MSNBC is, if nothing else, totally committed to self-parody as Tuesday’s Jose Diaz-Balart Reports took a break from incessant coverage of all things Donald Trump to talk about another one of their favorite obsessions: masks and why you need to “bring them out again.”
Even by the segment’s own reporting, the conclusion was absurd. As Diaz-Balart kicked things off by admitting the sky is not falling, while also trying to gin up fear, “If you've noticed more of your friends, neighbors, loved ones are testing positive for COVID, you’re not alone. According to the CDC, COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 12 percent from last week and while we’re nowhere near previous levels, it’s still raising concerns.”
Diaz-Balart then introduced his guest, former Obama official and current MSNBC medical contributor Dr. Kavita Patel and asked, “So, I think we’ve, kind of, all been noticing that right, there's somebody you know or people are, you know, think they have a cold and it ends up being COVID. What’s going on? What are you seeing?”
Patel also began by taking the same approach, “Well, we’re seeing the same thing, José, in clinic. We are, as you said, hospitalizations are going up. Let me start with good news. We are not seeing anywhere near the dramatic rises that we saw in previous summers or previous years, that’s good news.”
Despite admitting both anchor and guest admitting there is no reasonable reason to panic, Patel still urged for people to resort back to masking:
So, what I think people need to know is that, I would just keep people on alert, that when you’re in those crowded spaces, think about the cost of colds and sometimes many people don’t have any symptoms, a mask can be your best friend, keep it—back in time we had them in our pockets, in our coats and our backpacks, time to bring them out again, especially as the school season starts. We don't want to see kids missing school for things we could have prevented.
Counterargument: no.
This segment was sponsored by Dell.
Here is a transcript for the August 1 show:
MSNBC Jose Diaz-Balart Reports
8/1/2023
11:35 PM ET
JOSE DIAZ-BALART: If you've noticed more of your friends, neighbors, loved ones are testing positive for COVID, you’re not alone. According to the CDC, COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 12 percent from last week and while we’re nowhere near previous levels, it’s still raising concerns.
Joining us now with more is Dr. Kavita Patel who served as a White House policy director in the Obama Administration. She is an MSNBC medical contributor. Dr. Patel, it's always great seeing you. So, I think we’ve, kind of, all been noticing that right, there's somebody you know or people are, you know, think they have a cold and it ends up being COVID. What’s going on? What are you seeing?
KAVITA PATEL: Well, we’re seeing the same thing, José, in clinic. We are, as you said, hospitalizations are going up. Let me start with good news. We are not seeing anywhere near the dramatic rises that we saw in previous summers or previous years, that’s good news. That’s because a large part of the population has either been infected and vaccinated or both several times.
So, what I think people need to know is that, I would just keep people on alert, that when you’re in those crowded spaces, think about the cost of colds and sometimes many people don’t have any symptoms, a mask can be your best friend, keep it—back in time we had them in our pockets, in our coats and our backpacks, time to bring them out again, especially as the school season starts. We don't want to see kids missing school for things we could have prevented.
