WEBVTT FILE

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Downloaded from
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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<i>2020.</i>

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<i>Since the 1980s,</i>

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<i>it's been a magical year
for science fiction writers,</i>

6
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<i>a year of predictions
about the future</i>

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<i>and the ruthless power
of technology.</i>

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<i>Humanity would be bound
together by a world wide web,</i>

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<i>artificial intelligence
would exponentially expand</i>

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<i>the powers of the human mind,</i>

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<i>and the world would be
dominated and controlled</i>

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<i>by information-based
megacorporations</i>

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<i>without need
for government intervention.</i>

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<i>But all of that turned out
to be a technocratic illusion</i>

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<i>when nature set loose
a terrible disease</i>

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<i>that took advantage</i>

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<i>of the very connectivity
we had manufactured.</i>

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<i>In Seattle, the day
of reckoning was January 20th,</i>

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<i>when America's first patient
tested positive for COVID-19.</i>

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<i>On that same day in Seoul,</i>

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<i>the first case in South Korea
would also be confirmed.</i>

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<i>Korea moved quickly
to contain the disease</i>

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<i>and save its economy
using a variation</i>

24
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<i>on an American plan.</i>

25
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<i>But in the United States,</i>

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<i>politics got
in the way of science,</i>

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<i>Allowing the virus
to spread invisibly and fast.</i>

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<i>More than 200,000 people
have died.</i>

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<i>In the first three months
of the pandemic,</i>

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<i>30 million people
lost their jobs.</i>

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No more tyranny.
No more tyranny.

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Now the Democrats are
politicizing the coronavirus.

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You know that, right?

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<i>This is their new hoax.</i>

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Who's scared of coronavirus?

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- Let go of my fucking cart!
- Are you recording me, dawg?

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<i>I have the right to buy food
without being forced</i>

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to participate
in a false flag pandemic.

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<i>At a moment of crisis,</i>

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<i>the world's
most powerful nation</i>

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<i>didn't rise to the occasion.</i>

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<i>It descended
into division and chaos.</i>

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Back up!

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What the fuck
is your problem?

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<i>Why did the United States</i>

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<i>fail to reckon with a danger</i>

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<i>for which it should have been
so well prepared?</i>

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<i>It's one person coming in
from China.</i>

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<i>It will go away.
Just stay calm, it'll go away.</i>

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<i>In a couple of days it's gonna
be down to close to zero.</i>

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<i>We have it totally
under control.</i>

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<i>It's gonna be just fine.</i>

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<i>Breathe in
and hold your breath.</i>

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<i>Filming
during the time of COVID</i>

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<i>presented unique challenges.</i>

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Okay, and I hold it...

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- <i>There's, like, two handles.</i>
- Yup.

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Wow, you guys have really
figured this out, okay.

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<i>One work-around was
a camera system we invented,</i>

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<i>built off-site,
and sent to subjects.</i>

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<i>We dubbed it "the COVID-cam."</i>

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So I was able...
can I hear you?

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- <i>Hello, yeah!</i>
- Hi, it's working!

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<i>I'm Scott Becker.</i>

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<i>I'm the chief
executive officer</i>

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<i>of the Association
of Public Health Laboratories.</i>

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How about this?
Now, this is really something.

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It's an actual board game.

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<i>My wife said,</i>

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<i>"You know, we should really
get it out and play it."</i>

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<i>I'm like,
"We're living through it!</i>

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I don't need the game!"

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<i>One of the functions
public health labs have</i>

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<i>is looking for those early
indications of an outbreak.</i>

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<i>And when did you first hear
about the coronavirus?</i>

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It was January 7th,
I believe,

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<i>that I first communicated
with some of our staff.</i>

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They had sent me an email
saying, "We're watching this.

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"We just talked to CDC
and they're gonna

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be standing up their
emergency operations center."

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<i>And I said,
"Well, thanks for the update.</i>

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<i>"I've been watching this.
I'm concerned about it.</i>

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<i>And happy new year."</i>

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<i>In early 2020,</i>

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<i>Trump was indifferent
to the looming pandemic.</i>

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<i>He was reckoning
with simmering conflicts</i>

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<i>and the upcoming
presidential election.</i>

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<i>♪ Time ♪</i>

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<i>We begin tonight with
the U.S. and Iran on the brink</i>

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<i>for the drone strike
that killed Qasem Soulemani.</i>

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<i>Our economy is booming,
wages are rising,</i>

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poverty is plummeting,
crime is falling,

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and America is the envy
of the entire world.

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<i>♪ That you wanna be free ♪</i>

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<i>♪ I won't have to cry
no more ♪</i>

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The whole impeachment thing
is a hoax.

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<i>It's a total sham.</i>

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<i>♪ Yeah, yeah, time, time ♪</i>

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<i>This morning, President
Trump signed phase one</i>

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<i>of a trade deal
between the U.S. and China.</i>

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<i>The pact comes after months
of escalating tariffs</i>

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<i>between the world's
two biggest economies.</i>

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And we just broke
the 29,000 mark on the DOW

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just now as we're walking in.

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Market's up
substantially today.

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<i>Up until coronavirus,
the way that Donald Trump</i>

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<i>was gonna win reelection
to a second term</i>

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<i>was largely going to be on
the strength of the economy.</i>

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<i>I covered all
of Barack Obama's two terms,</i>

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so I was there
during the Zika outbreak,

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the Ebola response.

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<i>As a White House reporter,
we sort of cover everything,</i>

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<i>so, you know, I've
bounced around every topic</i>

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<i>that you can possibly
imagine in the Trump term</i>

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and had just finished covering
the president's impeachment

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in the House,
and the trial in the Senate,

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<i>and was thinking that</i>

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we might actually get
a little bit of a break

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on the White House beat,
such as it is.

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<i>And then a few weeks later,
COVID happened.</i>

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<i>One of the first indications</i>

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<i>that the United States
government had that</i>

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this was a potential problem
was a conversation

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that the CDC director,
a guy named Robert Redfield,

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<i>had with his counterpart,
a gentleman</i>

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<i>by the name of Dr. Gao,
who was essentially the head</i>

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<i>of the Chinese CDC, and that
occurred on January 3rd.</i>

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<i>Chinese health authorities
are still working</i>

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<i>to identify the virus
behind a pneumonia outbreak</i>

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<i>in the central city of Wuhan.</i>

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<i>Gao basically said,
"Look, this is really serious.</i>

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<i>"You need to be aware of this.</i>

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<i>It's not something
we've ever seen before."</i>

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<i>I heard about
a novel respiratory virus</i>

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<i>circulating in China,
and my ears perked up.</i>

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There you are!

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<i>I've been at BARDA
for about ten years</i>

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<i>in the Department of Health
and Human Services.</i>

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<i>BARDA's role
is to lead the development</i>

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<i>between government
and industry</i>

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<i>of vaccines, drugs,
and diagnostic tests.</i>

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So I'm very interested,
and have been my entire career,

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of tracking early blips
of novel viruses

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that are infecting people.

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<i>It's not unusual for us to
hear of a new virus emerging</i>

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<i>in these wet markets of China.</i>

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<i>They can spill over
into the human population,</i>

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<i>especially the people working
in those wet markets.</i>

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But then we started seeing
China take actions

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<i>like build hospitals
rapidly, urgently.</i>

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All I could get at that point
was anecdotal stories

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<i>on Twitter, for example.</i>

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<i>But anyone who'd worked
in preparing</i>

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<i>for pandemic outbreaks knew
that we were dealing with</i>

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<i>something very unusual, very
concerning, and very deadly.</i>

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You'll get to it.
Don't rush.

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Here we go.
Now you got so exhausted.

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<i>So interesting about birds...</i>

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we had an earthquake,
and they were able to alert us

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15 minutes
before the earthquake.

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<i>Because they are connected
to the earth's compass,</i>

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<i>so they felt the earth
vibrating before it happens.</i>

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<i>But you are also a predictor
of things before they happen.</i>

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Yes, I am obsessed
with predicting things,

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<i>but that's just part
of my mathematical training.</i>

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<i>Dr. Lee's training allows her</i>

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<i>to act like a canary
in a coal mine.</i>

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<i>She's world-famous for the way
her mathematical modeling</i>

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<i>can predict the likely spread
of disease</i>

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<i>and assess the risk
of a pandemic.</i>

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<i>I have built so many models</i>

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<i>to describe many
different type of diseases.</i>

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When you see the first case,

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it does not mean
you only have first case.

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It means you have one case
plus many other cases

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<i>that you don't see.</i>

177
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<i>It's by the time
you have 41 cases,</i>

178
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<i>and it is, like,
at the end of December,</i>

179
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<i>then that means you have
hundreds of others.</i>

180
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<i>So I was really, really
nervous at that time.</i>

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I absolutely believe there's

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human-to-human transmission
in China.

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<i>If there are travelers coming
back to the U.S. or Europe</i>

184
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<i>for celebration of new year,
that would be truly a vector</i>

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<i>to really transmit the disease
all over the world,</i>

186
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<i>so I do feel that we are
marching to a pandemic</i>

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in the early part of January.

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<i>Starting tonight,
we're going to begin</i>

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<i>screening passengers
arriving from Wuhan</i>

190
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<i>at the three airports</i>

191
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<i>that see the majority
of those passengers:</i>

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JFK, San Francisco,
and Los Angeles.

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<i>Nancy Messonnier was in charge</i>

194
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<i>of public messaging for COVID</i>

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<i>at the Centers
for Disease Control, or CDC.</i>

196
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<i>An experienced
public health official</i>

197
00:11:03.027 --> 00:11:04.896
<i>and expert in vaccines,</i>

198
00:11:04.929 --> 00:11:07.599
<i>she had played a leading role
in the CDC's response</i>

199
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<i>to the anthrax attacks
in 2001.</i>

200
00:11:11.069 --> 00:11:12.472
<i>Just this week...</i>

201
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<i>Our laboratory is using
genetic sequences</i>

202
00:11:21.947 --> 00:11:23.649
<i>provided by the Chinese.</i>

203
00:11:23.681 --> 00:11:25.783
<i>We're working
on a specific diagnostic test</i>

204
00:11:25.817 --> 00:11:27.653
<i>to detect this virus.</i>

205
00:11:27.685 --> 00:11:28.786
<i>We'll be distributing
this test</i>

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00:11:28.819 --> 00:11:31.623
<i>to state health departments.</i>

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This is
a respiratory virus.

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<i>It is spreading
silently, invisibly,</i>

209
00:11:38.030 --> 00:11:39.765
<i>person to person,</i>

210
00:11:39.798 --> 00:11:42.301
<i>in the air, on the surfaces.</i>

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<i>Every moment counts
to be able to recognize</i>

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<i>where the virus is</i>

213
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<i>and to learn
as much as we can about it</i>

214
00:11:50.842 --> 00:11:52.944
<i>so we can make life-saving
vaccines and drugs</i>

215
00:11:52.977 --> 00:11:55.647
<i>and diagnostic tests.</i>

216
00:11:55.680 --> 00:11:58.050
<i>So did the government have
some kind of plan or playbook</i>

217
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<i>that they could look to in the
event of something like this?</i>

218
00:12:00.352 --> 00:12:02.655
There's absolutely
a playbook.

219
00:12:02.688 --> 00:12:05.624
<i>We've updated playbooks
through the various years,</i>

220
00:12:05.656 --> 00:12:07.926
<i>and we actually used
those playbooks</i>

221
00:12:07.959 --> 00:12:10.762
<i>to exercise what we would do</i>

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00:12:10.795 --> 00:12:13.732
<i>in an emerging, viral pandemic</i>

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00:12:13.765 --> 00:12:17.937
<i>the fall
before this virus emerged.</i>

224
00:12:17.969 --> 00:12:19.271
<i>"Crimson Contagion" was</i>

225
00:12:19.304 --> 00:12:23.074
<i>a federal government exercise
conducted in 12 states.</i>

226
00:12:23.107 --> 00:12:25.877
<i>It simulated a pandemic
with eerie similarities</i>

227
00:12:25.910 --> 00:12:28.680
<i>to the coronavirus
that was to come.</i>

228
00:12:28.713 --> 00:12:31.583
<i>It was a very
thorough exercise,</i>

229
00:12:31.617 --> 00:12:35.753
<i>highly detailed, with a highly
lethal influenza virus</i>

230
00:12:35.786 --> 00:12:39.157
<i>that emerged in Asia</i>

231
00:12:39.190 --> 00:12:41.660
<i>and spread quickly
around the world.</i>

232
00:12:41.693 --> 00:12:44.362
We were getting daily
"pseudo-reports"

233
00:12:44.396 --> 00:12:47.299
<i>on the outbreak,
the death count.</i>

234
00:12:47.332 --> 00:12:50.102
<i>The mistakes made
during "Crimson Contagion"</i>

235
00:12:50.135 --> 00:12:51.770
<i>played like a preview
of coming attractions</i>

236
00:12:51.803 --> 00:12:54.106
<i>for the failures
of the COVID response.</i>

237
00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:56.775
<i>So why did the government fail
to learn the lessons needed</i>

238
00:12:56.808 --> 00:12:59.745
<i>to prepare
for what was to come?</i>

239
00:12:59.777 --> 00:13:02.247
<i>The challenge has
always been who's in charge.</i>

240
00:13:02.280 --> 00:13:04.783
<i>We would have disaster
leadership group meetings,</i>

241
00:13:04.815 --> 00:13:06.785
<i>where we would bring together</i>

242
00:13:06.818 --> 00:13:09.355
the Health and Human Services
network of experts,

243
00:13:09.387 --> 00:13:13.024
<i>and the ASPR would
convene these meetings.</i>

244
00:13:13.058 --> 00:13:15.126
<i>Who was, in fact, the ASPR?</i>

245
00:13:15.160 --> 00:13:17.929
The ASPR was Dr. Bob Kadlec.

246
00:13:17.963 --> 00:13:20.632
The threats our country faces
in the 21st century

247
00:13:20.665 --> 00:13:23.868
are very real and very serious.

248
00:13:23.901 --> 00:13:26.137
<i>A 26-year
Air Force veteran,</i>

249
00:13:26.170 --> 00:13:27.672
<i>Kadlec was a specialist</i>

250
00:13:27.705 --> 00:13:30.975
<i>in biological
and chemical weapons.</i>

251
00:13:31.008 --> 00:13:33.811
<i>As ASPR, he downplayed
the danger of pandemics,</i>

252
00:13:33.844 --> 00:13:36.314
<i>cut spending on emerging
infectious diseases,</i>

253
00:13:36.348 --> 00:13:38.349
<i>and his office
eliminated a program</i>

254
00:13:38.382 --> 00:13:41.219
<i>to manufacture N95 masks.</i>

255
00:13:45.290 --> 00:13:48.660
<i>January 18th,
I asked Dr. Kadlec</i>

256
00:13:48.694 --> 00:13:51.731
<i>if we could convene a disaster
leadership group meeting.</i>

257
00:13:53.865 --> 00:13:57.036
To my shock, his response was,

258
00:13:57.069 --> 00:14:01.073
<i>"I don't see
a sense of urgency."</i>

259
00:14:01.106 --> 00:14:04.275
<i>I just don't think he thought
there was a real opportunity</i>

260
00:14:04.309 --> 00:14:08.079
for this virus to come
into the United States.

261
00:14:08.112 --> 00:14:11.215
<i>The same day Rick
Bright reached out to Kadlec,</i>

262
00:14:11.248 --> 00:14:12.784
<i>Kadlec's boss, Alex Azar,</i>

263
00:14:12.818 --> 00:14:15.154
<i>did try to get
the president's attention.</i>

264
00:14:15.186 --> 00:14:18.923
<i>Azar was in charge
of the CDC and the FDA</i>

265
00:14:18.957 --> 00:14:22.961
<i>as the secretary of HHS,
Health and Human Services.</i>

266
00:14:22.993 --> 00:14:26.098
<i>After the previous secretary
had resigned in scandal,</i>

267
00:14:26.131 --> 00:14:27.299
<i>Azar was appointed</i>

268
00:14:27.332 --> 00:14:30.001
<i>to bring a businessman's
approach to government.</i>

269
00:14:30.035 --> 00:14:33.072
<i>As a former Big Pharma
executive at Eli Lily,</i>

270
00:14:33.104 --> 00:14:37.742
<i>Azar was infamous for having
tripled the price of insulin.</i>

271
00:14:37.775 --> 00:14:39.877
I actually knew him
in grad school.

272
00:14:39.910 --> 00:14:43.114
<i>Very conservative,
very ambitious.</i>

273
00:14:43.147 --> 00:14:47.218
<i>Went on to clerk for Scalia
on the Supreme Court.</i>

274
00:14:47.251 --> 00:14:49.387
<i>Within the administration,</i>

275
00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:52.056
<i>Azar was known for his belief
that the free market</i>

276
00:14:52.089 --> 00:14:54.792
<i>would meet America's
healthcare needs.</i>

277
00:14:54.825 --> 00:14:56.360
We, the government,
do not have the solutions

278
00:14:56.394 --> 00:14:57.763
to healthcare.

279
00:14:57.795 --> 00:14:59.098
We're usually the cause
of the problems.

280
00:14:59.131 --> 00:15:01.800
<i>With COVID, Azar
sensed that the government</i>

281
00:15:01.833 --> 00:15:04.770
<i>might have to play
some limited role.</i>

282
00:15:04.803 --> 00:15:08.073
<i>On January 18th, he knew
that the president</i>

283
00:15:08.106 --> 00:15:12.945
<i>was leaving town in a couple
of days to go to Davos,</i>

284
00:15:12.977 --> 00:15:15.146
and Azar decided,
"You know what?

285
00:15:15.179 --> 00:15:16.781
<i>"I think I'd better make sure</i>

286
00:15:16.814 --> 00:15:20.385
<i>the president is aware
of this virus."</i>

287
00:15:20.418 --> 00:15:23.889
<i>Trump was actually on the
golf course down at Mar-a-Lago</i>

288
00:15:23.921 --> 00:15:27.091
<i>when Azar called.</i>

289
00:15:27.125 --> 00:15:29.361
<i>Azar's pitch to the president</i>

290
00:15:29.394 --> 00:15:31.997
<i>was one,
this could be serious,</i>

291
00:15:32.030 --> 00:15:34.766
<i>but also he wanted to convey
a sense of kind of,</i>

292
00:15:34.800 --> 00:15:37.301
"We got this."

293
00:15:37.334 --> 00:15:39.470
<i>Of those two messages, the one</i>

294
00:15:39.503 --> 00:15:41.506
<i>that President Trump appears
to have really internalized</i>

295
00:15:41.540 --> 00:15:43.509
<i>was the "we got it" message.</i>

296
00:15:49.814 --> 00:15:53.285
<i>The CDC has identified
a case of coronavirus</i>

297
00:15:53.318 --> 00:15:55.319
<i>in Washington State.</i>

298
00:15:55.352 --> 00:15:56.988
Have you been briefed
by the CDC...

299
00:15:57.021 --> 00:15:58.523
I have.

300
00:15:58.556 --> 00:16:00.358
Are there worries
about a pandemic at this point?

301
00:16:00.391 --> 00:16:01.859
No, not at all,
and we're...

302
00:16:01.892 --> 00:16:03.427
we have it totally
under control.

303
00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:06.397
It's one person
coming in from China.

304
00:16:06.430 --> 00:16:10.368
And we have it under control.
It's gonna be just fine.

305
00:16:15.940 --> 00:16:17.441
<i>I actually think
we were very fortunate</i>

306
00:16:17.474 --> 00:16:20.845
<i>that the first case occurred
in the Seattle region.</i>

307
00:16:20.878 --> 00:16:23.881
<i>I sometimes call Seattle
sort of the CDC of the West</i>

308
00:16:23.915 --> 00:16:26.517
because there are so many
public health researchers

309
00:16:26.550 --> 00:16:29.320
and public health people
that end up in Seattle,

310
00:16:29.353 --> 00:16:33.592
<i>so in some ways I felt like,
"Okay, they're on top of it,</i>

311
00:16:33.625 --> 00:16:36.295
<i>and we're in good hands."</i>

312
00:16:36.328 --> 00:16:37.730
<i>My name's Alex Greninger,</i>

313
00:16:37.762 --> 00:16:41.199
<i>and I'm the assistant director
of the Clinical Virology Lab</i>

314
00:16:41.232 --> 00:16:43.035
<i>here at the University of
Washington Medical Center.</i>

315
00:16:43.068 --> 00:16:44.602
Hello.

316
00:16:44.636 --> 00:16:46.505
<i>Everything about that
first case from Washington</i>

317
00:16:46.538 --> 00:16:47.906
<i>was just so positive.</i>

318
00:16:47.939 --> 00:16:50.275
<i>I mean, like... let's go through
all the positivity there.</i>

319
00:16:50.308 --> 00:16:52.110
You know,
someone self-identifies,

320
00:16:52.142 --> 00:16:56.348
says, "Hey, I just flew in
from Wuhan and I have a fever."

321
00:16:56.381 --> 00:16:59.184
<i>The sample was sent overnight
to the CDC,</i>

322
00:16:59.217 --> 00:17:01.920
<i>where they turned around
a test, which is crazy.</i>

323
00:17:01.953 --> 00:17:03.856
They actually had a test
for the virus,

324
00:17:03.888 --> 00:17:08.459
where the genome had just
gone online 10 days prior.

325
00:17:08.492 --> 00:17:11.495
CDC also sent a team out
immediately

326
00:17:11.529 --> 00:17:14.098
upon that confirmation.

327
00:17:14.132 --> 00:17:16.034
<i>They, you know,
looked at all of his contacts</i>

328
00:17:16.067 --> 00:17:18.636
<i>and there was
no onward transmission.</i>

329
00:17:18.669 --> 00:17:21.372
We never identified
another case in

330
00:17:21.405 --> 00:17:24.576
the state of Washington until
the last week of February.

331
00:17:24.608 --> 00:17:27.478
But if you recall,
he was not tested

332
00:17:27.511 --> 00:17:32.117
<i>until four days
after when he became ill.</i>

333
00:17:32.149 --> 00:17:35.052
<i>And he took a share ride
back home from the airport,</i>

334
00:17:35.086 --> 00:17:37.222
<i>he had lunch
with his colleagues,</i>

335
00:17:37.254 --> 00:17:40.591
<i>and he did a lot of things
within four days.</i>

336
00:17:40.625 --> 00:17:42.961
<i>And so I estimate that
that is at least in the order</i>

337
00:17:42.993 --> 00:17:45.496
<i>of 2,000 people
that has to be tested,</i>

338
00:17:45.530 --> 00:17:50.167
<i>and so we end up missing
a lot of the cases.</i>

339
00:17:50.201 --> 00:17:51.603
We're not doctors,
but we know a doctor,

340
00:17:51.636 --> 00:17:53.905
and he's actually
an expert in viruses.

341
00:17:53.938 --> 00:17:56.240
Dr. Alex Greninger at UDub,
you're one of the leading...

342
00:17:56.273 --> 00:17:58.910
<i>I just became
an assistant professor,</i>

343
00:17:58.944 --> 00:18:00.945
and so for this new virus, you
know, they sort of invited me

344
00:18:00.979 --> 00:18:03.181
to go on the news
to talk about it.

345
00:18:03.213 --> 00:18:06.083
<i>I remember later that day,
I was in a second interview,</i>

346
00:18:06.117 --> 00:18:08.252
and like,
in the middle of the interview,

347
00:18:08.286 --> 00:18:09.922
the interviewer stopped it
and said, "Oh,

348
00:18:09.954 --> 00:18:13.125
"they just shut down, like,
the city of Wuhan

349
00:18:13.157 --> 00:18:16.127
<i>and there's no more transport
in and out of it."</i>

350
00:18:16.161 --> 00:18:18.697
<i>11 million people
are under quarantine,</i>

351
00:18:18.730 --> 00:18:22.300
and you're just kind of like,
"Wow, that just

352
00:18:22.334 --> 00:18:24.269
doesn't even seem like
it's what's gonna happen."

353
00:18:24.301 --> 00:18:26.103
<i>Like, you've just never
seen, like, a parallel world</i>

354
00:18:26.136 --> 00:18:28.572
<i>like that, what was gonna
happen here too.</i>

355
00:18:31.041 --> 00:18:33.578
<i>How do you look
at that more than one month</i>

356
00:18:33.610 --> 00:18:37.014
<i>of not having any other cases
in the state of Washington?</i>

357
00:18:37.048 --> 00:18:39.718
Oh, yeah, it was a total lie.

358
00:18:39.751 --> 00:18:42.154
In terms of, like, you know,
whether there was actual, like,

359
00:18:42.186 --> 00:18:43.588
you know, whether there were
no cases there, right?

360
00:18:43.620 --> 00:18:45.256
I mean "lie" is not
the right word,

361
00:18:45.290 --> 00:18:49.328
but just a sort of a...
you know, it was a delusion.

362
00:18:50.729 --> 00:18:51.930
<i>The delusion was</i>

363
00:18:51.963 --> 00:18:55.701
<i>that the first COVID patient
was the only one.</i>

364
00:18:55.733 --> 00:18:57.703
<i>In fact, the disease
was already spreading</i>

365
00:18:57.735 --> 00:19:00.104
<i>inside the United States.</i>

366
00:19:00.137 --> 00:19:03.341
<i>The challenge for scientists
was to convince politicians</i>

367
00:19:03.375 --> 00:19:05.010
<i>to mobilize the country</i>

368
00:19:05.042 --> 00:19:09.180
<i>to fight a virus
no one could see.</i>

369
00:19:09.213 --> 00:19:11.349
<i>In a meeting on January 23rd,</i>

370
00:19:11.383 --> 00:19:15.153
<i>Rick Bright made his pitch
to Alex Azar.</i>

371
00:19:15.185 --> 00:19:17.489
<i>My assignment,
remember in BARDA,</i>

372
00:19:17.521 --> 00:19:19.624
<i>is to make sure
that we start making</i>

373
00:19:19.656 --> 00:19:24.096
drugs, vaccines, and those
tests as quickly as possible.

374
00:19:24.128 --> 00:19:28.733
We were told the CDC was
working diligently on a test,

375
00:19:28.767 --> 00:19:32.537
and we were relying
solely on the CDC.

376
00:19:32.569 --> 00:19:36.107
<i>I raised the need to get
started immediately</i>

377
00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:39.143
<i>on commercial test development
drugs and vaccines,</i>

378
00:19:39.176 --> 00:19:42.079
<i>and the need for money
to do it.</i>

379
00:19:42.113 --> 00:19:44.616
<i>The secretary looked at me</i>

380
00:19:44.648 --> 00:19:47.084
<i>and said, "You need money?"</i>

381
00:19:47.117 --> 00:19:49.687
And I said,
"Yes, we've exercised

382
00:19:49.721 --> 00:19:53.525
<i>that it would take
about $10 billion."</i>

383
00:19:53.558 --> 00:19:57.261
<i>Without that experience
and knowledge,</i>

384
00:19:57.294 --> 00:19:58.629
<i>I might not have walked
into that room</i>

385
00:19:58.663 --> 00:20:00.565
<i>and asked for those things,</i>

386
00:20:00.598 --> 00:20:02.832
but I knew exactly
what was needed.

387
00:20:02.834 --> 00:20:06.238
<i>I learned after
that meeting, actually,</i>

388
00:20:06.271 --> 00:20:09.074
<i>that a lot of the people
were pretty offended</i>

389
00:20:09.107 --> 00:20:11.143
<i>that I would come into
a meeting with the Secretary</i>

390
00:20:11.175 --> 00:20:14.245
<i>on day one and ask for money.</i>

391
00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.248
And it caused
quite a shit storm,

392
00:20:16.280 --> 00:20:18.316
is how it was described to me,

393
00:20:18.348 --> 00:20:21.052
that I ruffled
a lot of feathers.

394
00:20:21.086 --> 00:20:23.387
In fact, I wasn't invited back
to those meetings

395
00:20:23.421 --> 00:20:24.790
for some time.

396
00:20:26.857 --> 00:20:30.095
<i>In the U.S.,
political appointees tightened</i>

397
00:20:30.127 --> 00:20:33.464
<i>their purse strings and hoped
the virus would just go away.</i>

398
00:20:33.498 --> 00:20:37.803
<i>South Korea reacted
very differently.</i>

399
00:20:37.836 --> 00:20:40.439
<i>When it came
to this disease response</i>

400
00:20:40.472 --> 00:20:42.206
<i>here in South Korea,</i>

401
00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.544
<i>the politicians largely
stayed out of the response</i>

402
00:20:45.577 --> 00:20:48.047
<i>and it was left in the hands
of professionals.</i>

403
00:20:51.448 --> 00:20:54.085
<i>After confirming its first
case of the new coronavirus,</i>

404
00:20:54.118 --> 00:20:57.588
<i>South Korea is stepping up
precautionary measures.</i>

405
00:20:59.823 --> 00:21:02.193
- Hello.
- <i>Hello.</i>

406
00:21:02.226 --> 00:21:05.530
The first case was
a 35-year-old woman

407
00:21:05.562 --> 00:21:09.501
<i>who had entered the country
from Wuhan, China.</i>

408
00:22:03.288 --> 00:22:05.156
- Okay?
- No.

