In front of an expected CDC advisory panel meeting Wednesday identifying with heart inflammation in a small fraction of vaccinated teens and young adults, the top of the office, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, suspects the information will uncover the benefits of vaccination far exceed the risks of rare side effects and poor results from COVID-19 disease.
“I think what we will see in this analysis for ACIP [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] tomorrow is the risk of this quite rare and generally mild disease in the context of the benefits of what vaccination can do with regard to COVID-19, preventing severe disease, preventing myocarditis itself, because that is a manifestation of COVID-19 and then of course, preventing death which has also occurred with COVID-19,” Walensky told Fox News in an exclusive interview. “I’m really looking forward to a very balanced discussion of the risks and benefits and having it be open so people really understand how and why the benefits from vaccination far outweigh the risks.”
The panel had delayed the crisis meeting that was planned for June 18 in observance of the newly established federal holiday Juneteenth. Pundits said the decision lacked a sense of urgency, yet Walensky said the panel’s work didn’t stop because of the occasion.
“We have been 24/7 with this response since we have been in it, the CDC is not dragging their feet, people have been working all weekend, in fact many people worked on Friday even though it was a national holiday,” Walensky said. “If I had anticipated that anything in discussion of the meeting would have changed what we were doing, we would’ve had it on Friday. My understanding in talking to people who were preparing for the meeting was that, that was not going to be the case. Yes we needed to have a public open dialogue but we also wanted to commemorate the really important holiday that was declared on Friday.”
Meanwhile, Walensky advises those qualified for vaccination keep on getting the two portions, especially in the midst of concerning viral variants, in particular the exceptionally transmissible Delta variation first identified in Quite a while. Dr. Anthony Fauci declared Tuesday the variation moved to now account more than 20% of sequenced samples, and has all the earmarks of being multiplying at regular intervals.
