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[0] An exclusive new poll for MorningWire shows that support for Dr. Anthony Fauci is eroding among a diverse group of Americans.
[1] We have the numbers.
[2] Plus, we talk to Dr. Marty McCarrie about the new CDC guidelines on school activities.
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Thursday, January 20th, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] Russia has built up troops at the Ukraine border, and the U .S. Secretary of State warns, Putin could attack on short notice.
[6] We have a full report.
[7] And the FDA now says that a patient's race or ethnicity should be considered when deciding whether to administer certain COVID treatments.
[8] We'll look at the FDA's controversial guidance.
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
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[21] As many Americans signal that they're ready to move on from restrictive COVID policies, the CDC continues to roll out new guidelines.
[22] There's a new poll by Trafalgar Group and Convention of State's Action provided exclusively to Morning Wire.
[23] It shows that an increasing number of Americans now think the man who helped head up federal COVID policy, Dr. Anthony Fauci, should resign from his post.
[24] Here with the details is Daily Wires Cabot Phillips.
[25] So Cabot, what did we learn from this poll?
[26] Well, we learned that a growing number of Americans are starting to sour on Dr. Anthony Fauci.
[27] While he was generally held in high regard at the start of the pandemic, his popularity has really started to wane in the past year.
[28] And now 46 .3 % of Americans say he should resign his position and allow him.
[29] new leadership.
[30] That's according to a new poll from the Trafalgar group, exclusively from Morning Wire.
[31] Now, one point worth noting is how stark the divide is between political parties on the issue.
[32] While just 17 % of Democrats say Fauci should resign, 76 % of Republicans won him out.
[33] And many people have tried to say the displeasure with Fauci is based entirely on party affiliation.
[34] But if you look at the people who say they don't identify with the party, the independents, 58 % said they think you should resign.
[35] Wow.
[36] So even a majority of independence want him out.
[37] According to this poll, yeah, and that's about 25 % of respondents, so pretty significant chunk.
[38] So what do we know about why people have started to tire of Dr. Fauci?
[39] Well, the poll doesn't get into specifics on that, but there are a few theories.
[40] First, a lot of the frustration aimed at Dr. Fauci stems from what a lot of Americans perceive to be shifting standards.
[41] The main examples people point to are his rhetoric on masks, vaccines, and social distancing.
[42] And his popularity also seems to have taken a hit after his contentious appearances before Congress, where he seemed to lie about the government's role in funding gain of function research in China.
[43] Right.
[44] We covered that a good bit.
[45] And in general, many Americans said they feel like Dr. Fauci and the CDC have moved the goalposts on what it's going to take to end the pandemic.
[46] Their initial message, when the vaccine was introduced, was that as more people got the shot, cases would go down and things would start opening back up.
[47] But just last week, as millions of Americans continue to test positive for the virus, the CDC issued new guidelines, which really upset a lot of people.
[48] On that note, I talked to Dr. Marty McCary of Johns Hopkins University for his thoughts on new CDC guidelines, which urge schools to cancel after school activities, things like football, basketball, and marching band.
[49] So no, I don't think we should be adjudicating on school activities when we know kids have been suffering the worst from all of this.
[50] Adults get more privileges than kids, and it's nothing more than a power abuse, in my opinion.
[51] I also asked Dr. McCarrie for his take on the shifting views nationwide when it comes to Dr. Fauci?
[52] Dr. Fauci has a distinguished career with HIV in some other areas, but I think there's been a frustration that is building in the medical profession about why don't you ever talk about natural immunity?
[53] Why have you never said the word fluvoxamine once, an effective treatment that's already FDA approved and around?
[54] We see good data come out on many different ways to approach COVID that we don't hear about from public health officials, and as a result, careers are being ruined.
[55] So definitely a lot of factors at play here, but it does seem like there's some growing discontent with Dr. Fauci in the medical community as well as in the general public.
[56] Right.
[57] It seems so.