409
00:22:05.190 --> 00:22:06.391
No?

410
00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:36.887
<i>MERS was a coronavirus</i>

411
00:22:36.921 --> 00:22:38.790
<i>that terrified South Korea,</i>

412
00:22:38.822 --> 00:22:42.293
<i>killing 38 people
and sickening hundreds more.</i>

413
00:22:42.327 --> 00:22:45.262
<i>The government was vilified
for its response.</i>

414
00:22:45.296 --> 00:22:47.532
<i>Soon after,
legislators pursued</i>

415
00:22:47.565 --> 00:22:49.835
<i>a series of critical reforms.</i>

416
00:23:05.883 --> 00:23:08.453
<i>As a result of that,
they passed a law</i>

417
00:23:08.485 --> 00:23:11.723
<i>in order to speed up
the approval process</i>

418
00:23:11.755 --> 00:23:15.226
of these kits
in a time of emergency.

419
00:23:15.260 --> 00:23:17.261
<i>On January 27th,</i>

420
00:23:17.294 --> 00:23:19.496
<i>South Korean health officials
summoned representatives</i>

421
00:23:19.530 --> 00:23:21.566
<i>from more than
20 medical companies</i>

422
00:23:21.598 --> 00:23:25.369
<i>to put in place
a national testing program.</i>

423
00:23:25.403 --> 00:23:28.339
It was such an urgent
request that they just met

424
00:23:28.373 --> 00:23:32.611
<i>in a conference room at one of
the train stations in Seoul.</i>

425
00:23:32.644 --> 00:23:36.848
<i>The head of the equivalent of
the CDC, he basically said,</i>

426
00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:40.651
<i>"Manufacture me
these tests now</i>

427
00:23:40.684 --> 00:23:42.753
<i>and forget
about the approval process."</i>

428
00:23:42.787 --> 00:23:44.556
<i>You know, "Start using them,
start testing.</i>

429
00:23:44.588 --> 00:23:47.759
<i>"We will come back
to make sure it's accurate,</i>

430
00:23:47.791 --> 00:23:50.995
<i>but we'll do that while
you're already in the field."</i>

431
00:23:51.029 --> 00:23:52.196
Within a matter of days
after that,

432
00:23:52.230 --> 00:23:55.333
<i>the first diagnostic test kit
was approved,</i>

433
00:23:55.366 --> 00:23:56.768
<i>and it's a process
that typically can take</i>

434
00:23:57.799 --> 00:23:58.736
<i>upwards of a year.</i>

435
00:23:58.770 --> 00:24:00.004
There were four cases
at the time,

436
00:24:00.038 --> 00:24:02.674
and it would be another few
weeks before there was a death,

437
00:24:02.706 --> 00:24:06.777
<i>but they really felt the need
for diagnostic testing</i>

438
00:24:06.810 --> 00:24:08.579
<i>to be able to see
where the problem was</i>

439
00:24:08.613 --> 00:24:11.316
and to deal with the threat.

440
00:24:11.348 --> 00:24:13.018
<i>By January 27th,</i>

441
00:24:13.050 --> 00:24:15.787
<i>South Korea was on its way
to containing the virus</i>

442
00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:17.856
<i>and preventing
an economic shutdown.</i>

443
00:24:21.925 --> 00:24:23.528
Good morning, everyone.

444
00:24:23.560 --> 00:24:27.064
And thank you for joining us
here today at HHS.

445
00:24:27.098 --> 00:24:29.401
<i>In the United States,</i>

446
00:24:29.434 --> 00:24:31.802
<i>Azar continued
to emphasize the response</i>

447
00:24:31.836 --> 00:24:34.405
<i>that had so pleased
President Trump:</i>

448
00:24:34.438 --> 00:24:36.640
<i>"We've got this."</i>

449
00:24:36.674 --> 00:24:38.876
The playbook for responding
to an infectious disease

450
00:24:38.909 --> 00:24:42.946
outbreak is relatively
simple and multi-tiered.

451
00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.849
You identify cases,
isolate people,

452
00:24:45.883 --> 00:24:48.319
diagnose them, and treat them.

453
00:24:48.353 --> 00:24:49.888
Then you track down
all the contacts

454
00:24:49.921 --> 00:24:53.325
of the infected person, and you
do the same with those people,

455
00:24:53.357 --> 00:24:56.528
and the same with contacts
of contacts if necessary.

456
00:24:56.560 --> 00:24:58.429
It sounded
<i>like a perfect plan,</i>

457
00:24:58.463 --> 00:25:00.632
<i>but it was missing
a key detail.</i>

458
00:25:00.665 --> 00:25:02.966
<i>There was no comprehensive
national testing</i>

459
00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.669
<i>and tracing program.</i>

460
00:25:04.702 --> 00:25:07.739
<i>Even so, the CDC stuck
to a version of the script</i>

461
00:25:07.771 --> 00:25:09.006
<i>drafted by Azar.</i>

462
00:25:09.040 --> 00:25:10.642
The CDC will continue

463
00:25:10.675 --> 00:25:13.110
its aggressive public health
response strategy,

464
00:25:13.144 --> 00:25:15.380
working to protect
the health and safety

465
00:25:15.413 --> 00:25:16.748
of the American public.

466
00:25:16.780 --> 00:25:20.351
Right now, there is no spread
of this virus

467
00:25:20.385 --> 00:25:22.520
in our communities
here at home.

468
00:25:22.552 --> 00:25:23.620
<i>Appointed by Trump</i>

469
00:25:23.654 --> 00:25:26.090
<i>after his predecessor left
in disgrace,</i>

470
00:25:26.124 --> 00:25:28.626
<i>Redfield was
a controversial virologist</i>

471
00:25:28.658 --> 00:25:31.595
<i>with no experience leading
a public health agency.</i>

472
00:25:31.628 --> 00:25:35.065
<i>During the AIDS crisis, he
preached a religious approach,</i>

473
00:25:35.098 --> 00:25:38.102
<i>calling for abstinence
as a solution.</i>

474
00:25:38.136 --> 00:25:41.004
<i>With his former assistant,
Deborah Birx,</i>

475
00:25:41.038 --> 00:25:44.541
<i>Redfield's attempts to push
an unproven HIV vaccine</i>

476
00:25:44.575 --> 00:25:48.446
<i>were twice investigated
for scientific misconduct.</i>

477
00:25:48.479 --> 00:25:52.484
Redfield is a little bit
of an oddity for the CDC.

478
00:25:52.517 --> 00:25:55.653
<i>The CDC is an institution
filled with scientists</i>

479
00:25:55.685 --> 00:25:58.990
<i>and researchers who don't like
to be told that science has</i>

480
00:25:59.022 --> 00:26:02.059
<i>to compromise for economics
or for politics.</i>

481
00:26:02.092 --> 00:26:04.495
You know,
they want to be purists.

482
00:26:04.529 --> 00:26:08.066
<i>Donald Trump is a president
who has expressed</i>

483
00:26:08.098 --> 00:26:10.534
an incredible disdain
for science

484
00:26:10.568 --> 00:26:13.771
<i>since before he took office.</i>

485
00:26:13.805 --> 00:26:15.507
<i>Inside the West Wing,</i>

486
00:26:15.540 --> 00:26:19.077
they refer to the CDC
as the Deep State.

487
00:26:19.109 --> 00:26:23.548
<i>Certainly many of the people
at the CDC saw Redfield</i>

488
00:26:23.580 --> 00:26:26.950
<i>as not having the kind of
backbone that they would like</i>

489
00:26:26.983 --> 00:26:29.853
<i>to have seen in a CDC director</i>

490
00:26:29.886 --> 00:26:31.655
to stand up to the president

491
00:26:31.688 --> 00:26:35.426
both privately,
but also publicly.

492
00:26:38.495 --> 00:26:41.432
<i>Some scientists
were willing to push back.</i>

493
00:26:41.465 --> 00:26:43.600
<i>Public health officials
from around the country</i>

494
00:26:43.634 --> 00:26:47.439
<i>shared doubts that the CDC
was responding to the virus</i>

495
00:26:47.472 --> 00:26:48.973
<i>with enough speed and concern.</i>

496
00:26:49.005 --> 00:26:50.974
<i>They circulated
an email chain,</i>

497
00:26:51.008 --> 00:26:54.813
<i>which included Trump
officials, called "Red Dawn."</i>

498
00:26:56.580 --> 00:26:58.550
What's going on here,
my friend?

499
00:26:58.582 --> 00:27:00.551
<i>It was a
tongue-and-cheek nod</i>

500
00:27:00.585 --> 00:27:04.222
<i>to a 1984 movie about a small
band of American citizens</i>

501
00:27:04.254 --> 00:27:06.056
<i>who fight back
against a Russian invasion.</i>

502
00:27:06.089 --> 00:27:08.025
<i>This is the Emergency
Broadcast System.</i>

503
00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:09.194
<i>We are under attack by...</i>

504
00:27:09.226 --> 00:27:11.228
<i>We were a little bit
like the Wolverines</i>

505
00:27:11.261 --> 00:27:12.797
<i>from that movie.</i>

506
00:27:12.829 --> 00:27:13.798
They know who
all of you are.

507
00:27:13.830 --> 00:27:15.666
They're looking for you.

508
00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:18.569
<i>A group of teenagers
that are fighting back,</i>

509
00:27:18.603 --> 00:27:20.605
and one of us thought
it would be funny

510
00:27:20.637 --> 00:27:24.576
to use "Red Dawn"
as the subject title.

511
00:27:24.608 --> 00:27:27.678
<i>That email chain, it's a group</i>

512
00:27:27.712 --> 00:27:31.015
<i>of former and current
state and local officials</i>

513
00:27:31.048 --> 00:27:33.984
<i>within the federal government.</i>

514
00:27:34.018 --> 00:27:36.521
<i>These are all very
dear colleagues that have been</i>

515
00:27:36.553 --> 00:27:40.123
in public health and emergency
response for a long time.

516
00:27:40.156 --> 00:27:44.761
<i>In late January, we were
consciously monitoring,</i>

517
00:27:44.794 --> 00:27:47.664
<i>trying to assess
when it hit us,</i>

518
00:27:47.697 --> 00:27:50.968
how big the scope
of the calamity

519
00:27:51.001 --> 00:27:55.205
that we are looking into.
and how to mitigate it.

520
00:27:55.239 --> 00:27:57.075
<i>I think in January,</i>

521
00:27:57.107 --> 00:27:58.275
<i>the cat was already
out of the bag</i>

522
00:27:58.309 --> 00:28:01.045
in terms of we had cases
in the U.S.,

523
00:28:01.078 --> 00:28:02.881
we had human-to-human
transmission going on

524
00:28:02.914 --> 00:28:04.516
<i>in the U.S.,</i>

525
00:28:04.549 --> 00:28:09.220
<i>and we were going to be
dealing with COVID-19.</i>

526
00:28:09.252 --> 00:28:11.088
I mean, I wasn't able
to sleep.

527
00:28:11.121 --> 00:28:13.590
<i>I couldn't stop thinking about</i>

528
00:28:13.624 --> 00:28:17.161
<i>what could go wrong for us.</i>

529
00:28:17.194 --> 00:28:19.129
<i>The "Red Dawn"
emails would be full</i>

530
00:28:19.163 --> 00:28:20.665
<i>of warnings
and recommendations</i>

531
00:28:20.697 --> 00:28:23.200
<i>from experts
in pandemic response.</i>

532
00:28:23.233 --> 00:28:25.602
<i>But politicians failed
to recognize</i>

533
00:28:25.636 --> 00:28:28.071
<i>that there were lessons
to be learned.</i>

534
00:28:28.105 --> 00:28:30.808
<i>There's never been anything
like this in history.</i>

535
00:28:30.840 --> 00:28:32.876
<i>There's never been and nobody
has ever seen anything</i>

536
00:28:32.909 --> 00:28:35.078
<i>like this.</i>

537
00:28:35.111 --> 00:28:37.648
<i>Nothing could be
further from the truth.</i>

538
00:28:37.682 --> 00:28:39.918
<i>To be ready for the perils
of the future,</i>

539
00:28:39.951 --> 00:28:43.254
<i>all one had to do
is look clearly at the past.</i>

540
00:28:43.287 --> 00:28:46.558
<i>In 1918,
in the midst of war,</i>

541
00:28:46.590 --> 00:28:49.960
<i>influenza marched across the
earth from country to country.</i>

542
00:28:49.993 --> 00:28:52.930
<i>Epidemic lurked everywhere.</i>

543
00:28:52.963 --> 00:28:56.200
<i>To ward off contagion, special
precautions were taken.</i>

544
00:29:01.238 --> 00:29:03.741
<i>With no vaccine
and few treatment options,</i>

545
00:29:03.773 --> 00:29:06.010
<i>simple but effective
precautionary measures</i>

546
00:29:06.042 --> 00:29:09.013
<i>like masks
were all people had.</i>

547
00:29:12.116 --> 00:29:16.354
<i>The H1N1 flu infected
500 million people,</i>

548
00:29:16.386 --> 00:29:20.825
<i>1/3 of the world's population
at the time.</i>

549
00:29:20.857 --> 00:29:24.028
<i>The death toll
can only be estimated</i>

550
00:29:24.060 --> 00:29:27.331
<i>somewhere between
20 and 50 million people.</i>

551
00:29:30.267 --> 00:29:32.971
<i>Since 1918,
scientific advancements</i>

552
00:29:33.003 --> 00:29:35.305
<i>like the invention
of the electron microscope</i>

553
00:29:35.338 --> 00:29:39.977
<i>have allowed us to see
the "invisible enemy."</i>

554
00:29:40.011 --> 00:29:42.946
<i>But even with vaccines
and advances in pathology,</i>

555
00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:44.949
<i>the growth
of global transportation</i>

556
00:29:44.982 --> 00:29:47.285
<i>made other pandemics
ever more likely.</i>

557
00:29:52.088 --> 00:29:56.394
<i>In 2003, a deadly
SARS coronavirus</i>

558
00:29:56.426 --> 00:30:00.397
<i>spread from bats to humans
was quickly contained.</i>

559
00:30:00.431 --> 00:30:02.967
<i>In 2009,
the Obama Administration</i>

560
00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:06.337
<i>faced a challenge when
a new strain of H1N1 emerged.</i>

561
00:30:06.369 --> 00:30:08.739
Good afternoon, everybody.

562
00:30:08.772 --> 00:30:12.909
<i>There's no doubt that
every president should learn</i>

563
00:30:12.943 --> 00:30:15.279
<i>from what has happened before.</i>

564
00:30:15.311 --> 00:30:19.250
President Obama felt it very
important from the beginning

565
00:30:19.282 --> 00:30:22.786
and all the way through
our dealing with H1N1

566
00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:24.922
that the scientists
make the calls.

567
00:30:24.954 --> 00:30:27.357
H1N1 influenza is here.

568
00:30:27.390 --> 00:30:28.959
<i>I'm Dr. Tom Frieden.</i>

569
00:30:28.992 --> 00:30:33.731
<i>I directed the CDC
from 2009 to 2017.</i>

570
00:30:33.763 --> 00:30:36.199
I just sprayed down
the chair with Lysol.

571
00:30:36.232 --> 00:30:37.234
All right.

572
00:30:37.268 --> 00:30:38.836
<i>We dealt with epidemics</i>

573
00:30:38.868 --> 00:30:43.974
<i>of Zika, Ebola, MERS,
and H1N1 influenza.</i>

574
00:30:44.008 --> 00:30:46.376
Our Emergency Operations Center
was activated

575
00:30:46.409 --> 00:30:48.912
more than 90% of the time
that I was there.

576
00:30:48.945 --> 00:30:50.814
That's the way of reducing
exposures,

577
00:30:50.848 --> 00:30:53.216
if there is a lot of H1N1.

578
00:30:53.250 --> 00:30:55.752
We do think there may
be some challenges, though,

579
00:30:55.786 --> 00:30:57.188
practical challenges.

580
00:30:57.221 --> 00:31:01.192
<i>President Obama made it very
clear that HHS was in the lead</i>

581
00:31:01.224 --> 00:31:05.029
and that I would be the
spokesperson for the flu,

582
00:31:05.061 --> 00:31:08.699
as he would call me,
the face of the flu.

583
00:31:08.732 --> 00:31:10.934
<i>H1N1 was very scary</i>

584
00:31:10.967 --> 00:31:14.304
<i>because children were
particularly vulnerable.</i>

585
00:31:14.338 --> 00:31:16.040
Hi, it's Elmo.

586
00:31:16.072 --> 00:31:18.275
And I'm Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius.

587
00:31:18.309 --> 00:31:19.743
Elmo
and Secretary Sebelius...

588
00:31:19.777 --> 00:31:23.848
<i>Teaching kids to sneeze into
their elbows was a big thing.</i>

589
00:31:23.880 --> 00:31:26.983
First, you learn to sneeze into
the bend of your arm like this.

590
00:31:27.017 --> 00:31:29.120
- Achoo.
- Oh, very good.

591
00:31:30.521 --> 00:31:33.324
<i>13,000 Americans
died from H1N1</i>

592
00:31:33.357 --> 00:31:34.892
<i>and the Obama Administration</i>

593
00:31:34.925 --> 00:31:36.993
<i>mishandled
vaccine distribution,</i>

594
00:31:37.027 --> 00:31:39.197
<i>but scientists gave
the administration high marks</i>

595
00:31:39.230 --> 00:31:40.832
<i>for moving quickly</i>

596
00:31:40.865 --> 00:31:43.901
<i>and being open
with the press and the public.</i>

597
00:31:43.934 --> 00:31:45.502
<i>Just four years later,</i>

598
00:31:45.536 --> 00:31:49.040
<i>the Obama Administration's
response to the Ebola crisis</i>

599
00:31:49.072 --> 00:31:52.442
<i>would be criticized
for being too slow.</i>

600
00:31:52.475 --> 00:31:54.511
In the case of Ebola
I remember being in the room,

601
00:31:54.544 --> 00:31:57.214
in the White House
briefing room.

602
00:31:57.248 --> 00:31:58.915
You guys are up here
talking about,

603
00:31:58.948 --> 00:32:01.118
"We have this great and
perfect system that's going

604
00:32:01.152 --> 00:32:04.122
"to be able to, you know,
contain this virus

605
00:32:04.155 --> 00:32:05.822
because we've done
all this preparation,"

606
00:32:05.856 --> 00:32:08.259
and yet it doesn't
look like it's working.

607
00:32:08.291 --> 00:32:10.794
<i>Hindsight is always 20/20.</i>

608
00:32:10.828 --> 00:32:13.865
I can look back at any outbreak
I worked on

609
00:32:13.897 --> 00:32:15.933
and say, "I made a series
of mistakes there."

610
00:32:15.965 --> 00:32:18.136
We all do, but the key is,

611
00:32:18.168 --> 00:32:20.137
are they unforced errors?

612
00:32:20.171 --> 00:32:21.539
I think it is important
to reflect

613
00:32:21.571 --> 00:32:25.041
on whatever lessons we learn,
we build and incorporate.

614
00:32:25.075 --> 00:32:28.078
After the Ebola crisis
passed,

615
00:32:28.111 --> 00:32:30.981
the Obama National Security
Council had essentially

616
00:32:31.014 --> 00:32:35.252
created a unit within
the National Security Council

617
00:32:35.286 --> 00:32:37.922
<i>dedicated to sort of
pandemic response.</i>

618
00:32:40.925 --> 00:32:42.393
No, I cannot see Ben.

619
00:32:42.425 --> 00:32:44.194
I can see his hand
when he moves it out here,

620
00:32:44.228 --> 00:32:46.097
but he's got a face shield on.

621
00:32:46.129 --> 00:32:49.166
It's pretty good.
Hardcore.

622
00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:51.469
<i>Beth Cameron
was in charge of countering</i>

623
00:32:51.501 --> 00:32:55.005
<i>biological threats
for the Obama Administration.</i>

624
00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:56.973
<i>We set up a new directorate</i>

625
00:32:57.007 --> 00:32:58.910
<i>on global health security
and biodefense,</i>

626
00:32:58.943 --> 00:33:02.879
<i>and I was honored to be able
to lead that directorate,</i>

627
00:33:02.913 --> 00:33:05.016
and also to be able to take on
a lot of the lessons

628
00:33:05.049 --> 00:33:08.985
that we really had learned
after the Ebola epidemic.

629
00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:10.488
<i>In 2016,</i>

630
00:33:10.521 --> 00:33:12.889
<i>Beth Cameron and her team
at the NSC</i>

631
00:33:12.923 --> 00:33:17.494
<i>drafted a 69-page playbook on
how to deal with a pandemic.</i>

632
00:33:17.528 --> 00:33:19.329
<i>The playbook was intended</i>

633
00:33:19.363 --> 00:33:23.167
<i>to allow people in the
White House to ask questions.</i>

634
00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:24.434
<i>What should we do?</i>

635
00:33:24.467 --> 00:33:26.436
<i>And also,
what do we need to do</i>

636
00:33:26.470 --> 00:33:30.007
<i>to get ahead so that we're
not constantly reacting?</i>

637
00:33:30.040 --> 00:33:32.210
<i>So what happened
to this playbook?</i>

638
00:33:32.242 --> 00:33:36.880
So the playbook is reported
to not have been used.

639
00:33:36.914 --> 00:33:38.516
The Obama Administration
did not leave

640
00:33:38.549 --> 00:33:42.019
to this administration
any kind of game plan

641
00:33:42.051 --> 00:33:43.620
for something like this.

642
00:33:43.654 --> 00:33:47.959
I have no idea why
Mitch McConnell said

643
00:33:47.992 --> 00:33:49.492
that he didn't know
about the playbook.

644
00:33:49.526 --> 00:33:51.596
<i>There were a large number
of copies</i>

645
00:33:51.628 --> 00:33:53.463
<i>that were spiral bound
of this playbook.</i>

646
00:33:53.496 --> 00:33:55.532
<i>It was briefed to
the incoming administration.</i>

647
00:33:55.566 --> 00:33:58.269
It did become politicized.

648
00:33:58.301 --> 00:34:00.271
Some have
erroneously suggested

649
00:34:00.303 --> 00:34:01.571
that the Trump Administration

650
00:34:01.605 --> 00:34:03.941
threw out
the pandemic response playbook

651
00:34:03.973 --> 00:34:06.944
left by the Obama-Biden
Administration.

652
00:34:06.976 --> 00:34:08.879
What the critics failed
to note, however,

653
00:34:08.912 --> 00:34:11.948
is that this thin packet
of paper was replaced

654
00:34:11.981 --> 00:34:15.986
by two detailed, robust,
pandemic response reports

655
00:34:16.019 --> 00:34:18.121
commissioned
by the Trump Administration.

656
00:34:18.155 --> 00:34:20.390
<i>The last thing that they
wanted was to pay attention</i>

657
00:34:20.423 --> 00:34:21.992
<i>to what the Obama people
wanted them</i>

658
00:34:22.026 --> 00:34:23.294
<i>to pay attention to.</i>

659
00:34:23.327 --> 00:34:25.062
They were trying
to make a clean break

660
00:34:25.095 --> 00:34:27.899
from what they saw
as a disastrous presidency,

661
00:34:27.932 --> 00:34:29.634
and this was
the Trump presidency.

662
00:34:29.667 --> 00:34:33.004
<i>♪ And I'm proud
to be An American ♪</i>

663
00:34:33.037 --> 00:34:36.040
<i>♪ Where at least
I know I'm free ♪</i>

664
00:34:36.073 --> 00:34:38.376
<i>I think it's important
to understand</i>

665
00:34:38.408 --> 00:34:40.644
<i>that biological threats
are not the thing</i>

666
00:34:40.678 --> 00:34:42.680
<i>that is always top of mind
for a senior leader.</i>

667
00:34:42.713 --> 00:34:45.383
<i>♪ And I'd gladly stand up ♪</i>

668
00:34:45.415 --> 00:34:48.251
<i>But there really was
a lot of pressure</i>

669
00:34:48.285 --> 00:34:49.987
<i>on all of the civil servants</i>

670
00:34:50.019 --> 00:34:52.022
<i>in between Barack Obama
and Donald Trump</i>

671
00:34:52.055 --> 00:34:55.358
to explain why we need
high-level officials

672
00:34:55.392 --> 00:34:59.096
who are looking at that issue
all the time.

673
00:34:59.129 --> 00:35:02.300
<i>After I left, I continued
to work with the Trump team</i>

674
00:35:02.332 --> 00:35:04.568
in my new position
outside of government

675
00:35:04.600 --> 00:35:08.571
until the directorate
was dissolved in May of 2018.

676
00:35:08.604 --> 00:35:11.309
<i>The Global National
Security Team was disbanded</i>

677
00:35:11.341 --> 00:35:13.044
<i>under a reorganization</i>

678
00:35:13.077 --> 00:35:16.414
<i>by Trump's National
Security Advisor, John Bolton.</i>

679
00:35:16.446 --> 00:35:19.082
<i>It was really shocking
that any administration</i>

680
00:35:19.115 --> 00:35:23.219
would get rid of so much
experience and expertise

681
00:35:23.252 --> 00:35:25.655
and the collaboration
and coordination

682
00:35:25.689 --> 00:35:29.093
that comes with that...
those years.

683
00:35:29.126 --> 00:35:31.294
<i>From the moment
of Trump's inauguration,</i>

684
00:35:31.327 --> 00:35:34.197
<i>the guiding slogan of staffing
was not "you're hired,"</i>

685
00:35:34.231 --> 00:35:36.232
<i>but "you're fired."</i>

686
00:35:36.265 --> 00:35:38.202
<i>Key positions went unfilled.</i>

687
00:35:38.234 --> 00:35:40.303
<i>Many more were eliminated.</i>

688
00:35:40.336 --> 00:35:42.072
<i>And when people were hired,</i>

689
00:35:42.106 --> 00:35:45.977
<i>experience was not nearly
as important as loyalty.</i>

690
00:35:46.010 --> 00:35:48.713
<i>On January 29th, the White
House announced the formation</i>

691
00:35:48.745 --> 00:35:50.314
<i>of an official task force</i>

692
00:35:50.347 --> 00:35:52.749
<i>to confront the threat
of the coronavirus.</i>

693
00:35:52.783 --> 00:35:54.118
<i>Well, good afternoon,
everyone.</i>

694
00:35:54.151 --> 00:35:55.653
I'm Alex Azar.

695
00:35:55.685 --> 00:35:56.886
<i>Led by Azar,</i>

696
00:35:56.921 --> 00:36:00.024
<i>the task force had
little scientific expertise.</i>

697
00:36:00.057 --> 00:36:02.660
<i>Most were businessmen
and lawyers, seemingly chosen</i>

698
00:36:02.693 --> 00:36:05.562
<i>for their political
or religious beliefs.</i>

699
00:36:05.595 --> 00:36:08.631
<i>One had been Sarah Palin's
foreign policy advisor.</i>

700
00:36:08.664 --> 00:36:11.134
<i>Another was
a climate change denier</i>

701
00:36:11.167 --> 00:36:15.305
<i>who opposed homosexuality
as an act against nature.</i>

702
00:36:15.339 --> 00:36:17.308
<i>The only two
public health officials</i>

703
00:36:17.341 --> 00:36:20.377
<i>were Redfield
and Dr. Anthony Fauci.</i>

704
00:36:20.410 --> 00:36:22.379
<i>At the National Institute
of Health,</i>

705
00:36:22.412 --> 00:36:24.481
<i>Fauci had advised
six presidents</i>

706
00:36:24.515 --> 00:36:27.084
<i>and had been at the forefront
of every epidemic response</i>

707
00:36:27.117 --> 00:36:29.319
<i>for the last 40 years.</i>

708
00:36:29.352 --> 00:36:32.455
The issue now with this is
that there's a lot of unknowns.

709
00:36:32.488 --> 00:36:34.557
As you can see
just from the media,

710
00:36:34.591 --> 00:36:38.162
the number of cases
have steeply inclined

711
00:36:38.194 --> 00:36:40.164
each and every day.

