The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Keeping Up with the Coronavirus: Omicron Variant - Peter Hotez & Thandiwe Newton

Episode Date: November 30, 2021

Trevor covers the rise of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, Dr. Peter Hotez discusses "Preventing the Next Pandemic," and Thandiwe Newton talks about her documentary "President." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. How many people here celebrate Cyber Monday? You guys here celebrate Cyber Monday? I'm disappointed. I feel like Cyber Monday has lost the spirit of what it was about. Do you know what I mean? Like Black Friday still has the spirit. We're going to line up at midnight.

We're going to try and kill each other for a TV. Cyber Monday has no purpose. Like, what's the point of Cyber Monday? Because we do cyber every day. You know what I mean? No one waits for this day to order some shit from Amazon. You just like, Amazon even has the own day. It's got a prime day. You know what I mean?

I just feel like we've lost the spirit of the the the the day when we celebrated, baby Jesus, ordering things at 20% off. What did I buy? Oh, everything. I mean, Cyber Monday, I'm not going to not participate. Yeah, I just bought a bunch of shit. I got 40% off. I didn't need anything, but I just did it. Because that's what America is all about.

Yeah. And I'm on a it on eBay now. Circle of Life, Hakuna Matara. Coming to you from the heart of Times Square in New York City, the only city in America. It's the Daily Show. Here's edition. Tonight.

Oh my watch? Dr. Peter Hote. And Candya Newton. This is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah. Let's jump straight into the big story today, which is obviously the Omicron variant. The coronavirus mutation causing more chaos in the world than Riana's booty pajamas. Oooh. So let's try to break it down.

Not the pajamas, the variants. And another edition of Keeping Up with Corona. For most of 2021, the world has been fighting off various COVID variants, which are all more efficient than the OG from Wuhan. We had Alpha, we had Lambda, we had Delta. You know, COVID basically turned the planet into the the the, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not pajamas, not, not pajamas, not pajamas, not, not the pa, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not the p-pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the pa, the the the the the paunifiaunit-paumauma, the pauma, the paumauma, the paut, the paut, the the the the the more efficient than the OG from Wuhan. We had Alpha, we had Lambda, we had Delta. You know, COVID basically turned the planet into the shittiest fret-ooas of all time. But just when we thought we had it all figured out, last week, scientists in South Africa announced that they discovered a new variant. And what they saw is freaking people out.

Scientists are raising to learn more about a new COVID variant, already setting up alarm bells around the world. According to South African scientists, the Omicron variant has more than 50 mutations and is likely to be more transmissible. It has a bunch of mutations, a disturbingly large number of mutations in the spike protein, which is the business end of the virus. The COVID-19 vaccines target the spike tripepepepepepepepepepe. tip. tip. toe. toe. th. thuui. thui. thui. thui. thui. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the spike thi. thi. thi. thi. thi, thi, thi, th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thiaa. thi. thi. thi.the business end of the virus. The COVID-19 vaccines target the spike protein.

If the spike changes too much and in the wrong way, it could make the vaccines less effective. The president of Moderna said yesterday, what's most scary about this virus is it has managed to put all of its greatest hits into one variant. Yes, it's all the greatest hits in one place. Like if Mama Mia Mia killed you, you, you, you, you, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi, the the the thi. thi. thi. the the the the the the the thi. all the greatest hits in one place. Like if Mamma Mia killed you instead of teaching you about the power of love. And what's so scary about this thing is all the mutations to the virus's spike protein.

Because the spike protein is how the virus penetrates ourselves. It's basically COVID's dick. And a mutated dick is never a good thing. Yeah, there's no hallmark cards that say, congratulations on your mutated dick. But hey, I'm no expert. So to get us a more informed perspective, I sent Roy Wood Jr. out to CDC headquarters in Atlanta.

And Roy, I know you're standing by right now, what can you tell us? Well, Trevor, the Omicron variant is the 12th variant of COVID and the fifth variant of concern, now spreading in the 20th month of the global pandemic. I've been talking to the top scientists at the CDC and everyone seems to agree, come on, man, just stop, man. Just stop, man. Chill, man. Just, try it after variant, after variant. Just, damn. Oh, shit got the same. the tip. to. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the, threat, threat, te. te, te, te. te, te, te, te, tea. tea. te. threat, the. the. the the. the. Chill, man. Just vary it after variet after variet. Just, damn. Shit got to stop, bro.

