What A Day - Life With The Fast Strains

Episode Date: January 26, 2021

Pfizer and Moderna say their vaccines may be less effective against a new coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom somewhat inexplicably lifted statewide stay-at-home orders… that decision received quick backlash given the dire state of the pandemic, especially in Southern California.Ice loss around the globe is accelerating at a record pace according to a new study, and is line with the worst case climate change scenarios that scientists projected. We discuss Biden’s early efforts to counteract climate change, including plans to limit new drilling on federal land, and more.And in headlines: Biden lifts Trump’s ban on transgender service members in the military, Amazon warehouse workers will vote on whether they want to unionize, and Rudy Giuliani faces a $1.3 billion lawsuit for Dominion defamation.

It's Tuesday, January 26th. I'm Ahila Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick, and this is What The Day, where we have lost the battle against our daily average screen time, but we have not lost the war. Yeah, that number taunts me every week, but it's not stronger than me. Mm-mm. It's just a number. Like everything else, we're all made of numbers. On today's show, a new study on climate change and how the Biden administration plans to tackle the issue, then some headlines. But first, the latest. And we're going to start with some news on coronavirus variants and vaccines. Yesterday, Pfizer and Moderna said their vaccines are effective against the new coronavirus strains that were first identified in the UK and South Africa. But the vaccines may be

less effective when it comes to the South African variant. So Gideon, what does this mean? I would characterize this as good news and then not so good news, but not exceedingly terrible news, which I'll take. Good that there is efficacy overall, but not good that it may be diminished for the strain found in South Africa. That is something that people have been quite concerned about. But we also learned about steps that the companies are taking to deal with this possibility. So Moderna's chief medical officer said that the company is going to develop a booster shot as a precautionary measure against the South Africa variant.

Also, they are reportedly looking into whether a third shot of the originally developed vaccine could also work to help the body fight off new strains of the virus as they emerge. Then the head of BioNTech, the company that partnered with Pfizer, told The New York Times that they're in discussions about what trials would be necessary to possibly authorize a new version of their vaccine that could better handle the strain as well. And he said that that could be done in about six weeks. Yeah. And this is kind of the way we update the flu vaccine each year, right? Yeah. So they at least have gone through the rigorous clinical trials that they've needed to so far. So it doesn't mean that this would be starting from scratch. They kind of know what they're doing at this point. But the issue we are now facing is that getting these shots as they exist right now into arms is even more important, because scientists say that the more the virus can spread, the more it can mutate. And right now, there are at least three strains that have been identified as being more contagious throughout

the world. At this point, the strain found in the UK has been discovered in over 20 states in the US. And the strain originating from South Africa hasn't been found yet in the U.S., though we don't really know because our genomic sequencing is not ideal. And then yesterday, health officials said that a similar one to the South Africa variant identified in Brazil had actually been found in Minnesota. And so these things really travel, just like COVID. On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly should we all be panicking right now? Look, I think we are going to take it in stride as we have with every day of our lives for a long time. But let me try to explain why I think people are more concerned about the strain found in South Africa and the one that shares mutations that was found in Brazil. So the major difference we know

so far about this strain is that some lab studies have found that the mutations make it more resistant to antibodies that people have from vaccinations or a previous COVID infection. So that's on top of this contagiousness factor. But that might be okay because of something called a, quote, cushion effect, meaning that the vaccines might create such a strong immune response overall that even with that reduced antibody strength, they will still be effective. That's something that Dr. Fauci brought up in a press briefing last week. And an immunologist that the Times spoke to also noted that neutralizing antibodies are just one part of the body's overall immune response. So it's not the only thing that is going to protect people in these circumstances. There's also T cells and other mechanisms that I'm

