With Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine receiving emergency use approval, there is still the hurdle to clear of getting it to the people. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is concerned about whether or not states will be able to effectively distribute the vaccines.
"This is a mammoth undertaking, and I believe that they're going to need some extra help," Smith told Cheddar, about funding needs in a new COVID relief bill.
Under the current strategy, states will receive shipments from the federal government then decide how to administer the vaccines to residents, with frontline and essential workers being at the top of the list.
"We have a big state and large rural communities, and so, one of our big issues is making sure that we get those vaccines, especially the ones that require supercooling," Smith added.
Despite some bipartisan agreements to extend federal aid to states, according to Smith,
"Mitch McConnell has done nothing but pour cold water on this," she said. "The big hold up is that he and others in his party don't want to provide help for states for the additional needs that they have around COVID and insisting on this massive immunity to corporations from any kind of legal liability around COVID."
Continued Testing Roadblocks
As cases surge across the country, Smith said the lack of a national strategy in developing and accessing tests, persists in being an issue that is "stymying our efforts" to beat COVID-19.
"What we are hearing from these testing companies that they are still experiencing shortages around some of the supplies that they need to do the tests, including swabs and reagent, and they are also quite worried about shortages of personal protective equipment, which are so necessary for completing these tests," she said, also noting that paying for the testing has also raised questions.
Smith also pointed out that there were shortfalls in testing children, who may spread the disease.
Continued Quarantines
Minnesotans have been under lockdown order for the past three weeks and could be in for additional quarantine time as Governor Tim Walz is expected to make a decision next week. Smith said while it's hard for residents to be away from family, especially during the holidays, the lockdown, along with mask-wearing, is necessary if we want to have a chance at finally beating the virus.
"Every day, more people are dying from COVID-19 than we lost in 9/11, and unless we are able to turn that tide, we're going to be seeing just a tragic winter. That's over 3,000 souls every day that we are losing," she said.
A new analysis reveals that for more than two decades, the West has been the driest it has ever been since 800 A.D. The drought which began in 2000 has brought more devastating wildfires and draining water reserves well below healthy levels. Climate Scientists and Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University,Benjamin Cook, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
