December 8, 2020 • 24 mins
Vice Admiral Jerome Adams stopped by to inform us about the best ways for us to reduce the spread of COVID-19, to discuss poor health and lack of opportunity, plus more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
All right, hey, let me make this introduction. Everybody out.
Special guest holds a distinguished title of Surgeon General of
the United States, which simply means one thing, everybody. He
is the nation's doctor. His goal is to advance the
health of American people with better health through better partnerships.
And right now he's focused on informing us on how
we can slow down to spreading of COVID nineteen and
(00:25):
save lives. And we're honored to have him join us
for the first time this morning. Please welcome to the
Morning Show. Vice Admiral Jerome m Adams. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Hey.
It is a pleasure to be here with you. And
I gotta tell you it's also an honor to serve
as just the second African American male to be Surgeon
(00:48):
General of the United States, the other with doctor David Thatcher.
And I'm a big believer that you got to see
it to be it. And you know, I didn't see
a lot of black, black doctor's growing up. The first
black doctor I ever met with when I was in college,
So it really all the challenge of a side is
something special to me. To be able to just stand
(01:09):
on TV, to stand at that podium in the White
House and have other kids like me see that they
can be the Surgeon General of the United States. Well,
so I gotta tell you it is exactly the way
you're saying it is. It does sending. Nothing sends a
clearer message than a picture, and seeing you there, it
doesn't wonder. It's not only for young people, but for
(01:32):
those of us that's been around for a little while
to see the advancements and the overcoming and the power
of dreams that can occur in a person. And you
will find example of that, man, and we applaud you
for it in congratulations. So, hey, well, thank you for
saying that, because a lot of people give me a
lot of blacks for who I work for and what
(01:52):
I tell people. Our issues are too important to take
four years off from, and so I want your listeners
to understand that, Hey, I am the United States Surgeon General.
I'm thankful that I was nominated and appointed by President Trump,
but I'm the United States Surgeon General, and i'm here.
You may have heard this phrase before. If you're not
(02:13):
at the table, you're on the menu. And I'm gonna
make sure. I'm gonna make sure I'm at the table,
trying to fight for the issues that we care about.
Because I grew up Pore, I grew up rural, and
I obviously grew up black. I talk a lot about
my brother, who actually has struggled with substance use disorder.
You all may have heard that my mother actually was
(02:33):
in the hospital over Thanksgiving. She fell at home and
was evaluated for a stroke and a hip fracture. So
I know what it's like to deal with poor health
and lack of opportunity, even at Surgeon General of the
United States. So I'm going to keep fighting. And one
of the things we got to fight for is to
get people to understand we have the tools to overcome
this COVID pandemic, but we need we need to provide
(02:58):
people with the governmental and institutional supports to do the
right thing, and then we need people to adopt the
behaviors that will help us overcome this virus. Has got
to be one two. It can't be all on the people,
and it can't be all on the government. But together
we can overcome this. So you I've heard you speak
before and and and you want to talk about things
(03:22):
that we can do, and you call them the three
ws what are those three ws, sir, Well. One of
the three ws is what your mother always told you,
wash your hands. Another one of the three ws is
to watch your distance. The way this virus spreads, like
any other infectious, is ease. The closer you are to someone,
(03:42):
the more likely you are to get it. So we
tell people to stay six feet for mothers, and to
avoid people outside of your household whenever you can, and
that will lower your chance of getting the virus. And
the third W is wear a mask. And what I
want people to know is that we've learned a lot
about this virus in the past year. And one of
the things that we learned if over fifty percent of
the people spreading the virus actually are what we call asymptomatic,
(04:06):
which means they don't have a fever, they don't have
a cost, they don't have a cold. Steve, if you
and I were in a room together and one of
us had a cold, the other one would know it.
I look at you and say, Steve, you ain't looking
so good. You and I need to stay apart. You
can't do that with COVID, And so, unfortunately, a lot
of people are spreading at a symptomatically, and that's why
(04:27):
we tell them to wear a mask. And the other
important thing that I want people to really understand is
that we are a week or so away from beginning
to vaccinate people. But one of the greatest injustices in
this country right now, and people don't appreciate this, is
the differences in the number of people of color who
get vaccinated versus Caucasians. In any given flu season, about
(04:49):
fifty percent of adults get the flu shot, only about
forty percent of African Americans do, and that results in
thousands of black people dying every year from a vaccine
prevent will disease. To me, this is a social justice
issue because people are praying on our folks with misinformation
that it's causing them to lose their lives. So follow
the three ws, get your blue shot. And I want
(05:11):
everyone to know that when I can get a COVID vaccine,
when they tell me I can get one, and trust me,
I've seen the data. I've worked with the companies. I've
encouraged them to include African Americans in their trials, and
we've successfully gotten the numbers up. I believe that vaccine
will be safe and I will take it, and when
they tell me my family can get it, my family
will get it too. Okay, So I'm sorry. Go ahead, Okay,
(05:37):
So you say it, sir, that the vaccine is on
the way, and you're saying within a week they're going
to be passing this vaccine. Now, well, they are going
to be evaluating the Fiser vaccine this week, and it
could be as soon as Thursday or Friday that they
approve it or authorize it, and when they do, we'll
(06:00):
be sending it out within twenty four hours. And what
we're gonna do is make sure people who are in
nursing homes and long term care facility to get it first.
