the president was asked about this earlier this week and he said that had not been recommended to him. you're his chief medical adviser. do you think that's something the country should adopt? >> i'm not so sure we should say that should be a requirement. we have 60 million people in this country who are not vaccinated, who are eligible to be vaccinated. let's get them vaccinated, let's get the people who are vaccinated boosted, let's get the children vaccinated. that's where we want to go as opposed to a requirement. >> reporter: some people say you have extinguished many of your options to get those people vaccinated and this is one of the ways, as the osha mandate is held up in court, this would be a way to get more people -- >> you know, that's a possibility. but for the people who are listening to this, we talk about why it's important to get vaccinated. i think what's happening now is another example of why it's important for people to get vaccinated who have not been vaccinated, but also boosting. boosting is really very important, because the data that we get on boosting, if you look at the level, for example, of an

antibody, a neutralizing antibody, the peak following a second dose of a two-dose mrna, it's like at this level. if you look at the peak involving the third shot boost, it goes way up here. people ask, why is that important? because our experience with variants such as the delta variant is that even though the vaccine isn't specifically targeted to the delta variant, when you get a high enough level of an immune response, you get spillover protection, even against the variant that the vaccine wasn't specifically directed at. and that's the reason why we feel, even though we don't have a lot of data on it, there's every reason to believe that that kind of increase you get with the boost would be helpful at least in preventing severe disease of a variant like omicron. >> reporter: dr. fauci, as you know, a lot of americans are shopping for the best sort of booster they can get. given that manufacturers and scientists are racing to learn more about this variant and

modify a vaccine that will directly combat it, for those who have received a boost, how long would it be before conceivably they could have a new modified booster would target this, and is there any reason why americans should wait until we have a more modified vaccine that more directly targets it? >> great question, we get asked that a lot. right now i would not be waiting. people say if we're going to have a booster-specific vaccine, should we wait. if you're eligible, namely six months with a double mrna dose or two months with the j&j, get boosted now. we may not need a variant-specific boost. we're preparing for the possibility that we need a variant-specific boost. and that's what the companies are doing. we have been -- the administration has been in contact with the pharmaceutical companies to go ahead and take the steps in case we need it.

but the mistake people would make is to say, let me wait and see if we get one. if you're eligible to get boosted, get boosted right now. >> reporter: there is screening in place for international travel but we've seen how quickly variants can spread once they reach our shores. does the science not suggest there should at minimum be a testing requirement for domestic air travel? and if not, why not? >> again, these kind of things we always talk about and consider. but right now, i'm not so sure we need a testing for air travel in this country. i always get back to the fact that people should wind up getting vaccinated and boosted if they're eligible for a boost. i keep coming back to that because that's really the solution to this problem. >> reporter: two quick ones. a moderna executive has said in the past couple of days that this variant appears threatening and may demand new vaccines. what do you make of those remarks that seem a lot more alarmist than the

administration's view or that of other vaccine makers? >> i think -- i know that we don't have enough information right now. as we know, and you've said that, that the molecular profile of the kinds of mutations that you see would suggest, a, that it might be more transmissible, and that it might elude some of the protection of vaccines. but we don't know that now. we don't know what the constellation of mutations are actually going to be. we have to be prepared that there's going to be a diminution in protection, which is the reason why i keep getting back over and over again to say why it's so important to get boosted. but i think any declaration of what will or will not happen with this variant, it is too early to say. and i think we need to be careful, because i know you're going to be reading a lot of tweets and a lot of comments about this. we're really very early in the process. >> reporter: say, though, this proves more transmissible but less virulent than delta.

would there be any public health benefit to furthering its spread by lifting travel restrictions, for example, so it can outcompete the delta variant? >> you're talking about something really dangerous. you're talking about, let a lot of people get infected to see if in fact you get protected. that's something that all infectious disease people with any knowledge of infectious disease would say that's not a good idea. >> reporter: dr. fauci, we're firmly in the holiday season and a lot of americans are wondering if it's safe, even if vaccinated, to go to a cocktail party, without a mask, with a glass of eggnog in their hand. what's your advice? >> my advice is what i do myself and tell people to do, which is to get vaccinated -- i'll get to your question, i'm not eluding it -- to get vaccinated, number one. if you're eligible for a boost, get boosted. and in a situation with the holiday season, indoor typesetings with family that you know is vaccinated, people that you know, you can feel safe with not wearing a mask and having a

dinner, having a reception. but when you are in a public congregate setting in which you do not know the status of the vaccination of the people involved, it is very prudent to wear a mask. and that's what i do. >> reporter: despite the eggnog? >> you know, obviously unless you have a special kind of mask that i don't know about. the fact is, sure, when you're eating and drinking, take the mask down. but to the extent possible, keep it on when you're in an indoor congregate setting. >> reporter: dr. fauci, as you have advised the president about the possibility of new testing requirements for people coming into this country, does that include everybody? >> the answer is yes, because you know that the new regulation, if you want to call it that, is that anybody and everybody who is coming into the country needs to get a test within 24 hours of getting on the plane to come here. >> reporter: what about people who don't take a plane and just these border crossers coming in in huge numbers?

>> that's a different issue. for example, we still have title 42 with regard to protection at the border. so there are protection at the border, that you don't have the capability, as you know, of somebody getting on a plane, getting checked, looking at a passport. we don't have that there. we can get some degree of mitigation. >> reporter: something to do to test these people somewhere else? >> there is testing at the border under certain circumstances, as you know. >> reporter: doctor, two questions. first, for folks in california, i know this is only one case, but what's your message to them? should they be particularly concerned? secondly, with your emphasis on boosters, why not make a determination that it's in the interests of public health for the definition of fully vaccinated to include that additional dose? >> okay. so for the people in california, we've been in contact with the public health officials in california. i'm not sure exactly what they're going to say but i'm pretty sure they're going to say just do all of the mitigation, all the things we have been

talking about up to now. for those who have not been doing that, start doing that. for those who have been, continue doing that. >> reporter: and in terms of making a determination that being vaccinated -- >> again, there's the official determination of what something is for a variety of reasons. for example, employment and getting vaccinated, what is the definition. that will stay that way. for optimal protection, i'm talking about what your personal effort to be optimally protected, that's why i say we should all get boosters. >> reporter: what about in tells me of the mandate? you have a vaccine mandate. at what point does the booster become part of the mandate? >> i can't answer that right now. but i know that for the time being, the official definition of fully vaccinated is two. >> reporter: we see that changing. >> it could change. it could change, yes. >> reporter: do you recommend that change? >> i don't know, let's see what

rolls out now. if i say it's going to change, that will get spread out, that that's it. we don't know now whether that will change, but it might. >> do you think visitors should quarantine on arrival for seven days, regardless of vaccination status? >> you're talking about foreign visitors? >> reporter: yes. >> obviously they are, they have to get tested within 24 hours. when they come back, if they're not vaccinated, they have to be in quarantine, they're recommended to be quarantined and recommended to get a test within three days. >> reporter: if they are vaccinated, should they be quarantined? >> again, we're going to get confused here. are you talking about united states citizens or anybody that comes into the country? >> reporter: anybody. >> i'm not sure what that's going to be, we'll have to check with the cdc. >> reporter: dr. fauci, there are reports that in a new book, former president trump's chief of staff mark meadows says that the president, the then-president, tested positive for covid three days before the

debate with president biden. were you aware of that positive test at the time and do you think that he put then-candidate biden at risk in that debate? >> i certainly was not aware of his test positivity or negativity. >> reporter: do you think that he put then-candidate biden -- >> for anybody, if you test positive, you should be quarantining on yourself. >> reporter: if i may, president trump's doctor, who you worked with at the time, dr. sean conley, was aware that, according to mark meadows, yet former president trump continued to go out in public events. based on your medical advice is that something you would have recommended if he had tested positive? >> i would recommend to anyone, whether it's the president or any of my patients or any of the people that i deal with, that if you test positive, you should be prudent and quarantine yourself.

>> reporter: dr. fauci, there are zero cases of omicron in zimbabwe, in mozambique. what justifies imposing a travel ban on countries that have zero cases of the omicron variant? >> you know, that's a very good question, an important question. and we did struggle with that. we wanted to see if we could buy time temporarily. i do hope that this gets sorted out and lifted before it has any significant impact on your country. >> reporter: thank you, dr. fauci. last week the governor of new york signed an executive order to postpone elective hospital surgeries to prepare for the omicron variant. i know you and your team are being proactive as we try and learn more about this. but do you believe some states might be going too far, too quickly, before we know too much? >> you know, i don't really want

to comment on the situation in individual states, because there are so many factors from state to state that are different. i don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment whether a state should or should not postpone elective surgeries. >> reporter: and the president said that we will defeat this variant of the coronavirus, not with lockdowns or shutdowns, but based off of the tools that we have now. is there anything that we are taking into this new variant experience based on off of some of the adverse effects of some of those lockdowns? we just passed 100,000 overdose deaths for the first time ever. >> yeah, i mean, first of all, we always discuss things that we might do to better our preparation, better our response. that's something we discuss every single day. but right now, what i've always said, and i'll continue to say, let's utilize and implement the tools that we have, because if

