MSNBC: The 11th Hour with Brian Williams; Interview with Dr. Bhadelia

[23:43:19]

RUHLE: We`re following important developments on the pandemic tonight. Los Angeles County will reinstate indoor mask mandates, regardless of vaccine status as the highly contagious Delta variants triggers more cases. Well, back here in the east, the Yankees postponed their game against the Red Sox, after several fully vaccinated players tested positive.

I want to bring in Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an infectious disease physician and the founding director of Boston University`s center for emerging infectious diseases policy and research. Dr. Bhadelia here`s what I don`t get. The people across the country who are getting very sick are unvaccinated. Should we be concerned that we`re sliding backwards? Or should we just be pushing everybody to get the damn shots?

DR. NAHID BHADELIA, INFECTIOUS DISEASE PHYSICIAN: All of the above. I think that we should be concerned that the cases arising, Stephanie. What we`re seeing is that because the cases are rising, you know, you`re seeing the states that don`t have the higher vaccination rates now seeing that burden, right, increased burden of both hospitalizations and deaths because that largest burden is carried by. I think the deaths are like 99 percent of the COVID deaths last month were among people who are unvaccinated.

But here`s the other concern, right? We`re also — you covered disinformation earlier. We`re also facing an increasing other pandemic, which is the disinformation pandemic and the misinformation pandemic where 50 percent, 54 percent of Americans either believe in a commonly shared COVID myth, or don`t know if it`s true or wrong.