Then after that will probably be healthcare workers because our
hospitals are being overwhelmed by COVID cases and we can't
afford to lose a doctor or a nurse to COVID.
And then after that it will be people in the
next risk category, people with comorbidities like diabetes, high blood pressure,
(06:25):
and lung disease. And so we want to immunize for impact.
But again, a vaccine doesn't do anything if people don't
trust it or won't accept it. Okay, Surgeon General, Hang
on one second, so we'll be right back with more
from Vice Admiral Jerome. All right, we're back, everybody. We're
really informative discussion with our nation's doctor surgeon General, Vice
(06:50):
Admiral Adams. So, Steve. The other thing I'm doing is
working with the Divine Nine. I'm working with faith based organizations.
I'm working with historically black colleges and universities to help
people understand the process. And I don't want to get
too deep here, but we remember Tuskege, and one of
the things that we've got to do is acknowledge that
(07:11):
people of color are right to have some distrust of
certain institutions. We got to acknowledge that, But then we
also have to address that. We've got to tell them
what we do now to make sure those types of
things can never happen again. And we have independent data
and safety monitoring boards, and we have the Office of
Human Research Protections. We have things in place, systems in
(07:32):
place to make sure Tuskegee can never ever happen again.
And then we've got to engage with influencers. And I'm
working with the NFL. I'm working with again historically Black
College of the Universities, fraternities and sororities. We want people
to ask questions and don't ever be afraid to ask questions.
Ask those questions and demand answers, and then I want
(07:52):
you to know that I'm going to be there providing
answers and encouraging my colleagues to provide those answers so
you feel safe and so that you aren't different advantaged
by being distrustful of something that could actually save your life.
So you're saying to us, predominant audience that listens to
this show is a huge group of African Americans Latinos.
(08:14):
We have a huge white listening audience too, but overall
the scope is we have a very large black listening audience.
You're saying, though, that when this vaccine is released, that
is safe for people to take and they should lose
their fear of getting fascinated. I'm absolutely saying that, And
(08:36):
let me tell you why. When you hear fast Track,
you think that they cut corners. The vaccine that they're
using right now is eighty to similar to vaccine technology
they've been using for the last decade, so the science
isn't new. They just substituted one part of the virus
for another part of a different virus to create this vaccine.
(08:58):
The science is solid and number two, the corners that
we cut were financial and administrative. We did not cut
the process for it. The science and the safety is
the same as it's been for any vaccine. But what
we did is we just threw a whole lot of
money at the problem. And we also started manufacturing early,
and we made sure we cleared any administrative hurdles. So
(09:21):
instead of it sitting on somebody's desk for three four weeks,
you get immediate, got immediate and immediate look at things.
And so that's that's how we sped up the process.
And I believe it's safe. It's been proven to be
over ninety percent effective. And again, the most reassuring thing
I can tell you is an I plan on getting
the vaccine on live TV when they tell me that
(09:43):
I met my turn to get the vaccine. Hey, sergean General,
hang on one second. We're gonna take another break and
we'll be right back with more. This information is critical
to our community. We'll be right back. You're listening to
show a right, everybody, We're back and we've been and
having a really really informative conversation without Surgeon General, Vice
(10:05):
Admiral but Jerome m Adams, now this okay, so Vice Admiral,
this is what I would propose to really help get
our community locked into this. I would like to propose that,
if you were sincere about what you were saying, that
(10:25):
the Steve Harvey Morning Show, those of us who are
willing would volunteer to do you know, a viral video
to get it out there that we're taking the vaccination
from the Vice Admiral, and I mean from the Surgeon
General the United States. I think that would send a
real clear message, especially to our community. Because I don't
(10:46):
I don't really have a problem with it. Let me
ask you this question here, sir, what do you think
it's to propose costs? Because I'm hearing free, I'm hearing
ten dollars. What do you think would be the proposed
costs for a person to get vaccinated? Fascinating? We are
(11:06):
doing everything within our federal authority and power to give
it to people for free. So what does that mean?
That means we are we paid for the vaccine on
the part of the federal government. The vaccine itself is free.
We paid for the needles and the syringes, and we're
sending them out to people. So that's going to be free.
But a doctor or a nurse can charge you a
(11:27):
certain fee to administer it, and it won't be any
more than ten dollars. But most people should be able
to get it completely free because their insurance will cover it. Okay,
I understand what you're saying now, so let me ask
you this question. So I'm hearing two things. There's a
there's a one shot vaccine, and there's a two part vaccine.