I'm sorry, Roy, this is what the scientists are saying? Oh, no, of course not. I'm paraphrasing, Trevor. The actual scientific consensus on the Omicron is... Ah, shit. I gotta cancel this damn vacation. I've pushed it back toron is tot. Shit. I gotta cancel this damn vacation. I haven't pushed it back two three times. It's St. John's. I want to go.

Man ain't gonna shut everything down. Then the next thing you know, you're gonna have strange people delivering your food and you gotta wonder whether or not they've been eating some of your fridge fries, and then I've got to be cooped up cooped print the homework on the printer that has no ink. Then that's just another whole last day and then I'm, we're in a two bedroom apartment. It's three of us.

It's just not enough space. I can hear her phone calls through the wall. I can hear him playing a Nintendo switch. I'm trying tober Monday to fucking buy. I actually got a goddamn PlayStation that I can't even fucking play now because everybody's gonna be in the house because you can't play violent video games around the boy. We don't want him learning about violent. But what other games are there to play on a PlayStation other than violent games? You have to pretend violence in this country to keep from doing violence in real life.

And I think that's what she doesn't understand. She doesn't understand that that's what the video games do for me. And I just think if I just had a third bedroom. A third bedroom. All right. It was all we need. It was all we need. And that would give me the space that I need, but then we would have to move uptown and that's too far and then we're going to have a 40-minute train ride. Thank you.

And everybody's got Omer Cron. All right, thank you so much, Roy. Thank you so much, Roy. Thank you for keeping us updated on your developments. Thank you so much for that. Thank you so much did that happen after everything we did? I mean, for two years now people, we wore masks for some of the time. We social distanced when it was convenient. Then like half of us got vaccinated. What more is it going to take? But at the same time, we shouldn't panic because

this variant was just discovered. We don't know how long it's been around. We don't know if it causes more severe illness. We don't know if it can evade our vaccines. We know less about this variant than your grandmother knows about Jojo Siwa. And she just knows she's scared. That's it. And it could very well beons of changes to the iPhone, and then we're like, ah, I need a new iPhone, I need a new iPhone! And then you get it and you're like, wait, it's just a slightly different camera?

I killed a man in line for this thing. So right now, basically all we know about this strain, Omicron, is that it's called Omicron. That's all we know. And even the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the name the panel has just named the strain Omicron and classified it as a variant of concern. The World Health Organization named this variant Omicron instead of the next letters in the Greek alphabet, New or Xi. In a statement to the Associated Press, they said they skipped New because it sounds like the word New and that G is a common last name.

Yes, it's true. Gie is a very common last name, particularly among Chinese authoritarian leaders. I see you who. And this really shows you the clout that China has, man. Because the World Health Organization is like, oh, we don't want to offend one guy in China. Meanwhile, Greece is over here like, what? You stole our whole alphabet, Malacca! And it has been interesting to see how sensitive the scientific community has become about

naming COVID variants, right? Because back in the day, you realize back in the day, nobody cared. Like, nobody cared about naming diseases diseases. Doctors would even name diseases often themselves. I discovered a disease that destroys the mind making you slowly forget your life and the people that you love. And whenever people get this disease, I want them thinking of your boy! Alzheimer! Yeah, that will never forget me.

I mean, they might forget, but yeah, you know what I'm saying, yeah, it's got me quite cool. But the good news about them skipping those letters is that that means we're almost half way to Omega now, which is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. And that means, once COVID reaches the end of the alphabet, it can't make any more variance, people. That's just science, we did it, baby. Yeah. Now, the truth is that so far,

there are some encouraging signs that Omicron may only be causing mild symptoms in the people who have it. Although, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th, th, th. th, th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that that that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's thin, thi thi thi thi. thi, thi, thi Although experts say it'll take at least a couple of weeks before we really understand what the strain can do. But the world isn't waiting to find out. Governments are moving quickly tonight to limit travel into their countries in an attempt to slow the spread of the new COVID variant called Omicron. Overnight, the United States banned entry for non-citizen travelers from South Africa and seven neighboring countries. At least 44 other countries are also imposing travel restrictions.

