Monday, July 19, 2021

Jeff Z. called me early this AM (6:45 AM) concerned about the breakthrough infections of vaccinated people and waned my opinion about moving towards masking of vaccinated people who are in hot zones. I think that we should. Jeff called again at 10:00 AM concerned about the time FDA is taking to grant a full BLA for the vaccines. He is acutely aware of the sensitivity of not interfering with or pressuring the FDA, but we need the BLA since many people are not getting vaccinated until the vaccines are “fully approved”. Also, Jeff want me to get firm information on how long it will take for the peds (11 years old and younger) approval to come. Stock Market plunging >700 down due to concerns about the spread of the Delta variant. Mayor Bill Di Blasio called and ask my opinion about a strategy that he would like to do to try and get more people vaccinated and safe from the delta variant. He is proposing to give the people of New York City two alternatives if they are not vaccinated: 1) get vaccinated or 2) be required to get tested with a nasal swab at least once a week. The mayor feels that people will likely get tired of getting tested every week and my opt to get vaccinated purely for the convenience of it. Even though the requirement for a nasal swab is indeed a mandate, the mayor feels that this is much less intrusive they mandate for a vaccine. PRESS: CNN with Kate Boldun; Bloomberg TV “Balance of Power” with David Westin; PBS NewsHour with Judy Woodruff