KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Vaccines coming soon but COVID relief bill still stalled
The first vaccine to protect against COVID-19 could be approved in the U.S. within days, but legislation to help fund its distribution remains mired in Congress.
And President-elect Joe Biden has tapped California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as his secretary of Health and Human Services. The choice of Becerra, who served 12 terms in the House of Representatives, is being criticized by Republicans for his support of single-payer health care.
This week s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call.
ByAntonio Ray Harvey,California Black Media
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina), the Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives and highest-ranking African American in Congress, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom must appoint a Black woman to replace Sen. Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate.
“Black women play a critical role in everything I do and say, and I would love to see a Black woman replace our Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” he said. “I’ve made that known to everybody.”
Clyburn, who has represented South Carolina’s 6
th District in Congress since 1993, said Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) and Karen Bass (D-CA-37) are both qualified and prepared to be California’s next junior Senator. “Two outstanding women, either one of whom would make outstanding Congresspeople,” he said.
Vaccination to begin, but the wait will be long
Pfizer vaccine at manufacturing facility in Michigan (Reuters)
What happened
Pfizerâs coronavirus vaccine was poised for federal emergency approval this week, signaling that the beginning of the end of the pandemic is at hand even as the nation reeled under record infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. The first Americans could receive vaccinations within days, and with Modernaâs vaccine up for approval next week, Operation Warp Speed officials said, doses for up to 20 million people would ship by yearâs end. The Food and Drug Administration reported Tuesday that Pfizerâs vaccine is safe and provides strong protection for people of all ages and races, starting with the first dose. âThis is a grand slam,â said Mayo Clinic researcher Gregory Poland. But a long and hard road looms, with many months ahead before most Americans are likely to get vaccinated, and no end in sight to a massive surge thatâ
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