I took immediate steps to restrict travel from countries in southern Africa. But while we have that travel restrictions can slow the speed of Omnicron, it cannot prevent it. But here's what it does. It gives us time, gives us time to take more actions, to move quicker, to make sure people understand you have to get your vaccine, you have to get the shot. Yes, if you give America just a couple more weeks, surely all the anti-vaxes will finally come around and get their shots. Oh, bless your heart, Joe. No, for real. I mean, I understand where their shots. Oh, bless your heart, Joe. No, for real.

I mean, I understand where the U.S. is coming from on this, right? If you can slow down the spread of Omicron, even a little bit, then you have time to research it. You have time to work on new vaccines, and you have time to consult with. Although Republicans aren't giving Biden any credit for taking a tough stance. In fact, today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, he tweeted that while Biden is banning travel from South Africa,

he's doing nothing to stop South Africans from crossing the southern border illegally. And you know, Greg Abbott has a very good point here. Every day, millions of South Africans walk across the Atlantic Ocean to cross the border. I mean, why did I book a flight? I could have just hissed a ride. What is this? This is the biggest load of bullshit ever. And look, props to the governor of Texas for being able to turn literally any story into a complaint about the border. Everyone's watching Red Notice on Netflix when what they should be doing is watching our southern border. Now you guys may not know this about me but I too am a South African. Relax, relax, everyone in the studio relax. I do not have the variant I think. Got the OG one. And as a

a South African who does not have the variant I think got the OG one. And as a South African, who does not have the variance, I think this travel ban is total bullshit. I really do. I mean, first of all, COVID is a hoax. We couldn't agree on that, right? No, but for second of all, Omicron has already been over a dozen countries, a dozen countries around.

We don't know where it started. We don't th th th th to th th th th to tho tho to tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho, tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho the the the the the the the the tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho the the the the tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho. tho. to to to to to to to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. thaea. thaea. to. to. We don't know where it started. We don't know how long it's been around. It's everywhere from Hong Kong to Israel to Spain. So why aren't you banning travel from all of those countries too? Huh? Only the African countries? What's the difference between the African countries? Ah. I still don't get the logic. Why, you think Omicron is going to get to Europe to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to to to to to to to to to to to, to, to, to, to, to, the to, the to, the the to, the, the, the, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to, toome, to, to, too, to, tooomorrow, toe, tooomorrow, toe, tooomorrow, toe, too, tooomorrow, to Europe and then just decide to stay there? I was going to spread to America, but I simply cannot leave the beauty of Barcelona. And look, I mean, maybe America is buying itself a couple of weeks before it gets overrun

with Omicron, but don't forget, don't forget about the cost of this action, too. Because you do realize that other countries are paying attention, and they realize that if they're gonna get punished for telling the world about new variants, they're gonna stop telling the world whenever their scientists discover new variants. I'm just saying, don't be surprised when the next variant pops up in Europe, and Italian scientists come out acting like nothing is wrong. Everything is a fine,

this is just how you say, a Tick-Tick-Tock challenge. But that's where we are right now. There's a new coronavirus that we don't know anything about. And because of that, I can't go home to my uncle's baby shower. And man, I really wanted to go. You don't see your uncle get showered by babies much. Anyway, when we come back, I'm going to be talking to an actual scientist about Omicron means for the actual world. You don't want to miss it. We begin with the developments on the new Omicron coronavirus variant. The name is Omicron. Omicron.