712
00:36:40.196 --> 00:36:41.499
<i>At the first briefing,</i>

713
00:36:41.531 --> 00:36:43.167
<i>they announced
no concrete programs</i>

714
00:36:43.200 --> 00:36:44.535
<i>to contain the virus</i>

715
00:36:44.568 --> 00:36:46.703
<i>inside the borders
of the United States.</i>

716
00:36:46.736 --> 00:36:48.805
<i>Instead, they offered
a variation</i>

717
00:36:48.839 --> 00:36:52.410
<i>of a familiar Trump refrain...
"build a wall."</i>

718
00:36:52.443 --> 00:36:55.178
Foreign nationals,
other than immediate family

719
00:36:55.211 --> 00:36:57.714
of U.S. citizens
and permanent residents

720
00:36:57.747 --> 00:37:02.252
who have traveled in China
within the last 14 days

721
00:37:02.285 --> 00:37:06.523
will be denied entry into the
United States for this time.

722
00:37:08.392 --> 00:37:11.395
<i>In the months after that,
tens of thousands of people</i>

723
00:37:11.428 --> 00:37:13.564
from China still make their way
into the United States,

724
00:37:13.597 --> 00:37:16.267
mostly Americans
who are returning home

725
00:37:16.300 --> 00:37:19.069
<i>and are not blocked
by that ruling.</i>

726
00:37:24.374 --> 00:37:26.577
<i>"Diamond Princess,"
this is your captain speaking</i>

727
00:37:26.609 --> 00:37:29.713
<i>from the bridge.</i>

728
00:37:29.745 --> 00:37:33.383
<i>We have been notified that</i>

729
00:37:33.417 --> 00:37:35.586
<i>10 additional people</i>

730
00:37:35.618 --> 00:37:39.656
<i>have tested positive
for coronavirus.</i>

731
00:37:39.689 --> 00:37:41.524
<i>The captain
of the "Diamond Princess"</i>

732
00:37:41.557 --> 00:37:43.526
<i>had docked his vessel
in Yokohama</i>

733
00:37:43.560 --> 00:37:47.665
<i>after learning a passenger had
tested positive for COVID-19.</i>

734
00:37:47.698 --> 00:37:51.602
<i>The Japanese government
ordered a 14-day quarantine.</i>

735
00:37:51.635 --> 00:37:54.171
<i>Eventually,
over 700 passengers</i>

736
00:37:54.203 --> 00:37:55.472
<i>would test positive.</i>

737
00:37:55.506 --> 00:37:56.874
<i>That made
the "Diamond Princess"</i>

738
00:37:56.908 --> 00:38:01.112
<i>the largest known outbreak
of the virus outside of China.</i>

739
00:38:01.144 --> 00:38:03.813
Donald Trump, save us.

740
00:38:03.847 --> 00:38:06.484
Get us a government-based
airplane.

741
00:38:06.517 --> 00:38:08.752
- Not even that, just like...
- Get us off the ship.

742
00:38:08.785 --> 00:38:11.321
<i>I received a phone call</i>

743
00:38:11.354 --> 00:38:14.891
<i>that a disaster
medical assistance team</i>

744
00:38:14.925 --> 00:38:18.896
<i>was being assembled
to do a rescue operation</i>

745
00:38:18.928 --> 00:38:22.599
to go pull American citizens
off of the "Diamond Princess"

746
00:38:22.633 --> 00:38:24.502
and bring them back to the U.S.

747
00:38:24.535 --> 00:38:27.238
<i>And I was asked
if I would be willing to go</i>

748
00:38:27.271 --> 00:38:29.140
<i>as an expert
to go help the team.</i>

749
00:38:29.173 --> 00:38:32.176
Okay, they've got a bunch
of people in white coats.

750
00:38:32.209 --> 00:38:34.178
They're not white coats.
They're white hazmat suits.

751
00:38:34.211 --> 00:38:35.513
They're white hazmat suits.

752
00:38:35.546 --> 00:38:37.381
They've got these
little tunnels down here.

753
00:38:37.414 --> 00:38:41.252
The E.T. Tunnels, I call them.

754
00:38:41.285 --> 00:38:43.654
<i>At the time, we still
didn't know a lot</i>

755
00:38:43.687 --> 00:38:46.390
<i>about
the transmission dynamics</i>

756
00:38:46.423 --> 00:38:51.294
<i>or even the severity
and lethality of the disease.</i>

757
00:38:51.327 --> 00:38:53.796
<i>The "Diamond Princess"
confirmed</i>

758
00:38:53.830 --> 00:38:57.568
<i>many, many of what
I was nervous about.</i>

759
00:38:57.600 --> 00:38:59.303
<i>First of all, it shows</i>

760
00:38:59.336 --> 00:39:02.339
how it spread
in a confined environment

761
00:39:02.372 --> 00:39:04.942
with lots of people, right?

762
00:39:04.975 --> 00:39:08.245
<i>Even though all of them
has their own cubicle,</i>

763
00:39:08.278 --> 00:39:10.647
<i>but that's exactly
like apartment complexes</i>

764
00:39:10.680 --> 00:39:14.584
<i>in New York City,
and you go out, right?</i>

765
00:39:14.618 --> 00:39:18.522
<i>You go to places confined
in a mall, and in classrooms,</i>

766
00:39:18.555 --> 00:39:22.193
<i>in dormitories,
in many, many settings.</i>

767
00:39:22.225 --> 00:39:24.327
<i>It basically gave us
a very parallel world</i>

768
00:39:24.361 --> 00:39:28.265
<i>of what could be happening
to us.</i>

769
00:39:28.298 --> 00:39:31.202
<i>Even after the ship went
into quarantine</i>

770
00:39:31.234 --> 00:39:34.771
<i>and passengers were really
restricted to their rooms,</i>

771
00:39:34.805 --> 00:39:37.875
<i>the fact that the outbreak
continued to grow demonstrated</i>

772
00:39:37.908 --> 00:39:41.679
<i>that there may be more
to transmission phenomenon</i>

773
00:39:41.711 --> 00:39:44.347
<i>than we initially thought.</i>

774
00:39:46.850 --> 00:39:50.453
<i>So when we saw that,
that really hit home to us</i>

775
00:39:50.486 --> 00:39:53.957
<i>that this is
a pretty explosive situation.</i>

776
00:39:53.990 --> 00:39:58.261
<i>Okay, they quarantine, but
yet the spread is like fire.</i>

777
00:39:58.294 --> 00:40:02.700
It shows... it really highlights
strategic tests is a must.

778
00:40:02.732 --> 00:40:04.801
<i>Eva Lee began
to sound the alarm</i>

779
00:40:04.834 --> 00:40:07.303
<i>in the "Red Dawn" emails
about asymptomatic spread</i>

780
00:40:07.336 --> 00:40:09.572
<i>and the need to test widely.</i>

781
00:40:09.606 --> 00:40:11.475
<i>She knew in early February</i>

782
00:40:11.508 --> 00:40:15.312
<i>what federal officials
refused to recognize.</i>

783
00:40:15.345 --> 00:40:16.946
<i>Only a vast infrastructure
for mass testing</i>

784
00:40:16.979 --> 00:40:18.881
<i>could spot and contain a virus</i>

785
00:40:18.914 --> 00:40:22.352
<i>that was already moving
invisibly across the country.</i>

786
00:40:22.385 --> 00:40:24.954
Then I thought to myself,
"That is it."

787
00:40:24.988 --> 00:40:27.890
We will have no chance
to contain.

788
00:40:27.923 --> 00:40:30.593
<i>If we are not going
to take actions now,</i>

789
00:40:30.627 --> 00:40:33.698
<i>we would regret and
we would be late, late, late.</i>

790
00:40:36.033 --> 00:40:39.636
<i>The trifecta is test,
trace, and isolate.</i>

791
00:40:39.669 --> 00:40:43.906
<i>You need to have all three
of those working in tandem</i>

792
00:40:43.939 --> 00:40:47.345
<i>to be able to take down
any infectious disease.</i>

793
00:40:48.944 --> 00:40:50.613
<i>I'm from Hong Kong,</i>

794
00:40:50.647 --> 00:40:54.685
<i>and I grew up during SARS,</i>

795
00:40:54.718 --> 00:40:56.787
so I guess that was my first
experience with an outbreak,

796
00:40:56.819 --> 00:41:01.392
which has turned out to be
an interesting reference point

797
00:41:01.425 --> 00:41:02.725
during this outbreak.

798
00:41:04.861 --> 00:41:07.531
<i>My boss was like, "You
should cover the coronavirus."</i>

799
00:41:07.564 --> 00:41:09.399
<i>So my question's gonna be,</i>

800
00:41:09.432 --> 00:41:11.635
<i>where are we deviating
from the playbook?</i>

801
00:41:11.667 --> 00:41:15.405
<i>That's where I hold
the government accountable.</i>

802
00:41:15.439 --> 00:41:19.510
<i>So the CDC made a test
that worked in their lab</i>

803
00:41:19.542 --> 00:41:21.878
<i>before the first case of COVID</i>

804
00:41:21.912 --> 00:41:25.716
<i>landed in the state of
Washington on January 20.</i>

805
00:41:25.749 --> 00:41:28.551
<i>What they saw as their next
step was sending test kits</i>

806
00:41:28.584 --> 00:41:29.986
<i>based on their design</i>

807
00:41:30.019 --> 00:41:33.423
<i>to public labs
around the country.</i>

808
00:41:33.457 --> 00:41:36.093
<i>So CDC can't just
make a test and send it out.</i>

809
00:41:36.126 --> 00:41:40.763
<i>They have to apply for
Emergency Use Authorization.</i>

810
00:41:40.796 --> 00:41:44.501
This week, the FDA issued
an Emergency Use Authorization

811
00:41:44.533 --> 00:41:46.703
for the CDC's diagnostic test.

812
00:41:46.736 --> 00:41:49.005
Having a declaration
of an emergency

813
00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:51.709
allows you to, like,
cut through a lot of red tape

814
00:41:51.742 --> 00:41:52.975
where, like, you don't have to

815
00:41:53.008 --> 00:41:54.911
approve things
the traditional pathway,

816
00:41:54.944 --> 00:41:56.979
<i>which takes many, many years.</i>

817
00:41:57.013 --> 00:42:00.384
<i>So it's like going through the
precheck line at the airport.</i>

818
00:42:00.417 --> 00:42:05.122
<i>FDA issued the EUA to CDC
really on February 4th,</i>

819
00:42:05.155 --> 00:42:08.425
<i>and test kits were available
on the 5th.</i>

820
00:42:08.457 --> 00:42:10.394
<i>The test kits
will start shipping</i>

821
00:42:10.426 --> 00:42:13.463
<i>to the over 100
U.S. public health labs.</i>

822
00:42:13.497 --> 00:42:16.700
<i>Each test kit can perform
up to 800 patient samples.</i>

823
00:42:16.732 --> 00:42:19.569
<i>It works in about
four to five hours' time.</i>

824
00:42:19.602 --> 00:42:21.003
<i>And that's pretty heroic,
in two weeks,</i>

825
00:42:21.037 --> 00:42:23.906
<i>to develop test kits
for the country.</i>

826
00:42:23.939 --> 00:42:26.676
So, so far,
speaking of the playbook,

827
00:42:26.709 --> 00:42:30.481
everything was going right.

828
00:42:30.513 --> 00:42:32.615
<i>The first thing
public health labs have to do</i>

829
00:42:32.649 --> 00:42:34.818
<i>after they get the test
is they have to verify</i>

830
00:42:34.850 --> 00:42:37.053
that the test works
in their hands,

831
00:42:37.086 --> 00:42:39.989
in their laboratory,
with their scientists.

832
00:42:42.426 --> 00:42:44.962
<i>So on Saturday, February 8th,</i>

833
00:42:44.995 --> 00:42:47.931
<i>labs opened up their boxes</i>

834
00:42:47.964 --> 00:42:50.968
<i>and they started to get
the test up and running.</i>

835
00:42:53.669 --> 00:42:56.406
<i>And then, the next morning,</i>

836
00:42:56.439 --> 00:42:58.508
I see a number of emails

837
00:42:58.542 --> 00:43:02.446
<i>from public health
laboratory directors saying,</i>

838
00:43:02.479 --> 00:43:06.550
<i>"We're seeing this problem
with one of the components</i>

839
00:43:06.582 --> 00:43:09.787
<i>"of the test, the N3,</i>

840
00:43:09.819 --> 00:43:12.423
<i>and is anyone else
seeing that?"</i>

841
00:43:12.455 --> 00:43:15.526
<i>Then my phone started
to blow up.</i>

842
00:43:15.559 --> 00:43:19.028
It became apparent that
we actually had a real problem.

843
00:43:19.062 --> 00:43:21.031
And I thought to myself,

844
00:43:21.064 --> 00:43:23.133
"Oh, my God.

845
00:43:23.165 --> 00:43:26.604
This is a nightmare."

846
00:43:28.772 --> 00:43:31.909
<i>There were many labs that
were having the same problem.</i>

847
00:43:31.941 --> 00:43:34.077
<i>So that was an indication</i>

848
00:43:34.109 --> 00:43:37.647
<i>that this was coming
from the CDC labs.</i>

849
00:43:37.680 --> 00:43:41.918
<i>There are three components
to the CDC-designed tests.</i>

850
00:43:41.952 --> 00:43:44.921
<i>They are called
the N1, N2, and N3 assay,</i>

851
00:43:44.955 --> 00:43:48.792
<i>and the N1 and N2 assay,
together,</i>

852
00:43:48.825 --> 00:43:53.931
<i>look specifically for
the COVID-19 coronavirus.</i>

853
00:43:53.964 --> 00:43:57.701
<i>And then they had
a 3rd component, the N3 assay,</i>

854
00:43:57.734 --> 00:44:02.573
<i>which was designed to look
for any coronavirus.</i>

855
00:44:02.606 --> 00:44:05.475
And I don't know
why they decided

856
00:44:05.508 --> 00:44:08.678
to throw that third part in.

857
00:44:08.711 --> 00:44:12.482
<i>They didn't need it,
but that third part</i>

858
00:44:12.515 --> 00:44:14.885
<i>is the part that caused
all the problems.</i>

859
00:44:14.917 --> 00:44:17.687
<i>It was
a contamination problem.</i>

860
00:44:17.720 --> 00:44:21.624
This was just
a huge lightbulb moment

861
00:44:21.658 --> 00:44:25.127
where... wow, we could
really be on pause.

862
00:44:25.160 --> 00:44:28.030
<i>The CDC says they're working
with states now</i>

863
00:44:28.064 --> 00:44:29.299
<i>to fix the tests.</i>

864
00:44:29.332 --> 00:44:33.237
<i>They did not say how many
of the kits have flaws.</i>

865
00:44:33.269 --> 00:44:35.037
<i>Now, this was
really frustrating</i>

866
00:44:35.071 --> 00:44:36.906
<i>to a lot of lab directors
because they were like,</i>

867
00:44:36.939 --> 00:44:40.276
<i>"Look, the N1 and N2 part
of this test are working</i>

868
00:44:40.310 --> 00:44:41.311
<i>"totally fine,</i>

869
00:44:41.345 --> 00:44:45.015
<i>"so why don't we
just ignore the part</i>

870
00:44:45.048 --> 00:44:47.050
<i>that isn't working?"</i>

871
00:44:47.082 --> 00:44:48.651
Under an Emergency Use
Authorization,

872
00:44:48.685 --> 00:44:50.220
you're not supposed to do that.

873
00:44:50.252 --> 00:44:54.223
<i>You have to run that test
exactly as it's assigned.</i>

874
00:44:54.256 --> 00:44:55.925
<i>As it turned out,</i>

875
00:44:55.959 --> 00:44:58.694
<i>over 90% of public health labs</i>

876
00:44:58.727 --> 00:45:02.198
<i>had tests
that were not working.</i>

877
00:45:02.231 --> 00:45:05.167
So it was really
as if we were flying blind,

878
00:45:05.200 --> 00:45:07.637
and we knew it, and frankly,

879
00:45:07.671 --> 00:45:11.008
there was nothing
we could do except wait.

880
00:45:15.745 --> 00:45:18.015
<i>There was a working
effective test</i>

881
00:45:18.048 --> 00:45:20.917
<i>that was created
in a German laboratory</i>

882
00:45:20.950 --> 00:45:23.119
<i>that was being distributed by
the World Health Organization</i>

883
00:45:23.153 --> 00:45:25.088
<i>to countries
all around the world.</i>

884
00:45:25.120 --> 00:45:27.189
<i>It is available now</i>

885
00:45:27.222 --> 00:45:30.026
and we are shipping
an essential component to labs

886
00:45:30.060 --> 00:45:33.864
<i>to really start
working immediately.</i>

887
00:45:33.897 --> 00:45:37.100
<i>The WHO test
quite frankly is used</i>

888
00:45:37.133 --> 00:45:40.636
<i>for low and moderately
income countries.</i>

889
00:45:40.669 --> 00:45:43.339
<i>I think it would've
been very unusual</i>

890
00:45:43.372 --> 00:45:47.577
to use another country's test,
and not for political reasons.

891
00:45:47.611 --> 00:45:51.281
Just, I guess, because of maybe
scientific hubris.

892
00:45:51.314 --> 00:45:54.118
<i>We've never had a failure
like this.</i>

893
00:45:56.986 --> 00:45:59.755
<i>Despite the
technical problems at the CDC,</i>

894
00:45:59.789 --> 00:46:01.624
<i>the Trump Administration
could have insisted</i>

895
00:46:01.658 --> 00:46:04.595
<i>on an alternate plan.</i>

896
00:46:04.627 --> 00:46:07.698
<i>Public labs could have pivoted
to the WHO test</i>

897
00:46:07.731 --> 00:46:10.133
<i>or removed the N3 element.</i>

898
00:46:10.165 --> 00:46:12.602
<i>Test manufacturers
and clinical labs</i>

899
00:46:12.635 --> 00:46:15.204
<i>were eager to start making
their own tests,</i>

900
00:46:15.238 --> 00:46:18.274
<i>but for reasons
that remain unexplained,</i>

901
00:46:18.307 --> 00:46:23.713
<i>the FDA put the brakes
on the approval process.</i>

902
00:46:23.747 --> 00:46:24.948
<i>Yeah.</i>

903
00:46:24.981 --> 00:46:28.251
Looks like the setup
is pretty good.

904
00:46:28.283 --> 00:46:30.620
<i>Oh, good, doctor approved?</i>

905
00:46:30.653 --> 00:46:33.289
Yup, exactly.

906
00:46:33.323 --> 00:46:35.392
<i>My name is Taison Bell.</i>

907
00:46:35.425 --> 00:46:37.361
I'm an infectious disease
and critical care physician

908
00:46:37.394 --> 00:46:38.794
at the University of Virginia.

909
00:46:38.827 --> 00:46:42.798
<i>I'm the director
of the COVID ICU.</i>

910
00:46:42.832 --> 00:46:44.301
<i>It's really important to know</i>

911
00:46:44.334 --> 00:46:45.736
<i>who's positive
in the community</i>

912
00:46:45.769 --> 00:46:48.972
<i>and to be able to test in a
widespread, aggressive fashion</i>

913
00:46:49.004 --> 00:46:51.642
<i>so we can really stop
the chain of transmission</i>

914
00:46:51.675 --> 00:46:53.243
<i>of the virus.</i>

915
00:46:53.276 --> 00:46:55.946
<i>Traditionally,
there's a lot of leeway</i>

916
00:46:55.979 --> 00:46:58.381
<i>when it comes
to federal regulations</i>

917
00:46:58.414 --> 00:46:59.849
<i>and hospital laboratories'
ability</i>

918
00:46:59.883 --> 00:47:01.651
<i>to set up
their in-house testing,</i>

919
00:47:01.685 --> 00:47:03.820
<i>but the thing about
the emergency declaration</i>

920
00:47:03.852 --> 00:47:06.656
<i>was that it made
the diagnostic innovation</i>

921
00:47:06.689 --> 00:47:09.825
<i>more difficult because now
it had to go through the FDA.</i>

922
00:47:09.859 --> 00:47:11.094
<i>So now, all of a sudden,</i>

923
00:47:11.127 --> 00:47:14.131
<i>any university laboratory
that has the experience</i>

924
00:47:14.164 --> 00:47:16.165
<i>and the know-how to set up
their own in-house testing</i>

925
00:47:16.198 --> 00:47:18.968
now has to clear it
in order to make this work.

926
00:47:21.203 --> 00:47:23.039
<i>We're not
a public health lab.</i>

927
00:47:23.073 --> 00:47:25.308
<i>As a clinical lab,
we're not part of this system.</i>

928
00:47:25.341 --> 00:47:26.443
You know, the CDC and the state
public health labs

929
00:47:26.475 --> 00:47:27.443
are fantastic,

930
00:47:27.477 --> 00:47:29.279
<i>but clinical labs,</i>

931
00:47:29.312 --> 00:47:31.147
<i>like hospital clinical labs,
commercial labs,</i>

932
00:47:31.180 --> 00:47:34.784
<i>perform 90% to 95% of testing.</i>

933
00:47:34.818 --> 00:47:38.055
We really are the front lines
of the public health system,

934
00:47:38.088 --> 00:47:39.756
<i>and so it's really important</i>

935
00:47:39.789 --> 00:47:42.825
<i>that we're a part of
that conversation as well.</i>

936
00:47:42.859 --> 00:47:45.062
<i>So we're trying
to figure out, is it better</i>

937
00:47:45.095 --> 00:47:47.930
to just deal with the FDA
and the backlog there

938
00:47:47.964 --> 00:47:49.966
and set up
our own in-house testing,

939
00:47:49.999 --> 00:47:52.002
<i>or do we just wait for the CDC</i>

940
00:47:52.035 --> 00:47:54.004
<i>to fix the issues
with the test?</i>

941
00:47:54.037 --> 00:47:57.073
<i>We decided initially to wait,</i>

942
00:47:57.106 --> 00:47:59.942
and that was
the wrong decision.

943
00:47:59.975 --> 00:48:01.711
<i>Many labs gave up</i>

944
00:48:01.745 --> 00:48:04.915
<i>rather than face the thicket
of bureaucratic rules.</i>

945
00:48:04.948 --> 00:48:07.017
<i>But Alex Greninger
did not give up,</i>

946
00:48:07.050 --> 00:48:08.185
<i>and instead began</i>

947
00:48:08.218 --> 00:48:11.754
<i>to slog through
the FDA regulatory process.</i>

948
00:48:11.787 --> 00:48:14.256
<i>So at that point, you had
to really go fully in.</i>

949
00:48:14.289 --> 00:48:16.058
<i>You gotta make your own test.</i>

950
00:48:16.091 --> 00:48:18.360
<i>So we got the template
and the paperwork.</i>

951
00:48:18.394 --> 00:48:19.830
<i>You couldn't get
the comments back</i>

952
00:48:19.863 --> 00:48:22.265
<i>until you mail in
the document.</i>

953
00:48:22.298 --> 00:48:23.767
<i>Even though you'd
email a document,</i>

954
00:48:23.800 --> 00:48:26.068
<i>you had to burn it to a CD
or a USB</i>

955
00:48:26.102 --> 00:48:27.870
<i>and physically send
the document as well.</i>

956
00:48:27.903 --> 00:48:30.840
<i>The original process suggested</i>

957
00:48:30.874 --> 00:48:34.310
<i>testing 50 positive samples,</i>

958
00:48:34.343 --> 00:48:36.278
but in that case in the U.S.,
there were 14 known cases.

959
00:48:36.312 --> 00:48:38.848
<i>But even getting
that one sample,</i>

960
00:48:38.881 --> 00:48:42.952
<i>that one positive sample,
was the hardest part.</i>

961
00:48:42.986 --> 00:48:45.856
And obtaining clinical material
from the CDC

962
00:48:45.888 --> 00:48:48.959
is very difficult.

963
00:48:48.992 --> 00:48:51.827
<i>And I think that was
when you realize</i>

964
00:48:51.861 --> 00:48:55.432
that the FDA and the CDC
maybe hadn't talked a ton.

965
00:48:55.464 --> 00:48:59.269
<i>Swing your partner
around and 'round.</i>

966
00:48:59.301 --> 00:49:00.836
<i>And around.
And around.</i>

967
00:49:00.870 --> 00:49:02.238
<i>While federal agencies failed</i>

968
00:49:02.272 --> 00:49:05.442
<i>to talk to each other, the
virus swirled in mid-February</i>

969
00:49:05.475 --> 00:49:09.346
<i>through a series of square
dances in suburban Seattle.</i>

970
00:49:09.379 --> 00:49:12.449
<i>With every do-si-do,
the virus changed partners.</i>

971
00:49:12.481 --> 00:49:13.983
<i>But without testing,</i>

972
00:49:14.017 --> 00:49:17.521
<i>scientists couldn't
follow the spread.</i>

973
00:49:17.553 --> 00:49:20.557
<i>The emergency steps meant
for speed and innovation</i>

974
00:49:20.589 --> 00:49:23.926
<i>slowed the process down
to a crawl.</i>

975
00:49:23.959 --> 00:49:26.929
<i>The White House could have
cut through the red tape.</i>

976
00:49:26.963 --> 00:49:28.865
<i>The mystery
is why those in power</i>

977
00:49:28.897 --> 00:49:32.935
<i>didn't force the bureaucracy
to find a quick solution.</i>

978
00:49:32.968 --> 00:49:35.137
<i>While we were on pause,</i>

979
00:49:35.171 --> 00:49:38.073
<i>the anxiety level
of our members just increased</i>

980
00:49:38.106 --> 00:49:41.243
<i>exponentially, day after day.</i>

981
00:49:41.276 --> 00:49:45.414
There was just more
frustration, concern,

982
00:49:45.448 --> 00:49:50.386
frankly sadness,
because we weren't

983
00:49:50.419 --> 00:49:55.024
able to do our job.

984
00:49:55.057 --> 00:49:58.160
That was really tough.

985
00:50:00.028 --> 00:50:02.231
<i>While testing
in the U.S. was stalled,</i>

986
00:50:02.265 --> 00:50:04.568
<i>in South Korea, the government
was already moving</i>

987
00:50:04.600 --> 00:50:07.102
<i>to contain the virus
by utilizing</i>

988
00:50:07.135 --> 00:50:10.540
<i>a comprehensive national
testing and tracing program.</i>

989
00:50:13.343 --> 00:50:14.944
<i>I think they did
a much better job.</i>

990
00:50:14.977 --> 00:50:17.613
<i>I think starting
from the testing roll-out,</i>

991
00:50:17.647 --> 00:50:19.115
a lot of our jealousy early on

992
00:50:19.147 --> 00:50:20.916
was just how rapidly
they were able

993
00:50:20.950 --> 00:50:23.919
to test a large proportion
of their population.

994
00:50:23.952 --> 00:50:25.054
And they were testing

995
00:50:25.088 --> 00:50:27.256
relatively younger
asymptomatic people

996
00:50:27.289 --> 00:50:30.559
as well as older people
who had more severe diseases,

997
00:50:30.593 --> 00:50:34.064
and they were able
to do contact tracing.

998
00:50:34.097 --> 00:50:37.399
<i>Because of the laws
that were passed in 2016,</i>

999
00:50:37.432 --> 00:50:40.870
<i>enabling contact tracers
to obtain vast amounts</i>

1000
00:50:40.903 --> 00:50:43.472
<i>of information in the name
of disease control,</i>

1001
00:50:43.506 --> 00:50:46.475
there was a large amount
of data

1002
00:50:46.508 --> 00:50:48.978
that authorities here
can access.

1003
00:50:49.011 --> 00:50:51.080
<i>Cell tower information,</i>

1004
00:50:51.113 --> 00:50:54.283
<i>CCTV footage,
credit card data.</i>

1005
00:50:54.316 --> 00:50:56.385
<i>And this information
was pushed out</i>

1006
00:50:56.419 --> 00:50:58.955
<i>to the general public
using cell phone alerts.</i>

1007
00:51:33.089 --> 00:51:34.324
♪ To glance behind ♪

1008
00:51:37.426 --> 00:51:42.097
♪ The Phantom of the Opera ♪

1009
00:51:42.131 --> 00:51:43.433
♪ Is here ♪

1010
00:51:43.466 --> 00:51:44.567
<i>If two people singing</i>

1011
00:51:44.600 --> 00:51:46.336
<i>could spread the disease,</i>

1012
00:51:46.368 --> 00:51:48.338
<i>imagine thousands
singing in one room.</i>

1013
00:51:54.109 --> 00:51:56.512
<i>A major outbreak was traced
to the Shincheonji Church,</i>

1014
00:51:56.546 --> 00:51:58.948
<i>a doomsday Christian cult.</i>

1015
00:52:02.084 --> 00:52:05.421
<i>Led by a self-proclaimed
messiah, Chairman Lee.</i>

1016
00:52:05.455 --> 00:52:07.557
- Hallelujah.
- "Hallelujah."

