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talks about the availability of covid vaccines for children. we will also take your calls come and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning. back to work week for the house and senate as lawmakers return to washington. a very busy stretch between now and memorial day. congress and the white house debating a multitrillion dollar infrastructure plan on the table by the democrats. there is an alternative proposal by the republicans. other issues include capitol hill security, a january 6 commission, election reform bill in the senate, and threats from china. monday, may 10. president biden meeting with --

congressional leaders on wednesday, the same day liz cheney is expected to be ousted as chair of the republican conference, number three in the leadership. we will discuss these, but we begin with that new advisory by the cdc. people can get infected by inhaling very fine, aerosol particles that may carry the virus. how does this affect your decision to return to the workplace? will this hinder your position to resume a more normal schedule, perhaps in the office? if you say yes, (202) 748-8000. no, (202) 748-8001. undecided, (202) 748-8002. we are on twitter, @cspanwj, and on facebook. and we're taking text messages. tell as your first name and where you are, (202) 748-8003. a lot to get to. thanks for being with us. this headline first -- is liz

cheney poised to lose the republican leadership position because of news over the weekend with leader kevin mccarthy publicly endorsing another for the top role in the house? the story also at politico.com. there is the republican leader in the house to replace liz cheney, list a phonic. kevin mccarthy saying republicans need to oust cheney for unity and what he describes at descriptive policy of democrats. stefanik represents a district in upstate new york. this headline from "the new york times," the virus is an airborne threat, the cdc acknowledging. as the pandemic enfolded last year, infectious disease experts warning for months the both the cdc and world health organization were overlooking research that strongly suggested that coronavirus traveled aloft in small airborne particles.

scientists on friday welcomed the term close contact, which was criticized as vague and did not capture the nuances of aerosol transmission. the new information has significant implications for indoor environments and workplaces would health-care workers, bus drivers, and other workers require respirators. customers in retail stores could -- should continue to maintain distances in wear our mask -- wear a mask. good ventilation is paramount in the cities -- settings. dr. anthony fauci was on "meet the press" over the weekend. [video clip] >> now that there is a formal acknowledgment now of aerosol transmission, what does this mean for workplaces? what does this mean for schools, homes, things like this, if we are going to have to live with this virus for another year or so? dr. fauci: as you mentioned

correctly, this is something we have known for some time now. when you have aerosol, than the distance between people becomes a little more problematic. generally when you say you have a certain distance, that the droplets will fall and not reach a person. right now, this will have an emphasis on proper ventilation, because with aristotle, you want good for deletion. that could hold true for schools and for workplaces. the other thing, it also brings out the possibility that you are going to have to make sure that indoors, when you have unvaccinated people, the people wear a mask. but that is already a cdc recommendation anyway. but when you have the ability of a particular virus to go further than just a few feet, clearly one of the most important things is proper ventilation. at number two, mask wearing. host: dr. anthony fauci on "meet the press," one of the sunday

shows we read air sundays on c-span radio. get the c-span radio app. this is a headline, cdc admits coronavirus is airborne and can be transmitted more than six feet away. this says, despite the changes, some aerosol experts say the cdc has not gone far enough, because it says transmission from far away is uncommon. the change in wording has important implications and illustrates how good ventilation in indoor spaces is key to prevent transmission of the virus, people can stop worrying about cleaning services so much. that is from theslate.com. yesterday, a covid-19 coordinator from the white house was asked implications for those people returning to work. [video clip] >> i think everyone is tired, and wearing a mask can be a. but we're getting there. the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter and brighter.

that's keep up our guard and follow the cdc guidance -- let's keep up our guard. the guidance will allow people more abilities to take it off. >> it shows four in 10 vaccinated americans, 40% say they still are not comfortable returning to their routines. would you like to see more vaccinated americans embrace their immunity and resume their routines, if it is safe? >> we all want to get back to a normal lifestyle. i think we're on the path to do that. but stay disciplined, and let's take advantage of the new privileges of being vaccinated and not wearing masks outdoors, for example, unless we are in a crowded place. as we move toward the 70% goal, we will have more advantages to being vaccinated. if you are not vaccinated, you will not be protected. >> both pfizer and moderna say booster shots will be needed within six months of getting the

shots in the u.s. can americans look forward to that this fall? >> we will look to dr. fauci and the fda as far as the timing and necessity of booster shots. if boosters are necessary, we will certainly be ready. host: "the state of the union" with jake tapper. looking at some of your tweets, including this. work in the future should be safe, and the only way is by vaccinations of the population. it is not a political issue, it is all about the economy. this says most people can return to work with caution if the vaccine can take precautions. let's get to your phone calls. are you comfortable returning to the workplace if you have been working from home? kevin says yes. he is calling from maryland. caller: good morning. i have been working the entire time. i work for a large agency.

we wear and social distancing, not one transmission of covid at work. almost 90% of transmission of covid is not at work, it is actually at home, in people's personal lives. and the cdc has to clear this up. when you get vaccinated, you are largely safe at work. all this transmission stuff we're talking about -- as an adult, if you are vaccinated, you need to get people back to work. the 40% of folks vaccinated that do not feel comfortable going back to work, it is not about comfortable -- maybe some of them -- but the reality, maybe some of them do not want to come back to work. i know a lot of folks that just love teleworking, so they are going to ride this as long as possible. you need to be vaccinated. as of september 1, everyone who wants to get vaccinated should be able to get vaccinated. after that, if you do not want to get vaccinated, in the event you get sick you should have to

pay for those things are the federal government or your private health insurance should not subsidize people who are not being responsible with their own health by not getting vaccinated. number two, all state, local, federal governments, and i am government agency worker, you have to mandate a return to work date so people can prepare for it. i do not care if it is july 1 or september 1, you have to mandate it. because federal government and much of the state government, nobody is at work. they are all teleworking. some probably do fine teleworking, but i guarantee you have a large chunk of folks who have been out of work, rarely working at home with teleworking, and there are real childcare challenges out there, but again, mandate, incentivize people who are vaccinated. if you are vaccinated, go back to work. 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 you are doing well and your family. i know your wife is on the front line. i hope she's doing ok through this thing. host: thank you. caller: i actually got back to work a long time. we had permission from a company to work from home, and most people do. but doing what i do, i need some specialized equipment that is only available in the office. so i been back quite a while. we typically only have three people most the time and everybody else is working at home. we have protocols in place, and we actually have a traceability log, and i maintain that. if you come in, you have to sign in and out as you come and go. and once you get in, we have separate rooms so you can unmask, if that is the right word. it is working out well. host: hey, joe, how many in the workplace where you work? how many in the office on a

normal day? caller: before covid, there were six in my office. we have other employees in charleston in various places, in the government spots here but this spot has six. now we have two or three. so it is easy to be in here. i have my own office, and other employees have their own offices, too so we can unmask and go about our business. and i have had my vaccine, too. to expand on what your earlier caller mentioned, let me tell you, my daughters-in-law work for big shipping firms, meta-training -- mediterranean shipping. i think people should get back to work unless they -- if there vaccinated, and they have. but i think people staying at home, they realize they can deal with less people. in charleston at the hospitality industry, they are begging

people to come back to work. some of these places are realizing they can reduce their footprint. they do not need as much infrastructure. it is going to be some changes coming about, i think, in the future. anyway, that is my situation here, and we are doing well. we have not had any incidents in our office. we have a traceability log and reports of anybody, any visitors who have come and gone, any reports of illness with them so we are doing fine. host: thanks for the call. don't be a stranger. good to hear from you again. caller: take care. host: on facebook, i have been fortunate enough to hold the same job throughout the pandemic. we were entirely remote for two months and then with limited on-site days. i have never felt uncomfortable going to work with a mask. as more of the population gets vaccinated, i would feel better and better. if anything, because of my

workplace housing public meetings and exhibition spaces, even though i work in the office, i should think that my own management would favor massive vaccination locally as a step towards being fully operational again. question is whether or not you feel comfortable returning to the workplace. phone lines are open, (202) 748-8000 if you say yes. (202) 748-8001 if you say no. we have a line for undecided. the number of cases globally on the screen, 158 million cases of covid-19. the death toll around the world, 3.2 million. 192 countries. from "meet the press" yesterday, a moment with dr. anthony fauci on the issue of masks, and these comments making some headlines today. [video clip] dr. fauci: that is quite possible.

i think people have gotten used to the fact that wearing masks -- clearly, if you look at the data, diminishes respiratory diseases. we have had practically a nonexistent flu season this year merely because people were doing the kinds of public health things that were directed predominantly against covid-19. the australians during their winter, same thing, they had almost no flu, largely due to the kinds of things, including mask wearing. so it is conceivable that as we go on a year or two more from now, that during certain seasonal periods when you have respiratory borne viruses like the flu, people might actually elect to wear masks to diminish the likelihood that you will spread these respiratory borne diseases. host: that is from nbc's "meet the press." a call from north olmsted, ohio, good morning. caller: i am appalled from what i see on tv again, and we had the best president besides ronald reagan.

i cannot believe these idiots in the white house are still there. can't they just lock them all up? they don't know what they are doing. my son worked eight years at a dealership. do you know he is not able to get unemployment? host: why is that? caller: because he worked for commission. but they had to stay eight to 10 hours at work, cannot go anywhere. now does that make sense? in case somebody knocked on the door and said, hey, i would like to buy a car. we are feeding the other countries. they are coming over right and left. they should put biden and kamala and all the other swamp people that are still there because president trump was impeached for no reason, they should put them all in handcuffs and walk them out. and pelosi still has the national guards watching her, for what? what if she doesn't walk properly? let somebody go get her,

hijacked her, and give her all her ice cream? host: linda joining us on the phone. this is on our facebook page, i feel comfortable returning to work only because i have been fully vaccinated. however, my preference is to continue working from home. it is just more convenient to telework and i do not have the time committing. this from the cdc website, and we're asking, do you feel comfortable returning to the workplace because of the new advisory on friday saying the virus can be spread through aerosol particles and the distance requirement, the recommendations, they're putting in place. if you say yes, you're comfortable returning to (202) 748-8000. if you say no, (202) 748-8001. undecided, (202) 748-8002. we will get to your tweets and social media comments. on cbs' "face the nation," a doctor asked about what normal

activities might actually look like. [video clip] >> look, covid will not disappear. we will have to learn to live with it, but the risk is reduced as a result of vaccination and immunity through prior infection. so i think we are at the point in time where we can lift ordinances, and people have to take the cautions based on their individual risks. they have to decide whether or not they are going to avoid travel or wear masks based on their circumstances. we have always said that we would set as a metric, maybe when we get down to 10 cases per 100 cows and people on a daily basis, half the country is there right now -- 10 cases per 100,000 people on a daily basis, half the country is there right now. we are at the point right now where we can start lifting these ordinances and allowing people to resume normal activity. certainly outdoors, we should not limit gatherings anymore. we should be encouraging people to go outside. in the states were prevalence is low and vaccination rates are high, and we have good testing in place, i think we can start

lifting these restrictions indoors, as well. [video clip] host: bill has this point, it is still an evolving situation. i bet india thought highly of themselves a few months back, but they are putting younger in the hospital right now. i'm not exposing myself. this is from "usa today," india is reeling amid a virus surge. here are details from them on the situation in india. the pace of vaccinations in the end you have dropped in regional officials there say that they have limited amounts of vaccines to administer, even as the country grapples with a surge in the coronavirus cases and complaints of oxygen shortages at hospitals. the world's second most populous country is setting a record pace of infections, just over 403,000 confirmed cases reported yesterday, and the death toll is over 4000. vaccinations per day have dropped from an average of 1.3

million in the past week, down from 3.5 million per week, per day, in april. lori is next in california. are you comfortable returning to the workplace? caller: i never really left it in some ways. my hours got reduced and days got reduced to about three or four months. and i was collecting some unemployment. however, returning to work is not the problem anymore. it is just if there is a job for you. and if you are comfortable. i know this, since the first of the year, the unemployment has been hacked by hackers, about $10 billion in california. i have about eight weeks of back unemployment i cannot get even though i qualify for it. it has been stolen. and now they democrats want us all to go to work and pay their environmental tax, which i really do not want to do. so that is about it.

i will go back to work, all right, but wearing the mask? the sooner we get rid of it, the better. i went through an airport. one guy tried to yell at another, hey, put your mask on, and the other said, hey, take your soft. they got into a fight in denver. forget that stuff. take the shots and then take your mask off. the other guy wants to wear it, fine, but do not make people wear it when you have your shots. goodbye. host: thanks for the call. lee on twitter, large office buildings recirculate air. there are variants that will continue to pose a problem, even for those vaccinated. there is not enough emphasis on ventilation. more phone calls in a moment. the question we're asking, are you comfortable returning to the workplace? asking in part because of this new cdc advisory put in place late last week.

this is the headline from "the new york times can go in an opinion piece speed why does it take so long to accept the facts about covid? a doctor writing the following, a few sentences have shaken a century of science. assumptions go back a century on the putting a lot of what went wrong last year into context. and they also say one of the most important advances in public health care during this pandemic, small particles can accumulate in enclosed spaces and remain in the air and travel along air currents. this means that indoors, three or even six feet, while helpful, is not completely protective, especially over time the world health organization needs to address new fears and concerns so that other public health agencies and governments can better adjust. that is the headline from "the new york times." why did it take so long to accept the facts about covid? more from the sunday shows,

"face the nation," with this to dr. gottlieb. [video clip] >> help people understand how they can make their own risk calculations after more than a year trying to get clarity on deciding how to keep themselves safe? >> look, i think part of the hesitation is cultural we have spent a year apart and being told to stay away from people and to wear a mask. i think it will take some time to get back into the normal swing of things and get that socialization back. that if you have been vaccinated with the minari vaccines are the j&j that same, your risk is very low from having a bad covid outcome. and the risk of getting an infection spread to others also reduced. we can start drawing firm conclusions and basing public health advice on that. one bottle says if you were 65 and above, your risk was around one in 100 during the peak of the infection and probably little worst at the outset.

that same model predict about one in 20,000 if you are fully vaccinated and you are an immuno competent person. you can probably conclude your risk if covid if you're fully vaccinated are comparable or maybe even less than your risk from flu if you are vaccinated and an older individual. i think the only residual risk for someone fully vaccinated, could you have asymptom addict infection and if you are around someone vulnerable to covid, you still want to be careful in those circumstances. but you know when you are and you always want to be careful in those circumstances. host: the former fda director on "face the nation." a text message from a viewer, amy, in florida. i think we should continue to work from home. it not only keeps the virus from spreading, but co2 emissions have gone down significantly, encouraging industries to allow

teleworking could be a solution to offset carbon emissions. workers also enjoy it and report being more productive. john from ohio, you say you are not comfortable returning to your workplace. what do you do, and why? caller: i am a political consultant and do a lot of outreach work with groups. and, no, i'm not comfortable, because they sending us out in different environments. a lot of people not taking the shots. and we still not clear about this virus. still not clear. leadership -- i'm not comfortable with the leadership and what they are expressing. what is to say that we will not have a different version next week? it is going to be all right. we got to have faith, and i believe this will pass. but right now, no, i am not comfortable going to work. and i think the people should

keep our masks on. it is going to be real tricky. one of the questions i have, how come we get masks from other countries? i do not want to indict or put my finger on someone, but how cap we get that how come we get the imports from countries which supposedly this virus originated from? i just want the people in the republic to -- to keep strong faith in themselves, and we will prevail. and i know that c-span is wonderful, and i thank you for your involvement in keeping is properly informed and giving us options on what we are facing. thank you again. host: john, thanks for the call. this is from pittsburgh, pennsylvania. good morning. how do you feel about returning to the workplace? caller: i think there's something going on here that is funny. the democrats, found she -- fauc

i, never mentioned black lives matter or antifa in the streets. they are spurring it. it is almost like they are trying to spread this again on purpose to keep this country down and keep control of the people. that is the only reason i can see for doing this. if they put bidens face-to-face with carter and his wife, in their 90's, face to face with them, yet he goes outside with a mask on. something is crazy here. host: from james and the indiana, text message saying, i'm not comfortable at all if my employer required everyone to be vaccinated, i would feel much safer here in indiana. here in indiana, the majority of people think being vaccinated is against their freedom. are you comfortable returning to

the workplace if your employer is having you return to the office? that is the question. more calls in a moment. let's go to our guest on the phone who covers the white house for "washington post." let's begin with some agenda items on the president's list this week, including that meeting wednesday and subsequent meeting on thursday with senators. it includes the top leadership of the house and senate. what is on the agenda? guest: yeah, the first time that the president will sit down with mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy, and according to mccarthy, the first time that he will be speaking with the president. obviously, the big ticket items on agenda for that meeting is the infrastructure package that biden has been clear that he wants congress to move on before memorial day. he wants them to move in a bipartisan way. so expect that to be the focus

on a lot of conversation about how they can find a path forward, particularly in the senate where they need those 60 votes if they are not going to do it through reconciliation. host: but is there a path to democrats and republicans working together? obviously, the democratic plan is 2.25 chile dollars, -- two points when $5 trillion, and the republican plan is closer to 600 billion dollars. that is a pretty big spread. guest: this we can, mitch mcconnell made a little news in kentucky saying he can see the package being $600 billion to 800 going dollars, which is higher than the proposals republicans offered, led by the west virginia senator. so it will be interesting to see how the democrats position themselves. they have shown they do want a bipartisan deal so maybe they will make some sacrifices on that first package, pass it

bipartisan, and then maybe use reconciliation for the things i cannot find common ground with. again, we saw this posturing ahead of the stimulus package where the president held meetings with republicans in the oval office. they really said they wanted a bipartisan deal. republicans counter offered something much lower than the democrats want to come and they went forward with reconciliation. that was an emergency package and this is a more longer-term package. but it will be quite telling this week to see whether or not there is bipartisanship here in washington. host: the meeting on thursday will include members of the senate, democrats and republicans, right? guest: yes. so there is expected to be a little bit more opportunity for compromise there, in the oval office, where they are holding this meeting. but it is being led by someone

with a concrete counterproposal and an opportunity to talk with the president. host: i want to ask about this headline in your reporting. where is the plan? is the president pressed on the global vaccine strategy? explain what this is about. guest: obviously, last week the biden announced support for the wto negotiation with regard to waiving patent rules with regard to the coronavirus vaccine. there was a lot of debate with progressive democrats in the international community and developing world that were quite excited about that. the pharmaceutical companies were outraged by the position. it sparked a conversation about what is the united states' comprehensive plan to be a leader in the global vaccination effort?

as a candidate, he was adamant about the u.s. playing a critical role. so the u.s. has announced some steps it is taking, sharing vaccines with canada or mexico, or sharing up to 60 million astrazeneca doses with the world -- they have not said where yet. we spoke to people inside and outside the administration who criticize them for not having a more comprehensive, cohesive plan to vaccinate the world. it is a pressing problem, increasing immediately vaccine production. while this step at the wto might be a long-term step to increase vaccinate production worldwide, it will not be in the media. we kind of probe to the administration to figure out what exactly their long-term plan is, must emulate to rectify -- most immediately to rectify this around the world were

countries like the united states is largely vaccinated, but in india, they do not have enough places to bury bodies. less than 10% of the population is not vaccinated -- is vaccinated. many people say there is no comprehensive, cohesive plan. the administration says they have a lot of people across agencies working on it, but we did not find a cohesive, conference of plan for the next few months about how exactly they will distribute vaccines and increase production. host: tyler pager, how will this come up in the meeting the president has with governors tomorrow, if at all? guest: what we know at this point, it is about the mystic effort. -- domestic effort. biden has a goal of 70% of americans having the vaccine by july 4. but most people who do not have the vaccines are either hesitant to get them or do not have

access to receiving one. so there will be more focus on the domestic effort, but biden is meeting with eastern nato allies, virtual meeting, so that could come up in the meeting. expect a conversation on vaccines there. so i think that is a more likely place for that discussion. host: tyler pager covers the white house for the "washington poached," joining on this -- for the "washington post," joining us on this monday. thank you for being with us. join in on the conversation. are you comfortable returning to the workplace? phone lines are open. (202) 748-8000 if you say yes. and (202) 748-8001 if you say no. if you are undecided, (202) 748-8002. we will get to more calls in just a moment. this is the headline from "the new york post" from the sunday

shows, dr. fauci saying it is time to be more liberal on masks as vaccinations increase. sue from new jersey says my 81-year-old mother goes to mass every day and received holy communion. i figure if she can go out in public using recommended precautions, so can i. a story here details, health officials on friday updated public guidelines about how the coronavirus spreads, emphasizing that transmission occurs by inhaling very fine respiratory droplets and aerosol particles, as well as through contact with sprayed droplets or touching contaminated hands to one's mouth, nose, or eyes. the cdc now states explicitly that airborne virus can be inhaled, even when one is more than six feet away from an infected individual. new language posted online was a change from their previous position. patrick is next, louisville,

kentucky. good morning. go ahead. we will try one more time for patrick in louisville, kentucky. caller: top of the morning to you. host: good morning. how are you? caller: oh, yeah. i am right here. do you hear me? host: we sure do. caller: i feel pretty good. how about you? host: do you for comfortable going back to the workplace? caller: i am a substitute teacher. and to answer your question, no. i am a substitute teacher, and i am retired. the reason i say no is because -- pardon me -- the american people, in my generation,

believe that health and wellness was very important, and safety is very important. today you have millions of people who do not believe that. that is why they don't get their vaccinations. because there's other diseases besides covid-19. diphtheria, pertussis, other diseases, tuberculosis. we were vaccinated for smallpox and all these other kinds of diseases. there's millions of people who do not believe in vaccinations because they think it is their freedoms. well, you know, that is ok, but it defeats the purpose of health and wellness and safety. so because of that, it is going

to take years to educate people that health and wellness is very important, and vaccinations is part of that. host: thanks for the call from louisville, kentucky. this is another text message from a viewer in the california. we are tired and have both had the vaccine shots, and i will be happy to patronize local businesses and see friends who have been cautious. those who have not followed the rules, we will avoid like the plague. (202) 748-8000 if you say yes, you're comfortable returning to the workplace. (202) 748-8001 if you say no. more numbers from johns hopkins university keeping track of covid-19 since the pandemic first began. confirmed cases in the u.s., now in excess of 32 million cases. u.s. death toll is 581,755.

a call from durham, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning steve. i am undecided at this point for two reasons. one, i think people have a really bad ability to assess risk, and risk is a super, super important thing in this whole vaccination process in just the pandemic in general. i think what really needs to happen is that more people begin to realize that the vaccines are very safe in comparison to many of the other treatments that are potentially out there. things like chemotherapeutic agents, treatments you would get when you walk in the door in an emergency room. these vaccines are quite safe in the comparison. but the tendency and the bad focus that goes directly towards some side effects, even though they have been very few and far between, i.e. the blood clots, six people out of 11 billion

with the blood clots, nine out of 11 million people have the blood clots, and that is all you have heard of. i am undecided about returning back to the workplace in-person just because of the risk that is out there that people are not abiding by the rules are taking into consideration where things stand. host: gabriel, thank you for the call. a tweet from another viewer, we live in a world of pollen, dander, and soot, and this says i shant worry one wit. this from "washington post." census data for showing political social strife and alter american identity. you can read this on washingtonpost.com. we are asking whether or not you're comfortable returning to the workplace because of the new cdc advisory saying the virus can be spread through particles in the air. rick is joining us from antioch,

california. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i feel safe going back to work. i have been working since april of last year, when we heard about it. and i am a shop steward. i am a little tired of hearing from people, is it safe to come back to work? i work for a government agency. they do testing on a constant basis. i get to have it. i have gotten my vaccinations. and this just -- i know it is serious. i know things have happened to an awful lot of people. i also know some people have actually looked at this as an opportunity, rather than a medical crisis. and that is a shame.

