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CNN Saturday Morning News

The Novak Zone: Interview with Tommy Thompson

Aired June 07, 2003 - 09:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson is in "The Novak Zone" today. He's talking about two health challenges facing America.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to "The Novak Zone."

We're at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., in the command center of the secretary of Health and Human Services. And our guest is the HARASSES secretary himself, Tommy Thompson.

Mr. Secretary, in this state-of-the-art command center, why was it built? What's it used for?

TOMMY THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: It was built in order for us to accumulate all the information from this disparate department, be able to bring all the information in, and be able to respond quickly to any kind of bioterrorism attack that may take place, or any coordinated effort in any kind of a catastrophe, whether it be the weather or any kind of a bomb, or any bioterrorist attack.

We're able to really communicate with all the state health departments, all the local health departments, all the EM and all the first responders. And that's what it's able to do is collect information, get it out quickly, and be able to have it accurate.

NOVAK: What is the first thing you do if, God forbid, there were a biological attack on the United States?

THOMPSON: Well, the first thing we would do is, we would find out the extent of it. We would send people there immediately. We would get all the information coming in here to see what sort of an attack it is, whether it's biological, whether it's chemical, radiological, or whether it's a bomb.

And then we would be able to disperse the necessary equipment. We have 50 tons of equipment that we can put in any city within seven hours. We've got the country divided up into 10 regions, and we can deploy up to 8,000 men or women that are experts in public health to go and be able to be the backup in regards to any kind of vaccinations, any kind of triage, or any kind of care that needs to be taken care of by the people. NOVAK: Is there any danger of a smallpox attack? There was some talk of smallpox vaccinations awhile back. Should Americans get vaccinated?

THOMPSON: Well, we have...

NOVAK: For smallpox?

THOMPSON: Right now, we have 37,000 Americans that are vaccinated. We would like to get that up to 50,000. Our goal is, is to be able to have enough people in each state in America vaccinated, so that they could vaccinate the rest of the state within 10 days. That's our goal. If there was a smallpox virus epidemic, we would want to make sure that every person could be vaccinated within 10 days.

We have 37,000 of those vaccinated now that are the first responders, those that would be the individuals that would be able to vaccinate other individuals. And we would like to get that up to 50,000, but we're well on our goal to achieving that.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN ANCHOR: Governor Thompson, it's been quite a while since there was an anthrax attack just a few blocks from this -- in this building. Haven't caught who did it. Are you prepared for anthrax for -- is there a vaccine? Is there some kind of antidote if there were such an attack?

THOMPSON: We have a vaccine, but the vaccine currently is being purchased by the Department of Defense. We have just put out an RFP to prepare a brand-new vaccine for anthrax. But we have enough Cipro and doxycycline in order to take care of 20 million individuals that could be infected, or if they were infected, we would have enough antibiotics ready to take care of them.

And we have found that Cipro and doxycycline are very successful antibiotics used against anthrax. So we feel very comfortable that we could respond to any kind of an outbreak of anthrax any place in America very quickly, very efficiently, and we have enough antibiotics to treat them.

NOVAK: Severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS.

THOMPSON: SARS.

NOVAK: Just this week, sir, there was two more deaths in Hong Kong...

THOMPSON: That's right.

GUPTA: ... a couple of deaths in Toronto. What do you do if it comes to the United States? Is there a danger of that?

THOMPSON: There is always a danger when there's a new disease, and one that is as infectuous as SARS is. What we're trying to do is, we're trying to make sure that we protect America by having individuals that come in from areas that have the disease, like Toronto and Taiwan and Hong Kong, to make sure that those individuals come in and get enough information, so if they come down with any kind of the symptoms of SARS, that they will go to a doctor right away, and that we can isolate them as well as those individuals that come in contact with them.

NOVAK: Mr. Secretary, I've read that obesity has replaced smoking as the greatest cause of expenses in health care in America. What -- can the government do anything about that? Can you tell people to eat less and exercise more? Is that Big Brotherism?

THOMPSON: Well, it's -- it may be Big Brotherism, but it's the right Big Brotherism, Bob, because right now, obesity is becoming the fastest disease as it relates to costs and deaths and diseases. And what we have to do as a country, get the information out.

It's right for people to take care of themselves. It's not Big Brother if you're putting out the information to tell people, you know, You should really start taking care of yourself, and you can prevent diseases and have a better quality of life if you reduce some weight and exercise.

And that's what the message is coming out of this department. We want to make sure that we get America as healthy as possible, because if they don't, it's breaking the system. It's costing extremely a great deal of money to treat obesity-related diseases, when it would be much easier for individuals to take care of themselves personally.

NOVAK: And now the big question for the HARASSES Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Senator Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, the only physician in the Senate, has said he is going to have, he wants to have a prescription drug bill on President Bush's desk by the Fourth of July. It's been a subject of political dispute for years. Is that a realistic expectation by Senator Frist?

THOMPSON: Let's say we're cautiously optimistic. What we're trying to do is, we're trying to work with Senator Frist to make that a reality. We're working with the Senate Finance Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee.

We're working extremely hard to coordinate all the disparate groups and trying to come up with a magic potion, the one that's going to allow for pharmaceutical drugs coverage, as well as preventative health, which is very important, and to be able to strengthen Medicare for all seniors across this country.

And we think we have a good chance of getting a bill through the Congress this year. Whether or not it will be by July 4, I can't predict that, but we are cautiously optimistic we're going to get a reformed, strengthened Medicare bill with prescription drugs and preventative health coverage sometime this year.

NOVAK: Thank you, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.

