Great Vaccine News Has Everyone Asking When Life Will Return to Normal: A Closer Look

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👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/AutoModerator 📅︎︎ Feb 25 2021 🗫︎ replies
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-You guys, we're coming up on a full year since the COVID pandemic radically changed all of our lives, and even though we just passed the devastating milestone of half a million deaths, there are now finally some real glimmers of hope on the horizon. For more on this, it's time for a Closer Look. ♪♪ There's one question that everyone's been asking every day to friends, neighbors, relatives, and that is, "When will everything get back to normal?" We're all itching to do normal things again. It doesn't matter what it is. I'd give anything to go wait in line at the DMV and get yelled at by a clerk for asking to borrow a pen. I want to squeeze avocados at Trader Joe's without people looking me up and down for signs of fever. Keep your eyes on your own avocados! And yet, predictions for normalcy have been all over the map from as early as April to as late as next year. -In a "Wall Street Journal" opinion piece, Johns Hopkins health expert Marty Makary claims we're going to have herd immunity by April. -I think we could get there by the fall, or maybe even by the end of the summer. -The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington says it does not expect the US to reach herd immunity prior to next winter. -By next Christmas, I think we'll be in a very different circumstance, God willing, than we are today. -You and the president have suggested that we'll approach normality toward the end of the year. What does "normal" mean? Do you think Americans will still be wearing masks, for example, in 2022? -You know, I think it is possible that that's the case. -We are not in a place where we can predict exactly when everybody will feel normal again. -Dinner and a movie in New York could be around the corner. The movie theaters are open with reduced capacity. Indoor dining. Will we get back to normal? -I'm staying outside. -Yeah, me too, actually. -Oh, thanks for the tease, CNN. Dinner and a movie is back in the Big Apple, but not for us. We're not ready to die. Enjoy your Brussels sprouts and "Tom & Jerry," you suicidal maniacs. In fairness, though, that's how we all feel. Everyone has had that same conversation whenever they ease restrictions on something, on anything. "Wow, they're reopening bowling alleys. Amazing. We should take the kids." "Yeah, but not really, right? And wear community shoes and stick our fingers in a bunch of dark holes? No, of course not." Problem is, no one knows for certain when it'll be safe, and we can't know for certain. As you just heard, predictions for when we'll return to normal range from April to summer to fall to Christmas to next year. At this rate, I'm just hoping to have an audience back for my farewell show. I'm back in a suit? So the first show they're back, you're going to put me in a [bleep] suit. [Bleep] you, Shoemaker. I don't dance for you. And look, caution is good. We can't underestimate this virus. It's been devastating, and every time we think the worst is behind us, it comes roaring back. It's like the McRib but with a switchblade. We have to keep our foot on the gas and stamp this thing out for good. But there's also some genuinely, genuinely good news, setting the stage for what "The Atlantic" called "A quite possibly wonderful summer." And look, I know I've spent the past year starting each of these segments by rattling off all the worst things going on in the world, like a grandpa who immediately launches into a laundry list of his medical issues when you call him. "How are you, Grandpa?" "Well, my sciatica's back and my winter skin won't go away and my blood pressure's through the roof and I can't find my hernia pillow." "Well, what about grandma?" "Hold on a sec. Barb? Barb? The boy wants to know how you are. No, it's not a scam call, you paranoid lunatic. She's fine. She's the same." So let's start, for a change, by reviewing some of the good news. Today, the FDA confirmed that Johnson & Johnson's new one-shot vaccine is safe and effective, especially against severe cases. Pfizer said this week it will double its weekly shipments by mid-March. Pfizer and Moderna told lawmakers they can dramatically increase deliveries over the next five weeks, and between those three vaccines, we could have a total of 240 million doses by the end of March alone. All of which means there's growing optimism about the course of the coronavirus pandemic and the possible return to some semblance of normalcy by summer. And I got to be honest, I desperately need some optimism. They don't teach you this in science class, but it turns out winter during a pandemic [bleep] sucks. It's like my soul has a hangnail. The sun goes down at 5:00. I'm wearing a whole outfit made of SNL swag from 15 years ago, watching 20 minutes of some Belgian Netflix drama before I realize I watched it already. "Wait, Detective Bert Jansens? [Bleep]. I've seen this. The body's in the canal, Jansens! It's always in the canal. I don't know why you didn't start there." Last week, I told my wife I was gonna regrout the tile in the bathroom just to have something to do, but then she pointed out we don't have