What A Day - The Test Is In The Mail
Episode Date: January 10, 2022President Biden announced last month that his administration purchased 500 million at-home Covid-19 tests that Americans will be able to order for free. That pledge came while the country was dealing ...with Omicron, which has only continued to fuel an explosive growth in cases. We answer some of the questions of when and where those tests will become available.The U.S. meets with Russia today in Geneva, with other NATO allies set to join throughout the week. It’s a high-stakes conversation, with the Associated Press stating that these talks could “shape the future of not only the [US-Russia] relationship but the relationship between the U.S. and its NATO allies.” And in headlines: A deadly fire in the Bronx killed at least 19 people, the three white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery were all sentenced to life in prison, and Amy Schneider became the first woman on Jeopardy! to win more than a million dollars in a regular season.Show Notes:Wall Street Journal: “How Reliable Are Covid-19 Rapid Tests for Detecting Omicron?” – https://on.wsj.com/31FvEwCAssociated Press: “Kazakhstan adds uncertainty to talks with Russia on Ukraine” – https://bit.ly/3HOMqsFFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/
Transcript
Discussion (0)
It is Monday, January 10th. I'm Gideon Resnick.
And I'm Josie Duffy Rice. And this is What A Day, where since it's not on TV and no one can fact check us, we are now identifying as the winners of a Golden Globe.
Yes. So last night we took home one of those big shiny balls, or we could have anyway. You really would have no idea.
We love that. We love to win everything. one of those big shiny balls, or we could have anyway. You really would have no idea.
We love that. We love to win everything.
On today's show, a deadly fire in the Bronx killed at least 19 people yesterday. Plus,
Amy Schneider continues to dominate Jeopardy by becoming the first woman to win more than a million dollars in a regular season. But first, we talk testing. Yay.
The federal government will purchase one half billion, that's not million, billion with a B,
additional at-home rapid test with delivery starting in January.
That was President Biden the week of Christmas last year. That pledge came while the country
was dealing with Omicron, which has only continued to fuel an explosive growth in cases in the U.S. in the weeks since, straining health care systems, schools, and much, much, much more.
So we are now in January.
Gideon, where does that testing plan stand?
Because we are yet again, as you know all too well, dealing with enormous problems with getting people tested and getting results in a timely manner, etc.
Yes, that is right. That is a significant understatement, too.
So let's unpack that by first talking about the $500 million that Biden referenced there.
So these are those self-administered at-home rapid tests that you and our audience will likely be familiar with at this point,
given how many times we've had to shove things up our nose and swirl them, etc. over the past two years. So the
White House is reportedly working out details with the US Postal Service to deliver those kits to
homes across the country. And a White House source told CNN that the first contract was recently
signed to purchase pre existing tests and to use them for this distribution process. So that is
expected to be just the first of many in the coming weeks. So at this moment, I guess this is a better late than never situation from the White House,
because if you recall, the first iteration of Biden's plan on testing at home tests would
just be reimbursed through your health insurance provider.
That led to this notorious exchange between reporters and White House Press Secretary
Jen Psaki last month. To push to ensure insurers are you're able to get your your tests refunded means 150
million Americans will be able to get free tests.
It's kind of complicated, though.
Why not just make them free and give them out and have them available everywhere?
Should we just send one to every American?
Maybe.
Then what happens if every American has one test?
How much does that cost?
And then what happens if every American has one test? How much does that cost? And then what happens
after that? All I know is that other countries seem to be making them available in greater
quantities for less money. So Saki has since expressed regret for that exchange, but still.
I mean, who can blame her? Usually health insurance companies reimburse you right away
very easily. So is it that much to ask? Very easily.
So what more do we know about exactly how this is going to work? Does this mean all of us are going to get a package in the mail? What's the deal?
My understanding is it's not automatic like that, but we're still going to get more details soon.
As of last week, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients was saying
that Americans will start getting their tests, quote, in the coming weeks. So you
and our audience may be asking, where do you get these? Are they just magically showing up Santa
Claus style? The answer appears to be that there will be a government website where people can
request them, but that is only going to be online once the first batch of tests are available.
There are still some other questions that remain about what kind of home test people will receive and whether it's going to be possible to request multiple.
Now, that other avenue, the even more arduous one, the quote unquote free at home rapid test through private insurance reimbursement, as we mentioned before, is still going to be a thing that will begin this Saturday.
And it will require people to seek reimbursement after purchasing at a store. Now,
I should say there are other city and state things going on too, in addition to what the
federal government is doing here. So this is welcome news for people who have struggled to
get tested or find a rapid test in the past several weeks, which is basically everybody.
So let's talk for a second about how these are going to be used practically. So the CDC drew all this flack for shortening the recommended isolation period and not requiring
a negative test to get out of isolation.
What's the current thinking from epidemiologists on these rapid tests as they relate to Omicron?
Yeah, it's a good question.
There is some evidence that I've seen that the rapid antigen tests are a little less
sensitive to Omicron than other variants, particularly, it seems, in the early stages of some infections.
But health experts like Dr. Ashish Jha of Brown University have recently said that is not reason enough to exclude them from the process of getting out of quarantine.
If anything, the opposite.
Here he is on ABC's This Week yesterday.
The antigen tests remain a very, very effective tool. The one difference we've
seen between Omicron and Delta is in that first day of symptoms, it does look like the test is a
little less sensitive, but that's for the first day. Beyond the first day, these antigen tests
continue to work really effectively. And so I think they are a bedrock of our long-term strategy
for managing this virus. Yeah. And so one other thing I learned from reading a Wall Street Journal article,
it's kind of on this topic that we can link to.
It's not completely settled science at this point
when it comes to how good these tests are with Omicron
as opposed to other variants,
but it is more common, generally speaking,
that a rapid could produce a false negative
compared to a PCR, the lab-based test,
because the rapids have a lower sensitivity.
And with Omicron, there also appears to be a very short incubation period. That's the time span between when you get exposed
and when you become infectious. So the possibility could exist then that a person would test negative
on one and then be infectious mere hours later. That's according to one of the experts with whom
they spoke in this article. Oh boy. It's interesting to hear the doctor say that,
right? Because I feel like we've all heard 20 stories about people who tested negative on a
rapid test, positive on a PCR. So as always, it's hard to know how to sort through all this
information. So what then are the best practices for using these tests? How should people go about
thinking about them? Yeah. I mean, one suggestion that was mentioned in that article for rapid
tests is to maybe wait a day or two after developing symptoms.
And if you do test negative but you think or you know you were exposed or have symptoms, take another day or so after or get a PCR.
As you alluded to, Josie, and as I mentioned before on here, I had a negative rapid before getting a positive PCR right after.
Right.
But again, like that straight up guidance is I think better suited for a perfect world and not the kind of horror show that we're dealing with and before any of these rapid tests
do arrive in the mail the testing sites and facilities that we might be accustomed to going
to are still very very swamped there are reportedly some labs like one at the university of north
carolina that are limiting tests just to symptomatic people and others who might need it before
surgeries for example that is allegedly allowing for faster turnaround times there,
but of course also risks missing some virus out there. But on the other hand, you don't want a
situation like what is happening during the surge in places like New York City, for example,
where the turnaround times for results could be up to like a week in some cases, because then you
could also have people running around
and spreading it unbeknownst to them.
What does it really matter to you to find out,
oh, a week ago, I had something.
You need something that's more tangible in real time.
Now, that's all to say that the more testing,
even the modestly less sensitive variety, the better.
And people should not have to be scrounging
and going through all these difficult methods to get it either. Yeah. More on the federal testing plan and all
of this quite soon, unfortunately. Yeah. So a lot of new news and hopefully Omicron
starts looking better soon. Let's hope. All right. So we're moving to another story. The United
States is meeting with Russia today in Geneva with other NATO allies set to join throughout the week. It's a very high stakes conversation with the Associated Press stating that these talks could, quote, shape the future of not only the US-Russia relationship, but the relationship between the US and its NATO allies. So Gideon, very casual. Just a quick talk about everything. Ultimately, the Biden administration
hopes to lessen tensions between the US and Russia this week. We'll see if that happens.
That would be good. So what do we know about what they're actually set to talk about here?
At the very top of the list is the ongoing threat to Ukraine that Russia poses. This meeting was
quickly arranged in response to Russia sending more than 40,000 troops to the Ukraine border, a number that is only growing. And also growing
is the U.S. concern that Russia is planning to try to increase their control of Ukrainian territory
the same way they did back in 2014. President Biden has threatened Russia with severe economic
sanctions if Russia does choose to invade Ukraine. Here's Secretary of State Antony
Blinken on ABC's This Week yesterday. We've been working in tremendous collaboration with
European partners and allies and beyond to make it very clear that there will be
massive consequences for Russia if it renews its aggression.
So the Ukraine issue is top of the list, but it's not the only issue on the table. Less important,
but sure to be discussed are a whole list of what the AP calls festering but largely unrelated disputes,
including arms control and cybercrime, among others. During a pandemic, festering is another
one that I'm going to have to part with as a word. Can't use that trigger word. Please do not.
So this meeting comes after there's been more unrest in the region, particularly in Kazakhstan,
where Russia recently sent in paratroopers.
We've talked about a little bit here, but can you update us about where that is at the moment?
Yeah, so over the past week, week and a half, protesters broader than just the price of oil and include immediate release of political prisoners, full resignation of the president and the government, and withdrawal
from all alliances with Russia. In response to the civilian protests, Kazakhstan military and
law enforcement have reportedly killed 164 anti-government protesters, injured at least
hundreds more, and arrested over 4,400 people. And I think
we can assume that those numbers are the low guess of what's actually happening in the country.
The military and state violence has been expressly encouraged by Kazakhstan President
Kasim Jomar Tokayev, who authorized them to, quote, fire without warning.
Always great to hear the president say that.
The president was the one who requested
that Russia send troops to stop the protests,
and Russia did just that.
And, you know, it's not surprising that a president
who in his three years of office has cracked down on dissent
and punished journalists and human rights activists
would ask for Russian troops to quell civilian protests.
And it's also not surprising that this is yet another conflict
that complicates the meetings this week, right?
So Fiona Hill, the former senior director for Russia and Europe
at the U.S. National Security Council,
told the Associated Press that the events in Kazakhstan are, quote,
probably going to accelerate Putin's desire to do something in Ukraine.
Wow.
Which is not what we wanted.
The opposite of the goal.
Yeah.
On that note, then, are U.S. officials optimistic about the talks this week?
Yeah, they're feeling great about it, Gideon. No, I'm just kidding. They're not optimistic.
No, absolutely not. The U.S. has actually already said it refuses to discuss certain asks of Russia,
including limits on troop deployments in the region's NATO countries.
But they have said they're open to reducing the scope of U.S. military action in the region's NATO countries. But they have said they're open to reducing the scope of US military action in the region, as long as Russia does the same. But whether or not that deal
can happen is yet to be determined. And in fact, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he
doesn't expect any major breakthroughs. He said that he expects that at best, they will be able to
deescalate tensions in the short term. And still, even that seems like a tall order at the moment.
Russia has expressed great displeasure with statements made by the Secretary of State
about their deployment of troops into Kazakhstan.
After Blinken said, quote, one lesson of recent history is that once Russians are in your
house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave.
The Russia Foreign Ministry replied, quote, if Antony Blinken loves history
lessons so much, then he should take the following into account. When Americans are in your house,
it can be difficult to stay alive and not be robbed or raped, unquote. So yeah, not like
casual diplomatic statements coming in advance of this dinner. No. What's more, during a preliminary
dinner that was held last night, a Russian official stated that the U.S.
had a, quote,
lack of understanding of Russia's demands.
And that was basically an attempt,
many think, to lower expectations
of any agreement happening this week, right?
So we'll be following the situation
in the days to come.
We'll keep bringing you updates
throughout the week.
And that's the latest for now.
So we'll be back after some ads.
Let's wrap up with some headlines.
At least 19 people have died and dozens have been hospitalized
after an apartment complex fire in the Bronx yesterday.
New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a press conference that the fire started when a malfunctioning electric space heater caught fire Sunday morning.
The flames quickly spread to the rest of the building, filling it with thick smoke.
Many residents were trapped in their units with no other option than to break their windows open for air and to wait for help. That's just unimaginably sad.
My God.
Yeah.
The three white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery were all sentenced to life in prison by a Georgia court last Friday.
And February 2020, Arbery, who was black, was out for a jog in southern Georgia when father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael,
as well as their neighbor
William Bryan, followed him with their pickup truck before shooting and killing him. All three
were convicted of murder and other counts by the state last November. The McMichaels will serve
life without parole, while Bryan would be eligible for parole after serving at least 30 years, at
which time he'll be in his 80s. After Friday's sentencing, Arbery's mother,
Wanda Cooper-Jones, said this in front of the courthouse.
Thank you all who supported me, who stood with me through this very, very long, hard fight.