and that is where a lot of the problems come in, a lot of distrust. i just hope that more people look out for each other. host: thank you for the call. tom joining us from pennsylvania, good morning. caller: good morning. i am retired, and for the last year i have pretty much kept inside until the vaccines have become more in number, because i did not want to go out and catch the disease, of course. but i studied the data and the format of the mrna, and it is a very viable, workable vaccine. dr. fauci has great confidence in it. and i think we should return to workplaces if a majority of the people have been vaccinated or are able to wear masks.

and the more people that get vaccines, the more comfortable everyone will be returning to the workplace. host: thanks for the call. this is from a viewer on twitter, saying people who want to live their life with fear are never going to feel safe. this cdc advisory is available on the cdc website, cdc.gov. charles in oklahoma city, good morning. caller: hey there. i just would not feel comfortable going back to work with a mask on. that is a miserable thing, to wear a mask all day. i got my shots, so wearing a mask is kind of stupid. that does not make any sense. so anyway, that is just my opinion. and the same with the vaccine

passports, biggest joke there ever was. because they say you take the shots for you, not for somebody else. and then if you are wearing a mask, dr. fauci and all of them say you wear a mask for the other person and they were one for you. well, if you have had the shots, there is no reason to wear a mask unless the vaccine does not work. if the vaccine does not work, that is a real good reason to not take the vaccine, i guess. host: we will go to california, good morning. what do you do, and are you ready to go back to the workplace? caller: no, i will never be ready to go back to workplace. i am in a business where there are lots of people coming in and out of the hotel, the hotel business. [indiscernible] by the way, welcome back, steve.

host: thank you. appreciate it. lisa joins us from columbus, georgia. good morning, lisa. caller: good morning. yes, i am back at work. i did wait until i got my vaccination, because i am high-risk because of health conditions i have had. however, i am a substitute teacher and m in the classroom with children. we all wear masks. but i feel perfectly safe with my vaccination. so yes, i am back. host: thanks for the call. rusty says, never left and always feel comfortable. you can send us a tweet, @cspanwj, or send us a text message at (202) 748-8003 and tell us your first name and where you're from. dr. fauci was in this discussion on "meet the press" with chuck todd, the moderator come on this new cdc advisory. [video clip] >> now that there is a formal

acknowledgment of aerosol transmission, what does this mean for workplaces? what does this mean for schools, homes, things like this, if we're going to have to live with this virus for another year or so? dr. fauci: as you mentioned correctly, this is something we have known for some time now. so when you have aerosol, then the distance between people becomes a little bit more problematic. because generally when you say you have a certain distance of the droplets will fall and not reach a person, so right now this will have an emphasis on proper ventilation, because if there if -- if there is aerosol as a nation, you want to have good ventilation. i could hold true for schools and for workplaces. the other thing, it also brings out the possibility that you are going to have to make sure that, indoors, when you have unvaccinated people, the people wear a mask. but that is already a cdc recommendation anyway. but when you have an ability of

a particular virus to go further than just a few feet, clearly one of the most important things is proper ventilation. and number two, mask wearing. host: dr. anthony fauci on nbc's "meet the press crocheting join us -- meet the press." shane joining us from missouri. are you comfortable returning to the workplace? caller: no, i am not. and i would like to address the previous caller who stated it was stupid to wear masks when you are vaccinated, but he is not educated in this. the vaccines are not 100% effective. each one has a different percent. i believe the moderna has 94%. that means you have 6% of still getting the virus. you can easily look up the percentage on the vaccines on the cdc website and the national institutes of health website.

they give accurate, truthful information, unlike the previous president who did nothing but lie about this virus. and as many of us in the medical field 100 -- feel 100% responsible for almost 600,000 deaths in this country from the misinformation, lies, and conspiracy theories that still continue and still continue to kill thousands. but anyway, also, the variants, the vaccines are not 100% effective on the variants. and some of the variants, they are not effective on at all. so you wear the mask to protect yourself and the others from the variants, as well. and they are working on a vaccine on the variants, but that is going to take time. and that is all i would like to say. thank you.

host: thank you for sharing your story. a facebook message from michael richardson. i have been working right through it all. it was better when there was no traffic. robert is joining us from aurora, indiana. what is your thought about returning to the workplace? caller: yeah, this bull crap of -- you know, people do not realize anything can kill you when you walk out the door. i'm 84 years old. i did not worry about it. i do not worry about it now. when god wants you, he will take you. people don't want to die, but one of these days, they will. you have got to wake up and live. ouchi -- fauci is the biggest fake. msnbc, cnn, a ploy. he don't know anymore about it than you or i. host: robert from indiana. slate.com saying, despite the change, some aerosol experts continue to say the cdc is not going far enough because it

continues to say transmission from far away is uncommon. the change in wording has important applications and illustrates how good ventilation in the indoor spaces is key to prevent transmission of the virus, and people can stop worrying by cleaning surfaces so much. alexandria, virginia. good morning, jake. caller: i am perfectly comfortable going back to the office. i have been vaccinated, and i do a lot of vigorous cleaning. i think there too many aspects -- maybe there are people that are hesitant getting vaccinations, one, because of the emergency only aspect and the liabilities. a lot of people are concerned about a new vaccine that may not have vigorous testing. we do not know the long-term implications of that. the second when i was thinking of is it is kind of an educational aspect. you do have a lot of people that have their concerns, and there can be conspiracy theorists, but

having things such as example station may be having the trump administration or anyone else go out and be more vigorous in their communications to the public about the safety of ensuring vaccinations, being able to do that, i think that will alleviate a lot of concerns. host: thanks for calling, and i assume you're listening in the car on c-span radio. caller: yes, syrup or a good day. host: -- yes, sir, have a good day. host: a few more of your phone cold. -- phone calls. kelly from texas, are you comfortable going back to the workplace? caller: good morning. no, i do not. i have been fully vaccinated, thank goodness. however, i am not a medical person, i am a lady person -- lay person.

even studying disease and stuff like that just as a lay person prior to the pandemic, i know that these viruses mutate and change, just like the common flu, which is a virus. and it kills about 50,000 or 60,000 americans a year, and that is horrible. but this is a different thing. it is much more virulent, much more contagious. what i am concerned about is that all this things needs is a host. whether it is somebody who is partially vaccinated, they got that one dose of pfizer or moderna, they may or may not get that second dose. it may mutate. we may get a mutation that is vaccine-resistant or even which is the vaccines we have, the known therapies we have, like the plasma from somebody who has

had it and they have the antibodies, we don't know how long this last. i have seen reports in which nurses have got it two or three times. ok, we end up with a vaccine resistant, like we have the vaccine resistant bacteria in the hospitals. not the vaccine resistant but the antibacterial, which we hear of the most. you go for gallbladder surgery, and heaven forbid you get a staph infection with gangrene. host: thanks for the call. a point on facebook, ready to go back to work? not without a vaccine and a livable wage. scottsdale, arizona, what is your view on this? caller: thanks for taking my call. i am a former high school teacher in a title i area. i am speaking to one of my former teachers -- i am still

substituting. and her class size, which is junior and senior classes, are only five to seven versus 32 students. since going back in april, she has had two cases test positive. compare that to the freshman classes, she is telling me, were many more are testing positive and the class size is 20. host: why do you think that is? caller: i think not enough people are getting inoculated on that side of town. if you ever talk with kids, kids are in contact with each other all the time. pass diseases all the time. since i was teaching right from the beginning, and this is no exception with this violent virus, i think that -- very lint virus, i think we have to get people to herd immunity much quicker. thank you. host: william from ohio, good morning. thank you for being with us. caller: with everything that is

going on with the government and stuff, given all this extra money to keep people out of work, it is not right. that is why everybody needs to get back to work. i understand, it is a virus, but we have had all kinds of viruses over the years. yes, this one is a major player here, but still. if the government continues to pay and people saying things on the news, scaring people even more and more and more, of course nobody is going to want to go back to work. and that is the problem. everybody just needs to live life and stop being afraid. host: william from ohio. a headline from "the new york times," on the horrific situation in afghanistan.

why you would deserve to die, 85 is now the death of that bombing that took place saturday just outside the all-girls school in afghanistan. this comes as u.s. troops, the 2500 that remain in that country, are being pulled out, process that began in the trump administration and now continues through the biden administration. that is expected to be fully completed by september 11. when we come back, a busy week in washington. erik wasson covers congress on the white house for bloomberg news. later, we will look to electric vehicles, are they affordable? a conversation with columnist amy harder, her work available at axios.com. you're watching and listening to "washington journal." it is may 10. we are back in a moment. >> tonight on the communicators,

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get a copy of the congressional directory, with contact information for members of congress and the biden administration cabinet. browse our newest products online. >> go to c-span.org/coronavirus for the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. if you miss live coverage, it is easy to find the latest briefings and biden administration's response. go to c-span.org/coronavirus. >> "washington journal" continues. host: erik wasson covers politics in cover -- congress -- politics and congress for bloomberg news. we begin with this headline in your reporting available at bloomberg.com. for the president, pivotal week as he meets with congressional

leaders on wednesday, the headline saying this meeting is a pivotal point in dealmaking. what is the significance of this meeting on wednesday that will include republican leaders kevin mccarthy and senator mitch mcconnell? guest: that is the headline meeting of the week, the first time president biden meets with the top leaders in congress, pelosi and chuck schumer will be there, as well. there is a follow-up meeting on thursday with other key republican players on infrastructure. combined, it is a real turning point. democrats are saying they are going to give bipartisanship a chance. they really have to do that because their members like joe manchin really want to see a bipartisan infrastructure deal. so it is a chance to come together, especially on issues of how to pay for an infrastructure bill. the republican offer is $600 billion, perhaps a little bit more. how to pay for it, come together on a deal, and we could see that

come together at the end of the month. if things fall apart, however, we could quickly see democrats turn to the budget reconciliation process that they used for the covid-19 rescue package for 1.9 chili dollars, in which they of 50 democrats to vote together to put it through. they cannot do that process until -- this is the week where that could come together. host: if that were to come together, will republican spend more and will democrats agree to spend less? guest: that is one of the big questions. what they were trying to do, and i talked before the recess, to try to find out what other needs. let's find some data, let's look at the exact needs and add them up. that's a way to get away from this dollar versus dollar type of debate and ground it in fact. that is what staffers are working on so they can come together on real data, what broadbent inner needs -- what broadband internet needs.

the biden administration has talked about raising the corporate tax rate to 21% -- from 21% to 20%. raising taxes on those making $400,000 per year. those are holding pretty popular . there is a real chance that they could just do that, and maintain political popularity. however, republicans are rejecting that. where the rates were lower in 2017, they are suggesting user fees. even a gas tax increase for a vehicle's mild travel -- miles traveled. and rolling back some of the spending. i talked with representative fisher of nebraska, immoderate, and that is -- a moderate. that is their proposal. host: the other headline from inside the washington times has the house republican leader,

kevin mccarthy, officially saying he is and/or sing elise stefanik from new york to -- and/or sing elise stefanik from new york to replace liz cheney. that taken place the same day that leader mccarthy will be at the white house meeting with president biden. the news yesterday from fox news says something morning futures with maria bartiromo, here is kevin mccarthy. [video clip] >> what can you tell us about next week? do you have the votes to oust liz cheney? >> everyone in leadership serves at the pleasure of the conference. as you know, there is a lot at stake. democrats are destroying this nation. we've watched the greatest expansion of government and the socialist liberal agenda. we watch to them destroy our borders. we are hundreds of thousands -- we have hundreds of thousands coming across, we are catching people on the terrorist watch list.