(11:47):
Which is it? Which one's is coming out by Fiser,
Which one's coming out by Maderno, Which which one is which?
So the first one that is expected to come out
of the Fiser vaccine, and that was shown to be
ninety five percent effective. That is a two shot vaccine.
You get one dose and then twenty one days theater
you get the second booster dose. The next vaccine that
(12:10):
is cheered up to come out as the Maderna vaccine,
that again is ninety ninety five percent effective. That is
also a two dose vaccine. We're working with Johnson and
Johnson to get their one dose vaccine ready, but that's
not going to be ready for several weeks at least
they're still doing the studies. But if that one comes through,
(12:32):
the great thing is, again that's one dose of a vaccine,
so it's going to be easier for people. But what
I would say to people is whatever vaccine you can
get if it's approved by the SBA, are authorized by
the FDA, I think whichever one they offer, because you
want that protection. Black people and brown people are disproportionately
(12:52):
dying from this virus. And if we have authorized a vaccine,
I can tell you it's going to be stafe, and
it's going to be reasonably active, and that's the way
we end this pandemic and get back to normal. And
I just want to hit on one other thing that's
important to the African American community. Last week I put
out a call to action on maternal health, pointing out
the fact that Black women are three times as likely
(13:15):
to die as white women from pregnancy related complications. And
what did that have to do with COVID. Well, we
know that COVID puts you at higher risk for complications
if you're pregnant, number one, and number two, many women
aren't getting their prenatal care because they're scared of COVID,
So these disparities are going to become even greater. And
the shocking thing if it doesn't matter how rich or
(13:36):
famous you are. Beyonce almost died from pre eclancia when
she was having her baby. It doesn't matter how athletic
you are. Serena Williams, who I consider the best athlete
in the world, almost died due to pregnancy related complications.
There's something about being black, and we have to dig
into the bias, the racism that exists in our society.
(13:57):
But we've also got to arm people with the facts
do what they can to protect themselves. So please tell
people to go to Surgeon General dot gov. Check out
that call to action as well as the one I
put on put out on blood pressure control in October,
because uncontrolled blood pressure is gonna kill more people this
year than what COVID will, believe it or not, and
that also disproportionately affects African Americans in Latinos. And I'll
(14:20):
tell you if I without giving blue shot a few
weeks ago, if any of you haven't gotten your flu
shot now, this week is National Immunive Flu Immunization Week,
and I'm happy to come do that too, Hey, one
more time. I hate to keep saying one more time,
so but really this is really valuable information for our listening, Gordon,
So if you could just hang on, we'll be back
(14:40):
everybody with more from the Surgeon General. You're listening, all right, everybody,
We're back, and we've been having a really really informative
conversation without Surgeon General. Vice Admiral but Jerome m Adams. Okay, so,
Vice Admiral, this is what I would propose to really
(15:02):
help get our community locked into this. I would like
to propose that, if you were sincere by what you
were saying that the Steve Harvey Morning Show, those of
us who are willing would volunteer to do you know,
a viral video to get it out there that we're
taking the vaccination from the Vice Admiral, and I mean
(15:24):
from the Surgeon General the United States. I think that
would send a real clear message, especially to our community.
Because I don't I don't really have a problem with it.
Let me ask you this question here, sir, what do
you think it is to propose costs? Because I'm hearing free,
I'm hearing ten dollars. What do you think would be
(15:46):
the proposed costs for a person to get vaccinated. Vaccinating,
we are doing everything within our federal authority and power
to give it to people for free. So what does
that means. That means we are paid for the vaccine
on the part of the federal government. The vaccine itself
is free. We paid for the needles and the syringes
and we're sending them out to people. So that's going
(16:08):
to be free. But a doctor or a nurse can
charge you a certain fee to administer it, and it
won't be any more than ten dollars. But most people
should be able to get it completely free because their
insurance will cover it. Okay, I understand what you're saying now,
so let me ask you this question. So I'm hearing
two things. There's a there's a one shot vaccine, and
(16:31):
there's a two part vaccine. Which is it? Which ones
is coming out by Fiser, Which one's coming out by Maderno,
Which which one is which? So the first one that
is expected to come out of the Fiser vaccine and
that was shown to be ninety five percent effective. That
is a two shot vaccine. You get one dose and
(16:51):
then twenty one days later you get the second booster dose.
The next vaccine that is cheed up to come out
as a Maderna vaccine again is effective. That is also
a two dose vaccine. We're working with Johnson and Johnson
to get their one dose vaccine ready, but that's not
going to be ready for several weeks at least. They're
(17:14):
still doing the studies. But if that one comes through,
the great thing is again that's one dose of a vaccine,
so it's going to be easier for people. But what
I would say to people is whatever vaccine you can get,
if it's approved by the FDA or authorized by the FDA,
I think whichever one they offer, because you want that protection.
(17:35):
Black people and brown people are disproportionately dying from this virus.
