DC Native
Robert Redfield was literally born into the medical service of the United States. Both his parents were scientists at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, DC. Redfield stayed close to home, attending Georgetown University undergrad and medical school. He then did his internship and residency at Walter Reed Medical Center, the US Army hospital located in Washington. He became a US Army physician.
Redfield completed his internship in internal medicine, and fellowships in tropical medicine and infectious diseases. He continued in service with the Army, and developed as a researcher in virology and particularly in AIDS. He retired from the Army in 1996 as a Colonel.
The Doctor then went to the nearby University of Maryland in the DC suburb of College Park, where he was one of the founders of their Institute of Human Virology. He continued his research on the virus that caused AIDS, and made important advances in the understanding and treatment of HIV and AIDS. He was at the University for over twenty years, until he accepted the directorship of the Centers for Disease Control in 2018.
Faces of COVID
Dr. Redfield, along with Fauci and Birx, is one of the medical faces of the US Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Fauci and Birx have all but disappeared from the national spotlight. The White House’s political view of COVID is not their scientific view, and they are muzzled. Yesterday though, Robert Redfield, Director of the CDC, retired Army Colonel and lifelong resident of our Nation’s capital, testified to the US Senate. And he did something unexpected. He told the full, unvarnished truth.
Moment of Truth
The White House political stand is that a COVID-19 vaccine is imminent, perhaps arriving even before the “special day”, Election Day. But in his Senate testimony, Dr. Redfield explained that while the trials for a vaccine may be completed by November, it still wouldn’t be ready for distribution even to the highest priority groups until January. He added that general distribution to the population wouldn’t be available until the end of the second quarter at the earliest. That’s the end of June 2021. (note – corrected from March in the original version).
And Dr. Redfield was asked about the efficacy of wearing masks. The President has returned to his original position on masks – that they are “optional” at best, and not important. With his eyes firmly closed, Robert Redfield did something a lifelong resident of Washington and military officer absolutely knows will start a firestorm. He contradicted the President of the United States.
Redfield held up his mask, and said that if every American wore one of these for eight to twelve weeks, we would have the COVID epidemic under control. He went onto to say that masks might well be more effective in protecting from COVID than the first vaccines. Those vaccines may have a fifty to seventy percent effectiveness, much like the flu vaccines today. That means that getting the first vaccines may only reduce your chance of getting COVID, not “guarantee” protection. The masks, worn by everyone, have a much higher probability of protecting everyone.
COVID’s Color
It was a moment of truth in a maelstrom of political rhetoric. The President emphasized his disdain for masks in an ABC News Town Hall the night before. Joe Biden stated yesterday that he “trusted the vaccine, trusted science, but he didn’t trust Trump”. The President held a press conference after Dr. Redfield’s testimony, saying that the Director of the CDC “made a mistake” or “didn’t understand the question”. The President went onto to say that if it weren’t for “Blue” Democratic run states, the United States would have been fine in the COVID pandemic.
Of the top ten states for COVID deaths in the United States, seven are run by Democratic Governors, three by Republicans. Of course, the size of the state is also related to the number of deaths. Not surprisingly, eight of the top ten states by population are also in the top ten for COVID deaths. Only Ohio (Republican Governor) and North Carolina (Democratic Governor) aren’t in the top ten COVID list (COVID Dashboard).
Much as the President would like, the national response to the COVID pandemic is the responsibility of the national leader, the President of the United States. Individual governors of states responded in different ways. Some did a better job: Whitmer in Michigan, a Democrat, or DeWine in Ohio, a Republican for example. Some are doing worse. Looking at the rate of “positivity”, that is, what percentage of COVID tests are positive in their state: the top ten includes nine Republican Governors, and one Democratic Governor (Becker).
Don’t Blink
Redfield closed his eyes and told the unvarnished truth to the Senate. He knew the President would rapidly rebuke his testimony, but decided not to be “political”. Don’t be surprised if Dr. Redfield disappears from the public scene as well. But, in the middle of all of the obfuscation and politics, it was good to see a moment of reality. If you blinked, you might have missed it.
