weeknights on kpix 5. captioning sponsored by cbs >> dickerson: i'm john dickerson in washington, and this week on "face the nation," will that fragile cease-fire in the middle east continue to hold? plus more hopeful signs that we're reaching the end of the pandemic. following 11 days of fighting that left hundreds dead, the militant group hamas and the israeli military have held their fire now for more than 48 hours. the u.s. and regional leaders negotiated a halt to the violence late last week, but there is little hope for a change in the conditions that led to this round of confrontation. >> let's get something straight here: until the region says unequivocably

they acknowledge the right of israel to exist as an independent jewish state, there will be no peace. >> dickerson: we'll talk with vermont senator bernie sanders, one of several democrats urging more support for the palestinian people as a part of a more progressive approach to challenges at home and abroad. former defense executive robert gates once took a dim view of then senator biden's foreign policy judgment. what does he think now? we also talked with him about the state of politics in america. >> i worked for eight presidents, five of them were republicans. i don't think any of them would recognize the republican party today. >> dickerson: with new coronavirus cases and deaths at their lowest level in almost a year, we'll check in with former f.d.a. commissioner dr. scott gottlieb. good news comes during college graduation season. we'll talk about what students faced and what they learned with the president of william &

mary katherine rowe. plus plans to launch a commission to investigate the january 6th insurrection appears stalled. army lt. general russel honore is here to talk about his review of the security failures that enabled the deadly assault. it is all ahead on "face th nation." ♪ >> dickerson: good morning. and welcome to "face the nation." a cease-fire between israel and hamas militants appears to be holding as we come on the air. humanitarian aid began rolling into gaza as people in bombed-out neighbors combed through the debris, picking up what is left behind. all of this as hundreds of hamas fighters paraded in the streets of gaza city in a show of defiance

after 11 days of fighting that left 250 people dead. cbs news foreign corns imtiaz tyab is standing by in jerusalem, but we begin with a report frocoond holly williams in gaza. >> reporter: hamas celebrated the sea fire with a victory parade through the streets of the gaza strip. they governed gaza strip and is a classed as a terrorist organization by the u.s. their leader they say is a defender of the palestinian course. but this doesn't look like a win for the people of gaza. israeli airstrikes killed more than 240, according to officials here, including 66 children. >> and over here is a reception. >> reporter: this used to be the gaza international hotel, owned by abu jaba and her family. they built a business for

25 years, until an israeli airstrike targeted the multi-story building just next door. there was a warning in this neighborhood, and they got out of the hotel in time, but abas' dreams have been shattered. >> i don't want to cry, but when i saw this, i cried in my heart. >> reporter: israel is also claiming victory, saying it killed over 200 militants. but 12 civilians in the country lost their lives to hamas rockets. ben isok is credited with preventing bn dozens of palestinian terrorist attacks. he blames israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu for igniting the clashes as he fights for political survival. >> and the goal is to keep his position. >> reporter: hamas are war criminals, he says, but israel's actions are helping them. >> and i think to myself,

what would have happened if i would live in gaza? i guess that at least i would go to the border and throw stones, maybe become a terrorist, because nobody gives me any hope. nobody gives me any future. >> reporter: political leaders on both sides are scoring points while people in israel and here in gaza are mourning their dead and counting their losses. john? >> dickerson: holly williams reporting from gaza. we turn now to imtiaz tyab. he has been reporting from israel since soon after the current crisis started. i wanted to get your sense of the political attitude in israel now that the cease-fire appears to be holding. >> reporter: john, good to talk to you. i would say that the political mood here in israel is bitter, confrontational, and many of the arrows that are being flung are landing

directly on prime minister benjamin netanyahu. political leaders are accusing him -- and these are their words -- of caving to international pressure, caving to president biden for this cease-fire. people within his own party saying that the fight in gaza was not complete. that more damage needed to be inflicted on hamas, and we didn't see that. on the other side, those who say that mr. netanyahu had potentially put in jeopardy israel's relationship with the u.s., and, indeed, with this new administration. mr. netanyahu, of course, very close with president trump. he has known president biden for a long time, but mr. biden is now president. and the concern was that this growing call for a cessation of hostility coming from the u.s. may have fallen on deaf ears, and that could have hurt this relationship. but i do have to point out that this relationship is rock-solid, and israel's politics are not. >> dickerson: compared

