captining sponsored by cbs >> brennan: i'm margaret brennan in washington, and this week on "face the nation," preparations to distribute the yet to be approved coronavirus vaccine pick up speed as america braces for the fallout from the thanksgiving holiday. wave three of the pandemic continues its rise, and america continues to be blanketed with new cases of covid-19. this month has seen a million new reported infections a week. government agencies are working with state officials to determine who will get the vaccine first, as warnings continue that the pandemic will likely get a lot worse before it gets better. >> there is real hope, tangible hope, so hang on. don't let yourself surrender to the fatigue. i know we can, and we will, beat this virus.

america is not going to lose this war. >> brennan: but with more than six million americans traveling by air this thanksgiving holiday weekend so far, and tens of millions more by road, an after holiday surge will put overwhelmed hospitals in even more dire strait. we'll hear from a top member of the white house coronavirus task force, dr. deborah birx, and we'll talk with two mayors from cities struggling with the virus, mayor dee margo from el paso, and mayor mike duggan of detroit. scott gottlieb will take a look at the hunger crisis, with claire babineaux-fontenot, head of the united nations world food program. it is all just ahead on "face the nation." ♪

>> brennan: good morning, and welcome to "face the nation." the phrase that's been running through our minds here is "the darkest hour is just before the dawn." thomas fuller is credited with coming up with it in 1650, but it feels pretty appropriate as we move into winter and 2021. in the month of november, we've recorded four million new cases, more than double the number of october infections. we begin this morning with cbs news national correspondent mark strassmann in atlanta. >> reporter: covid's community spread had a busy thanksgiving. the virus had a chance to catch up with lots of family in jammed airports and in stores with black friday deep discounts, red tags, red flags. at current rate, roughly 114 more americans test positive every minute.

65 more americans die from covid every ho hour. and america could start to see 3,000 covid deaths a day, more than that died on september 11th. and covid has blitz the nfl from coast to coast. tougher new restrictions in california's clara county, leave the 49ers without a place to play or practice for the next three weeks. the denver broncos need to find a quarterback. and 18 baltimore ravens tested positive this week. in the overwhelmed midwest, the epidemic is showing signs of peaking, not in south dakota, where at least 30% of residents have been infected. 43% of people tested here this week tested positive. but for many, mask mandates remain even less popular than the virus. >> this is cowboy country. you tell somebody to do something, and they want

to do the opposite. >> reporter: outrage in west virginia, masks now a must in all indoor public spaces. >> i had many, many people that were calling, and they were saying to me over and over and over, "we want to be like south dakota." well, i don't want to be south dakota. >> reporter: hypocrisy grabbed the spotlight in denver. mayor michael hancock urged people to stay home, an hour later, he was seen boarding a flight to his family for thanksgiving. people celebrated the holiday and each other by staying apart. as one chicago health official put it: better to have a zoom thanksgiving than an i.c.u. christmas." the covid risk will grab the spotlight again today. last year the sunday after thanksgiving was the

busiest day in t.s.a. history. margaret? >> brennan: mark, thank you. according to the white house coronavirus task force, there are now 48 states, plus the district of columbia, now in the red zone. just maine and hawaii are not. i want to go to the coordinator of that task force, dr. deborah birx, who joins us from delaware. good morning to you. it is great to have you back. >> doctor: good morning, margaret, thank you for having me. >> brennan: the numbers are pretty staggering. i know we crossed, at least twice this week, a daily death count over 2,000. that's the first time we've seen that during this pandemic. dr. fauci said this morning we're seeing a surge on top of a surge. what do americans need to be prepared for? >> doctor: i think what worries dr. fauci and i the most is going -- and i loved your opening where you talked about several waves and this being the third wave. if you look at the second wave, going into the memorial day weekend, we

had less than 25,000 cases a day. we had only 30,000 in-patients in the hospital. and we had way less morality, way under a thousand. we're entering this post-thanksgiving surge with three, four, and 10-times as much disease across the country. and so that's what worries us the most. we saw what happened post-memorial day. now we are deeply worried about what could happen post-thanksgiving because the number of cases, 25,000 versus 180,000 a day, that's where -- that's why we are deeply concerned. as you described, it looked like things were starting to improve in our northern plain statesment state. and now with thanksgiving, we're worried that all of that will be reversed. >> brennan: what capacity is there to back-stop overwhelmed hospitals? >> doctor: well, that is, obviously, all of our concerns. that's why we're really

asking states and mayors to really test for impact and consider vaccinating for impact. we know who is at highest risk. making sure that all of those individuals are tested. we know people may have made mistakes over the thanksgiving time period. so if you're young and you gathered, you need to be tested about five to 10 days later. but you need to assume that you're infected and not go near your grandparents and aunts and others without a mask. we're really asking families to even mask indoors if they chose to gather during thanksgiving and others went across the country or even into the next state. and if you're over 65, or you have co-morbidities and you gathered at thanksgiving, if you develop any symptoms, you need to be tested immediately because we know our therapeutics work best, both our antivirals and our monoclonal antibodies, work best very early in disease.

