hi, there. i'm brianna keilar. you're watching cnn's special coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. right now, more than 1.5 million cases have been confirmed in the u.s. with over 92,000 deaths, and there's another critical number this wednesday, and that is 50. with connecticut beginning to lift covid-19 restrictions, all 50 states are now partially reopened. and as you can see, the majority are still seeing cases hold steady or decline. in miami, one of the last cities in florida to reopen, retail shops can get back to business with 50% capacity. the city's barbershops, nail salons, and parks are now also open. masks are required for workers as well as anyone who is heading out to the parks. now the centers for disease control, which has found itself in a public back-and-forth with the white house over the response to the pandemic has

released a 60-page document outlining its guidelines for reopening states. this move comes after the white house blocked a slightly longer version from going public last week, saying that it was too specific. at the time, a senior cdc official told cnn that no one who is reopening meets the criteria for reopening. and now a stunning allegation from several mid and high-ranking agency officials who tell cnn that the trump administration is putting politics ahead of science. one of them saying bluntly, "we've been muzzled." "what's tough is that if we had acted earlier on what we knew and recommended, we would have saved lives and money." and speaking of the cdc and that tension, we have some breaking news on the fate of its director. so let's go now to cnn national correspondent kristen holmes. kristen, this sounds like some pretty big news. what are you learning? >> reporter: well, that's right, brianna, and it is no surprise. as you said, we've really been watching this tension unfold over the last several weeks, and now we've learned that there are informal conversations going on

about what to do about the cdc director, robert redfield. now, just to give a little bit of background here. we know that there had been growing increasing tension between these two organizations, again, for weeks leading up to this. they actually resulted at one point in a heated conversation between dr. birx and redfield. now, redfield told colleagues as recently as last week that he didn't believe that this confrontation between the two of them meant that his job was at risk in any way. the two have a decades-long relationship. but over the weekend, the tide seemed to have turned. at least that's what these sources in the administration are telling us. they say that those comments made by peter navarro that blame the cdc for the testing, saying they let the country down, really were the opening of the flood gates here and that he was expressing how many within the administration actually felt towards the organization. now we are hearing again that

there is some sort of conversation going around and that redfield himself has concerns that he may have a target on his back. and i should say, several administration officials did not push us away from that idea. this is the way that these things tend to go. but as we move forward, i want to note a couple of things. one, president trump was on the hill yesterday. he absolutely excoriated the cdc, but he did not mention redfield by name. the other point i want to make is that cdc officials are pushing back on this notion that redfield is in any way in trouble with the white house. but one thing we never saw -- and i want to point this out directly -- navarro made those comments -- president trump never hit back on them. he never defended the cdc. we never heard anything that protected the cdc in any way. so, clearly a developing story here, but it really is the culmination of weeks of a distrustful relationship coming to a head. >> yeah, it's a very important story that you're following

there, kristen. we'll keep following it with you. we'll have more on that ahead. and as more americans are leaving their homes and they're moving about the country, the race to find a vaccine becomes that much more urgent. and now a study conducted by johnson & johnson and a team of harvard researchers is showing positive results in one set of early trials. let's get right to cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. tell us about this, elizabeth. >> reporter: these are actually two studies that are so interesting coming out of this lab at harvard. i will say, though, as caution, as the doctor who did these has caused, these are animals, these are not people. lots of things work in animals that don't work in people. but to talk about what they did, they took 25 monkeys, reeses macaque monkeys and vaccinated them and exposed them to the virus. and what they found is the monkeys had developed antibodies, antibodies capable of neutralizing the virus. so that's great news. that's what we want the monkeys to do, because eventually, that's what we want us to do.

then they waited a little bit of time and re-exposed the monkeys to the virus to see what happened, and they did not get reinfected. in other words, when they put the virus in front of them, so to speak, they did not get the virus after they had been vaccinated. so, that's a wonderful thing. that is great. it is great if you're a monkey. today is a wonderful day if you're a monkey. none of us watching this are monkeys, i hope. so, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. but really hoping that this translate into humans. >> and the speed with which -- look, we know that when it comes to vaccine trials, there's a long road ahead, even from a point like this. and it might not work out. is this pretty quick, though, in terms of a timeline for getting to this point, elizabeth? >> it really isn't. this is a marathon, not a sprint. this is johnson & johnson, who has sponsored this week. they haven't even gotten into humans yet. they are still working in animals. there are plenty of others that -- there are eight others, to be specific -- who are working in humans. and even those teams that are in humans have a long way to go.

