Crooked Media - What A Day: Pfize on the prize

Brutal winter storms have temporarily gummed up the coronavirus vaccine rollout (bunch of vaccines tried to flee to Cancun), but a boost in supplies and new findings about the vaccines themselves could help make up for lost time in the race against more contagious new variants. 
 

• First, the good news: The pace of vaccinations has picked up substantially. More than 41 million Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 16 million have received both doses. The U.S. is now administering an average of 1.7 million doses per day, almost double the average from the week before President Biden took office. (BidenLickingIceCream.gif.) This week, the White House announced that the total vaccine supply to states will increase from 11 million doses per week to 13.5 million doses, and that the supply going directly to pharmacies will double to two million doses. 
   
• The doses just need to, you know, get there. The Biden administration announced on Friday that this week’s awful weather delayed the distribution of six million vaccine doses—a three-day supply. All 50 states were affected; major distribution centers in places like Louisville and Memphis were unable to operate, meaning that even weather-privileged states like California have had to pause vaccinations while waiting for supplies. Thousands of Americans lost their appointments for second doses, and the scramble to get things back on track will likely extend into next week.
   
• Fortunately, a delayed second dose isn’t a disaster. A new Israeli study published in the Lancet medical journal found the Pfizer vaccine to be 85 percent effective two to four weeks after a single dose. It’s not clear how long that protection would last, and the second dose is still necessary to get the vaccine’s full 95 percent protection, but that finding is a solid bit of data to support the U.K.’s strategy of delaying a second dose by up to 12 weeks in order to free up supplies for more first doses. Separately, Pfizer has found that its vaccine can actually be stored in regular medical freezers, rather than ultra-cold storage, which would make it much easier to distribute across the U.S. 

With new coronavirus variants on the loose, any possible measures to speed up vaccinations deserve serious (and quick) consideration.
 

• Health officials have now reported more than 1500 cases of the faster-spreading new variants across almost every state. That’s almost certainly a dramatic undercount, on account of how badly our national coronavirus genomic surveillance sucks. (Beyond that, all of this week’s coronavirus data is pretty suspect—new cases dropped sharply, but testing numbers also took a nosedive in much of the country where people were busy boiling snow to survive.) The Biden administration pledged $200 million this week to help ramp up sequencing, essentially a band-aid until Congress passes the $1.75 billion program included in the next relief package.
   
• In a moving display of healing and unity, House GOP leaders have begun whipping their members to oppose that package next week. (“We hate funding for vaccinations and tracking dangerous variants” seems like a politically questionable position, but go off!) Meanwhile, drug companies have already begun working on updating their vaccines against the new variants, as a precautionary measure. The biggest limiting factor on vaccinations is still supply, and there’s not much the Biden administration can do to speed up vaccine manufacturing itself. This is a helpful explainer on why—in short, the U.S. doesn’t have spare vaccine factories that can be pressed into service under the Defense Production Act, and building new facilities to strict FDA guidelines would take too long to be useful. 

Coronavirus case numbers have declined, vaccine supplies are poised to double in the coming weeks, and the existing doses are actually making it into people’s arms, barring apocalyptic weather: Containment is starting to come into view. The biggest unknown is whether we still face another devastating wave in the meantime. 

Heads up! Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza will be joining Jon Lovett on Lovett or Leave It tomorrow (Saturday). Make sure you’re subscribed to hear their conversation wherever you get to your podcasts → 

Georgia Republicans have introduced an absolute unit of a racist voter suppression bill, in their latest weaponization of Donald Trump’s Big Lie. The 48-page bill would significantly change the state’s voting procedures in a way that targets Black voters in the Atlanta metro area. In addition to limiting drop boxes and requiring a photo ID for absentee ballots (your garden variety voter suppression), the bill would limit the weekend early-voting period to just one Saturday before the election—specifically eliminating early voting on Sundays, when Black churches hold “Souls to the Polls” events. In the November election, Black voters used early voting on weekends more than white voters in 43 out of 50 of the state’s largest counties. It’s transparent and despicable, and Congress can shut it down (along with the many bills like it across the country) by passing the Voting Rights Act and H.R.1, pronto.

• President Biden will sign a major disaster declaration for Texas, where millions of people are still without water.
   
• Happy Foreign Policy Friday (TGIFPF). Biden (virtually) told leaders of the G7 that the U.S. is once again committed to its global alliances, and delivered a speech to the Munich Security Conference warning that “democratic progress is under assault.” Also, we’ve officially arrived back in the Paris climate agreement. Quelle journée.
   
• Six Capitol Police officers have been suspended without pay for their actions during the January 6 riot, and 29 others have been placed under investigation.
   
• Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he will oppose Neera Tanden's confirmation as head of the Office of Management and Budget, on account of her tweets. Biden said he would not pull her nomination.
   
• The Manhattan district attorney’s office has recruited Mark Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor, to help investigate the Trump Organization. Pomerantz has already interviewed former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen as part of the probe. 
   
• A federal judge has suspended South Carolina’s heartbeat abortion ban, one day after Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) signed it into law. 
   
• The U.S. attorney in Brooklyn and the FBI have launched an investigation into how Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-NY) administration handled data about coronavirus deaths in nursing homes. 
   
• The Supreme Court has refused to act on emergency filings related to the subpoena for Trump’s tax returns for nearly four months, effectively derailing the investigation. 
   
• Employees of Trump’s DC hotel spoke out on the unique hell from which they have emerged.Come for the seven-step Diet Coke-pouring procedure, stay for Rudy Giuliani’s restaurant office nameplate. 
   
• Two Florida women disguised themselves as grannies in an unsuccessful attempt to get their second vaccine doses, suggesting that a few weeks ago, an overworked vaccine provider locked eyes with two women dressed up like old people, sighed deeply, and said, "fuck it."
   
• New bird just dropped. 

The pandemic proved to be the last straw for many overworked Amazon employees, prompting a wave of labor organizing across the country. In California’s Inland Empire, more than 40,000 people now work at Amazon warehouses—Amazon hired 8000 new employees in the area during the pandemic, as other retailers were laying people off. While workers became increasingly dependent on Amazon for steady income, Amazon’s profits skyrocketed, leading to more hiring sprees. New employees flocked to Facebook message boards for help managing the work’s physical toll, and as warehouse workers started getting sick (with little communication, protection, or response from Amazon), those online conversations took on new urgency. Amazon has fended off workplace organizing for years, and recently ramped up the anti-union propaganda, but putting workers’ lives at risk when they had nowhere else to go appears to have made a stronger impression. 

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) helped raise over $2 million in 24 hours for Texas relief organizations. Your move, Ted Cruz. 

The White House announced that Joe Biden supports a study on slavery reparations. 

An Instagram meme account raised over $400,000 for Planned Parenthood in a Rush Limbaugh memorial fundraiser.

Texas volunteers have rescued thousands of turtles from freezing beaches.