so we're really asking governors and mayors to make testing more available so we can prevent people having to be hospitalized. obviously, we're deeply worried. we're over 90,000 in-patients right now. if we have a surge two weeks on top of that, even when we're starting to see some improvement -- i appreciate that you have the mayor from detroit on -- all of these mayors are working to decrease or numbers of cases and getting to a plateau, and now we could have a fourth surge. >> brennan: i know you've been traveling the country, are you asking governors to close the bars and keep schools open? is that your advice? >> doctor: first, what we do know works is mask mandates and mask requirements. in states that did those or mayors or counties that did that, we can see a really significant difference in not only cases but hospitalizations and fatalities. and so starting with mask mandates and the masking requirements, absolutely

key, followed by if you have high case numbers and you're seeing increased hospitalizations, the first thing you should do is close spaces where people cannot wear masks. we know where that is: that's bars and indoor restaurants. reduce capacity, if needed, you may have to even close them. we have seen that that works. that's what arizona did, and that's where arizona got control. arizona is in the position they need to be really considering this again because their days numbers are up where they were in the summer. >> brennan: when will you begin briefing the biden administration? >> doctor: i hope on monday because what's really critical is we've spent the last nine months really developing sophisticated data basis that are bringing together information from across the country down to the county level. we can see who is being admitted. we can see who is getting sick. we can see where this virus is moving in

communities. and i think the one thing that we will bring to the biden administration in that discussion is to understand how they want to see the data. because data isn't helpful if it is not actionable. and each group needs to see it the way it makes them and moves them to action. that's why we write the governors' report weekly, to ensure every governor understands what we're seeing and what we think needs to be done. >> brennan: there are still 10 weeks or so of the trump presidency left. when have you last briefed the president? and why aren't we hearing from him? >> well, i brief the vice president obviously daily. i write a daily report that goes up to him every single day. it has a sinops what is happeningstatebystate, county by county, and what our recommendations are at

the highest levels of government. that same gowmen document goes o serious at s.s.h., to really alert them to what i'm seeing in the data each early morning. >> brennan: and what is your message, if you did have the chance to speak to the president -- what is your chief concern? your chief message to the public and to the president? >> doctor: to every american -- i know we have incredibly independent and fabulous americans -- i have met them on my trip -- who have spent a land protecting their land, protecting their livestock and pr protecting their families. to every american, this is the moment to protect yourself and your family. so if your governor or your mayor isn't doing the policies we know are

critical, masking, physical distancing, avoiding bars and crowded indoor areas -- if those restrictions don't exist in your state, you need to take it upon yourself to be restrictive. you need to not go to these places. you need to protect your family now. and really watch if your family traveled, you have to assume you are exposed and you became infected, and you really need to get tested in the next week. and you need to avoid anyone in your family with co-morbidities, or who are over 65. what happened would have happened. we know that people got together in thanksgiving. the moment now is to protect those from having secondary transmissions within the family. >> brennan: dr. birx, thank you and good luck. let's turn now to the midwest. michigan rappermidwest. >

>> michigan ranks third in the number of cases. joining us now is mayor mike duggan. good morning, mr. mayor. >> mayor: thanks for having me on. margaret. >> brennan: what is driving the infections, and what do you expect to see in the next few weeks? >> mayor: the numbers you're showing are the area. the city of detroit -- what dr. birx said -- she has been to my office and detroit has had the lowest amount. and that's because behavior changed. in march and april, michigan was hammered, along with new york. and we had, within a few weeks, a thousand people hospitalized, and 50 of our neighbors dying every day. today we've got about 200 hospitalized, and we're losing one or two people a day to covid. it is still too high, but the commitment to the testing, the commitment to the masks, has shown that you can dramatically drop the infection rate. >> brennan: when you say

behavior changed, you have a mask mandate. what has changed? >> mayor: so -- well, in march and april, we didn't know -- certainly people in detroit took to heart the data that showed if an african-american gets covid, you've got a two to three times more likely chance to die than a caucasian. we set up the biggest and most efficient drive-through testing site in the midwest at the fairgrounds, and we were testing 12,000 people a day. and all summer and in to the fall, detroiters were wearing masks. and the governor has made this point repeatedly, but literally in detroit, we have an infection rate less than half that of the surrounding suburbs, if you make the commitment to the masks, and then we don't have to shut the economy of this country down. it means you have to do it. it isn't that hard. >> brennan: you were a

hospital c.e.o. before you became mayor. there are several health systems in the state of michigan where reportedly they're telling hospital workers to come to work even if they've had close contact with a loved one who has covid-19. how bad are the staffing shortages at your local hospitals? >> mayor: again, in the city of detroit, we're in good shape, as i indicated. >> brennan: you have everything you need? >> doctor: in the city. now, you go outside into the suburbs, it is a different situation. now we're very much focused on the vaccinations. i was on a call with a number of mayors with president-elect biden, who made the point. there is a big difference between vaccines and vaccinations. we're looking now at the reality when we were testing 1200 people a day, that was a major undertaking. to get the vaccinations out, we're going to have to vaccinate 5,000 a day just in detroit. this country is not yet geared up.

so for people saying vaccines are coming, vaccines are coming, we haven't begun as a country to address what it is going to take to actually inject people with the vaccine. >> brennan: that's a fair point. it will be ultimately up to the state governors. what do you know about the state of michigan and what will happen in your city? >> mayor: governor whitmer has been terrific from the beginning. we know in detroit, we're going to take our convention center, we're going to take the parking structures around our football and baseball stadiums because when we wre doing the huge testing in the summer, had good weather. you can't do vaccinations in january, february, and march out in snowstorms. as soon as the vaccines are available, we're going to gear up, and we intend to vaccinate 5,000 a day. we know that the pharmacies are going to be helpful, and the doctors and hospitals are going to be helpful, but the

magnitude of what we're talking about this country has never experienced. basically right now we're day and night getting ready for wholesale vaccinations. >> brennan: you talked about how disproportionately hard african-americans have been by this virus. in your city, in your opinion, who do you think should be prioritized? should you prioritize people based on their demographics or based on their occupation? >> mayor: certainly occupation is going to go first. what the feds are talking about now are hospital workers going first and that e.m.t.s and police officers and firefighters and the like. and then people over 65. the death rate in people over 65 is so much higher than those that are younger. i will be really glad when joe biden takes control of this and we get clear direction. but we will follow whatever protocols are there. you think about the city of detroit with 700,000 people, if you were able

to vaccinate 5,000 a day, you're still talking three or four months, and that's the same challenge everybody in the country has got. >> brennan: and we'll be covering it. thank you very much, mr. mayor. "face the nation" will be back in a minute. stay with us. ♪ the support we've had over the last few months has been amazing. i have a soft spot for local places. it's not just a work environment. everyone here is family. gonna go ahead and support him, get my hair cut, leave a big tip. if we focus on our local communities, we can find a way to get through this together. thank you. ♪ if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. get out and about and support our local community.

we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today. ♪ >> brennan: we go to el paso, texas, where the pandemic is crushing that city just short of 700,000 people. the number of people hospitalized with covid-19 there is more than the number hospitalized in 19 states and the district of columbia. we're joined by its mayor, dee margo. good morning to you. the stories i'm reading about your city, you're talking about hiring mobile morgues and having inmates carry bodies. the national guard has now offered help as well. the convention center has been turned into a hospital. why is your city getting hit so hard? >> mayor: margaret, we're not real sure. we hit, about six weeks

ago -- we started spiking significantly. i think people just -- the consensus is people just had covid fatigue. you've got to wear the masks, maintain the distancdistancing and avoid the crowds. we did a deep dive in our contact tracing november 10th through the 16th, and we found out 65% of the positives were coming from shopping at large retailers, what we determined are big box stores. those are considered essential under csas guidelines. we've asked for voluntary limitations, and wal-mart and others are starting to lead, meaning they're going to limit the occupancy of their stores. and we also dug up the fact that previously over 52% of our positives were coming in the ages of 20 to 39, and now it is 30 to

50. so we're just trying to maintain. but recently -- and i'm fearful to even mention it -- wm like we're starting to maybe mlateau. on thanksgiving day we had 106 positives, the next day was 678, and then 590 and now we're down. but this weekend is always a misnomer for us because of the fact that the private labs are not reporting on the weekend. >> brennan: right. so those numbers may be worse, in other words. i know you just said you can't shut down big box stores because they're deemed essential. but at a certain point, because of what you're talking about, if people aren't taking personal responsibility for themselves and their own behavior, do you, as mayor, need to shut down what businesses you can? >> mayor: well, we took action. i took action -- dr. birx talked about the bars and the gathering. i took action almost six weeks ago to close bar restaurants at 9:00 p.m. --

>> brennan: but restaurants are still open and other stores. >> mayor: in the restaurants and bars, we were seeing a lot of congregating there, and so we shut them down at 9:00 p.m. the state of texas allowed them to use food trucks. and some were gaming the system. when we looked at the rio grande valley, which went through a spike just before ours, we talked to their health department and what they discovered was a majority of their positives were coming from home gatherings. and that is also still problematic here. we're a multi-generational community, and family is big. and there is travel to mexico. and there is always those issues. but we're hopeful we're getting our arms around it and people are understanding it. right now the latest numbers i have on hospitalizations is we are at 79% of our hospitalization capacity, which gives us 21% excess,

which we haven't had in some time. >> brennan: i want to ask you, because you are in a majority hispanic city, and i know the c.d.c. has said that hispanics are four times as likely to be hospitalized than white americans, do you know what your state's plan is to distribute a vaccine? and do you think that demographics, ethnic makeup, needs to be a priority there, versus prioritizing people based on occupation? >> mayor: well, i think the governor has put out a directive. we purchased with our funding four locations, in addition to the three that our public health has, for vaccine distribution and vaccinations. we bought the freezers, we bought the refrigerators that are required. but the governor has put out that the primary first responders, health care workers will be the primary recipients, and then the most vulnerable,

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