1017
00:52:10.093 --> 00:52:11.493
<i>The Korean
government descended</i>

1018
00:52:11.526 --> 00:52:12.794
<i>on the city of Daegu,</i>

1019
00:52:12.828 --> 00:52:17.033
<i>where the church had
its primary place of worship.</i>

1020
00:52:17.066 --> 00:52:19.069
<i>By testing, tracing,
and isolating</i>

1021
00:52:19.102 --> 00:52:20.703
<i>the followers of Chairman Lee,</i>

1022
00:52:20.736 --> 00:52:22.539
<i>officials tried
to prevent the virus</i>

1023
00:52:22.571 --> 00:52:26.142
<i>from spreading
to the rest of the city.</i>

1024
00:52:26.175 --> 00:52:29.011
<i>Thousands of additional
people had been exposed.</i>

1025
00:52:29.044 --> 00:52:32.214
It led to South Korea's
numbers soaring.

1026
00:52:32.247 --> 00:52:36.519
<i>Because South Korea had
already started ramping up</i>

1027
00:52:36.551 --> 00:52:40.622
<i>diagnostic test production,
they were able to seek out</i>

1028
00:52:40.656 --> 00:52:43.360
<i>every member of this church
in Daegu</i>

1029
00:52:43.392 --> 00:52:45.227
and get them tested.

1030
00:52:45.260 --> 00:52:47.696
<i>The President of South Korea
has put the country</i>

1031
00:52:47.729 --> 00:52:51.200
<i>on the highest possible alert
after the number of cases</i>

1032
00:52:51.234 --> 00:52:55.672
<i>jumped to more than 760
and the death toll rose to 7.</i>

1033
00:52:55.705 --> 00:52:58.675
<i>Because of the surge
of cases in Daegu,</i>

1034
00:52:58.707 --> 00:53:01.243
<i>South Korea started opening up
these centers.</i>

1035
00:53:20.129 --> 00:53:22.531
<i>Drive-through testing</i>

1036
00:53:22.564 --> 00:53:25.801
<i>and special testing booths
protected healthcare workers</i>

1037
00:53:25.834 --> 00:53:28.604
<i>while dramatically increasing
testing capacity.</i>

1038
00:53:28.638 --> 00:53:32.675
<i>And manufacturers were able
to keep up with the volume.</i>

1039
00:53:32.707 --> 00:53:36.512
<i>South Korea also
stepped up production of PPE</i>

1040
00:53:36.546 --> 00:53:40.450
<i>to protect health workers
and the public alike.</i>

1041
00:53:40.482 --> 00:53:45.388
<i>Early adoption of testing
would save South Korea.</i>

1042
00:53:45.421 --> 00:53:47.424
<i>At the same moment
in the United States,</i>

1043
00:53:47.457 --> 00:53:50.560
<i>testing was still halted,
and the nation was blind</i>

1044
00:53:50.593 --> 00:53:54.263
<i>to where and how
the virus was spreading.</i>

1045
00:53:54.296 --> 00:53:56.165
<i>Because of all we've done,</i>

1046
00:53:56.198 --> 00:53:59.735
<i>the risk to the American
people remains very low.</i>

1047
00:53:59.769 --> 00:54:03.406
When you have 15 people, and
the 15 within a couple of days

1048
00:54:03.439 --> 00:54:05.774
is going to be down to close
to zero, we're doing great.

1049
00:54:05.807 --> 00:54:08.343
Other countries
have not been doing great.

1050
00:54:08.377 --> 00:54:10.080
Our consumer
is very, very strong,

1051
00:54:10.113 --> 00:54:13.216
very powerful economically.

1052
00:54:13.249 --> 00:54:15.484
<i>Underneath
the booming economic wave</i>

1053
00:54:15.517 --> 00:54:18.854
<i>was an invisible undertow
of disease.</i>

1054
00:54:18.888 --> 00:54:21.458
<i>By mid-February,
pandemic models indicate</i>

1055
00:54:21.490 --> 00:54:24.159
<i>that there were thousands
of cases spreading</i>

1056
00:54:24.193 --> 00:54:27.296
<i>through Seattle, Chicago,
San Francisco, and New York.</i>

1057
00:54:30.332 --> 00:54:33.836
By mid to late February,
the sort of top experts...

1058
00:54:33.870 --> 00:54:37.173
<i>Robert Redfield,
Nancy Messonnier,</i>

1059
00:54:37.205 --> 00:54:39.843
<i>Anthony Fauci, Azar...</i>

1060
00:54:39.876 --> 00:54:42.479
<i>they decide,
"We gotta tell the president</i>

1061
00:54:42.511 --> 00:54:45.881
"that we have to become
more aggressive

1062
00:54:45.914 --> 00:54:48.117
"about warning
the American public

1063
00:54:48.151 --> 00:54:50.220
that this is where
we're headed."

1064
00:54:51.787 --> 00:54:55.225
<i>The problem was the president
just that next day</i>

1065
00:54:55.258 --> 00:54:58.461
<i>left for another foreign trip
to India.</i>

1066
00:54:58.493 --> 00:55:01.196
Well, I look forward to being
with the people of India.

1067
00:55:01.229 --> 00:55:03.465
We're gonna have many millions
and millions of people.

1068
00:55:03.499 --> 00:55:05.734
<i>They wanted to brief
the president obviously</i>

1069
00:55:05.767 --> 00:55:08.137
before you sort of made
this sort of...

1070
00:55:08.171 --> 00:55:09.705
right turn on messaging.

1071
00:55:12.508 --> 00:55:13.776
Yeah, we're
very much involved.

1072
00:55:13.809 --> 00:55:15.444
We're very...

1073
00:55:15.477 --> 00:55:18.447
very cognizant
of everything going on.

1074
00:55:18.481 --> 00:55:20.415
We have it very much
under control.

1075
00:55:20.448 --> 00:55:21.850
Thank you very much, everybody.

1076
00:55:21.883 --> 00:55:24.620
<i>And the doctors knew that
this wasn't the kind of thing</i>

1077
00:55:24.653 --> 00:55:26.321
<i>that you brief
over the telephone,</i>

1078
00:55:26.354 --> 00:55:30.325
<i>so they decided,
"We'll set up a briefing</i>

1079
00:55:30.359 --> 00:55:32.862
<i>for the president
the day he gets back."</i>

1080
00:55:32.894 --> 00:55:36.265
<i>Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi</i>

1081
00:55:36.298 --> 00:55:38.867
<i>rolled out the red carpet
for President Trump.</i>

1082
00:55:43.539 --> 00:55:46.176
Namaste.
Namaste.

1083
00:55:49.211 --> 00:55:52.281
<i>President Trump often judges
events based on their size.</i>

1084
00:55:52.314 --> 00:55:54.684
<i>The bigger the better,
so it's fitting</i>

1085
00:55:54.716 --> 00:55:56.586
<i>that this stadium
was absolutely packed</i>

1086
00:55:56.618 --> 00:55:59.856
<i>with more than 100,000 people.</i>

1087
00:55:59.888 --> 00:56:01.223
The rally kicked off
a whirlwind trip

1088
00:56:01.256 --> 00:56:04.461
<i>packed with the pageantry
that the president so loves.</i>

1089
00:56:06.761 --> 00:56:11.401
<i>As of this morning,
we still have only 14 cases</i>

1090
00:56:11.434 --> 00:56:13.303
of the China coronavirus

1091
00:56:13.336 --> 00:56:15.705
detected here
in the United States.

1092
00:56:15.738 --> 00:56:18.308
<i>We have three cases</i>

1093
00:56:18.341 --> 00:56:20.843
<i>among Americans repatriated
from Wuhan,</i>

1094
00:56:20.876 --> 00:56:24.781
<i>and we have 40 cases
among American passengers</i>

1095
00:56:24.814 --> 00:56:28.818
<i>repatriated from the
"Diamond Princess" in Japan.</i>

1096
00:56:28.850 --> 00:56:31.320
We're trying to engage
in radical transparency

1097
00:56:31.354 --> 00:56:34.323
with the American public
as we go through this.

1098
00:56:34.356 --> 00:56:36.325
This morning, Dr. Messonnier
from the CDC

1099
00:56:36.359 --> 00:56:38.328
provided
the usual tele-briefing.

1100
00:56:38.361 --> 00:56:39.796
<i>There was
a bit of confusion,</i>

1101
00:56:39.828 --> 00:56:41.863
<i>and it was Nancy Messonnier's
understanding</i>

1102
00:56:41.897 --> 00:56:45.001
that the green light
had been given

1103
00:56:45.033 --> 00:56:46.903
for that new message

1104
00:56:46.935 --> 00:56:50.339
to be delivered
before briefing the president.

1105
00:56:50.372 --> 00:56:53.376
<i>So at her next conference call
for reporters,</i>

1106
00:56:53.408 --> 00:56:56.680
she went to town.

1107
00:57:12.662 --> 00:57:14.564
I remember being shocked,

1108
00:57:14.597 --> 00:57:18.267
thinking, "Does she realize
what she just said?"

1109
00:57:29.812 --> 00:57:31.981
<i>I can't say that I know</i>

1110
00:57:32.013 --> 00:57:34.584
<i>what was
in Nancy Messonnier's mind,</i>

1111
00:57:34.617 --> 00:57:37.754
<i>but it wouldn't be hard
to guess</i>

1112
00:57:37.787 --> 00:57:39.922
<i>that there must have
been a level of frustration</i>

1113
00:57:39.955 --> 00:57:42.292
built up inside the CDC

1114
00:57:42.325 --> 00:57:45.995
about a president who
doesn't take this seriously.

1115
00:57:46.028 --> 00:57:48.598
I mean, you know,
that was palpable.

1116
00:57:55.004 --> 00:57:58.775
<i>Statements were made
for the first time</i>

1117
00:57:58.807 --> 00:58:02.744
to prepare the psyche
of Americans

1118
00:58:02.778 --> 00:58:06.316
for what we, the scientists,
knew was coming.

1119
00:58:13.555 --> 00:58:17.359
<i>It was a turning point
in this outbreak</i>

1120
00:58:17.392 --> 00:58:21.897
<i>because the truth was finally
broken through that shell</i>

1121
00:58:21.930 --> 00:58:24.499
of so many people
standing there every day

1122
00:58:24.533 --> 00:58:27.370
telling Americans,
"We have it under control.

1123
00:58:27.403 --> 00:58:30.039
"We have it contained.
It's not a problem.

1124
00:58:30.071 --> 00:58:31.673
It's going away."

1125
00:58:31.707 --> 00:58:34.844
Those were the messages
every day up until that point.

1126
00:58:41.649 --> 00:58:45.088
<i>She gives that briefing
at virtually the exact moment</i>

1127
00:58:45.120 --> 00:58:47.022
<i>that Trump
is walking up the steps</i>

1128
00:58:47.055 --> 00:58:48.957
<i>on "Air Force One" in India.</i>

1129
00:58:48.990 --> 00:58:51.626
<i>On a larger scale,
communities and cities</i>

1130
00:58:51.660 --> 00:58:55.464
<i>may need to modify, postpone,
or cancel mass gatherings.</i>

1131
00:58:55.497 --> 00:58:58.400
Nancy Messonnier's comments
tank the market.

1132
00:58:58.434 --> 00:59:00.769
1,000 point drop in the DOW.

1133
00:59:00.803 --> 00:59:02.138
<i>Stocks fall sharply
as fears spread</i>

1134
00:59:02.171 --> 00:59:05.808
that growing coronavirus
will slow the global economy.

1135
00:59:05.841 --> 00:59:07.977
It was essentially
a kind of freak out.

1136
00:59:08.010 --> 00:59:10.146
The stock market
taking another beating

1137
00:59:10.178 --> 00:59:13.148
<i>after a sharp new warning
from the CDC.</i>

1138
00:59:13.182 --> 00:59:14.183
<i>Also, tonight...</i>

1139
00:59:14.216 --> 00:59:16.519
<i>Trump doesn't like
to be surprised.</i>

1140
00:59:16.551 --> 00:59:19.622
<i>The one gleaming,
wonderful thing</i>

1141
00:59:19.655 --> 00:59:23.459
<i>that was giving him and his
advisors hope was the economy.</i>

1142
00:59:23.492 --> 00:59:25.160
It was the silver bullet.

1143
00:59:25.193 --> 00:59:28.497
<i>That was how he was going
to win a second term.</i>

1144
00:59:29.964 --> 00:59:33.403
<i>That, combined
with Messonnier's threat</i>

1145
00:59:33.435 --> 00:59:37.039
<i>of what she was suggesting...
shut the country down...</i>

1146
00:59:37.071 --> 00:59:38.840
<i>"You're saying something</i>

1147
00:59:38.874 --> 00:59:40.910
<i>"that's gonna threaten
the economy,</i>

1148
00:59:40.943 --> 00:59:44.513
and by definition,
threaten my reelection."

1149
00:59:44.546 --> 00:59:46.548
<i>It's an 18-hour flight back.</i>

1150
00:59:46.582 --> 00:59:48.651
<i>By the time Trump lands,</i>

1151
00:59:48.684 --> 00:59:53.089
the whole thing had spun out
of control, and he was livid.

1152
00:59:53.122 --> 00:59:56.192
<i>He calls up Alex Azar,
wakes him up,</i>

1153
00:59:56.225 --> 00:59:58.694
<i>screaming at him...
what had happened?</i>

1154
00:59:58.727 --> 00:59:59.728
<i>"Do you know Nancy Messonnier</i>

1155
00:59:59.761 --> 01:00:02.564
<i>had scared the shit
out of people?"</i>

1156
01:00:05.667 --> 01:00:08.771
The CDC said yesterday that
they believe it's inevitable

1157
01:00:08.803 --> 01:00:10.872
that the virus will spread
in the United States,

1158
01:00:10.906 --> 01:00:13.676
and it's not a question
of if, but when.

1159
01:00:13.709 --> 01:00:15.477
Do you agree
with that assessment?

1160
01:00:15.510 --> 01:00:17.146
Whatever happens,
we're totally prepared.

1161
01:00:17.178 --> 01:00:18.914
We have the best people
in the world.

1162
01:00:18.948 --> 01:00:19.982
<i>Notably missing</i>

1163
01:00:20.015 --> 01:00:21.850
<i>from "the best people
in the world"</i>

1164
01:00:21.883 --> 01:00:24.453
<i>was Dr. Nancy Messonnier.</i>

1165
01:00:24.486 --> 01:00:27.557
<i>It didn't surprise me
that the moment she said that,</i>

1166
01:00:27.589 --> 01:00:29.858
that she would be removed
from that platform.

1167
01:00:29.892 --> 01:00:33.995
I'm going to be announcing
exactly right now

1168
01:00:34.028 --> 01:00:36.465
that I'm gonna be putting
our Vice President, Mike Pence,

1169
01:00:36.499 --> 01:00:37.800
in charge.

1170
01:00:37.832 --> 01:00:39.769
I'm gonna ask Mike Pence
to say a few words, please.

1171
01:00:39.801 --> 01:00:42.004
Thank you.
Mike?

1172
01:00:42.037 --> 01:00:43.805
<i>After the episode
with Nancy Messonnier,</i>

1173
01:00:43.839 --> 01:00:47.243
<i>when Pence's team
takes over from Azar,</i>

1174
01:00:47.276 --> 01:00:50.780
essentially the message
gets contained.

1175
01:00:51.814 --> 01:00:53.582
Not in the least.

1176
01:00:53.615 --> 01:00:55.684
I was delighted that I get to
have the Vice President helping

1177
01:00:55.718 --> 01:00:56.752
in this way.

1178
01:00:56.785 --> 01:00:58.754
Delighted.
Absolutely.

1179
01:00:58.787 --> 01:01:00.823
<i>Now at the helm
of the task force,</i>

1180
01:01:00.856 --> 01:01:02.258
<i>Pence promptly promoted
Deborah Birx,</i>

1181
01:01:02.290 --> 01:01:06.495
<i>a doctor and a diplomat,
to be a spokesperson.</i>

1182
01:01:06.528 --> 01:01:09.998
Dr. Birx, who is our right
arm at the White House on this,

1183
01:01:10.031 --> 01:01:11.934
and frankly, one of the
leading experts in the world

1184
01:01:11.966 --> 01:01:13.235
on infectious disease,
I think is...

1185
01:01:13.269 --> 01:01:14.671
<i>Pence trusted Birx</i>

1186
01:01:14.703 --> 01:01:17.906
<i>on account of her Christian
faith and political instincts.</i>

1187
01:01:17.939 --> 01:01:21.142
<i>She'd become a go-to-explainer
for a White House interested</i>

1188
01:01:21.176 --> 01:01:24.280
<i>in packaging science
to serve partisan goals.</i>

1189
01:01:24.312 --> 01:01:26.581
We really want
to understand

1190
01:01:26.615 --> 01:01:29.584
where the virus is spreading,
who we have to protect,

1191
01:01:29.618 --> 01:01:31.187
who's the most vulnerable.

1192
01:01:31.220 --> 01:01:33.622
<i>That would have
been easy to understand</i>

1193
01:01:33.656 --> 01:01:36.158
<i>if there had been
a national testing program,</i>

1194
01:01:36.191 --> 01:01:38.294
<i>but that was still stalled.</i>

1195
01:01:38.327 --> 01:01:40.296
<i>While countries
all over the world</i>

1196
01:01:40.328 --> 01:01:42.664
<i>were testing thousands
of cases,</i>

1197
01:01:42.698 --> 01:01:46.002
<i>the United States was testing
fewer than 100 a day.</i>

1198
01:01:46.035 --> 01:01:49.605
<i>At that stage, the
only labs across the country</i>

1199
01:01:49.638 --> 01:01:52.208
<i>that could legally test
for COVID</i>

1200
01:01:52.240 --> 01:01:54.643
<i>were a few
public health laboratories</i>

1201
01:01:54.676 --> 01:01:56.178
and the CDC itself.

1202
01:01:56.211 --> 01:01:59.582
<i>The frustration
was just boiling over,</i>

1203
01:01:59.615 --> 01:02:01.250
and I remember going
to these meetings

1204
01:02:01.283 --> 01:02:03.118
with our clinical lab director,

1205
01:02:03.151 --> 01:02:06.088
and she'sliterally on the
phone with the FDA and the CDC

1206
01:02:06.120 --> 01:02:08.890
like, "You need to help us!
You need to help us."

1207
01:02:08.923 --> 01:02:11.126
<i>After almost a month</i>

1208
01:02:11.160 --> 01:02:14.062
<i>of labs across the country
being unable to test,</i>

1209
01:02:14.095 --> 01:02:16.598
<i>the Trump Administration
finally made a decision</i>

1210
01:02:16.631 --> 01:02:19.068
<i>it could have made
weeks earlier.</i>

1211
01:02:19.100 --> 01:02:21.836
<i>On February 26th,</i>

1212
01:02:21.870 --> 01:02:25.775
the FDA and the CDC
laid out the strategy,

1213
01:02:25.807 --> 01:02:28.243
and that was that we would
be able to get up and running

1214
01:02:28.276 --> 01:02:30.879
by using the original test kit,

1215
01:02:30.912 --> 01:02:35.150
<i>but by throwing out
the N3 component.</i>

1216
01:02:35.184 --> 01:02:36.819
<i>Overnight with, you know,</i>

1217
01:02:36.852 --> 01:02:38.888
<i>with some crossing out
of lines on some paper,</i>

1218
01:02:38.921 --> 01:02:41.691
<i>the same test kits
that had been shipped out</i>

1219
01:02:41.723 --> 01:02:45.995
to the state public health
labs were functional.

1220
01:02:46.028 --> 01:02:49.231
<i>That amended EUA was
Wednesday, February 26th,</i>

1221
01:02:49.263 --> 01:02:51.867
<i>and you can watch the testing
curve in the United States.</i>

1222
01:02:51.899 --> 01:02:54.102
<i>I mean it really
didn't start going up</i>

1223
01:02:54.135 --> 01:02:57.105
<i>until that week.</i>

1224
01:02:57.138 --> 01:03:00.142
<i>Here in Washington State
at the state lab,</i>

1225
01:03:00.175 --> 01:03:02.979
they had positive results
the very first time

1226
01:03:03.011 --> 01:03:06.948
<i>they performed
authorized tests.</i>

1227
01:03:06.981 --> 01:03:08.117
<i>After desperate pleas</i>

1228
01:03:08.149 --> 01:03:09.751
<i>from health care providers,</i>

1229
01:03:09.785 --> 01:03:12.754
<i>the FDA also relaxed
regulations and</i>

1230
01:03:12.787 --> 01:03:16.992
<i>let manufacturers and hospital
labs use their own tests.</i>

1231
01:03:17.026 --> 01:03:20.062
<i>But it was too little,
too late.</i>

1232
01:03:20.095 --> 01:03:24.700
<i>The disease had spread to half
the states in the country.</i>

1233
01:03:24.732 --> 01:03:27.636
<i>And test kits were
in such short supply</i>

1234
01:03:27.669 --> 01:03:29.838
<i>that they were limited
to patients</i>

1235
01:03:29.872 --> 01:03:33.743
<i>who met rigid guidelines
set by the CDC.</i>

1236
01:03:33.776 --> 01:03:36.678
<i>Early on, our testing
was limited to people</i>

1237
01:03:36.711 --> 01:03:40.115
<i>who had traveled from China,
or they had had contact</i>

1238
01:03:40.149 --> 01:03:43.685
<i>with someone who was known
tested positive for COVID-19.</i>

1239
01:03:43.718 --> 01:03:45.854
<i>So written in our guidelines,</i>

1240
01:03:45.888 --> 01:03:49.158
<i>by necessity because we had
a strained testing supply,</i>

1241
01:03:49.191 --> 01:03:51.827
it was designed to miss
community transmission,

1242
01:03:51.859 --> 01:03:53.896
meaning transmission
that happens

1243
01:03:53.928 --> 01:03:56.898
throughout the community
that's not connected to travel,

1244
01:03:56.932 --> 01:03:59.267
that we know at some point's
gonna happen.

1245
01:03:59.301 --> 01:04:02.271
And it's like we're
looking in this area,

1246
01:04:02.303 --> 01:04:04.039
and we know that
transmission's gonna happen

1247
01:04:04.073 --> 01:04:06.042
over here, and we're
gonna miss it

1248
01:04:06.075 --> 01:04:07.376
because we can't test for it.

1249
01:04:13.881 --> 01:04:15.984
<i>On February 27th,</i>

1250
01:04:16.017 --> 01:04:19.220
<i>the new testing
recommendations came out.</i>

1251
01:04:19.254 --> 01:04:20.456
Do you mind
removing the mask?

1252
01:04:20.488 --> 01:04:22.323
- Is that okay?
- <i>Oh, no, not at all.</i>

1253
01:04:22.356 --> 01:04:25.994
<i>Didn't know what your rules of
engagement were there, so...</i>

1254
01:04:26.028 --> 01:04:28.997
The new addition was
this line that said,

1255
01:04:29.031 --> 01:04:32.768
"If you have severe
lower respiratory pneumonia,

1256
01:04:32.801 --> 01:04:35.037
<i>"severe pneumonia or ARDS...</i>

1257
01:04:35.069 --> 01:04:37.439
<i>"Acute Respiratory
Distress Syndrome...</i>

1258
01:04:37.472 --> 01:04:39.340
<i>you should consider testing."</i>

1259
01:04:39.374 --> 01:04:41.477
<i>With the updated guidelines,</i>

1260
01:04:41.510 --> 01:04:44.479
we initiated testing
in two individuals,

1261
01:04:44.513 --> 01:04:47.783
and both of those individuals
tested positive.

1262
01:04:47.816 --> 01:04:50.386
So that evening after
we got the first two back,

1263
01:04:50.419 --> 01:04:54.890
we looked around the
intensive care unit and said,

1264
01:04:54.923 --> 01:04:57.827
<i>"Okay, who else is sick
with pneumonia</i>

1265
01:04:57.859 --> 01:04:59.729
<i>"that has not been diagnosed
with influenza</i>

1266
01:04:59.761 --> 01:05:01.830
<i>or another respiratory virus?"</i>

1267
01:05:01.863 --> 01:05:04.999
And we selected
nine more individuals.

1268
01:05:05.033 --> 01:05:07.937
Eight of those turned out
to be positive for COVID.

1269
01:05:07.970 --> 01:05:12.006
It was an astounding
revelation.

1270
01:05:12.039 --> 01:05:14.843
<i>The revelation was
that while testing protocols</i>

1271
01:05:14.877 --> 01:05:18.881
<i>were on hold, the disease
had spread uncontrollably,</i>

1272
01:05:18.914 --> 01:05:20.915
<i>which would lead
to economic disaster</i>

1273
01:05:20.948 --> 01:05:25.386
<i>and loss of tens of thousands
of lives.</i>

1274
01:05:25.419 --> 01:05:28.857
<i>The real question is,
did more people die?</i>

1275
01:05:28.890 --> 01:05:31.860
<i>Did more dislocation
and economic problems</i>

1276
01:05:31.894 --> 01:05:35.330
<i>and societal change
have to happen than did?</i>

1277
01:05:35.363 --> 01:05:38.233
The period that
in our reporting

1278
01:05:38.267 --> 01:05:40.770
that we have called
"The Lost Month,"

1279
01:05:40.803 --> 01:05:44.006
<i>that really was the time</i>

1280
01:05:44.039 --> 01:05:47.243
<i>when things happened
in the United States</i>

1281
01:05:47.276 --> 01:05:50.111
<i>much more slowly
than they happened in,</i>

1282
01:05:50.144 --> 01:05:51.546
<i>for example, South Korea,</i>

1283
01:05:51.580 --> 01:05:54.250
and it became impossible
to do containment.

1284
01:05:56.385 --> 01:05:58.854
<i>Because the U.S.
failed to contain the virus,</i>

1285
01:05:58.886 --> 01:06:00.388
<i>state governments
moved to lockdowns</i>

1286
01:06:00.421 --> 01:06:02.992
<i>to avoid runaway contagion</i>

1287
01:06:03.024 --> 01:06:05.093
<i>and to prevent hospitals
from being overwhelmed.</i>

1288
01:06:05.127 --> 01:06:08.898
<i>Over 100,000 small businesses
would close and never reopen.</i>

1289
01:06:08.930 --> 01:06:13.068
<i>7 million Americans would be
infected by the disease.</i>

1290
01:06:13.100 --> 01:06:16.037
<i>But back in late February,
the government refused</i>

1291
01:06:16.071 --> 01:06:18.540
<i>to confront the reckoning
that was about to come.</i>

1292
01:06:18.573 --> 01:06:20.809
We have done
an incredible job.

1293
01:06:20.843 --> 01:06:22.511
We're going to continue.

1294
01:06:22.544 --> 01:06:24.413
It's going to disappear
one day.

1295
01:06:24.446 --> 01:06:26.482
It's like a miracle.
It will disappear.

1296
01:06:26.515 --> 01:06:28.417
<i>The president
is also quoted by saying,</i>

1297
01:06:28.450 --> 01:06:31.120
"The virus we're talking
about having to do,

1298
01:06:31.153 --> 01:06:33.923
"you know, a lot of people
think it goes away in April

1299
01:06:33.955 --> 01:06:35.089
with the heat."

1300
01:06:35.122 --> 01:06:37.126
Dr. Fauci, does this go away
in April?

1301
01:06:37.158 --> 01:06:39.127
If it acts like influenza,

1302
01:06:39.160 --> 01:06:42.497
the heat will actually make it
diminish in its impact,

1303
01:06:42.531 --> 01:06:45.334
but we have no way of knowing
how it's gonna act.

1304
01:06:45.367 --> 01:06:48.403
Does the CDC agree
that this is a problem

1305
01:06:48.437 --> 01:06:51.040
that is going to go away
without intervention?

1306
01:06:51.073 --> 01:06:53.107
I think it's prudent
to assume

1307
01:06:53.140 --> 01:06:57.146
that this pathogen will be
with us for some time to come.

1308
01:06:57.178 --> 01:06:59.514
The President's expressing
confidence this team,

1309
01:06:59.548 --> 01:07:01.350
the public health
infrastructure in this country,

1310
01:07:01.383 --> 01:07:03.419
state and local,
that we can deal with this.

1311
01:07:03.452 --> 01:07:06.287
We will prepare for this.
We will work together on this.

1312
01:07:06.321 --> 01:07:08.223
He's trying to calm
a public that...

