What A Day - God Save The Vaccine

Episode Date: December 3, 2020

The UK became the first country to authorize Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine yesterday, with vaccinations expected to begin next week. In the US, the CDC voted to give health care workers and residents of long term facilities access to the vaccine first, if and when it's approved.CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield predicted that the US could see close to 450,000 deaths from COVID-19 by next February, but that could be mitigated by following public health protocols. The CDC also put out a new holiday travel advisory and new guidelines on quarantining before and after a trip.And in headlines: PPP loans for small businesses went to big businesses, no more emotional-support dogs on flights, and the White House defends its right to have Christmas parties.

it's thursday december 3rd i'm akilah hughes and i'm gideon resnick and this is what the day where we're asking all the remaining monoliths to end the charade and just tell us where you are yeah quite frankly you're not as compelling as waldo like we get it you're a bunch of mirror things just show up yeah i don't need to pick you out. Unlike Waldo, you're very easy to spot. On today's show, stark warnings about the holidays from the CDC and new quarantine guidelines, then some headlines. But first, the latest. Today, we can announce that the government has accepted the recommendation from the Independent Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for distribution across the United Kingdom. After months of clinical trials involving thousands of people to ensure that the vaccine meets the strictest internationally

recognized standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness. All right, that was British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing the country's emergency authorization of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. This makes the UK the first Western country to authorize a vaccine, a major step in starting to bring an end to this pandemic. Russia and China have approved vaccines, but without waiting for the results from large scale trials. So how did this happen in the UK before the US? Great question. And it seems to be something that was also on the mind of Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who has been putting some pressure on American regulators of late to get moving a familiar thing from this White House. But the basic gist of it, based on reporting in The Times and elsewhere, is that the FDA looks over raw data from the vaccine trials, which is

estimated to be thousands of documents. It takes time. Whereas in the UK and across Europe, their regulatory agencies have tended to look at the analyses that are coming from the companies themselves, in this case, Pfizer and BioNTech. But in this particular case, the regulators in the UK said they did actually go over raw data and analyze tons of documentation. The Times also reported that the UK has a slightly different way of getting outside opinions from experts on approval, where they kind of work and meet as needed. And they deviated from the process that the rest of the European Union is following, which the UK is formally Brexiting by at the end of the year. So a bit of politics involved here

as well. Though this authorization beat the US, we know that the independent panel the UK is formally Brexiting by the end of the year. So a bit of politics involved here as well. Though this authorization beat the US, we know that the independent panel the FDA is working with is going to meet on December 10th. So it is moving right along here as well. And should it be approved for authorization, the first doses are reportedly set to be delivered on December 15th. Awesome. And so how soon is all this going to be rolled out in the UK? Okay, so apparently it's actually in the next few days. Pfizer is going to send the initial 800,000 or so doses from Belgium. They get packed up in dry ice and these insanely cold temperatures, and then they have to be driven and delivered.

It appears that the plan is to start actual vaccinations next week. And the UK has reportedly enough doses for 20 million people in their total plan thus far. Most of that's going to be next year. And they, like us, have a system they put together to determine who is going to be getting these first. In the UK, it's people who live and work in nursing homes and citizens who are older than 80 and healthcare workers after that.

We'll get into more on what the US plan is in a second. So that's Pfizer. Then the other vaccine company that's submitted for emergency use in the US is Moderna. And they announced yesterday that they're going to start testing their vaccine in children between the ages of 12 and 17. It doesn't seem like they're actually going to start that just yet, but they're looking to recruit about 3,000 people for that trial when they end up doing it. And so some experts have

said that one of the main things to be on the lookout for in a trial like this is kids possibly having stronger reactions due to more active immune systems. And Pfizer reportedly already started testing in children as young as 12 in October. So that is all on the horizon with approvals and trials in the FDA, exciting and fun stuff. But let's talk about the other big piece of this. As we mentioned, who will get these vaccines in the US first and how? So Akilah, take us through that part. Okay, so obviously, this brings us to the CDC. Earlier this week, we talked about a meeting to give advice to states on vaccine distribution. Remember, states, not the federal government, are the ones that will be in charge of the rollout. But this advice will likely become the official CDC recommendation that most states are expected to rely on. The advisory committee said what we expected.

They voted 13 to 1 to prioritize health care workers and people in long-term care facilities to get the vaccine first. States have until tomorrow to tell the federal government where they want their initial doses sent, so this is all happening incredibly quickly. And in terms of how the doses will get delivered, hospitals and other health clinics will give vaccines to health care workers. And according to reporting, companies like CVS and Walgreens will administer vaccines to long-term care facilities. These companies already have programs to do this for the flu vaccine each year, though the logistics are obviously different for that than these new COVID vaccines, which require sub-zero storage and two doses a month apart. Each state is going to have its own logistics,

so exactly how this goes could vary around the country. And it'll be an early test of how this whole vaccination process is going to work. Also in CDC news, yesterday they had some pretty intense warnings about the holidays and what Americans should do. So what all was said there? Intense is right. Yeah, I mean, they started off by recommending against travel pretty point blank. But I think they and we and everyone with a pulse knows that this is not going to happen for everyone for various reasons. In fact, we saw quite a bit of travel over Thanksgiving despite similar warnings. This guidance, though, was accompanied

by some extremely grim words from CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield. And right now it is so important that we recommit ourselves to this mitigation as we now begin to turn the corner with the vaccine. But the reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they're going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that's going to put on our health care system. That is really bleak. Yes. He also said that the country could see close to 450,000 cumulative deaths by February, but that it's in our power to mitigate that with mask wearing and all the other protocols we are all too familiar with at this point. And to underline this grim point he was making, according to COVID Tracking Project,

yesterday the U.S. hit over 100,000 people in the hospital for the first time ever. Also yesterday, over 2,700 Americans died, which is close to the single-day high we saw in April. And one other piece of guidance came out yesterday that we should go over because it will affect people who do plan to travel around this time of year. So what was this new bit on quarantining? All right.

So the CDC also put out their own recommendations for how to shorten that two-week quarantine that they've been pushing for travelers. Here's how that would work. If you have no symptoms and have tested negative for the virus, the CDC is saying you can actually stop your quarantine after seven days. You should take another COVID test at the end of the shortened quarantine, though, to be sure. And they say that rapid tests are fine. A lot of info has come out about the reliability of rapid tests, but who am I to argue with the CDC guidance? Like your crazy uncle on Facebook? I don't know. The CDC's chief medical officer explained that there is going to be an increased risk if you go this route,

so still, best option is to stay home and try again next year. But if you do plan to travel, here are the best times to get tested, according to the CDC. So one to three days before a trip, and again, three to five days after, five has been the observed median incubation period for the virus. And don't plan to do anything non-essential for a week after your return, all right? The vacation is whenever, and you come back, you got to sit at home for a week. So it's a lot to consider, re-travel, but if you're going to risk it, please be smart about it. And again, the CDC says maybe don't, so maybe don't. And that's the latest.

It's Thursday WOD Squad. And for today's tip temp check we're back on end of year lists people magazine revealed it's people of the year yesterday they are george clooney regina king selena gomez and dr anthony fauci okay some people have had more impact than others you'll have to check out the magazine to see how they came up with those four it's definitely an eclectic crew but on the subject, Giddy, who would you like to spotlight as your own WAD person of the year? I think we should do the thing again where the time cover was the mirror

and the monoliths are the mirrors. I love that. And we all venture out into the desert, get some fresh air, see ourselves in the alien monoliths and then we are all the people of the earth because collectively you know at some point we will have

made it through the earth and that's pretty good yeah I totally feel that I also just want to comment as well on the strangeness of this group of people and the different contributions that they may or may not have brought. I think I like all these people fine, but there's definitely one or two that are the odd people out in this arrangement.

Yeah, I similarly feel like there may be some people in here, person in here, that, you know, one of these things are not like the other. I don't know. Yes. We'll have to get the magazine to find out exactly the rationale, because I feel like if some people are on this list, I could have been in consideration as well. It's possible.

You know, if you push hard enough and you dream hard enough, you could be one of the four. That's right. On that point, though, Akilah, who is your WOD person of the year? Okay, so this is a really great question. I think the obvious answer is first responders. So like, yeah, okay, of course. They really outdid themselves and put it all on the line.

But within that group of first responders, for me personally, gotta be the food delivery people. I mean, I have not tried to like seriously cook. I guess I did Thanksgiving, but before that, you know, I had ambition in March and then I was like, you know what? We're just going to order. I don't have the bandwidth and they come in at any time you order it.

