profile of cdc, the understanding, the importance of cdc is i think at a high point. i want to recognize the tireless efforts of the cdc staff working across the country during the pandemic. it's been a challenging year for all americans, but particularly for those in public health. dr. walensky i look forward to hearing your testimony today on the administration's fiscal year 2022 budget. unfortunately, your comments will be limited somewhat by the fact that we're really waiting for more information about that budget. but from what we do know from the limited details released last month, there are really several areas of alignment where we can work together. for example, addressing the needs of the hard hit public health infrastructure, responding to the opioid crisis, which has been exacerbated during the pandemic along with other mental health and behavioral health challenges. continuing the -- ending the h.i.v. epidemic initiative are important to both of us. these are critical areas that may need even more attention as we emerge from the pandemic and gain an unde

cdc has received in nearly 20 years. the increases focus on four areas -- building public health infrastructure, reducing health disparities, using public health approaches to reduce violence, and defeating diseases and epidemics. these increases build on investments made in the covid-19 supplement and are an important first step. covid-19 not only exposed the vulnerability within the united states public health infrastructure, but also how underlying chronic conditions and lack of access to health care put too many americans at risk. across the globe, we see billions of people without access to vaccines and medical care, which means sars-cov-2, its variants, and other infectious disease threats, will continue. experts have warned for years that a pandemic of this scale was calming and we must expect additional diseases to emerge. we need to ask ourselves, are we ready? we must have a strong infrastructure that can identify and detect outbreaks at their source and take action before they take hold. the united states has

. >>> today cdc director, dr. rochelle walensky is preparing to testify on president biden's 2022 budget request before a senate appropriations subcommittee, live coverage of the hearing here on cspan 3. >>> we'll have an opening statement and then i'll introduce our witnesses, dr. rochelle walensky and after the witness' testimony, senators will each have five minutes for a round of questions. before we begin i do want to walk through the covid-19 safety protocols in place. we're all grateful to our clerks and everyone who has worked hard to get this set up and help everyone stay safe and healthy. given the new guidance from the centers for disease control and prevention and the office of the attending physician i'll work with senator blunt, committee members and staff going forward to follow the new guidance. for today we will be conducting the hearing following similar covid protocols to what we've used in the past. committee members are seated at least 6 feet apart, some senators are participating by video con

>> i cannot wait for the cdc announcement. overcaution has a price, and that price is that people have stopped paying attention to the cdc guidance, that the cdc is becoming increasingly irrelevant if what they're saying just seems separate from common sense. and common sense says that if you have a vaccine that's really effective, that protects you from getting infected, from spreading it to others, then you should be able to do a whole lot more than the cdc currently says that you can do. so, i really hope the cdc will come out and say, first of all, outdoors, safe for everyone. second, that fully vaccinated people can be around one another, including in large groups, in office settings, whatever settings, without restriction, and third, i hope the cdc also comes out with some kind of guidance on when additional restrictions like indoor mask mandates could be lifted. ideally, that's tied to some level of vaccination in that community. >> dr. rodriguez, what are you looking to hear from dr. walensky when she speaks in just a

the cdc is ready to start its briefing any minute now, and we expect the director of the cdc to make guidance. fully vaccinated americans no longer need to wear masks or social distance indoors or outdoors. we also learned president biden will speak from the rose garden at 4:35 eastern on the pandemic response. we'll, of course, bring you those remarks when they happen, but first this new guidance. there are caveats to this new mask-free guidance including health care centers, public transportation and businesses that have their own mask rules. but obviously this is huge news after a year of masks. joining me now for more on this are nbc news correspondent monica alba, nbc correspondent miguel brewster in chicago, dr. vin gupta. thank you all for being here. i may have to cut you off if the briefing comes. give us a sense of what you expect dr. walensky to say, monica. >> this is quite different from the mask wearing we've become accustomed to over the last year. the cdc is expected to say if you are more than two weeks out from your second dose or your johnson & johnson shot, you ca

cdc has received in nearly 20 years. the increases focus on four areas -- building public health infrastructure, reducing health disparities, using public health approaches to reduce violence, and defeating diseases and epidemics. these increases build on investments made in the covid-19 supplement and are an important first step. covid-19 not only exposed the vulnerability within the united states public health infrastructure, but also how underlying chronic conditions and lack of access to health care put too many americans at risk. across the globe, we see billions of people without access to vaccines and medical care, which means sars-cov-2, its variants, and other infectious disease threats, will continue. experts have warned for years that a pandemic of this scale was calming and we must expect additional diseases to emerge. we need to ask ourselves, are we ready? we must have a strong infrastructure that can identify and detect outbreaks at their source and take action before they take hold. the united states has

that is the cdc. we, in the look to the state of california to determine our local guidance and we have not yet heard from california department of public health. their reaction to that cdc announcement. nothing has changed for us yet in the state of california. >> i understand, the state gets to have it say and even on the local level as a county, you could enact different rules. what you say when you look at the big picture? do you think this announcement by the cdc is premature, or do you think looking at vaccination rates and case rates in the country, that seems warranted? >> i am divided, frankly on this. i think this is a sign of the progress we are making. this will happen. this is part of what we will begin to see more and more of as we emerge out of this pandemic and we will not be needing to cover our faces forever. the question is, when and not whether or not this would occur. i think this is early. when it comes to the is earlier than i had expected, especially when you look across the na

guidance on the cdc reads this. fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting. imagine what that is like. maybe hang out at the bar, be next to other people. go to a concert. bret baier is thinking about that and he joins me coming up. i'd like to take a moment to address my fellow veterans because i know there's so many of you who have served our country honorably. whether it's 2 years, 4 years, or 32 years like myself. one of the benefits that we as a country give our veterans is eligibility for a va loan for up to 100% of your home's value. so if you need money for your family, call newday usa. with automatic authority from the va, we can say yes when banks say no. veteran homeowners. three reasons to do a cash out refi right now. home values are high while rates are low. newday lets you borrow all of your home's value. and you could take out $50,000 dollars or more. >> tech: every customer has their own safelite story. this couple loves camping adventures and their s

the cdc relaxing its mask guidelines. the cdc now says fully vaccinated americans can go without masks or social distancing in most places, indoors and outdoors it is a sharp reversal from previous recommendations. the also move aimed to boost vaccinations tonight the exceptions who should still mask up and where dr. fauci is here answering your questions. >>> breaking news, the middle east, israel beginning a ground operation near gaza after days of air strikes and rocket attacks. mobs clashing. people beaten in the streets. the toll rising. dozens killed including 17 children. >>> the massive ransom nearly $5 million paid to hackers who shut down the largest pipeline in the u.s. the fuel flowing once again. president biden urging americans to be patient. a hummer bursting into flames after the driver reportedly filled several gas containers. >>> the judge's new ruling why the trial of three former officers is delayed for months. >>> our nbc news investigation, parents accusing the family court system of ignoring allegat

so it's a good day here at the cdc. of course tomorrow could be a bad day, but i'm in a more optimistic mood now than months ago. mr. morrison: do you anticipate that as we get through the summer and into the fall, the next phase is communicating with the american people is going to be around boosters, around new vaccines, around preparing for some cycle of winter that will perhaps require -- if we are moving into an endemic phase, require some return to masking and some seasonality around winter. i know we are not there yet and it's not an entirely fair question, but it is one that we can predict pretty easily. dr. schuchat: yeah. i think that we have to be careful as experts or authorities in what we say. and i think some of you are aware of vaccine manufacturers started to talk about -- apparently the service adjusted confidence dropped. if i have to get a booster, why do i need to be vaccinated now? we do not know right now whether the vaccines many of us have already gotten are going to protect us for a long time,

so here is cdc director, dr. walensky explaining the decision. >> several things have happened in the last two weeks. in the last two weeks cases in the country have dropped by a third. in the last two weeks we have had increasing available vaccines and eligible people between the ages of 12 and 15, and we have had a coalescence of science in the last few weeks. one is the effectiveness of the vaccines in general in rural populations and one is the effectiveness against variants which was just published last week, and then the effectiveness in transmissionability. >> what a big day. >> yeah, it really is. may 13th, mark it down, the day we were all told we could basically get rid of our masks. maybe not throw them away or burn them in a bonfire, because who knows, things change, but we could put them away on the top shelf of our closet if you are vaccinated, and if you are going to get on a train, plane or bus, but what a huge day and kind of unexpected? we knew something was coming soon. we didn't know it would