This new Omicron variant. Omicron. The rapidly spreading Omicron variant. The Omicron variant. Then there's Omicron. Is it Omicron? Omicron or something? Yeah. I might be messing up the pronunciation of this. Is it Omicron? Omicron? How do we say it? It's called the Omicron. Welcome back to the daily show. We've been talking about the new Omicron variant that's spreading around the world. And to continue that conversation, I'd like to welcome Dr. Peter Hotez on the the show. the the to. to. to. to. to. to. th. the to. to. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. to. to, to, to. Oh. Oh. Oh, to, toe. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to. Oh, to. Oh, to. Oh, to. Oh, to. Oh, the, the, the, the, the, the. Oh, the. Oh, the. Oh, the. Oh, the. Oh, the. Oh, the. Oh, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the tome.o.o.o. Oh, toe. Oh, toe. Oh, toe. Oh, toe. Oh, toe like to welcome Dr. Peter Holtes on the show. He's the co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital,

and he's here to talk more about what Omicron is and how countries should be reacting to it. Dr. Hotes, thank you so much for taking the time. Let's jump straight into this thing. How much should we be blaming South Africa for this new variant? I mean, basically South Africa destroyed the world, right? This is our fault. Yeah, I mean, this is so demoralizing what's being done now to the people of not only South Africa, but Botswana and neighboring countries, Malawi, etc. Look, it goes like this. The, our worst pandemic variant threats, right? The alpha variant.

How did that happen? It arose out of an unvaccinated population out of the United Kingdom at the end of 2020. So we already knew that if you leave large populations unvaccinated, that's how the worst variants arise. And then in 2021, it happened again with the Delta variant, arising out of an unvaccinated population in India. And that's what we're living with right now in the United States and most of the world. So what did people think was going to happen if we refused to vaccinate the African continent and helped Africa vaccinate itself?

This was both predicted and predictable. So the rise of Omicron was inevitable from the simple fact that the African continent is virtually entirely unvaccinated, maybe 6 percent, that rounds off to zero. And the point is there was never the leadership, the policy decision to work with African governments to get the African people vaccinated. And so I feel that the people in Southern Africa are paying for this twice. One, they're not vaccinated and now we're going to punish them further on enacting, implementing travel restrictions, which we already know don't work.

They haven't worked this entire epidemic. Why would they work now? Let me ask you this question, though. This is really confusing, I think, I th th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the people thi thioliolioli. I the people the people in the people the people the people the people the people the people the people the people the people the people their people their people thi. I thi thi thi thi. I thi thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm theea. thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooeea. thea. thea. thea. the epidemic? Why would they work now? Let me ask you this question, though. This is really confusing, I think, for a lot of people in and around the variants. And I think it's a two-part question. Number one, how do we know, or do we know where this variant comes from? You know, because people say,

South African variant or not, from, correct? And then the second part of that is, are we not only discovering a variant now, but not where the variant is, like, if people start testing all over the world and they now understand what to test for, aren't we just going to see, you know, Omicron popping up everywhere as if it is spreading when, of course. Of course, that's always my first talking point when people are ringing their hands about the O'macron variant, they're saying, oh my god, but it's in multiple European countries and in Australia, in Canada, maybe the United States, and I say, well yeah that's

been true of every variant we've had. By the time we identify a new variant, it's almost always all over the world. And so the fact that it's in multiple European countries in Australia, and Hong Kong and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the they. And, they. And, they. And, they. And, they. And, they. And, they. And, they. And, they. th. toe. toe. toe. toe.s. to. thea. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. toe. their their their the fact that it's in multiple European countries in Australia, and Hong Kong and Canada, like the US, that always happens. It's not unique to Omicron. It's true of every variant. From the very beginning we've known this, for instance, when we were all focused on enacting travel bans from China, right? As to be epidemic began, the pandemic began,

what happened? This virus came in from southern Europe? the, the, the, the to, the pandemic began. What happened? This virus came in from southern Europe to ignite the horrible epidemic in New York City and in the spring of 2020. That was a lesson in itself. By the time we identify a new variant, it's already gone global. So looking at the situation now,

you have people panicking, you have stock markets tumbling, you have people cancelling their traveling, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, toa, their, and, anda, anda, anda, anda, anda, anda, anda, anda, and Ia, and then, and then, and then, anda, anda, and then, the the the the the the their, their, their, their, and their, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, anda, anda, anda, anda, anda, anda, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the theyyymea, theyymea, theyyymea, theyyananananananan, theymea, somea, somea, the the the the the the the the the the markets tumbling, you have, you know, people canceling their travel plans. Nobody knows what to do. Airlines said they're canceling flights to and from South Africa, then they said they're going to undo it from the UK. Governments don't seem to know what they're doing. Was this a knee-jerk reaction? Did they react without thinking first?