The three men were also charged in a federal court for hate crimes and attempted kidnapping,
and the jury selection for that is scheduled to begin on February 7th.
Today we have an entry in the vanishingly rare category
called Good News About Voting Rights. So 800,000 non-citizens and dreamers in New York City are
celebrating a new law that took effect yesterday that will allow them to vote in local elections
as early as next year. So by 2023, non-citizens who have been lawful permanent residents of the
city for at least one month will be able to vote for the city's mayor, city council members,
borough presidents, comptroller, and public advocate.
These non-citizen New Yorkers are still ineligible to vote in state and federal elections,
and undocumented residents cannot vote under this new law.
Republicans have vowed to challenge the new law,
but unless a judge stops its implementation,
New York City will become one of the first major cities in the U.S.
to grant municipal voting rights to non-citizens.
Idanis Rodriguez, a former city council member who led the effort to get the legislation approved,
said, quote, we build a stronger democracy when we include the voices of immigrants.
In an age of overstimulation that has left many of us with rapidly shrinking brains,
count me as one of those people, one person has proved that being smart is still possible,
and that is Amy Schneider, the trivia master who became the first woman
and fourth contestant ever to surpass $1 million in regular season winnings
on Jeopardy! last Friday.
Here's the question that sealed the deal.
Our last final Jeopardy! of the week is in the category 20th century nonfiction.
Here's the clue.
Norwegian Independence Day and A Vast Blue Sea are mentioned in chapter one of a 1948 book by this man. We come to Amy Schneider, our champion.
Which writer did she think of? Who is Heyerdahl? Yes, that's correct. In 1947, a Norwegian scientist
named Thor Heyerdahl took his raft, the Contiki In 1947, a Norwegian scientist named Thor Heyerdahl
took his raft, the Contiki, across the Pacific
just to prove that it could be done.
Wow.
Did you know that?
I totally knew that, Gideon.
And I would have a million dollars.
No, I had no idea.
I still don't totally know what we're even talking about.
That question, that was a good one.
Schneider crossed the million dollar line during her
20th consecutive game. She's back on the show tonight
and will have to win four more times to reach her next
milestone, which is the show's third
longest streak. Long winning streaks
are becoming more common on Jeopardy,
a trend that's been attributed to the availability
of online prep tools and
even pandemic related production delays, which
may have given contestants more time to study.
Schneider herself was skeptical that cramming for Jeopardy is really possible.
She said to hold down a streak, quote, you have to just live a life where you're learning stuff all the time.
Which I feel like, you know, give us a little bit more hope that we will one day be able to win Jeopardy than that.
I know.
But still exciting.
Yeah, it is.
And she is apparently a big Warriors fan and was at the Warriors game yesterday with the
return of Klay Thompson after like two years of not playing.
And it's making my heart feel good.
And I'm like, why?
Why do I not feel icy coldness to the Chase Center and all of the fans of the Golden State
Warriors who are a known enemy of the best team in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But I digress.
I love this whole situation, and I love Jeopardy, and good for her.
And you know what?
You love the NBA.
You might not love the Warriors, but we take what we can get in these trying times.
Exactly.
That's exactly right.
That's our motto.
And those are the headlines.
One more thing before we go.
Catch up on the latest episode of Offline with Jon Favreau. This week, john talks to Alex Damos, Facebook's former chief security officer about
his firsthand look at Facebook's internal politics, his insight on Russian hackers and the
Hagen papers, and makes the case that it's time for Mark Zuckerberg to step down. I second that
new episodes of offline drop every Sunday in the Pods of America feed. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe. We review Claim to
be the winner of a Golden Globe and tell your friends to listen.
And if you are into reading and not just high dollar numbers next to the name Amy Schneider
like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. So check it out and subscribe at crooked.com
slash subscribe. I'm Josie Duffy Rice.
I'm Gideon Resnick.
And never stop learning stuff.
That's our advice to you.
If there's stuff, you should learn it.
Exactly.
This is reading Rainbow now, basically.
That's sort of the vibe we're going for.
As people who clearly know a lot, we're talking about how you should learn stuff.
Just stuff. Just stuff.
What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Jazzy Marine and Raven Yamamoto are our associate producers. Our head writer is John Milstein
and our executive producers are Leo Duran and me, Gideon Resn producers. Our head writer is John Milstein and our executive
producers are Leo Duran and me, Gideon Resnick. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.