List of eligible booster candidates will grow: Osmosis Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Rishi Desai, Chief Medical Officer at Osmosis & Former Center for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Officer discusses what will come next for booster shots.

Video transcript

SEANA SMITH: So let's bring in Dr. Rishi Desai, chief medical officer at Osmosis, also former CDC Epidemic Intelligence Officer. Dr. Desai, it's good to see you again. Let's just start with booster shots. We haven't spoken in a while. There certainly has been some confusion, I guess, about the rollout of booster shots-- who qualifies, who doesn't. From your view, I guess, what's your reaction to all this and who the CDC determined should be getting booster shots right now?

RISHI DESAI: Well, you know, it's very interesting because on the one hand, you have folks that don't want to get any vaccine at all. And on the other hand, you have folks that have already received two vaccines and are clamoring to get a booster. So it's really clear that we have two different Americas, you know, if you will. And with regards to boosters, I think we're going to see more and more groups get on that list of folks that qualify to get a booster.

So, initially, you want the highest risk, the most at-risk for getting a bad outcome from COVID, so that means the elderly, folks with comorbid illness, and then you're going to slowly see that kind of go into the broader public, as we start rolling out boosters more broadly.

In parallel, you also mentioned, obviously, the other thing on people's minds, is opening this up to kids. A lot of families out there are saying, look, the adults in the house have already gotten vaccinated. We have a 5 to 11-year-old in the home. And we'd like that person vaccinated, too. And so I think that that's the other group that we want to make sure we have enough vaccine to meet the need for.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Doctor, where do we stand right now? For instance, New York State and other states with the variant, have we peaked? And are we now coming down? Is the trend downward in cases?

RISHI DESAI: In most states, the trend is downward. In a few states, that is not the case. You know, let's take Idaho, for example, or Alaska, you know, Montana, some of these states where the number of folks in that other group I talked about where folks don't want to get vaccinated are reluctant to get vaccinated.

You know, in those states, we're still seeing enormous numbers of cases, as well as deaths that are making that first wave of COVID with the wild type actually look maybe similarly sized or even, sometimes, more cases and deaths than we saw in that first wave. So in some states, it's actually worse right now than it was previously. In most states, that is not the case. It's actually getting a little bit better.

SEANA SMITH: Doctor, today is the deadline for New York healthcare workers to get vaccinated. And let me start this question by saying, I agree with this mandate. I think it makes total sense. But it does raise a question, if we do see a number of people quit as a result of this, what kind of effect that's going to have on healthcare here in the state of New York going forward. How do you see this playing out? And I guess, how big of a risk is this to the ability for hospitals to care for the number of patients that they need to care for here over the next several weeks?

RISHI DESAI: It's a great question. I mean, when you finish medical school, you take the Hippocratic oath. A lot of folks know of it. And part of that oath is to kind of first do no harm. And I think it comes back to that, you know, in terms of keeping our focus on making sure we don't, as healthcare providers, spread illness and worsen a pandemic above and beyond where it's already at. I think in terms of the logistics of a stretched workforce and maybe some folks saying, look, I don't even want to come to work if you're going to force me to take a vaccine, that's a tough situation. It really is.

And in those settings, maybe you need to call in folks from other states to come pitch in or help out. And so that's maybe where some of those hospitals are going to end up being. I think where they're most stretched, again, are in other locations-- Kansas, Idaho, Alaska, to name a few. And in those places, you really got to look hard and say, what can we do here, given that you need healthcare workers on the front lines and some are threatening to walk if you mandate a vaccine. I think in New York, they're going to be OK.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Doctor, I'm going to go out on a limb here and make an assumption based on the bunk beds and the Picturepedia book behind you that there's probably some children somewhere in your world. If they're under 12, what concerns do you have right now since they still can't get a vaccine?

RISHI DESAI: Yeah, I have a five-year-old. And I asked my five-year-old when he turned five his birthday wish, and his birthday wish was to get the COVID vaccine, plain and simple. And so I think that it's on the minds of parents. It's also on the minds of kids. And my hope is that that vaccine gets rolled out pretty quickly and that we see that it's safe even among this population because then the next group, of course, is going to be two to five-year-olds.

So I think as we roll this down, parents are going to feel more comfortable. And it goes back to the original highlight or the headline of kind of when things get back to normal. And I think looking one year down the road in the US, I think it's fairly accurate. I think globally, you're going to have pockets of communities where high risk populations, as well as, you know, kids, are not going to get vaccinated for years to come, especially in low income countries.

SEANA SMITH: Doctor, we're coming up on Halloween. I have a young son as well. Halloween, obviously, wasn't the same last year. What should we expect to see this year? I guess, is it safe for children to be out and about, trick or treating?

RISHI DESAI: I think when they're outdoors and they're in small groups, I think it's safe. And so if you can find a place, a community where you can take kids in small groups, I would say three to five kids in a group, ideally kids that they're already hanging out with, you know, not a bunch of new kids, and take them down that street in a safe way. I think it's absolutely fine. And if you classically think of what Halloween means, it's that.

So I think for most folks, it's going to be a very safe, normal return to Halloween. If you're talking about an indoor crowded party, that's really not a good idea for a group of kids that are unvaccinated. So I think outdoors in small groups would be fun.

SEANA SMITH: Dr. Rishi Desai, always great to have you on the program, Chief Medical Officer at Osmosis, also former CDC Epidemic Intelligence Officer. thanks so much for taking the time.