so, let's take a look at how this sort of progresses. vaccines start in the lab. and that's where you come up with your vaccine. you then give it to a group of animals to see if it's safe and also if you get that antibody response that we were just talking about. and then you move on, if all that goes well, to small-scale studies with humans. dozens of humans or hundreds of them. and for the same reason. with that small scale, you try to make sure that it's safe and that you're getting the antibody response. and then and only then do you move on to the large-scale human trials. that's with thousands or even tens of thousands of people. you vaccinate some. you don't vaccinate others. and you put them out in the world and see who gets covid and who doesn't. that's the part that takes such a long time. it could take months and months. and there's all sorts of forecasts about how we're going to do it quicker and all of that, but this is the part that is hard to speed up. it just has to happen at its natural pace. let's take a lack at where various companies are. in the entire world, there are

only eight teams who are in clinical trials, four in china, three in the u.s. and one in the uk. and 110 are in preclinical work. and what that means is that they're either in the lab or in animals. and as you can see, we're not going to have 118 vaccines when we're done with these. the vast majority will fail. there is a chance that all of them will fail. there is a chance we will not get a vaccine for this virus. we hope that's not the case, but we have to be very, very cautious about all of this. brianna? >> thanks what the officials are saying when they say there's multiple shots on goal. thank you so much for walking us through that, elizabeth cohen. the state of connecticut is starting to reopen today. this is welcome news for the restaurant industry, but after months of being shut down, the dining experience will be a lot different than the last time that people went out to eat. cnn national correspondent brynn gingras is in milford, connecticut. tell us about what it's like. what is it like in the restaurants there, brynn? >> reporter: yeah, brianna, one of the big questions was, were people actually going to come out to eat on this first day? and i've got to tell you, we're

at this restaurant here in milford and a lot of people are coming in, and they're following the rules. i want to kind of show you exactly what we're seeing. when you enter, there are people waiting for a table now, but you can see all of the xs on the ground, keeping social distancing in mind, of course. and now there's all these new precautions that the restaurant has to take, like they have to have paper menus, they have to have plastic silverware that's all separated with napkins and then separate condiments, and you also have disinfectant that is all part of the cdc guidelines that this restaurant is following. as we come into their patio, keep in mind, only restaurants can open if they have outdoor space. so, this place is lucky because they have a pretty big outdoor space, even though it's still about 50% of what they typically can accommodate for patrons. but there are certainly restaurants all around the state that don't have this space and are having to outfit it now in order to actually do business. and there are some places that just don't want to open because of that or can't open. but you can see, i mean, everyone is six feet apart from each other, the tables, and people are really, you know, adhering to the rules, making

sure that they keep on their masks until they have to eat, of course. and i've got to tell you, it's a nice day. people are enjoying the experience. take a listen to one of the people we talked to. >> it feels real good, you know, because i enjoy going out and being in nice weather like this. and that stuff. the food's good and the company's good. only thing is we've got to keep our distance, which is fine. we can learn to deal with that for a year or two, how long it has to be. >> reporter: yeah, now, in connecticut, these restaurants had to shut down almost a day -- i think exactly -- before st. patrick's day. so like a bar-restaurant like this ordered all this pen vinve and couldn't use any of it. so this is welcoming for them to be able to get started again, brianna. also, there is only one way for an exit, too. this is another step that the restaurants have to take in order to reopen. but again, we're going to be looking -- rather, the state's going to be looking at the metrics. the governor says they're all in