that to picture of tussling and acrimony ne, what does it look like inside the palestinian mood? >> president blinken will be meeting with mahmoud abbas on wednesday. but the reality is for mowemost palestinians, they do not see mr. abbas as representing them. what we've been seeing here is something very unique: we saw jewish and palestinian citizens of israel essentially involved in fighting that we've not seen for many, many years. it was horrific to see. since then, in the last few days, israeli media and israeli social media, there has been a real campaign to try to bring these communities back together, talking about social cohesion. but while the fabric of israeli society felt like it was being torn apart during the war, when it comes to palestinians, whether inside of israel, here in east jerusalem, in the occupied west bank or gaza, they've been talking about something called

palestinian national unity. >> dickerson: fascinating, indeed. imtiaz tyab in jerusalem, thanks so much. we go to bernie sanders who joins us from berlington, vermont. good morning, senator. >> good morning. >> dickerson: i want to start in the middle east. you made the case that how the u.s. government responds in this cease-fire says something about president biden's commitment to human rights more broadly. last sunday you wrote a piece in the "new york times" that says the u.s. must stop being anthropologist for the netanyahu government. since you wrote that, the president has been very supportive of israel. do you think that the administration is being an pop ganapologist for the netanyahu government? >> given the incredible suffering in gaza, where we have a poverty rate of 56%, and 70% of the young people are unemployed, and after the israeli attacks, you have waste water

plants destroyed, clinics destroyed, hospitals destroyed, i think the united states has got to develop an even-handed approach to the israeli-palestinian conflict. we have to be pro-israel, but we have to be pro-palestinian. i hope and believe the president understands that. i was delighted to see he is moving forward to try to rebuild with the international community -- rebuild gaza after all of that destruction. >> dickerson: you mentioned an even-handed approach. when i read a portion of your editorial to prime minister netanyahu, he thought it was pro preposterous, your claim he had created the conditions, that he made peace impossible. because he said, how do you have negotiations with hamas? they are dedicated to the destruction of israel. president biden again said that this week, when he said until the region says

unequivocally that they acknowledge israel's right to exist, there will be no peace. israel?you have an >> you have to understand that over the years, the netanyahu government has become extremely right-wing. and there are people in the israeli government now who are overt racists. you have people being evicted from their homes. tremendous people on people in israel, the arab community, as well as gaza. so you have a very difficult situation. you have hamas, a terrorist group, you have a right-wing israeli government, and the situation is getting worse. and all that i'm saying is that the united states of america has got to be leading the world in bringing people together not simply supplying weapons to kill children in gaza. this last series of attacks killed 64 children and destroyed a large part

of the infrastructure of gaza in a community that has already been one of the most uninhabitable territories in the world. >> dickerson: you have put forward legislation that would delay the sale of military equipment to israel. would you also put the same kind of conditions you'd like to see on that aid to israel on any aid the u.s. gives, through the u.n. or otherwise, to the palestinians, to make sure that hamas doesn't get any of it? >> absolutely. look, hamas is a terrorist, corrupt, authoritarian group of people. we have got to stand up to them. but, once again, our job is not simply to put more and more military support for israel. it is to bring people together't dit aone. we need the internationalmmun buas t i think. kelet me ask you abt w pled out here ome. the antiam

says there wre 193 reports of anti-semitic incidents this week, up from the previous week. in the past, you've said it should be possible to be a critic of israeli policy but not be anti-semitic, but it doesn't seem to be playing out that way with this uptake in -- >> anti-semitism is rising in america and all over the world. that is an outrage and we have to combat anti-semitism. we have to combat the increase in hate crimes in this country against asians, against african-americans, against latinos. so we've got a serious problem of a nation which is being increasingly divided, being led by right-wing extremists in that direction. >> dickerson: there are a number of liberals who use the word "apartheid" about palestinian's treatment. the executive director of

