GULSTAN: THE WHITE HOUSE COVID RESPONSE TEAM IS TALKING ABOUT NEW WAYS TO COMBAT MULTIPLE CORONAVIRUSES, WHILE SAYGIN WE’RE NOT IN THE CLEAR YEWITHT THIS PANDEMIC. EDIE: THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH HAS SPENT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC. MUCH OF THAT MONEY HAS GE ONTO VACCINE STUDIES. DOCTOR ANTHONY FAUCI SAYS ONE LONG-TERM PROJECT IS LOOKING AT A UNIVERL SACORONAVIRUS VACCE. BUT WHITE HOUSE EXPERTS STSSRE THE VACCINES WE HAVE NOW ARE EFFECTE.IV AND WHILE WE’RE IN A BETTER POSITION THAN WE WERE A AR AGO, THEY SAY THE PANDEMIC IS STILL A THREAT. >> WHEN YOU HAVE OVER 2000 DEATHS, 150,000 HOSPITALIZATIONS AND YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOW GETTING INFECTED TO THE TUNE OF 700,000 A DA WY,E ARE NOT THERE YET. ED:IE PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS DETECTED A NEW OMICRON SUB-VARIANT, AND RIGHT NOW THEY’RE STUDYING ITS IMPA.CT SO WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS URGING SUB-VARIANT? GULSTAN: LET’S TALK TONIGHT WITH DOCTOR DEAN BLUMBERG WITH U.C. DAVIS HEAL.TH IT IS GREAT TO GET YOUR INT PUON THIS. LET’S TALK. WE HEARD ABOUT OMICRON AROUND THANKSGIVING, NOW THIS SUB-VARIANT. PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WHAT IS HIS MEAN, HOW ABOUT THIS, AND ARE YOU EVEN SURPRISED BY THIS? >> THESE VARIASNT WILL ALWAYS COME AUTBO AS THE VIRUS CONTINUES TO BE TRANSMITTED AND REPLICATED .IT IS DIFFICULT TO PUT THEM INT PERSPECTIVE. WITH THIS VARIANT, IT WAS DISCOVERED AROUND CHRISTMAS. IT HAS 28 DIFFERENT MUTATIONS OMFR THE ORIGINAL OMICRON STRAIN. IT HAS 32 MUTATIONS THAT ARE SIMILAR, BUT IT HAS INCREASED IN NMDEARK, NORWAY, GERMANY, SOUTH AFRICA, ANDHE T PHILIPPINES. IN DENMARK, IT ACCOUNTS FOR 50% OF THE CIRCULATING STRAINS. >> FROM WHAT WE HAVE SEEN, DO WE OWKN WHETHER THIS IS AFFECTING SOME GROUPS OF PEOPLE MORE THAN OTHERS? >> NE O OF THE CONCERNS IN DENMARK WHERE IT’S BECOMING THE PREDOMINANT STRAIN IS THE HIGHESRAT TE OF HOSPITALIZATION IS OCCURRING IN CHILDREN FROM BIRTH TO TWO YEARS OF AGE. THSEE COND MOST EFFECTIVE GROUP IS THOSE OVER 80 YEARS OF AGE. WE HAVE NOT SEEN THAT BEFORE. AS A PEDIATRICIAN, THAT DEEPLY CONCERNS ME. GULSTAN: SO WHY IS THE SUB-VARIANT GETTING SO MUCH ATTENTION? WHAT >> IS THE BIG DEAL? BECAUSE IT HAS INCREEDAS SO RAPIDLY IN SO MANY CASES, AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN THE LEVELING OFF LIKE WE HAVE SEEN HERE IN CALIFORNIA AND IN SOME OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE THIS HAS BEEN DETECTED, SUCH AS DENMARK AND ISRAEL. THEY ARE STILL SEEING SKYROCKENGTI RATES OF CASES, SO THE CONCERN IS THAT ITAY M BE 40% MORE TRANSMISSIBLE COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS OMICRON STRAIN. ED:IE WHICH SPREAD REALLYTRAIN. QUICKLY AROUND THE GLOBE. IS IT NORMAL FOR THE SUB VA RIANCE TO EMERGE ANTOD BE THIS CONTAGIOUS, AND I DON’T KNOW IF THERE’S A NORMAL RIGHT NOW. THIS IS ALL NEW. >> I AGREE. IT IS HARD TO KNOW WHAT NORMAL INIS THE AGE OF COVID, ISN’T IT? WE KEEP GETTING SURPRISING KEEP GETTING THESE MUTATIONS. UNTIL WE GET A HIGH RATE OF IMMUNITY AROUND THE WORLD, WE WILL GET DEVELOPMENT OF NEW STRAINS, NEW VARIASNT, AND NEW SURPRISES. GULSTAN: I HAVE A CLOSE LOVED ONE WHO JUST WENT THROUGH GETTING COVID, PRETTY SURE THEY HAD THE OMICRON VARIANT, OR BECAUSE OF THAT, DOES THAT MEAN THAT TYHE HAVE, THAT NATURAL IMMUNITY TO THAT SUBPERIOD, OR IT’S LIKE COMING HERE WE GO AGAIN, AND YOU CAN HAVE ANOTHER INFECTION? >> THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTOFS PATIENTS INFECTED WITH THE ORIGINAL OMICRON STRAIN, AND WITHIN A MONTH GETTING INFECTED WITH THIS STINRA, SO THERE IS SOME SUGGESTION IT’S DIFFERENT ENOUGH FROM THE PREVIOUS TRAIN THAT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT PREVIOUS INFECTION-INDUCED IMMUNITY MAY NOT PROVIDE THAT MUCH PROTECTION. ED:IE ANOTHER QUESTION THAT COMES UP IS WHAT IS REALLY THE FFDIERENCE WHEN WE HAVE A NEW VARIANT FROM THE SUB-VARNTIA IF THIS IS ATTH DIFFICULT -- DIFFERENT FROM THE OMICRON VARIANT? SOME PEOPLE HAVE COLD IT ONE THING, AND OTHERS THINK THAT SUPPORT NAME. WE CAN DETECT IT WITH OUR CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS, OR WHETHER THIS ENDS UP INBEG A SEPARATE VARIANT OR IT GETS A NEW GREEK LETTER, WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SAYS. GULSN:TA IT IS GREAT TO G YETOUR EXPERTISE. I CANNOT WAIT UILNT WE CAN STOP BUGGING YOU ALL