And if we authorized a vaccine, I can tell you
it's going to be stafe and it's going to be
reasonably effective, and that's the way we end this pandemic
and get back to normal. Okay, So tell our audience
what exactly will the vaccine do. So what the vaccine
(17:57):
will do is express parts of the virus or things
that look like the virus. So the Maderna and the
Fire vaccine express what's called the spike protein, which is
on the virus and not the full virus, So you
can't become infected with COVID by getting the vaccine. I
want people to know that. And then your body develops
an immune response to that part of the virus so
(18:19):
that when it is exposed to the virus, it then
attacks the virus. And that's how vaccines work. We give
you a piece of a virus or a virus that
is attenuated or can't hurt you anymore, to build so
that your body responds to it and build up immunity
to it. And so that's what it's doing. And these
(18:39):
vaccines have been shown to be not only incredibly safe,
but again ninety to ninety five percent effective. And I
want you to understand that the flu vaccine in any
given year is only about sixty percent effective, which still
is good enough to save many lives. But these vaccines
are ninety percent effective, so we can end this pandemic.
(19:00):
But what I fear. What I fear is will have
this vaccine and disparity will widen because quite frankly, white
people will get it and people of color won't, and
you'll see people of color continue to die. That's what
I'm scared of that's what I don't want to happen,
and that's why I'm on your show today. But that's
also why again I'm working with all these organizations to
(19:22):
help promote confidence in this vaccine. So these vaccines that
come out, that's two part after a person receives the
first part, and one is a twenty one day weight
with visor and another one is whatever the weight is
between the waiting period, we are we to continue with
(19:42):
the three WS. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and
watch your distance absolutely because vaccines, even when you get them,
they still don't ensure that you can't get infected by
the virus. What they do is they decrease the chance
that you will get sick, to get hospital life symptoms,
and they also but you still can get infected. And
(20:04):
remember ninety five percent still isn't one. So even if
it's ninety five percent effect, then you could be in
that five percent and you could get it and still
be harmed. So we still need to follow the three WS.
But what the vaccine does is it will decrease the
number of people who get hospitalized, so our hospitals don't
get overflowed. The decrease the number of people who die,
(20:24):
they'll decrease the spread, and my hope is that by
summer of next year we will suppressed the virus to
the point that we can again get back to some
sense of normal. But we certainly that'll start as soon
as we get our vulnerable vaccinated, which is what we're
going to start doing again, hopefully within a week or two. Well, sir,
(20:45):
h mister doctor, the Surgeon General, Vice Admiral, you've certainly
give some amazing information and we needed to hear it
from you, and we thank you for coming on. We're
definitely on this show and not holding against who is
(21:06):
in the administration right now because you came on here
and you spoke the truth. I mean, you know, that's
all we've been wanting, just truth, just tell us what
it is. And for you to come on as a
surgeon General and talk to us with such a compassion
and concern for people who look like you is just
(21:27):
really really speaks volumes for the type of person you
are and on behalf of all of our listeners. And
we really appreciate you, sir, and thank you for all
that you do. Hey, I appreciate it too. I don't
believe God puts you where you're going to be comfortable,
but I believe God puts you where you're going to
be needed. And I'm here because I feel like I'm needed.
(21:48):
I'm going to keep working hard to protect all Americans,
but especially people who have been disproportionately hit by health disparities.
And unfortunately that means black and brown people in this
country are going to get the bulk of my attention
because they're whose hardest, but also people in rural areas,
people who are people who were who are poor and disadvantage.
(22:10):
That's we've got to lift up. And I'm willing to
work with you in any way we can to lift
up those populations. Steve, give everyone the best chance to
live their healthiest life. Well, I'm telling you I will
volunteer to come and do something for social media with you.
Absolutely to do something big. Take the shot, you administer
(22:30):
the shot tell me. I mean, I mean, I don't
know what would make a better signal than to have
a black man issuing the vaccine to another black person
and they understanding. I just think it would speak volumes.
And I'm not just saying it as a gimmick. I mean, look,
we're not gonna make money off of this. We're trying
to save lives here and get people exactly not to
(22:52):
be buried by ignorance, you know. And we all understand,
like you said very eloquently, what happened to Tuskege. Well,
we're not gonna let that happen again, you know. And
I just thank you, sir, and hopefully, man, we can
get uh through this and uh, well not hopefully, but
we'll get through this, and maybe we could do something
(23:14):
with the Morning Show and really uh give this thing
a big jump. Well, let's let's do it. Everyone be
concerned about the numbers, be cautious in your actions, but
have confidence that we've got the tools to get through this.
And uh, the Surgeon General of the United States and
the Morning Show are gonna be right there alongside you
(23:35):
all to make sure you're getting the tools and the
information you need so that you can be healthy. So
thank you, thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, please show
you love. The Surgeon General of United States, Vice Admiral
Jerome M. Adams, Thank you, sir. Thank you you all.
Take care. Wow, better go? Yeah, all right, thank you
(24:00):
for that very informative interview. US Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams,
We thank you so much. You're listening to the Day
Harvey Morning Show.
