Thursday, May 13, 2021

Global USA • My conversation with Rochelle the night before the hearing must have worked. She just called me to tell me that she has made a major change in the CDC recommendations. She will take my advice and change the guidelines to read that a vaccinated person can go without a mask whether or not they are indoors or outdoors. This is a major change and I'm very pleased that she listened to me. The radical right-wing maniacs who blamed me for the rigidity of the CDC recommendations will probably not realize at all that it was me that triggered this change. • Had a productive meeting with David Marchick and his team from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to determine how they may help to use their financing capability to provide vaccine doses to low and middle income countries. We discussed the multiple ways that this can be done ranging from financing transfer a technology two actually buying doses from companies to distribute to poorer countries. Also want to call besides Francis Collins and I were the teams from DFC and USAID. Also there was John Mascola and Cliff Lane. • Things continue to heat up regarding the innuendoes about our being responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic because of our grant to EcoHealth. Amazing!!! All the right wing conspiracy theorists are piling on with no data at all. PRESS: CBS “This Morning” with Gayle King; CNN with Jake Tapper; NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt;