Thing went to see as well as the flu season that is coming up. Just one of the topics we talked about before i do want to make a Compass Point regards to cover 19. People in the dallasfort worth area, one thing you have observed following the numbers is that covid19 numbers are improving in the sense that so many the point is the numbers of covid19 are going down from an elevated level. We are not at all anywhere close to being in a safe situation of covid19. People need to understand that just because covid19 numbers are improving in this region, that does not mean covid19 a sidedly left the dallasfort worth area, state of texas or the United States of america. It still exists it can still transmit at the same rate that has been able to in the past. What people in the dallasfort worth area need to know is the reason why covid19 and spreading less today than it was in the middle part of july or the latter part of june people have been far more responsible people have almost uniformly adopted wearing a mask. Doctors in houston by everyone wearing a mask, that does lead to a reduction in the spread of covid19. In addition to that people have been more responsible route and having safe distancing practices, all of the hand sanitizing and all the people learned in march and april. They begin to once again be very disciplined about it in the latter part of july and this has led to theyre down trend in results. That downtrend has been so incredibly important, especially in places like southwestern as well as its entire hospital district. Because there was a time when Hospital Capacity was getting compromised. The Hospital Capacity is better now than before. But it will only remain better and must get even better by people continuing the practices of slowing the spread of covid19. Everyone must understand this very simple principle. Until we have medications that are capable of treating covid19, the only tool that we have to slow it spread is by everybody adopting these practices of Wearing Masks and maintaining best practices. Along those lines i do want to emphasize one very important point. We constantly look for different types of settings and locations that can lead to the spread of covid19. There may be the sensitive you are gathering family, youre really not going to be transmitting covid19. That has been disproven right here in Dallas County. It is been disproven across the entire state of texas. Or you may think if you are just with some friends that you typically hang out with that will not lead to the spread of covid19. Again that has been disproven in Dallas County as well as other regions across the state of texas. The fact of the matter is again until we have do have treatments that are able to treat covid19, anybody anywhere has the ability to both spread and to contract covid19. And can lead to an over running of hospitals as well as lead to the deaths that have been on a dramatic increase in the state of texas. Now that said, i want you to know that every single day we are going to work to better elevate the response by the state of texas and responding to both covid19 as well as other healthcare challenges that may exist. One of those healthcare challenges that is on the horizon is the coming flu seaso season. One of the primary goals that we wanted to achieve today was to have the ability to talk to flu experts at ut southwestern to learn what some of the best strategies are. To make sure we will be able to address the flu seasons understand this very important point. And that is with the flu season that could be prolific, if that leads to greater hospitalizations coupled with the hospitalizations we are seeing with covid19 you can easily see how hospitals in this region and across texas will be completely overrun with an inability for the hospitals to take care of the medical needs of everybody in the entire region. As a result one of the recommendations that was made moments ago during the roundtable discussions was the importance is getting the flu vaccine early the time. Forgetting the flu vaccine as early as september. One of the things they want to urge everybody today, is to first understand the importance of getting ahead of the curve in regards to the flu of covid19. And the best way you can get ahead of the curve is to make sure he get a flu vaccine the importance of testing for covid19 as well as the whats taking place. Texas is very important in the world at ut for the testing regimen of covid19 already testing about 3000 tests. Day. Theyre working on strategies that will dramatically increase that up to initially perhaps as many as 15000 tests. Day. And then eventually, once all of their different tools and strategies come into play up being able to test more than 40000 tests. Day its a byproduct of the excellence from ut southwestern and what they work to achieve that thing we talked those ppe supplies. Ppe supplies are something or absolute crucial in responding to covid19. But as you can imagine covid19 coupled with the flu, coupled with the opening of schools this year those ppes of flies are an absolute premium. That said, someone who will be speaking here shortly has been the leader in the state of texas for organizing and distributing those ppe supplies. The chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Mattia they have already over 130 Million Masks more than 8 million gallons and more coveralls and 4 million face shields. For schools across texas already, even before schools have begun, they have distributed about 60 Million Masks and will continue to provide moreover the School Year End they have already delivered more than 560,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. So they are stepping up making sure that ppe needs of schools, hospitals of communities across the entire state of texas have been and will continue to be me met. But i can tell you is this. One thing we are seeing in the state of texas is a very robust, very comprehensive response by everybody at the local, state, and federal level as well as, especially with the healthcare community. And im very proud to see the role that ut southwestern is playing in the response to covid and response to the flu and they deliver every single day. So doctor petoskey thank you for hosting us today thank you for all the information you have provided to us and let me turn the mic over to you. Thank you governors certainly an honor to have you on our campus and have you joined by the leadership of your administration with the state response to covid19. Langley foundation for our ability to address the combined challenge of flu in covid19. Thank you for the clear message you are sending that our future is really in her own hands to a degree. And rest with our collective willingness