sure other people that are smarter than I could explain. So for now, the scientific view appears to be as these develop, keep vaccinating while we know that they work and ensure that that is also happening worldwide. Yeah. And meanwhile, the US and other countries are responding by initiating or continuing travel restrictions. So what's the view from the Biden administration on this? Yeah, they seem to be taking it pretty seriously. President Biden is planning to add South Africa to a list of countries with travel restrictions to the US. That was announced yesterday and is supposed to go into effect on Saturday. Then Biden is also expected to extend similar bans that were imposed on Europe and Brazil from the last administration. Then Israel is going to go a step further by pausing

inbound and outbound flights of foreign airlines until the end of the month. And the EU's executive body also proposed more travel restrictions on Monday in response to the presence of variants. So a lot of responses that we are seeing across the globe already. Yeah. And meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom somewhat inexplicably in all of this lifted statewide stay at home orders right here in the epicenter. We love to get our alfresco on while we're breathing in the cremated remains of our loved ones. We do. We do indeed. So according to the LA Times, this means LA County and other counties throughout the state are now going back to the colored tier system that existed before the worst of this recent surge.

That seems to mean that most non-essential indoor business is still not happening, but that hair salons and outdoor dining could resume in limited fashions in some places. But local officials can still opt to keep restrictions in place depending on what is going on in their communities. So as we alluded to here,

the decision is getting backlash and drawing confusion given that there are some pretty mixed signals to say the least on how things are going statewide. Hospitals in Southern California are still struggling, and a variant that is originating in the state has been found in a lot of recent tests in Los Angeles. And then Newsom has also been criticized for a lack of transparency on the data

that is actually driving the decision-making that he is announcing. So lots to unpack and continue following there, but on to a separately serious global story, climate change and some recent research on it. Yeah, it's definitely a global story. It's the definition of our globe. Well, the first of its kind study published yesterday

in the scientific journal, The Cryosphere, they found that ice loss across the globe is accelerating at a record pace and is in line with the worst case scenarios that scientists projected. So, you know, not really any way I can make that sound better. But the lead author on the study, Thomas Slater, warns that coastal cities worldwide will experience the grave effects of sea level rise over the course of the century. To be specific, for every centimeter of sea level rise, approximately a million people are in danger of being displaced from low-lying homelands. But beyond sea level rise, approximately a million people are in danger of being displaced from low-lying homelands.

But beyond sea level rise, communities will also face loss of mountain glaciers, which are a crucial freshwater resource. So slowing this down is critically important. Yeah, it is the most important thing, I would argue. So we've obviously lost years of work that we should have been doing on this issue during the Trump administration. But let's quickly check in on how Biden is going to approach this. Yeah. So so far, it's a lot of executive actions. Last week, we mentioned a few, including rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, which despite Ted Cruz's dumb assertion, isn't just something that people in Paris care about. Biden also revoked the Keystone Pipeline permit. Both of these are monumental acts, especially for indigenous people who have

protected the lands forever and really brought climate activism around the pipelines into the mainstream. Tomorrow, President Biden is expected to release more executive orders to figure out how extensive a ban on new oil and gas drilling on federal land should be. A ban would fulfill a campaign promise that the oil industry was unsurprisingly against. Biden is also expected to direct the government to conserve 30% of all federal land and water by 2030. And he'll be issuing a memo to elevate climate change to a national security priority. So definitely hitting the ground running there. Yes, good, good and good. He definitely started to take this issue more seriously throughout his campaign and talked

about tackling it with an all government approach from all sides as part of his plans for national security, the economy, and equity. That's right. So the Times is reporting that Biden will be announcing a variety of commissions tasked specifically with creating environmental justice, helping displace coal mining communities, and creating jobs within this larger climate agenda. And within these plans, the Biden administration is working to free up as much as $10 billion in FEMA money to protect against climate disasters before they happen, instead of, you know, just chucking paper towels at Puerto Ricans and denying the impact of hurricanes.