1313
01:07:08.256 --> 01:07:11.392
we see in China, panic can be
as big of an enemy as virus

1314
01:07:11.426 --> 01:07:12.595
in these situations,

1315
01:07:12.627 --> 01:07:14.530
and so there is always
that balance to...

1316
01:07:14.562 --> 01:07:16.999
Mr. Secretary, I don't want
to panic over this either.

1317
01:07:17.031 --> 01:07:18.267
The stock market's crashing.

1318
01:07:18.300 --> 01:07:19.635
He's outright contradicting

1319
01:07:19.667 --> 01:07:22.037
everything that you all
have just said.

1320
01:07:22.069 --> 01:07:23.305
Outright contradiction!

1321
01:07:23.338 --> 01:07:25.140
I think he's
expressing confidence in...

1322
01:07:25.173 --> 01:07:27.042
With no medical basis for it!

1323
01:07:27.075 --> 01:07:28.377
That's what you've
just explained to us.

1324
01:07:28.410 --> 01:07:29.545
Come on, sir.

1325
01:07:29.577 --> 01:07:31.579
The gentleman's time
has expired.

1326
01:07:31.613 --> 01:07:34.250
You're doing a great job for
the president, Mr. Secretary.

1327
01:07:34.283 --> 01:07:36.618
Now the Democrats are

1328
01:07:36.651 --> 01:07:40.955
politicizing the coronavirus.

1329
01:07:40.988 --> 01:07:43.124
You know that right?
Coronavirus.

1330
01:07:45.961 --> 01:07:48.330
One of my people came up
to me and said,

1331
01:07:48.363 --> 01:07:51.332
"Mr. President,
they tried to beat you

1332
01:07:51.365 --> 01:07:53.001
"on Russia, Russia, Russia.

1333
01:07:53.035 --> 01:07:56.405
They tried
the impeachment hoax."

1334
01:07:56.437 --> 01:07:59.073
And this is their new hoax.

1335
01:07:59.106 --> 01:08:01.109
And so far,

1336
01:08:01.142 --> 01:08:04.312
we have lost nobody
to coronavirus

1337
01:08:04.345 --> 01:08:08.449
in the United States.

1338
01:08:08.482 --> 01:08:10.986
Nobody.

1339
01:08:11.019 --> 01:08:13.222
<i>The next day,
that would change.</i>

1340
01:08:15.222 --> 01:08:18.026
Today, Public Health... Seattle
and King County... is announcing

1341
01:08:18.060 --> 01:08:21.363
three new presumptive positive
cases of novel coronavirus,

1342
01:08:21.395 --> 01:08:24.632
COVID-19, including
one person who died.

1343
01:08:24.665 --> 01:08:27.535
We have expressed
our condolences to the families

1344
01:08:27.569 --> 01:08:29.939
of the individual
who has passed away.

1345
01:08:29.971 --> 01:08:32.106
<i>It was one of the first
two patients diagnosed,</i>

1346
01:08:32.140 --> 01:08:35.477
<i>it was my patient,
and all we saw was a future</i>

1347
01:08:35.510 --> 01:08:39.448
<i>of extremely ill individuals
like this.</i>

1348
01:08:39.480 --> 01:08:41.115
So it was a challenging moment,

1349
01:08:41.149 --> 01:08:44.686
a daunting moment,
to come to that realization.

1350
01:08:44.720 --> 01:08:47.289
Today, health officials
in Washington State

1351
01:08:47.321 --> 01:08:50.659
announced four new deaths,
bringing the total to six,

1352
01:08:50.691 --> 01:08:53.227
all in the Seattle area.

1353
01:08:53.261 --> 01:08:55.464
<i>By early March,
King County, Washington</i>

1354
01:08:55.497 --> 01:08:58.499
<i>had become the epicenter
of the coronavirus in the U.S.</i>

1355
01:08:58.533 --> 01:09:01.736
<i>due to the Lifecare
Nursing Home.</i>

1356
01:09:01.770 --> 01:09:04.406
They're not answering
the phones, the lines are busy.

1357
01:09:04.439 --> 01:09:07.476
<i>All the families
are really worried,</i>

1358
01:09:07.508 --> 01:09:10.479
<i>not knowing if our loved ones
are even alive.</i>

1359
01:09:10.512 --> 01:09:13.349
<i>It was a blur of activity.</i>

1360
01:09:15.150 --> 01:09:17.720
<i>We realized that our hospital</i>

1361
01:09:17.753 --> 01:09:21.090
<i>was now the tip
of the iceberg.</i>

1362
01:09:21.123 --> 01:09:24.660
We soon found out
how deep that iceberg went.

1363
01:09:24.693 --> 01:09:26.995
<i>Because test kits
were in short supply,</i>

1364
01:09:27.029 --> 01:09:28.629
<i>access was limited to patients</i>

1365
01:09:28.663 --> 01:09:32.668
<i>who were dangerously close
to respiratory failure.</i>

1366
01:09:32.700 --> 01:09:34.168
<i>The death count began to rise.</i>

1367
01:09:34.202 --> 01:09:35.604
<i>COVID began spreading</i>

1368
01:09:35.637 --> 01:09:39.174
<i>to health care workers
and first responders.</i>

1369
01:09:39.207 --> 01:09:43.145
The job situation
put them at increased risk.

1370
01:09:43.177 --> 01:09:47.148
<i>Nurses' aides in nursing homes</i>

1371
01:09:47.181 --> 01:09:49.050
<i>without the protective
equipment or training</i>

1372
01:09:49.083 --> 01:09:51.252
<i>they needed
to be safe and secure.</i>

1373
01:09:51.285 --> 01:09:53.788
<i>Individuals who have jobs</i>

1374
01:09:53.821 --> 01:09:56.025
<i>that were considered
essential jobs,</i>

1375
01:09:56.057 --> 01:09:58.359
<i>they're stocking
grocery shelves</i>

1376
01:09:58.392 --> 01:10:01.396
<i>and helping to pick up trash
in communities</i>

1377
01:10:01.430 --> 01:10:04.700
<i>and sweep the streets.</i>

1378
01:10:04.732 --> 01:10:06.368
<i>While many affluent Americans</i>

1379
01:10:06.400 --> 01:10:07.735
<i>worked on computers at home,</i>

1380
01:10:07.769 --> 01:10:10.105
<i>low-paid essential workers,</i>

1381
01:10:10.137 --> 01:10:12.807
<i>many without masks
and the ability to distance,</i>

1382
01:10:12.841 --> 01:10:15.044
<i>were jammed
into sites of contagion</i>

1383
01:10:15.077 --> 01:10:18.079
<i>like delivery depots,
industrial farms, factories,</i>

1384
01:10:18.113 --> 01:10:21.383
<i>funeral homes,
and meatpacking plants.</i>

1385
01:10:21.415 --> 01:10:24.686
<i>If the impact of the disease
was divided by occupation,</i>

1386
01:10:24.718 --> 01:10:28.589
<i>it was also sundered
by age and race.</i>

1387
01:10:28.623 --> 01:10:30.125
<i>My grandmother used to say,</i>

1388
01:10:30.158 --> 01:10:31.593
"You know, when the country
gets the flu,

1389
01:10:31.626 --> 01:10:33.294
black people get pneumonia."

1390
01:10:33.328 --> 01:10:37.132
It's well-known in our circles
that we have worse outcomes

1391
01:10:37.164 --> 01:10:39.834
when it comes to a lot
of these different diseases,

1392
01:10:39.868 --> 01:10:42.638
you know, and part of that
is systemic racism.

1393
01:10:42.671 --> 01:10:45.574
A lot of it is
access to healthcare.

1394
01:10:45.606 --> 01:10:48.077
<i>If you have the money, you
can get the best healthcare</i>

1395
01:10:48.110 --> 01:10:50.279
<i>in the world,
but without those resources,</i>

1396
01:10:50.311 --> 01:10:54.315
<i>you have inadequate care
and sporadic care.</i>

1397
01:10:54.348 --> 01:10:59.087
<i>So any kind of disease spread
then falls hardest</i>

1398
01:10:59.120 --> 01:11:03.624
<i>on communities that
are already at a health risk.</i>

1399
01:11:03.658 --> 01:11:05.394
<i>What are we dealing with?</i>

1400
01:11:05.427 --> 01:11:08.597
With this coronavirus,
COVID-19?

1401
01:11:08.629 --> 01:11:12.200
We're dealing with clearly
an emerging infectious disease

1402
01:11:12.234 --> 01:11:15.270
that has now reached
outbreak proportions

1403
01:11:15.302 --> 01:11:17.172
and likely
pandemic proportions.

1404
01:11:22.244 --> 01:11:24.480
<i>The "Grand Princess"
Cruise Ship has been moored</i>

1405
01:11:24.512 --> 01:11:26.214
<i>off the coast of California.</i>

1406
01:11:26.248 --> 01:11:29.451
<i>I want to commend the efforts
of our Coast Guard</i>

1407
01:11:29.484 --> 01:11:32.588
<i>that heroically flew
coronavirus tests</i>

1408
01:11:32.620 --> 01:11:34.455
<i>to the ship.</i>

1409
01:11:34.489 --> 01:11:38.160
21 tested positive
for the coronavirus.

1410
01:11:39.660 --> 01:11:41.329
<i>On his way
to a weekend trip</i>

1411
01:11:41.363 --> 01:11:45.267
<i>to Mar-a-Lago,
Trump made a stop at the CDC.</i>

1412
01:11:45.300 --> 01:11:47.235
<i>Watching the president go</i>

1413
01:11:47.269 --> 01:11:50.305
<i>to the Centers
for Disease Control,</i>

1414
01:11:50.337 --> 01:11:53.341
he discussed with a reporter

1415
01:11:53.374 --> 01:11:56.544
the fact that one of the cruise
ships was still offshore.

1416
01:11:56.578 --> 01:11:59.381
<i>I'd rather have them stay on</i>

1417
01:11:59.413 --> 01:12:01.516
because I like the numbers
being where they are.

1418
01:12:01.550 --> 01:12:04.418
I don't need to have
the numbers double

1419
01:12:04.452 --> 01:12:06.254
because of one ship.

1420
01:12:06.288 --> 01:12:09.758
<i>For the first time,
it occurred to me</i>

1421
01:12:09.790 --> 01:12:11.325
that the government
of the United States

1422
01:12:11.359 --> 01:12:14.829
was intentionally
slow walking testing.

1423
01:12:14.863 --> 01:12:17.466
In this big vast land
of ours,

1424
01:12:17.498 --> 01:12:21.336
this great country of ours,
we have 240 cases.

1425
01:12:21.369 --> 01:12:23.672
Most of those people
are gonna be fine.

1426
01:12:23.704 --> 01:12:25.439
The vast majority
are going to be fine.

1427
01:12:25.472 --> 01:12:27.208
We've had 11 deaths.

1428
01:12:27.242 --> 01:12:28.177
All of our state labs

1429
01:12:28.209 --> 01:12:31.312
now have the ability
to test for this virus...

1430
01:12:31.346 --> 01:12:32.513
And they have had.

1431
01:12:32.547 --> 01:12:34.216
The testing has been
amazing, actually,

1432
01:12:34.248 --> 01:12:35.383
what they've been able
to produce

1433
01:12:35.417 --> 01:12:37.352
in such a short period of time.

1434
01:12:37.385 --> 01:12:40.289
Anybody that wants a test
can get a test.

1435
01:12:40.321 --> 01:12:43.357
<i>Anybody who wanted
a test knew that was a lie.</i>

1436
01:12:43.391 --> 01:12:45.494
<i>Just finding a facility
was hard.</i>

1437
01:12:45.526 --> 01:12:47.462
<i>People with the disease
were denied tests</i>

1438
01:12:47.494 --> 01:12:49.297
<i>on account of supply backlogs,</i>

1439
01:12:49.330 --> 01:12:52.767
<i>which also caused delays
in results.</i>

1440
01:12:52.801 --> 01:12:55.303
<i>The next day,
while Trump golfed,</i>

1441
01:12:55.337 --> 01:12:57.873
<i>Pence and Redfield went
to Cruise Lines of America.</i>

1442
01:12:57.905 --> 01:13:00.309
<i>We all recognize
the recent challenges</i>

1443
01:13:00.342 --> 01:13:01.977
<i>on the "Diamond Princess,"</i>

1444
01:13:02.010 --> 01:13:04.780
<i>and the ongoing challenge
with the "Grand Princess,"</i>

1445
01:13:04.812 --> 01:13:06.614
and we want to ensure
that the American people

1446
01:13:06.647 --> 01:13:10.351
can continue as we deal
with the coronavirus

1447
01:13:10.385 --> 01:13:13.321
to enjoy the opportunities
in the cruise line industry

1448
01:13:13.355 --> 01:13:14.723
and be confident.

1449
01:13:14.756 --> 01:13:16.557
I would not encourage anyone

1450
01:13:16.591 --> 01:13:18.459
to change their plans
at this point

1451
01:13:18.493 --> 01:13:21.830
based on what the epidemiology
is here in Florida.

1452
01:13:21.863 --> 01:13:23.332
They should enjoy Disneyland.

1453
01:13:23.364 --> 01:13:25.666
They should enjoy
the rest of Florida.

1454
01:13:25.699 --> 01:13:27.868
<i>There is this
back and forth,</i>

1455
01:13:27.901 --> 01:13:29.837
the medical folks saying
we need to take this seriously,

1456
01:13:29.870 --> 01:13:31.573
we need to be aggressive,

1457
01:13:31.605 --> 01:13:33.774
the economic folks pushing back
and saying, "Yeah, but..."

1458
01:13:33.807 --> 01:13:35.877
<i>Fauci would march up
and answer questions.</i>

1459
01:13:35.909 --> 01:13:37.912
Do you believe that people,

1460
01:13:37.945 --> 01:13:41.315
even if they're healthy, should
get onboard a cruise ship?

1461
01:13:41.348 --> 01:13:42.618
I would recommend strongly

1462
01:13:42.650 --> 01:13:44.885
that they do not
go on a cruise ship.

1463
01:13:44.918 --> 01:13:47.756
And then Trump or Pence
would come back

1464
01:13:47.788 --> 01:13:49.357
and sort of contradict him.

1465
01:13:49.391 --> 01:13:51.026
We're gonna work
with the cruise line industry

1466
01:13:51.059 --> 01:13:53.361
to improve the safety,

1467
01:13:53.395 --> 01:13:56.265
improve the health environment
on cruise lines.

1468
01:13:56.297 --> 01:13:58.899
Frankly, the testing
has been going very smooth.

1469
01:13:58.932 --> 01:14:00.901
If you go to the right agency,

1470
01:14:00.935 --> 01:14:03.004
if you go to the right area,
you get the test.

1471
01:14:03.038 --> 01:14:04.772
Will you admit that
there is a serious problem

1472
01:14:04.806 --> 01:14:06.040
in this country

1473
01:14:06.074 --> 01:14:10.012
obtaining access to testing
for coronavirus?

1474
01:14:10.044 --> 01:14:12.681
My colleague is looking at me
to answer that.

1475
01:14:12.713 --> 01:14:14.783
- Here we go.
- Okay.

1476
01:14:14.815 --> 01:14:16.818
The system
is not really geared

1477
01:14:16.851 --> 01:14:19.321
to what we need right now.

1478
01:14:19.354 --> 01:14:21.722
- That is a failing.
- A failing, yes.

1479
01:14:21.756 --> 01:14:23.691
It is a failing.
Let's admit it.

1480
01:14:23.725 --> 01:14:26.061
Dr. Fauci said
earlier this week

1481
01:14:26.093 --> 01:14:28.997
that the lag in testing
was, in fact, a failing.

1482
01:14:29.029 --> 01:14:31.032
Do you take responsibility
for that?

1483
01:14:31.065 --> 01:14:33.068
Yeah, no, I don't take
responsibility at all.

1484
01:14:33.101 --> 01:14:34.636
We're doing a great job.

1485
01:14:34.668 --> 01:14:36.771
Yeah, we have 40 people
right now... 40.

1486
01:14:36.805 --> 01:14:38.339
Compare that
with other countries

1487
01:14:38.373 --> 01:14:40.409
that have many, many times
that amount.

1488
01:14:42.110 --> 01:14:44.946
<i>To keep new cases
from entering our shores,</i>

1489
01:14:44.979 --> 01:14:48.717
<i>we will be suspending
all travel from Europe</i>

1490
01:14:48.749 --> 01:14:51.419
to the United States
for the next 30 days.

1491
01:14:52.854 --> 01:14:53.821
<i>There was a problem</i>

1492
01:14:53.855 --> 01:14:55.557
<i>with Trump's
sudden travel ban...</i>

1493
01:14:55.589 --> 01:14:57.993
<i>it had no plan attached.</i>

1494
01:14:58.025 --> 01:15:00.494
If we do get back
to the U.S., then what happens?

1495
01:15:00.528 --> 01:15:04.665
<i>Do we go into quarantine?
Do we go home?</i>

1496
01:15:04.699 --> 01:15:06.935
<i>Returning Americans
flooded U.S. airports,</i>

1497
01:15:06.967 --> 01:15:10.671
<i>where they were jammed in
makeshift COVID checkpoints.</i>

1498
01:15:10.704 --> 01:15:13.607
<i>They were perfect conditions
for more contagion,</i>

1499
01:15:13.641 --> 01:15:17.479
<i>as travelers from Europe
spread the virus into the U.S.</i>

1500
01:15:26.620 --> 01:15:29.458
<i>The message to New Yorkers
from the beginning has been,</i>

1501
01:15:29.490 --> 01:15:31.560
<i>"This is something
we all can handle together.</i>

1502
01:15:31.592 --> 01:15:33.595
Go about your lives.
Go about your business."

1503
01:15:36.998 --> 01:15:38.700
<i>The Governor confirming</i>

1504
01:15:38.732 --> 01:15:42.070
<i>that coronavirus has arrived
here in Manhattan.</i>

1505
01:15:42.102 --> 01:15:45.473
<i>The coronavirus spreads
tonight as Governor Cuomo</i>

1506
01:15:45.507 --> 01:15:48.944
<i>announces five more
positive cases in New York.</i>

1507
01:15:53.614 --> 01:15:56.484
<i>The number of confirmed
cases has reached 121.</i>

1508
01:15:56.517 --> 01:15:58.986
<i>Today, Governor Cuomo
announcing a ban</i>

1509
01:15:59.020 --> 01:16:01.990
<i>on any gatherings
of 500 people or more.</i>

1510
01:16:02.022 --> 01:16:05.560
<i>And 613 confirmed cases
of coronavirus in New York.</i>

1511
01:16:05.592 --> 01:16:08.896
<i>That is more
than any other state.</i>

1512
01:16:08.930 --> 01:16:11.566
I'm glad to see that you're
practicing social distancing.

1513
01:16:11.598 --> 01:16:13.435
That looks very nice.

1514
01:16:13.467 --> 01:16:16.604
We're announcing new guidelines
for every American to follow.

1515
01:16:16.637 --> 01:16:19.640
<i>Avoid gathering in groups
of more than 10 people,</i>

1516
01:16:19.673 --> 01:16:23.544
<i>and avoid eating and drinking
in bars, restaurants.</i>

1517
01:16:23.578 --> 01:16:25.914
And if everybody in America
does what we ask for,

1518
01:16:25.946 --> 01:16:27.815
<i>we will see
a dramatic difference,</i>

1519
01:16:27.848 --> 01:16:29.717
<i>and we won't have to worry
about the ventilators,</i>

1520
01:16:29.751 --> 01:16:31.753
<i>and we won't have to worry
about the ICU beds.</i>

1521
01:16:31.785 --> 01:16:34.955
Our volume
is just exploding.

1522
01:16:34.989 --> 01:16:37.459
<i>We have so many people
in the hallways.</i>

1523
01:16:37.492 --> 01:16:41.430
<i>A day or so ago, we put
14 people on ventilators.</i>

1524
01:16:41.462 --> 01:16:45.065
<i>Mayor de Blasio says that
there have been 100 new cases</i>

1525
01:16:45.098 --> 01:16:46.868
<i>in the city today alone.</i>

1526
01:16:46.900 --> 01:16:49.437
<i>So we're going to put out
an executive order today.</i>

1527
01:16:49.471 --> 01:16:52.207
<i>New York State on pause.</i>

1528
01:16:52.239 --> 01:16:54.074
<i>19 million New Yorkers are
being asked to stay at home</i>

1529
01:16:54.107 --> 01:16:55.577
<i>as much as possible.</i>

1530
01:16:55.610 --> 01:16:58.079
<i>Now topping
85,000 confirmed cases</i>

1531
01:16:58.111 --> 01:17:00.214
<i>and more than 1,400 deaths.</i>

1532
01:17:00.248 --> 01:17:02.784
<i>I hate to say this,
but it's true...</i>

1533
01:17:02.816 --> 01:17:05.553
we are now the epicenter
of this crisis

1534
01:17:05.587 --> 01:17:08.223
<i>right here
in the nation's largest city.</i>

1535
01:17:08.256 --> 01:17:12.494
<i>And if this goes on for
a month, or two, or three,</i>

1536
01:17:12.526 --> 01:17:16.564
<i>or five like it did in China,
we don't have what we need.</i>

1537
01:17:18.199 --> 01:17:21.236
<i>This is not a country that
was built to be shut down.</i>

1538
01:17:21.269 --> 01:17:24.573
<i>We're not gonna let the cure
be worse than the problem.</i>

1539
01:17:24.605 --> 01:17:26.774
<i>Worried about the economy,</i>

1540
01:17:26.807 --> 01:17:28.877
<i>Trump tried
to limit shutdowns,</i>

1541
01:17:28.909 --> 01:17:31.245
<i>but the virus
was out of control.</i>

1542
01:17:31.279 --> 01:17:34.216
<i>By April, over 3,000
New Yorkers had died,</i>

1543
01:17:34.248 --> 01:17:37.218
<i>surpassing the death toll
of 9/11.</i>

1544
01:17:37.252 --> 01:17:41.189
<i>ICUs were over capacity with
patients who couldn't breathe.</i>

1545
01:17:41.221 --> 01:17:43.724
<i>Ventilators were
in short supply,</i>

1546
01:17:43.757 --> 01:17:47.128
<i>and many of those who got them
did not survive.</i>

1547
01:17:50.064 --> 01:17:51.600
<i>We had seen the pandemic</i>

1548
01:17:51.632 --> 01:17:54.101
<i>was really taking off
in New York City.</i>

1549
01:17:54.135 --> 01:17:56.238
<i>We were in a central area
of Virginia</i>

1550
01:17:56.270 --> 01:17:58.706
<i>where there's not
a huge population,</i>

1551
01:17:58.739 --> 01:18:01.075
<i>and it was like being
on a coastal city</i>

1552
01:18:01.109 --> 01:18:02.744
<i>and you hear
about an earthquake</i>

1553
01:18:02.776 --> 01:18:04.512
<i>that happens offshore.</i>

1554
01:18:04.546 --> 01:18:06.780
You know that
a tsunami is coming.

1555
01:18:06.814 --> 01:18:08.682
You just don't know
when it's gonna happen

1556
01:18:08.716 --> 01:18:11.887
and how severe it's gonna be.

1557
01:18:11.919 --> 01:18:13.721
<i>A U.S. Marine in Virginia</i>

1558
01:18:13.754 --> 01:18:16.223
<i>has tested positive
for the coronavirus.</i>

1559
01:18:16.257 --> 01:18:18.960
<i>This is the first
positive case in Virginia,</i>

1560
01:18:18.993 --> 01:18:20.328
<i>and here's what we know.</i>

1561
01:18:20.360 --> 01:18:24.031
<i>I remember one day, I was
rounding in our COVID ICU,</i>

1562
01:18:24.065 --> 01:18:27.168
and our unit is structured
kind of like a V,

1563
01:18:27.200 --> 01:18:31.006
<i>so there's one wing here,
another wing over there.</i>

1564
01:18:31.038 --> 01:18:32.640
<i>And you know, these are some
of the sickest patients</i>

1565
01:18:32.673 --> 01:18:33.908
<i>I've ever taken care of
in my life.</i>

1566
01:18:33.941 --> 01:18:36.243
<i>They're on breathing machines,
dialysis machines.</i>

1567
01:18:36.276 --> 01:18:37.678
<i>They are needing
lots of medicines</i>

1568
01:18:37.712 --> 01:18:40.915
<i>to keep them sedated and calm.</i>

1569
01:18:40.949 --> 01:18:43.084
<i>And I'm trying to get
through morning rounds,</i>

1570
01:18:43.117 --> 01:18:44.753
<i>and I see that on one wing,</i>

1571
01:18:44.785 --> 01:18:48.323
<i>it's almost
all Hispanic last names.</i>

1572
01:18:48.355 --> 01:18:50.024
<i>And then, on the other wing,</i>

1573
01:18:50.057 --> 01:18:53.662
<i>it's almost all Black names.</i>

1574
01:18:53.695 --> 01:18:57.198
<i>I grew up an hour away
from where I'm working.</i>

1575
01:18:57.230 --> 01:18:59.600
<i>These are the family names
that I grew up with,</i>

1576
01:18:59.633 --> 01:19:02.069
<i>and I know these families.</i>

1577
01:19:02.102 --> 01:19:04.806
And I just was trying
to focus on the medical part

1578
01:19:04.838 --> 01:19:06.040
and just getting through it,

1579
01:19:06.074 --> 01:19:09.077
but I just felt this weight
on my chest.

1580
01:19:09.110 --> 01:19:11.713
<i>I'm a Black male
in the United States</i>

1581
01:19:11.745 --> 01:19:13.847
<i>and my family members
have chronic diseases</i>

1582
01:19:13.881 --> 01:19:15.650
<i>at high rates,</i>

1583
01:19:15.682 --> 01:19:17.953
<i>and I've been dealing
with this my whole life.</i>

1584
01:19:17.985 --> 01:19:21.288
And now I have family members
who are contracting COVID.

1585
01:19:21.321 --> 01:19:25.226
<i>Those are smiles and hugs
and tears and barbeques.</i>

1586
01:19:25.258 --> 01:19:28.329
<i>They're not numbers
on a paper.</i>

1587
01:19:28.363 --> 01:19:30.198
<i>Through the spring,</i>

1588
01:19:30.230 --> 01:19:33.068
<i>the death toll would rise
to 100,000.</i>

1589
01:19:33.101 --> 01:19:34.769
<i>It was a terrifying marker</i>

1590
01:19:34.802 --> 01:19:37.672
<i>for the failure
of the American response.</i>

1591
01:19:37.704 --> 01:19:40.742
<i>The U.S. was 4%
of the world's population</i>

1592
01:19:40.775 --> 01:19:44.379
<i>and 20% of the deaths
from the virus.</i>

1593
01:19:44.412 --> 01:19:47.248
<i>Despite the fatal consequences
of inaction,</i>

1594
01:19:47.280 --> 01:19:49.818
<i>the government could not solve
basic problems</i>

1595
01:19:49.851 --> 01:19:52.020
<i>like supplies for test kits.</i>

1596
01:19:55.189 --> 01:19:58.827
<i>In March, we started to see
the global supply chain</i>

1597
01:19:58.860 --> 01:20:00.929
really get jammed up.

1598
01:20:00.962 --> 01:20:05.834
So it was extraction kits,
swabs.

1599
01:20:05.867 --> 01:20:08.970
<i>The major producer of swabs</i>

1600
01:20:09.003 --> 01:20:10.939
is in the Lombardy region
of Italy.

1601
01:20:10.971 --> 01:20:14.008
<i>And Italy had just gone
on lockdown,</i>

1602
01:20:14.042 --> 01:20:17.678
<i>and the swabs company
was in a no-fly zone,</i>

1603
01:20:17.712 --> 01:20:19.414
so the U.S. supply
is basically going...

1604
01:20:19.446 --> 01:20:21.149
grinding to a halt.

1605
01:20:21.181 --> 01:20:25.753
Every single step of the way,
we've encountered an issue

1606
01:20:25.787 --> 01:20:28.390
or a problem
with the supply chain.

1607
01:20:28.422 --> 01:20:30.992
<i>Potential supply chain
problems</i>

1608
01:20:31.025 --> 01:20:34.796
<i>had been identified
in "Crimson Contagion."</i>

1609
01:20:34.829 --> 01:20:38.033
<i>The focus was on testing
supplies and lifesaving PPE.</i>

1610
01:20:38.065 --> 01:20:41.269
<i>The most critical items needed
were N95 masks,</i>

1611
01:20:41.302 --> 01:20:44.005
<i>whose firm fit and tight mesh
offered healthcare workers</i>

1612
01:20:44.038 --> 01:20:48.043
<i>real protection
from the disease.</i>

1613
01:20:48.075 --> 01:20:51.311
We had estimated the number
of N95 respirators

1614
01:20:51.345 --> 01:20:53.847
<i>that would be needed.</i>

1615
01:20:53.881 --> 01:20:57.718
That number was 3 1/2 billion.

1616
01:20:57.752 --> 01:21:00.321
<i>And we had a fraction</i>

1617
01:21:00.354 --> 01:21:02.790
<i>of what we would need
in the stockpile.</i>

1618
01:21:02.824 --> 01:21:05.427
<i>And all of those had
a five-year shelf life,</i>

1619
01:21:05.459 --> 01:21:07.761
<i>and a lot of those,</i>

1620
01:21:07.794 --> 01:21:11.899
they were purchased
almost ten years ago.

1621
01:21:11.932 --> 01:21:15.903
<i>Despite Ebola,
despite Zika, despite H1N1,</i>

1622
01:21:15.936 --> 01:21:18.939
filling up the national
stockpile for some virus

1623
01:21:18.972 --> 01:21:21.075
<i>that we don't even know
is ever gonna come</i>

1624
01:21:21.109 --> 01:21:24.245
<i>has never been
the top priority.</i>

1625
01:21:24.278 --> 01:21:26.815
You can say the Obama
Administration didn't do enough

1626
01:21:26.847 --> 01:21:29.450
<i>to leave the next
administration prepared.</i>

1627
01:21:29.484 --> 01:21:31.419
<i>You can also say,
"Well, that's true,</i>

1628
01:21:31.452 --> 01:21:36.024
<i>but the Trump Administration
had three and a half years."</i>

1629
01:21:36.056 --> 01:21:38.358
<i>The Strategic National
Stockpile was not intended</i>

1630
01:21:38.391 --> 01:21:42.730
to be everything that we would
need for an entire crisis.

1631
01:21:42.763 --> 01:21:45.333
<i>I think in mid-January,
the U.S. government</i>

1632
01:21:45.365 --> 01:21:47.401
<i>should have been looking
at the stockpile</i>

1633
01:21:47.435 --> 01:21:48.669
<i>to see what was in it</i>

1634
01:21:48.703 --> 01:21:52.906
<i>and how we were gonna pivot
to manufacture more.</i>

1635
01:21:52.940 --> 01:21:54.509
We should have been
having the conversation

1636
01:21:54.542 --> 01:21:57.979
about the Defense
Production Act in January.

1637
01:21:58.012 --> 01:22:00.381
There's talk
of invoking war powers

1638
01:22:00.413 --> 01:22:04.852
to require U.S. companies
to manufacture some goods.

1639
01:22:04.886 --> 01:22:06.087
That's right,

1640
01:22:06.119 --> 01:22:07.788
so that's called
the Defense Production Act.

1641
01:22:07.821 --> 01:22:08.922
I believe it came
into existence

1642
01:22:08.955 --> 01:22:10.024
during the Korean War.

1643
01:22:10.056 --> 01:22:12.793
<i>Effectively, we can determine</i>

1644
01:22:12.827 --> 01:22:15.129
<i>that our production should get
to the front of the line.</i>

1645
01:22:15.163 --> 01:22:17.464
<i>We'll use it if we need to,
but we obviously...</i>

1646
01:22:17.498 --> 01:22:19.534
if we can work cooperatively
with any vendor,

1647
01:22:19.566 --> 01:22:21.435
we'd rather do that.

1648
01:22:21.468 --> 01:22:24.004
<i>"Let the market
work its magic."</i>

1649
01:22:24.038 --> 01:22:27.107
<i>That was the guiding
philosophy for Azar and Trump,</i>

1650
01:22:27.141 --> 01:22:29.310
<i>but their anti-government
strategy</i>

1651
01:22:29.342 --> 01:22:33.180
<i>ignored basic rules
of supply and demand.</i>

1652
01:22:33.213 --> 01:22:37.118
<i>Without a large order from
the United States government,</i>

1653
01:22:37.150 --> 01:22:39.119
there really wasn't an
incentive for these companies

1654
01:22:39.153 --> 01:22:42.190
to start maximizing
their throughput.

1655
01:22:42.222 --> 01:22:46.293
<i>I was getting reports from
Mike Bowen, one of the few</i>

1656
01:22:46.327 --> 01:22:49.364
<i>remaining producers
of face masks and respirators</i>

1657
01:22:49.396 --> 01:22:51.031
<i>in the United States</i>

1658
01:22:51.065 --> 01:22:54.903
who had his finger on the pulse
of the supply chain.

1659
01:22:54.936 --> 01:22:59.274
<i>I'm a salesman telling
a story that nobody believes.</i>

1660
01:22:59.306 --> 01:23:02.075
The story is that the U.S.
mask supply is gonna collapse

1661
01:23:02.109 --> 01:23:03.244
and people are gonna die.

1662
01:23:03.276 --> 01:23:05.279
It doesn't cost much to fix.

1663
01:23:05.312 --> 01:23:08.216
That's the story.

1664
01:23:08.248 --> 01:23:12.986
<i>Around 2005, all of the major
mask makers left the country.</i>

1665
01:23:13.020 --> 01:23:15.824
It put the U.S. mask supply

1666
01:23:15.856 --> 01:23:17.457
in the hands of foreign control

1667
01:23:17.490 --> 01:23:20.961
and could be subject to
diversion during a pandemic.

1668
01:23:20.994 --> 01:23:23.430
<i>And that's what I've been
warning about for years.</i>

1669
01:23:23.463 --> 01:23:25.867
<i>I wrote Barack Obama
20 letters.</i>

1670
01:23:25.900 --> 01:23:28.937
<i>"Tell America's hospitals
that they are going to be</i>

1671
01:23:28.970 --> 01:23:30.571
"in a position to not be
able to protect their staff

1672
01:23:30.605 --> 01:23:31.573
and their patients."

1673
01:23:31.605 --> 01:23:34.309
I voted for Donald Trump.

1674
01:23:34.342 --> 01:23:37.345
<i>I thought, "You know,
if I contact enough people</i>

1675
01:23:37.378 --> 01:23:39.914
<i>"in the administration,
somebody, one of these people</i>

1676
01:23:39.946 --> 01:23:41.882
"are gonna look at this and go,
'Hey, this is a problem.

1677
01:23:41.915 --> 01:23:43.217
Maybe we ought
to call this guy.'"

1678
01:23:43.251 --> 01:23:45.285
And no, I couldn't get any...

1679
01:23:45.319 --> 01:23:47.622
I didn't get
any response there.

1680
01:23:47.654 --> 01:23:51.124
<i>In January,
Bowen's predictions came true.</i>

1681
01:23:51.158 --> 01:23:53.494
<i>As China struggled to contain
the outbreak of COVID,</i>

1682
01:23:53.526 --> 01:23:58.165
<i>it limited the export of N95
masks to the United States.</i>

1683
01:23:58.199 --> 01:23:59.968
<i>At the end of January,</i>

1684
01:24:00.001 --> 01:24:01.369
<i>I'm hearing
from all over the world.</i>

1685
01:24:01.403 --> 01:24:05.240
<i>People are freaking out about
masks, and needing masks.</i>

1686
01:24:05.272 --> 01:24:06.908
And that's when I got ahold
of Rick and said,

1687
01:24:06.940 --> 01:24:08.376
"Hey, here's what
I'm seeing out here.

1688
01:24:08.409 --> 01:24:10.411
This is gonna be bad."

1689
01:24:10.444 --> 01:24:14.382
<i>He was sounding the
alarm bells almost every day.</i>

1690
01:24:14.414 --> 01:24:16.917
<i>We can't protect
America's population.</i>

1691
01:24:16.950 --> 01:24:19.253
<i>That's too late, but I said
I can at least make</i>

1692
01:24:19.287 --> 01:24:22.222
enough masks to protect
America's healthcare workers.

1693
01:24:22.256 --> 01:24:26.261
<i>I reminded him that we had
these four respirator lines.</i>

1694
01:24:26.293 --> 01:24:30.163
<i>To activate them we would need
more people, raw materials,</i>

1695
01:24:30.196 --> 01:24:34.334
<i>emergency NIOSH approval, and
large non-cancellable orders.</i>

1696
01:24:34.368 --> 01:24:36.370
I see that our country's
gonna have a problem,

1697
01:24:36.404 --> 01:24:37.605
I get ahold of Rick.

1698
01:24:37.637 --> 01:24:40.073
I pushed every one
of those emails

1699
01:24:40.106 --> 01:24:42.109
up to the Strategic
National Stockpile

1700
01:24:42.142 --> 01:24:44.645
<i>and Critical
Infrastructure Team.</i>

1701
01:24:44.678 --> 01:24:49.316
<i>I reminded them
of the H5N1 scare,</i>

1702
01:24:49.350 --> 01:24:54.088
when people rushed to buy
masks and hoard masks.

1703
01:24:54.120 --> 01:24:56.524
<i>The response I got was,</i>

1704
01:24:56.556 --> 01:25:00.127
"We will just change
the CDC guideline.

1705
01:25:00.160 --> 01:25:04.631
<i>And we'll just tell people,
don't do that."</i>

1706
01:25:04.664 --> 01:25:06.600
<i>Basically in March,
they realized</i>

1707
01:25:06.633 --> 01:25:08.235
that the healthcare workers

1708
01:25:08.269 --> 01:25:10.305
are not going
to have enough PPE,

1709
01:25:10.337 --> 01:25:13.440
so they basically issued
a warning to the public,

1710
01:25:13.473 --> 01:25:17.011
<i>"Do not use face masks."</i>

1711
01:25:17.043 --> 01:25:20.514
Do you have any sense
of how many more N95 masks

1712
01:25:20.547 --> 01:25:23.617
would be on the market had the
federal government taken you up

1713
01:25:23.650 --> 01:25:27.187
on your offer to reactivate
N95 manufacturing lines

1714
01:25:27.221 --> 01:25:28.589
in January?

1715
01:25:28.622 --> 01:25:32.592
About 7 million
N95 respirators per month.

1716
01:25:32.626 --> 01:25:34.995
I sounded the alarm every day

1717
01:25:35.029 --> 01:25:38.732
about the shortage
of N95 respirators,

1718
01:25:38.766 --> 01:25:41.336
<i>and we were doing nothing.</i>

1719
01:25:41.369 --> 01:25:43.705
<i>The numbers continue
to surge in hotspots</i>

1720
01:25:43.738 --> 01:25:47.275
<i>like California, Michigan,
Louisiana, Florida,</i>

1721
01:25:47.307 --> 01:25:49.243
<i>and especially,
of course, New York.</i>

1722
01:25:49.275 --> 01:25:51.979
<i>Medical resources
are stretched to capacity</i>

1723
01:25:52.012 --> 01:25:53.381
<i>and beyond.</i>

1724
01:25:57.217 --> 01:26:01.122
We had saved
some outdated N95 masks

1725
01:26:01.154 --> 01:26:03.323
that were part
of the Ebola response,

1726
01:26:03.356 --> 01:26:05.659
<i>but quickly we ran out
of those supplies,</i>

1727
01:26:05.693 --> 01:26:09.629
<i>so we had to make do.</i>

1728
01:26:09.663 --> 01:26:12.200
<i>Some of the N95 masks
that we received</i>

1729
01:26:12.232 --> 01:26:14.502
had been in storage
for years and years,

1730
01:26:14.534 --> 01:26:17.104
and while the actual
mask itself worked fine,

1731
01:26:17.137 --> 01:26:18.772
the rubber band was brittle.

1732
01:26:18.806 --> 01:26:21.109
<i>So there were people
in the room</i>

1733
01:26:21.141 --> 01:26:25.178
<i>taking care of a patient,
and the mask just snaps off.</i>

1734
01:26:25.212 --> 01:26:27.714
<i>The CDC is now
advising healthcare workers</i>

1735
01:26:27.748 --> 01:26:30.585
<i>to ration masks,
to use expired masks,</i>

1736
01:26:30.618 --> 01:26:33.588
<i>even use bandanas or scarves
as a last resort.</i>

1737
01:26:36.390 --> 01:26:40.395
<i>Our usage increased
by several hundredfold.</i>

1738
01:26:40.427 --> 01:26:44.664
We could see our equipment
supply going down dramatically.

1739
01:26:44.698 --> 01:26:47.635
<i>So you kind of clamp down a
little bit and say, you know,</i>

1740
01:26:47.668 --> 01:26:51.339
<i>"We're gonna save it for these
very specific encounters."</i>

1741
01:26:51.372 --> 01:26:53.708
So now, from the perspective
of a healthcare worker,

1742
01:26:53.740 --> 01:26:56.077
you're taking away my safety.

1743
01:26:56.110 --> 01:26:59.313
<i>And what people really
wanted was a big enough supply</i>

1744
01:26:59.346 --> 01:27:02.183
<i>so that anyone who felt that
they were at a higher risk</i>

1745
01:27:02.216 --> 01:27:03.685
<i>could be safe.</i>

1746
01:27:10.356 --> 01:27:15.162
<i>One mask to be worn
for 12 hours.</i>

1747
01:27:15.195 --> 01:27:16.730
It's just ridiculous.

1748
01:27:16.763 --> 01:27:19.600
No protective equipment,
the gowns.

1749
01:27:19.632 --> 01:27:22.336
<i>We have to improvise
with what we have.</i>

1750
01:27:24.805 --> 01:27:27.175
We have people coming in
sewing masks, sewing shields,

1751
01:27:27.208 --> 01:27:29.544
making things out of plastics.

1752
01:27:29.577 --> 01:27:31.712
This is what we're doing now?

1753
01:27:31.744 --> 01:27:33.413
<i>I mean that would be like
a soldier going to war</i>

1754
01:27:33.446 --> 01:27:35.283
<i>and making a plastic gun
to bring with him.</i>

1755
01:27:35.315 --> 01:27:37.151
<i>This is what's happening.</i>

1756
01:27:47.194 --> 01:27:49.297
- PPEs!
- Every day!

1757
01:27:49.329 --> 01:27:50.464
PPEs!

1758
01:27:50.498 --> 01:27:52.200
Every day!

1759
01:27:52.232 --> 01:27:55.436
<i>We're here in the community
fighting every day,</i>

1760
01:27:55.468 --> 01:27:59.573
and we need some help.

1761
01:27:59.606 --> 01:28:02.577
<i>In February, the
Trump Administration actually</i>

1762
01:28:02.610 --> 01:28:05.446
<i>created the China-COVID
Procurement Service</i>

1763
01:28:05.479 --> 01:28:08.415
<i>to encourage
American producers like 3M</i>

1764
01:28:08.449 --> 01:28:11.486
<i>to sell their entire
inventories of N95 masks</i>

1765
01:28:11.519 --> 01:28:14.122
<i>to China.</i>

1766
01:28:14.154 --> 01:28:17.157
<i>When American hospitals
desperately needed N95s,</i>

1767
01:28:17.190 --> 01:28:18.758
<i>they were forced
to import them</i>

1768
01:28:18.792 --> 01:28:20.561
<i>and pay up to 10 times more</i>

1769
01:28:20.593 --> 01:28:23.631
<i>than the price charged
by American producers.</i>

1770
01:28:23.663 --> 01:28:27.734
<i>PPE has been sporadic,
but we do what we have to do.</i>

1771
01:28:27.767 --> 01:28:30.203
<i>We're nurses,
and we learn to adapt</i>

1772
01:28:30.236 --> 01:28:32.739
and to get the job done
and get the care provided,

1773
01:28:32.772 --> 01:28:34.441
and that's what
we're gonna continue to do.

1774
01:28:34.475 --> 01:28:35.642
Sporadic for you,

1775
01:28:35.676 --> 01:28:37.712
but not sporadic
for a lot of other people.

1776
01:28:37.744 --> 01:28:38.912
Oh, no, I agree,
Mr. President.

1777
01:28:38.945 --> 01:28:40.547
Because I've heard
the opposite.

1778
01:28:40.580 --> 01:28:44.252
I've heard that they are
loaded up with gowns now.

1779
01:28:44.284 --> 01:28:46.319
And you know, initially,
we had nothing.

1780
01:28:46.352 --> 01:28:49.257
We had empty cupboards.
We had empty shelves.

1781
01:28:49.289 --> 01:28:51.525
We had nothing because
it wasn't put there

1782
01:28:51.559 --> 01:28:53.427
by the last administration.

1783
01:28:53.459 --> 01:28:55.562
<i>In the midst of the crisis,</i>

1784
01:28:55.596 --> 01:28:57.899
<i>President Trump goes on TV
and says, "Don't worry.</i>

1785
01:28:57.931 --> 01:29:00.367
<i>We've got plenty of PPE
for healthcare workers."</i>

1786
01:29:00.400 --> 01:29:03.303
<i>What was your reaction
when you saw that?</i>

1787
01:29:03.337 --> 01:29:05.506
I know what
my reaction was.

1788
01:29:05.538 --> 01:29:08.275
I turned to my wife and said,
"That's complete bullshit.

1789
01:29:08.309 --> 01:29:11.244
He has no idea
what he's talking about."

1790
01:29:11.278 --> 01:29:14.515
I'm getting 500
to 1,000 emails a day.

1791
01:29:14.547 --> 01:29:18.351
I'm getting emails from people,
not businesses.

1792
01:29:18.385 --> 01:29:20.387
I'm getting emails from moms.

1793
01:29:20.421 --> 01:29:23.624
I'm getting emails from old
people, "Please send me masks."

1794
01:29:26.694 --> 01:29:30.531
And I can't.

1795
01:29:30.564 --> 01:29:32.499
You make a product
that can protect people.

1796
01:29:32.533 --> 01:29:35.203
I can't help
all these people.

1797
01:29:38.806 --> 01:29:41.876
<i>The PPE shortage
continued on for months,</i>

1798
01:29:41.909 --> 01:29:44.312
<i>even after Trump put
one of his most trusted</i>

1799
01:29:44.345 --> 01:29:45.913
<i>family members in charge</i>

1800
01:29:45.945 --> 01:29:48.248
<i>of procuring
protective equipment.</i>

1801
01:29:51.318 --> 01:29:53.486
<i>Jared Kushner formed
his own task force</i>

1802
01:29:53.520 --> 01:29:54.821
<i>to get supplies.</i>

1803
01:29:54.855 --> 01:29:56.857
<i>Was that confusing?
Like did you...</i>

1804
01:29:56.890 --> 01:29:58.726
It was extremely confusing.

1805
01:29:58.758 --> 01:30:00.328
The president
wanted to make sure

1806
01:30:00.360 --> 01:30:02.562
that we had the best people
doing the best jobs

1807
01:30:02.596 --> 01:30:05.299
and making sure that we had
the right people focused

1808
01:30:05.332 --> 01:30:06.901
on all the things
that needed to happen

1809
01:30:06.934 --> 01:30:09.669
to make sure that we can
deliver in these unusual times

1810
01:30:09.703 --> 01:30:12.839
<i>for the American people.</i>

1811
01:30:12.873 --> 01:30:15.576
<i>My old boss called me
and said he heard that</i>

1812
01:30:15.609 --> 01:30:19.347
<i>Jared Kushner's task force
needed younger volunteers</i>

1813
01:30:19.379 --> 01:30:21.281
who had general skills
and were willing

1814
01:30:21.315 --> 01:30:24.352
to work seven days a week
for no money,

1815
01:30:24.385 --> 01:30:27.454
and if you fit those criteria,
that you should head to D.C.

1816
01:30:27.488 --> 01:30:31.458
and help
with the pandemic response.

1817
01:30:31.492 --> 01:30:33.261
<i>I definitely
had some apprehension</i>

1818
01:30:33.293 --> 01:30:34.595
<i>about working
for the administration,</i>

1819
01:30:34.628 --> 01:30:36.364
<i>but it felt like the country</i>

1820
01:30:36.396 --> 01:30:38.431
and the world
were under attack.

1821
01:30:38.464 --> 01:30:40.935
It seemed like if there
was something to do to help,

1822
01:30:40.967 --> 01:30:43.703
that was the right thing to do.

1823
01:30:43.736 --> 01:30:45.373
<i>They basically gave us a day</i>

1824
01:30:45.405 --> 01:30:50.010
<i>to show up in D.C.
at the FEMA Headquarters.</i>

1825
01:30:50.043 --> 01:30:52.379
<i>We walked
into Conference Room A,</i>

1826
01:30:52.413 --> 01:30:55.283
<i>which was this windowless,
subterranean conference room.</i>

1827
01:30:55.315 --> 01:30:57.318
<i>There were televisions
all around the walls</i>

1828
01:30:57.351 --> 01:30:59.754
<i>all playing FOX News.</i>

1829
01:30:59.787 --> 01:31:02.390
<i>One representative from FEMA</i>

1830
01:31:02.422 --> 01:31:04.324
<i>and one representative
from the military</i>

1831
01:31:04.357 --> 01:31:06.627
<i>gave a quick pep talk.</i>

1832
01:31:06.659 --> 01:31:09.396
They kept saying "the stuff,"
and by that they meant PPE.

1833
01:31:09.430 --> 01:31:11.499
<i>And they kept saying, "There's
stuff all around the world.</i>

1834
01:31:11.531 --> 01:31:12.699
<i>"There's stuff in the U.S.,
and we need</i>

1835
01:31:12.732 --> 01:31:15.636
<i>to get it to hospitals
as fast as possible."</i>

1836
01:31:15.668 --> 01:31:18.372
Everyone stood up and started
filing into different offices,

1837
01:31:18.404 --> 01:31:20.807
and I remember the only people
left were the volunteers.

1838
01:31:20.841 --> 01:31:23.343
<i>We thought we would be
auxiliary support</i>

1839
01:31:23.377 --> 01:31:25.513
<i>for an existing procurement
team that just needed</i>

1840
01:31:25.546 --> 01:31:27.815
<i>to be expanded
as quickly as possible</i>

1841
01:31:27.847 --> 01:31:29.984
<i>and we would, you know,
do data entry for contracts.</i>

1842
01:31:30.016 --> 01:31:32.586
<i>And instead, we were the team.</i>

1843
01:31:32.619 --> 01:31:35.456
I think when people imagined
the federal government response

1844
01:31:35.489 --> 01:31:38.426
in the war room, they thought
it would be this big,

1845
01:31:38.458 --> 01:31:41.561
<i>you know, energized
group of experts,</i>

1846
01:31:41.595 --> 01:31:45.533
not ten 20-year-old volunteers
all just with private laptops.

1847
01:31:45.565 --> 01:31:47.033
<i>No industry relationships,</i>

1848
01:31:47.066 --> 01:31:50.337
<i>no experience working
in supply chain.</i>

1849
01:31:50.370 --> 01:31:53.341
<i>So we started cold-emailing
people we knew</i>

1850
01:31:53.373 --> 01:31:54.941
<i>who had business relationships
in China,</i>

1851
01:31:54.975 --> 01:31:56.877
<i>looking for factories online,</i>

1852
01:31:56.909 --> 01:32:00.947
<i>and emailing them from
our personal Gmail accounts.</i>

1853
01:32:00.980 --> 01:32:03.016
Because we had never
done this before,

1854
01:32:03.050 --> 01:32:04.918
you know, there were all these
really basic questions

1855
01:32:04.952 --> 01:32:07.754
about how a federal procurement
operation should work.

1856
01:32:07.788 --> 01:32:09.457
We would call factories
and say,

1857
01:32:09.489 --> 01:32:11.624
"We think the federal
government can send you a check

1858
01:32:11.658 --> 01:32:13.593
in 60 days,"
and they would say,

1859
01:32:13.627 --> 01:32:16.097
"There's someone
with a briefcase of cash,

1860
01:32:16.129 --> 01:32:18.732
and they are offering
to pay me right now."

1861
01:32:18.766 --> 01:32:20.935
<i>And we would run
around the FEMA building</i>

1862
01:32:20.967 --> 01:32:23.671
<i>looking for someone who could
tell us what payment terms</i>

1863
01:32:23.704 --> 01:32:25.840
<i>the federal government
was allowed to offer,</i>

1864
01:32:25.873 --> 01:32:29.143
and no one ever told us.

1865
01:32:29.176 --> 01:32:32.546
<i>One week into our work,
several government employees</i>

1866
01:32:32.579 --> 01:32:34.849
<i>walked into the room
and handed out NDAs</i>

1867
01:32:34.882 --> 01:32:36.550
<i>and told us we had
to sign the NDAs</i>

1868
01:32:36.583 --> 01:32:38.486
<i>or leave the room immediately,</i>

1869
01:32:38.519 --> 01:32:40.687
<i>and we all had built
our own relationships</i>

1870
01:32:40.721 --> 01:32:44.725
<i>with manufacturers, and it
felt like if we walked away,</i>

1871
01:32:44.757 --> 01:32:46.559
it would negatively affect
our ability

1872
01:32:46.592 --> 01:32:49.596
to buy this critical,
lifesaving equipment.

1873
01:32:49.629 --> 01:32:54.534
<i>And so we all begrudgingly
signed the NDA.</i>

1874
01:32:54.568 --> 01:32:56.070
<i>In the room,
there were those TVs</i>

1875
01:32:56.102 --> 01:32:57.837
<i>all around the walls
playing the news.</i>

1876
01:32:57.870 --> 01:32:59.774
<i>They always had
a death counter.</i>

1877
01:32:59.806 --> 01:33:01.742
<i>And so every hour
we were sitting there,</i>

1878
01:33:01.775 --> 01:33:04.779
<i>trying to buy PPE that
we all knew could save lives,</i>

1879
01:33:04.811 --> 01:33:06.780
and we were watching the
number of deaths in the U.S.

1880
01:33:06.814 --> 01:33:09.083
<i>tick higher
and higher and higher.</i>

1881
01:33:09.115 --> 01:33:11.819
<i>And that weighed on all of us.</i>

1882
01:33:11.851 --> 01:33:13.586
<i>The president also
instructed me to make sure</i>

1883
01:33:13.619 --> 01:33:15.722
<i>that I break down
every barrier needed</i>

1884
01:33:15.756 --> 01:33:18.691
to make sure that
the teams can succeed.

1885
01:33:18.725 --> 01:33:20.761
<i>The first time Jared Kushner
came into the room,</i>

1886
01:33:20.793 --> 01:33:23.196
<i>he had this big entourage,
and he said,</i>

1887
01:33:23.230 --> 01:33:25.199
<i>"I want to make this
as effective as possible.</i>

1888
01:33:25.231 --> 01:33:27.435
<i>"Tell me the problems
that you have,</i>

1889
01:33:27.467 --> 01:33:29.202
<i>and I will solve them today."</i>

1890
01:33:29.235 --> 01:33:31.571
And we said, "We need
to be able to pay upfront."

1891
01:33:31.605 --> 01:33:34.442
And he said, "Done,"

1892
01:33:34.475 --> 01:33:37.044
<i>but there was no action taken
that we saw whatsoever.</i>

1893
01:33:37.077 --> 01:33:39.747
<i>In the entire time
that I was a volunteer,</i>

1894
01:33:39.779 --> 01:33:43.983
our team did not directly
purchase a single mask.

1895
01:33:44.016 --> 01:33:46.519
<i>Kushner failed
to protect doctors and nurses,</i>

1896
01:33:46.552 --> 01:33:48.122
<i>but he was willing
to trade government help</i>

1897
01:33:48.154 --> 01:33:50.824
<i>for political benefits.</i>

1898
01:33:50.857 --> 01:33:54.028
<i>When the Democratic Governor
of California, Gavin Newsom,</i>

1899
01:33:54.061 --> 01:33:56.564
<i>desperately needed
testing swabs,</i>

1900
01:33:56.596 --> 01:33:58.598
<i>Kushner said Trump
would grant the request</i>

1901
01:33:58.632 --> 01:34:00.568
<i>on two conditions:</i>

1902
01:34:00.601 --> 01:34:01.769
<i>Newsom would have
to get on the phone</i>

1903
01:34:01.802 --> 01:34:03.938
<i>and ask Trump personally</i>

1904
01:34:03.971 --> 01:34:07.775
<i>and then thank him publicly.</i>

1905
01:34:07.807 --> 01:34:09.243
I want to thank
the president,

1906
01:34:09.275 --> 01:34:13.213
not only for being available
for a phone call

1907
01:34:13.247 --> 01:34:15.883
at a moment's notice,
but being willing

1908
01:34:15.915 --> 01:34:19.587
to directly commit to all of us
in the state of California.

1909
01:34:19.619 --> 01:34:21.689
<i>Built
around personal relationships,</i>

1910
01:34:21.721 --> 01:34:24.257
<i>Kushner's task force was run
by his college roommate</i>

1911
01:34:24.290 --> 01:34:26.760
<i>and Ivanka Trump's
former assistant.</i>

1912
01:34:26.793 --> 01:34:29.597
<i>Rather than rely on
experienced public officials,</i>

1913
01:34:29.629 --> 01:34:32.867
<i>the task force prioritized
private tips in a spreadsheet</i>

1914
01:34:32.900 --> 01:34:34.602
<i>called "VIP Update,"</i>

1915
01:34:34.635 --> 01:34:36.570
<i>which included
two Republican dentists</i>

1916
01:34:36.602 --> 01:34:39.172
<i>and a FOX News personality.</i>

1917
01:34:39.205 --> 01:34:41.574
<i>The whole philosophy
of the task force</i>

1918
01:34:41.607 --> 01:34:43.977
was that the government
can't get things done

1919
01:34:44.011 --> 01:34:45.546
<i>and they thought
the private market</i>

1920
01:34:45.579 --> 01:34:47.848
<i>could largely settle
this issue,</i>

1921
01:34:47.881 --> 01:34:50.117
<i>but it was only once
they had tried and failed</i>

1922
01:34:50.150 --> 01:34:52.086
that they'd started to blame
other people and say,

1923
01:34:52.119 --> 01:34:54.788
"Actually, this was your job
the whole time."

1924
01:34:54.820 --> 01:34:56.957
You have instances where
in cities, they're running out,

1925
01:34:56.989 --> 01:34:58.525
but the state
still has a stockpile.

1926
01:34:58.559 --> 01:35:00.226
And the notion
of the federal stockpile

1927
01:35:00.260 --> 01:35:01.794
was it's supposed
to be our stockpile.

1928
01:35:01.828 --> 01:35:03.631
It's not supposed
to be states' stockpiles

1929
01:35:03.663 --> 01:35:05.298
that they then use.

1930
01:35:05.332 --> 01:35:08.669
My understanding
is the only reason

1931
01:35:08.702 --> 01:35:12.272
the federal stockpile exists
is to distribute it to states.

1932
01:35:12.306 --> 01:35:15.075
<i>The people in charge
on the task force said,</i>

1933
01:35:15.107 --> 01:35:16.776
<i>you know,
talking about the president...</i>

1934
01:35:16.810 --> 01:35:18.646
love him or hate him,
he's a marketing genius.

1935
01:35:18.678 --> 01:35:20.647
He came up with the strategy
to blame the states,

1936
01:35:20.681 --> 01:35:22.049
because the federal government

1937
01:35:22.082 --> 01:35:23.684
hasn't been able
to do this effectively.

1938
01:35:25.351 --> 01:35:30.123
<i>Federal government
has assets and abilities</i>

1939
01:35:30.156 --> 01:35:32.760
<i>that no state
can possibly mobilize.</i>

1940
01:35:32.793 --> 01:35:35.329
<i>They have a global
supply chain.</i>

1941
01:35:35.361 --> 01:35:36.997
They have a logistic capability

1942
01:35:37.029 --> 01:35:38.731
<i>through
the Department of Defense</i>

1943
01:35:38.765 --> 01:35:40.601
<i>and Department
of Homeland Security</i>

1944
01:35:40.633 --> 01:35:43.570
to get stuff in
and distribute it

1945
01:35:43.604 --> 01:35:45.905
to places all over the country.

1946
01:35:45.939 --> 01:35:49.276
<i>President Trump flipped that
on its head.</i>

1947
01:35:49.309 --> 01:35:54.181
Then there became this mad
rush for each and every state

1948
01:35:54.213 --> 01:35:58.217
to try and find equipment
on their own.

1949
01:36:01.288 --> 01:36:04.992
<i>Breaker one nine,
this here's Rubber Duck.</i>

1950
01:36:05.025 --> 01:36:06.927
<i>Mercy sakes alive,</i>

1951
01:36:06.959 --> 01:36:10.064
<i>looks like we've
got us a convoy.</i>

1952
01:36:10.096 --> 01:36:14.701
<i>We continued to source and
ship as much PPE as we can</i>

1953
01:36:14.735 --> 01:36:17.304
<i>by whatever means necessary.</i>

1954
01:36:17.337 --> 01:36:19.607
<i>♪ Arizona, noon,
on the seventh of June ♪</i>

1955
01:36:19.640 --> 01:36:21.709
<i>♪ When they highballed
over the pass ♪</i>

1956
01:36:21.742 --> 01:36:26.245
We had the governor of
Massachusetts using a plane

1957
01:36:26.279 --> 01:36:30.217
<i>from the New England Patriots
to bring equipment from China.</i>

1958
01:36:30.249 --> 01:36:32.285
<i>♪ 'Cause we got
a little ol' convoy ♪</i>

1959
01:36:32.319 --> 01:36:35.189
<i>The equipment is now in the
hands of the National Guard,</i>

1960
01:36:35.221 --> 01:36:38.758
<i>who will deliver it
to an undisclosed location.</i>

1961
01:36:38.792 --> 01:36:40.394
<i>♪ Convoy ♪</i>

1962
01:36:40.427 --> 01:36:43.030
<i>Whoo-hoo!</i>

1963
01:36:43.062 --> 01:36:45.132
We had the governor
of Maryland

1964
01:36:45.164 --> 01:36:47.700
using contacts of his wife's

1965
01:36:47.734 --> 01:36:52.839
<i>to bring equipment in
from South Korea.</i>

1966
01:36:52.873 --> 01:36:55.709
<i>He felt it important enough
to guard that equipment</i>

1967
01:36:55.742 --> 01:36:58.345
<i>when it landed in Maryland,
because he didn't want it</i>

1968
01:36:58.378 --> 01:37:01.949
<i>confiscated by
the federal government.</i>

1969
01:37:01.981 --> 01:37:03.751
<i>We're competing against
every other state,</i>

1970
01:37:03.784 --> 01:37:05.219
<i>every other country.</i>

1971
01:37:05.252 --> 01:37:08.656
Now we're even competing
against the federal government.

1972
01:37:08.689 --> 01:37:13.327
It's like being on eBay
with 50 other states,

1973
01:37:13.360 --> 01:37:16.296
bidding on a ventilator.

1974
01:37:16.329 --> 01:37:19.733
<i>You see the bid go up
'cause California bid.</i>

1975
01:37:19.766 --> 01:37:23.937
<i>Illinois bid, Florida bid,
New York bids,</i>

1976
01:37:23.970 --> 01:37:26.073
<i>California rebids.</i>

1977
01:37:26.105 --> 01:37:29.376
<i>And then FEMA starts bidding.</i>

1978
01:37:29.409 --> 01:37:33.313
So FEMA is driving up
the price.

1979
01:37:33.346 --> 01:37:35.049
What?

1980
01:37:35.815 --> 01:37:39.052
I stand here as someone
who has had confirmed orders

1981
01:37:39.086 --> 01:37:44.091
for millions of pieces of gear
evaporate in front of us,

1982
01:37:44.123 --> 01:37:47.160
and I can't tell you
how frustrating it is.

1983
01:37:47.194 --> 01:37:49.096
<i>I get a feeling if there's
somebody had the chance to</i>

1984
01:37:49.128 --> 01:37:50.797
<i>sell to you or had the chance
to sell to me,</i>

1985
01:37:50.830 --> 01:37:53.300
<i>I'm gonna lose
every one of those.</i>

1986
01:37:53.333 --> 01:37:55.035
All right, Charlie.
Thank you very much.

1987
01:37:55.068 --> 01:37:57.204
Well, we do like you going out
seeing what you can get,

1988
01:37:57.236 --> 01:37:59.205
if you can get it faster,

1989
01:37:59.239 --> 01:38:02.843
and the price is always
a component to that also,

1990
01:38:02.876 --> 01:38:05.779
and maybe that's why
you lost to the feds.

1991
01:38:05.811 --> 01:38:08.247
I'll tell you,
that's probably why, but...

1992
01:38:08.280 --> 01:38:10.484
<i>If the goal was
to get PPE to the states,</i>

1993
01:38:10.516 --> 01:38:12.418
<i>why would
the federal government</i>

1994
01:38:12.452 --> 01:38:15.222
<i>be driving up the price
to outbid them?</i>

1995
01:38:15.254 --> 01:38:19.092
<i>Or was driving up the price
the whole point?</i>

1996
01:38:19.126 --> 01:38:20.894
<i>This morning,
our first project</i>

1997
01:38:20.927 --> 01:38:21.929
<i>that we called Airbridge...</i>

1998
01:38:21.962 --> 01:38:24.198
that's Airbridge,
that's the name.

1999
01:38:24.230 --> 01:38:26.300
<i>And it was a flight
that landed in JFK</i>

2000
01:38:26.333 --> 01:38:29.036
<i>and contained
nearly 2 million masks.</i>

2001
01:38:29.069 --> 01:38:31.038
This is the first
of 50 flights,

2002
01:38:31.070 --> 01:38:33.973
and that will probably
increase substantially.

2003
01:38:34.007 --> 01:38:36.376
<i>Project Airbridge
was a plan to subsidize</i>

2004
01:38:36.409 --> 01:38:40.848
<i>the efforts of private
companies to buy and sell PPE.</i>

2005
01:38:40.881 --> 01:38:43.117
<i>Max Kennedy's team
would find the PPE</i>

2006
01:38:43.150 --> 01:38:45.486
<i>and negotiate
the lowest possible price.</i>

2007
01:38:45.519 --> 01:38:48.055
<i>Private companies
would then pay the bill.</i>

2008
01:38:48.087 --> 01:38:49.856
<i>Then the federal government
would pay</i>

2009
01:38:49.890 --> 01:38:53.761
<i>to fly the PPE stateside
from overseas.</i>

2010
01:38:53.793 --> 01:38:54.961
<i>And we had partnered</i>

2011
01:38:54.994 --> 01:38:58.498
<i>with the five largest
medical distributors.</i>

2012
01:38:58.531 --> 01:39:00.400
Once we shipped it
to the United States,

2013
01:39:00.432 --> 01:39:02.903
<i>they would take over
and sell directly</i>

2014
01:39:02.936 --> 01:39:05.939
to whoever they would like,
at whatever price they wanted.

2015
01:39:05.971 --> 01:39:08.941
Just to clarify,
that explains why states say

2016
01:39:08.975 --> 01:39:11.111
they're bidding like
they're on eBay,

2017
01:39:11.144 --> 01:39:13.780
because the supplies are
going to the private sector,

2018
01:39:13.814 --> 01:39:15.949
and then they have to go there
to get the supplies.

2019
01:39:15.981 --> 01:39:17.818
That's normally
how things work, right?

2020
01:39:17.851 --> 01:39:20.320
So I'm not here to disrupt,

2021
01:39:20.352 --> 01:39:24.557
uh, a supply chain.

2022
01:39:24.591 --> 01:39:26.493
<i>The U.S. government
was handing a huge amount</i>

2023
01:39:26.525 --> 01:39:28.261
<i>of business to these
five companies</i>

2024
01:39:28.294 --> 01:39:30.096
<i>that were chosen
fairly arbitrarily.</i>

2025
01:39:32.332 --> 01:39:34.901
There were increasing concerns,
I think, from competitors,

2026
01:39:34.935 --> 01:39:36.236
that these five companies
were getting

2027
01:39:36.269 --> 01:39:38.571
a hugely unfair advantage,

2028
01:39:38.605 --> 01:39:42.075
and so I was asked on several
different occasions explicitly

2029
01:39:42.107 --> 01:39:46.312
to find a justification to have
selected these companies way...

2030
01:39:46.346 --> 01:39:49.216
you know, months after
they had been selected.

2031
01:39:49.248 --> 01:39:51.284
<i>At least one of
these companies, Cardinal,</i>

2032
01:39:51.318 --> 01:39:56.522
<i>saw its PPE orders surge
to 12 times the normal volume.</i>

2033
01:39:56.556 --> 01:39:58.458
<i>Profit-making was also part of</i>

2034
01:39:58.490 --> 01:40:00.993
<i>the pandemic pricing plan
at Gilead,</i>

2035
01:40:01.026 --> 01:40:03.462
<i>which manufactured
the one drug, Remdesivir,</i>

2036
01:40:03.495 --> 01:40:06.400
<i>that was effective
at treating COVID.</i>

2037
01:40:06.432 --> 01:40:08.935
<i>The federal government owned
patents on the drug,</i>

2038
01:40:08.968 --> 01:40:11.171
<i>and it paid
for essential research.</i>

2039
01:40:11.204 --> 01:40:13.540
<i>But the Trump administration
permitted Gilead</i>

2040
01:40:13.573 --> 01:40:16.443
<i>to charge more than
$3,000 a patient</i>

2041
01:40:16.476 --> 01:40:20.114
<i>for a treatment that cost
less than $10 to manufacture.</i>

2042
01:40:21.948 --> 01:40:25.252
I left in mid-April,
and my takeaway

2043
01:40:25.284 --> 01:40:27.220
was really that
I still feel like

2044
01:40:27.253 --> 01:40:28.622
I haven't worked
for the government.

2045
01:40:28.654 --> 01:40:31.591
We were so far outside of it.
I mean, we were...

2046
01:40:31.624 --> 01:40:33.961
every single person
we reported to

2047
01:40:33.994 --> 01:40:36.463
up the chain of command
was a political appointee.

2048
01:40:36.495 --> 01:40:39.565
<i>The number of FEMA employees
I met, you know,</i>

2049
01:40:39.598 --> 01:40:40.633
<i>I could count on one hand,</i>

2050
01:40:40.667 --> 01:40:42.336
<i>and they were fleeting
interactions.</i>

2051
01:40:42.369 --> 01:40:45.539
It taught me about how
this administration works,

2052
01:40:45.571 --> 01:40:48.040
and I think it largely works,
or it seemed to work,

2053
01:40:48.074 --> 01:40:49.643
in this case,
outside of the government.

2054
01:40:52.145 --> 01:40:54.580
<i>In the course
of three years,</i>

2055
01:40:54.614 --> 01:40:57.384
<i>there was
a systematic dismantling</i>

2056
01:40:57.417 --> 01:41:01.088
<i>of what expertise
had been built</i>

2057
01:41:01.120 --> 01:41:03.089
<i>and what framework
had been built</i>

2058
01:41:03.123 --> 01:41:06.627
<i>to respond to the very
kind of global pandemic</i>

2059
01:41:06.659 --> 01:41:09.395
<i>that we're dealing with.</i>

2060
01:41:09.428 --> 01:41:12.632
It's preventing the people
who were there

2061
01:41:12.665 --> 01:41:17.337
from doing the jobs
that they'd been hired to do.

2062
01:41:17.369 --> 01:41:20.073
<i>Tell me a little bit
about how chloroquine</i>

2063
01:41:20.105 --> 01:41:24.110
<i>and hydroxychloroquine first
came into your point of view.</i>

2064
01:41:24.144 --> 01:41:25.412
You know...

2065
01:41:25.445 --> 01:41:27.648
<i>How did this come up?</i>

2066
01:41:27.681 --> 01:41:29.616
I wish I'd never
heard of chloroquine

2067
01:41:29.649 --> 01:41:33.553
or hydroxychloroquine,
honestly.

2068
01:41:33.586 --> 01:41:37.024
<i>Elon Musk started
the ball rolling with a tweet.</i>

2069
01:41:37.056 --> 01:41:38.992
<i>Momentum for the drugs
picked up steam</i>

2070
01:41:39.025 --> 01:41:40.661
<i>over the next few days
on FOX News,</i>

2071
01:41:40.694 --> 01:41:44.364
<i>where their names
were dropped 176 times.</i>

2072
01:41:44.396 --> 01:41:47.234
Early evidence suggests that
chloroquine...

2073
01:41:47.266 --> 01:41:49.502
- Chloroquine.
- Hydroxychloroquine.

2074
01:41:49.535 --> 01:41:51.437
<i>Those look very promising.</i>

2075
01:41:51.471 --> 01:41:55.042
<i>Then Trump started reading
from the FOX script.</i>

2076
01:41:55.074 --> 01:41:56.642
It is known
as a malaria drug,

2077
01:41:56.676 --> 01:41:59.178
and it's been around
for a long time.

2078
01:41:59.212 --> 01:42:02.049
And it's shown
very encouraging...

2079
01:42:02.082 --> 01:42:04.551
very, very encouraging...
early results.

2080
01:42:06.086 --> 01:42:08.622
<i>I believe it was March 23rd.</i>

2081
01:42:08.654 --> 01:42:14.060
<i>I got a call from Secretary
Azar's chief counsel.</i>

2082
01:42:14.093 --> 01:42:18.030
The White House wanted us
to move quickly

2083
01:42:18.064 --> 01:42:20.066
on making this drug available.

2084
01:42:20.100 --> 01:42:23.136
At my direction, the federal
government is working to help

2085
01:42:23.168 --> 01:42:27.273
obtain large quantities
of chloroquine.

2086
01:42:27.306 --> 01:42:29.675
I called my scientific team
in BARDA,

2087
01:42:29.708 --> 01:42:32.111
and they said, "No way."

2088
01:42:33.279 --> 01:42:36.550
<i>There was no data to support
that they had any benefit</i>

2089
01:42:36.583 --> 01:42:39.086
<i>against the coronavirus.</i>

2090
01:42:39.119 --> 01:42:43.023
They pushed back,
but Dr. Kadlec reiterated

2091
01:42:43.056 --> 01:42:46.694
that directive to us and said,
"Get on it, get it done."

2092
01:42:48.128 --> 01:42:51.999
<i>We came up with option of an
emergency use authorization.</i>

2093
01:42:52.031 --> 01:42:54.767
<i>We could put boundaries in it,</i>

2094
01:42:54.801 --> 01:42:57.104
<i>restrict the drug
to only be used</i>

2095
01:42:57.137 --> 01:43:00.440
<i>in people who are
hospitalized.</i>

2096
01:43:00.472 --> 01:43:02.341
<i>And I was proud of our team</i>

2097
01:43:02.374 --> 01:43:04.543
for coming up
with that compromise

2098
01:43:04.577 --> 01:43:08.347
that we thought would
protect the Americans.

2099
01:43:08.381 --> 01:43:10.484
<i>Have you ever heard of
a Dr. Zelenko?</i>

2100
01:43:10.516 --> 01:43:12.151
Yes.

2101
01:43:13.153 --> 01:43:17.356
<i>He is a very mysterious
presence that seemed to be</i>

2102
01:43:17.390 --> 01:43:21.128
<i>involved in the context
of this chloroquine story.</i>

2103
01:43:21.160 --> 01:43:23.029
- <i>Hi.</i>
- Hi.

2104
01:43:24.763 --> 01:43:28.068
<i>Dr. Vladimir Zelenko
became a right-wing folk hero</i>

2105
01:43:28.101 --> 01:43:30.670
<i>and the Trump team promoted
him as an essential expert</i>

2106
01:43:30.703 --> 01:43:32.571
<i>on the use of
hydroxychloroquine</i>

2107
01:43:32.605 --> 01:43:36.276
<i>as a magical remedy for COVID.</i>

2108
01:43:36.309 --> 01:43:38.712
<i>For the last
almost 16 years,</i>

2109
01:43:38.744 --> 01:43:41.047
I've been a primary care doctor
for a community

2110
01:43:41.080 --> 01:43:43.516
of around 35,000 people.

2111
01:43:43.550 --> 01:43:46.686
<i>It's a village
in the town of Monroe.</i>

2112
01:43:46.718 --> 01:43:49.722
It's similar
to an urban environment

2113
01:43:49.756 --> 01:43:53.459
<i>in terms of how close
people live with each other.</i>

2114
01:43:53.493 --> 01:43:55.361
<i>So it's not surprising that</i>

2115
01:43:55.395 --> 01:43:58.065
<i>the virus came
and started spreading.</i>

2116
01:43:58.097 --> 01:44:02.068
And I realized that, my God,
I have an inferno.

2117
01:44:02.101 --> 01:44:04.770
<i>I have a real outbreak.</i>

2118
01:44:04.803 --> 01:44:07.074
<i>I know all these people,
they're like family to me.</i>

2119
01:44:07.106 --> 01:44:10.176
So it was personal.

2120
01:44:10.209 --> 01:44:11.811
<i>The whole world
was focusing on</i>

2121
01:44:11.845 --> 01:44:14.080
<i>building more respirators,
more hospitals,</i>

2122
01:44:14.114 --> 01:44:15.315
<i>and there was nothing
being offered</i>

2123
01:44:15.347 --> 01:44:17.216
<i>to primary care doctors.</i>

2124
01:44:17.249 --> 01:44:18.517
You know,
we're front-line soldiers

2125
01:44:18.551 --> 01:44:20.687
with no bullets, no weapons.

2126
01:44:20.720 --> 01:44:23.089
<i>So then you have to improvise.</i>

2127
01:44:24.757 --> 01:44:26.426
<i>Dr. Zelenko improvised</i>

2128
01:44:26.458 --> 01:44:28.360
<i>what he thought
was a magic bullet</i>

2129
01:44:28.394 --> 01:44:30.564
<i>that contained his own
unproven mash-up</i>

2130
01:44:30.596 --> 01:44:33.833
<i>of zinc, azithromycin,
and hydroxychloroquine.</i>

2131
01:44:35.901 --> 01:44:38.204
<i>But there was no
reputable clinical trial</i>

2132
01:44:38.238 --> 01:44:40.207
<i>that confirmed
Zelenko's claims</i>

2133
01:44:40.239 --> 01:44:44.376
<i>that early use of his cocktail
could cure COVID.</i>

2134
01:44:44.409 --> 01:44:48.114
I wasn't doing research.
I was just treating patients.

2135
01:44:48.147 --> 01:44:49.348
But I'm not stupid.

2136
01:44:49.382 --> 01:44:51.485
I saw exactly
what was happening.

2137
01:44:51.517 --> 01:44:53.252
Patients stopped dying.

2138
01:44:54.587 --> 01:44:56.388
<i>I just found potentially</i>

2139
01:44:56.422 --> 01:44:58.391
<i>one of the most important
pieces of information</i>

2140
01:44:58.423 --> 01:45:00.627
<i>in the history of information.</i>

2141
01:45:00.659 --> 01:45:03.162
<i>I'm not a politician.
I don't have any connections.</i>

2142
01:45:03.195 --> 01:45:07.367
So how else does a person
who's unconnected

2143
01:45:07.400 --> 01:45:09.669
reach the highest levels
of government?

2144
01:45:09.702 --> 01:45:11.570
It's called social media.

2145
01:45:11.604 --> 01:45:16.176
Um, hello, President Trump.

2146
01:45:16.208 --> 01:45:19.912
My name is
Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.

2147
01:45:19.945 --> 01:45:21.614
<i>So I made a YouTube video</i>

2148
01:45:21.647 --> 01:45:23.550
<i>addressed to the president
of the United States,</i>

2149
01:45:23.583 --> 01:45:26.486
and the next day, his chief of
staff, Mark Meadows, calls me.

2150
01:45:28.520 --> 01:45:31.190
<i>We had a conversation,
and that started a process</i>

2151
01:45:31.223 --> 01:45:32.691
<i>that eventually led me to</i>

2152
01:45:32.725 --> 01:45:35.829
<i>the FDA commissioner,
Stephen Hahn.</i>

2153
01:45:35.861 --> 01:45:37.564
It's not every day you get

2154
01:45:37.596 --> 01:45:38.931
the commissioner of the FDA
calling you on your cell phone.

2155
01:45:38.964 --> 01:45:40.534
<i>According to the FDA...</i>

2156
01:45:44.904 --> 01:45:46.806
There was not
a scientific reason

2157
01:45:46.838 --> 01:45:48.841
to push either one
of those drugs.

2158
01:45:48.874 --> 01:45:52.244
<i>The reason they were pushing
them so hard was because</i>

2159
01:45:52.278 --> 01:45:55.882
<i>the president was claiming
that they were a miracle drug.</i>

2160
01:45:55.914 --> 01:45:58.784
Someone had given him
this advice.

2161
01:45:58.818 --> 01:46:03.556
I happen to be taking it.
I happen to be taking it.

2162
01:46:03.589 --> 01:46:06.392
I'm taking it.
Hydroxychloroquine.

2163
01:46:06.426 --> 01:46:08.294
Right now, yeah.

2164
01:46:08.328 --> 01:46:09.663
Did you hear
what he said afterwards?

2165
01:46:09.695 --> 01:46:12.498
"Yeah, I received a letter..."

2166
01:46:12.531 --> 01:46:14.568
From a doctor the other day,

2167
01:46:14.601 --> 01:46:17.204
from Westchester, New York,
around the area.

2168
01:46:17.236 --> 01:46:18.904
He didn't want anything.
He just said,

2169
01:46:18.937 --> 01:46:21.274
"Sir, I have
hundreds of patients,

2170
01:46:21.306 --> 01:46:24.644
and I give them
hydroxychloroquine."

2171
01:46:24.677 --> 01:46:26.413
So that was a letter

2172
01:46:26.445 --> 01:46:27.846
I sent to the president.

2173
01:46:27.879 --> 01:46:30.482
But I thought it was
a very well-crafted letter

2174
01:46:30.516 --> 01:46:33.320
by a man
who's a respected doctor.

2175
01:46:33.352 --> 01:46:34.687
He said it was
a well-crafted letter.

2176
01:46:34.721 --> 01:46:35.821
I was proud of that.

2177
01:46:46.565 --> 01:46:48.867
It was really frustrating,

2178
01:46:48.900 --> 01:46:51.637
because here we are
on the front lines,

2179
01:46:51.671 --> 01:46:53.807
<i>we're trying to do
everything we can,</i>

2180
01:46:53.839 --> 01:46:55.874
and if, you know, there's
a chance that this could work,

2181
01:46:55.908 --> 01:46:57.677
<i>let's go ahead and try it.</i>

2182
01:46:57.709 --> 01:46:59.445
<i>But then, consistently,</i>

2183
01:46:59.479 --> 01:47:01.548
<i>the trials that had been
high quality looking at this</i>

2184
01:47:01.580 --> 01:47:03.949
<i>have shown that
there's no benefit to it.</i>

2185
01:47:03.982 --> 01:47:05.952
And we have moved on
to other therapies.

2186
01:47:05.985 --> 01:47:08.955
But unfortunately, you know,
it can come back and be revived

2187
01:47:08.988 --> 01:47:12.659
<i>by a tweet from a leader
who still believes in it.</i>

2188
01:47:12.691 --> 01:47:14.461
The next day, if you admit

2189
01:47:14.494 --> 01:47:17.264
a patient with COVID-19,
some of them are gonna ask,

2190
01:47:17.297 --> 01:47:18.865
<i>"Are you gonna give me
the Trump drug?"</i>

2191
01:47:18.897 --> 01:47:21.635
<i>And if you go through a long
explanation of, you know,</i>

2192
01:47:21.668 --> 01:47:23.670
<i>"Actually,
there's no benefit,"</i>

2193
01:47:23.703 --> 01:47:26.306
it's really hard
to explain this.

2194
01:47:26.338 --> 01:47:28.774
And it would be
so much more helpful

2195
01:47:28.807 --> 01:47:32.611
if the leader of the country,
who sets the example, said,

2196
01:47:32.645 --> 01:47:34.446
<i>"We should follow
the science on this."</i>

2197
01:47:34.480 --> 01:47:36.383
I've seen things
that I sort of like,

2198
01:47:36.415 --> 01:47:38.885
so what do I know?
I'm not a doctor.

2199
01:47:38.918 --> 01:47:41.521
It was about six days
after that EUA.

2200
01:47:41.553 --> 01:47:45.057
<i>I woke up to an email string</i>

2201
01:47:45.091 --> 01:47:50.062
<i>that had our Assistant
Secretary for Health,</i>

2202
01:47:50.096 --> 01:47:55.302
<i>our Director of FEMA,
our ASPR, Dr. Kadlec,</i>

2203
01:47:55.334 --> 01:48:00.573
<i>and the FDA all saying
we need to flood the streets</i>

2204
01:48:00.605 --> 01:48:02.675
<i>of New York and New Jersey</i>

2205
01:48:02.708 --> 01:48:06.078
<i>with that drug
as quickly as possible.</i>

2206
01:48:06.111 --> 01:48:10.582
And in that email discussion,
someone was brave enough...

2207
01:48:10.615 --> 01:48:11.783
<i>they said, "But wait a minute.</i>

2208
01:48:11.816 --> 01:48:16.021
<i>The EUA says 'for hospitalized
patients only.'"</i>

2209
01:48:16.055 --> 01:48:19.459
<i>They said, "No, it needs
to go into the pharmacies.</i>

2210
01:48:19.492 --> 01:48:21.328
<i>"It needs to
go out everywhere.</i>

2211
01:48:21.360 --> 01:48:23.696
<i>"The EUA doesn't matter.</i>

2212
01:48:23.730 --> 01:48:25.632
Push the drug out now."

2213
01:48:27.467 --> 01:48:29.502
<i>The same FDA that
dragged its feet for weeks</i>

2214
01:48:29.534 --> 01:48:31.604
<i>at approving vital COVID tests</i>

2215
01:48:31.637 --> 01:48:34.541
<i>suddenly worked at lightning
speed to greenlight use</i>

2216
01:48:34.574 --> 01:48:36.810
<i>of a drug with no proven
effect on the disease,</i>

2217
01:48:36.842 --> 01:48:39.645
<i>just because the White House
wanted it done.</i>

2218
01:48:39.678 --> 01:48:41.580
<i>If this drug works,</i>

2219
01:48:41.614 --> 01:48:45.051
it will be wonderful,
it'll be so beautiful.

2220
01:48:45.083 --> 01:48:47.419
It'll be a gift from heaven.

2221
01:48:47.453 --> 01:48:49.455
I lost it.

2222
01:48:49.489 --> 01:48:52.859
I lost all respect
for that chain of command,

2223
01:48:52.891 --> 01:48:55.961
for that security

2224
01:48:55.994 --> 01:49:00.434
that we as Americans
have put in those people.

2225
01:49:01.501 --> 01:49:07.673
And that is the moment that
I decided to break protocol

2226
01:49:07.707 --> 01:49:12.111
and alert Americans
in a different way.

2227
01:49:12.145 --> 01:49:14.080
<i>In the doctrine
of politics,</i>

2228
01:49:14.113 --> 01:49:16.615
<i>Rick Bright committed
a mortal sin.</i>

2229
01:49:16.649 --> 01:49:18.952
<i>He went to the press.</i>

2230
01:49:18.985 --> 01:49:22.489
<i>It was two weeks exactly
after that</i>

2231
01:49:22.521 --> 01:49:26.959
<i>that I learned that I had been
removed from my position.</i>

2232
01:49:29.662 --> 01:49:32.865
It's not easy to come forward
in this administration, okay?

2233
01:49:32.899 --> 01:49:37.771
I'm not trying to be soft
in here, but it is not easy.

2234
01:49:38.937 --> 01:49:43.909
It was a very hard process

2235
01:49:43.943 --> 01:49:48.949
to lay our careers on the line
to push back.

2236
01:49:50.449 --> 01:49:52.117
<i>Time is running out because</i>

2237
01:49:52.150 --> 01:49:55.020
the virus is still
spreading everywhere.

2238
01:49:55.053 --> 01:49:58.958
The window is closing
to address this pandemic.

2239
01:49:58.990 --> 01:50:01.895
<i>So, you know, Dr. Bright
is up there testifying today.</i>

2240
01:50:01.927 --> 01:50:06.765
And on hydroxychloroquine,
Dr. Bright literally signed

2241
01:50:06.798 --> 01:50:10.069
in the application
for FDA authorization of it.

2242
01:50:10.101 --> 01:50:13.172
We will either be remembered
for what we did

2243
01:50:13.205 --> 01:50:16.208
or for what we failed to do
to address this crisis.

2244
01:50:16.242 --> 01:50:18.645
<i>I watched this guy for
a little while this morning,</i>

2245
01:50:18.677 --> 01:50:21.747
and he looks like an angry,
disgruntled employee

2246
01:50:21.780 --> 01:50:23.582
who, frankly,
according to some people,

2247
01:50:23.615 --> 01:50:25.217
didn't do a very good job.

2248
01:50:25.251 --> 01:50:28.154
Would you describe
the government's response

2249
01:50:28.186 --> 01:50:31.524
as a success or a failure?

2250
01:50:31.556 --> 01:50:33.659
I believe we could have
done better.

2251
01:50:35.727 --> 01:50:37.864
<i>Watching the
administration's response</i>

2252
01:50:37.896 --> 01:50:41.600
<i>to Bright was frightening.</i>

2253
01:50:41.633 --> 01:50:43.669
We all wanted to help,
but we didn't wanna be

2254
01:50:43.703 --> 01:50:46.673
on the front page
of a newspaper.

2255
01:50:46.705 --> 01:50:49.074
<i>I spoke to a couple
of attorneys</i>

2256
01:50:49.107 --> 01:50:51.010
<i>who said it's so unusual
for the government</i>

2257
01:50:51.043 --> 01:50:55.214
to require an NDA at all,
let alone for volunteers

2258
01:50:55.248 --> 01:50:57.217
who don't have any access
to government systems.

2259
01:50:57.249 --> 01:50:59.752
We had no access to any
confidential information.

2260
01:50:59.784 --> 01:51:01.820
The only thing we were
basically being prevented

2261
01:51:01.854 --> 01:51:04.923
from talking about was the fact
that the response was...

2262
01:51:04.957 --> 01:51:06.793
seemed to be largely bungled.

2263
01:51:06.825 --> 01:51:09.561
To date, we've facilitated
the supply

2264
01:51:09.595 --> 01:51:13.132
of more than 38 million
N95 masks nationwide.

2265
01:51:13.164 --> 01:51:15.033
<i>And I would watch the news,
and I'd hear</i>

2266
01:51:15.066 --> 01:51:16.836
<i>the Trump administration
talk about the work</i>

2267
01:51:16.869 --> 01:51:18.972
that was happening,
and what was happening did not

2268
01:51:19.004 --> 01:51:20.640
match what the administration
was speaking about.

2269
01:51:22.542 --> 01:51:23.776
<i>So I did send in</i>

2270
01:51:23.809 --> 01:51:25.845
<i>a whistleblower report
to Congress,</i>

2271
01:51:25.878 --> 01:51:28.648
<i>as well as calling
several journalists</i>

2272
01:51:28.681 --> 01:51:31.918
<i>who I basically
just found online.</i>

2273
01:51:31.950 --> 01:51:33.619
<i>It was nerve-racking.</i>

2274
01:51:33.653 --> 01:51:35.288
<i>I was worried about the NDA,</i>

2275
01:51:35.320 --> 01:51:39.191
<i>I was worried about
potential retribution.</i>

2276
01:51:39.225 --> 01:51:41.294
<i>But I just wanted people
to know what was happening,</i>

2277
01:51:41.327 --> 01:51:43.195
<i>and know not enough
was being done.</i>

2278
01:51:45.297 --> 01:51:46.865
<i>Beyond attacking
whistleblowers,</i>

2279
01:51:46.899 --> 01:51:49.068
<i>Trump dismissed
five inspectors general</i>

2280
01:51:49.101 --> 01:51:51.304
<i>in the space of six weeks.</i>

2281
01:51:51.337 --> 01:51:55.642
<i>One had raised concerns
about PPE shortages.</i>

2282
01:51:55.675 --> 01:51:57.610
<i>Another was
supposed to investigate</i>

2283
01:51:57.642 --> 01:51:59.212
<i>how the Trump administration
would spend</i>

2284
01:51:59.244 --> 01:52:02.748
<i>$2.3 trillion
in coronavirus relief.</i>

2285
01:52:04.316 --> 01:52:06.785
<i>While money did flow
to unemployed Americans,</i>

2286
01:52:06.819 --> 01:52:08.922
<i>a small group
of hedge fund investors</i>

2287
01:52:08.954 --> 01:52:10.789
<i>and real estate tycoons,</i>

2288
01:52:10.823 --> 01:52:12.892
<i>like Jared Kushner
and Donald Trump,</i>

2289
01:52:12.925 --> 01:52:15.195
<i>got millions of dollars
in tax breaks.</i>

2290
01:52:16.829 --> 01:52:19.799
<i>Trump protected
the richest Americans,</i>

2291
01:52:19.832 --> 01:52:22.802
<i>even as he continued to ignore
the most basic recommendations</i>

2292
01:52:22.834 --> 01:52:26.071
<i>of scientists trying
to protect everyday people.</i>

2293
01:52:26.105 --> 01:52:28.775
The CDC is recommending that

2294
01:52:28.807 --> 01:52:32.044
Americans wear a basic cloth
or fabric mask.

2295
01:52:32.078 --> 01:52:35.080
They can be either purchased
online or simply made at home,

2296
01:52:35.114 --> 01:52:37.016
probably material
that you'd have at home.

2297
01:52:37.048 --> 01:52:39.319
Really a voluntary thing.
You can do it.

2298
01:52:39.351 --> 01:52:41.587
You don't have to do it.
I'm choosing not to do it.

2299
01:52:41.620 --> 01:52:44.591
But some people may wanna
do it, and that's okay.

2300
01:52:44.623 --> 01:52:46.224
I made a lot of predictions
that came true

2301
01:52:46.257 --> 01:52:49.695
about this pandemic,
but masks being politicized...

2302
01:52:49.729 --> 01:52:51.731
<i>it's just amazing to me.</i>

2303
01:52:51.763 --> 01:52:54.033
<i>♪ Live and let die ♪</i>

2304
01:52:54.065 --> 01:52:56.202
♪ ♪

2305
01:52:56.235 --> 01:52:57.303
<i>The deadly implications</i>

2306
01:52:57.336 --> 01:52:59.705
<i>of the president's disdain
for science</i>

2307
01:52:59.739 --> 01:53:02.275
<i>weren't lost on
whoever picked the soundtrack</i>

2308
01:53:02.307 --> 01:53:05.110
<i>for Trump's tour
of a mask factory in Arizona.</i>

2309
01:53:05.144 --> 01:53:08.847
<i>♪ Live and let die ♪</i>

2310
01:53:08.881 --> 01:53:11.284
♪ ♪

2311
01:53:11.316 --> 01:53:14.287
<i>It was confusing
campaign photo op:</i>

2312
01:53:14.320 --> 01:53:17.290
<i>federal officials refusing
to wear safety masks</i>

2313
01:53:17.323 --> 01:53:20.760
<i>in a sanitized factory
that manufactured them.</i>

2314
01:53:22.061 --> 01:53:23.863
<i>The mask seems to represent</i>

2315
01:53:23.895 --> 01:53:26.732
<i>which side of the political
aisle that you're on,</i>

2316
01:53:26.766 --> 01:53:29.402
and somehow, showing up
without a mask on

2317
01:53:29.435 --> 01:53:31.104
in close proximity with others

2318
01:53:31.137 --> 01:53:33.706
<i>says that I support
the president.</i>

2319
01:53:33.739 --> 01:53:36.075
You're fucking
democratic pigs!

2320
01:53:36.107 --> 01:53:38.211
I'll take that fucking mask
off your face!

2321
01:53:38.244 --> 01:53:40.113
No more masks!

2322
01:53:40.145 --> 01:53:42.080
<i>No more masks!</i>

2323
01:53:42.114 --> 01:53:43.750
<i>That is dangerous.</i>

2324
01:53:43.783 --> 01:53:45.385
People have died
because of the misinformation.

2325
01:53:45.418 --> 01:53:48.688
I have absolutely
no doubt about that.

2326
01:53:48.721 --> 01:53:51.257
<i>In April, after
weeks of economic shutdown</i>

2327
01:53:51.289 --> 01:53:52.824
<i>and with contagion and death</i>

2328
01:53:52.857 --> 01:53:55.028
<i>still running high
in much of America,</i>

2329
01:53:55.061 --> 01:53:58.398
<i>Trump announced the plan
for reopening the country.</i>

2330
01:53:58.431 --> 01:54:00.667
<i>Our team of experts
now agrees</i>

2331
01:54:00.699 --> 01:54:04.202
<i>that we can begin
the next front in our war,</i>

2332
01:54:04.235 --> 01:54:08.974
which we're calling
Opening Up America Again,

2333
01:54:09.007 --> 01:54:10.242
and that's what we're doing.

2334
01:54:10.275 --> 01:54:13.680
We're opening up our country.

2335
01:54:13.712 --> 01:54:15.313
<i>The next day,
he began to tweet</i>

2336
01:54:15.346 --> 01:54:17.816
<i>in encouragement of protests
against lockdowns</i>

2337
01:54:17.850 --> 01:54:19.986
<i>meant to contain
spread of the virus.</i>

2338
01:54:23.922 --> 01:54:25.925
<i>Frustration's understandable.</i>

2339
01:54:25.958 --> 01:54:27.827
<i>People wanted
to get out of their homes</i>

2340
01:54:27.860 --> 01:54:28.795
<i>to get back to work.</i>

2341
01:54:28.828 --> 01:54:30.229
USA!

2342
01:54:30.262 --> 01:54:31.864
<i>But without
a national program</i>

2343
01:54:31.896 --> 01:54:33.466
<i>to safeguard public health,</i>

2344
01:54:33.498 --> 01:54:36.735
<i>how is the economy going
to get back on its feet?</i>

2345
01:54:36.769 --> 01:54:37.904
So I said to my people,

2346
01:54:37.936 --> 01:54:40.806
"Slow the testing down,
please."

2347
01:54:40.839 --> 01:54:43.176
<i>Texas, hitting a record
number of hospitalizations.</i>

2348
01:54:43.208 --> 01:54:47.179
<i>Florida recording an
astonishing 11,400 cases,</i>

2349
01:54:47.212 --> 01:54:50.348
<i>smashing its single day high.</i>

2350
01:54:50.382 --> 01:54:51.650
<i>Opening up
the country without</i>

2351
01:54:51.684 --> 01:54:54.887
<i>a national program for masks,
testing, and tracing</i>

2352
01:54:54.919 --> 01:54:57.390
<i>did have consequences.</i>

2353
01:54:57.422 --> 01:54:59.191
<i>Throughout the summer,</i>

2354
01:54:59.225 --> 01:55:00.959
<i>the death toll
hovered around 1,000 a day,</i>

2355
01:55:00.993 --> 01:55:03.229
<i>or two 9/11s every week.</i>

2356
01:55:05.230 --> 01:55:08.200
<i>In South Korea,
a nation of 51 million,</i>

2357
01:55:08.234 --> 01:55:10.203
<i>there was no
national shutdown,</i>

2358
01:55:10.235 --> 01:55:13.238
<i>and less than 500 people
died from the disease.</i>

2359
01:55:15.306 --> 01:55:18.510
<i>For a lot of people around
me in South Korea,</i>

2360
01:55:18.543 --> 01:55:22.448
<i>perceptions of the U.S.
have really been shaken.</i>

2361
01:55:22.480 --> 01:55:25.184
South Koreans, like a lot of
other people around the world,

2362
01:55:25.217 --> 01:55:27.954
had a certain
perception of the U.S.

2363
01:55:27.986 --> 01:55:32.492
<i>as a barometer and a benchmark
for how a country works,</i>

2364
01:55:32.525 --> 01:55:34.460
how a country should run.

2365
01:55:34.493 --> 01:55:37.897
<i>There is a real sense
of disbelief.</i>

2366
01:55:39.431 --> 01:55:41.100
<i>Thousands descended
on beaches</i>

2367
01:55:41.132 --> 01:55:43.001
<i>in Greece over the weekend,
while in Italy,</i>

2368
01:55:43.034 --> 01:55:47.139
<i>more shops and restaurants
are again welcoming customers.</i>

2369
01:55:47.172 --> 01:55:48.473
<i>The crowds are returning</i>

2370
01:55:48.507 --> 01:55:50.843
<i>to the stadiums
here in New Zealand.</i>

2371
01:55:50.876 --> 01:55:52.477
<i>As many countries
opened up,</i>

2372
01:55:52.511 --> 01:55:54.946
<i>others faced new outbreaks.</i>

2373
01:55:54.980 --> 01:55:59.886
<i>Some, like Brazil and India,
saw cases continue to soar.</i>

2374
01:55:59.918 --> 01:56:01.486
<i>But even in countries
like South Korea,</i>

2375
01:56:01.520 --> 01:56:03.890
<i>where the virus
was initially contained,</i>

2376
01:56:03.922 --> 01:56:07.492
<i>cases spiked when people
ignored scientific guidance.</i>

2377
01:56:09.328 --> 01:56:11.364
<i>Nowhere was that problem
more severe</i>

2378
01:56:11.396 --> 01:56:13.498
<i>than in the United States.</i>

2379
01:56:13.531 --> 01:56:19.105
<i>♪ America, America ♪</i>

2380
01:56:19.137 --> 01:56:21.306
<i>Ignoring expert
advice became an act</i>

2381
01:56:21.339 --> 01:56:23.976
<i>of patriotism in
the Trump administration,</i>

2382
01:56:24.008 --> 01:56:26.378
<i>Where even the push
for a safe vaccine</i>

2383
01:56:26.412 --> 01:56:29.448
<i>was pursued with reckless
disregard for science.</i>

2384
01:56:29.480 --> 01:56:31.249
<i>We're moving aggressively</i>

2385
01:56:31.283 --> 01:56:34.387
to accelerate
developing a vaccine.

2386
01:56:34.419 --> 01:56:37.323
<i>To actually get a vaccine
that you know works</i>

2387
01:56:37.355 --> 01:56:39.224
is gonna be a year
to a year and a half.

2388
01:56:39.257 --> 01:56:40.827
Do me a favor.
Speed it up.

2389
01:56:40.860 --> 01:56:43.529
<i>Speed it up.</i>

2390
01:56:43.561 --> 01:56:47.432
<i>Stakes are so high
around vaccines.</i>

2391
01:56:47.466 --> 01:56:49.901
Because we need a vaccine

2392
01:56:49.935 --> 01:56:54.307
<i>if we want to begin
to end this pandemic.</i>

2393
01:56:54.339 --> 01:56:56.342
But the question is,
who distributes it?

2394
01:56:56.374 --> 01:56:59.212
<i>Who prioritizes it?</i>

2395
01:56:59.244 --> 01:57:01.881
<i>A lot of people say
this should be the CDC.</i>

2396
01:57:01.913 --> 01:57:05.083
"They should be
front and center in this."

2397
01:57:05.117 --> 01:57:08.253
<i>But the CDC has been
largely silenced.</i>

2398
01:57:08.287 --> 01:57:10.155
<i>After a few CDC scientists</i>

2399
01:57:10.189 --> 01:57:12.959
<i>voiced concerns
about the federal response,</i>

2400
01:57:12.992 --> 01:57:15.927
<i>Trump installed an official
to censor or rewrite</i>

2401
01:57:15.961 --> 01:57:17.963
<i>any CDC findings
that contradicted</i>

2402
01:57:17.997 --> 01:57:19.565
<i>the rosy predictions
of the White House.</i>

2403
01:57:21.432 --> 01:57:25.203
<i>Can we trust scientists who
allow data to be compromised</i>

2404
01:57:25.236 --> 01:57:28.207
<i>by demands
for political loyalty?</i>

2405
01:57:35.446 --> 01:57:37.216
<i>My last question to you is,</i>

2406
01:57:37.248 --> 01:57:39.852
<i>what is your personal takeaway
from this pandemic?</i>

2407
01:57:42.587 --> 01:57:46.625
Um...

2408
01:57:46.659 --> 01:57:49.929
<i>53,000 deaths from
coronavirus.</i>

2409
01:57:49.962 --> 01:57:52.531
<i>Sometimes late at night
when I'm driving home</i>

2410
01:57:52.564 --> 01:57:56.235
<i>and I'm tired of listening
to talk radio on NPR,</i>

2411
01:57:56.267 --> 01:58:00.640
<i>I'll turn on the other NPR
station and listen to jazz.</i>

2412
01:58:08.146 --> 01:58:10.048
I've never listened to jazz
in my life.

2413
01:58:22.226 --> 01:58:25.131
<i>I've always been very thankful
for the people around me,</i>

2414
01:58:25.163 --> 01:58:29.334
<i>and I think that's
come with age, partly.</i>

2415
01:58:29.368 --> 01:58:32.171
<i>And now that we're all
wearing masks all the time,</i>

2416
01:58:32.204 --> 01:58:35.374
<i>there is an astounding amount
of information</i>

2417
01:58:35.406 --> 01:58:37.976
<i>that you can get out of
looking at people's eyes.</i>

2418
01:58:38.010 --> 01:58:41.681
<i>Which, when the rest of your
face is completely obscured,</i>

2419
01:58:41.713 --> 01:58:47.986
<i>become extremely telling
of what's going on,</i>

2420
01:58:48.020 --> 01:58:51.290
<i>whether your eyes are happy
or sad or smiling.</i>

2421
01:58:53.559 --> 01:58:58.596
<i>This is going to be the 1918
influenza epidemic story,</i>

2422
01:58:58.629 --> 01:59:01.600
<i>and it will be written about
for the next 100 years.</i>

2423
01:59:01.632 --> 01:59:06.604
<i>And I think that realization
should really drive</i>

2424
01:59:06.637 --> 01:59:09.475
a lot of our behavior
and our choices.

2425
01:59:12.578 --> 01:59:16.182
<i>There's so much
that the virus has exposed,</i>

2426
01:59:16.214 --> 01:59:20.386
<i>the lessons are just gonna be
ongoing over time.</i>

2427
01:59:20.418 --> 01:59:26.224
<i>And the degree of suffering
is just so immense</i>

2428
01:59:26.257 --> 01:59:28.727
<i>that it's hard to
really conceptualize it.</i>

2429
01:59:28.761 --> 01:59:31.129
And it's gonna
take a long time for us

2430
01:59:31.163 --> 01:59:33.199
to really figure out
the consequences of this,

2431
01:59:33.231 --> 01:59:34.699
because there are consequences

2432
01:59:34.732 --> 01:59:36.267
for the people
who survive this.

2433
01:59:38.404 --> 01:59:41.173
<i>We spend billions of dollars
every year</i>

2434
01:59:41.205 --> 01:59:45.176
<i>on missiles that, hopefully,
will never fly,</i>

2435
01:59:45.209 --> 01:59:49.448
<i>on weapons that, hopefully,
we will never use.</i>

2436
01:59:49.480 --> 01:59:52.450
<i>We have to take health
security</i>

2437
01:59:52.484 --> 01:59:57.088
as seriously as we do
defense security.

2438
01:59:57.122 --> 01:59:59.592
<i>I think the career staff
and scientists were in place.</i>

2439
01:59:59.624 --> 02:00:01.493
<i>They were battle-tested.</i>

2440
02:00:01.526 --> 02:00:03.729
<i>They knew their role,
they knew the plan,</i>

2441
02:00:03.762 --> 02:00:06.499
and they were prepared to act.

2442
02:00:06.531 --> 02:00:11.369
<i>They put on their uniform
to respond to this pandemic,</i>

2443
02:00:11.403 --> 02:00:14.140
<i>and then there was
nowhere to go.</i>

2444
02:00:16.175 --> 02:00:19.811
<i>There is a misconception
that public health failed.</i>

2445
02:00:19.845 --> 02:00:22.615
<i>The truth is that
political leaders</i>

2446
02:00:22.647 --> 02:00:25.818
<i>failed to follow
public health guidance,</i>

2447
02:00:25.851 --> 02:00:30.256
and that's what caused
avoidable disease, death,

2448
02:00:30.288 --> 02:00:32.190
and economic destruction.

2449
02:00:33.559 --> 02:00:36.162
<i>Politicians are the problem.</i>

2450
02:00:36.195 --> 02:00:38.664
<i>We've gotta believe
in the scientists.</i>

2451
02:00:38.696 --> 02:00:42.301
<i>And we've got politicians
who don't believe in science.</i>

2452
02:00:42.333 --> 02:00:44.369
<i>America is lagging behind</i>

2453
02:00:44.403 --> 02:00:47.539
<i>every other country, almost,
in their response, and I...</i>

2454
02:00:47.573 --> 02:00:51.610
hey, you gotta blame
the manager.

2455
02:00:51.642 --> 02:00:53.178
<i>If we're to blame
the manager,</i>

2456
02:00:53.212 --> 02:00:54.446
<i>we must be able to answer</i>

2457
02:00:54.480 --> 02:00:56.848
<i>an essential
political question:</i>

2458
02:00:56.882 --> 02:01:00.252
<i>What did the president know,
and when did he know it?</i>

2459
02:01:00.284 --> 02:01:02.421
<i>Eight months
after the pandemic began,</i>

2460
02:01:02.454 --> 02:01:03.823
<i>we got the answer.</i>

2461
02:01:08.360 --> 02:01:10.496
<i>On February 7th,
two weeks before</i>

2462
02:01:10.529 --> 02:01:12.865
<i>anyone in America
had died from the disease,</i>

2463
02:01:12.897 --> 02:01:15.234
<i>journalist Bob Woodward
asked Donald Trump</i>

2464
02:01:15.266 --> 02:01:19.637
<i>if he knew how contagious
and dangerous COVID might be.</i>

2465
02:01:19.671 --> 02:01:21.339
<i>It goes through air, Bob.</i>

2466
02:01:21.373 --> 02:01:23.342
<i>That's always tougher
than the touch, you know?</i>

2467
02:01:23.374 --> 02:01:24.709
<i>The touch, you don't
have to touch things, right?</i>

2468
02:01:24.743 --> 02:01:26.879
<i>But the air,
you just breathe the air,</i>

2469
02:01:26.912 --> 02:01:29.214
<i>and that's how it's passed.</i>

2470
02:01:29.248 --> 02:01:31.684
<i>It's also more deadly
than your...</i>

2471
02:01:31.717 --> 02:01:34.353
<i>even your strenuous flus,
you know?</i>

2472
02:01:34.386 --> 02:01:37.256
<i>So this is deadly stuff.</i>

2473
02:01:43.794 --> 02:01:47.399
<i>Our manager
failed us.</i>

2474
02:01:47.431 --> 02:01:49.467
<i>But the disease also revealed</i>

2475
02:01:49.501 --> 02:01:53.538
<i>more fundamental problems
with our government.</i>

2476
02:01:53.571 --> 02:01:58.343
<i>We will see more pandemics
and other existential threats.</i>

2477
02:01:58.377 --> 02:02:00.479
<i>All on account
of manmade problems,</i>

2478
02:02:00.512 --> 02:02:03.749
<i>we must prepare
to solve together.</i>

2479
02:02:03.781 --> 02:02:06.151
<i>Our ability to reckon
with the future</i>

2480
02:02:06.185 --> 02:02:09.655
<i>will depend on how much
we learn from our recent past.</i>

2481
02:02:09.687 --> 02:02:13.391
<i>When the day comes when we can
finally take off our masks,</i>

2482
02:02:13.425 --> 02:02:16.729
<i>will we be ready to fix
what's really broken?</i>

2483
02:02:16.762 --> 02:02:20.499
<i>♪ Time has come today ♪</i>

2484
02:02:20.531 --> 02:02:25.236
<i>♪ Young hearts
can go their way ♪</i>

2485
02:02:25.270 --> 02:02:28.841
<i>♪ Can't put it off
another day ♪</i>

2486
02:02:28.873 --> 02:02:32.810
<i>♪ I don't care
what others say ♪</i>

2487
02:02:32.843 --> 02:02:35.914
<i>♪ They think
we don't listen anyway ♪</i>

2488
02:02:35.948 --> 02:02:39.552
<i>♪ Time has come today ♪</i>

2489
02:02:39.584 --> 02:02:42.387
<i>Hey!</i>

2490
02:02:46.324 --> 02:02:48.260
<i>Oh!</i>

2491
02:02:48.293 --> 02:02:51.664
<i>♪ The rules have
changed today ♪</i>

2492
02:02:51.696 --> 02:02:55.568
<i>♪ I have no place to stay ♪</i>

2493
02:02:55.601 --> 02:02:59.505
<i>♪ I'm thinking
about the subway ♪</i>

2494
02:02:59.538 --> 02:03:03.575
<i>♪ My love has flown away ♪</i>

2495
02:03:03.609 --> 02:03:07.413
<i>♪ My tears have
come and gone ♪</i>

2496
02:03:07.445 --> 02:03:11.249
<i>♪ Oh my Lord,
I have to roam ♪</i>

2497
02:03:11.283 --> 02:03:14.887
<i>♪ I have no home ♪</i>

2498
02:03:14.919 --> 02:03:18.690
<i>♪ I have no home ♪</i>

2499
02:03:30.968 --> 02:03:34.707
<i>♪ Now the time has come ♪</i>

2500
02:03:34.739 --> 02:03:38.843
<i>♪ There's no place to run ♪</i>

2501
02:03:38.877 --> 02:03:42.448
<i>♪ I might get burned up
by the sun ♪</i>

2502
02:03:42.480 --> 02:03:46.318
<i>♪ But I had my fun ♪</i>

2503
02:03:46.351 --> 02:03:50.022
<i>♪ I've been loved
and put aside ♪</i>

2504
02:03:50.055 --> 02:03:53.758
<i>♪ I've been crushed
by the tumbling tide ♪</i>

2505
02:03:53.792 --> 02:03:55.227
<i>♪ And my soul ♪</i>