Thursday, July 14, 2022

Global – 5546,897,312/6,356,812; USA – 88,932,987/1,018,035 Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths now going up: Rochelle called me up tonight and arranged to have a zoom with me to get my advice about pressure she is getting from the White House who is responding to New York pressuring them to get more monkey pox vaccines (see above on July 12). This relates to the meeting we had a couple of days ago with Ron Klain where he was very concerned that we are being perceived as being unresponsive with regard to vaccines and the POTUS is getting a lot of pressure from NYC for more vaccines. The White House wants her to distribute the vaccine according to the number of cases and she feels correctly that that is not a totally fair way since there is a consideration for the at-risk population in certain locations that don't yet have a lot of cases. Also, southern states with black MSM are not really tresting since they are stigmatized and cases are not being recognized. I counseled her that it is a battle she will lose if she insists on distribution other than just by case numbers. She will lose the fight with the WH. In 1 to 1 and 1/2 weeks there will be hundreds of thousands of vaccines shipped from Denmark. At that point we can do what I would strongly suggest is to blanket the at risk community with vaccines for everyone who is at risk particularly those who are on prep for HIV or who are infected with HIV and are suppressed with their viral load due to antiviral drugs. Those are the ones that are out there having sex and not feeling vulnerable because they are on antiviral therapy. I told her to hang tight for week or so and the problem will solve itself. PRESS: Rickey Smiley Radio Show; KAMR TV Amarillo, TX; NBC Livestream News with Phil Lepof; CNN with Erin Burnett;