Developments in the coronavirus in Europe are likely no longer early indications of what will happen weeks later in the US, in part as a result of America’s progress in vaccinating the population, Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC Monday.
The former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration’s comments on “Squawk Box” come a day after White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the situation in Europe shows why US states should not completely scrap pandemic precautions now.
Italy is imposing stricter restrictions on business in certain parts of the country following an increase in new infections, including an upcoming nationwide lockdown for the Easter weekend. Health officials in Germany have also warned of an increase in Covid cases.
“Earlier I said we were about four to maybe six weeks behind Europe, and we pretty much were,” said Gottlieb, referring to earlier stages of the global health crisis. “Everything that happened in Europe eventually happened here. Now I think the tables have turned. We are ahead of Europe.”
“I don’t think the conditions in Europe and the situation in Europe are necessarily more predictive of what’s going to happen here, because we have a lot more immunity in our population, both from previous infection – which they have – but now also through vaccination. , ”Added Gottlieb, a Pfizer board member, which makes a Covid vaccine.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, approximately 9.5% of the vaccine-eligible population in Member States in the EU and the European Economic Area has had at least one injection of Covid. According to ECDC data, about 7.5% of Italians 18 and older and 8.5% of Germans 18 and older have had at least one dose of Covid vaccine.
In contrast, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27% of the adult U.S. population has received at least one injection of Covid.
Vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna both require two doses for complete immunity protection. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one injection, has recently been approved for use by the European Union. US regulators approved emergency use of J & J’s vaccine late last month after they cleaned up Pfizer and Moderna in December.
“I think we should be concerned that things could go in a direction we don’t predict,” acknowledged Gottlieb, who has previously urged states to continue requiring people to wear face masks to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. In fact, he said ending mask mandates should be the last public health measure to be lifted.
However, the former FDA chief in the Trump administration said emerging Covid strains, such as the B.1.1.7 variant first discovered in the UK, have proven less problematic in the US than in other parts of the world. world.
“Right now, you see that B.1.1.7 is getting pretty widespread in the United States. It’s over 50% of the cases in Texas and Florida and Southern California, and you don’t see the big upswing in cases we might see. as soon as claimed that variant in the United States, ”said Gottlieb, who attributed it to the level of previous infection in the country along with the vaccination coverage.
Last week, he estimated on CNBC that about 50% of Americans have “some form of immunity” to the coronavirus.
“The fact that we haven’t seen the rise of the coronavirus … even as B.1.1.7 becomes the most common strain in the United States, that bodes well,” Gottlieb said Monday.
New York, where researchers discovered a new species called B.1.526, is an area of concern for Gottlieb. He said there is some evidence that certain mutations of the virus in that strain “could make it more resistant to our vaccines and make it more likely that people will be re-infected.”
“We really don’t understand that mutation very well, but that’s a cause for concern, so we need to keep a close eye on that,” he said, adding that officials should provide more answers in the coming weeks.
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a contributor to CNBC and serves on the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus, health technology company Aetion and biotech company Illumina. He is also Co-Chair of the Healthy Sail Panel of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify the groups that receive vaccinations.