Or did they do the new variance is all about. Where do you see this going as a scientist who's actually studying these viruses? Well, I think it's a little bit of that. I think a lot of it is the fact that these governments and the UN agencies were heavily criticized in the past for not reacting fast enough. In some ways, I think this is an overcompensation. But when you break it down, I think, you know, we have to be have to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be the the the to be the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the new new new new new thu.eau.eau.eau.ean.ean.ean. thean. thi. thi. the the the, you know, we have to be more realistic about how serious this variant is. First of all, the fact that is in multiple countries, we've already said, that's not a surprise. That happens with just about every variant.

Point number one. Point number two, in terms of severity of illness, there's no evidence I've seen that this, that the illness produced by the Amacron variant is worthing anything else that we've seen so take those two things off the table in terms of its resistance to vaccines it will almost certainly not be as susceptible to the original vaccinations as the original strains but we've seen this before we've had another variant out of South Africa in 2020 called the B1-351 the beta which should have been th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. So th. So th. so th. so th. so th. so th. So th. th. th. So th. th. So th. So th. So th. So th. So th. So th. So the the the the the the the the the the the the. So the. So the. So the. So the. So the. So the. So the. So the. So the. So the we've seen this before. We've had another variant out of South Africa in 2020 called the B1351, the beta, which should have been a wake-up called back then.

And then one out of South America, the Lambda. And the point is there was enough crossover, or what Tony Fauci call spillover, from our existing vaccines to partially cross-neutralize it. So my hope is that that's the case with our current vaccines, especially for individuals who've gotten three MRNA vaccines, where there's a 30, three RNA doses, where there's a 30 to 40-fold rise in virus-neuros neutralizing antibody.

So I am hopeful there'll be at least partial protection, and we'll know that over the next week or so. So our lab is looking that that that that that that that thiiiiiiiii, that that that thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, to be to be to be toe, toe, toe, thi, toe, toe, toe, toe, to toe, to toe, toe, toe, toe, th, th. th. th. th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, toe, toe, toe, toe, too, too, toean, toean, toean, toean, toean, toean, toean, toean, toe, thi, our lab is looking at our vaccine against the Omicron variant. Moderna's doing the same, Pfizer's doing the same, J&J's doing the same, so we'll know that hopefully over the next week. The best thing people can do right now is to use all the vaccines that are available. So get three doses if you can of MRNA, vaccinate your kids and if you can get vaccinated on top of that, that's the best, gives you the best possibility of helping you weather these new variants. Do you think, before I let you go, do you think, like scientists, slash, whoever was marketing this, do you think they made a mistake by calling it a vaccine? Do you think that's confused some people? Because they say,

well if I have a polio vaccine, I don't get polio, if I get the measles vaccine, I don't get measles. Do you think they should have just called this like the shot, like a COVID shot, like you have a flu shot? You know, I think, you know, if they had always from the beginning said this was a three-dose vaccine, then people would have understood this better. And as a three-dose vaccine, and is a three-dose vaccine, I I I I I I vaccine, I vaccine, I vaccine, I vaccine, I, I vaccine, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I those, I throwne, thr. thr. thr, thr, thr, thr, thr, thi, thi, like, like, like, thi, thi, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, thi, thi, thi, like, like, tho, tho, like, like, tho, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s, if, if thi-a. thro, if thin, if thin, if thin, if thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tha. thi. now showing could also halt infection as well. It's just that it wasn't marketed that way. It wasn't billed that way. But you know if you look at all our pediatric vaccines, for instance, what do we do with our kids? We give a series of primary immunizations, you wait six months to a year, and then you give the boost, and that's what gives you the long-lasting durable protection. The point is the MRNA vaccines were just going by the same playbook that every other vaccine we have.