you have destruction of our energy. got the largest missed jobs report in more than two decades. did it -- to defeat nancy pelosi and the socialist agenda, we need to be united. we need to move forward, and that ice -- that is what i think will take place. >> is this just her ideology, that she is unable to get over being never trump and hindering her ability to discuss that very message that you just laid out? >> any member can take whatever position they believe. that is what the voters vote on the individuals, and they make that decision. we are talking about a position in leadership. we are in one of our biggest battles ever for this nation, and the direction, whether this next century will be ours. as conference chair, you have a critical job as a messenger

going forward, are we talking about what the democrats are doing on the border? about all the missed jobs report that we just had? are we building an economy where we are watching joe biden create inflation we have never seen before, a takeover of government, the rising of taxes? of the damage of what will be done that we cannot come back from? that is why we need a confident -- a congress that is delivering that message day in and day out, uniting the nation to make sure that we are on the right footing going forward. >> do you support elise stefanik for that job? >> yes, i do. [end video clip] host: that was maria bartiromo. if you were in the room watching on wednesday, what would you be looking for? guest: i am very interested with how this battle within the republican party affects the bigger biden plans. looking at the wider economy, texas is a main focus for us. when you look at the words that mccarthy was using in this

program, he's talking about the democrats being distractive, using a lot of strong rhetoric. i think that makes dealmaking more difficult. my analysis is that these -- these divisions within the republican party serve to promote the idea of resisting biden. look what happens with mitch mcconnell last week, when he was asked by his own past comments about president trump, he said he is 100% focused on stopping the administration. it is different from rhetoric he said in the past. later he walked it back, saying he wants to do deals if he becomes a moderate. they may need a common enemy of biden, and that makes it the kind of dealmaking during more political tranquil times before an election more difficult. we will likely see liz cheney ousted and replaced with nicholas the phonic -- with elise stefanik. there is not a huge deadline to get a deal, but we are looking

to see how republicans posture themselves in the wake of this turmoil within their own party. host: one of those republicans in the senate's bill cassidy of louisiana, one of seven who voted to convict donald trump in his impeachment trial. he was on "meet the press" yesterday and was asked about that vote again, where he stands on the republican party, and the mistake of the gop. [video clip] >> i find that being honest with the american people always works . if they ask about the constitutionality of the impeachment proceedings, i say watch the youtube of the first day of the impeachment and you will come away with it being constitutional. these are good americans. the more they do their investigation, the more they will come to understand that at least it is reasonable to hold a position as i and as representative cheney, and that is our process of getting to a better place. >> do you still feel welcome

inside the republican party? >> absolutely. i feel incredibly welcome. leave me, some are still upset with me, and some are very pleased. [end video clip] host: that from senator bill cassidy of louisiana. your reaction? guest: bill cassidy had the historic vote on the impeachment, and talked about -- talked about the political price he may have paid. talking about the infrastructure deal, finding: -- common ground. i'm looking very much to see where the rubber meets the road, with the proposals and the negotiations, where they get heated, whether he will put forward compromise positions and whatnot. host: let's talk about elise stefanik, representing an upstate new york district, a republican now in her fourth

term. in june of 2015 we sat down with her as a freshman member of congress and had a conversation that included advice she got from her parents, including this moment. [video clip] >> my mom's advice is always maintain a moral compass, which is good for anyone but particularly when you are an elected official. it is important to live by the values you espouse, and sometimes people are very disappointed in what they see in their elected officials, particularly millennials don't have a high approval rating of elected officials, people that get involved in politics. that's part of the reason why they don't. i think it is important to live by moral compass. >> you're here running for reelection, but have you given any thought to what is next and any other glass ceilings you want to break? >> i'm excited. i love representing this district. i'm working hard to make the

promise -- to make sure the promises i made on the campaign are kept. i think there is a lot i can do on behalf of my district, so i am not someone who plans 5, 10 years in advance, in terms of if i do this, than this will open up. that's not who i am. if you had asked me three years ago if i would be sitting in my office on behalf of new york's residence, i would have thought you were crazy. i think it is important to do what you can with the job you have now, and that's what i'm focused on. [end video clip] host: that interview available at c-span.org. that was six years ago. what did you hear in her answers? guest: elise stefanik has had a very interesting trajectory, starting off as a moderate. her ratings were much lower than liz cheney on the conservative level, partly for example she voted against the trump tax cuts, because they reduced the state and local tax deduction, which benefits new york and new

jersey and other northeastern states. she is strong on defense like liz cheney, but on many social and fiscal issues she is less conservative. so she has gone from the leader of the tuesday groove of moderates to really the stalwart trump defender. her breakup moment was when the house intelligence committee held hearings that were related to the first impeachment effort. she felt that was rushed and unfair to president trump, and president trump tweeted that she was a new star that had been born. so we really saw her rise to fame with popularity connected to that, cross-examine witnesses, and she became one of trump's defenders in the trial. she has raise her profile, and now she's on the cusp of having the number three job in the house republican conference. host: where talking with erik wasson. our phone lines are open. join in on the conversation. 202-748-8000, our line for

democrats. 202-748-8001 if you are a republican. an outline for independents, you can join us on social media, including c-span wj. liz cheney is much more conservative than stefanik, but mccartney this mccarthy says she has to go. guest: for him i think it is about messaging. he has not appeared at the weekly press conference after their weekly meeting, after there was an awkward moment in which people asked, does trump have a future as the leader of the republican party, and liz cheney made her view clear, that no, and he disagreed with that and there was this moment of dissension. from a messaging point of view, that was very uncomfortable from mccarthy. she moved away from defending her vote and saying she needs to be on message, we need to get out there every day, have a

message of the day about the biden administration about tax increases, about regulation. this is becoming a distraction will that argument is really going to carry the day. it is an area that they are not punishing liz cheney for her trump stanched -- trump stance so much as they need a new minister. host: governor chris christie, now an abc contribute or, was asked about that point. [video clip] >> if you look at the absence, the atmospherics regarding donald trump, elise stefanik comes from a swing district in new york state that president obama won twice by double digits, and then president trump won twice by double digits. she comes from a place where it is much more likely that she will bring a more moderating voice on policy into that caucus leadership than what liz cheney did, who voted 90% of the time with donald trump. >> the right qualifier there, on policy.

>> of course, i say my move -- i say my words very carefully. that's what you guys pay me to do, to say the right way. she will do that. in her first campaign, she was the youngest woman elected to the house of representatives, and i think she will bring some really good things. i also like liz cheney. liz is smart and tough, but i think liz is doing what she wants to do. i don't think she wants to be in leadership anymore, because once she won the vote earlier, she continued to press this issue publicly in a way that was antagonizing the people against her, and you don't have it entitlement to be in leadership, but you do have an entitlement to be in congress. [video clip] host: can you talk about the role that chris christie is playing in all of this? guest: for him in the long game, he is excited to be a moderate member in leadership, and that

is something that some conservatives like mike johnson and others have been expressing some moments about, we have replaced cheney, an anti-trumper, which someone who is too far to the left from their point of view. he is also talking about liz cheney and her goal. a lot of people are trying to analyze what is her game here. certainly she has the moral conviction that lying about the election is undermining democracy. but is there also political calculation? if so, it is not the short-term. it could be long-term. one of my colleagues after if she would consider running for president. she was coy. i don't think she will necessarily, but that is being raised, if everything goes south for trump, trump facing convictions, will cheney be there to pick up the pieces and put the party on a different path? host: this is from fox news that broke over the weekend, saying

elise stefanik could be a one term gop conference chair. what is the strategy behind that? guest: it is interesting, that position, the washington post did a great piece over the weekend. the number three job is not all it is cracked up to be. dig army, since him, no one has -- dick armey, since him no one has risen to that type of majority, were someone could advance up the ranks and be the head honcho, but it has not worked out that way in practice. she may cut a deal with some of these supporters to term limit herself, something we saw nancy pelosi do on the speaker front when she did not quite have the votes. we will see how that turns out, whether that promise is kept. it is not surprising given that the job is not really the speaker in training john that -- job that some hoped it would be.

host: roy from queens, new york, independent line. good morning and thank you for waiting. caller: good morning. thank you for the opportunity to speak. i think that biden and the democrats should forget mitch mcconnell, who swears that his only goal is to stop his agenda, and just work for the american people. find some way, like trump did, to work for the american people. and forget totally mitch and kevin mccarthy, who everybody has seen the direction they are trying to take this country. host: erik wasson? guest: that is certainly something we are seeing from a lot of progressive, saying let's go to the budget recreation

route. they cannot do gun control or police reform, but they could do a big tax and spending bill like biden has proposed -- infrastructure, childcare, corporate tax increases -- through this budget process. they could very well do that. we predict if they do that, we could see it in september or october, probably combined with the debt ceiling that needs to be raised. before they return to that process, they have to convince the router it's -- the moderates in their party go along with it. joe manchin of west virginia has become the leader of that faction, saying he will not ram things through until he talks to republicans. joe biden also needs to talk to republicans. that is who he was in the senate. even when he came to the joint member of congress, shaking hands with some members, saying they had private conversations with him, where they talked about working together. i think he feels in his gut that

is why he was elected and why he was able to get those independent votes in the last election, and he's got to at least try. we are not going to see them turn to this part of the process right away, but given the way republicans have messaged recently, it may very well become inevitable by the summer and fall. host: jerry is next, republican line from broadway, georgia. good morning. caller: i keep going back to the 2020 election. i would just like for everybody out there to ask ourselves one question. if, as the democrats say, there was no fraud, why are they trying so hard to pass a bill that would legalize all aspects of fraud that they say didn't happen? host: thanks for the call. caller: you want me to respond to that -- guest: you want me to respond to that? the issue here is the voting

rights bill that had the mark up the senate this week, and basically it gives the federal government more power over elections. the republican argument against that is that the states have the power now and that we should not erode that. but democrats say what is happening in texas, georgia, and other places, where you see their effort to limit access to the polls -- fewer drop boxes, women did hours, other aspects. they also argue -- limited hours, other aspects. this is a big debate going on. i think if it is something that gets through congress, you cannot do it to the budget process. it has become a big debating point on the hill. we will see republicans focused on messaging about s one this week, i'm told. and the debate continues come as we see in states like texas, also rolling out their own voting changes as the fallout

from the 2020 election continues. host: from albuquerque, new mexico, kathy on the democrats line. caller: i'm a democrat and i could not be further than on the other side of the other side of liz cheney, but i still think want to stand up for her because she has a lot of courage and is showing the republican meant to be cowards. she cannot stop talking about it, it seems that trump is trying to stay involved. i think it is an excuse, and i what to stand with her. i think she is showing a lot of courage and what is right. host: based on what she was just saying, let me get your reaction to indiana congressman jim banks, heading up the republican study committee, a conservative group within the republican party. he appeared on fox news sunday yesterday with host chris wallace. [video clip] >> what is it about liz

cheney? she focuses on joe biden's agenda very strongly. >> that has not been seen as much as most of us in the republican congress would like to see. it is uncomfortable at times, but one of my jobs is to hold my republican leadership accountable for being focused on the republican ideals that we stand for, and the single mission that we have to win back the majority. at this point, the reason that you and i are talking about liz cheney is the exact evidence that she has failed in her mission as the chief spokesperson of our party. we should not be talking about liz cheney, we should be talking about pushing back against the radical biden agenda, and this is all a distraction from our ability to do that. i don't know who will replace her, but that is a discussion the congress will have this week. and that we will take up because

it is necessary to do so. >> i fast you two questions, congressman? why are you unwilling to discuss her criticism of president trump? >> i'm not, and as a rank-and-file member of the republican conference, -- liz cheney or anyone else in congress can stay focused on other issues in winning back the majority in the midterm election. the belief i had is that -- and that a majority of our conference has is that she has lost focus on the single mission that we have and went to push back against the radical biden agenda, and that is why she needs to be replaced. make it clear to all of your viewers, chris, that we are not kicking her out of the republican party as she is removed from her leadership post. but in her leadership post, any member of congress doesn't just represent their district, they recommend -- they represent 212 members of the republican congress.

[video clip] host: from fox news sunday. his name was mentioned briefly for the number three slot, and then he was true. why? guest: one of the things that republicans really have in the wider elect to -- in the wider electoral fields, the idea that they would have an all white male inter-ship team, they had optics. elise stefanik, just based on that has a lead over jim banks or mike johnson or other people who have credentials, working in caucuses, who probably have significant support for their views and talents, but the only thing that she did aside from her defensive trump was to get more republican women elected. after democrats took over, there were only 13 republican women in the house, more than doubled. there is a real effort among republican women, and an effort

speaking to those who oust cheney -- i think thanks probably have a limited possibility given that demographic. host: and of course liz cheney is facing a primary challenge back home in wyoming next year. guest: she may very well be -- that would be up to the voters. host: you are on the air from erik wasson from bloomberg news. good morning. caller: good morning. i believe liz cheney should be replaced. the way she did about their president, whoever that is. and it is very discouraging that you have to keep your people in line, and so this woman whose

father much killed lots of americans, based on filthy life, i am happy he is gone because she represents everything and the republican party that i as a republican are fighting against. host: thanks for the call. erik wasson? guest: bringing up liz cheney's father is an interesting point. donald trump called her warmonger. he campaigned before the presidency, retaining the presidency against the involvement in iraq. he did not complete the withdrawal from afghanistan, but he set that in motion. he certainly is with the america first idea, there are certainly republicans who agree with him, in that they want to retain this coalition, where there are others who are very much about in the reagan tradition of expanding democracy abroad,

having a strong military presence. we see this debate as well, but i think liz cheney would respond you don't see democrats out there criticizing biden necessarily the same way, although it is early days and we may see progressives coming out strongly against those ideas if he continues to be a moderate in their point of view, but cheney would say what trump did on january 6 was really the exception, when we had a riot that he encouraged and we saw damage and death. so i think she would say this was an extraordinary circumstance and the fact that he continues to lie about the election is a real danger. host: randy has this text message, saying, would you ask your reporter, "i believe their actions prove this belief of mine." guest: there is a worry about that, other moderate republicans

are saying we don't want to go down this road. there is no real evidence. if there was minor evidence of fraud, it did not possibly amount to the number of votes it would need for biden to win the election. 70% of republicans believe whether it is through their intake of meteor trump's particular comments that biden was not legitimately elected, it is a real problem because there is no real evidence for that. if 70% of one party believes that, where down the road -- we are down the road to not having faith in our elections, and our elections are a cornerstone of the constitution and our country. host: this is another viewer tweet saying, if republicans don't win every election, they will always claim fraud every -- anyway. from new york, democrats line. good morning to you. caller: steve, i first want to say it is so wonderful to have you back. i really missed you, and you are

a great moderator. i wanted to say this for a long time. it might not be quite a question, but first of all, what the republicans have been doing is so unpatriotic and just nasty. what's happening to cheney, even though i am not a democrat and i -- i am a democrat and i don't agree with her politics, but the fact that she stood up to what is called the big lie, it is just amazing that she stood up for that. she spoke out, but it is very -- i watch a lot of news, so i have been watching how the republicans are dismantling our democracy, all the way from mitch mcconnell, who i really disdain. they did not -- they let trump go, which is the most dangerous thing they could have done. i don't know what is going to

happen, but we are in very, very dangerous predicament here. elise stefanik, i am running out of time, but the meanness that the republicans spew out -- i'm not trying to be, you know, sort of one-sided here, because i try to be fair in my thinking all the time, and i think through things. when i am watching the republicans, it is just a pure viciousness. there is no common sense. let biden govern. he is a very, very decent man. i voted for him. i am very happy with what he is doing. we don't have to agree on everything, but the principle of honor -- the man is a patriot, he is doing the best he can. especially mitch mcconnell -- it's like obstruction, obstruction, obstruction.

the bottom line with these republicans, including christy, who is quoted all the time -- he goes with the wind. he is not to be trusted. it is just honestly come as a viewer of c-span -- and i love c-span, you know -- i am learning a lot. in terms of how -- what people are saying. but meanness at a time when we need to hear as a country, and biden is trying to do that, i don't know what the end result is for republicans. it seems like there is something that is not quite out there on the surface, that there is sort of a united front of just trying to obstruct biden and to protect trump is the scariest thing. this is a man that destroyed our country, is constantly lying,

and the meanness and the tweet and degrading people. you can have a difference of opinion in politics, that's fine. we are not always going to think the same way. but when you are trashing people as being mean and lying and telling his followers to go to the capital -- which is obvious that he planned that. how much more simple can it be, america? host: i will jump in on that point. keep watching c-span and we will get a response from erik wasson. guest: one of the things i have to point to is the media itself -- maybe the loudest, meanest voices get airtime. that is drama. i would say a lot of republicans i meet are pretty levelheaded and not really nasty people. they may differ from biden, but

they are not often the voices that are heard. so i think for me personally, there is hope of people coming together, just from a personal level. i would say the media personally -- making vicious comment perhaps, that does not get a lot of play. but certainly we are at a crossroads, and the country is very divided. and it is hard to come back after polarizing presidency after polarizing presidency, after january 6, viewing your neighbors and countrymen of a different party in a positive light. host: a lot of comments coming in on our twitter page. a lot saying alice, to the moon. a phrase on jackie gleason. thank you for waiting, good morning. your comments or question to erik wasson? are you with us? good morning. caller: yes, i have three real

quick comments. the only death that really happened on january to -- january 6 was the white woman who was unharmed and shot. and then for you, my comment is, joining the 22 -- what you did for the 2020 debate is shameful, and i'm surprised even let you back on fulsome and from your guest, why should we believe anything this guy says? because in his newspaper and everything, they said during the 2020 campaign not to report anything or do any investigation on his boss, mike, or any democrat. only republicans and trump. so thank you very much. host: erik wasson? guest: certainly there are controversial decisions that news organizations make, some that i don't agree with. i try to be balanced, fair, try

to base my own reporting in facts, and i would ask to be judged on do own reporting. host: what is the deadline to reach some sort of agreement? will it come before memorial day's rate? guest: the environmental public works committee and infrastructure committee are how -- trying to markup the highway and transit portions of this bill. there are earmarks on all of that, that are trying to come together in a bipartisan way before memorial day. the real question here, nancy pelosi says she wants to do at least the jobs package that biden put forth, and i'm being told that may flip. that is also setting up action before the august recess. traditionally congress has the deadline in august, and that kind of deadline creates the kind of pressure, the kind of heat that get something done.

if we don't see it then, we go back in the fall and the government could have the funding deadline by august 1, and that tends to create action. we're looking at those chokepoints versus the congress getting something done. host: erik wasson covers congress and politics. thank you for being with us on this monday. when we come back, we will turn our attention to electric vehicles. our guest amy harder is from breakthrough technologies. and later, dr. paul offit, to talk about the process for approving vaccines for children. your calls and comments. we are continuing on monday morning, may 10. we welcome our viewers and listeners on c-span radio. back in a moment. announcer: the new york times is calling it a new age of cold war competition, the political and economic tensions between the

united states and china. on c-span's podcast "the weekly," we examined those tensions. among our guests, jennifer hillman come on the council on foreign relations, a georgetown university law professor. she understands the challenges we face from china, especially when it comes to technology. >> what is clearly ahead for the united states is the challenge to make our own economy more competitive, as part of the problem is that we are seeing in market aftermarket, particularly in the markets that china is moving into, with his belt and road initiative is that oftentimes the united states does not have a competitive alternative to offer. >> the china struggle, both economic and militarily, is a defining part of america's foreign policy, in part because china has outlined a clear path forward, according to dean chang of the heritage foundation. >> china knows what it wants, as xi jinping puts it, the china

dream of great revival of the chinese people. what that means is that decision ping sees china that is going to return to being the dominant power in asia, and, letter -- and a major power is not the major power of the world. >> more of our conversation on c-span set by the weekly. you can listen and follow wherever you get your favorite podcast. announcer: go to c-span.org/coronavirus for the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. if you miss live coverage, it is easy to find the latest briefings in the biden administration's response. use the interactive gallery of maps. go to c-span.org/coronavirus. announcer: washington journal" continues. host: joining us from seattle is amy harder, columnist for axios.com, and the vice president of an organization called breakthrough energy.

thank you for being with us. guest: it is great to be here. thank you so much. host: hugh make the following point, that most drivers of electric cars are wealthy, and most electric cars are a luxury. to effectively combat climate change. the opposite needs to be true. explain. guest: to combat climate change, we need everybody in most parts of the world to live their lives in a cleaner way, and so if it is just the wealthy that are able to drive cleaner cars, that will be a smaller slice of the population, and therefore we won't reduce emissions. in order to really reduce emissions in the united states -- which by the way is the largest emitter, the largest sector of greenhouse gas emitting in the united states. we need electric cars to be available, affordable, and appealing to all types of people. we are starting to see that now,

but there are still a lot of hurdles that remain. host: this is the website called plugshare.com. if you have an electric vehicle, you can go to this map and figure out specifically where you can plug-in your vehicle to break down not only state-by-state that community. how are we doing in terms of this necessity of being able to plug in your car as you travel either from home to work or cross country? guest: it is definitely improving. over the last decade there have been so much put in place. largely due to private competition and state -- that is one thing that the biden administration is hoping to do with this infrastructure plan. the president is proposing $174 billion in the electric vehicle infrastructure, a lot of it public charging. but it is not just about public charging, it's also about who can afford to put charging

stations where they live. there are key challenges when it comes to low income people. the first is that it is expensive to buy the faster charters. you can plug-in your car to any outlet, but that takes more than a day. so there is that challenge. the second is that a lot of lower income people live in apartment buildings that don't have charging capabilities. those are two key hurdles. host: we read your work. now with breakthrough energy, which is what? guest: it was founded by bill gates, a program that includes investment vehicles, and they brought me on to launch a new journalism initiative, where we will cover all the opportunities and the challenges of moving to cleaner energy, so this electric vehicle challenges one key part of the equation, and one big

thing that bill often says in the new book that came out in february is that we need to bring the costs down of the green premium. this is the perfect example. we are further along on electric vehicles than we are on other things like cement and steel. i chose to focus on electric vehicles in my axios column because it is one of the most common ways that individual people face a decision that could happen on climate change, whereas an individual cannot buy green cement, let alone even thinking about it. but a car is something that we interface with every day. the cost of all these technologies need to come down, and that is a big thing we are trying to do. host: in the issue of electric cars and clean energy, it came up, with vice president kamala harris. >> you have to be able to compete, so this is about where

we stand in the global order of things, but it is also about an investment in our ability as americans to always have the ability to see what can be, undeterred by what has been. it is about what we must and can do to put true innovation for the sake of making things better for american families, making things easier for american families, and creating jobs. and then the sustainable energy research happening on microgrids and good batteries. that is the kind of work that is happening. when i was there asking how autoworkers are feeling from this? the uaw is supporting what we are doing. but this is going to be an investment that also will make us -- it is our goal. the leading manufacturer of a

country of electric vehicles. i recently visited a site that was one of the leaders on school buses. >> that was vice president kamala harris, and here is a tweet from jan saying i saw a story in the morning that the competitor of tesla had the first at on snl on the electric car. the car with the price tag of $77,000, it was reported come and of course as we heard from kamala harris, the vice president, the development comes at a price tag. here's a look at the average price of new vehicles, and amy harder, i want to get your reaction. if you purchase -- the hybrid is 27,000 $800. a minivan, 40 $1000 on average. an electric vehicle is over 53,000 dollars, and a full-size pickup truck at $55,000. your comment? guest: and i watched snl as well, and i think i counted at

least three electric vehicle commercials, so clearly tesla's competitors were trying to reach elon musk's fans. the trend is ongoing in the right direction. for my column, i spoke with scott hardeman, a researcher at the university of california and their transportation department and he said they have data there that 11 of the new electric vehicles introduced in the u.s. in 2018 to 2020, each of those 11 are considered luxury vehicles. so the prices for now are going up, and there are two reasons for that. one, experts i talked to say that for now there continues to be competition for the luxury car driver, so you're seeing people come out there. the second reason is that as automakers -- general motors and others, i really -- are really having it aggressive electric feel good growth, eventually

they need to be able to make a profit on each individual car. so if they want to produce them on a mass and sell them on a mass scale, they need to increase the president to do that. because now the prices, they have been selling them at a loss. it is not something that the average consumer -- other experts that i talk to emphasize that they do anticipate prices to become more affordable. whether that means electric vehicles will grow at a slower pace, reaching parity with gasoline engine cars as opposed to -- i don't necessarily expect the prices will go down, in part because automakers are constantly innovating and they want to keep adding all these bells and whistles to their cars, so therefore we can expect the prices to go up. the prices of traditional cars are also going up, so there is that challenge as well. hopefully we start to see that. but for now we are still seeing

70,000, $80,000, $90,000 cars for electric, which is not feasible for most people. most low income people buy used cars, so the more affordable electric cars they get on the market, eventually those will cycle on the market. host: part of the administration's energy plan, it would give consumers a point-of-sale rebate and tax incentives to buy american-made electric vehicles. it would also establish grants and incentives to build as many as 500,000 electric vehicle charges by the year when he 30, 9 years now full-time awful top he would lecture fight at least 1% of the school bus fleet nationwide, and electrify the federal fleet, including the u.s. postal service. there is this tweet, saying that while the initial cost for some electric cars is higher, never have to buy gasoline. the cost of electricity is a small fraction of what one would

spend on gasoline. if you own an 11 -- an electric vehicle, we would love to hear from you. kevin joins me from diamond, missouri. good morning. caller: ms. harter, where do you think we will get the electricity from? you cannot get it from solar and wind. all of these big electronic -- electric stuff is going to be useful to electric cars, trucks, electric this and that. you cannot -- you don't have the grid to do it with. so answer me this -- where are you going to get the extra electricity without straining the grid, without blackouts and brownouts all over the united states? thank you very much. host: thank you. call -- guest: the listener raised a lot of good questions.

an electric car is only as clean as where the electricity is coming from. studies have shown that in most scenarios, an electric car, you will have a mixture of coal and natural gas. electricity is still cleaner than a gasoline engine because there is none particulate pollution coming out of the tailpipe. but it is differently not nearly as clean. the united states is rapidly growing -- it is easier to make the electricity grid cleaner, and then turn and have a lot of other industries like cars depend on that, as opposed to making the liquid fuel cleaner for each individual vehicle. but then the listener raises an important question about the reliability of the grid, and we have seen some dire consequences when the grid is not stable, in texas and in california. there are very complicated reasons for why that is. it is not because there are too

many electric cars being charged, because there are not that many on the road today. but over time, it if president biden and other politicians succeed in their climate goals, the amount of electricity demand that we have is going to grow significantly, so yes, there needs to be careful policy put in place. and i hope that happens. there is always a concern there is not enough comprehensive planning, but that is definitely something that i know is on the biden administration's mind. we have to make sure that there is a lot of extra research available, including a lot more power lines, and power plant open, and in some parts of the midwest to make sure there is enough electricity so that people can be charging their cars and keeping their lights on. host: a quick follow-up from russ in texas with this text message -- is there new battery technology in the pipeline that

can help bring electric transportation to full use? lithium sources are not enough to supply full production for the world. caller: desert is another -- that is another great concern. the question of where the critical mineral that makes these batteries are coming from -- you showed the clip of vice president kamala harris earlier about trying to be china at this game. i hate to say it, but china is far in the lead right now. we have a lot of up to do. whether you think china is a good partner or not, china has done an amazing job of dropping the price of solar energy in particular, so they are also doing the same thing with electric vehicles. so i think one challenge that the u.s. will have will be to try to be tough on china, but if china is going to offer the most affordable vehicle, that will be appealing as well. so where do you come from with

the battery -- where will that be critical as well? that is something else. the biden administration is trying to support, domestic production of some of these minerals. but it can be very difficult to get any sort of industrial facility built in the united states, considering a lot of the opposition to that. but i think it is going to be critical in order for us to have some sort of success rate competing with china. host: amy harder joins us. she is a columnist from axios.com. tim, good morning to you. caller: hello. steve. host: good morning, tim. caller: good morning to you, my brother. i am so happy you are back. i remember the day you came back, and i heard that guy from texas -- steve is back. i wrote it down in my notebook. it was like steve is back.

anyway, before i get to amy, and i love you, amy. anyhow, i just want to say hello to margaret in texas. she is like 93. i'm so glad she survived that climate change, you know, that is a hoax, for a freeze over. and i also want to say hello to david in new jersey, that splendid young 97-year-old world war ii veteran. host: you have a question for amy. caller: ok i want to go fishing with david and eve in grand rapids. now, amy, i was a big anti-nuclear -- are you still there? host: we sure are.

go ahead, tim. caller: i was a member of the safe energy coalition when i was going to wayne state. anyhow, you know how you power the electric cars? it is simple as hell. you build windmills, the turbines, in this country, at union scale jobs with benefits and pensions, and, hey, you put people to work, and you erect them in the median on freeways. because every time a truck drives by, you know the wind they generate. as far as birds getting chopped up by wind turbines, i have seen them. if a bird's that stupid to get chopped up by one, it deserves to go the way of the dodo. host: we will leave in there.

let me go back to his earlier point. why are electric vehicles so much more expensive? guest: well, that is a great question, at the crux of my coverage. it is interesting because it was around before tesla came onto the scene, and that was more affordable. tesla came onto the scene with sort of the technology company. tesla it has said it is a -- a technology company. it was exciting to drive for a lot of other reasons. as you noticed, and i've been watching this more come as automakers talk about those technologies or advertise about it, they don't talk about saving the planet, they talk about saving money on gasoline or about the exciting features that a tesla, for example, has. there's a reason for that.

all of us want to be good for the planet. ultimately what we will most likely do is buy a car based on these other reason. i should emphasize that it is not wrong that electric cars have mostly been driven by wealthy people. this is typically how technology works, particularly in the transportation sector. the luxury models that adopt the new technology first. so the fancy cars back in the day that had airbags and things like that, and of course eventually that came to be standard in all cars. so if it goes as planned, that is what will happen eventually with electric cars. but so far we are not quite seeing things break loose in terms of having electric vehicles be a feature in cheaper models. general motors is pledging all new electric sales by 2035. those types of goals will help that, even still, there are challenges. this is how technology often

starts out, by attracting the wealthier segment of the population. that would be one main reason. host: napa, california. good morning. why did you decide to purchase one? caller: all this stuff has been going on since the oil embargo of 1972. to have a vehicle and not have to buy gasoline is awesome. i had gto's firebirds, el camino's epoch. but these electric cars are snappy, they are just clean. with a fast car you can smell the oil. you get used to it, but you don't notice it unless you have been out of it for a while. if everybody was just plugging there car in at night and charging, it is better for the grid. because at night people have to shut the grid down. people plug the cars income it

would before more economical. i switched my pg&e to where i get different rates during the day, so if i charge at night it is like half-price. host: thanks for the call. amy harder? guest: i would be interested to know if his electric car is his only car, or if he has a gasoline car up the road. i don't know if he is still on the line. on that point, one key thing is that the data shows that the vast majority of electric car owners have at least two cars. so in my interviewing for this column and for the next one, i've been asking people what they drive. they say they have an electric car, but they always have a another plan for a longer trip. so the gas car, they say we only use it for long ski trips. most low income people either cannot afford two cars,

certainly cannot afford a tesla and another cheaper car. i think it is great to hear his experience there. i think those are the types of reasons other people buy them. host: ryan is next from phoenix, arizona. >> good morning, c-span, good morning, amy. interesting topic. i am a big fan of the electric car concept. i have drove the tesla s, amazing car. you have the audi, porsche. nissan, toyota, definitely the technology getting there. there is a couple of things. one, you mentioned the grid. it is just not ready for it. in california there are ruling blackouts. in arizona, they advertise the rolling back out -- blackouts,

especially if it is hot, etc. especially carl manufactures wanted to go all electric by 2035. electric cars are going to in general be for the elite. so now would be a good time to buy a gas car. in the future electric cars will be great. they definitely need a little bit of oversight. the electric cars are expensive. batteries are pricey. but the technology is getting better. it is a pipe dream to think we will be ready in 15 years at the pace we go. host: i want to add what tash to what ryan was just saying. that was a similar sentiment last month in the washington journal. this caller phoning them with this comment. to ryan's point, and then we will get your reaction, amy harder. >> i just want to ask the gentleman a couple questions. people drive a lot of used cars.

i do not know if you know what a junker or a conqueror is. you look over and they might have two different vendors -- offenders -- fenders. you are wondering how this car is making it down the road. does he think this is a fashion statement? host: what is your question? >> do you think poor people are driving these cars just for a fashion statement? that is all they can afford. i am driving a used car right now. i cannot afford a tesla. you are not with me. you think money pops out of thin air? host: what are you hearing from

that caller last month and the color just a moment ago? guest: that is why there is hesitancy to buy an electric car among younger people. over the lifetime of owning a car, it does not do much. that is why these rebates are so important. one reason why the biden administration is going down that route. it ultimately ends up benefiting wealthy people more. i will say that the comment about the used car is, i think -- i was looking online to potentially buy a car myself. the cheapest used tesla is about

$38,000. as more people -- i did not end up buying that, but as more people start buying others that start at $40,000 and these other models, hopefully that will allow more affordable models to come on board. even then, it will not be relevant. one potential solution is getting them into a used toyota previous. elon musk even jokes about driving a previous.

for some people, particularly really lower income areas, maybe they should be able to afford, be able to buy something like a hybrid. host: following up to the comment earlier, maybe that is why we need to build some infrastructure. a caller from southern pines, north carolina. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. talking about the greatness of driving an electric car, but your guest pointed out briefly about china and the minerals it requires. what about the other aspect of trying to save the planet, about

stripmining all of these areas, generally carried out by a large , economically challenged population? also, solar panels and windmills -- where do we take all of the solar panels that do not work? there is no way to viably dispose of them or those batteries. host: thank you. guest: it is certainly the case that every energy resource comes with an ugly side. fossil fuels and coal are having a terrible impact on the climate temperature. i think that is an overriding concern. we need to reduce dependence on these energy resources.

they all have their challenges. that is why, as a country -- as we move, there needs to be a really aggressive and candid conversation that addresses these. that includes making sure, to the best of our ability, that is being done in a sustainable way. wind and solar takes up a lot of land. it really needs to be a healthy mix of all of these technology so one does not become the only one that we are relying on. we want to satisfy as many people as we can while achieving something good. host: joining us from seattle,

washington. she serves as a columnist and is currently vice president of through energy. thank you for being with us. we focus on covid-19. joining us in a moment is the doctor with the advisory committee and the director of the education center in philadelphia. that conversation, just ahead on c-span's washington journal. >> tonight on the communicators, ed parkinson, the ceo talks about his company' s broadband. >> we provide that dedicated -- we have seen time and time again where social networks cannot handle the surges that happen. those commercial networks get

oversaturated. they did not have access. that is where we come in. it acts as a spectrum and it has been a complete game changer. >> watch the communicators on c-span two. featuring american history tv programs as a preview of what is available. the ceremonial state opening of british parliament is may 11. tonight, the eve of the queen's speech, we look back to may 1991 and a joint address, a first by a british monarch. the queen was on a visit to the u.s., which took her to virginia, florida and kentucky.

enjoy american history tv every weekend on c-span three. go to c-span.org/coronavirus for the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. if you missed the live coverage, it is easy to find the latest briefings and the biden administration's latest response. go to c-span.org/coronavirus. >> washington journal continues. host: we take a closer look at the issue of coronavirus. today we want to focus on children and vaccines. parents are cautious about shots for kids because of the hesitancy over the certainty of these vaccines. joining us as a member of the food and drug administration advisory committee.

thank you for being with us. why a hesitancy by parents for the covid-19 vaccine? >> i think parents should be skeptical of anything that they put into their children's bodies. there was a study that was done by pfizer for children. 2300 children were divided. the vaccines induced excellent immune responses. there were 18 cases of covid in that study. i'm sure that the parents were very happy that their children were in the vaccine group and not the placebo group. that way their children had a 0% chance of suffering from covid. host: you are the author of the

book deadly choices, how it threatens us all. who is behind this movement? >> it is a well-funded movement that is specifically trying to provide misinformation to the public to scare them away from vaccines. i have been writing about the anti-vaccine movement for years. there is nothing that they could have done that surprised me, but this surprises me. you have a pandemic that has infected many people. it is on its way to killing as many as 600,000 people in this country. you have a vaccine that is remarkably effective but they do everything they can to dissuade people from getting the vaccine, even though the virus has economically brought us to our knees. host: an added element from the

wall street journal, that 10 day pause from johnson in and johnson. just how damaging was that for johnson & johnson and for this objective of getting more americans vaccinated? >> it tells you that they are committed to making sure that these vaccines are as safe as possible. they are completely transparent. roughly one in a million people who got the vaccine have blood clots that could be serious. a theoretical million people who get covid, 5000 will die, yet people here that one in a million chance that they could be hurt by the vaccine, knowing they have a greater chance of blood clots from the virus and

people are more scared of the vaccine. we did not do a good job of explaining relative risks. host: we are inviting our phone lines,% and for others, --host: --(202) 748-8000 and for our others, (202) 748-8001. these are some of the works. where are we, in terms of getting young people vaccinated between the ages of 12 and 17? >> visors submitted for approval. presumably, i know that they

will be meeting on the 12th to discuss this. it should be and moments that parents should be able to vaccinate their children. host: you are on the fda advisory committee. tell us how it works. guest: these products will initially be submitted for authorization. they go through different studies. the phase 3 three study that everybody hears about is about tens of thousands of people who did not get the vaccine. usually 100 plus page documents, reviewing the data and have their own interpretation to make

sure nothing is missed. we meet for a day and ask our questions. host: why is johnson & johnson a single dose and moderna and pfizer are two doses? guest: you want to induce high levels of antibodies. you want to induce something called cellular immunity. that usually predicts longer-lasting immunity. johnson & johnson was capable of doing that after a single dose. the mrna only happened after the second dose. host: a vaccine for a child versus an adult? what are the differences? guest: for the 12 to 15-year-old, it is not surprising that the dose used is exactly the same as the 16 to

17-year-olds. biologically, there is not a big difference in those two groups. six years of age and younger, they will be more extensive. the 12 to 15-year-old -- host: is there any risk of toddlers or newborns getting vaccines? guest: it is possible. children are infected less frequently. 3.2 one million children have already been in effect did by this virus. there is another disorder that we often see which is frightening. it usually happens in children around 14 years old. they start off with a trivial infection.

they are tested as positive even though they have no symptoms. they have antibodies in their bloodstream. at the same time, they have high fever. it is pretty frightening to watch. if any parent wants to convince themselves, they should come around to the covid ward and see what it looks like. host: let's look ahead to the fall and winter. every year we are advised to get a flu shot. can you imagine in the short term, in the next year or two, we would be required to get a covid shot? guest: i think the issue of what -- whether you would be required to get it is an important question. i think that for now, it would be perfectly reasonable to mandate the vaccine for everyone

through high school. it would keep the children safe but also did teachers save. there are many that cannot be vaccinated because they have chemotherapy. they depend on those around them to protect them. host: let's get to your phone calls. rudy is joining us from bowling green, ohio. caller: good morning. i just want to say that i will be having my 12-year-old son get the vaccine as soon as it is available. it would be one less thing that i have to worry about. he is healthy and we have all gotten the vaccine in my household. my daughter got the vaccine as soon as she was available. they should all have no issues getting the vaccine for their children.

host: thank you. guest: thank you. i wish everyone was like you. while it is ok to be skeptical about a vaccine, there is enough data. skepticism -- if you are still saying, i do not believe in these vaccines, you are not skeptical, you are cynical. you do not trust the government or the medical community. there is abundant evidence. host: let's go to north carolina. caller: i wanted to ask what is in the vaccines. there is a lot of information out there.

i was wanting to know, if it is so safe, why did the fda not approve it? that is why people are afraid of taking it. there is a lot of technology that states that it is not safe to take it. i heard that it changes your dna. the people need to know exactly what is in the vaccines. the pharmacist cannot tell us. they do not know. we would really appreciate it. host: we will get a response. guest: there were a few things. the first is that these are currently approved. i will tell you what is not different. one thing that is not different

is the size of the trial. it is a typical size for any adults. to the safety follow-up, it is identical. two months after the last dose. they can have serious side effects. that is no different. the only real difference is the length of time for efficacy follow-up. they could say that they were highly effective for a few months. they could not say they were effective for a few years, which is usually what happens. on the other hand, 5000 people plus that died last year, you are not going to do a two to three year study. it is likely to be highly effective for longer, which we are already learning is true.

the fact of the matter is, they will be licensed by the end of the summer. there -- this is where the anti-vaccine movement went. they convince people like you that there are stem cells, which is not true. it is messenger rna. it is a small piece of genetic material. the way this vaccine works, there is a small fatty droplet. that messenger rna is taken into the cytoplasm itself, outside the nucleus where it joins other copies of messenger rna inside, as your body makes enzymes to keep itself alive. that messenger rna is translated to a protein. your body makes this spike protein.

that protein is made for a couple days and the messenger rna disintegrates. the third issue is that it alters your dna. it is a genetic vaccine. normally when you are trying to induce a response, you give the spike protein. you give a form of the virus like a polio vaccine or you give a live, weakened form of the virus. it is a remarkably effective way of an inducing the immune response. they are more than 90% effective among all age groups and all comorbidity. these vaccines have been given in more than 200 million doses. i do not know what more people

could ask. this is as close to a perfect vaccine as you can get. regarding changing your dna, the dna is in the nucleus. in order for it to altered dna, it has to get into the nucleus, which it cannot do. it would have to be reversed transcribed. it would have to look like dna, which would mean it would have to be reverse transcribed. even if it did happen, which it cannot, it would have to be integrated into dna, which it also does not have. very easy to raise this notion. you have a better chance of becoming spider-man than having it in any way alter your dna. people just keep throwing things up against the wall. stem cells or that it will alter

your dna. people say, i do not think i will get it. this vaccine is our only way out of the pandemic. we will be dealing with the pandemic for many years because we are only -- of those out there, most have not given a single dose of vaccine to their populists. we will be dealing with this for a while. you will have a couple choices, whether to get vaccinated or not. host: we are talking to a pediatrician with the children's hospital of philadelphia. he is a member of the fda advisory committee. one nonvoting members serves as a representative. this position is four years.

velma is joining us from wisconsin. are you with us? we will move on to eric from maryland. caller: good morning. thank you so much for what you do. i already got my vaccine. i appreciate the work that you guys do. i have a question. my home country is nigeria. we are low in hygiene and a lot of things. back home it shows that -- we are low in hygiene. some say there is because there is no testing. there is no funeral every friday. this is in nigeria. is there something that could be

learned from where the deaths are not happening? is there a way to find out? there is no death. i do not know if you get what i am saying. if there is something that can be researched, like researchers were sent to china or other countries to see what they are doing there. guest: great question. this virus spreads separate. virus is -- it does not matter how careful you are. if you are out there and talking to someone infected, they will be at risk. in terms of nigeria not being hit hard right now, give it time.

india, when it was sweeping across europe and southeast asia , did not suffer this disease very much and than they did. in fact, it is now catastrophic in india. give it time. if he to be oh years go by and there are certain countries that have not suffered this at all, that would be worth a second look, but i worry that every country is at risk. host: lisa, you are on aaron. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to ask you, specifically, what is the genetic material in the vaccine? the mrna? also, with regard to the trials, i wanted to ask, where do these countries get those trials?

if the vaccine has been effective against the additional strains that have occurred, once those people did get the vaccine? host: thank you for the questions. this is from steve. how is work going on protein-based? steve is interested in comparing the effectiveness on sustained antibody levels. your response? guest: there are a few things in there. we all make messenger rna. it is what is used to make proteins. when we were able to sequence the virus, in january of 2020, it is a single-stranded messenger rna virus.

if you can make antibodies, the virus cannot bind to the cells and cannot infect you. that is what that is. it is a small piece of genetic material that makes protein and is taken up by certain subtypes that travel to the draining lymph node. this vaccine does induce vigorous response. many people get swelling of lymph node in their armpit. we give a lot of vaccines through shots. it is much more common here. it will be interesting to see whether we can translate that to other vaccines like malaria or the universal flu vaccine. we will know that much more in the next few years.

the fda will not approve a drug unless it is tested in the u.s. you want to make sure that the trials look american. you have a good representation, that you have adequate representation of those 55 years of age or older. they were done for the most part in the u.s. what you can say with comfort is that these vaccines will work very well against.uk variant. they work a little less well against some of these other variants like the south african variant, but they still work extremely well in preventing severe critical disease.

that is good. there is not one that has been completely resistant. the last question asked was about these protein vaccines. there is a company called novavax. instead of giving the gene, you give the protein itself. novavax has done those trials. the preliminary data is promising. they have not been submitted for approval. host: this is from lizzie. if this is safe as you are saying, why are many doctors not taking the vaccine and advising patients not to get it? guest: i certainly have not experienced that at all.

99% of the physicians asked to get the vaccine get it. i do not know anyone who does not recommend it. this vaccine is the only way out of the pandemic. the data is clear that this vaccine is safe and effective. that might be a trope put out there by the act -- anti-vaccine movement. host: annette is joining us from philadelphia. caller: i hope this is not a repeat question. i just turned on the tv. if you are diagnosed with covid today, how are you treated at home? if you are hospitalized, are you only treated once your sites drop and you require oxygen?

guest: if you have symptoms associated with covid and you are home, and you do not require hospitalization, there is not a specific treatment other than prevention. if you are hospitalized, it depends on your degree of lung involvement. generally you will be treated with dexamethasone. it is a steroid that is helpful in this situation. that is the difference. host: this is praise for you from another person saying, what a great guest. thank you for taking the time to be with us. i will go to steve in newburgh, indiana. caller: thank you for what you are doing for us. i recovered from the virus in october and tested positive for antibodies in december.

i am not against vaccine and i support the use. since i have immunity, is there any belief that getting the vaccine now would provide additional immunity? guest: that is a great question. you could argue that when this virus started killing people at the beginning of march, people looked at one thing. are there people infected with the virus who upon re-exposure get sick? if that happens, you will have a hard time making a vaccine. strep throat, you can get it again and again. that was not true here. if you look at something recent, they looked at people like you to answer the question, what is the half-life of antibodies?

they are predictive of protection. cellular immunity also were fairly high and had a long life. probably the answer to the question is that natural immunity may well induce an immune response as good as vaccination. in case of that, you would not need a vaccine. they said -- they did not want to add a bureaucratic level of having everyone getting tested to see if they had antibodies. also, there have been three studies, one of which was published, looking at those who were infected who got one dose and had a response from the second dose. people who are naturally

affected are protected for a few years. similarly, people who are vaccinated are likely to be protected for a few years. one dose is probably all you need, but the cdc has not weighed in on this yet. caller: i was just wondering if the technology that produced the vaccines, if some of that technology or some kind of technology could be used for cancer. could they come up with a vaccine or antibody for cancer based on this technology? guest: great question and the answer is yes. cancer cells survive because your body does not adequately recognize and kill them. could you construct an mrna particle and put it in this fatty droplet to direct it to

the cancer cell and have it make a protein that makes it easier for that cancer cell to be recognized and killed? yes. they said this is not only good for vaccines, but a benefit for possible immunotherapy. host: can you put this moment into perspective, the significance of having this vaccine within a year of when the pandemic began? guest: if you asked, whether in january of 2020, when this was first sequenced, do you think that we will have completed two large clinical trials with a technology that has never been used commercially before and find that the vaccine is very much effective against all

matter of illness, including all comorbidities, i do not think he would have found anyone on this planet. dr. fauci said we are optimistic that the vaccines can be 70% effective. that is the thing that amazes me the most. nobody imagined the vaccine would be this good and not have any side effects. i wanted them. you have this virus that has created pathological surprises. the technology had never been used commercially before. what could go wrong? the other shoe has not dropped. the father of modern vaccines is either the inventor or producer of nine of the 14 vaccines that we currently give to young children. he said, i never breathe a sigh

of relief until the first million doses are out there. now it is just a matter of getting people to do it and to get these vaccines. the battle against this virus is becoming a battle against ourselves, the misinformation out there. about stem cells or how doctors do not want to get the vaccine. it is the usual nonsense that come up to try to convince us to do something that puts us in harm's way, unnecessarily. host: about one third of americans have been vaccinated so far. john from chantilly, virginia. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you for everything that you do for us. i got my two shots, pfizer. how long will this medication

work? my second question is, i get so angry when i watch rand paul. he calls himself a doctor. this is the man who is deceiving people. he got his shot and now, he is our lawmaker. how do you fight somebody who makes the laws of this country, yet he lies to the american people? he got his medication and he is not telling the people the truth? what can we do about this? guest: what can we do about politicians who do not tell us the truth? i wish i knew. he is not the only one. as far as immunity, it is hard to make predictions. it is elusive, but i am encouraged by the level of antibodies and the high frequency of cellular immunity.

i will predict that it will last for a few years. we will probably need a yearly vaccine? i do not believe that, but i would be surprised if it were as frequent as yearly. host: one of the questions asked by a moderator is, what will a new normal look like as we move beyond the pandemic and return to life as we once knew it. >> covid will not disappear, but it will be reduced. i think we are at the point in time when we can start lifting these. people have to take precautions and own their own risk. we have always said that we would set a metric.

half the country is there right now. if you want to be more conservative, this week, about a quarter of the states will be there. we could start lifting these ordinances. certainly outdoors, we should not be putting limits on gatherings anymore. vaccination rates are high and we have good testing in place. we could probably start lifting restrictions indoors as well. host: your response? guest: if we lived on a planet that operated on the basis of logic and reason, i would agree with that. i fear that there is a lot of did nihilism out there. there are a lot of people who deny the impact of the virus and the importance of the vaccine.

if you go outdoors with any large crowd of people, look at the atlanta braves game a couple nights ago. it was a packed house. nobody was wearing a mask. i have to believe that a large percent of that group is on and it is likely that some of those people were shedding coronavirus. if you are going to allow these events to occur, it would be nice -- i would not go to a event like that unless i was vaccinated. i would probably still wear a mask because i do not know if i will be exposed to one of these variant viruses because i know i will not be less likely to be protected. we are not there yet. we are almost there. that is the frustrating part.

we are getting there. 33% or so from immunization. there are probably many that have been naturally infected. there is some overlap. get to 80%. i think we could significantly slow the virus. the thing that is frustrating is when people talk about wanting to get back to work. i agree, but get vaccinated. hopefully the private sector will enforce this come back. if you want to have on-site learning, get vaccinated, otherwise you will still have to do it off-site. there is no reason we cannot get past this. we have to embrace the notion that vaccines are important. host: another 15 minutes for our

radio listeners. he is the director of the vaccine center and is the author of the book deadly choices. cheryl is joining us. good morning. caller: i am 74 years old. i got both of my jabs from moderna and i spent 12 days in japan about 25 years ago and noticed everybody who needed a mask was wearing one. when i saw that this virus was coming in late december, i decided the mask was the thing to do and have not looked back. i wonder why the scientists involved in this project do not push the history behind why this virus vaccine has come to us so

quickly. guest: it is nice to speak to someone else from baltimore. i have been to japan a few times and they wear masks because they want to decrease their chance of getting a respiratory disease. they definitely do not social distance on their subways, but they do wear a mask. do they have a lesser incidence of respiratory viruses or human coronavirus and other respiratory viruses in the winter months per 100,000 compared to us? i could not get the answer. i have to believe that the answer is out there, but dr. fauci thinks that this might cause us to be more likely to wear a mask in the winter than previously. i hope he is right, but it would surprise me. host: robert is joining us from virginia.

caller: good morning. my question for you -- i have not yet had the vaccine. my question for you is, what drove the decision to develop a vaccine based on messenger rna versus the protein from which the messenger rna itself codes. guest: many strategies were deployed. there was johnson & johnson and astrazeneca -- there is the kill virus approach which was chosen by chinese investigators. there was the messenger rna approach chosen by researchers in the u.s. and the protein approach, which was novavax's approach. you know the sequence of the virus. we know the sequence for the codes of the surface protein. it is very simple.

it is the easiest to construct. i have not seen anything yet beginning a phase three trial there. host: our next call is from new york. caller: good morning. he had question. could you offer an opinion as to what you think might be their motive? guest: right. it is hard to watch. looking at the reporting system data and saying thousands of people have died from this vaccine is holy irresponsible. it is investigated to make sure that there is a clear cause. that has always been the case.

there has not been one person who has died from this vaccine. it is theoretically possible -- two to five people could have a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. i could happen, but even that has not happened. i do not know why he does what he does. i wish i did. i am amazed that he is allowed to do it. he gets on television and scares people away from the vaccine, putting them at unnecessary risk and a possibly fatal outcome. it is no different than shouting fire in a crowded movie theater. i do not know why you are allowed to put out that misinformation in the midst of a pandemic. i do not know why he does what he does. host: susan, good morning. caller: good morning.

i wanted to comment to the doctor that you are saying so much mixed messaging. you are saying that you have to get the virus and he will be ok, but you are saying that if you are outside with a group of people, that you should have a mask on because of variants. you cannot say when another vaccine will be needed and try to include the children that can fight off the infection. it is sort of like government propaganda. host: thank you, susan. guest: i do not think i am giving mixed messages. i am saying that vaccines dramatically reduce your chance of getting the virus, but it does not completely eliminate it. i think you need to be careful. we need to test the water with one foot, not both feet.

we are almost there. by late summer or early fall, we will have a majority of the population immune. i think we can feel better about going back to normal life, but we are not there yet. children can get infected with the virus. children can get infected from virus and they can die from the virus. if we can prevent that, we should use it. i think what we are learning the most is how to start to get back to normal. one thing is to get the vaccine. that dramatically lowers your risk of getting infected. host: you were surprised happy that the vaccine was developed quickly. what did we learn about the process that we can apply, moving forward with another

pandemic or other kinds of illnesses? guest: the reason it was developed so quickly was because of money. they put forward about $24 billion. they paid for phase three trials and paid to mass-produce the vaccines. they made millions and tens of millions of doses, realizing if they were neither safe, effective, or both that you were going to throw away tens of millions of doses and lose that money. that does not typically happen. usually the pharmacies take the risk, not the government. the government took the risk and it could not have worked out better. you have to give credit to the last administration for doing it as fast as they could and for the current administration, for having mass vaccination for adults. that is not something that the public health system was geared for a.

-- geared for. there is getting to be a disparity between doses should be dated and administered. people are finding out what percentage of the population does not want to get vaccinated. i think they do not want to get vaccinated largely because of the nihilism. -- denial. they do not believe it will happen to them. the parents all to listing -- tell the same story. do not take a necessary -- unnecessary risk. it can certainly happen to you. host: he is a member of the food and drug administration advisory panel. sarah is on the phone from indiana. good morning. caller: dr., i would like to ask you a question. i am 67 years old and due to

religious reasons, i was born at home and delivered by a midwife. i never had no baby shots for flu shots ever. how do you know? can you tell me for sure that if i take this vaccine but it will do -- what it will do for me? a friend of ours had the covid shot it and -- in march and now she has the covid. 95% of the time, i did not wear a mask and i have had the flu and all that. i think i have had the covid because in march, i never said nothing to nobody, but i could not taste anything. i was not sick, but i cannot taste anything. i knew that was one of the symptoms. can you tell me for sure, if i take this shot, what will it do to me?

it might kill me. can you guarantee that, where i have not had any shots? guest: the fact that you have not been vaccinated before does not put you at any risk of getting the vaccine. if you think you were previously infected, you should get an antibody test to see if you have antibodies against the virus. if so, you survived the infection, which is good. you probably will not get the infection again. when you talk about your friend who got the vaccine and still got covid, it is not 100% effective. when those cases occur, they are usually asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. you are lucky. you were lucky that your parents chose not to vaccinate you and you survived that. i am a child of the 1950's and i had measles, mumps, chickenpox

-- i survived, but many people did not. every year, 500 people would die from measles. babies would be born with birth defects. the survivors are the ones who are around to tell the stories, but the people that died were permanently hurt by those viruses and do not come onto the tv to ask their questions. caller: good morning. am i supposed to repeat my question? i just called in to thank the dr. for all he has done. this is a wonderful program with a lot of interesting, documented information. i appreciate his time and trouble. if you just listen to the end of the question and answer, you get a lot of answers. i appreciate all of this. if we would just listen and try

to learn instead of being so obstinate with such a simpleminded attitude -- i really appreciate this program. host: thank you for that call. guest: thank you. i appreciate that. it did not sound like my mother, but i appreciate it. my mother does not have that slight southern accent. host: before we let you go, walk us through it again. where are we, in terms of vaccines for children, especially the ages of 10 to 11? what is the timeline? guest: the studies are being done. by early next year, we could have data down to six years of age for children. it could then -- we could then be able to vaccinate. i do not think we will have that data before early next year. host: what are the questions

that you have? guest: what is interesting for me as a scientist, what does not typically happen is, when vaccines are tested, as they were by pfizer, moderna and johnson & johnson -- they are not tested regularly, and they should be. if you are a pregnant woman and you get sars, you have more chances -- using the cdc -- usually, the cdc does not say that you should get a vaccine when there is no data. many women who were pregnant chose to get the vaccine because they knew they were at higher risk if they did get infected. you can see whether or not there was any difference in the pregnancies, if it was a problem for them or their child once

born. there was a paper in the new england journal of medicine looking at thousands of women who were pregnant who chose to get the vaccine and thousands of women who were pregnant and chose not to get the vaccine. there was no difference. now you have this huge database. we are giving vaccines and i think there are other vaccines that will help pregnant women and their unborn child. it provides a database, moving forward. for me, that is an interesting phenomenon. host: he is a member of the fda advisory committee and the author of a number of books, his latest, deadly choices of the anti-vaccine movement threatens us all. on behalf of our viewers and listeners, thank you for being with us. guest: my pleasure. host: our coverage is online at

any time. the senate on c-span2, the president meeting with congressional leaders on wednesday. we will be back tomorrow morning . thank you for joining us on this monday. hoping that you have a terrific weekend. ♪ announcer: c-span is your unfiltered of your government. funded by television companies, including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment, that is why tarter has invested in building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small.

charter is connecting us. announcer: charter communications supports c-span as a public service, along with other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. announcer: coming up today on c-span, a look at the republican party's leadership and agenda with adam kinzinger, who has been critical of former president donald trump. join us from the national press club at 11:00 a.m. at noon, to the white house for the briefing. and than efforts to modernize the legislative branch with the bipartisan policy center. this afternoon, the threat assessment following the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol at 3:30 p.m. eastern. join us on c-span, online at c-span.org, or listen live with the free c-span radio app. host: