We have to let science guide us, not politics: Doctor
Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, Emergency Medicine Physician & Arizona's 6th Congressional District Candidate, joins Yahoo Finance’s Kristin Myers to break down the latest coronavirus developments, as the CDC tells states to prepare for a vaccine to be ready for distribution by November 1.
Video Transcript
KRISTIN MYERS: We could have a vaccine as soon as the end of October. So to chat more on this, we're joined now by Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, emergency medicine physician and also a congressional candidate for Arizona's 6th district. Doctor, I want to start first on this vaccine. It seems that we're going to be having one just in time for election day.
Now, I know that we've been seeing a lot of pharmaceutical companies moving at lightning speed. But when you heard that news, did you think that it seemed likely? I personally am a little bit skeptical. I'm wondering what your thoughts are.
HIRAL TIPIRNENI: Yeah. Well, Kristin, thank you for having me today. You know, there's-- I mean, we all want a vaccine, right? We know how critical it is for us to be able to protect our fellow citizens and everyone around the globe from this tragic virus, to not only prevent further pain and suffering and hopefully mitigate the number of deaths, but also so that we can actually have some kind of economic recovery as well.
But that being said, look, we have to make sure that politics doesn't come into the equation. This has to be based in the science. This has to be based in the data. And as a physician, what I know is that historically, these vaccines have taken many years to come to market. We want to make sure that it is safe, it is effective, it has long lasting positive impact. And that's not something that can be rushed.
I applaud the researchers that are doing the important work. And we have to make sure that we let science lead and let the data guide us so that we can really deliver something that's effective and safe and not something that's based in either the election cycle schedule or in politics.
KRISTIN MYERS: Well, this is why it's great to have you, because you can chat both of those things. Let's go first to the fact-- to what you're touching on. You know, even if a vaccine does become available in October, I think a lot of people might be getting incredibly excited that the end of this pandemic is, essentially, right around the corner. But does that mean that even if there is a vaccine candidate available by that time, does that-- that doesn't mean, right, that we can just start giving people a vaccine as soon as that.
HIRAL TIPIRNENI: Well, you know, first of all, I think we have to be mindful of an appropriate national strategy, right? We have not had a comprehensive national strategy in dealing with this virus from day one. If we're going to actually see an implementation and use of this vaccine, we're talking about, you know, amping up our supply chain to address the need for the basic materials to deliver this vaccine, right?
We're talking about the solution that would come in. We're talking about the syringes, the needles, the packaging. How would we distribute it? Who would be eligible to receive it first? How do we handle that massive logistical situation? And let's face it-- we have not had success in the way we've managed this pandemic to this point addressing the logistical needs, the supply chain needs, and so forth. So let's not put the cart before the horse.
Let's let the science lead us, make sure we have an effective vaccine that's gone through the proper clinical trials. And in the meantime, yes, let's start developing that comprehensive strategy so that once that vaccine is ready to come to use, we have the foundation, we have that infrastructure ready to get it to the people that need it the most. And that's the other conversation, right, Kristin, that we have to have is, who is going to receive it first-- frontline workers, health care workers, people that are at greatest risk, our elderly population, folks who are in extended care facilities and hospitals.
We have to have that entire conversation. This is not just something where, boom, one day we have a vaccine and the next day we're all immunized. We have to be very thoughtful and strategic. And that requires us to let the science and the data lead us.
KRISTIN MYERS: So to that point, obviously, you are running right now for office. Do you think that politics has played too much of a role in how we've been handling the pandemic, not only nationally, but even on a more local scale as we've been seeing various governors take very different tacks in terms of tackling this virus?
HIRAL TIPIRNENI: Yes, I absolutely think, unfortunately, that politics has come into this equation. And that is extremely sad, and it has been devastating to not just our nation as a whole, but as I speak on the basis of what we've seen in Arizona, right? Arizona was one of the last states to shut down. It was one of the first states to reopen and our governor made these decisions not based on the data and the science-- which he promised to be data-driven in his decision making-- but instead, he based it on party politics.
They were literally decisions that were made based on the impending visit by President Trump that was not based on data. And we see what happened, right? I think everybody's aware of what Arizona has seen through this summer. We have had a deathly-- a deadly surge of coronavirus cases. We are now over 200,000 cases. We are at five-- over 5,000 deaths, and that was because lack of leadership.
And my opponent, you know, he has stood by these decisions knowing the fact that they were not led by data, that they were led by partisan politics. And now we're looking at, you know, horrible consequences of that. And so we have to be very mindful. And, again, this is not a partisan issue. The virus does not care if somebody is a Democrat or a Republican.
What they care about is how to replicate in a human host. That is-- we are all vulnerable to that. So let the science and the data lead us. We got to take politics out of this equation, and we've seen other countries successfully conquer this and move on to economic recovery and minimize pain and suffering. We need to let that happen in our country as well. And that's why I plead with all of our leaders, step up. Be decisive in your leadership, and let the science guide us.