the american-jewish congress has said that that word -- joel rubin has said using that word has increased the amount of vitriol that has contributed to this anti-semitism. do you think those who share your view should not use that kind of language? >> i think we should tone down the rhetoric. i think our goal is very simple: it is to understand that what is going on in gaza today is unsustainable. when you have 70% of the young people unemployed, when people cannot leave the community, when hospitals and waste water plants have been destroyed, that is unsustainable. and the job of the united states is to bring people together. and that is what we have got to try to do. >> dickerson: i want to switch to domestic affairs now. the president and republicans have been going back and forth on this question of infrastructure. the president made another bid, shortened the price ans, rli say itis roads and brdd

democrats say it includes lots of other things, the evironment ccare and elder care. is that difference so big it can't be fixed through bipartisan negotiations and democrats should just go it alone? >> look, i think most working-class americans under for the last 40 years what the government has done is cater to the needs of the wealthy and large corporations. rich is becoming much richer, and wages for the average worker has gone nowhere. what we've got to do now, john, is start paying attention to the struggling middle class and struggling working class. it means at a time when half of our people are living piycheck to paycheck, we've got to create millions of good-paying jobs. that is rebuilding roads and bridges. we talked about that forever. but it is also having to deal with the existential threat of climate.

how do you not deal with climate when the scientists tell us that the very future of the planet is how do e lead the world unless we have in a competitive ti education. we have to expand medicare to cover dental, eye glasses, and hearing aids. >> dickerson: in the 30 second we have left, senator, with ambitions like that, which the senator shares, how do you do it with bipartisanship? do you have to do it with democratic votes? >> that's absolutely right. we would like bipartisanship, but i don't think we have a seriousness on the part of the republican leadership to address the maj cres facing this country. if they're not coming forward, we've got to go it alone.

>> dickerson: senator bernie sanders, thank you so much for being with us. and we'll be right we'll be rign one moment. stay with us.

>> dickerson: last year the pandemic kept us from traveling to williamsburg, virginia, for or annual conversation former secretary robert gates. this year we made it, though, and asked him about the prospects for peace between the israelis and palestinians. >> i think there is very little prospect of peace between them at this point. i don't think there has been in quite a long time. and i think, in fact, one of the things that produced the breakthrough with the abraham accords between the israelis and the gulf states and others has been sort of essentially setting aside the palestinian issue and moving on to a region that has changed in some pretty dramatic ways.

which basically leaves the palestinians out in the cold. >> dickerson: is it consistent with u.s. interests and values to leave the palestinians out in the cold? >> i certainly don't think it is consistent with our values. but, you know, john, the truth is almost every president has made a real effort. and so these efforts have been stymied time and time again. i would say there have been israeli prime ministers who were actually interested in a solution, but the palestinians couldn't bring themselves to say yes. >> dickerson: how do you grade president biden's handling of the issue? >> i think that the u.s. not being front and center was probably not a bad thing. i think letting the egyptians and others take the lead allowed us the voices for a cease-fire. they were coming from europe and the united states and not from the arab states, although egypt certainly played a role in negotiating the

cease-fire. >> dickerson: you mentioned president biden was not publicly saying a number of things, not putting public pressure on israel? >> i think sometimes the united states can reach -- can achieve its objectives more affmore affectively by playing a behind-the-scenes role than by being in the front. when the united states is out in front, it automatically creates lots of antibodies in a lot of different places. but when the u.s. is playing a constructive role behind the scenes, it could be much more affective. >> dickerson: there have been reports that israel has been attacking covertly the iron nuclear program. does israel have leverage over the u.s. president because of what it is doing covertly in iran? >> one of the things i worried about when i was secretary was that the israelis would take an action that they regarded as in their national

interest that would create enormous problems for the united states. strategically, comm politically, and militarily. and that they could get themselves into a problem and then turn to us to bail them out. and my worry was always a concern about a unilateral israeli action that then inevitably would require the united states to become involved. >> dickerson: do you think president biden has to keep that in mind when he is putting pressure on prmier netanyahu, on the israeli-palestinian front, that he has to keep in mind that he also needs israel to not take the kind of action that you're talking about? >> i think that the mood in the united states, particularly among our politicians in washington, is probably somewhat less favorable to israel today than it has been in years

past. i think we saw that in some of the democratic criticism of israel for the actions taken in gaza. but, you know, this is one of the problems of having allies, is that sometimes they do things that you think i really wih that hundrhadn't done that, or you have to worry they will do something. >> dickerson: you were a critic of president biden before he was president, but you said there were a couple of things you agree with in his presidency so far. are you surprised? >> no, not really. the reality is, actually, most of my concerns and criticisms of senator biden really had to do with things he voted on and opposed in the cold war because he basically opposed every single initiative ronald reagan had in terms of the arms race with the soviets and various other things. in the obama