[58] We're definitely going to keep covering this.
[59] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[60] Anytime.
[61] That's Daily Wires, Cabot Phillips.
[62] Coming up, tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine.
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[66] U .S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is holding meetings in Ukraine this week as European leaders unite against the threat of an impending Russian invasion.
[67] Here to give us an update on the latest with this potentially volatile situation is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
[68] So, Ian, last time we spoke, Russia was mobilizing along the border of Ukraine.
[69] What's happened since then?
[70] Well, first off, Russia has continued to move military equipment and personnel to the border.
[71] There's around 100 ,000 troops there now with no immediate signs of changing course.
[72] What's making matters worse is that diplomatic efforts to diffuse tensions are hitting dead end after dead end.
[73] White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said last week that the threat of a Russian military invasion is high.
[74] and also that both the U .S. and its allies are prepared for any contingency.
[75] We're prepared to continue with diplomacy to advance security and stability in the Euro -Atlantic.
[76] We're equally prepared if Russia chooses a different path.
[77] And the view of the White House is that conflict could happen at any time.
[78] Our view is this is an extremely dangerous situation.
[79] We're now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack.
[80] And then just a few days ago at a security meeting in Austria, Poland's foreign minister said that Europe was closer to war than any other.
[81] time in the last three decades.
[82] But then there is some indication that the military actions by Russia might be part of a so -called false flag operation, part of their wider efforts to use disinformation as part of their foreign policy.
[83] We have information that indicates Russia has already pre -positioned a group of operatives to conduct a false flag operation in eastern Ukraine.
[84] And then, on the flip side, Russia is saying that their military buildup along the Ukrainian border is in response to the West.
[85] A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday, that Russia only mobilized along the border because they could no longer tolerate NATO's supposed expansion to the east in what they're calling a gradual invasion of Ukraine.
[86] According to spokesman Dmitri Peskov, the stage was set for this border crisis back in the 90s.
[87] We have seen the gradual invasion of NATO into Ukrainian territory.
[88] That brought us to the red line.
[89] That brought us to the situation when we couldn't tolerate it anymore.
[90] We are quite a big country and we are too big and we're too important to keep silence against this danger.
[91] Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in Kiev right now and said that the U .S. will stand with Ukraine if Russia does attack.
[92] Wednesday's talks were the first in a series regarding European crises and Blinken will be meeting his Russian counterpart on Friday.
[93] Well, it'll be interesting to hear more about how those talks go this week.
[94] Now, before you go, you mentioned this being part of a wider disinformation effort by Russia.
[95] So what does that involve?
[96] Well, one good example is Russia's significant investment in cyber warfare.
[97] On Friday, for example, hackers targeted around 70 Ukrainian government websites with authorities blaming Russia for the attack.
[98] One website which was brought down was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page with a message posted in three languages which read, quote, Ukrainians, all your personal data was uploaded to the internet.
[99] All data on the computer is being destroyed.
[100] All information about you became public.
[101] Be afraid and expect the word.
[102] And it is unclear whether any of this actually happened, but that's probably not the goal.
[103] And this all came within hours of the conclusion of talks between Russia and the United States and NATO, again with no end in sight.
[104] Wow.
[105] Ian, thanks for breaking all this down for us.
[106] Of course.
[107] That's Daily Wires, Ian Howarth.
[108] The FDA recently released guidance saying health care providers should factor in a patient's race when deciding whether to administer certain COVID treatments.
[109] The agency said that a patient's race or ethnicity may put them at higher risk.
[110] for severe COVID -19.
[111] Daily Wire investigative reporter Marade Allorty is here with the details for us.
[112] So, Marade, it sounds like the FDA is saying to prioritize people for health care by their race.
[113] What's going on here?
[114] That's definitely what they're saying here.
[115] And the implication appears to be that if you're a minority, you're at greater risk for severe COVID symptoms, and you should be prioritized for treatment.
[116] So as you said, the FDA released a fact sheet recently on certain COVID treatments, including monoclonal antibodies.
[117] bodies.
[118] The fact sheet discusses the emergency use authorization of the drug Sotrovimob, which is a monoclonal antibody, for treatment of mild to moderate COVID cases.
[119] The FDA listed some conditions that place people at higher risk for developing severe COVID, things like being 65 or older, pregnancy, diabetes, chronic lung diseases, cardiovascular disease, or neurodevelopmental disorders like cerebral palsy.
[120] But then the FDA added, quote, other medical conditions or factors, for example, race or ethnicity, as a risk factor too.
[121] Now, the FDA is not the only government entity advising this.
[122] There's others telling doctors to factor in race for COVID treatment, right?
[123] That's right.
[124] At least three states have issued similar guidance at the state level about considering race as an indicator of the risk of severe COVID, New York, Minnesota, and Utah.
[125] In New York, the Health Department released guidance in December saying that only COVID patients at a certain risk level were eligible to receive monoclonal antibodies or oral antips.
[126] antiviral treatment.
[127] Race was listed as one of the factors that increases a person's risk, and that's supposedly because of, quote, systemic inequity.
[128] So the guidance from New York stated, quote, non -white race or Hispanic slash Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID -19.
[129] Okay, so in this case, they came right out and said that they're prioritizing minorities effectively because of systemic racism.
[130] Yeah, they did.
[131] Now, what about Minnesota and Utah?
[132] So we have a similar situation in both states.
[133] In Utah, health officials use a point system to calculate a COVID patient's risk score to determine whether to administer a monoclonal antibody treatment.
[134] Being of, quote, non -white race or Hispanic slash Latinx ethnicity bumps a patient's risk score up two points.
[135] That's the same amount the risk score is raised for highest risk comorbidities like diabetes, obesity, or being severely immunocompromised.
[136] The Minnesota Health Department cited the FDA specifically in their state guidance, saying health care providers may consider whether a patient has heightened risk of severe COVID due to their race when determining whether to give them monoclonal antibodies.
[137] The CDC, which has been having trouble maintaining public trust lately, has also echoed the FDA.
[138] The CDC said that COVID has, quote, unequally affected many racial and ethnic minority groups, putting them more at risk of getting sick and dying from COVID -19.
[139] Prioritizing health care by race seems like a civil rights violation that stands on shaky scientific ground.
[140] We'll have to watch to see if these policies face legal challenges.
[141] Thanks, Marite.
[142] Thanks, John.
[143] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[144] Other stories we're tracking this week, President Biden gave a speech Wednesday on the eve of his first year in office.
[145] He admitted that more needs to be done in handling COVID, but said it's been a year of great progress.
[146] When questioned, he insisted he is a mainstream Democrat and that he doesn't believe the negative polling about his handling of the job.
[147] How do you plan to win back moderates and independence who cast a ballot for you in 2020, but polls indicate aren't happy with the way you're doing your job now?
[148] I don't believe the polls.
[149] U .S. Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch issued a joint statement Wednesday, saying that a recent report from NPR was, quote, false.
[150] The report stated that Sotomayor, who has diabetes, is socially distancing from the courtroom because Gorsuch won't wear a mask after the justices were asked to do so.
[151] The statement reads, quote, reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us.
[152] It was false.
[153] While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends.
[154] Chief Justice John Roberts also put out a statement saying, quote, I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other justice to wear a mask on the bench.
[155] British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament on Wednesday that as of next Monday, nearly all COVID restrictions will be lifted, saying, quote, our scientists believe it is likely that the Omicron wave has now peaked nationally.
[156] This week, Starbucks announced that it will no longer be making its workers get the COVID -19 vaccination, following the Supreme Court ruling against President Biden's vaccine and testing mandate for private businesses.
[157] And Texas, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho have regained all of the jobs that were lost at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
[158] Some attribute this to the lighter lockdown policies in those states and the fact that many people have recently moved to these areas.
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