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O'BRIEN. WELCOME TO MATTER OF FACT. EVERY ROADMAP FOR FULLY REOPENING THE COUNTRY BEGINS WITH A VACCINE. SO WHO GETS IT FIRST? WE POSED THAT QUESTION TO EXPERTS ABOUT A MONTH AGO AND LEARNED AN ADVISORY GROUP TO THE C.D.C. IS WORKING ON GUIDELINES TO DISTRIBUTE INITIAL DOSES. AND IT HOPES TO HAVE A PROPOSAL READY IN LATE SEPTEMBER. POTENTIAL VACCINES ARE RACING THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE. THE GOVERNMENT'S PROGRAM -- OPERATION WARP SPEED -- PROMISED TO STOCKPILE MILLIONS OF DOSES. BUT EVEN IF A VACCINE IS DECLARED SAFE AND EFFECTIVE, THERE LIKELY WON'T BE ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS IT RIGHT AWAY. MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE IN NASHVILLE IS ONE OF THE NATION'S OLDEST AND LARGEST HISTORICALLY BLACK ACADEMIC HEALTH SCIENCE CENTERS AND IS ENROLLED IN OPERATION WARP SPEED. DR. JAMES E. K. HILDRETH IS AN IMMUNOLOGIST AND THE PRESIDENT AND C.E.O. OF MEHARRY. INSTEAD OF BEING A LEAD RESEARCHER, HE'S GOING TO BE A PARTICIPANT IN THE TESTING TRIALS. DR. HILDRETH, IT'S SO NICE TO TALK TO YOU. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO TEST THE VACCINE AS OPPOSED TO WORKING ON A VACCINE? >> I WANT TO BE ABLE TO RECOMMEND THAT OTHERS TAKE THE VACCINATIONS DO. THE ONES WHO MOST TAKE THE VACCINATIONS ARE PROBABLY THE ONE LESS LIKELY TO TAKE IT, FREDGES IN PARTICULAR. I WANT TO DO IT SO I CAN THEN ADVOCATE FOR OTHERS TO DO THE SOLEDAD: THE TRUST FOR MINORITIES HISTORICALLY FREQUENTLY HASN'T BEEN THERE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT? >> I GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO 1619. I KNOW PEOPLE MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND THAT BUT SINCE AFRICAN-AMERICANS FIRST ARRIVED ON THIS CONTINENT AS SLAVES, THEY'VE BEEN THE SUBJECTS OF HORRENDOUS SPEEMPLETS. THE MOST WELL KNOWN IS THE MSK GEE AIRMEN WHEN THEY VERY STUDIED FOR SIFF ALLOWS. IN OLDER GENERATIONS, THERE'S HUGE MISTRUST IN TERMS OF ACCEPTING A VACCINE. SAMPLE MINORITIES FOR A VACCINE? >> THERE'S NO EVIDENCE TO CONVINCE US THAT MINORITIES WILL RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO THE VACCINE BUT THE GENES THAT CONTROL OUR IMMUNE RESPONSES ARE POLYMORFHIC AND THERE ARE SLIGHT DIFFERENCES MINORITIES. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE VACCINES IS EFFECTIVE IN ALL THOSE GROUPS. SOLEDAD: SIT ONE BOOST OR TO TO -- TWO? >> SOMETIMES IT TAKES TWO IMMUNITY YOU NEED TO BE PROTECTED. SO WE DON'T KNOW YET. FOR A COUPLE OF THEM IT MAY BE THAT ANOTHER DOSE IS NEEDED. SOLEDAD: IS IT YOUR EXPECTATIONS THAT THE VACCINE WILL BE FREE TO ANYBODY WHO WANTED IT? >> I KNOW THAT AS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND THE LARGE DRUG COMPANIES. TO FRULES 100 MILLION DOLESES AND HAVE THAT AVAILABLE AND THAT IS GOING TO BE GIVEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR FREE. IF IT'S NOT FREE, THE VACCINES WON'T BE EFFECTIVE BECAUSE THE EFFECTIVENESS COMES WHEN AT LEAST 60% OF THE POPULATION HAS BEEN IMMUNIZED AND GIVEN THAT THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS INSURANCE AND COULDN'T AFFORD TO BUY THE VACCINE, IT ALMOST HAS TO BE FREE. SOLEDAD: ANY GUIDELINES AS TO WHO GETS ITS FIRST? >> THE MOST VULNERABLE AND THE FRONTSLINE HEALTH CARE WORKERS SHOULD BE THE FIRST TO GET THE VACCINE BECAUSE EFFECTIVENESS COMES BY PROTECTING THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE KNOLLS LIKELY TO GET DISEASE AND DIE FROM THIS. SOLEDAD: WHAT'S THE TIME FRAME? >> I BELIEVE THAT BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'LL KNOW WITH SOME CONFIDENCE WHETHER OR NOT SOME OF THESE VACCINE CANDIDATES WILL WORK BUT IT'S THEN GOING TO TAKE A COUPLE OF MONTHS, MAYBE LONGER, TO GET THEM FULLY VETTED AND ALSO TO MAKE THE NUMBER OF DOSES WE NEED TO START IMMUNIZING PEOPLE. SO MY EXPECTATION IS THAT I BY NEXT SPRING, EARLY SUMMER AT T