And I tried to give that message back in January, February, but I think, you know, with the other problem that we had was the company CEOs. You know, we're sending out these press releases. And you know, when company CEO send out press releases, they're not meant for you or for me, they're meant for the shareholders. And so spectacularize their accomplishments and to jack up the stock prices. And they were very effective at doing that, but it was tone deaf to the impact and how these vaccines would be perceived by the public. Well, again, Dr. Hotez, to you. Thank you, Trevor. Thanks for all your great stuff. I really appreciate it. Appreciate you. Don't forget people.

Dr. Hotez's book, Preventing the Next Pandeyne is available now. All right, when we come back, the one and only Tandie Way Newton will be joining me right here in the studio, so don't go away. Welcome back to talk about her new documentary about the fight for democracy in Zimbabwe. Wow, tense. Tandiewe Newton, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Let's jump straight into it.

You know, when I first heard that you were going to be part of making a film about an election that was stolen, about people who felt like they were robbed, about a democracy that was under threats. I was like, are you doing something about America? And then no, the information came out and I was like, no, this is this is about Zimbabwe, a story that I've been following almost my whole life because of South Africa's proximity to the country. Yeah. But let's let's talk about that immediately. thi. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thin. to to thin. to to to thi. thi. thin. thin. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. the information the information thi. the information the information the information the information the information the information the information th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the information. th. the thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thee. thea. thea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea about Zimbabwe, but about democracy as a whole. And you decided to tell it. What inspired you to go, this is the moment to tell this story?

It was frustration more than anything. I've been a human rights activist for two decades. Activism very often comes out of suffering, personal suffering, or certainly witnessing the suffering of others. And that was both those aspects were true for me. And I have been fighting for the rights of women and children. And I realized recently that I've been a spokesperson for people all over the world except for Zimbabwe, my own home, because I feared the political backlash. Wow. And what happened last in 2018, 2019 is that I realized that this isn't about politics.

This is human rights and this is about the future of humanity. Right, right. Because the work that I've done in Congo similarly is, is this is, it's a framework that is, we can see all over the world. You talk about, is, is this America. this, this is, this? Is this? th, th, th, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, th, is, th, th, th, is, th, th, th, is, is, th, is, th, th, is, is, th, th, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the work that I've done in Congo similarly is this is, it's a framework that is, we can see all over the world. You talk about, is this America? Well, yes it is. It's happening in Zimbabwe, it's happening in Congo, it's happening in the United States, it's happening in the Middle East, it's happening everywhere, this imbalance, this knowledge of where power rests, and an inability for that to be shared amongst everybody. So to see my fellow Zimbabweans being devastated. And it's obviously it's been going on a long time and we thought Magabe, you know, the release of Magaabe to his own fate, yes, that was a big story. There was so much hope. Yes, a lot of people saw the story of Zimbabwe and here you had a leader who, you know, like, that, that, that, that, that, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, that, that, thi, thi, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, to be, that, that, that, that, that, that, th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to thi, to to to to to to to to to to to be to be to be to be to be to be to be, to be, to be, thi, thi, that was a big story. There was so much hope. Yes, a lot of people saw the story of Zimbabwe and here you had a leader who, you know, like many other leaders

in the world, came into power with really good intentions. It seemed at the time, I mean, you see the story unfolding in so many countries where the people who fight to free a country are not often the people who are best to lead that country where it is free. And look this is what Chimisa is currently saying. Nelson Chimisa, a young politician in Zimbabwe who is Minningagawa's opposition. Minigua should be happy to have a powerful opposition. Right. Should and win, win, and then you show the country that even with a powerful opposition you're still the rightful person to lead. I would love to know how you got the access that you did in this election because I mean when you're watching this documentary often times you watch documentaries and you know it's interviews that are predominantly trying to tell you what's happening in

the story in this story you are in the story we're seeing what is happening you know you're seeing how votes are being manipulated. You're seeing how precincts are reporting one person winning by 300,000 votes when there are only like 100,000 people who live in that area. How did you also see that there's access by one party, and none by another? Right, but how did you get the access into? I mean, because Zimbabwe has been notorious for very long,

and that's the ruling party, the Zanupi F has said, no, we're running our elections, we've won and that's none of your business. So how did you get in and how did you get your people in safely to tell that story? Camilla Nielsen, wonderful filmmaker. She had already made a documentary called Democrats, which was about Mugabe and they had allowed her to film, full access both parties. So here she was. They actually banned her first documentary. Mugabe banned it. Using the same law that they used for pornography, that it wasn't good for people to watch.