All right, hey, let me make this introduction. Everybody out.
Special guest holds a distinguished title of Surgeon General of
the United States, which simply means one thing, everybody. He
is the nation's doctor. His goal is to advance the
health of American people with better health through better partnerships.
And right now he's focused on informing us on how
we can slow down to spreading of COVID nineteen and
(00:25):
save lives. And we're honored to have him join us
for the first time this morning. Please welcome to the
Morning Show. Vice Admiral Jerome m Adams. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Hey.
It is a pleasure to be here with you. And
I gotta tell you it's also an honor to serve
as just the second African American male to be Surgeon
(00:48):
General of the United States, the other with doctor David Thatcher.
And I'm a big believer that you got to see
it to be it. And you know, I didn't see
a lot of black, black doctor's growing up. The first
black doctor I ever met with when I was in college,
So it really all the challenge of a side is
something special to me. To be able to just stand
(01:09):
on TV, to stand at that podium in the White
House and have other kids like me see that they
can be the Surgeon General of the United States. Well,
so I gotta tell you it is exactly the way
you're saying it is. It does sending. Nothing sends a
clearer message than a picture, and seeing you there, it
doesn't wonder. It's not only for young people, but for
(01:32):
those of us that's been around for a little while
to see the advancements and the overcoming and the power
of dreams that can occur in a person. And you
will find example of that, man, and we applaud you
for it in congratulations. So, hey, well, thank you for
saying that, because a lot of people give me a
lot of blacks for who I work for and what
(01:52):
I tell people. Our issues are too important to take
four years off from, and so I want your listeners
to understand that, Hey, I am the United States Surgeon General.
I'm thankful that I was nominated and appointed by President Trump,
but I'm the United States Surgeon General, and i'm here.
You may have heard this phrase before. If you're not
(02:13):
at the table, you're on the menu. And I'm gonna
make sure. I'm gonna make sure I'm at the table,
trying to fight for the issues that we care about.
Because I grew up Pore, I grew up rural, and
I obviously grew up black. I talk a lot about
my brother, who actually has struggled with substance use disorder.
You all may have heard that my mother actually was
(02:33):
in the hospital over Thanksgiving. She fell at home and
was evaluated for a stroke and a hip fracture. So
I know what it's like to deal with poor health
and lack of opportunity, even at Surgeon General of the
United States. So I'm going to keep fighting. And one
of the things we got to fight for is to
get people to understand we have the tools to overcome
this COVID pandemic, but we need we need to provide
(02:58):
people with the governmental and institutional supports to do the
right thing, and then we need people to adopt the
behaviors that will help us overcome this virus. Has got
to be one two. It can't be all on the people,
and it can't be all on the government. But together
we can overcome this. So you I've heard you speak
before and and and you want to talk about things
(03:22):
that we can do, and you call them the three
ws what are those three ws, sir, Well. One of
the three ws is what your mother always told you,
wash your hands. Another one of the three ws is
to watch your distance. The way this virus spreads, like
any other infectious, is ease. The closer you are to someone,
(03:42):
the more likely you are to get it. So we
tell people to stay six feet for mothers, and to
avoid people outside of your household whenever you can, and
that will lower your chance of getting the virus. And
the third W is wear a mask. And what I
want people to know is that we've learned a lot
about this virus in the past year. And one of
the things that we learned if over fifty percent of
the people spreading the virus actually are what we call asymptomatic,
(04:06):
which means they don't have a fever, they don't have
a cost, they don't have a cold. Steve, if you
and I were in a room together and one of
us had a cold, the other one would know it.
I look at you and say, Steve, you ain't looking
so good. You and I need to stay apart. You
can't do that with COVID, And so, unfortunately, a lot
of people are spreading at a symptomatically, and that's why
(04:27):
we tell them to wear a mask. And the other
important thing that I want people to really understand is
that we are a week or so away from beginning
to vaccinate people. But one of the greatest injustices in
this country right now, and people don't appreciate this, is
the differences in the number of people of color who
get vaccinated versus Caucasians. In any given flu season, about
(04:49):
fifty percent of adults get the flu shot, only about
forty percent of African Americans do, and that results in
thousands of black people dying every year from a vaccine
prevent will disease. To me, this is a social justice
issue because people are praying on our folks with misinformation
that it's causing them to lose their lives. So follow
the three ws, get your blue shot. And I want
(05:11):
everyone to know that when I can get a COVID vaccine,
when they tell me I can get one, and trust me,
I've seen the data. I've worked with the companies. I've
encouraged them to include African Americans in their trials, and
we've successfully gotten the numbers up. I believe that vaccine
will be safe and I will take it, and when
they tell me my family can get it, my family
will get it too. Okay, So I'm sorry. Go ahead, Okay,
(05:37):
So you say it, sir, that the vaccine is on
the way, and you're saying within a week they're going
to be passing this vaccine. Now, well, they are going
to be evaluating the Fiser vaccine this week, and it
could be as soon as Thursday or Friday that they
approve it or authorize it, and when they do, we'll
(06:00):
be sending it out within twenty four hours. And what
we're gonna do is make sure people who are in
nursing homes and long term care facility to get it first.
