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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, and welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe.
--:-- John Bickley: And I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's Thursday, October 28th. Today, we're looking at the Virginia governor's race, a new development in the COVID-19 vaccine for kids, and college students pushing back on strict COVID rules.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. Let's start with Virginia. The polls show a near-dead heat between Republican Glenn Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What's driving the rise in support for the Republican candidate, and why is this race so important for both parties?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm joined now by Daily Wire managing editor Cabot Phillips. Cabot, thanks for being here.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Cabot, set the scene for us a little bit. Why is this race in particular getting so much coverage?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, there are a few reasons. Mainly that this is the first major election since President Biden took office. And a lot of people really view it as a referendum on the job he's doing.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Remember, Virginia went to Biden by 10 points last November. So the fact that the state is now a toss-up gives some pretty good insight into Biden's popularity.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: A victory for Republicans or even a close loss would give them confidence heading into the 2020 midterms nationally. They haven't had a Republican governor since 2009 and haven't gone red in a presidential election since 2004.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, let's dig into this massive shift. Can you walk us through some of those polling numbers?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The last four polls in Virginia all show a statistical tie. Now, obviously, the accuracy of polls can vary, but one thing they're really good at capturing are trends.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the clear trend in the past two months has been voters flocking to the Republican, Glenn Youngkin.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Polls in September all had McAuliffe up by five to ten points, but there's been a rush of independent voters breaking to Republicans.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The polls also show a significant number of suburban women going Republican. Remember, they were a key factor in Biden's victory and have been for Democrats in the last few terms.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And a lot of experts have been shocked to see them peeling off from the Democrat Party.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, what's happened since September? What's causing this shift?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: If you look at the polling data, the two main issues voters care about the most right now are the economy and education.
--:-- Georgia Howe: On the economic front, a lot of voters right now are blaming Biden for supply chain backups and the slow economic recovery and that reflecting more broadly on Democrats.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We're seeing a lot of independents who don't like what they're seeing out of Democrats when it comes to the economy and basically they're willing to switch it up in their own state.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about education?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Education has become the issue in this race in Virginia. 41% of voters there now say it's what they care about most, and you just can't understate how much that has benefited Republicans.
--:-- Georgia Howe: At the beginning of the year, outside of the Republican base, not a ton of voters really prioritized education issues like COVID lockdowns, LGBTQ policies, and critical race theory in classrooms.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But as the year has gone on, there's been a massive increase in the number of independents and even Democrats who are really upset about how public schools have handled those issues.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it's reflecting poorly on Democrats who've largely stood by the schools.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Maybe the biggest moment of the entire campaign came during a debate when Tara McAuliffe, the Democrat, said this about parents' role in education.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, McAuliffe is also calling on some notable figures in the party to campaign for him.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Republicans say the fact he's doing that shows how nervous Democrats are.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We've seen everyone from Kamala Harris to Joe Biden and former President Obama have all hit the trail with McAuliffe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Obama addressed the education debate, but appeared to say it was all made up.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We don't have time to be wasting on these phony, trumped-up culture wars. This fake outrage that the right-wing media peddles to juice their ratings. Fake outrage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, the election is Tuesday, so we're going to keep a close eye on it.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for the update.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire managing editor Cabot Phillips. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: This week, an FDA advisory panel gave its support to the Pfizer vaccine for use in children 5 to 11 years old.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to tell us the details about the decision and what this means going forward is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Morning, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, tell us about this FDA panel recommendation.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So, an advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration voted 17 to 0 with one abstention in favor of allowing the Pfizer vaccine to be used in kids 5 to 11 years old.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The dosage is a little different, though.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The panel is in favor of giving children within the age group one-third of the amount of the vaccine dose given to people who are 12 years of age and older, in the form of two shots spaced by three weeks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Usually, the FDA follows the advice of the panel, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also planning to have its own panel of specialists meet next week to make their own suggestions.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And what about the risks of this vaccine? We've heard a bit about myocarditis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's the heart condition that occurs in teens.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: That's right. According to the CDC, myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis is inflammation of the outer lining of the heart.
--:-- Georgia Howe: These have been seen more in young males and are considered a rare effect of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The studies that the group looked at to decide on the Pfizer vaccine for young kids didn't find any myocarditis cases, but the sample size wasn't large enough to probably show it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: For now, the FDA is saying that the benefits of getting the vaccine outweigh the risks.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: However, myocarditis is also linked to COVID infection in kids, so unvaccinated kids are still at risk if they end up contracting COVID.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Basically, they can't necessarily avoid all risk of myocarditis by avoiding the vaccine, which is a common misconception.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: But again, the risk is low with both the vaccine and with COVID infection, and most kids recover fully within a couple weeks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what is the risk level for kids 5 to 11 of dying from COVID?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Yeah, well, while of course any death, especially a child's, is tragic, the risk of dying from COVID is quite low.
--:-- Georgia Howe: CDC provisional data shows that up to October of this year, out of the age group of kids from 5 to 11 years old, 167 have died from COVID.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: By comparison, the CDC reported 186 pediatric deaths from the flu during the 2017 to 2018 season.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Keep in mind, those numbers include a broader age range, and 2018 was considered a fairly bad flu season.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: What are the implications for something like this? Do we expect to see more mandates come from this?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, that's definitely something people are going to be watching now.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: For example, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said earlier this month that his state of California will be the first to force eligible students in private and public schools to be vaccinated to be able to go to school in person.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There's been pushback, though.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Last week, faculty and students at schools across California staged walkouts in defiance of vaccine and testing requirements set to take effect.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And some are pointing out how this might not improve things much for kids at school.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last week that she thinks kids should keep wearing face coverings in school even after they've received a COVID vaccination.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And when can we expect to see these shots rolled out if they get approved?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, there's not a firm date yet, but very quickly.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Last week, the White House discussed its plan to get the shots across the country, including giving doses to doctors' offices, amounting to over 25,000 pediatric offices and other locations.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Yeah, definitely.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: College students around the country are protesting their school's stringent COVID rules, which many feel are not supported by science and infringe on their freedoms.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, some schools have backtracked on their policies. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi has more details on this.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So, some of these COVID rules are pretty intense. What's happening on college campuses?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, so some of these schools have COVID rules that are extremely restrictive.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: More than a thousand colleges have implemented a vaccine mandate, but that's really just the beginning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Oakland University in Michigan proposed an extreme rule that involved a bio button that monitored a student's heart rate, temperature, and respiration.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: If the student started showing symptoms of COVID, the button would notify the school.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it tracks your condition.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Yeah, your temperature and respiratory rate.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Last year, another school, Albion College, also in Michigan, said students would have to use a location tracking app and would not be allowed to leave campus without approval.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The app tracks a student's location and also contains the student's COVID test results.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: If the student tests positive, the app would alert people the student had recently been around.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty invasive solution there.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: It really is.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so some students are pushing back on this.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Yes, a lot of students and their parents who are paying the tuition are not happy at all.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Students at dozens of schools have organized protests or petitions objecting to what they calling extreme infringements on civil liberties and privacy.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: In both the location tracking app case and the bio button case, students and parents launched petitions against the rules.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Oakland backed down, making the bio button optional.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Okay, so some colleges backing down from some of these policies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You mentioned more than 1,000 campuses now require vaccines. What about the legal opposition?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Yeah, so in some cases, students have filed federal lawsuits against their schools over the vaccine mandates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The outlook for those lawsuits is not great, though.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: In August, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Indiana University's vaccine requirement, and that decision has already been cited in some of the other cases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even more strict is Amherst College in Massachusetts, which sparked opposition when it announced that not only must students be vaccinated, they have to wear a mask everywhere, even outside, except when they're alone in their dorm room.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: And students at the small liberal arts college are not permitted to leave campus to go to restaurants or bars in town.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Not exactly the college experience many students were hoping for.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But there's some students who actually support the rules, right?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Yes. A majority of college students actually do support your basic vaccine and mask mandates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's according to a September Kaplan survey.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Okay.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But if you happen to be in the minority of students who don't want those, in many cases you're left out in the cold.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: But colleges appear to be testing students' patience with some of these other rules, like restricting going off campus and tracking vital signs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that's why you see schools backing down after students' protest.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Is there any end in sight for these COVID policies?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Not from anything that I've seen.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: All right. Well, thanks for the reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Of course. Investigative reporter Maraid Elordi.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week.
--:-- John Bickley: On Wednesday, authorities in New Mexico gave an update on the movie set tragedy in which Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The district attorney said no one has been ruled out regarding charges.
--:-- John Bickley: And on Alec Baldwin's involvement, the sheriff had this to say.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He's obviously the person that fired the weapon.
--:-- John Bickley: So we're going to continue interviewing and getting the facts of his statements and the evidence and the case.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So right now, he is an active part of this investigation.
--:-- John Bickley: And the fallout over Dave Chappelle's Netflix special.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, the comedian is firing back.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: On Monday, comedian Dave Chappelle posted a new video to Instagram addressing his critics.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said.
--:-- Megan Basham: My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it seems like I'm the only one that can't go to the office anymore.
--:-- Megan Basham: Chappelle clearly isn't in a mood to mince words.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He finished. But you cannot have this conversation and exclude my voice from it.
--:-- Megan Basham: That is only fair.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You have to answer the question, am I canceled or not?
--:-- Megan Basham: So we'll see what his critics have to say about that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
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