the right direction at this point. we know that the numbers were the lowest they've been as far as deaths from covid-19 since april. and hopefully, those numbers continue to go down and that at least owners are saying they hope the numbers go down so more restrictions can be eased back. brianna? >> i think a lot of people will look at that guy drinking his beer on the patio and be very jealous there. brynn gingras, thank you for walking us through that in milford, connecticut. with the knowledge that coronavirus spreads easily among large gatherings, states are facing a big dilemma -- deciding how and when to reopen churches. a new study from the cdc analyzing a cluster in arkansas may make this choice harder. during the time in early march, two symptomatic people who later tested positive attended events at a local church. and among the 92 other attendees, 35 developed coronavirus and three people died. an additional 26 cases linked to the church occurred in the community, and that also included one death. then in houston, the holy ghost church has closed its doors

indefinitely. it follows the death of one of its priests. while it is uncertain what caused the 79-year-old's death, but within a week, five others had tested positive. cnn religion commentator father edward beck is here. and you know, this is tough, right? because in times of trouble, this is what gets so many people through, their faith. and churches are openly defying orders about large gatherings as they, i guess, sort of weigh this calculation. do you think the risk is worth it? >> well, not if they're going to open like that, brianna, no. i think they have to follow the cdc guidelines, just like any other organization or business that's opening. so, physical distancing and all of the precautions is going to be necessary. now, it's a little bit more difficult with churches. and as a priest, i'm just thinking about -- so, say i get to say mass on sunday. now they're saying maybe only ten people can come into the church.

well, is that really opening? and then you come to communion. and so, for catholics who receive communion every time they come to mass, you put your hands out. so, as a priest, i'm going to be placing the host in everybody's hand who comes up. so, they're samming, we insayin can't touch anybody's hand. what if i do? then i have to sanitize in between each person i give communion to. the logistics of it are very complicated and i think they need to be thought through before we do open religious events. >> so, i mean, you point out a very good thing, which is a very important thing, which is that churches are unique, right? especially when you're talking about communion. the cdc actually left the reopening of churches off its list of guidelines. what do you think about that? >> well, i think it should have included it, because the churches need to be told, if not by guidelines, then certainly legally, that you have to follow

the same parameters, the same guidelines as everybody else. and we've seen that churches have not, even during the lockdown did not. so, hopefully, the leadership of the church, and certainly, bishops in the catholic church have said they're going to follow the guidelines, but i think you really need to say it very specifically, because i've heard stuff like, well, jesus will protect me, or god wouldn't let that happen. well, guess what, as you just said, a priest died. five other priests were infected with the virus. other congregants have been infected with the virus. so, i think we really have to be smart about this. and i think it should have included the guidelinesfor all groups that gather, and including religious ones. >> yeah. it's very important. father beck, thank you, as always. as more americans die by the minute, the president is busy threatening states, attacking jurists and accusing a tv host of murder. plus, steelers quarterback ben roethlisberger under fire for getting a haircut, despite

the state's orders that barbershops and salons remain closed. i'll be speaking with his barber. and as more passengers begin flying again, big news from the airlines, including one that's not allowing you to book middle seats. this is cnn's special live coverage. whether you're caring for your family at home or those at work, principal is by your side. we're working hard to answer your questions. like helping you understand what the recently passed economic package can mean for you. we're more than a financial company. we're a "together we can get through anything" company. now, more than ever. for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections

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breaking news. cnn is reporting that the fate of the cdc director is in question as tensions escalate between america's crown jewel of health agencies and the white house. and in the meantime, we're watching a pattern with this president, attacking any perceived enemy or anyone who looks to hold him accountable, and this is at a time when the nation needs accountability from

its government. instead, he deflects, he distracts, he lies his way through this crisis. just this morning alone, for instance, the president is threatening to withhold funding to two states because they are allowing citizens to vote by mail. he again attacks a member of a jury. he again accuses a tv personality, a private citizen, this time of murder. and all of this as more than 92,000 americans have lost their lives. thousands more are fighting just to survive and get through day to day. millions of others have lost their jobs. i want to bring in cnn's senior political analyst john avlon. you know, john, sometimes it feels like a broken record, right? we've seen this again and again and again. the circumstances here are so much different that it elevates the, i guess, alarming nature of this behavior, because we are in a crisis, and this stuff is going on and making it worse. >> yeah, i mean, the president

seems distracted in the face of dealing with an absolute crisis on his watch, a global pandemic, and he can't rise above the pettiness, the anger, the vindictiveness, the misinformation, the disinformation, of a kind that if some of your friends or co-workers or boss did, you would think there was something deeply unwell about them. this is the president of the united states, and we shouldn't normalize it. >> no, we should not normalize it. okay, so, what's he doing here? is he just distracting? what doesn't he want people paying attention to? >> so, that's a great question, because the president does have a playbook. he runs it instinctively -- distract, deflect, deny. and in this case, fact that he's doing it against the backdrop of a pandemic highlights how infant aisle that impulse ultimately is. there are serious things the president is doing and his administration are doing -- the ousting of inspectors general, part of a process of trying to undercut anything resembling accountability in his system, with largely republican

acquiescence. that may be one of these things. but one of his volleys this morning i think was actually quite serious, because it gets to the heart of our integrity of our elections, this going after michigan and nevada, largely baselessly, but really, we're just trying to ensure that there's an expanded access to vote in an election occurring daughtering a pandemic, which is almost unprecedented. that kind of intimidation to withdraw federal funds really goes beyond just the president dealing with anger and distracting and deflecting towards something a lot more sinister. we all have to keep our eye on the ball. >> and he really seems to see political opportunity in this, right, when he is attacking states like michigan, that have strict stay-at-home orders, encouraging protesters to march on kohlcapitols, even refusing wear a mask himself. i wonder, how do you think history is going to look back on these moments and remember how this president has handled this?

>> very, very badly. and look, perspective is a thing we have least of in our politics, but when you're the president, you are judged in the eyes of history. there are apples-to-apples comparisons with other presidents that we can make. and we know there's never been a president who's shown this consistent a disregard for facts, this much of an impulse to divide people when he should be uniting in the face of a common crisis. the president apparently can't help himself. but judged by the light of history, by any other president, we shouldn't forget how absolutely unprecedented this is. and what ultimately a dereliction of duty it is. because character, we know from history, is the thing that matters most in presidents, and that's what seems to be most obviously lacking in this one. >> john, thank you so much. john avlon. and just in, as more clusters break out on the front lines, we're getting word that nearly 70 grocery store workers have died from the virus. plus, are officials being honest about their coronavirus counts? there's new scrutiny for two states in particular. and the governor of pennsylvania

is livid after one of the state's biggest sports stars defies a lockdown order to get a haircut. i'll be speaking with ben roethlisberger's barber, next.

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pennsylvania governor tom wolf is scolding one of the state's sports stars after steelers quarterback ben roethlisberger posted a video of him getting his hair and his beard cut. governor wolf said that everybody should avoid putting themselves in harm's way right now. >> when you go to something like a barbershop and you're not protected, i don't care who you are, the chances of that virus actually wreaking havoc on your life increases. i don't personally think that any pennsylvanian ought to take that chance. i certainly don't want to take that chance myself. >> pennsylvania has begun a phased reopening of the state with salons and barbershops not yet allowed to reopen. joining me now are carlos norman and mark conan. carlos is the barber who gave ben roethlisberger his haircut. he's the owner of norman's

cutting edge barbershop. carlos, you're taking some heat here, right, for giving him a haircut? he's taking heat for getting one, for getting a beard trim. but you walk us through your perspective on sort of what happened here, and tell us first, are you open? are you open for business? >> no, absolutely not. ben needed a haircut. ben told them pretty much after he was recovered from surgery, he wanted to get a haircut. and he has recovered from surgery. he asked me if i'd do it, and i did it. i did it as a favor for a friend. no money was exchanged. you know, i cut his hair. we ate slippery mermaid sushi, and that was it. the next day, all this blew up. >> were you surprised? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. my phone's been ringing off the hook constantly, you know, with interviews. some positive. mostly positive.