And thank you for being in "The Novak Zone."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 7, 2003 - 09:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson is in "The Novak Zone" today. He's talking about two health challenges facing America.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to "The Novak Zone."

We're at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., in the command center of the secretary of Health and Human Services. And our guest is the HARASSES secretary himself, Tommy Thompson.

Mr. Secretary, in this state-of-the-art command center, why was it built? What's it used for?

TOMMY THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: It was built in order for us to accumulate all the information from this disparate department, be able to bring all the information in, and be able to respond quickly to any kind of bioterrorism attack that may take place, or any coordinated effort in any kind of a catastrophe, whether it be the weather or any kind of a bomb, or any bioterrorist attack.

We're able to really communicate with all the state health departments, all the local health departments, all the EM and all the first responders. And that's what it's able to do is collect information, get it out quickly, and be able to have it accurate.

NOVAK: What is the first thing you do if, God forbid, there were a biological attack on the United States?

THOMPSON: Well, the first thing we would do is, we would find out the extent of it. We would send people there immediately. We would get all the information coming in here to see what sort of an attack it is, whether it's biological, whether it's chemical, radiological, or whether it's a bomb.

And then we would be able to disperse the necessary equipment. We have 50 tons of equipment that we can put in any city within seven hours. We've got the country divided up into 10 regions, and we can deploy up to 8,000 men or women that are experts in public health to go and be able to be the backup in regards to any kind of vaccinations, any kind of triage, or any kind of care that needs to be taken care of by the people. NOVAK: Is there any danger of a smallpox attack? There was some talk of smallpox vaccinations awhile back. Should Americans get vaccinated?

THOMPSON: Well, we have...

NOVAK: For smallpox?

THOMPSON: Right now, we have 37,000 Americans that are vaccinated. We would like to get that up to 50,000. Our goal is, is to be able to have enough people in each state in America vaccinated, so that they could vaccinate the rest of the state within 10 days. That's our goal. If there was a smallpox virus epidemic, we would want to make sure that every person could be vaccinated within 10 days.

We have 37,000 of those vaccinated now that are the first responders, those that would be the individuals that would be able to vaccinate other individuals. And we would like to get that up to 50,000, but we're well on our goal to achieving that.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN ANCHOR: Governor Thompson, it's been quite a while since there was an anthrax attack just a few blocks from this -- in this building. Haven't caught who did it. Are you prepared for anthrax for -- is there a vaccine? Is there some kind of antidote if there were such an attack?

THOMPSON: We have a vaccine, but the vaccine currently is being purchased by the Department of Defense. We have just put out an RFP to prepare a brand-new vaccine for anthrax. But we have enough Cipro and doxycycline in order to take care of 20 million individuals that could be infected, or if they were infected, we would have enough antibiotics ready to take care of them.

And we have found that Cipro and doxycycline are very successful antibiotics used against anthrax. So we feel very comfortable that we could respond to any kind of an outbreak of anthrax any place in America very quickly, very efficiently, and we have enough antibiotics to treat them.

NOVAK: Severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS.

THOMPSON: SARS.

NOVAK: Just this week, sir, there was two more deaths in Hong Kong...

THOMPSON: That's right.

GUPTA: ... a couple of deaths in Toronto. What do you do if it comes to the United States? Is there a danger of that?

THOMPSON: There is always a danger when there's a new disease, and one that is as infectuous as SARS is. What we're trying to do is, we're trying to make sure that we protect America by having individuals that come in from areas that have the disease, like Toronto and Taiwan and Hong Kong, to make sure that those individuals come in and get enough information, so if they come down with any kind of the symptoms of SARS, that they will go to a doctor right away, and that we can isolate them as well as those individuals that come in contact with them.

NOVAK: Mr. Secretary, I've read that obesity has replaced smoking as the greatest cause of expenses in health care in America. What -- can the government do anything about that? Can you tell people to eat less and exercise more? Is that Big Brotherism?

THOMPSON: Well, it's -- it may be Big Brotherism, but it's the right Big Brotherism, Bob, because right now, obesity is becoming the fastest disease as it relates to costs and deaths and diseases. And what we have to do as a country, get the information out.

It's right for people to take care of themselves. It's not Big Brother if you're putting out the information to tell people, you know, You should really start taking care of yourself, and you can prevent diseases and have a better quality of life if you reduce some weight and exercise.

And that's what the message is coming out of this department. We want to make sure that we get America as healthy as possible, because if they don't, it's breaking the system. It's costing extremely a great deal of money to treat obesity-related diseases, when it would be much easier for individuals to take care of themselves personally.

NOVAK: And now the big question for the HARASSES Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Senator Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, the only physician in the Senate, has said he is going to have, he wants to have a prescription drug bill on President Bush's desk by the Fourth of July. It's been a subject of political dispute for years. Is that a realistic expectation by Senator Frist?

THOMPSON: Let's say we're cautiously optimistic. What we're trying to do is, we're trying to work with Senator Frist to make that a reality. We're working with the Senate Finance Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee.

We're working extremely hard to coordinate all the disparate groups and trying to come up with a magic potion, the one that's going to allow for pharmaceutical drugs coverage, as well as preventative health, which is very important, and to be able to strengthen Medicare for all seniors across this country.

And we think we have a good chance of getting a bill through the Congress this year. Whether or not it will be by July 4, I can't predict that, but we are cautiously optimistic we're going to get a reformed, strengthened Medicare bill with prescription drugs and preventative health coverage sometime this year.

NOVAK: Thank you, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.

And thank you for being in "The Novak Zone."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com