administration, in fact, we probably agreed on afghanistan. now, that was a huge difference. and that was a big deal. we've always had a friendly relationship. i mean, we're both literally and figuratively old school, where you can disagree with people and still respect them and like them. >> dickerson: you're about the same age? >> almost exactly. >> dickerson: could you do the job of being president at this age? >> i'm getting encouraged so far. i didn't think so a year or two ago. but so far, so good. >> dickerson: you mean your encouraged by joe biden's ability to handle the job? >> yeah. >> dickerson: what do you think about his afghanistan policy, withdrawal from afghanistan? >> i probably would have -- first of all, it is an amazingly tough decision. and you have both a republican and democratic president basically saying the american people are done with this. we need to come home. i think what is really critical at this point is

that we sustain our economic and military assistance to the afghans after we're gone. >> dickerson: let me take you back to your t.i.a. days and analyzing other countries. if you were analyzing the political structure of the united states as a c.i.a. analyst, and the minority party believes that the majority of the voters believe that the president was illegitimate, how would you assess the political organization of that country? >> i would have serious concerns about the future. you know, i worked for eight presidents. five of them were republicans. i don't think any of them would recognize the republican party today. >> dickerson: and what do that mean? >> well, i think that in terms of the values and the principles that the republican party stood for under those five presidents are hard to find these days. >> dickerson: when we come back, we'll hear more from secretary robert

gates. [typing sounds] [music fades in] [voice of female] my husband ben and i opened ben's chili bowl the very same year that we were married. that's 1958. over the years, ben's became a gathering place for this community. we've been through all kinds of changes, but this pandemic has been the most difficult of all the challenges i've experienced. [voice of male] the chili bowl really has never closed in our history. people come here to see the photos on the wall, to meet the family. you c'ha thatexcere.sopivot. there's no magic formula, but it's been really helpful to keep people updated on googl. we wouldn't be here without our wonderful customers. we do get so much support and so much love from them.

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the 7pm news, weeknights on kpix 5. >> dickerson: welcome back to "face the nation." we want to pick up where we left off with former secretary of defense robert gates. do you think that the riots on the 6th of january, that the former president saying that joe biden stole the election, gives an opportunity to america's enemies to say america is a declining power? >> i think there is that, but i think it is also broader than that, john. i think that what you see xi saying and what you saw the chinese foreign minister saying in alaska in this meeting with tony

blinken, is not only pointing to our paralysis, particularly in the congress, an inability to get anything big done, but what happened on janthry riots last summer, the whole black lives matter, the racism that we see in our society, and xi has been open about saying he thinks we're a declining power. and the only way to counter that, frankly, is through actions, through being able to actually get some things done in washington that we haven't been able to get done for a long time. but it is also, again -- it goes back to strategic communications. how do you convey the message to the rest of the world. yeah, we're a flawed country. we've always had flaws. but we're unique in that we're the only country that actually talks about those flaws and actually

works to try to fix them. we're an aspirational country. and we've kind of lost that message, it seems to me. >> dickerson: if there is a debate in america over the whether the last election was legitimate, 70% of republicans believe it was not. how does a country that can't even agree on that basic obvious truth ever get behind more abstract truths like sacrificing for democracies in places that you don't know about, sacrificing for developing -- hg developing countries because it is in our interests, all of which are ideas which require belief in those ideas. >> the one thing i think across the ideological spectrum that brings people together is that when they say young people the nstitution, and it'fourily o why the military to this day remains perhaps the

most respected institution in the country because it is seen by people as notitics. it is part of -- it is what the country represents. i've read quotes from republicans on the hill that basically say, you know, in their heart of hearts, there probably aren't five people up here that actually believe that the election was stolen. so part of this is political gaming rather than a real conviction that the election was stolen. how that manifests itself in the next election, i think, is going to be a challenge. >> dickerson: isn't that playing footsie with some very dangerous stuff? >> totally. it is very dangerous. >> dickerson: you know the cheney family, and what did you make of liz cheney's stand? >> i thought she was very courageous. she is a person of real integrity. you know, internal politics on the hill is