cdc guidelines tell you you're safe to be at work, and the cdc has got to really do better at incentivizing folks who have been patriotic and got vaccinated for the good of the country and make the folks who are being selfish and not getting vaccinated, who are going to make this harder, and start putting more responsibility. put more responsibility on their shoulders. host: thank you. from maryland city, dana has this, never changed anything in my life since this began, and i deal with the public on a daily basis. i believe none of the hype. this says i have been at work full-time throughout. greg says dr. fauci said yesterday we should wear our masks antal mother's day 2022. does not sound very safe to me. joe is joining us from charleston, south carolina. good morning. caller: hey, steve, how are you doing? been a long time. host: good to hear from you. how are you doing, my friend? caller: doing well. some days it is champagne and strawberries. you remember back when you are a teacher and you get on a ride and it will not stop and go faster and faster? you know how it is. hey, i hope yo

yesterday, the cdc reported 32,400 new cases of covid-19. our sunday average was about 36,800 cases per day. this represents yet another decrease of about 23% from our prior seven-day average and every day was continuing to fall with the trend. the seven-day average is 4,100. another terrific sign with another back-to-back decrease of 12 from the previous seven-day period and average daily deaths declined to 587 per day. today, i have several exciting announcements to share with you. first, since becoming cdc director, i have seen firsthand the current frail state of the public health infrastructure in this country. i'm committed to upgrading the public health system so the nation is ready for whatever comes next. with this in mind, today we are announcing upcoming relief of $7.4 billion in funding from the american rescue plan to hire, train and support public health workers across the country reflective of the diversity within the communities they serve. over half of the money being released, $4.4 billion will support states and localities

medical doctor and veteran cdc officer and previously served as acting cdc director and director of the national center for immunization and respiratory diseases. she's been on the front lines of several numerous domestic and global outbreaks. she joins us today to share remarks on the fate of vaccine confidence in the united states is the covid-19 vaccine distribution program enters i think it is six months and to discuss the role cdc is playing i work with states and localities to promote equitable vaccine access, to reach people where they live and work. to address the concerns of that 15% or so who say they don't plan to be vaccinated. see how we can move filtering for moderated conversation. >> thanks so much and thanks to cas for putting together this important and issue a report. we are at a critical point in the pandemic where we need to facilitate mobilization at a community level to increase vaccine update. think we'ree really excited the cases, hospitalizations and deaths are decreasing across the country. we know the nation has been through a tremendous pain-and-sufferingem

so the cdc guidance is just that. these are recommendations. they do not need to be executed, certainly not at the state or local level, and they certainly don't need to k practiced by individuals in this country. so to answer kathy's question i would say this. that if you know you're vaccinated you know you are reasonably well protected. if you're unsure and insecure about having a conversation with someone, when you don't know their vaccination status, keep the conversation to a minimum in terms of duration and try to keep it outdoors. we are back to the basic recommendations in that scenario. >> if you're comfortable with it wear your mask for a while. i don't think anyone should be ashamed for doing that. >> absolutely. >> another viewer shares my 30-year-old son does not want the vaccine. my husband and i are fully vaccinated but treated for high blood pressure. can i let my son come inside my home with a mask and with me also wearing one? can we ever again be inside together or hug without masks? >> so for the viewer, if they are fully va

cdc didn't say anything about me sitting on your lap. >> no, you are okay with us and the cdc, savannah. but what does it mean where you are. state and local officials said they are slugging it all out. the two former epicenters, new york city and los angeles are keeping their mask mandate intact. while places like kentucky say it goes into effect immediately. this hour i will be talking to dr. fauci. and israel hitting tunnels overnight. at least 150 strikes. the latest from richard engel in tel aviv. and it's official. elise stefanik replaces liz cheney as number three in the house. but let's start with this. foyers queens, that was the epicenter where you were there for so many weeks seeing such death and tragedy and such terrible sadness and heroics from the front line workers. what is it like today? >> hey, andrea. this is a neighborhood of corona queens. it shares its name with the virus. what a difference a year makes. a huge sigh of relief here. but here there is an immense sense of caution. from some people there is skepticism. some folks we are speaking with, here by the subwa

. >>> as millions of fully vaccinated americans try to navigate cdc's new recommendations. masks are no longer needed outside and no longer needed inside for most situations, for fully vaccinated people. that leaves it to business owners and civic leaders for what to do. >> some states, arizona, washington, others are immediately following the momentum, lifting all or most of their mandates. some companies like target, home depot, los angeles county as well, the state of hawaii, they say for now their rules to mask up are staying. speaker nancy pelosi says the house chamber will also keep masks in place. dozens of house republicans are asking her to reverse that. airlines are also sticking with masks. >>> cnn aviation correspondent pete joins us. the cdc wants the airlines to keep the mask requirements. is there any pushback from the industry? >> well, victor, airlines say they will keep enforcing masks on board flights even if you are fully vaccinated. it's a key caveat in all of this. the tsa says the transportationwide mask mandate, federally mandated by the federal gove

the cdc director ease isn't even senate confirmed but there needs to be pressure to get cdc off of this spot. it should have been done weeks ago and i'm glad it was done yesterday. >> john: as you pointed out, a lot of mixed messaging from the cdc. let's wind the clock back to show the dr. walensky was saying about where the country was headed with covid. listen here. >> i'm going to reflect on the current feelings i have. we have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope but right now, i'm scared. >> john: right now i am scared and impending doom. two weeks after that everybody taking the masks off, this zigzag quality of the cdc guidance. is it beginning to erode confidence in the cdc? >> i think it is. and she was new to her job. it is a tough job, but i wasn't scared to. we had a vaccine due to warp speed and we have over 100 million people vaccinated in that march time frame. you want to be scared, turn back to last march with no therapeutics, no vaccines and we had to make that up. so yes i'm i think one of the morals of

now the director of the cdc and doctor anthony fauci are defending the cdc's position. both said people who haven't been fully vaccinated should get there shot asap and keep masks on until they do. >> we are asking people to take their health into their own hands to get vaccinated and if they don't, then they continue to be at risk. >> if in fact this serves as an incentive for people to get vaccinated, all the better. i hope it does actually. >> more than 200 million americans are not yet fully vaccinated. everyone in california is still required to wear a mask indoors for now because of the state mandate. >> some groups are hoping the state will keep its mask mandate and reject the cdc's guidance. amy holly is live with why the california nurses association is so concerned about this even though those guidelines still require masks to be worn in hospitals. >> they are concerned. they say this is a huge blow to their efforts. many nurses say they remember what these clinics and hospitals looked like at the height of the pandemic and saying they do not want to go throug

this comes after california announced it's going against the cdc. that's the decision today from state health leaders. bottom line, keep your mask bes on indoors. california will not implement the cdc's new mask guidelines until june 15th. that means even if you're fully vaccinated you still need to wear a mask indoors even if the business has dropped its own mask mandate outside of the state. health leaders say california needs this extra four weeks to vaccinate even more people and give businesses time to prepare for the changes.

cdc is going to continue to update our guidance. right now for travel we are asking people to continue to wear their masks. >> next question. >> thank you. i'm wondering if there is thought to an extra measure to help african-american parents and embedded fear over getting their children vaccinated. there was such hesitation in the african-american community throughout the pandemic. >> thank you for that question. we recognize we have had to do extra outreach in many different communities. the trusted messenger campaign we are doing, having vaccine available in local pharmacies, local pediatricians. and with the availability of vaccines for 12 to 15-year-olds, we are conducting that extra outreach. not only for parents who want the vaccine themselves, but for parents to get their children vaccinated, as well. absolutely. >> while vaccines are great and they are having a massive impact, all questions people have are reasonable, whether it is for themselves or their children, and individual communities have specific questions. that is

california will not implement the cdc's new guidelines until june 15th. that means even if you're fully vaccinated you still need to wear a mask indoors, period. nbc bay area's marianne favro joins us in los gatos with the newest twist. marianne? >> reporter: ever since the cdc issued new guidelines last week there has been mask confusion. so we want to be absolutely clear. even though a lot of national chains, including starbucks, say that they are going to follow the cdc guidelines, here in california, even if you are fully vaccinated you must still wear a mask indoors. here in california, getting a covid shot does not mean you can go shopping without a mask, at least not yet. today the state announced you must still wear a face covering indoors until june 15th. despite new cdc guidelines that say otherwise. >> this four-week period will give californians time to prepare for this change while we continue the relentless focus on delivering vaccines, technically to underserved communities and those that were hard hit throughout this pandemic. >> reporter:

, this is the cdc director. [video clip] >> several things have happened in the last two weeks, the cases have dropped by a third and we have had increasing available vaccine and we now have available eligible people between the ages of 12 and 15 and we have had a coalescence of more signs that has emerged in the last week. the science has been three areas , the effectiveness of the vaccine in general on the population and one is the effectivenesss against variants which was just published last week and the effectiveness in preventing transmissibility. host: congressman, i will let you respond. caller: eric, thank you for the call. i'm not giving medical advice, i listen to the experts in the experts at the cdc just outline for you the three reasons why the virus is going to be crushed, why the vaccine is effective and why, for those who have been fully vaccinated, that they no longer have to wear masks in public or in private unless they choose to do so. i personally will probably wear a mask. i have underlying

the cdc has been just fine. when the circumstances evolve, the things people say about them are also going to evolve. if they don't evolve what they say then they are not paying attention to the circumstances, because the circumstances fall. host: you say you are basically vaccinated, what does that mean? caller: i used the wrong word. host: you mean you have had one or both of the shots, right? caller: yes, two mergener shots. host: do you plan to not wear your mask in public now? caller: i got my haircut yesterday and i brought a mask in. the barber said he did not need me to wear it. so, ok. if i go somewhere else and see masks, i will wear a mask. to me it is being polite and it is like, it is almost the same as taking a shower and being clean and not being smelly. it is just being polite out there. you don't want to give anybody disease, you don't want to get a disease. it is obvious and simple how you can cut the odds down. so you just cut the odds down. people are looking for oh, you know, somebody said s

look, the cdc does not make law. the cdc chooses guidelines. the cdc got the science right by saying vaccinated people are completely protected whether they are indoors or outdoors or they're wearing a masks or not. vaccinated people are protected. what states and locality needs to understand is they need to customized how they enact these guidelines. maryland where i live has a test positivity rate of 1.7%, about half the national average. mississippi on the other hand has a test positivity rate of 13.8%. states should also look at what their vaccination rates are. some states in the northeast have adult vaccination rates of 70%. some states in the south have vaccination rates of 45%. the leaders in those states should take the guidelines from the cdc and enact sensible regulation that makes sense for their state. there is so much vaccines out, i am not sure any of this going to matter. >> that's true, there is plenty for everybody who wants it. i raise the question though that the administration wanted to go ahead with the science and they di

both the president and cdc director dr. walensky repeatedly making that bottom line point clear, that this news is great news for people who are vaccinated. your life, if you are fully vaccinated, can go very much back to normal. you can almost entirely drop the masks. but if you're not vaccinated, that doesn't apply to you. and that simplicity, the benefits of vaccination, this huge weight on the scale in terms of getting your shot, that's the big deal today. this is -- the cdc director and the president making that clear and making the case that it's time to get your shot if you haven't had it yet. number one, because your country needs you to, but number two, because your life will get better and safer and easier if you do it now. >> when your country asks you to get vaccinated, you did. the american people stepped up. you did what i consider to be your patriotic duty. that's how we've gotten to this day. after a year of hard work and so much sacrifice, the rule is very simple -- get vaccinated or wear a mask until you d

the cdc director said she was going to sign off of tomorrow. because it's the same dose, that we use for adults, there is no special dosing you have to go and get from somewhere else. >> okay, look, for adults, i know this because i got my vaccine, you have to show an id, right? but what do you do for kids? they don't have ids, i also wonder if there's additional paperwork like parental consent, at sign-up or at the vaccination site? >> yes, because this is an emergency youth authorization, and because there is still concern it wasn't studied in as many children as usually they would do in adults, a parent will have to can sign a consent, just like if your mother, you had to sign a consent to get your vaccine, because anything under an emergency youth authorization as opposed to approval, you kind of a little stack of paperwork that you have to sign. that is what eua means, as opposed to being approved. >> okay. here, i want to pull in some viewer questions. one mom, beth, that i would never let my kids get this vaccine, it's been experimental

let me show you how the cdc said it on april 27th. it was with this complicated chart, which has been really people have pretty much made fun of it. it was hard to get what they were getting at. now, we do know that dr. rochelle walensky the head of the cdc said very soon they will be revising their mask guidance, and so we could see changes for vaccinated people, on masks indoors and outdoors, also maybe they're going to put something in there about social distancing, so definitely, we should look for that, because fauci and others have been nudging the cdc to get moving in this area, my sources telling me that even voices within the cdc are saying we need to get with the program here, guys, more lenient guidance on masks for people who are vaccinated, it's the science supports it, and it encourages people to get vaccinated. >> elizabeth cohen, thanks for that quick update. >> thanks. >>> it was a question many people had from the early days of the pandemic, when will we see vaccines? and now, they're here. a new cnn film race for th

what is the cdc requiring for travelers? >> reporter: well, cdc director dr. wilensky laid out a caveat, even if you are fully vaccinated you should wear a mask when traveling. we asked the tsa about this and it said the biden transportation wide mask mandate will stay in place meaning on trains, planes, buses and boats and here in terminals like the international airport. >> do we know how long the mask mandate will stay in place? >> september 13th was the latest date. it was supposed to expire this week and it was extended after a little bit of lobbying from flight attendants. they are the ones who say they're on the front lines of enforcing all of this. >> certainly the faa reported a large increase in unruly passengers on commercial flights over mask rules. i imagine there must be concern this is only going to increase now that people don't have to wear masks in most places if fully vaccinated, even though the rule says they have to wear them on the plane. >> reporter: well, anderson, the head of the largest union of flight attendants says there should be

the cdc says you can get rid of your mask a fully vaccinated. but the state or county you live in may not. for more than a year, san jose states theater centers at its curtain closed. >> these next four weeks will be very interesting. >> reporter: but now they are learning that the first act of a post pandemic world could be coming soon. >> if this recommendation holds true, it's for if you are inside or outside. >> reporter: the cdc said that fully vaccinated americans don't have to wear a mask in most settings. with nearly half of u.s. adults fully vaccinated. >> it is sort of like a superhero having a shield. but a vaccine is having a whole force field around you. >> reporter: do you think this is also kind of a strategy to get those who are unvaccinated, vaccinated quacks >> i'm almost positive this is why the cdc made this decision. if this will help anyone who was on the fence get motivated to get the vaccine, that is a boost. >> once we open public, my visi one will be masked. >> reporter: chris barro is still unclear what the theater wil

this cdc decision comes the sho. a turning point in the covid-19 pandemic. >> we have all longed for this moment. >> reporter: the cdc with a major change for the 117 million fully vaccinated americans who will no longer need to physically distance or wear a mask outdoors or indoors and perhaps an incentive for the 130 million who qualify to take the shot but haven't yet. >> reporter: president biden called it a great day and urged the 130 million people not yet vaccinated to do so. >> the rule is very simple. get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do. >> reporter: the cdc says masks will still be required in health care settings on planes and trains and businesses. >> it's exciting to get back to normality. >> reporter: the cdc has under pressure to ease confusing covid restrictions as the number of inoculated people continues to grow. >> the american people just lost patience with us. >> reporter: now health experts say the science is compelling. >> they're having a number of papers that have have come out shown t

what is the cdc requiring for travelers? >> reporter: well, cdc director dr. wilensky laid out a caveat, even if you are fully vaccinated you should wear a mask when traveling. we asked the tsa about this, and it said the biden transportation-wide mask mandate will stay in place meaning on trains, planes, buses and boats and here in terminals like the international airport. >> do we know how long the mask mandate will stay in place? >> reporter: september 13th was the latest date. it was supposed to expire this week and it was extended after a little bit of lobbying from flight attendants. they are the ones who say they're on the front lines of enforcing all of this. >> certainly the faa reported a large increase in unruly passengers on commercial flights over mask rules. i imagine there must be concern this is only going to increase now that people don't have to wear masks in most places if fully vaccinated, even though the rule says they have to wear them on the plane. >> reporter: well, anderson, the head of the largest union of flight attendants says there

speak of the final cdc guidance won high praise from the amt which wrote in a statement the cdc -- still others questioned whether the cdc's guidance did in fact follow the signs. particularly given evidence showing school-age children were not a primary source of covert infections. >> we should have a politicized public health bureaucracy like the cdc answering at the beck and call of the teachers unions. we need kids in schools with their teachers now. >> in a statement fox news, aft acknowledged it has been in regular touch with agencies setting policy that affects their work and lives, including the cdc. however, they point out "we contacted the agency more in 2020 during the trump administration then we have during the biden administration in 2021. "their afflictions come as the biden administration has followed through on a plan to expand or hold a number of refugees allowed into the u.s. this year. raising the nation's cap on refugee admissions 262,500 this year. up from 15,000, the trump air limits. >> quite a dramatic rise there. now back to the teacher union controversy for jus

sometimes we don't see that same mannerism coming from the cdc. and dr. walensky, god bless her, i know she's got her hands full, but she was exhibit a in that kind of panicky behavior a couple of weeks ago. let me just play that tape. roll tape. >> i'm going to reflect on the recurring feeling i have of impending doom. we have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now i'm scared. david: i'm scared. and then she was talking about impending doom. i mean, frankly, i don't trust people that panic in dangerous situations, and that was panic, to me. >> look, there's a great amount of burden and a worry about making the wrong decision. i understand that. i was in that position. we had the hurricanes, the opioid crisis, but at the end of the day when your leader, she's an accomplished physician from great institutions, we need to still be able to have confidence and to reassure people that you know what you're doing. and, yes, i would certainly have taken a different route in that case. davi

he said "the cdc listened to teacher's unions, not families. students are still being kept from classrooms and parents cannot return to work. republicans are demanding answers to why special interest groups were given undue influence by the biden white house." so very strong words from house minority leader kevin mccarthy. we'll see how they respond. martha? >> martha: thanks. kristin fisher at the white house. joining me katie pavlich and will cain, host of the will cain podcast and fox news contributors. great to have you with us today. i want to start with your reaction to what you just watched. katie, let's begin with you. president biden talking about his plan to rescue families in america and create jobs, backing up his tax plan and the spending which he says will be all paid for, katie. >> well, first, the excuse from president biden that we're already in the hole by a couple trillion dollars justifies spending an additional $6 trillion, that's not a justification for going down this path when we are seeing inflation and inflation is a t

this morning on gma, cdc director dr. michelle wilensky said the new guidance is based on science that shows the vaccines are working, this is just the first step. >> this country is not homogeneous. it's not uniform. there are some areas in this country that still have more disease than others. there is areas that might have close quite low vaccination rates. we can treated necessarily as uniform and a lot of those decisions are going to have to happen at the jurisdictional level. >> you can watch george stephanopoulos's full interview coming up at 7:00 on gma. this comes as the number of covid patients in hospitals nationwide dropped to the lowest level since october, and the daily average death count is below 600, the lowest since april 2020, kumasi? >>> thank you, jobina. while the cdc its math gof lifornia hasn't. here in the bay area, not everybody is ready to ditch their masks. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield is johow people are feeling about these new guidelines. amy? >> reporter: hi, good morning. we are out he

the cdc can only tell you what is relatively safe or not. that's why this is passed down, again, complete lack of leadership at the federal level. this is why they're passing the buck to the state officials, local officials and to the businesses. that's what you're seeing right now. it will take some time to evolve. but given the lack of warning by the cdc that they were going to change it, the lack of leadership from the white house, the american businesses have done a great job. you're seeing many states even today, massachusetts, new york, you're see manage businesses already rolling back with no prior warning. so it's going to evolve very quickly. >> sandra: and welcome news out of the biden white house, a laundry list of good numbers coming from this pandemic. deaths are down 81% admiral. those americans with at least one shot of any of the vaccines, that's now up to 60%. so it's no wonder that they're changing guidance. listening to that, the white house was taking a victory lap. admiral, coming from the last white house medical team,

the cdc rolled this out without any advanced notice. even the white house didn't know it was coming. and so we have to give businesses and schools and others time to adjust to it. if we can get substantially over 50% of people vaccinated, that will create substantial downward pressure on the cases and make sure that we don't open up prematurely and have to go back down again. boy, think about how hard it would be if we had to reinstate requirements for masking after we took them down. the cdc tends to lag a little bit and want to be very safe. on this one most of the public health experts feel they went pretty far, pretty fast, and the california standards today seem much more prudent. >> yes, taking a step back would be emotional whiplash for so many people. those of us that are vaccinated, how much concern should we have about the variants? and if i'm vaccinated, should i still be masking up because i'm afraid of the variant? >> i don't think so. i think the variants have proven to be nastier as we expected but the vaccines work incre

now, i want to be clear about what the cdc is saying. and what the cdc is not saying. the cdc is saying that it's concluded that fully vaccinated people are at a very, very low risk of getting covid-19. therefore, if you have been fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask. let me repeat, if you are fully vaccinated you no longer need to wear a mask. but if you have not been vaccinated or if the you're getting a two-shot vaccine and you only had your first shot, but not your second, or you haven't waited the full two weeks after your second shot, you still need to wear a mask. look, we've gotten this far. please protect yourself. until you get to the finish line, because as great as this announcement is today, we don't want to let up. we all know how tough this virus has been. the safest thing for the country is for everyone to get vaccinated. and getting vaccinated is easier than ever. we have worked so hard. we have 80,000 locations, 90% of you live within five miles of one of those locations. you can find a vaccine site near you by texting your zip code to