Then after that will probably be healthcare workers because our
hospitals are being overwhelmed by COVID cases and we can't
afford to lose a doctor or a nurse to COVID.
And then after that it will be people in the
next risk category, people with comorbidities like diabetes, high blood pressure,
(06:25):
and lung disease. And so we want to immunize for impact.
But again, a vaccine doesn't do anything if people don't
trust it or won't accept it. Okay, Surgeon General, Hang
on one second, so we'll be right back with more
from Vice Admiral Jerome. All right, we're back, everybody. We're
really informative discussion with our nation's doctor surgeon General, Vice
(06:50):
Admiral Adams. So, Steve. The other thing I'm doing is
working with the Divine Nine. I'm working with faith based organizations.
I'm working with historically black colleges and universities to help
people understand the process. And I don't want to get
too deep here, but we remember Tuskege, and one of
the things that we've got to do is acknowledge that
(07:11):
people of color are right to have some distrust of
certain institutions. We got to acknowledge that, But then we
also have to address that. We've got to tell them
what we do now to make sure those types of
things can never happen again. And we have independent data
and safety monitoring boards, and we have the Office of
Human Research Protections. We have things in place, systems in
(07:32):
place to make sure Tuskegee can never ever happen again.
And then we've got to engage with influencers. And I'm
working with the NFL. I'm working with again historically Black
College of the Universities, fraternities and sororities. We want people
to ask questions and don't ever be afraid to ask questions.
Ask those questions and demand answers, and then I want
(07:52):
you to know that I'm going to be there providing
answers and encouraging my colleagues to provide those answers so
you feel safe and so that you aren't different advantaged
by being distrustful of something that could actually save your life.
So you're saying to us, predominant audience that listens to
this show is a huge group of African Americans Latinos.
(08:14):
We have a huge white listening audience too, but overall
the scope is we have a very large black listening audience.
You're saying, though, that when this vaccine is released, that
is safe for people to take and they should lose
their fear of getting fascinated. I'm absolutely saying that, And
(08:36):
let me tell you why. When you hear fast Track,
you think that they cut corners. The vaccine that they're
using right now is eighty to similar to vaccine technology
they've been using for the last decade, so the science
isn't new. They just substituted one part of the virus
for another part of a different virus to create this vaccine.
(08:58):
The science is solid and number two, the corners that
we cut were financial and administrative. We did not cut
the process for it. The science and the safety is
the same as it's been for any vaccine. But what
we did is we just threw a whole lot of
money at the problem. And we also started manufacturing early,
and we made sure we cleared any administrative hurdles. So
(09:21):
instead of it sitting on somebody's desk for three four weeks,
you get immediate, got immediate and immediate look at things.
And so that's that's how we sped up the process.
And I believe it's safe. It's been proven to be
over ninety percent effective. And again, the most reassuring thing
I can tell you is an I plan on getting
the vaccine on live TV when they tell me that
(09:43):
I met my turn to get the vaccine. Hey, sergean General,
hang on one second. We're gonna take another break and
we'll be right back with more. This information is critical
to our community. We'll be right back. You're listening to
show a right, everybody, We're back and we've been and
having a really really informative conversation without Surgeon General, Vice
(10:05):
Admiral but Jerome m Adams, now this okay, so Vice Admiral,
this is what I would propose to really help get
our community locked into this. I would like to propose that,
if you were sincere about what you were saying, that
(10:25):
the Steve Harvey Morning Show, those of us who are
willing would volunteer to do you know, a viral video
to get it out there that we're taking the vaccination
from the Vice Admiral, and I mean from the Surgeon
General the United States. I think that would send a
real clear message, especially to our community. Because I don't
(10:46):
I don't really have a problem with it. Let me
ask you this question here, sir, what do you think
it's to propose costs? Because I'm hearing free, I'm hearing
ten dollars. What do you think would be the proposed
costs for a person to get vaccinated? Fascinating? We are
(11:06):
doing everything within our federal authority and power to give
it to people for free. So what does that mean?
That means we are we paid for the vaccine on
the part of the federal government. The vaccine itself is free.
We paid for the needles and the syringes, and we're
sending them out to people. So that's going to be free.
But a doctor or a nurse can charge you a
(11:27):
certain fee to administer it, and it won't be any
more than ten dollars. But most people should be able
to get it completely free because their insurance will cover it. Okay,
I understand what you're saying now, so let me ask
you this question. So I'm hearing two things. There's a
there's a one shot vaccine, and there's a two part vaccine.
(11:47):
Which is it? Which one's is coming out by Fiser,
Which one's coming out by Maderno, Which which one is which?
So the first one that is expected to come out
of the Fiser vaccine, and that was shown to be
ninety five percent effective. That is a two shot vaccine.