but some negative, you know. and it's been a rough journey. but you know, we're getting through it here at norman's cutting edge barbershop. >> i think some people might look at the video. they see through the mirror, they can see two other guys besides you and roethlisberger. one of them appears to be the camera man. there's another gentleman. there's you, there's roethlisberger. were safety measures taken? >> oh, absolutely. we just -- i actually -- you know, we took -- there is shots with me with my mask off, but i took my mask off just for a few shots. most of it was staged, for the most part. and the other guy was a cameraman. there were two cameramen there, actually. >> so, mark, you represent your client, and i wonder what you think your response is to the governor and his comments? >> well, i do represent carlos, and we're dear friends and have

been for 30 years. with that said, we're not trying to get into a contest of will with the governor. to the contrary. mr. norman has been closed for business ever since the governor's orders went out and he has remained closed. there's been no commercial transactions. and we felt there was just a little bit of a rush to judgment without all of the facts and the presumption that, somehow, mr. norman had opened up, when in fact, that was absolutely not the case. one friend doing a favor for another friend. and one of the friends just happens to be a prominent professional athlete. so, we should all be so lucky to have a barber friend that can make us look better. carlos, i'll come see you when i come to town next time. >> anything i can for the steeler nation. you know, ben's going to lead us to the super bowl, and you know, i think i did what any other man would have did if ben roethlisberger kind of called him and said, "hey, would you cut my hair?"

you know? so, i understand, i take the epidemic serious. i appreciate the nurses, the nurses at the berlin foundation, doing what they do. you know, we appreciate everybody who's working hard to keep this epidemic at bay. but for the most part, you know, i just did a favor for a friend. >> carlos, talk to me about this. you're running a small business. you can't reopen. we've seen -- look, we've seen some barbershops, salons across the country reopening and getting fined. talk to us -- i know you actually kind of have a side job that's helping you through all of this, but what does this mean to be shut down for so long? >> well, the thing is, i see a lot of small businesses struggling, and it's sad because a lot of them are friends, you know. i've got my local coffee shop that i go to every day, deso cafe, and i have different small businesses in the community that, you know, we patronize,

but they're closed. they can't open up and generate the revenue because, you know, people like myself, waiters, waitresses who go to these places, can't go, you know, buy their products, you know. and it's sad to watch them losing their business. yeah, i'm fortunate because i have a side job, zaden llc, which, you know, it gets me over. i do handyman work as well as i'm a part-time arborist. and people don't know that about me. so when i'm at the barbershop, that's what i'm doing. i work out of that location also. >> well, we really appreciate you coming on. as we said, you took a lot of heat and we're glad to get your perspective on all of this. carlos norman. and marc kohnin, his lawyer. thank you guys. >> thank you vr muery much for having me. >> thank you. stay healthy. just a stunning before-and-after picture of a nurse who survived weeks of coronavirus. we will hear his story.

plus, mcdonald's workers suing the chain over safety measures. hear what they're claiming. and jetblue taking a big step to socially distance 30,000 feet in the air, as united makes a separate announcement about keeping planes clean. [horns honking] birthdays aren't cancelled. hope isn't quarantined. first words aren't delayed. caring isn't postponed. courage isn't on hold. and love hasn't stopped. u.s. bank thanks you for keeping all of our spirits strong. we've donated millions to those in need and are always here for our customers and employees.

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just days after fast-food chain mcdonald's announced its guidelines to reopen restaurant dining rooms, its workers across the country are suing, saying the safety measures fall short. hundreds of mcdonald's workers in 20 cities are striking today. they want to pressure the company to improve safety protections for workers. union reps say dozens of employees have gotten sick and that workers have been told not to wear masks or gloves. let's get to more headlines that we are following across the country. >> reporter: i'm dianne gallagher in atlanta. the united food and commercial workers international union says that 68 of its workers have died and more than 10,000 have either tested positive for or been exposed to covid-19. now, the union cautions, the numbers across the country are likely much higher because these are just internal numbers that they've developed from companies that they represent. they continue to push for hazard pay, noting that the pandemic has not ended.

