Podcasts Health Take as Directed Dr. Deborah Birx: We Need to Be Testing Strategically

Dr. Deborah Birx: We Need to Be Testing Strategically

Published: July 29, 2021, 4:57 p.m.

Dr. Birx, former Response Coordinator during the Trump administration of the White House Covid-19 Task Force, served also as the Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy between April 2014 and January 2021. She joined us for an extended\xa0conversation on the accelerating changes surrounding us \u2013 the Delta\xa0variant surge, new discoveries regarding breakthrough infections among the vaccinated, continued vaccine hesitancy, and refusal that has prompted the declaration of \u201ca pandemic of the unvaccinated.\u201d As we speak, newly revised policies on masks and vaccinations are getting unveiled. What to make of this new phase, and where is it heading? We\u2019ll need far higher testing and genomic sequencing, intensified local engagement, a big push on accelerating therapies, and thinking ahead on what the future mix of vaccines will look like.\xa0\n\nDr. Deborah Birx is a Senior Fellow at the George W. Bush Presidential Center