another matter, though. >> dickerson: unless we solve that problem, though, did you think we can solve any of these other big challenges? >> i think it will be very difficult. and i think that problem goes back 20 years or more, of demonizing the other party and of not having friends on the other side of the aisle, of not socially gathering after hours and talking about things and having friends. that's when you leech the hatred and the venom out of the relationship and you can focus on policies. and once you're focused on policies, then you can figure out a way to compromise. >> dickerson: secretary gates, thank you. >> thanks. >> dickerson: our full interview with secretary gates is on our website at cbsnews.com. the senate is now considering two house-passed measures related to the insurrection of the u.s. capitol of january 6th, a bill funding increased security and one creating a commission to look into the attack.

we go now to retired lt. general russel honore, who conducted a security review following the riots. good morning, general. >> good morning, john. >> dickerson: so the national guard wraps up its mission today at the capitol. is now the right time to send those troops home? >> well, i'll tell you what, if it is not, there is no magic date and they're going home. the capitol is secure, based on the mission that the capitol police have now. one of the missions it will not be able to probably accomplish as designated by both houses and all parties is the open campus. that will be -- they will not be able to return immediately to the open campus where people can openly visit the capitol because of the strain on the capitol police. their numbers are down. over 230. and of

we completedr ort. but god bless t national guard. they have done significant work. and they are leaving today, 137 days after the attack on 1/6. >> dickerson: you're report, you looked into the security at the capitol, and you made a report that was the basis of the bill that barely passed out of the house, and looks like it is going to have some tough sledding in the senate. this is for supplemental funding to take care of some of the inadequacies that you saw. why is it important that this bill pass? and is it urgent or is it something they can have a think about? >> the longer they think, the less security the capitol will have because we have to harden the capitol. 700 million of the 1.9 is paying bills, john. we had to pay for the 20,000 some extra guards that were there for over a month. and they're leaving today

as we speak. they're redeploying home. so those bills have to be paid. they had to pay bills for overtime. the capitol is not just one building. it is about 10 buildings that that included under the purview of the capitol police. they put some money in there to pay for some of the covid expenses, as well as money for the architecture of the capitol to start the design work to harden the capitol. so $700 million is pag bills. that is just logistics, and that has to be paid. some of them are taking issue with $200 million that is in the bill to fund the national guard quick reaction force. there is some talk about using regional police for that mission. that might work on the scheduled event that might happen on saturday afternoon with a large crowd coming to town. i don't think it will work with a threat of domestic terrorism at 3:00 in the morning, where you can

call l lorcementt th col. 80% of o cic live ode the dstricr the quick reaction force. it still leaves the mission with the d.c. guard to be prepared to respond. but the quick reaction force would give them ability to respond in minutes. now that is going to be hours before they'll be able to respond because they've got to recall them to duty. >> dickerson: if there was such a force on the 6th of january, how would things have been different? >> it could have been totally different. and as been pointed out, some of the controls where the capitol police chief can go directly to the guards during an emergency is one of the recommendations we made and get the guard to start moving. >> dickerson: urgency for this supplemental funding kind of depends on the way people look back on the 6th of january. i would like to play a clip from congressman andrew clyde. let's listen to what he has to say.

>> if you didn't know the footage was a video from january 6th, you would think it was a normal tourist visit. >> dickerson: that is true of some of the footage, but there is also a great deal of the other kind of footage, some of which was released this week of the rioters celebrating hurting a policeman. you looked at this situation on the 6th. how would you characterize what the police had to face on that day? >> they had to face this dangerous, violent mob that fought them, tried to kill them. look, the capitol police have taken two -- three killed in action. two on that day, one directly and one indirectly from suicide and subsequent attack that killed the capitol police. this is a tough mission. the capitol has to be protected 365. what i'm afraid of, john,

is when i hear statements like that, is that we haveositi. and that scares me. they've gone from being a minority party to an opposition party. and to borrow the words from nancy reagan, just say no. this is serious business. it is about their security. and right now we have the security of the security capitol, but that does not include the mission to have it open to the public. which all of them, both sides of the houses, want the capitol to be open to the public. so this funding is needed. so if they don't fund it, they don't have it. i think they want the capitol police to have current, up to date riot equipment. so they have to sit down and talk their way through this. but i don't think waiting on regional police to come to your need is an answer. >> dickerson: all right, general, i'm sorry to cut

