Alex Vance (L) speaks with medical assistant Lydia Rezene as he donates blood at Bloodworks Northwest on March 17, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Schools provide 25 percent of local blood donations and their closing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has officials worried the region could see a shortage. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
Americans capable, willing, and able to donate blood are encouraged to do so during an era of social distancing.
"Social distancing doesn't have to mean social disengagement," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said during the Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Thursday, warning of blood shortages.
American Red Cross Senior Vice President Paul Sullivan told Cheddar he's concerned about an already low blood supply in the U.S., compounded by a recent wave of coronavirus-inspired blood drive cancellations, numbering more than 5,000 drives resulting in some 170,000 fewer donations.
Sullivan said he still plans to continue donating.
However, the Red Cross is changing its normal precautions in response to coronavirus concerns. Sullivan told Cheddar those new precautions include temperature checks before entering the donation space and changing gloves between each collection.
Surgeon General Adams also explained beds are six feet apart and staff members are disinfecting surfaces more often.
"So give blood today. You'll feel good about it, and you'll be helping your country and community during this crisis. And you might even save a life," he said.
Red blood cells only have a shelf life of 42 days and platelets just 5 days, so blood donations must continue in order to continue vital medical procedures to keep people alive.
"As this progresses, the way it will challenge our healthcare system … it will be just that — it will be very challenging," Sullivan warned. "No one gets a transfusion if they don't need it. We don't want to put the medical community in a situation where they have to pick who gets blood and who doesn't."
It has now been two days since Major League Baseball moved to cancel opening day games for the upcoming season. The announcement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred came during the league's ongoing work stoppage, just the ninth in MLB history. Owners voted unanimously on December 2, 2021 to enact a lockout after the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players expired. On March 1, 2022, following over a week of daily negotiations between the two sides, and three months of on and off negotiations, the league officially canceled the first two series of the regular season. Gabe Lacques, MLB reporter and baseball editor for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Music-focused NFT platform Pianity raising $6.5 million in a seed funding round. Pianity has developed a marketplace that allows musicians to sell their tracks as limited edition NFTs. Since its launch last year, the company says it has already sold 11,000 NFTs and artists have earned over $1.1 million from NFT sales. Kevin Primicerio, co-founder and CEO of Pianity, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Russia seizes a major Ukraine nuclear power plant, students protest Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, and it's official: nobody really expects Pop-Tarts to have real strawberries. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Friday, March 4, 2022.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that an estimated one million people have fled from Ukraine since Russia invaded. Christopher Boian, senior communications officer at UNHCR, joined Cheddar News to report on the current refugee crisis and what the world might expect if conditions continue to worsen. "We have planning figures that forecast as many as four million people could be forced to flee Ukraine," he said. "But that very much depends on how the conflict underway in that country at the moment unfolds in the days and possibly weeks ahead."
Christian Blauvelt, executive managing editor at IndieWire, joins Cheddar News to discuss the growing number of studios pulling content from Russia over Ukraine invasion.
Caroline Hickman, lecturer at University of Bath and psychosocial researcher on climate change, joins Cheddar News to discuss climate change's impact on mental health.
Alexandre Mongeon, the CEO and co-founder of Vision Marine Technologies, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss the latest innovations in the e-boating industry, and how fully electric motors and boats will play a role in the fight against the climate crisis.