You get one dose and then twenty one days theater
you get the second booster dose. The next vaccine that
(12:10):
is cheered up to come out as the Maderna vaccine,
that again is ninety ninety five percent effective. That is
also a two dose vaccine. We're working with Johnson and
Johnson to get their one dose vaccine ready, but that's
not going to be ready for several weeks at least
they're still doing the studies. But if that one comes through,
(12:32):
the great thing is, again that's one dose of a vaccine,
so it's going to be easier for people. But what
I would say to people is whatever vaccine you can
get if it's approved by the SBA, are authorized by
the FDA, I think whichever one they offer, because you
want that protection. Black people and brown people are disproportionately
(12:52):
dying from this virus. And if we have authorized a vaccine,
I can tell you it's going to be stafe, and
it's going to be reasonably active, and that's the way
we end this pandemic and get back to normal. And
I just want to hit on one other thing that's
important to the African American community. Last week I put
out a call to action on maternal health, pointing out
the fact that Black women are three times as likely
(13:15):
to die as white women from pregnancy related complications. And
what did that have to do with COVID. Well, we
know that COVID puts you at higher risk for complications
if you're pregnant, number one, and number two, many women
aren't getting their prenatal care because they're scared of COVID,
So these disparities are going to become even greater. And
the shocking thing if it doesn't matter how rich or
(13:36):
famous you are. Beyonce almost died from pre eclancia when
she was having her baby. It doesn't matter how athletic
you are. Serena Williams, who I consider the best athlete
in the world, almost died due to pregnancy related complications.
There's something about being black, and we have to dig
into the bias, the racism that exists in our society.
(13:57):
But we've also got to arm people with the facts
do what they can to protect themselves. So please tell
people to go to Surgeon General dot gov. Check out
that call to action as well as the one I
put on put out on blood pressure control in October,
because uncontrolled blood pressure is gonna kill more people this
year than what COVID will, believe it or not, and
that also disproportionately affects African Americans in Latinos. And I'll
(14:20):
tell you if I without giving blue shot a few
weeks ago, if any of you haven't gotten your flu
shot now, this week is National Immunive Flu Immunization Week,
and I'm happy to come do that too, Hey, one
more time. I hate to keep saying one more time,
so but really this is really valuable information for our listening, Gordon,
So if you could just hang on, we'll be back
(14:40):
everybody with more from the Surgeon General. You're listening, all right, everybody,
We're back, and we've been having a really really informative
conversation without Surgeon General. Vice Admiral but Jerome m Adams. Okay, so,
Vice Admiral, this is what I would propose to really
(15:02):
help get our community locked into this. I would like
to propose that, if you were sincere by what you
were saying that the Steve Harvey Morning Show, those of
us who are willing would volunteer to do you know,
a viral video to get it out there that we're
taking the vaccination from the Vice Admiral, and I mean
(15:24):
from the Surgeon General the United States. I think that
would send a real clear message, especially to our community.
Because I don't I don't really have a problem with it.
Let me ask you this question here, sir, what do
you think it is to propose costs? Because I'm hearing free,
I'm hearing ten dollars. What do you think would be
(15:46):
the proposed costs for a person to get vaccinated. Vaccinating,
we are doing everything within our federal authority and power
to give it to people for free. So what does
that means. That means we are paid for the vaccine
on the part of the federal government. The vaccine itself
is free. We paid for the needles and the syringes
and we're sending them out to people. So that's going
(16:08):
to be free. But a doctor or a nurse can
charge you a certain fee to administer it, and it
won't be any more than ten dollars. But most people
should be able to get it completely free because their
insurance will cover it. Okay, I understand what you're saying now,
so let me ask you this question. So I'm hearing
two things. There's a there's a one shot vaccine, and
(16:31):
there's a two part vaccine. Which is it? Which ones
is coming out by Fiser, Which one's coming out by Maderno,
Which which one is which? So the first one that
is expected to come out of the Fiser vaccine and
that was shown to be ninety five percent effective. That
is a two shot vaccine. You get one dose and
(16:51):
then twenty one days later you get the second booster dose.
The next vaccine that is cheed up to come out
as a Maderna vaccine again is effective. That is also
a two dose vaccine. We're working with Johnson and Johnson
to get their one dose vaccine ready, but that's not
going to be ready for several weeks at least. They're
(17:14):
still doing the studies. But if that one comes through,
the great thing is again that's one dose of a vaccine,
so it's going to be easier for people. But what
I would say to people is whatever vaccine you can get,
if it's approved by the FDA or authorized by the FDA,
I think whichever one they offer, because you want that protection.
(17:35):
Black people and brown people are disproportionately dying from this virus.
