deborah fuller.t is the great mystery we need to solve with this fear of mutation, this fear of variant? dr. fuller: there are two mysteries we need to solve. the first is whether it truly is more transmissible, and the second is does this impact the efficacy of our vaccine. if you break that down just a little bit, this is a new variant that has about 20 patients, and it does appear to be taking over the dominant strain in the u.k. based on a substantial increase in the frequency in detecting this train -- detecting the strain in the population. what we don't know yet is whether that is truly an increase in transmission. we will need additional tests to validate that. does it outcompete other viral strains in the lab? does it result in higher amounts of viral shedding in animals affected with it? this usually does translate to higher in transmission. so those studies need to be done to confirm that. what it means for vaccines, we don't really know yet. there is no evidence yet that these mutations a

deborah fuller is an expert on vaccines and infectious diseases and recently developed a second generation vaccine for covid-19 and will join us later this hour. for now, let's turn to karina mitchell and get a look at first word headlines. karina: china is threatening countermeasures against u.s. moves to blacklist companies as read -- as tensions threaten to escalate in the final weeks of the trump presidency. the ministry of commerce says they have abused controls with chinese chipmakers among the latest to face potential punishment. opec and its allies continue to debate oil strategy with iran and russia to hold talks monday. lederman -- leading members of the cartel and tend to react faster to changes and take a hands-on approach with an accelerated schedule of monthly meetings. saudi arabia says producers aim to drive the markets. the next meeting is set for january 4. the death toll from last week's powerful storm in fiji has risen to four, with police one person still reported missing. the cyclone spared the capital but it major tourist hub caused widespread damage elsewhere. almos

up, deborah fuller from the university of washington, a professor of microbiology. get the latest on the virus. all you need to know on this thursday. this is bloomberg. ritika: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has ruled out passing a house bill that would give most americans to thousand dollar payments. mcconnell says the measure has no realistic path to quick passage in the senate. instead the senate will work on combining the payments with election integrity and rolling back social media liability protections. the senate is closing in on a vote to override president trump's veto. it is a battle with the white house that may not and until the final hours before a new congress begins on sunday. the house has already voted to override the veto and the senators are expected to follow suit. u.k. is optimistic about getting a trade deal done with the u.s. under the biden administration. we spoke with the british and basset are to the u.s. >> we believe this deal could be done in 2021. that would in fact he that covid recovery. our confidence and economic recovery

deborah fuller will join from the university of washington and their acclaimed medical school. bloomberg on radio, on tv. good morning. ♪ >> this really is a stopgap. it has come really late, and it is a little lame, honestly. >> i don't know if it makes a lot of sense to give people that have jobs and incomes checks at this point. >> this is not a normal environment, hard from it. so the way people are spending, the timing of that has really shifted. >> i do cs getting back to some the close to normal in the second half of next year. >> it will take a long time before we have a normal end of your gain. >> this is "bloomberg surveillance" with tom keene, jonathan ferro, and lisa abramowicz. lisa: