After spending weeks intensely covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the evening newscasts on Tuesday briefly returned to their previous obsession: hyping the COVID pandemic and pushing endless vaccinations and mask mandates on the public who for the most part just want to return to normal life.
On NBC Nightly News, which had the most over-the-top coverage, they started with anchor Lester Holt reporting how Pfizer has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “ to authorize a fourth COVID vaccine shot for older Americans.” He argued that there have been troubling signs overseas that “raise fears the U.S. may be headed for another spike.”
In his report, national correspondent Miguel Almaguer asked Taison Bell, a doctor at the University of Virginia Department of Critical Care and Infectious Disease if Americans are “willing to get a second booster or a fourth shot?”
Bell whined that “we've seen problems with people getting their first booster. I mean we only have 50 percent of eligible people boosted right now, that's already a big problem.”
Almaguer then announced that Doctor Anthony Fauci “attributes three major factors behind England's rise. Omicron subvariant ba.2 is more transmissible, though not necessarily more severe. Relaxed mandates like no longer masking indoors also having an impact. As is waning immunity from vaccination or prior infection.”
On ABC’s World News Tonight, which also covered Pfizer’s recommendation that Americans get a fourth COVID shot, had national correspondent Stephaine Ramos interview Doctor Ashish Jha about what direction the COVID pandemic is expected to go.
Just like Fauci’s statement on NBC, Jha also blamed not social distancing or masking for the spike in COVID cases: “they have gotten rid of all mitigation measures, no masking, no distancing I think that creates some susceptibility in that context. Maybe a little bit of waning immunity, as well.”
At the end of her report, Ramos bemoaned how Dr. Jha was worried that “so many Americans are still vulnerable. He says many more people need to get vaccinated or boosted.”
Meanwhile, on CBS Evening News, anchor Norah O’Donnell just briefly hyped the possibility of a fourth vaccine:
There are a number of big pandemic headlines tonight. This just in: Pfizer is requesting FDA authorization for an additional COVID booster for seniors. It would be a fourth dose to maximize protection for those 65 and older. And as the C.D.C continues to track new COVID cases, it says that nearly one in four new infections in the U.S. Are from that new train of the Omicron variant known as ba.2.
The leftist media doesn't want us to ever return to normal. If it was up to them, Americans would be masking, social distancing, and receiving COVID booster shot forever.
This segment of the three evening news broadcasts was made possible by sponsorships from Vicks on ABC, Fidelity on CBS, and Prevagen on NBC. Their information is linked so you can let them know about the biased news they fund.
To read the relevant transcripts click "expand":
NBC Nightly News
3/15/2022
7:14:30 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Just in tonight, Pfizer asking the FDA to authorize a fourth COVID vaccine shot for older Americans. As troubling signs overseas raise fears the U.S. may be headed for another spike. Here's Miguel Almaguer.
MIGUEL ALMAGUER: Seeking emergency use authorization, tonight NBC News confirms Pfizer has submitted new data to the FDA hoping to greenlight a second COVID booster shot for Americans 65 and older, citing waning immunity several months after a third dose. The company CEO says a fourth shot would dramatically improve protection against infection. Are Americans really gonna be willing to get a second booster or a fourth shot?
DR. TAISON BELL (UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CRITICAL CARE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE PHYSICIAN): I think we've seen problems with people getting their first booster. I mean we only have 50 percent of eligible people boosted right now, that's already a big problem.
ALMAGUER: Pfizer's push comes as COVID cases spike in pockets of the globe. Cases in mainland China up 377 percent. In the UK, infections have surged over 52 percent. Dr. Fauci attributes three major factors behind England's rise. Omicron subvariant ba.2 is more transmissible, though not necessarily more severe. Relaxed mandates like no longer masking indoors also having an impact. As is waning immunity from vaccination or prior infection. With the COVID risk low in nearly every part of the country, tonight the White House confirms the Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, has tested positive for COVID. The Vice President tested negative today. Lester?
ABC’s World News Tonight
3/15/2022
6:43:39 p.m. EasternDAVID MUIR: Pfizer, just before we came on the air here, now requesting, emergency authorization for a second booster now. So, we asked Dr. Jha tonight about the idea of another booster, what they're seeing in Israeli data on this already.
(...)
STEPHANIE RAMOS: Overseas, COVID is resurging. China is battling its biggest outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic. Imposing new lockdowns for 51 million people. And European countries are now tracking a new spike in COVID cases, fueled in part by the Omicron sub-variant, ba.2.
DR. ASHISH JHA: In Europe, we've seen an uptick of cases across almost all of the countries of Europe, really driven by a couple of factors. One is ba.2, this sub-variant of Omicron that's now become dominant in Europe, I think it's a bit more transmissible. That’s causing a bit of an uptick. Obviously, they have gotten rid of all mitigation measures, no masking, no distancing I think that creates some susceptibility in that context. Maybe a little bit of waning immunity, as well. So, that combination is probably the explanation for why we're seeing the uptick in cases in Europe.
(...)
RAMOS: David, Dr. Jha says what worries him the most is that so many Americans are still vulnerable. He says many more people need to get vaccinated or boosted. And he also says that even though we wish this pandemic were over, it is not, but we now have the tools to manage it in a much more effective way. David?
CBS Evening News
3/15/2022
6:48:37 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: There are a number of big pandemic headlines tonight. This just in: Pfizer is requesting FDA authorization for an additional COVID booster for seniors. It would be a fourth dose to maximize protection for those 65 and older. And as the C.D.C continues to track new COVID cases, it says that nearly one in four new infections in the U.S. Are from that new train of the Omicron variant known as ba.2.
