RECORD NUMBERS A NEW GUIDANCE OUTLINES WHAT IS CONSIDERED CLOSE CONTACT. JOINING US LIVE TO WEIGH IN ON THE LATEST COVID-19 HEADLINES DR. THOMAS HOLLAND, AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST WITH DUKE, GOOD MORNING. LISTEN, WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THESE NEW GUIDELINES FROM THE CDC, JUST ISSUED, EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF CLOSE CONTACT, WHICH INCLUDES MULTIPLE BRIEF EXPOSURES TO SOMEONE WITH COVID- 19? >> THE CHANGE HERE IS THAT THE DEFINITION HAS BEEN EXPANDED SO INSTEAD OF JUST BEING 15 MINUTES OF CLOSE CONTACT THAT ARE CONSECUTIVE BUT 15 TOTAL MINUTES OVER 24-HOUR TIME. THIS IS A RECOGNITION THAT THIS IS NOT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SHADES OF GRAY HERE. IT IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE MANNER, THAT BEING CLOSE TO SOMEONE FOR SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IS ABSOLUTELY SAFE. THE CUMULATIVE EXPOSURE OF THE COURSE OF THE DAY OR THE MATTER OF TIME IS EVEN BRIEF EXPOSURES CAN LEAD TO TRANSMISSION OF THE VIRUS. >> WITH THAT IN MIND, HOW MUCH DOES THIS EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THIS VIRUS SPREADS?>> ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE LEARNED OVER THE COURSE OF THE PANDEMIC INCREASINGLY, IS A ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD AND BRIEF CONTACT IS A SOURCE OF NEW INFECTIONS. SO THIS UPDATED GUIDANCE REFLECTS THAT, THE INCREASED UNDERSTANDING. >> LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT REPORT WITH ASTRAZENECA, ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THEIR TRIAL DIED BUT THEY DID NOT RECEIVE THE VACCINE. WHAT DOES IT TELL YOU ABOUT THE TRIALS ONGOING NOW IN TERMS OF THE EFFICACY OF THE VACCINE? >> I DON'T THINK THAT REPORT REALLY TELLS US ANYTHING ABOUT THE EFFICACY OF THE VACCINE, IF IT'S TRUE THAT THE RECIPIENT OR THE PERSON WHO DIED HAD NOT RECEIVED THE VACCINE. THAT WOULDN'T TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT THE VACCINE ITSELF. THE LARGER POINT IS THERE IS AN INDEPENDENT SAFETY FOR THIS TRIAL AND THAT'S AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IT WORKS AND WHETHER IT IS SAFE. AS YOU WELL KNOW THE SAME ASTRAZENECA TRY WAS PREVIOUSLY PAUSED IN THE UNITED STATES AFTER THE PARTICIPANT DEVELOPED A CONDITION THAT WAS RELATED TO A VACCINE SO IT'S ALL PART OF THE SAFETY MONITORING TO MAKE SURE ANY PRODUCT THAT COMES TO US IS SAFE AS WELL AS EFFECTIVE. >> WE TALKED ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA NUMBERS BEING UNREASONABLY HIGH. OF COURSE, CLUSTERS ARE FOUNDING COLLEGE CAMPUSES. WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN MOVING FORWARD FOR NORTH CAROLINA TO START BRINGING THOSE NUMBERS BACK DOWN. >> WE ARE NOT WHERE WE NEED TO BE WITH MEMBERS OF TRANSMISSION CAN WE SEE MORE THAN 1000 AND SUNDAYS MORE THAN A FEW THOUSAND NEW CASES IN NORTH CAROLINA. WE ARE AT A LEVEL THAT IS NOT WHERE WE WANT TO BE. THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS TUNNEL, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO IS AN EFFECTIVE VACCINE THAT LET'S US OUT OF THIS CURRENT STATE AND IN THE MEANTIME WE HAVE TO KEEP DOING THE THINGS THAT ARE HARD TO DO AND WE ARE ALL TIRED OF DOING THINGS LIKE MAINTAINING SOCIAL DISTANCING, WEARING MASKS WHEREVER YOU CAN AND NEED TO BE AROUND OTHER PEOPLE, OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOME. HAND HYGIENE AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LEARNED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THAT ARE EFFECTIVE. >> AND COVID-19 FATIGUE IS NOT AN OPTION IF WE ALL WANT TO STAY SAFE, DR. THOMAS HOLLAND, THANKS FOR YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND