maybe you have noticed that people are catching covid again
I certainly have even when they have had it before
including my co anchor ken buffa. It's because the
new amber concept variant is out there infecting and re
infecting people who have been vaccinated and even boosted.
This is what dr Anthony Fauci had to say about
this recent spike variants will continue to emerge if the
virus circulates globally and in this country we should not
let it disrupt our lives but we cannot deny that
it is a reality that we need to deal with
. Joining me now is Dr Sampson Davis. Emergency
medicine physician Dr Davis welcome back to the show.
The C. D. C. Estimates that this
newbie a five sub variant is now responsible for 65%
of all new cases. How can it reinfect people
? Even those who have had the um variant?
Yeah I mean that's a great question. And so
this is a variant. This is a mutated strand
and this is what the virus has done and will
continuously do is the B. A. Five today
. It would be be a six tomorrow. So
basically the virus mutates, it changes its protein shell
the outer layer to disguise the body to the human
mind the human body so that it can infect the
body and causes the coronavirus. The good news here
is that if you've been vaccinated if you have a
booster you have some protection but this is what we
expect to happen. And so I agree with dr
Fauci. We should continuously just live our lives at
the same time. Do know that this virus is
aggressively progressing is trying to find ways to attack the
body is trying to find back doors, side doors
, front doors, Ways to sort of come inside
your body and in order to cause effectivity and and
this is what the virus has done and will continuously
do. How concerned are you about this recent spike
Dr. Davis and how severe is this illness called
caused by B. A. 5? Yeah,
I mean I'm concerned because I think at the same
time this does cause illness and it does cause death
, right? But for those who have been vaccinated
for those who are protective who have some sense of
uh um you know uh strength in their in their
body. They don't have sort of uh illnesses.
They they have less concerned. We worry about those
who are you know compromise those who are elderly,
those who have cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure
, Those who have not been vaccinated if you have
not been vaccinated. Yes, this has become this
does become a concern because you are at risk of
debt. But at the same time this virus will
continuously do this until we reach herd immunity which at
this point I don't think will ever occur just because
of how far ahead the viruses but at the same
time the mutations will continuously occur and we will see
this happen again in the fall in the winter next
year. In the spring, this virus will continuously
mutate and cause sort of its presence within our Communities
over 30% of Americans are still unvaccinated. How much
of a risk does this variant cost to them?
I mean this it that is of a concern because
30% of people that are unvaccinated means that this variant
is as strong as the original coronavirus original covid.
This is the presence of what covid is 2022.
Like this is what it was Back in 2019 when
this virus first appeared on the radar. So at
the same time, you have to understand like you
were fighting an enemy here. The virus is constantly
saying, how can I sort of configure myself?
How can I change my mechanism so that I can
fool the body and enter the body and cause havoc
. So vaccines and this sort of antibodies that prevent
that from happening. But for those who have never
been vaccinated and you are at risk and that's why
we're seeing this. Even those who have been vaccinated
, we're seeing that the virus is causing infectivity meaning
that you can have the virus again and again and
again because it's changing the way that it looks to
the body. So then it's infected. The good
news is that the vaccine and the boosters does provide
a sense of protection even though the virus have changed
the FDA recently approved an update to the coronavirus vaccine
that will be distributed this fall. Will that also
handle this new variant that we're seeing. I mean
it will it will. So but we have to
keep in mind that the boosters and the vaccine trials
behind the mutation. So we see today's b.
A. five we're in the lab, the scientists
and the bench researchers are in the lab developing a
new booster. Right? So the boosters ready to
go by the time that is released and approved by
the FDA the virus has mutated again. Now with
that said there does there is some protection that's offered
. It's not as strong as say 100% but 70
and 80% is way better than 0%. So it
does offer some protection. But the goal here is
to have everyone vaccinated everyone protected so that this virus
becomes as simple as a common cold. or a
simple viral infection. That is the ultimate goal here
. Dr Davis. Should people take precautions like masking
up again. And of course social distancing if you're
not vaccinated and if you have immune compromised conditions that
unfortunately you have a cancer and unfortunately you have a
severe heart disease or if you have diabetes or or
or high blood pressure um if you have symptoms that
are concerning we have to take multiple medications. I
would I would wear my mask. I would practice
social distancing because as as the saying always go prevention
is the best step towards any situation happened. So
all preventive measures will always uh air towards the side
of caution and towards the side of victory and preventing
any sort of illness and unpreventable deaths. Dr Sampson
, Davis, emergency medicine physician. We always appreciate
your time, sir. Thank you for coming on --> .