workers spoke on a press call about the challenges they're now facing, including getting customers to wear masks. one employee at a kroger in michigan, christine, said that masks have now become a political war. employees are scared. the union is now calling for stores to hire security. >> reporter: i'm in miami. georgia and florida under scrutiny for their reporting of covid-19 cases. in georgia, the state department of health posting a bar chart that showed a downward trajectory of some of the most impacted areas. now, the dates were out of order, suggesting that cases were declining, causing a lot of confusion. georgia's saying that it was an error and that the chart was pulled down. in florida, rebecca jones, the scientist behind the highly praised dashboard which keeps track of covid-19 cases and deaths, was removed from her post on may 5th. now, she has had conversations with a lot of news organizations, not with cnn, but she has alleged that she refused to change state data to drum up

support to reopen the state. now, since then, the florida governor and the department of health have issued statements saying that she was insubordinate and disruptive, saying accuracy and transparency are always indispensable. now, according to the florida department of health, she has until tomorrow to resign or she will be terminated. >> reporter: i'm ed lavandera in dallas. a federal judge here in texas has ruled that registered voters who are not immune to the coronavirus and fear being infected while waiting in line can vote by mail. this voting issue has become a flashpoint between democrats and republicans here. democrats say that voters should not have to choose between their health and voting. republicans say it will lead to widespread voter fraud. the republican attorney general says he will appeal the decision. >> reporter: i'm covering travel in virginia, and commercial airlines are coming up with new policies to protect passengers. united airlines just announced that it will partner with clorox and the cleveland clinic to guide its health practices. jetblue has said that it will

now keep planes less full through july 6th. united and jetblue are the latest to come up with these policies in the absence of requirements from the federal government. >> thank you so much to our cnn correspondents for that. i want to bring in sarah nelson, the international president of the association of flight attendants. sara, welcome again. >> thank you, brianna. >> and i want to start with jetblue's safety from the ground up program. that's what they call it. temperature monitoring for its flight and in-flight crew members, blocking the middle row for seat distancing. what do you think about this? is this going to work? >> well, safety is always about layering. so, if you take the swiss cheese model where you have holes in the swiss cheese, if you layer them on top of each other, you eventually cover the holes. that's the idea here. if you have temperature checks, deep cleaning plans, a sort of social distancing policies and you have everyone wearing masks, all of these things together are

going to help keep us more safe. what jetblue is doing here in announcing this middle seat issue, i think that we need to be very clear about this, that just excluding the middle seats does not mean that it is actually possible to appropriately socially distance on a plane. this just gives the crew the ability to move people around fav a situation where you have a medical emergency, you have a child who can't wear a mask, you've got some sort of condition where you need to be able to have some space to reallocate the passengers around the plane. >> okay. because you are being clear. i mean, when we think about, if you're walking down the middle aisle and you have three seats on either side, you're walking right past people. i mean, you're brushing almost against their arms. and even those folks without the middle seat. but do you think -- i mean, do you think it's helpful, though, blocking the middle seat? airlines like jetblue are doing this. there's even been talk of stripping out the middle seat

completely. we've seen how alarming it is when the middle seat is in use. the early ceo, john pfluger, says it will not work, actually, to strip out the middle seat entire entirely, but what do you think? >> no, i think that that is a futile option for us. i think that what we need to do is we need to simplify what we're doing here. if you start stripping out the middle seat, as you've already noted, it doesn't actually give you proper social distancing as healthy authorities would say is necessary here. and you still have to walk by other people. there are other issues with this. everybody sort of glommed on to that middle seat issue because most people don't like to sit in a middle seat. but it also shows that most people, even though they think they know aviation, they don't. because half of the aircraft flying domestically don't even have middle seats. so, this isn't really a solution. and you can't really properly

socially distance on a plane. you need flexibility for the crews to be able to move people so that we are filling the gaps on those safety measures. there has to be this layered approach. everyone has to wear masks. and you know, frankly, this would be a lot easier and a lot more clear for the traveling public if this were coming from the federal government. we really should have a task force where the federal government is bringing the industry and the stakeholders on the front lines all together to put policies in place during this time to keep us safe and also to regain confidence for the traveling public. >> yeah, we know that you have requested that of the administration because we're looking at this patchwork approach, and i know you and a lot of others feel that's just not the way to go. so we'll keep watching with you, sara nelson. thank you. >> thank you. sources say that president trump is getting ready to stop using a drug that's unproven and potentially even dangerous as a treatment for coronavirus. it comes as medical experts and even former trump officials warn