Anyway, and that happened. And then Camilla went on a three-year legal battle to have Democrats be shown, and she won. So as a result, she had the freedom to continue her workers' document to have Democrats be shown and she won. So as a result she had the freedom to continue her work as documentary maker and all we see in this film is what she witnessed. She doesn't, there's no talking heads. Right. She doesn't get anyone to say anything. She doesn't manipulate anybody. One of the things I love about her as a filmmaker. She has the, it's called a cinema veritae, it's a style where you do not intrude on what you see. All you see in this film is what was actually happening and it is more crazy than any kind of murder mystery, any kind of CIA

drama, you cannot believe what's happening in front of your eyes. You know when a story like this is told about a country like Zimbabwe, on a continent like Africa, there is a certain apathy that infects people when watching this. They go like, well, that is what happens. You know, they'll be like, well, that's a third world country, that's what happens, you know, it's bound to happen. Of course, that'll that'll that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, that'll, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the thi. thi's a thi. thi. thi. their their their their their their their their their their their their their, their, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like a their their their their their the their the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. thinneauananananananauanauanana. thi's a cauanana. their thia what's been happening and, you know, whether it's Brexit or Ukraine, or it feels like there is a different understanding of a shared threat if people are not careful. What is that idea?

What do you think people can learn in watching this, regardless of where they live, about democracy? We are a common humanity. We're a common humanity. And one thing that people that people that people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people that people that people people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that people that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that realize is that the people that they see are so like them. You'll recognize that what's happening in Zimbabwe is happening, as I've said, everywhere. Because we are all in a fight for our freedom.

All of us, whether it's in our business, whether it's at the workplace and you're an actress in the film business, whether you're a sportsman and you're trying to take a knee to say enough, we are all fighting for our freedom and there are microcosms everywhere. Or don't watch this documentary, but not watching. Let's go to watch it. Okay, here's one thing. This change doesn't happen fast and we think it does because we're in a time of incredible media, technology, but the truth is real systemic change. Takes time. Have faith. Have faith. Feel something. That's the other thing, I would say. Feel something. This documentary, others like it, force you to actually engage and feel.

We need to bring feeling back into our humanity. I really believe it. And the irony that technology, strangely, has come from lack of feeling, you know? And it's very often orchestrated by people who have lost their capacity to feel. You know, we know that we're in a world now where there are people that just don't have empathy. It's scary, right? But then work with us, work with us that still feel,

that still cry every day, that still can't turn away from the television. There is a system that currently works. It's hideous, but it's moving forward. We also know that there are people suffering in this system, and there are people cheating the system. If we find the cheaters, those that are suffering will suffer less. And that, it won't happen in, we can start something in our lifetimes.

That's why I tell people to watch it. Watch the documentary, draw the parallels to the world you live in, and the best way to say it is feel th.......... Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th.. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th. Thank th.. Thank th. Thank you, thi. Thank you, th.. th. th. th. thate. thi. that, thee, thee, thee, thi. thi. the the the the the the the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. theateat. theateat. theateateateateat. theat. theat. theat. theateat. theat. theate. the. the. tell people to watch it. Watch the documentary, draw the parallels to the world you live in, and the best way to say it is, feel. Tell you a Newton. Thank you so much for joining me on the show. Thank you for having me.

Always a pleasure to have you here. All right, people. President, will be in theater's December 17th, Well, that's our show for tonight, but before we go, some exciting news. The Daily Show has some holiday merch that has just dropped. It's our Happy Belated Holidays sweatshirt. Yes, the only gift that won't have you worried about supply chain issues. So if you want to check it out, scan the QR code or head to the link below. Until tomorrow, stay safe out there.

Get your vaccine. And remember, try to get on Omicron's good side now by standing for it online. Yeah, then when it gets here, it'll be like, this guy's cool. Watch the Daily Show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus.