Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers survey urine and other fake COVID cures, test Ron DeSantis

The COVID-19 pandemic is "bad here in L.A., everybody has it," Jimmy Kimmel said on Monday's Kimmel Live. "COVID is like the new kombucha here." Yet still, "millions of Americans won't get vaccinated," he said, advising President Biden to look to Canada, where Quebec had success by requiring proof of vaccination to enter liquor and cannabis stores. "I think maybe Pfizer needs to come out with some gummies and a hard lemonade," Kimmel deadpanned.
"But of course there are all sorts of new crazy miracle cures and remedies," Kimmel said, focusing on the latest craze, from some "anti-vaxxhole" touting "the benefits of his all-natural COVID killer," urine by the glass. "By the way, if this guy's kids ever set up a lemonade stand in your neighborhood, run," he joked. "You know, there's so much stuff to sell to these anti-vaxxers," he said, showing a fake "Anti-Vax Barbie" ad that veers into dark comedy.
The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases has hit 700,000 in the U.S., Stephen Colbert noted on The Late Show. "That's the population of Denver! And you know you're in trouble when you're higher than the people of Denver." Still, "some people don't want to know many cases of Omicron are out there," notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who argued on Friday that before COVID, nobody got tested to determine if they were sick. He offered some analogies to illustrate that preventative medicine wasn't invented last year.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is refusing to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee, Colbert said. "Turns out after wrestling with the decision, the committee showering him with the opportunity to speak up, Jim Jordan has decided he saw nothing." He added, "Ohio State," in case you wanted to do your own research.
Late Night's Seth Meyers, taping at home again after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, tied together fake COVID cures, Jordan's refusal to cooperate, and "fellow pro-coup Republican Ted Cruz" going on Fox News "to humiliate himself and beg for forgiveness for the grave sin of condemning" the Jan. 6 "terrorist attack."
Cruz originally said the right thing, "even though it's definitely a little weird to condemn an attack you helped whip up by spreading the very lies that fueled that mob," Meyers said. "It's like when O.J. promised to find the real killer."
The Late Show circled back to DeSantis with an ad for a new kind of COVID test.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Sloth fever shows no signs of slowing down
The explainer The vector-borne illness is expanding its range
-
'With every technological advance, there are risks'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
5 of the best platonic TV friendships
the week recommends Maintaining boundaries has proven tricky for all but the most committed of buddies on the small screen
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material