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two sources tell cnn that president trump is expected to finish his course of hydroxychloroquine soon. he has been fervently defending his decision to take the anti-malaria drug as an unproven method to prevent coronavirus infection, but some current and former officials in his own administration are cautioning against any american following

his example without consulting their doctor. my next guest is among them. dr. david shullken, former veterans affairs secretary, having served under president trump. doctor, thank you so much for coming on and talking to us about this. as you know, the world health organization came out with a statement that hydroxychloroquine has not proven to be effective against covid-19. you say the risks of taking this drug are real. what are your biggest concerns ? >> i think so far, we've had a lot of studies that have come out and known shown evidence to say that this is an effective drug against the treatment or the prevention of covid-19. we, of course, had the study of the department of veteran affairs that looked every patient in the hospital at that time and since then, two large studies coming out of new york city, medical schools, shown no effect of hydroxychloroquine. so i think this is important to follow the research.

there's still additional studies under way, brianna, and if the research shows different findings, then, of course, we would change our recommendations, but at this point, to take a drug that has no effectiveness or no known effectiveness, but potential harm just doesn't make a lot of sense. >> treat presidents, who treat this president. are you surprised one of them may have agreed to prescribe this to him? >> well, i think this is a decision that a doctor has to make with their patient. and i am surprised at this recommendation, particularly because the fda has come out and recommended that there be extreme caution in giving this drug and this is an off-use indication for the drug, so i'm surprised that happened but that happens between the individual patient and physician, that's not the issue i'm concerned about. i'm concerned about the way that this is publicly being discussed and that other americans may

believe that this is now safe to do, and this clearly is not safe. we also had the v.a. secretary talking about this is being done in the military. they're taking hydroxychloroquine but what americans need understand that's needed to prevent malaria, where there is evidence that's preventing malaria in young healthy adults going into the military, which is very different than many people today who are out there concerned about getting covid-19. >> and look, i'm a military spouse. i know a lot of people who have taken that drug, and it is not -- they will tell you, it's not a drug to take lightly. they certainly didn't enjoy being on it. i wonder, and i think this is important, as you make this case to americans not to follow the president's example. this appears to be very patient-driven from the president to take this medication. so, you know, normally, if you press your doctor for something and they really think it's not a

good idea for you to take something, they're not going to prescribe it. but if you're the president and you say to your doctor, i really want to take this, how does that play out? >> as a physician, we all take an oath not to do harm. that's our primary goal here, and what a physician needs to do is to share with their patient what they know does work and what we know does work in preventing and making sure people don't get covid-19 is good hygiene, the use of masks when you go out. social distancing and being very cautious with, you know, being able to avoid getting the virus in the first place and so, taking drugs that have not shown any effectiveness to work and have potential harm as it is in the case of hydroxychloroquine just simply isn't good medical advice. >> as a former v.a. secretary, are you confident that the veteran community is being cared for as it should be during this

covid crisis? >> well, i think i, like everybody who works in the department of veteran affairs and every american, wants to make sure our veterans are protected. particularly, coming up on memorial day, brianna. i think we all have to remember the debt we owe these great americans who have sacrificed for our country, but, you know, there are 20 million veterans in this country and the department of veteran affairs is reporting there are a thousand deaths. my concern is there's many more veterans suffering, many more that need help than that. that's a dramatic undercounting of the impact of this pandemic on our veterans in this country and we have to make sure that we're looking out and protecting all of our veterans in this county. >> dr. shulkin, thank you for joining us. very important reminder.

>> thank you. more breaking news. the fate of the cdc director in question as tensions escalate with the white house. new study shows early success in six experimental vaccines after tests in monkeys. plus, as all states reopen in some capacity, see how far the virus germs travel during a restaurant experiment. you'll want to see this. i don't keep track of regrets and i don't add up the years, but what i do count on... is boost high protein... and now, there's boost mobility... ...with key nutrients to help support... joints, muscles, and bones. try boost mobility, with added collagen. you're having one more bite! no! one more bite! ♪ kraft. for the win win. i was told to begin my aspirin regimen, blem. and i just didn't listen. until i almost lost my life. my doctors again ordered me to take aspirin, and i do.

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