It's definitely a step forward. But the maneuver would also remove the need for congressional intervention, which always means quicker results. So if you ask me, solid first week, you know, pretty good. The bigger pieces of Biden's climate agenda will require Congress and some moves could be included in economic recovery legislation. That's going to be important for bigger, more immediate reductions in carbon emissions. So we'll keep following these developments, but that's the latest for now. It's Tuesday WOD Squad, and today we're talking about a publication that almost did a pandemic fire fest. the weekend, Forbes reportedly posted a message on its 30 under 30 Slack inviting honorees to a month-long residency program in Bermuda, which would allow them to network and escape the quote monotony and gloom of the coronavirus pandemic. Nevermind that Bermuda is in the CDC's highest

tier of COVID-19 risk right now, or that lots of people traveling there would be coming from our country, which is the international COVID epicenter. Anyway, once news of the program went public, Forbes quickly figured out it was a bad look and canceled it. So Giddy, my question for you, what are your preferred methods for escaping monotony and gloom right now that aren't flying to Bermuda? Well, I travel pretty far. Similarly, like quite as far as Bermuda in that I run around the borough that I live in.

Yeah. Explore a couple of different side streets here and there. Bermuda in that I run around the borough that I live in explore a couple of different side streets here and there sometimes I'll get really crazy how's that not monotony? it's a little bit monotonous but you know sometimes you change the

route up in the middle you're like ooh which street am I gonna take to get back to my house? is it gonna be really uphill? Is it going to get colder while I'm out here? Is the sun going to go down? There's all kinds of excitement. It's very similar to what Forbes was proposing here.

And, you know, it's less risk, which is what I'm looking for in my life. I take that. Honestly, good for you. You know, I think that finding healthy ways to deal with the monotony and gloom, which I love that that's like the phrasing that they used as if everyone else on Earth is a dealer. They're like, no, you all are under 30. So it's especially bad. I'm like, come on. But yeah, that sounds nice. But same question for you, Akilah. How are you defeating, as Forbes would call it, monotony and gloom?

I mean, I was going to say drugs, but that's not true. I'm not using drugs for that purpose. I'm not using drugs. I have been trying new hobbies. So at the beginning of the, you know, stay at home orders, I was playing piano a lot. I've kind of fallen off, which I'm not proud of. And the truth is I was intimidated by learning different chords on the left hand. The right hand felt really natural. The left hand is like real messed up. So, you know, that's why I quit. But last week I started doing yoga, which terrible at.

I mean, truly, like I told myself if I could make it 10 minutes and it's not the worst thing possible, then maybe I'll keep trying it. Like I gave myself every out. I'm like, if I don't want to get on the floor, then I don't, you know, I don't have to. And I think I've like, I've pretty well stuck with it. It's been like four or five different classes now. And I feel like I'm, I'm at least loosening up. I don't think I'm ever going to be good at yoga. I'm not that committed, but you know, it's a nice way to get rid of the monotony and gloom is finding new muscles. You've never, ever, ever worked out and being injured. It's great. I'm excited for you to be a full-on instructor in a year. I think that you're going to excel at it in a way that you never thought was possible. And before you know it,

they're going to open hot yoga classes. You're going to be mic'd up. Maybe they're mic'd up. I don't know. That's just me assuming that yoga classes are like Peloton or spin classes, um, leading hot yoga, you know? Yeah. I gotta say, I don't believe in your dream for me, but I think it's really nice that you, uh, hold me in such high esteem. And just like that, we've checked our temps, stay safe, stretch or run, or, you know, get out of the monotony and gloom. And we'll be back after some ads. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines.

President Biden signed an executive order yesterday reversing Trump's ban on transgender service members in the military. The order immediately prohibits any person from being forced out of the military on the basis of gender identity, and it orders the Department of Homeland Security to re-examine the records of service members who were discharged or denied re-enlistment because of the former Trump policy. LGBTQ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign said of the move, quote, for years transgender patriots were forced to continue to hide their identity while serving in our military. But today they may live and serve openly as themselves. Unfortunately, though, also yesterday, Republican lawmakers in Montana pushed forward two bills targeting trans children and teenagers. One bill prohibits trans youth from participating in school sports under the gender they identify with, and the other practically

bans gender affirming medical care for minors. Lawmakers in several states, including Texas, North Dakota, and New Hampshire, are also weighing similar proposals this year. More than 2,000 workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, will vote next month on whether they want to unionize. It's being described as one of the biggest and most achievable pushes towards unionization within the company in the U.S. Now, Amazon is shaking in its boots, trying its best to bury the situation in Alabama. Last week, the company filed a motion to delay the union election, which was set for early February. Employees will be sending their votes in by mail to avoid health risks due to the pandemic,

but the company borrowed a line from Trump stating, quote, The best approach to a valid, fair, and successful election is one that is conducted manually in person. Quick reminder to Amazon that you are a massively successful tech company and are known for finding solutions to things. Just a few weeks ago, over 200 people in the Bessemer warehouse caught the virus and the county that they're in has a 17 percent positivity rate. So, yeah, voting in person is clearly risky. This is just Amazon's latest effort to intimidate its American employees out of unionizing. Solidarity to those folks and keep on pushing. The dust has settled on the inauguration and now we've come to everyone's second favorite part of election season.

Guys getting sued because they made stuff up about voting machines. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer and lead mixed-use industrial space event planner, everybody remembers what I'm talking about, was hit with a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit yesterday. Wow, with a B. With a B from Dominion Voting Systems. After Trump lost the election, Giuliani repeatedly promoted a conspiracy that said Dominion machines had flipped votes to Biden,

which included buzzy details like a connection to deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Wow. In their filing, Dominion argued that Rudy profited from his misinformation campaign, both from reportedly huge fees he demanded from Trump and from traffic to his podcast, where he, quote, exploited election falsehoods to market gold coins, supplements, cigars, and protection from cyber thieves. Heads up, if you listen to Rudy's podcast, the best way to avoid cyber thieves is to just ask your grandson to limit your access to the computer. It is for the best. For his part, Giuliani described the lawsuit as a, quote, act of intimidation by the hate-filled left and said he was contemplating a countersuit.

Dominion also filed a lawsuit this month against Trump lawyer and Kraken stan Sidney Powell and has indicated it plans to file more lawsuits. It's possible that even Trump will face legal repercussions for spreading lies about the company on Twitter in the weeks leading up to the siege on the Capitol. Well, I love the party of personal responsibility being held responsible. So Americans are coming closer to our dream of never having to look at Andrew Jackson with the news that the Biden administration is fast tracking a plan to put Harriet Tubman's portrait on the front of the $20 bill. In 2017, the Trump administration pushed back on this Obama-era initiative with former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying at the time that adding new security features was a more urgent priority than the redesign. Apparently, they were under the impression that security features don't work

unless you have a genocidal slaveholder on the money instead of an actual national hero. The Obama- era timeline saw the bill getting unveiled in 2020, but under Trump, release was pushed back to 2028. The new Treasury Department hopes to release the Tubman 20 sooner. Anyway, I'm excited for people to start getting the reparations payouts and briefcases full of Tubmans. Personally, I won't be accepting or using any other bills, so don't ask. It's Tubman, it's Sacagawea, all the way down. Yeah, the rest of my money is going up in flames. Yeah, there you go. And those are the headlines. Well, last thing before we go, this week on America Dissected, Abdul speaks with Dr.

Micah Johnson to discuss the vaccine rollout and share advice for those worried about getting their shot. Yeah, it's a super useful episode, so check it out and subscribe to America Dissected wherever you get your podcasts. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, unrelease the Kraken, please, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just the names of non-slaveholders on $20 bills 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 keep Forbes away from Bermuda. I think that they're, you know, they didn't ask for this and they don't want it. 30 over 30 worst ideas. 30 out of 30 on the scale. 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 Kshaka.