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.
With the baby formula in the United States surging to an out-of-stock rate of 70 percent, the FDA has given Abbott permission to reopen its Michigan plant amid the crisis and authorized foreign imports. Professor Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner and current president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ongoing shortage and its wide impact. “As difficult as things is in urban areas, they’re even worse in small communities and tribal areas where parents can't just go to the next store on the corner," he said. Pitts also noted that the Abbott factory was a "disaster" prior to its shutdown and that it would have been "regulatory malpractice" to have left it open.
Cheddar's Megan Pratz reports from the ground in Uvalde, Texas where the community's grief and frustration with lawmakers and police officers grows as more details emerge.
Catching you up on what you need to know on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, EU leaders agree to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end, funerals begin in Uvalde, Texas one week after a mass shooting killed 19 children and two adults, and President Biden meets with the world's biggest boy band BTS.
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The pain and grief from this week’s shooting in a 4th grade classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is still with us. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier ends the week by pausing to remember some of the faces of the 19 children killed and their teachers.
Cheddar New’s reporter Megan Pratz reports from the scene in Uvalde, Texas, with additional details that indicate the shooter was inside Robb Elementary School for more than an hour before law enforcement was able to confront and kill him.
U.S. stocks ended near session highs to close Thursday's session after retailers released positive earnings results. Investors also continued to weigh the federal reserve's recent indication that the central will raise rates in an effort to curb inflation. Adam Johnson, Portfolio Manager for Adviser Investments, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
