According to CBS Evening News, on Thanksgiving Eve, the hottest item you absolutely needed to celebrate the holiday with your friends and family wasn’t just the turkey you paid an inflated price for, but you needed to have rapid Covid tests as well!
“And as Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, health officials are urging people to take precautions,” announced fill-in anchor Margaret Brennan. And correspondent Nikki Battiste backed her up by declaring, “It’s not just Turkeys Americans are on the hunt for tonight. There’s also a rush for rapid Covid tests.”
Battiste then boasted that “Over-the-counter rapid tests give results in 15-30 minutes.”
And despite noting how “Covid cases are rising in 24 states, compared to the prior week, and hospitalizations are up in 22,” she seemed to dismiss worries. “But with nearly two-thirds of eligible Americans fully vaccinated, this Thanksgiving looks better than last year’s. Cases are down 46 percent, and there are fewer hospitalizations and deaths,” Battiste noted.
She also included a soundbite of Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking with Brennan on Sunday’s Face The Nation about how testing your holiday guests could be needed:
BRENNAN: Do you test going into the gathering and on the way back out? What should people do?
FAUCI: Well, it depends. My daughters are very careful because of my age. And that’s the reason why I said we need to flood the system with testing.
Instead of telling people to run out and stock up on Covid tests, ABC’s World News Tonight rehashed their Thanksgiving advice from last year and just tried to scare people away from each other.
“We move now to the pandemic and concern that the holiday could fuel another Covid surge. The CDC now forecasting that hospital admissions and deaths will rise in the next four weeks,” announced fill-in anchor Whit Johnson.
Adding: “Also tonight, a new poll finding that 2 in 3 Americans will spend Thanksgiving with friends or family outside their immediate households and about half of them say that will include people who are not vaccinated.”
But meanwhile, on NBC Nightly News, anchor Lester Holt and national correspondent Miguel Almaguer seemed cautiously optimistic about people traveling and gathering this year:
HOLT: I got to tell you, Miguel, a year ago we were being discouraged from family gatherings and now officials kind of giving the okay. It is going to be odd for a lot of folks.
ALMAGUER: Yeah, it is, Lester. But perhaps most notable, six out of 10 adults in the U.S. are now fully vaccinated and booster shots are available to everyone 18 and over who’s been fully inoculated for at least six months. So, while cases are rising, for the vaccinated, there is protection.
As Christmas approaches, will CBS start giving gift advice and recommend Covid tests as stocking stuffers? We’ll see.
CBS’s over the top demands for Thanksgiving precautions was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Ameriprise and Febreze. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:
CBS Evening News
November 24, 2021
6:38:50 p.m. EasternMARGARET BRENNAN: Tonight, more than 40 military personnel are headed to Michigan to help overwhelmed hospitals treat a surge of Covid patients. And as Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, health officials are urging people to take precautions. Here is CBS’ Nikki Battiste.
[Cuts to video]
NIKKI BATTISTE: It’s not just Turkeys Americans are on the hunt for tonight. There’s also a rush for rapid Covid tests.
NISHIEL PATEL (New York City resident): Many of us are coming from all around the country, actually, so it was a way for us to keep each other safe.
BATTISTE: Over-the-counter rapid tests give results in 15-30 minutes. Covid cases are rising in 24 states, compared to the prior week, and hospitalizations are up in 22. But with nearly two-thirds of eligible Americans fully vaccinated, this Thanksgiving looks better than last year’s. Cases are down 46 percent, and there are fewer hospitalizations and deaths.
The CDC still recommends delaying travel until you’re fully vaccinated, and wearing masks in public indoor settings in communities with high transmission. Right now, that’s most of the country.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says vaccinations are key for a safe holiday season.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: You surround yourself with vaccinated people, and you get boosted.
BRENNAN: Do you test going into the gathering and on the way back out? What should people do?
FAUCI: Well, it depends. My daughters are very careful because of my age. And that’s the reason why I said we need to flood the system with testing.
[Cuts back to live]
BATTISTE: Given the recent surge in Covid cases, the CDC is predicting a spike in hospitalizations and deaths following Thanksgiving. And health officials are asking people to remain vigilant through the holidays. Margaret.
BRENNNAN: Nikki Battiste, thank you.