you off. we're going to have to end it there. thank you so much for being with us. and we'll be right back. so you'g as it should. and a rapid test to help evaluate concussion, in case something were to happen. at abbott, we fight for these moments, developing life-changing technologies. because dignity demands it. ♪ ♪ [typing sounds] [music fades in] [voice of female] my husband ben and i opened ben's chili bowl the very same year that we were married. that's 1958. over the years, ben's became a gathering place for this community. we've been through all kinds of changes, but this pandemic has been the most difficult of all the challenges i've experienced. [voice of male] the chili bowl really has never closed in our history.

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>> dickerson: it is commencement season, and this year some schools are not only celebrating the class of 2021, but also the class of 2020. many of whom missed out on the pageantry because of the covid pandemic. here is rk strassmann. >> dismissed! [applause and cheering] >> reporter: america is slowly gradually from our covid siege, a ship marked and mirrored at this month's college commencements. >> graduates of 2020! [applause and cheering] >> we were supposed to do this last year. >> reporter: u.s grads t soly distanced in lostrditional can-o messaging at commencements al over came through the prism of the pandemic. >> you have adapted in the face of unprecedented challenges.

you have persevered and you have earned your degree. >> reporter: challenges that brought up both despair and america's best. our covid times have brightened since the dark days of january. the seven-day average of new cases down 90%. hospitalizations, down almost 80%. covid deaths, now roughly 500 a day, down 85%. new mexico became the ninth state to hit the goal of 70% of adults with at least one shot. four others are close. president biden's goal is 70% of american adults with at least one shot by july 4th, a goal dr. anthony fauci believed we'll reach. but the c.d.c. warns the daily pace of new vaccinations is down, down almost 50% in the last month. states have had to get creative. ohio, new york, and maryland gave vaccine lotteries a shot. five ohioans will win a

million dollars. vaccinations surged 53%. >> we went from two appointments to 25 appointments. >> reporter: like these graduates at texas christian university were all in transition. >> getting to the final chapter is really nice. >> reporter: and despite uncertainty ahead, moving with renewed confidence towards a post-covid america. [cheering] >> dickerson: and we go now to f.d.a. former f.d.a. commissioner dr. scott gottlieb, who sits on the board of pfizer and joins us from west port, connecticut. good morning. >> doctor: good morning. >> dickerson: dr. scott gottlieb, we have been piling up some good numbers in the last couple of weeks. i wanted to focus on one we're going to put up on the screen. th decline in hospitalizations for people to say. what does that say to you, that graph? >> doctor: it shows really a rapidly declining

overall vulnerability of the u.s. population. i think we're still seeing a lot of cases per day, about 20,000 cases per day yesterday, and cases may not fall much below 10,000 because we're doing a lot of testing around the country, but the people who are getting infected are people younger and less vulnerable to the infection. about 85% of the those above 65 have now been vaccinated. so the people most likely to get into trouble with covid have now been protected with vaccination. and you're seeing a rapidly declining rate of new hospitalizations as a consequence of that fact. >> dickerson: as mark strassmann said in this piece, we're entering into the post-pandemic stage. help us put together a tool kit to navigate that post-pandemic stage. what should individuals be keeping in mind that might be different from the last year and a half? >> doctor: i think it is an environment right now on publiceto

mandates. we'll have to protect ourselves based on our you're u, you're at higher risk. if you have a pre-existing medical condition that could put you at higher risk, because of medicine you might be on or you have a risk factor like heart disease or lung disease, you'll be at higher risk. i think people need to make individual assessments of their risk. like wearing a mask in an indoor setting, and also judging the setting. if it is a sort of crowded setting with a very mixed population, you don't know a lot of the people, that is different than getting together in a household where you know a lot of people are vaccinated. and we need to make a judgment about what our comfort is. a lot of people have spent a year wearing masks and taking precautions, so it will take some time for us to get comfortable again going into settings without those precautions. i think there is nothing wrong with wearing a mask even in an environment

where it is not mandated. if you go into a pharmacy or a doctor's office, people expect you to be wearing a mask. and the good news is i think culturally we have changed in if that if you're walking around with a mask, you're not looked upon in an odd fashion. where two years ago, if you wore a mask, people would take a step back from you. >> dickerson: maybe people carry a mask in their pocket and use it according to circumstances. in the calculation that people are making in a post-pandemic stage, if you choose not to get vaccinated, you're making a public health choice as well, not just for yourself, based on what we know about how the vaccine works. if you're vaccinated, your ability to spread almost disappears? >> doctor: i think that is a keypoint. we haven't really talked about it as much. it is not currently in the approved labeling of the vaccines. the manufacturers can't

speak to this directly, but c.d.c. can and they hae. when they listed the recommendation for wearing masks indoors or outdoors if you're vaccinated, what that change was predicated on was information they have that gives them confidence if you're fully vaccinated with one of the available vaccines, you'll not only be less likely to get infected, but if you do get infected, if you are vaccinated and you become asymptomatically infected, you're far less likely to spread the infection. to someone who is fully vaccinated, if they end up getting infected with the virus and know they're infected are don't know, they'll be far less likely to spread that infection. by getting vaccinated, you're -- even if you could come into contact with the virus and you don't want to put other people at risk, you have elderly parents or children or others who are

vulnerable, getting vaccinated will reduce the likelihood where other people could be put at risk. >> dickerson: what about parents who want to know what to think about their kids under 12 and they're not able to be vaccinated? >> you're going to have to make an assessment about the risk. i don't think kids need to be wearing masks outside. i think the c.d.c. will have to revise its guidance throughout summer camps because i don't think that the risks merit that. but parents need to make an assessment about the risk of the environment that your child is going to be in. in a stuffy, indoor setting, in a classroom, having kids wearing masks, i think is reasonable. the rate of infections coming down sharply in june, it will be at a very low level, so the risk will be quite low when we get to that point. >> dickerson: dr. scott

gottlieb, thank you so momentgain for your help.d we'la >> dickerson: while we

were in williamsburg, virginia, on friday, we also sat down with the president of william &

minutes. at that point with the pandemic raging, it was unclear whether and how classes would continue. some people worry about a lost generation? >> we have an obligation to ensure that this cohort of students doesn't lose speed, doesn't lose momentum in their college educations. >> dickerson: what would happen if the students last that speed? >> it is really hard to imagine accepting that as a possible path forward. we can't. so however we have a year next year, we will have a year. >> dickerson: william & mary held six graduations this weekend. we asked president rowe to reflect on the year. >> last spring, when we talked, we knew this year would be different and it has been. it's been seven years of adaptation in one.

an amazing experience, an experience of a community really pulling together and making the adaptations of speed that it needed to. we've moved through those decisions in a phased way. that has turned out to be one of the keys: work with the data that you have, work with the science that you have, trust in the expertise on your campus, and ask for commitment of your community. and the culture that we have at william & mary has made that really, really successful. >> dickerson: you are in touch with the students here. how did those conversations change with students from the pre-pandemic period? >> when we got here in august, the country as a whole didn't know how to create shared norms around mask-wearing. we were discovering that wearing masks was a key factor in protecting the community's health. that was our core commitment. we had a very simple set of goals: keep teaching, keep learning, keep our community safe so we can study and be in the jobs

that we're passionate about. and we created that culture. we created habits where a mask was the norm. >> dickerson: how did students at the lower end of the socio-economic scale fare through this last year? >> one of the things that we came away from is a real attentiveness to those who are most vulnerable, students of color, students with families where there might be health issues, and keeping the vulnerabilities -- a much wider range of vulnerabilities in mind when you design learning experiences and living experiences, that was imperative. we knew that there could be a -- the country was talking about the risk of a lost year. i think what we've had is a hard one year at willing marijuana -- a william & mary. >> dickerson: what is

the message from this time of trial and testing. >> the grit that you showed this year, you got the abilities that you leaned into and grew. and the commitment to others that we forged, those are going to be your super power for the rest of your life. >> dickerson: that'sgrea thk u uch. >> thank you, john.it ia reas be r bacrs:

>> dickerson: that's it for us today. thank you for watching. until next week, for "face the nation," i'm john dickerson. ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪ >> the name's sidney. cheers. >> welcome to the formula. the faldo formula.