to use what we know works. Wearing masks, maintaining fissile agenda physical distances, using appropriate hand sanitizers and other methods. Weve noted across many areas of the state right here in north texas. And that is especially to those at ut southwestern and other Healthcare Settings see the human face of the tragedy of this pandemic when the numbers begin to rise. We understand were facing a challenge of a flu season unlike any other because of the convergence with covid19. And i can only emphasize i cannot emphasize too strongly your message of the importance this year of getting that vaccine early. Well do everything we can to diminish the overall impact of flu and the potential stress that will place on our ability for people of north texas. We stand ready in any way we stand for anybody who seeks help from our caregivers. At the same time as you heard early this morning, we are working as hard as we can to identify more effective ways of treating and preventing both covid19 and the flu. We can only help those efforts will eventuate into tools that allow us to go be on with interventions alone to really have the memes of bringing this pandemic to an eventual close that we all look forward to. So thank you for your leadership. And for your support throughout these months of great challenge for our state and community. Sure, thank you. I do and to emphasize the texas response really is a response collectively part especially by everybody was in the legislature and that can working behind the scenes on their committees, working to provide advice to me to the speaker lieutenant governor. We have some of those leaders here with us today. I want to recognize and the Texas State Senate senator paxton, senator hancock thank you all for being here as well as representatives. Thank all of you for being here but more importantly thank you for the leadership role that you provide in the texas legislature. Let me go next to the chief of the division of Emergency Management perspective and give governor we have the responsibility for ppe, first testing of her staff are personal protective equipment needs are being met in the supply chain, we will ensure the stockpile is ready. We will increase testing across the state today theres noise 1700 sites in texas. In texas you can go to a site less than 50 are supported by the state the other with the private sector. As far staffing goes, governor we have over 8000 people assigned to the covid19 response right now. Hats off to you southwestern of the doctors and nurses out there in the field every day. Went to to prevent covid19 from spreading our communities and we want to prevent a bad clip lucys and from coming upon us. Have really blunted the amount in one of the most sensitive indicators of that is the number of hospitalizations that are everyday attributed to covid19. That has been coming down steadily in a very good trend. We must sustain that. Emily must sustain that at the very least through the flu season. For a position the symptoms of flu any symptoms of covid19 are very, very similar. So what we want to do is decrease and prevent both. Known the case of covid19 you are all very familiar, youre Wearing Masks. We talked of the hygiene, the handwashing and the things that are nonpharmaceutical interventions payment even better news is that in the case of influenza, we have an excellent vaccine that has been proven to be very effective in the flu season on the southern hemisphere. And that is the flu vaccine will be using here but we also other medications that are effective against flu. So only prevent a real one to prevent both influenza and covid19, we have the things out there we are using that are effective. We know they work to blunt the spread of covid19 in our communities. I we need to add to that people getting their flu vaccine as early as possible. And then having the ability to test for both influenza and covid19 as the season approaches. So lets stay where we are in terms of the vigilance and the discipline that we have for the measures to prevent covid19. And in doing so i hope we have the very mildest flu season on history. Thank you doctor bright next is doctors boss. He is one of the doctors it advises the Governors Committee response to covid19. But also he is the vice chancellor for Public Health for the university of texas. Doctor. Thank you governor and thank you for your leadership throughout this heard from very strong and bold initiatives you have taken. Think thats the reason we are seeing some improvement in the numbers today related to covid19 are directly related to putting out masks in the emphasis you put on track to keep congregant settings to a minimum. These are things that obviously can be very important during the flu season. As the commissioner just noted though, we have a vaccine for the flu which is obviously a very valuable thing. As i contemplate some of things i got to do from both a medical and legislative point of view as many of my colleagues here, was actually the mandate if you work in a hospital as a Healthcare Worker you have to have a flu vaccine. That is a requirement. Typically there some type of note on your badge that says you had that done. The reason is is certainly to protect you as an individual. But it is to protect the patients. Because if we have the vaccine and we dont put our patient at risk who may be immuno compromised would ultimately have a bad outcome from that. Something we have talked about in the past is for the people for some reason cant or they have some type of religious conviction that requires them to not have it, they wear a mask. They wear a mask and that is the protection they have in order for the patients to not be susceptible to that. The flu vaccine is something that has been incredibly helpful in us dealing with the influenza. I cannot emphasize that enough. Both as a physician, someone in Public Health, that there is anything better. I would venture to say is probably not been a greater Public Health accomplishment than Vaccine Development and ultimately the uptake of the vaccine. So i look forward to us pushing that message out. Think of your leadership. Two thank you doctor. Book tv on cspan2 has top and authors every weekend. Coming up sunday msnbc political analysis with her book the end of white politics. On identity politics and how to create a more inclusive democratic party. She is interviewed by ceo and founding president maria kumar. Then at 10 45 p. M. Maryland republican governor larry hogan on his life and career with this book still standing. Watch book tv, on cspan2. This weekend. s prevent Leticia James said her filing a lawsuit and dissolve the fraud and misuse of funds but she spoke in more detail about the lawsuit in new york