we had done that, if we had the overwhelming majority of people in this country vaccinated, and those who needed to be boosted, boosted, our vulnerability would be much less than it is right now. >> reporter: what do you see as an end game? 1917, 1918 flu pandemic, it eventually evolved to be less lethal. but there are those who say we're never going to get that far with this virus because we need more people vaccinated. what do you see as the end game? >> i mean, the end game which we hope and i think will occur is that as we get more people vaccinated not only in this country but globally, we will see a situation where viruses will not have the opportunity that they have right now, to essentially freely distribute and freely circulate in society, both domestic society and global society. the more protection you get with vaccines, the less likelihood a

virus has to do that, the less likelihood a virus has to mutate, the less likely you're going to get a variant. so one of the things we need to do about our long end game is to do the things we've been saying every single day. not only for ourselves but internationally. and you know, we have done a lot and we'll continue to do a lot to get lower and middle income countries vaccinated. [ inaudible question ] oh, absolutely. there's no doubt that this will end, i promise you that. this will end. >> i'm sorry, we have to let dr. fauci go. thank you for coming. appreciate it. they're going to be doing a press conference in california where they may have additional details to share. i know we have a bit of a crowded day today, so we'll get to as many people as possible. we'll let people know when they need to gather. so just a couple of light things -- not light, but a few things at the top. i'm sure everyone saw the red ribbon on the north portico

marking world aids day. >> we're listening to press secretary psaki. let's get you updated on what we just heard from dr. fauci. it is now confirmed, the first case of omicron has been detected in the united states. it's detected in san francisco by the university of california at san francisco. it was an individual traveler who came from south africa, got here on november 22nd, tested positive on november 29th. all of that person's close contacts have now been tested. they have tested negative. they are all quarantining. this person was fully vaccinated. but they were not boosted. this person has mild symptoms and is getting better, according to dr. fauci. let us keep in mind, health officials have been saying repeatedly that this was going to be here, the travel ban from south africa, as dr. fauci just said, was put in place not because they didn't want it to

get here, they knew it was going to be here, but to buy this country some time to get prepared and to get as many people vaccinated and then boosted as possible before it did get here. so far, they are trying to contain the spread. but it does likely appear, according to health officials, that the cat was always going to be out of the bag on this. joining me now to discuss further is nbc news white house correspondent monica alba, nbc news correspondent erin mclaughlin from los angeles, nbc news medical correspondent dr. john torres, and the co-director for the center for vaccine development at texas children's hospital, dr. peter hotez. dr. hotez, what is your reaction to what we just heard from dr. fauci? >> as you said, katy, this was both predicted and predictable. and the point is, it's not a cause for alarm, really, because if you think about it, just about every variant that we've seen since the beginning of this pandemic, the way it's worked is, by the time we identify the

variant, we already know it's in multiple european countries, in australia, in asia, and in north america. and the same is true of this virus. so the fact that it's in the united states now was predicted. the fact that it's in multiple countries does not in itself mean anything particularly ominous. so the key to focus on is what are the unique properties of this virus that give us pause, and in terms of its transmissibility and its ability to resist current vaccines, and i'm happy to discuss that in more detail. >> i would love to hear more from you, i would also love to hear from you, dr. hotez, on the subject of vaccines, because i'm sure there are people who are out there who will say to themselves, this person was vaccinated, why should i get vaccinated if i'm still going to get the disease? what is your response to that? >> well, you know, i think in time we're going to have to change the definition of "fully vaccinated." what we've seen, if individuals get that third immunization, that booster, that gives you a

30 to 40-fold rise in your virus neutralizing antibodies. and we know from other partial vaccine resistant variants like the beta variant that was first identified in south africa last year and the lambda variant, when you have high virus neutralizing antibodies, you have spillover or cross protection against the variant of concern. i am hoping that for those people who have had that third immunization, that that will be the case, they won't get infected or sick from the omicron variant. what may have happened in this individual that tony alluded to, although i wasn't too clear on the specifics, this individual may have gotten two doses and subsequently had waning immunity. and those individuals should be considered partially protected against a highly -- a partial vaccine resistant variant like omicron. and i think this is the pattern that we're going to see, katy.

what i think is a possibility is that we're going to see a twin epidemic now in the united states. it's going to go something like this, that the delta variant, which looks like it's still more transmissible, is going to continue to accelerate among the unvaccinated, those who have not gotten any vaccines. and for those who are infected and resistant -- i'm sorry, those who are infected and recovered but have chosen not to get vaccinated or those who only have waning immunity, those with the ones who may be susceptible to reinfection by the omicron variant. and so we may see those two patterns with two variants, one disproportionately affecting a different population. delta among the entirely unvaccinated, and omicron among the partially resistant, either because they didn't get vaccinated after infection or because they did not get the booster. >> are you worried, dr. hotez? >> well, you know, i'm always worried. and let me tell you the reason why i'm worried. i'm worried because we still

have too many people who are refusing to get vaccinated. we have tony says 60 million, it's basically 41% of the population. really, i think it's more than 60 million who are refusing to get vaccinated. and we still have not done well in terms of individuals who are eligible to get that third immunization, who have not gotten it. and we still have too many unvaccinated kids who are eligible. so if we're ultimately going to end this pandemic, we're going to have to vaccinate our way out of it. and i think we can. but the bar is high. when you have a highly transmissible variant both like delta and omicron, it means 85% of the entire population needs to be vaccinated. not 85% of the adults, but 85% of the whole population. that means everyone who is eligible for three immunizations has to get those three shots. if we can ever achieve that, the answer is yes, because i know we've done it for measles,

polio, diphtheria, influenza type b. but we have to make that commitment. >> monica, the white house had been considering new travel restrictions in light of this variant. now we have it confirmed here. what is the status of that, will we be seeing updated testing requirements and potentially even required quarantines for international travelers? >> dr. fauci alluded to both of those points, katy, and he said there's still a lot of debate and discussion that needs to take place before they formalize any of it. but he did seem to indicate that on that point specifically of testing for foreigners entering the united states, that perhaps within 24 hours of their arrival, they may be asked to take a test. now, that's something that hasn't been standardized. but again, this is the most recent comment we've gotten from the administration and dr. fauci himself that would suggest they could be going in that direction. but that they are still trying to see and measure whether a

quarantine, whether it's self-isolating, and at what length, how efficient that would be, how enforceable that would be, and whom that would apply to. that's something that dr. fauci says is all still being discussed and that they would keep us posted on that. i thought one of the most notable things, and this is something dr. hotez just talked on, this definition of who is fully vaccinated is going to change. something we have asked health officials repeatedly, given that now so many are eligible for their booster shots. and dr. fauci again said i'm not going to go so far as to say we're definitely shifting the conversation to that point, but it seems it's headed in that direction. so there's still a lot that's unknown. but this is what dr. fauci has been briefing president biden on every day for the last five days, dating back to when the president was on his thanksgiving holiday. the president came out today in remarks about the supply chain disruptions to start at the top to say our number one message still is get vaccinated, get

boosted when you can, and our colleague, peter alexander, in the briefing just now, asked dr. fauci, what if i'm an american who is wondering should i wait for a new booster if they're going to work on one that's specific for omicron. and dr. fauci said very clearly, i would not wait, i would go get your booster immediately, because it's possible as they go through that process, they determine that special kind of booster may not even be what's required for this new variant. there's simply still a lot we don't know. that was the takeaway from dr. fauci. again, the message from the white house, this is something to follow but not something to create panic all over the country. >> dr. torres, i got boosted on sunday and thought to myself, should i wait until we find out more about this variant and whether or not there will be a change in the vaccine or a change in what sort of booster i should be getting. i decided to get one anyway. what would your advice be? >> and katy, that's exactly what my vice would be, to go ahead

and get your booster now. i thought peter had a fantastic question. it kind of gets to the meat of what's happening here. there's a lot we don't know about this variant. there's a lot we don't know about its transmissibility, whether it can break through the vaccine, whether it can break through other immunities we might have. the treatments going on, will they still work with this variant? we still don't know about those things. it will take a few weeks if not even longer than that to find those out. once they do that, looking at the vaccine itself, vaccine manufacturers had said it's going to take a hundred days or so, maybe to early 2022, to get ramped up to produce new booster shots directly aimed at this variant. on top of that, we know variants have been coming fairly periodically here and we can't be really chasing variants. we need to get a vaccine that can work against a variety of variants, otherwise we'll be getting these shots on a regular basis. so i think the best advice here is to go ahead and get it now because you want to be protected now as best you can.

you want to make sure you're fully vaccinated and you get that booster shot right now to protect you, especially going into the holiday season, from the delta variant, which we know is dominant here, this omicron variant which we know is here now and could possibly be more extensive as time goes on, you want that protection now, that means getting your booster shot now, not waiting for something that could possibly happen and if it does, it will happen sometime in 2022. it's going to take a few months, and you won't have protection during that time period, and that could be a dangerous time period for us. so you want to be as protected as we can, katy. >> let's talk again about why dr. fauci said the booster is effective. >> boosting is really very important because the data we get on boosting, if you look at the level, for example, of a neutralizing antibody, the peak following the second dose of a two-dose mrna, it's like at this level. if you look at the peak following the third shot boost, it goes way up here. and people ask, why is that

important? because our experience with variants such as the delta variant is that even though the vaccine isn't specifically targeted to the delta variant, when you get a high enough level of an immune response, you get spillover protection even against a variant that the vaccine wasn't specifically directed at. even though we don't have data on it, there's every reason to believe that that kind of increase you get with that boost would be effective on omicron. >> erin mclaughlin, you're in san diego, at a place where they've been doing some pretty state of the art testing to try and detect this variant. we know now it's in san francisco. what are you seeing down there in san diego? >> scientist after scientist was telling me, katy, that it was

only a matter of time before omicron would be identified here in the united states. and it's perhaps unsurprising that california now has identified the first case, because california is home to some of the most robust virus sequencing programs in the world. one happens to be in san francisco. the other one in san diego, where i was yesterday. i was given a tour of their sequencing labs. at the time they were telling me that primarily they were sequencing the delta variant. that is still the dominant variant here in the united states. and they were taking random samples of wastewater from various schools, elementary schools across san diego, testing it, and trying to see a sequence for what variant they might find. take a listen to what one researcher had to say about the ponce of that random sampling/testing for community spread. >> wastewater is an excellent

cooled testing system. we can sample of wastewater from a building or several buildings every day. and if the wastewater is positive, we can issue targeted notifications for the people living and working in those buildings so we can most efficiently test people where there may be a possible infection. >> when it comes to the omicron variant specifically, they're looking for what's known as an s-drop. that is something that is somewhat unique to the omicron variant. it's not found in the delta variant. that is a result of multiple mutations within the spike itself. once they detect an s-drop, that's when they prioritize the sample for sequencing. and the researchers there are telling me they will be able to identify omicron within minutes from there, they then notify public health officials. we're waiting for a press conference to happen very shortly there in san francisco to give us more information about the first case of omicron identified in the united states.

>> an s-drop. all right. erin mclaughlin, thank you so much. dr. peter hotez, monica alba, and dr. john torres, thank you for getting us through this breaking news. everybody, remember, health officials said they expected this variant to be here. what they were doing is trying to buy time with those travel bans. they are cautioning, do not panic, they are testing the variant right now to try and figure out how contagious it is, how serious it is. remember, the person who has it so far, that we know, here in the united states is fully vaxed, two vaccines, two shots, and has mild symptoms, is getting better every day. there is a news conference coming out of san francisco from the mayor there, mayor london breed. we will bring that to you once it begins. we do want to sneak in, though, a very short break. don't go anywhere.

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more breaking news, a prosecutor has just announced charges against the suspect in a shooting at a michigan high school where four students are now dead. he is being charged as an adult. he's also being charged with one count of terrorism causing

death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with attempt to murder, 12 counts of possession of a firearm. prosecutors also say they are considering charges against the parents of this boy, a 15-year-old named ethan crumpley. the latest victim is a 17-year-old boy who passed away this morning at a local hospital. the three other victims were pronounced dead at the school. seven were wounded. according to police, again, the shooter is a 15-year-old student, his name, ethan crumpley, who had a 9 millimeter and multiple round of ammunition on him. his dad bought the gone just on friday. while the boy is in custody, police say he is not being cooperative. >> this was not just an impulsive act. those facts are not appropriate

for discussion right now because it could affect the prosecution of this case. lastly, charging this person as an adult is necessary to achieve justice and protect the public. any other option would put all of us at risk of this person because they could be released and still a threat. >> again, a 15-year-old charged as an adult because of the severity of the crime. we are also getting a look at what it was like inside the school in the minutes after the shooting. in this video you can see students hiding in a classroom, skeptical of a man at the door. and given what we now know, the loss of life, the terror inside that building, it is hard to watch. >> come to the door, bro. >> he said bro. >> he said bro, red flag. >> go.

>> slow down, you're fine. >> that was a police officer saying "you're fine" at the end there but it just shows you how scary it is and how you can't even trust what someone is saying on the other side of the door. you could hear the student saying, "he said bro, that's a red flag," then running out the back. joining me is nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster from oxford, michigan, and with me in the studio, legal analyst maya wiley, and chris brown, president of brady, one of the oldest gun violence prevention groups in the country, she'll be with us in a moment. shaquille, a lot of charges for this young man. >> that's exactly right, and

those charges just filed in the past couple of minutes and very serious charges that this man, this 15-year-old sophomore suspect, is facing right now. one thing we heard from the prosecution is not only the announcement of those charges. she said there will be an arraignment. so we can expect to see potentially this suspect in court later today. but she wanted the focus to be on the four victims, those four students who have lost their lives in that school shooting that happened more than 24 hours ago at this point. she went through and named them individually, starting with 16-year-old tate mayer, football player and honor student. 14-year-old hannah st. julianna, a volleyball and basketball player. 17-year-old madison baldwin, who is an artist and a big sister. and 15-year-old justin shilling, who was on the bowling team and golfer. she said when you talk about that terrorism charge, that first charge she announced, she said it's not just for those who

she is accusing him of murdering but for all those who were in the school, who were traumatized, that were seen running out of the classroom in that video you just played. we also expect to hear from the county sheriff in a half hour or so. we heard a little bit from him earlier today where he pushed back on some of those rumors that had been swirling around on social media, rumors that he says he's also been hearing about the idea that they potentially got a heads up about this attack. he said while the department did investigate some threats that were made in mid-december, they realized that those were not credible threats, that they weren't even associated to this school or even this state, he says. so he says there were no reports, no threats that he's aware of. but he's of course running down any leads that may be there. but katy, i think it's very clear, it's very early in this investigation, but as of now, the biggest news we just heard from that prosecutor is that 15-year-old suspect is now facing those charges and will be held until that arraignment

later today. >> terrorism is a new charge in these sorts of cases. >> yeah, you know, we do have a significant problem, obviously, in this country with domestic terrorism, as we've unfortunately seen. mass shootings are part of the problem. we don't know the facts that the prosecution has and that the police are finding. what we do know is that a high capacity handgun was used. they're saying there was premeditation, there was planning, that was the suggestion in the press conference. the question is what's behind that. but i think we have to separate out domestic terrorism from these kinds of children who are committing mass shootings, which indicate a different kind of societal problem. that 15-year-old, i don't know anything about him. all we know is that there's life that has been lost that we can't get back, that the acts were wrong.

there is a statute in california that says you have to take steps to keep weapons away from minors at home, that's why we're hearing about the parents. there's so much we don't know here. we have to be careful to understand the underlying problem, which is guns. >> you talk about the statute to keep weapons away from minors. and the parents potentially being charged. correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't remember another instance in recent memory in one of these big cases where the parents have been charged. it feels like this would be a real line in the sand, a real alert to parents, hey, you've got to take this stuff seriously. >> as you know, katy, every state makes its own criminal laws. and the state of california, the state of california has been actively legislating, trying to control gun violence. in fact it's a state that has banned high capacity ammunition magazines. and in fact the ninth circuit has just upheld its ban. these are steps that it's taken

to try to protect against these kinds of mass shooting incidents. but it also has a law on the books that says, yeah, if you're going to have one at home, you have the legal responsibility to keep it out of your child's hands or else you might be criminally liable. that's not true in every state. >> what would they -- if they are facing charges, what would sentencing look like if they were found guilty of those charges? >> the honest truth is i don't know, since i don't practice law in california. we will find out. but i will say this -- >> michigan. >> in michigan, sorry. i will say this, it is incredibly important to have responsibility, obviously, legal responsibility, for how you're handling guns. it is a very different issue about whether we're willing to take the steps to make it harder for these kinds of guns that have a high capacity to kill large numbers of people in a short amount of time. we have literally 1,400 kids

killed every year as a result of these kinds of shootings. that is unacceptable. >> there have been dozens of school shootings this year alone. chris brown of brady, in reading your reaction, we got a bit of it to the show before we began, you were mentioning how on black friday, parents were buying presents for kids that they no longer have because of this tragedy. and on black friday, the father of this suspect allegedly bought this gun. >> exactly. and it's heartbreaking. it's infuriating. like so many americans, i'm on the verge of tears thinking about those families of those four children lost. they dropped them at school that day and will never see them again, probably have presents waiting for them. this father purchased this gun. i want to know how. i want to know why. i want to know did the dealer

ask questions about why he was purchasing this gun. did he buy it for himself or his son? safe storage saves lives. 75% of school shooters obtain their gun at home. we need child access protection laws all across the country. yes, california has that law. many other states have that law. michigan doesn't. michigan has no restriction on high capacity magazines as ten states and the district of columbia do. better laws save lives. the combination of child access protection laws and high capacity magazine restrictions and better sales standards and enforcement of the law around gun sales makes all the difference. and in the end, katy, i know you're tired of covering these kinds of issues. americans are tired, sick and tired of living in a country where gun violence is a reality. and i would call out to all gun

owners across this country. if you have a gun in your home, it is now reasonably foreseeable that something terrible can happen with that gun if it's not safely stored. so safely store that gun. >> they had momentum to deal with this issue after another school shooting and they didn't, they didn't do anything. this was during the trump administration. and then i believe during the beginning of the biden administration. is there a way, chris, because there are a lot of gun advocates, a lot of gun owners in this country who will say at the top of their lungs, you can't infringe on my second amendment rights, it's not fair, because of these bad apples. is there a way to functionally balance the two, to stop the shootings from happening but also maintaining the rights of gun owners? >> nothing about what brady is moving forward on, expansion of the brady law, for example, safe

storage requirements, infringe anyone's second amendment rights, katy. every court that's ever looked at these issues has held these kinds of laws constitutional. in fact, as maya noted, the ninth circuit has upheld california's magazine restriction as entirely consistent with the second amendment. i think the question americans have to ask themselves is, what about our right to life, to liberty, to the pursuit of happiness? because those fundamental rights that are grounded in our bill of rights and constitution are being infringed with an insurrectionist view of the second amendment. and we have to reclaim that for ourselves and we have to end the filibuster. the house of representatives has passed laws to enhance our safety protections entirely consistent with the second amendment. they're sitting in the amendment because of the filibuster. >> chris, maya, shaq, thanks so much for joining us for this

story. we'll go back now to san francisco and the breaking news that omicron has been detected there. here is the department of health in san francisco's dr. grant colfax. >> not a cause for us to panic. we are prepared here in the city for this. with regard to the case itself, the person recently traveled to south africa and developed symptoms upon their return. and they did the right thing and got tested and reported their travel history. they had received a full dose of the moderna vaccine but no booster. they had mild symptoms, and thankfully have now recovered. contacts have and are being notified by the health department. and again, here's what we know now. san francisco is relatively well-positioned to respond to variants. our vaccine rate is high. more boosters are going into arms every day. 5 to 11-year-olds are getting

vaccinated in rapid uptake. our masking and vaccine requirements are among some of the most stringent in the country. these efforts have been very effective in helping us slow the spread of the virus. and there is still a lot we do not know about omicron. we don't know how infectious it is, although there is a strong likelihood that it is more infectious than delta. we don't know how sick it will make people. but that is being studied furiously right now across the world. and we don't know yet how effective, fully effective the vaccines are in protecting against transmission or serious cases of illness and hospitalizations due to omicron. but most experts i have spoken to believe that the vaccines will still be of critical importance in protecting ourselves, our families, and our

community. so our message is the same as it was yesterday, to best protect against this variant, get vaccinated, for a goodness sakes, if you have not been vaccinated. get your booster if you're eligible. continue to wear those masks inside where required. continue to take the steps that we know that have been successful in san francisco to prevent major loss of life and to slow the spread of this virus. we know how to do this, san francisco. at this time we do not anticipate changing any of our health orders or changing any current restrictions or imposing new restrictions on activity in san francisco. we're obviously following these developments very closely. we will share additional information as we have it. and again, get vaccinated, get

your booster, wear the mask, and for goodness sakes, it's been a long, almost 24 months now, please have a great holiday season with your family. and now i would like to turn it over to dr. chu, our great partner in sequencing the virus and again, whose team worked so hard over the night to make sure that we got this information as quickly as possible. thank you. >> that was dr. grant colfax of the san francisco department of health. let's go back to dr. peter hotez for one more question. i noted that they're not changing any of the restrictions out there in san francisco. dr. fauci said much of the same thing. just keep masking, keep social distancing, get vaccinated, wash your hands. >> yeah, you know, i think right now we do not have evidence that this omicron variant is more transmissible than delta. so far delta has been the king of all variants in terms of

transmissibility. so the activities that we've implemented to try to slow or halt transmission of delta still pretty much hold for omicron. and quite honestly, if you're worried about omicron or you and your family members, the strategy really doesn't change. you have to do the same for both. so one is if you've only gotten two doses of the either pfizer or moderna vaccine, and you're up for a third dose and eligible, get that third dose. that'll give you a 30 to 40-fold rise in the antibodies, making you more resistant not only to delta but omicron as well. if you've been infected and recovered, you still need to get vaccinated. that can give you highly durable and long-lasting and high levels of resilience against omicron and delta variant. and get your kids vaccinated.

if you're so far unvaccinated and haven't gotten your first dose of vaccine, you're asking for trouble, both for delta and omicron. we're about to experience yet another surge of delta, just like we did over the summer. so the strategy really doesn't change. there are a lot of similarities, except for some differences in the spike protein. >> i know a lot of people are trying to get their booster shot right now. they're having a hard time. i walked into a pharmacy at the end of the day, and i said, "do you have any extra?" i was able to get one. that's one easy workaround if you are having a hard time getting an appointment. i know maya wiley was asking a moment ago. let's go to the other giant story of the day. the supreme court, predict it at your peril. we've seen almost everybody get it wrong. after today's arguments over abortion, it seems the rights are in grave danger.

the general consensus among legal experts is there are at least five votes to uphold mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. possibly as many votes to overturn a federal right to an abortion all together. the conservative justices, including trump appointees gorsuch, kavanaugh, and barrett, had sharp questions for the attorney who was arguing in favor of upholding abortion rights, while seeming to set up the mississippi lawyer arguing against abortion to agree with the justices' own points. in fact, at times during the oral arguments, it was as if the justices were making their own arguments to each other in the form of questions. >> if you think that the issue is one of choice, that women should have a choice to terminate their pregnancy, that supposes that there is a point at which they've had the fair

choice. viability, it seems to me, doesn't have anything to do with choice. but if it really is an issue about choice, why is 15 weeks not enough time? >> a lot of the colloquy you've had with all of us has been about the benefit of stare decisis, which i don't think anyone disputes. it is true that casey identified brown and west coast hotel as watershed decisions, but is there a distinct set of considerations applicable to what the court might decide as a watershed decision? >> usually, there has to be a justification, a strong justification in a case like this beyond the fact that you think the case is wrong. and i guess what strikes me when i look at this case is that, you know, not much has changed since roe and casey. that people think it's right or wrong based on the things that

they have always thought it was right and wrong for. >> the upon sorts of this bill, the house bill in mississippi, said "we're doing it because we have new justices." the new esteban that mississippi has put in place, the six week ban, the senate sponsor said, "we're doing it because we have new justices on the supreme court." will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception, that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? i don't see how it is possible. >> joining me now is justice correspondent pete williams.

yasmin vossoughian. university of baltimore's author, "how to read the constitution." also, maya wiley, legal analyst. there are a lot of you, and i don't have a lot of time. this is going to be a lightning round. pete williams, seems they were arguing with each other, the supreme court justices. seemed clear what side they were on. are there any open questions here about how they might rule? >> yes. i think it is pretty clear that the supreme court will uphold the mississippi law and say that abortion after 15 weeks can't be permitted. before that, it still gives women a reasonable right. but then the question is, will they go further and overturn roe v. wade? there are at least six votes to uphold the mississippi law. there's either four or five, i'm sure, to overturn roe, it would seem. so the only question is when they come to actually write the ruling, will they, when they stare over the cliff of overturning roe, actually take that leap or not? after today's argument, it does seem like they probably are prepared to do so.

>> you filed eemecus briefs. what stood out to you today? >> i'm not sure they're going to do one thing or the other. what stood out to me is how clear it was that justice thomas potentially, even justice barrett were not focusing on necessarily legal arguments but more on sort of the moralistic questions of what should happen around an unwanted pregnancy. i think justice kavanaugh is worried about stare decisis.rai states. he said this involves the rights of women compared to the rights of an unborn fetus. there's just no good answer here, other than in my mind, to uphold roe. >> one of the points made, maya, is if they overturn this decision and overturn this stare decisis in roe and casey, they're going to turn the court into a political institution.

it'll be seen that way. they won't have any legitimacy anymore. >> yeah, i think that is a real concern. because if they were really following precedent, because stare decisis just means it stands, and does roe stand? does casey stand? does saying a woman has a fundamental right to control her body and decisions around her body, does that stand? after 50 years of basically saying yes, it does, they have heard, and i certainly didn't hear any grounds to say that the facts underneath this changes anything. the offensiveness of suggesting that because we overruled segregation in the past means that you can overrule even if it is longstanding precedent is simply offensive. because it is about fundamental rights, and the stench will be smelly. >> comparing potentially how wrong it was to be segregated to how wrong it is to get an abortion. that's what the justices seem to

be doing in a couple cases. yasmin, you had a remarkable interview with one of the lawyers who was arguing to uphold the ban. right after it, you saw her on the steps of the supreme court. perhaps as soon as anyone has been interviewed before arguing in front of the supreme court. what'd she say to you? >> i couldn't imagine what it would be like to argue in front of the supreme court and walk out to all of this and understand what it means for women around the country, what this decision could mean. she understood that. julie rippleman, the lawyer for the center for reproductive rights, here's what she had to say. >> it is a weighty thing to be thinking about, as i mentioned. it is a serious undertaking, and i have taking it seriousness. to know people's rights around the country will be determined by this decision. i've done everything humanly possible to prepare for today and tried to put forward the best possible arguments with our entire team who has been working incredibly hard. because we think it is so

important for people to be able to make these decisions for themselves. how can the government decide for us, whether to have a child, when to have a child, how many children to have? so we've tried to do everything we can, understanding how serious and critical this is for people around the country. >> so many people out here understanding the seriousness, the nature of this decision, rallying out here still. and just as an aside, the second time she was arguing in front of the supreme court. the last time she was there, they were in person, and it was the last time justice ginsberg sat on the bench. >> wow. rallying on both sides of the issue. cecile, what happens if this gets upheld, mississippi's law gets upheld? >> i think the real story out of today is elections matter. as justice sotomayor said, nothing changed in 50 years. women still need access toauton.

support for abortion is still high in the united states. the only thing that changed, donald trump put justices on the supreme court that would overturn roe. it means elections this coming midterm are going to be critically important to changing the face of congress. >> lots of discussion on what this might mean for the election if this decision gets handed down before the midterms next year, as it is expected to. everybody, thank you so much for that lightning round. i appreciate it. that's going to do it for me today. hallie jackson picks up our coverage now. we are following breaking news on a couple of different fronts as we come on the air. because we're watching right now a news conference live from california governor gavin newsom. he is right there. as we just learned in the last hour or so, the first confirmed omicron case is in his state. we're taking you live out west with those new details. plus, a gut check from our medical expert. we're live a