respect for the guidance from the cdc. i always considered the cdc to be the gold standard. i don't anymore. >> federal health officials defended the new guidance. >> recognizing the people really are tired of this and the chance of being able to be a little bit more free, even if there's a small, incremental risk, judged by cdc to be worth it. >> the white house denies this was a political decision. >> there are a lot of questions about the timing of the cdc's announcement yesterday. did somebody at the biden administration or in the biden administration up date this guidance for political reasons? >> no. >> what was the medical or scientific reason? what was the big breakthrough to do this yesterday? >> the cdc, the doctors in the medical experts determine what this guidance would be based on the data and the timeline. it was not a decision directed by or made by the white house. >> if you have to wear a mask it may depend on where you live, how you travel and even where you shop. democratic governors in california, new

how is the cdc limiting the review of americans who get infected after vaccination. we are going to investigate next. ♪eh uh, eh uh♪ ♪flow (oh my gosh)♪ ♪where man go (oh my gosh)♪ ♪if a man see me (oh my gosh)♪ ♪i guess you never know what you got 'til it's♪ ♪flow (oh my gosh)♪ ♪where man go (oh my gosh)♪ ♪if a man see me (oh my gosh)♪ ♪i guess you never know what you got 'til it's♪ ♪eh uh, eh uh eh uh, eh uh eh uh, eh uh eh uh♪ wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. over the next 10 years, comcast is committing $1 billion to reach 50 million low-income americans with the tools and resources they need to be ready for anything. i hope you're ready. 'cause we are. ♪ ♪ >> laura: as the left is threatening to punish unvaccinated americans, here is something that have

, this is the cdc director. [video clip] >> several things have happened in the last two weeks, the cases have dropped by a third and we have had increasing available vaccine and we now have available eligible people between the ages of 12 and 15 and we have had a coalescence of more signs that has emerged in the last week. the science has been three areas , the effectiveness of the vaccine in general on the population and one is the effectivenesss against variants which was just published last week and the effectiveness in preventing transmissibility. host: congressman, i will let you respond. caller: eric, thank you for the call. i'm not giving medical advice, i listen to the experts in the experts at the cdc just outline for you the three reasons why the virus is going to be crushed, why the vaccine is effective and why, for those who have been fully vaccinated, that they no longer have to wear masks in public or in private unless they choose to do so. i personally will probably wear a mask. i have underlying

yesterday cdc reported more than 34,200 new cases of covid-19. our seven-day average is about 36,800 cases per day. this represents yet another decrease from about 23% from our prior seven-day average. and every day with daily cases continuing to fall, we remain encouraged by these positive trends. the seven-day average of hospital admissions is 4,100. again, another terrific sign with another back-to-back decrease of 12% from the previous seven-day period. and seven-day average daily deaths have also declined to 587 per day. today, i have several exciting announcements to share with you. first, since becoming cdc director, i have seen first hand the current frail state of the public health infrastructure in this country. i'm committed to upgrading the public health system so the nation is ready for whatever comes next. with this in mind, today we are announcing the upcoming release of $7.4 billion in funding from the american rescue plan to hire, train, and support public health workers across the country reflective of the diversity within the c

average infections nearing half, which helped the cdc make that call. no more masks for the vaccinated inside or out. reaction from a new york park. >> i am so happy. >> reporter: to a chicago restaurant. >> it's really exciting. >> reporter: to the senate floor in d.c. senator ernest pointing to her bare face. ohio about to throw a lot of money at vaccine hesitancy. >> only in the united states where we have this massive surplus of life-saving vaccines do we have to bribe people to take them. >> reporter: a shot in ohio will soon get a ticket to a weekly draw. the prize, a four-year free ride at a state college for teens. for adults? a million bucks. >> i know people are going to say hey, dewine has lost his mind. this is a waste. but what i think is a waste to have a vaccine that can save people's lives and to have someone die of covid because they did not get vaccinated. >> reporter: today, widespread rollout of pfizer's vaccine in 12 to 15-year-olds makes things more possible for them. >> going to school, doing track, meeting new people. yeah. >> yo