Rachel welcome back to Fox AMP Rachel welcome back to Fox AMP friends. The CDC is issuing new guidance on the Covid 19 vaccine for people with underlying health conditions, saying they can receive it, provided they havent had any severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Fox news, medical contributor, Dr Nicole Saphier, is the author of Make America healthy again, and she joins us now to react. Welcome Nicole, tell us about these new guidelines. Well, thats right Rachel. Good morning the CDC came out because people have a lot of questions about these new vaccines and specifically, if you can take a vaccine when you have chronic illness well, we know with Covid 19 the elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions are at a higher risk for severe illness. So its a really good question whether or not those with existing medical conditions can take the vaccine, and when you look at the safety data from Pfizer and Moderna and some of the other vaccines that are going to be coming to market, they do include people with chronic medical conditions, which is a good thing because

about forty percent of Americans have some form of chronic illness, but they are usually including the more common ones: high blood pressure, cholesterol, some form of lung disease, and in that they show its completely safe and those people absolutely should be getting the vaccine. What was not included in the clinical trials were those with autoimmune disease and some form of immunosuppression and rightfully so you dont usually include them in the first stages of the clinical trial. However, what the CDC and a lot of the specialty expert groups are coming out saying is that the benefit far out weighs the risk in these groups. Yes, it hasnt been tested in these groups, but it doesnt mean that the vaccine isnt going to be safe. The biggest concern is: will the vaccine actually work in these patients? Will it provide them the immunity that they are going to need Rachel? As you know, I myself have an autoimmune disease, and this is a big question that I had so ive called my colleagues at the FDA, the CDC as well as my own rheumatologist and asked. Can I get the vaccine? Will it put me into a big autoimmune flare?

Will because of the medication im on? Will I even mountain immune response to the vaccine, and the answer is we dont really know? But what we do know is. This vaccine is incredibly safe unless you have a known, severe allergic reaction history, so everyone probably should be getting this vaccine under the guidance of their doctor, and we have clinical trials now undergoing to make sure that these people are also getting that immunity that they need. We dont know if its going to be that same ninety five percent efficacy, but any sort of immunity is going to help and really help us move that needle with Covid 19 Rachel, so youre going to take the vaccine Nicole, so Rachel when it is offer ed to me yes, but based on my doctors advice, it seems that I should be taking it because itll not only help me but itll help potentially help those around me, and so, when it is my turn, I absolutely will be taking it Rachel all right. So meanwhile, fears are growing that theres. This new strain of you know just as were starting

to get a handle on Covid 19 talk to me a little bit about this new strain. What we should be thinking about? Well, the vaccine thats out right now. First of all, will that help someone if they were to catch this new strain? This is a great question. Rachel and a lot of people are concerned about this, but we do have to remember that there have been over one hundred different strains of Sars Cov 2 circulating since the beginning of this pandemic. Its completely normal and expected to see various strains emerge from when youre in the middle of a pandemic, the specific strain coming out of the UK, which is now not just in the UK, its all across the globe, seeing it in Canada as well, is close to home. For us, it does seem to be more transmissible more contagious. There has not been data showing that it is anymore deadly or has severe effects, but the big question is: will the vaccines work for it and Moderna came out a couple days ago saying they believe they looked at the new strain and looked at their data that they believe that the broad

immune response from their vaccine will cover this strain. They are going to be working as well as Pfizer to start a trial right now to make sure that it is the same its possibilities not going to reach that same ninety five percent efficacy, but maybe itll, still provide eighty percent which, by the way, remember Rachel were, are looking for anything over fifty percent. With these.