest pain, low grade fever, and usually it resolves on its own. And the way you treat it is actually with your garden variety anti-inflammatories, in most cases.

Rarely, you do require more intense care. You require admission to the ICU. And there are some examples of that within those 1,200 cases, but the good news is is that the vast majority of them are mild.

Now, the question of whether we should be assessing this as a new label risk or something that we should guide our decision making on what younger males in particular should be taking for a COVID-19 vaccine, that's exactly what the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the CDC is going to be discussing today.

KRISTIN MYERS: And Doctor, are there any indications perhaps of folks that might be more prone or susceptible to this inflammation that should be particularly cautious before they get the vaccine?

DR. SHEREEF ELNAHAL: Right now, the main thing is that demographic, younger males between the ages of 18 and 26. And in particular, we're talking about the mRNA vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine in particular when it comes to those that are approved in the United States. Thankfully, there aren't these concerns necessarily linked with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for that demographic, but we're going to be seeing a lot of discussion on that demographic with the Advisory Committee.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Wanted to get your take on something we learned today regarding the private sector and the vaccines. Morgan Stanley has actually come out and said, employees and clients who are not fully vaccinated will not be able to gain entry to their offices in New York City and in Westchester. Do you think that that is an effective way to deal with COVID in the workplace, and do you think we're going to see more companies do the same?

DR. SHEREEF ELNAHAL: It's absolutely effective. There is evidence to show that mandating vaccines, of course, compels people to do it. There was a study out of UCLA that confirmed that recently. In other words, a lot of folks would rather not leave their jobs and just get the vaccine if they were hesitant up to that point.

And of course, that will impact transmission of COVID and COVID risk within a workplace. I think the real question is, what are the ethics and legal parameters around that? Our hospital mandated the vaccine and announced that earlier this week, of course, we treat vulnerable patients in the community who are much more susceptible to poor outcomes if they get COVID-19. And my logic on that as CEO here was that I'm not going to abide by the risk of transmitting this deadly virus to patients who are particularly vulnerable, who we treat every day. And so the question about whether that logic applies to other types of businesses is, of course, up to the discretion of the leadership and the boards of those businesses, but it's sure effective in preventing spread of COVID-19.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Doctor, I would also like your take on Yankee Stadium and what they did recently there because I feel like we're getting some mixed messages from-- from different organizations, and it can be confusing for folks. So Yankee Stadium has lifted all COVID restrictions. You no longer have to show proof of vaccination. You no longer have to show a negative COVID test. You could be fully vaccinated, sitting next to somebody who's not vaccinated at all. I'm curious what your thoughts are on that, and given those parameters, would you go to a Yankee game right now?

DR. SHEREEF ELNAHAL: Well, there are a lot of factors to consider on rules when it comes to large venues like that. The first is the practicability of really verifying people's vaccination status for whatever reason. The politics in this country and other factors have really prevented vaccine passports and electronic verification from really taking hold, and so really, is it worth sort of asking people for their vaccination cards? Is that going to lead to blowback from fans? I'm sure all these things are being considered.

One thing that's reassuring, though, is that the CDC has been clear and the data very much supports the fact that if you are a vaccinated person, even if you are surrounded by unvaccinated people who may be carrying COVID-19, symptomatically or asymptomatically, you are protected. And so I would feel totally comfortable going to a large venue and going to a stadium, sports event or otherwise, because I am vaccinated. And so really, hopefully, that should compel more and more people to get it.

But if you are unvaccinated, I would be very concerned on going to those places because again, you could be surrounded by folks who are unmasked and have this disease and may be spreading it to you. Now, of course, when it comes to a stadium, that tends to be an outdoor environment. Of course, they're indoor arenas. And outdoor transmission is exceedingly rare, even among unvaccinated people. And so for that example, in particular, I think folks should be comfortable, but when you're talking about larger indoor events in particular and you're unvaccinated, that's when I would be quite concerned, especially as the delta variant will eventually become the predominant variant.

Is it accelerating as, you know, other-- compared to other variants in terms of what will be predominant. And that one is 50% more transmissible than even the alpha variant, the UK variant. And in all likelihood, it is more severe and it is infecting younger people who are unvaccinated. But the CDC director was right, every single COVID-19 death now, statistically, is preventable with vaccination. And so I really want to underscore that right now to all of your viewers.

KRISTIN MYERS: Doctor, I just really want to quickly ask you about that delta variant and we only have about a minute left here with you. I hear what you're saying, that you could be vaccinated and in a sea of unvaccinated people, even those with COVID-19, and still be OK. I am a little-- have a little bit of trepidation to do something like that, but does that still hold, given that delta variant, as you were just highlighting, is more transmissible, is more severe, and is impacting younger and younger people who we had previously thought were dealing with the virus just fine, even if they did catch it. I mean, is the vaccine still going to hold up against that delta variant?

DR. SHEREEF ELNAHAL: Well, the first thing I'll say is that the risk isn't zero for you to contract COVID-19 if you are vaccinated. So I want to make that very clear. However, and we've seen this and countless examples, including the Yankees employees and players who were infected despite the fact that they were vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson, is that even if you do get it, the case is likely to be much more mild and you're very unlikely to need to be hospitalized and the risk of death is near zero if you are vaccinated, even if you contract it after vaccination.

So that's a really important point to make. You are preventing severe illness and death, in addition to reducing the likelihood of getting it in the first place. And so vaccination helps there. I will say that vaccination is very effective against the delta variant. So 88% reduced risk of getting COVID-19, even if you're talking about the delta variant, when it comes to the Pfizer vaccine. That was a study that came out of the Public Health Authority in England several weeks ago.

And so, even though the delta variant is, yes, more transmissible, and yes, more severe, the best way to protect yourself is with a very effective mRNA vaccine against that. We still have to see how it stacks up to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. I'm optimistic that that will be effective to a significant degree, but the data is still out on that. But remember, the vaccines are effective even against the delta variant.

DR. SHEREEF ELNAHAL: All right, Dr. Shereef Elnahal, CEO of University Hospital. Thanks so much for being with us today.

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