tile in the bathroom, so I installed tile in the bathroom just so I could regrout it. Also, I did a bad job installing it, so we had to bring in a guy who I'm certain is ripping me off. I mean, $1,000 per tile is too much, right? So it's helpful to remember there is some good news. Cases are falling as dramatically as they've ever fallen, and vaccine supply is ramping up quickly, thanks in part to the Biden administration delivering more doses to the states. In fact, both Democratic and Republican governors have praised the Biden administration for streamlining what was, before he took office, a chaotic vaccine rollout. -The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, announcing just moments ago the Biden administration now increasing its weekly COVID-19 vaccine supplies to states, upping it now to 13.5 million doses sent out to the states on a weekly basis. -The Biden team is doing a great job. They inherited an empty cupboard. They're slowly but surely fixing that. -In terms of the vaccine distribution, it's been seamless, and I was delighted that we had a 14 percent increase in vaccine supply last week. This is going to be very, very important for us. Thank goodness we have that partnership which is good with the federal government and President Biden and his team is working to assure that partnership and not tear it apart, which I'm very grateful for. Huh, so it turns out you can just buy more of a life-saving vaccine and give more of it out, and both Republicans and Democrats will thank you for it? I'm no political genius, but that seems like a slightly better strategy than, I don't know, personally trying to spread the disease to as many people as you can, like President Outbreak Monkey. Sorry, Former President Outbreak Monkey. I mean, there were times when Democratic governors praised Trump, but it was with the dead eyes of a hostage who is worried they'd have their bathroom privileges revoked, whereas if Republicans criticize Biden, their fear isn't that he'll punish them, it's that he will show up to the governor's mansion with a football and say, "You and I are going to toss this pigskin back and forth until we find some middle ground." "Oh, actually, Mr. President, I was just about to go out." "You're damn right you're going out. Down and out. Hut! Hut! Everyone's my friend." By the way, none of this means Biden hasn't made some mistakes or that there haven't been disappointments with some of his early moves. There have. For one thing, he seems resigned to dropping a minimum wage increase from the COVID relief plan, despite its overwhelming popularity in the polls and strong support from Senate Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders. He's flirted with narrowing the eligibility for direct payments, and he's shot down proposals to cancel $50,000 in student debt, which also has majority support in polls and would be a huge boon to the economy. -We need student loan forgiveness beyond the potential $10,000 your administration has proposed. We need at least a $50,000 minimum. What will you do to make that happen? -I will not make that happen. -Okay, enough of your Washington Beltway double-speak. Are you going to make it happen or not? -I will not make that happen. -Oh, you DC charlatans, always trying to have it both ways. Are you going to make it happen? -I will not make that happen. -Damn, that is not the answer I wanted to hear, but I do appreciate his directness. The last guy answered questions the way a plane circles JFK when it's foggy. Say what you will about Biden, but in many ways, he is the exact opposite of Trump. A reporter at a press conference could raise their hand and suggest literally anything and Trump would say he was considering it. It's the only reason you could never trick him. Mr. President, do you have any response to the recent events regarding Updog? "We're looking very, very strongly at Updog. We don't like what they're doing with Updog at all. It's not good. Oh, I much prefer Downdog, don't we, folks? Or how about just good, old-fashioned, regular dog? Whatever happened to dogs without directions? There used to be no such thing as Updog. No Downdog. No, Rightdog. No Leftdog. There was just dog. Dog the Bounty Hunter. Bounty paper towels, the quicker picker-upper, they like to say. A lot of people are saying it now. Not as quick as it used to be. Sad. Tried to pick it up lately, and it wasn't so quick at all. Slow." I both forgot how hard it was to do that voice, and how it was little bit fun. I'm definitely going to have to ice my voice tonight. Oh. Anyway, the point is, the Biden administration has certainly had some missteps and disappointments, but they've also been bold out of the gate with executive actions and their COVID relief plan, and there's been major progress on the vaccine front. The rollout has been streamlined. Supply is up, and the news about just how effective the vaccines are has been great, too. A new study has found that just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine provides significant protection against the infection, and another found that the vaccines cut down on transmission, too, meaning the vaccines don't just prevent you from getting sick, they prevent you from spreading the virus, too. If that all ends up being true, and we don't screw things up, we could potentially have a normal-ish summer, Even typically cautious public health officials are expressing optimism. -Essentially, what will happen is it's a glide path down. Number of cases will continue coming down. More and more people will be getting vaccinated. Things will start opening up. We'll see occasional outbreaks here and there. I'm expecting, and I've been saying it to folks, and you're invited, John, that July 4th, I may have a barbecue at my house. 20-25 people, and I think we can be outside if everybody shows up vaccinated and if everybody's gotten vaccinated or most people have gotten vaccinated in my community, which I suspect by July 4th, they will. I think we can have an outside barbecue, no masks, and be okay. -Damn, I didn't realize it was at the point where someone describing a barbecue would sound like erotica. You could sell a whole line of romance novels on this vibe. I got chills thinking about a barbecue with 25 friends, and then I immediately got sad when I remembered I'm 47 and I definitely don't have 25 friends. For me to have a party with 25 friends, I'm going to need the vaccine and a working time machine. Get on it, Pfizer. But honestly though, I can't believe how excited I am at the prospect of making plans Before the pandemic, I spent most of my time trying to get out of plans. Pre-pandemic, the highlight of my week would be a friend texting last minute that they can't make after-work drinks because their babysitter bailed. Now, if that ever happens, post-pandemic, I'll show up at their house with some gin, a cocktail shaker, and a board game that takes eight hours to play. It's called "Ocean Master." You score victory points by mining precious minerals from deep-sea trenches, which convert to gold coins, allowing you to buy islands where you grow wheat, and whoever sells the most bread gets to roll first. The directions are 500 pages long and only in German. Now, this isn't to say things can't change for the worse. If we loosen up too quickly or not enough people get vaccinated or the variants get worse, we could have setbacks. But the streamlined vaccine rollout and the optimism from public health officials are a nice change of pace after the previous administration, which was so mendacious and detached from reality, you couldn't trust a word they said. Remember when Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said this last year in the run-up to the election? -Our goal has been to have 300 million doses by January. 100 million doses is one-third of the population. That's pretty wide distribution, when you look at that, and that's October. -They said we'd have 100 million doses by the end of October and 300 million by January. Trump aides were less trustworthy than those robots that call you about your car's extended warranty, a call I get every damn day, by the way. Side note, what's going on with that? Who unleashed this army of robot scammers trying to trick people into buying extended car warranties? Are there really people out there who fall for that? "Oh, good thing you called. I was worried about the warranty on my 2003 Ford Fiesta. You have a strange voice. Are you French? Ooh, are you German? If you are, can I read you board game instructions? [ Speaking in German ] Seriously, I knew the Trump people were liars, but it's even more brazen in retrospect, especially compared to the overly cautious approach of the Biden team. I mean, Biden's out here saying we won't get back to normal until Christmas. He's going to miss the barbecue. Meanwhile, the Trump people were going around telling everyone we'd all get vaccines in the mail for Christmas, like they were free AOL trial CDs. As we've said many times on this show, things are still bad for lots of people who need immediate help in the form of direct payments, expanded unemployment benefits, a $15 minimum wage, and a more robust vaccine rollout in marginalized communities, among other things. And the pandemic has also exposed massive structural inequalities and problems that need radical solutions. We can't let up now. The next few months will be crucial, but there's finally some reason for hope and some cautious optimism. We could even have a party at my place this summer. What do you say? -I'm staying outside? -Yeah, me too, actually. -Okay, fine, fine. This has been a Closer Look. ♪♪ God's Love We Deliver cooks and brings over 2 million meals a year to men, women, and children living with HIV, AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses, and they need your help now more than ever. If you're watching this online, you can hit the Donate button. Stay safe. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. We love you.
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Channel: Late Night with Seth Meyers
Views: 2,150,466
Rating: 4.8845463 out of 5
Keywords: Late, Night, with, Seth, Meyers, acl, a closer look, NBC, NBC TV, television, funny, talk show, comedy, humor, stand-up, parody, snl seth meyers, host, promo, seth, meyers, weekend update, news satire, satire, vaccine, covid, Covid-19, Coronavirus, Quarantine, news, current news, social distancing, health, healthcare, pandemic, reopening, cure, spread, curve, vaccination, back to normal
Id: eH-dDM_2N-I
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 13min 59sec (839 seconds)
Published: Wed Feb 24 2021
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