And if we authorized a vaccine, I can tell you
it's going to be stafe and it's going to be
reasonably effective, and that's the way we end this pandemic
and get back to normal. Okay, So tell our audience
what exactly will the vaccine do. So what the vaccine
(17:57):
will do is express parts of the virus or things
that look like the virus. So the Maderna and the
Fire vaccine express what's called the spike protein, which is
on the virus and not the full virus, So you
can't become infected with COVID by getting the vaccine. I
want people to know that. And then your body develops
an immune response to that part of the virus so
(18:19):
that when it is exposed to the virus, it then
attacks the virus. And that's how vaccines work. We give
you a piece of a virus or a virus that
is attenuated or can't hurt you anymore, to build so
that your body responds to it and build up immunity
to it. And so that's what it's doing. And these
(18:39):
vaccines have been shown to be not only incredibly safe,
but again ninety to ninety five percent effective. And I
want you to understand that the flu vaccine in any
given year is only about sixty percent effective, which still
is good enough to save many lives. But these vaccines
are ninety percent effective, so we can end this pandemic.
(19:00):
But what I fear. What I fear is will have
this vaccine and disparity will widen because quite frankly, white
people will get it and people of color won't, and
you'll see people of color continue to die. That's what
I'm scared of that's what I don't want to happen,
and that's why I'm on your show today. But that's
also why again I'm working with all these organizations to
(19:22):
help promote confidence in this vaccine. So these vaccines that
come out, that's two part after a person receives the
first part, and one is a twenty one day weight
with visor and another one is whatever the weight is
between the waiting period, we are we to continue with
(19:42):
the three WS. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and
watch your distance absolutely because vaccines, even when you get them,
they still don't ensure that you can't get infected by
the virus. What they do is they decrease the chance
that you will get sick, to get hospital life symptoms,
and they also but you still can get infected. And
(20:04):
remember ninety five percent still isn't one. So even if
it's ninety five percent effect, then you could be in
that five percent and you could get it and still
be harmed. So we still need to follow the three WS.
But what the vaccine does is it will decrease the
number of people who get hospitalized, so our hospitals don't
get overflowed. The decrease the number of people who die,
(20:24):
they'll decrease the spread, and my hope is that by
summer of next year we will suppressed the virus to
the point that we can again get back to some
sense of normal. But we certainly that'll start as soon
as we get our vulnerable vaccinated, which is what we're
going to start doing again, hopefully within a week or two. Well, sir,
(20:45):
h mister doctor, the Surgeon General, Vice Admiral, you've certainly
give some amazing information and we needed to hear it
from you, and we thank you for coming on. We're
definitely on this show and not holding against who is
(21:06):
in the administration right now because you came on here
and you spoke the truth. I mean, you know, that's
all we've been wanting, just truth, just tell us what
it is. And for you to come on as a
surgeon General and talk to us with such a compassion
and concern for people who look like you is just
(21:27):
really really speaks volumes for the type of person you
are and on behalf of all of our listeners. And
we really appreciate you, sir, and thank you for all
that you do. Hey, I appreciate it too. I don't
believe God puts you where you're going to be comfortable,
but I believe God puts you where you're going to
be needed. And I'm here because I feel like I'm needed.
(21:48):
I'm going to keep working hard to protect all Americans,
but especially people who have been disproportionately hit by health disparities.
And unfortunately that means black and brown people in this
country are going to get the bulk of my attention
because they're whose hardest, but also people in rural areas,
people who are people who were who are poor and disadvantage.
(22:10):
That's we've got to lift up. And I'm willing to
work with you in any way we can to lift
up those populations. Steve, give everyone the best chance to
live their healthiest life. Well, I'm telling you I will
volunteer to come and do something for social media with you.
Absolutely to do something big. Take the shot, you administer
(22:30):
the shot tell me. I mean, I mean, I don't
know what would make a better signal than to have
a black man issuing the vaccine to another black person
and they understanding. I just think it would speak volumes.
And I'm not just saying it as a gimmick. I mean, look,
we're not gonna make money off of this. We're trying
to save lives here and get people exactly not to
(22:52):
be buried by ignorance, you know. And we all understand,
like you said very eloquently, what happened to Tuskege. Well,
we're not gonna let that happen again, you know. And
I just thank you, sir, and hopefully, man, we can
get uh through this and uh, well not hopefully, but
we'll get through this, and maybe we could do something
(23:14):
with the Morning Show and really uh give this thing
a big jump. Well, let's let's do it. Everyone be
concerned about the numbers, be cautious in your actions, but
have confidence that we've got the tools to get through this.
And uh, the Surgeon General of the United States and
the Morning Show are gonna be right there alongside you
(23:35):
all to make sure you're getting the tools and the
information you need so that you can be healthy. So
thank you, thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, please show
you love. The Surgeon General of United States, Vice Admiral
Jerome M. Adams, Thank you, sir. Thank you you all.
Take care. Wow, better go? Yeah, all right, thank you
(24:00):
for that very informative interview. US Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams,
We thank you so much. You're listening to the Day
Harvey Morning Show.
Hosts And Creators
Steve Harvey
Shirley Strawberry
Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles
Carla Ferrell
Kier "Junior" Spates
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