They're very friendly. They have been the people I've seen with the most masks in Los Angeles. Like I've never had the problem where I'm like, step back. You're being a problem. Like they seem to take it more seriously than everybody. And again, they're bringing me gifts, which I appreciate. appreciate so yeah i want to shout out all of

the delivery people you all make the world go round and just like that we've checked our temps they're hot like the desert where the monoliths have decided to pop up don't know why they don't want to go anywhere cold but uh we'll be back after some ads events. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. Our famously fair economy did its thing again this year, as half of the government's COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund for small businesses actually went to businesses that were big. A Freedom of Information Act request revealed that most of the $525 billion under the Paycheck Protection Program went to 600 large corporations. Half of those corporations got the $10 million maximum, including mom-and-pop restaurant chains TGI Fridays and P.F. Chang's. Several loans worth over $3.5 million also went to businesses that pay rent

to the Trump Organization and the Kushner family. Since its creation earlier this year, the PPP has been riddled with issues and suspicions of fraud. One issue was that businesses were initially given money based on their monthly payroll numbers, so larger companies were prioritized. Private banks were also in charge of distributing the loans, and as we know, they do not always act in everybody's best interest. Just a little scoop for you there. The upcoming relief bill is expected to put more money into the PPP, so hopefully that money will go to more businesses that actually need it.

Unfortunately, I've been told that my Etsy store, where I sell gorgeous charm bracelets from, recycled bottle caps just will not qualify. I'm sorry, man. They are really starting to take off. I know. Well, the official looking pet vest you got off Amazon will not cut it anymore because emotional support animals have been blacklisted on all flights in the U.S. The Department of Transportation finalized a rule yesterday to narrow down which animals can fly with passengers.

Now, only service dogs are permitted and emotional support dogs and all other animals are not. The new rule will require passengers with emotional support animals to check them into the cargo hold for a fee or to just leave them at home. The DOT said their decision is in response to an increased number of passengers bringing unusual animals onto planes and incidents of untrained animals biting other passengers or peeing on the floor. Goodness. Well, honestly, where else are they going to pee? You know, the agency does stand by a previous decision prohibiting airlines from banning specific breeds of dogs like Delta did in 2017 when it said it wouldn't allow, quote, pit bull type dogs onto its planes. By the way, Delta is still fighting to keep that rule.

Pit bulls are great dogs. Everybody knows this. Don't be fools. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres went full Greta in a speech yesterday telling a Columbia University audience that, quote, humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. I support this tone. We are done saying climate change is real. Now we're saying the human race should probably try to stay alive. It's the least they can do. Guterres referenced two recent climate

reports that described 2020 as one of the three warmest years on record, with 80% of the global ocean experiencing a marine heat wave and Arctic sea ice at its lowest recorded levels for July and October. He suggested that world leaders use the pandemic as an opportunity to reset priorities on climate change. And he laid out the UN's objectives, which included working together to achieve global carbon neutrality within the next 30 years. Also, on the topic of things that are burning, the UN's Commission for Narcotic Drugs voted to remove marijuana from a list of more dangerous drugs, including heroin and other opioids. Right on. This follows a recommendation from the World Health Organization last year, and it's expected to have the greatest impact on countries with conservative marijuana policies,

including many in Asia and the Caribbean. They'll be spreading more than Christmas cheer. The White House is hosting 20 holiday parties this month, with masks strongly encouraged but not required. The war on Christmas is over, and actually, coronavirus won. As always, guests will be able to enjoy Melania's signature decorations, which she clearly phoned in this year because they barely showed up in my nightmares. The events will flout CDC recommendations and the latest guidance from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Right now, the city is limiting gatherings to 10 people, which is the approximate number of people needed just to keep Jared and Don Jr. separate so they don't start fighting and knock over the creme brulee station. The White House did say that more restrictions would be in place than there were for an indoor party it hosted on election night. This is why you should always do a bad job so you can demand praise for when you do slightly less bad. Following the lead of his boss and personal mentor, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is hosting holiday parties of his own. His office reportedly sent out 900 invitations to an event on the eighth floor of the State Department.

900 people in an elevator going up to the eighth floor. We love this theater. Yeah, they got the club going up and maybe not coming back down. And those are the headlines. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review. Tell us why you voted George Clooney for Person of the year and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just invitations to White House super spreader Christmas parties like me,

what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And end the war with our planet. We're not going to win. Cut it out. Yeah, seriously.

It's a fruitless effort and it's got to stop, frankly. Yeah. It's enough. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tan is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein and our executive producers are Katie Long, Akilah Hughes, and me. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.