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From NBC's Ben Kamisar If it's Sunday, scientists are optimistic that they are making strides on a coronavirus vaccine.
Today on "Meet the Press," we spoke with Sir John Bell, the Oxford professor involved in one of the promising attempts to create a vaccine.
As the world anxiously awaits a vaccine that could hasten the return to normalcy (or, whatever post-pandemic normalcy awaits us), Professor Bell shared some important information from the Oxford efforts: Researchers expect to see evidence of the vaccine trial's efficacy in June. The Oxford group is pushing for "wide access" to the vaccine if it works to prevent developing countries from being "left behind." The "main focus" of the clinical studies is making sure the vaccine is safe for humans. And a "seasonal coronavirus vaccine" is "likely" in the future.
Click on the photo below to watch the full interview with Bell.
Are states re-opening slowly or surely? As many states tip-toe toward relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions (some faster than others), experts are preaching extreme caution.
Only "a small minority of states are beginning to get closer to" a two-week decline in testing, a key metric in the White House's gradual plan to re-open state economies, Johns Hopkins' Dr. Tom Inglesby told "Meet the Press."
Inglesby said Americans will see in "two to three weeks" whether these re-openings were a mistake by looking at hospitalization rates and ICU capacity. "Most of the illness and death has occurred over the last 30 days. So overall, as a country, we still have a long way to go."
—Dr. Tom Inglesby on "MTP." MTP also spoke with other key voices in the debate — state health experts tasked with giving their governors the best information and guidance as their states work to balance economic and public-health pressure.
Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama's state health officer, told MTP that Alabama hasn't "fully satisfied" all of the metrics the White House suggests hitting before beginning to relax restrictions.
But he said the state felt good enough about its number of cases, hospital capacity and surveillance numbers to make a "gradual reopening of certain types of businesses."
And Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan's chief deputy director for health, said state government is constantly monitoring not only infection rates across different parts of the state, but also hospital capacity and other key metrics needed to inform any re-opening plan.
But as has been the case for the entire duration of this pandemic, all three doctors — Inglesby, Harris and Khaldun — raised concerns about testing capacity. "We have to get our testing up as I know people across the country are working on. So while we are cautiously optimistic we feel like we need to be very careful." Click here to watch the full interview with Inglesby, and on the photo below for the full interview with the two state health officials.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Meanwhile...
DATA DOWNLOAD: The new COVID normal As the weeks drag on, Americans learning more about coronavirus as well as more about what drastic steps need to be taken to manage it.
Today's Data Download looks at the consensus Americans are moving toward on coronavirus — the majority believe the pandemic will last at least 6 months, the majority want to wait at least 4 more months before getting on an airplane, more than a quarter say they're very concerned about their family's financial stability, and 45 percent are very concerned about their family's health.
Click on the images below to read more in this week's Data Download.
ICYMI: A message from George W. Bush Former President George W. Bush offered his words of encouragement to Americans this weekend amid the coronavirus fight, recalling how, during his presidency, Americans came together in tragedies like the 9/11 attacks. "Empathy and simple kindness are essential, powerful tools of national recovery. Even at an appropriate social distance, we can find ways to be present in the lives of others — to ease their anxiety and share their burdens."
—Former President George W. Bush in a video for "The Call to Unite." Click on the photo below to watch the full message.
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