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Transcript: Scott Gottlieb on "Face the Nation" on July 18, 2021
CBSNews 1 day ago
The following is a transcript of an interview with former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb that aired on Sunday, July 18, 2021, on "Face the Nation."
JOHN DICKERSON: And we go now to former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who is on the board of Pfizer and joins us from Westport, Connecticut. Good morning, Dr. Gottlieb.
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JOHN DICKERSON: So, if there's low ascertainment, if we don't really know as much that's in the community as is actually there. And you live in a low vaccinated community that doesn't yet have the headlines about hospitals filling, is that a fair expectation that you're going to start seeing those headlines in some number of days?
DR. GOTTLIEB: It depends on where you live, I think if you live in states like I'm in right now with vaccination rates are very high and there's been a lot of previous spread. There is a wall of immunity. And I think it's going to be a backstop against Delta spread. If you're in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low and there hasn't been a lot of viruses spread and that's a lot of parts of the rural south, I think it's much more vulnerable. I think people who live in those communities, especially if you live in communities where the prevalence is already high, I think it's prudent to take precautions if you're a vulnerable individual. And Delta is so contagious that when we talk about masks, I don't think we should just talk about masks. I think we should be talking about high quality mask. Quality of mask is going to make a difference with a variant that spreads more aggressively like Delta does, where people are more contagious and exude more virus and trying to get in N95 masks into the hands of vulnerable individuals in places where this is really epidemic, I think is going to be important, even in cases where they're vaccinated, if they want to add another layer of protection. There is a supply of N95 masks right now, there is no shortage. There's plenty of masks available for health care workers. So it could be something that we start talking about getting better quality masks into the hands of people, because I think it's going to be hard to mandate these things right now. But we can certainly provide them so people can use them on a voluntary basis to try to protect themselves.
JOHN DICKERSON: Let me just underscore that briefly, because one of the things we have seen is in people who don't want to get vaccinated, they say, well, I'll wear a mask. But your point is if you're going to wear a mask, any old piece of cloth isn't going to do. You have to have a N95 or something that's truly robust.
DR. GOTTLIEB: Right, remember, the original discussion around mask's was that if we put masks on everyone, people who are asymptomatic and likely to transmit the infection would be less likely to transmit the infection if they had a cloth mask on or even a procedure mask on. And there is data to suggest that there's data in flu and is now data and COVID. But if you want to actually derive protection from the mask, you want to protect yourself from others spreading the virus to you. Quality of mask does matter and a- and a high quality N95 mask is going to afford you a much better level of protection, especially if you fit it and wear it properly. So, quality of mask is important. And I think if you're a vulnerable individual who wants to use that mask to protect yourself and not just use that mask to cut down on the risk that you could be a super spreader, you could be spreading the virus to others, then you have to look out for a high-quality mask. They are available. Remember, originally during the epidemic, people were reluctant to recommend masks because there was a shortage for health care workers. There's now plenty of masks. The administration has done a good job getting masks out into the marketplace so you can get them from reputable suppliers like 3M right now.
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