andy slavitt, former senior adviser for biden's covid response.e is here but he was a trusted guest on this show, even before he entered the administration. good to see you, i hope you had an easy fast. >> great to be here. thank you for that, chris. >> um, what's your take on what happened today? >> well, i'm not sure why they even voted on 18 and over -- um -- given that most people that are between 18 and 30 and 18 and 40, it hasn't been six months and there is not a lot of data yet. and the emerging consensus seems to be that there -- boosters are important. boosters do work. boosters are needed. and that this probably some number that's either 65 or above or possibly lower. i think, personally, lower. maybe, as low as 40. and so, this was the first step in the process as you have said, there's layers. i suspect -- i wouldn't be surprised if when all is said and done, we end up with a more concrete recommendation that has a lower age. even if we don't, i think what will happen is as time spools out, and we get to the point where more and more

. >>> and up next we've got andy slavitt standing by, president biden's former senior adviser for covid. and we have plenty to talk about. what's the long-term plan for booster shots? which vaccine works best? will you be able to mix and match shots? and this one is a little below the belt. how do you talk about misinformation without talking about nikki minhaj and her cousin friend's with a delicate condition shall we say in let's see if andy is still sitting there when we come back. you're in the cnn newsroom. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. (man) go on, girl, go on and get help! [heartwarming music] (man) ah! (burke) smart dog. with farmers crashassist, our signal app can tell when you've been in a crash and can send help, if you want it. get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ hey lily, i need a new wireless plan for my

. >>> joining us now is andy slavitt, the former white house senior adviser for covid response. lso served as acting administrator important the centers for medicare and medicaid services. andy, great to see you. >> good to be here. >> i know you have been busy, particularly in the last hour, on something of a twitter tear. i have been following along in your flurry of tweets. it seems like you really want to get the message out about what's happening with covid right now. here is one, i will read just one of the tweets you have put out. you say, but here the secret must finally come out. in a global pandemic we do occasionally have to inconvenience ourselves and make adjustments to protect against it. i know, i know, i'm sorry, but it just -- is what it is. what has gotten you into a lather? >> well, look, i'm going to leave the heart of the speech today to the president, but i think as he takes big, bold action, a couple of things i think are important to keep in mind. one is that people want to be out of this pandemic and people are willing to do small things, make small adjus

brother >> andy slavitt is the white house leader for -- and selfishness do doom the coronavirus response. he joins me now. andy, scott gottlieb on last week on the show said something i found very encouraging, which was his belief that the delta wave on the backside of it we're entering a period when we were not going to see, barring some huge new mutant variation, things like this, that we are achieving a level of immunity collectively through antibodies, postinfection, and vaccination but we're not going to have this kind of situation. do you feel the same way? >> i think it's a little too early to say. that is often right, nobody has ever been right, so i think we need to be a bit cautious but when i think he is noting is that we are reaching a point in many parts of the country where you've either been vaccinated or infected, and at least for a little while, until immunity wanes, that could keep you in good stead. we have to many large pockets of people that haven't been vaccinated. those communities are ripe virus i don't think we should clear victory behavioural changes and risk as

of myocarditis in younger males, but it's just that the data isn't yet in. >> heidi przybyla, andy slavitt, monica alba, great stuff from you today after the president spoke. thank you. appreciate your time. >>> also this morning, another big story. more proof this morning that the big lie is just that. and the proof is actually being provided courtesy of donald trump's biggest supporters. nbc news has received a draft report on the audit in maricopa county, arizona, which trump said would prove that he won. well, not only does it not show that he won, but joe biden actually gained more votes in that audit. joe biden gained votes. but that isn't deterring texas, which under pressure from donald trump insists that they will conduct audits of their own, in four of the state's largest county. just a reminder, donald trump won texas by more than five percentage points, but wants an audit anyway. all of this comes as the house committee probing the january 6th attack is ramping up its investigation. the committee demanding documents and depositions from four of the president's former advisers.

messaging has been coming from the administration recently and how badly this administration misses andy slavitt. the president of the united states over the summer came out with a lot of fanfare and told the united states that essentially all americans over the age of 16 would start getting boosted come this monday. whatever group advised the president to make this big announcement really got way out ahead of their skis and the person that took the big hit was the president of the united states. i expect there are going to be repercussions of that. i think the fda panel got the science right today. the data from israel really does show that the group at highest risk are older americans, although i think most people think they should have come out in favor of extra doses for people over the age of 60. my guess is that as we start to see younger people get past five, six, seven, eight months after their second dose, we'll start to see more evidence for boosters in that group. most of the people in this country were vaccinated in the late spring, so there isn't a lot of reason to vaccinating them

well, earlier cnn spoke with former biden white house senior adviser for covid response andy slavitte. and slavitt said it should boost americans' confidence in the government's final decision. >> i think that the public is really eager to know the answer, and i think going through processes like this where you watch scientists debate, and if you watch that debate on friday, i apologize on behalf of the time you lost listening to people with very little data, very little opinion, all expressing their points of view. yet if you step back and think about it, this is the process we want. i take our process over something that's in the dark where opposing views get oppressed. and so it's messy. it's ugly. but that's because there is scientific uncertainty. when there is scientific uncertainty, we want to hear from all sides. at the end of the day, it seems pretty obvious at least if you're in the older category or you're at risk, you should be getting a booster. it's -- it seems less obvious but potentially the case that if you're younger, you should be getting the booster. that's what t

people like andy slavitt. i would love to see there be creation of a covid czar who oversees this. i'd like there to be an investment in data and data sharing. i want an increased emphasis on communication. and i want to see clarity about the things that we know work. clearly vaccines. but let's also be honest about the fact that masks, rapid testing, and ventilation are critical to keeping us all safe as this pandemic continues. >> all right, dr. megan ranney, we'll see if the white house is listening. thank you very much for laying out your wish list there for what we can expect from president biden. >> thank you. >> all right. >>> meanwhile, there is disturbing online chatter and it's prompting growing concerns on capitol hill as law enforcement officials brace for the next right-wing rally. >>> and with less than a week in many the california recall, the biggest democrats in the country are flying in to support governor gavin newsom. his special election strategy, next. ♪ ♪ life is full of surprises when you least expect it. (woman laughs) and open. what happened to all your th

i am part of the covid collaborative with mark mcclellan, with andy slavitt, with people from several administrations and we issued a letter on covid-safe zones and workplaces. and here's what we said. we ha we said that workplaces should establish screening protocols. testing. that's where the mandate should be and people can opt out of it if they get vaccinated. in essence, it's the same thing that the biden administration said but -- but really, it's focusing on making sure we are creating this safe workspace by ensuring no one is coming in there who is positive, and then letting people opt out. so i think the words do matter in terms of feeding into the culture war. b but, john, again, i want to be clear these vaccines work. the business roundtable, who i have worked with to try to increase vaccinations in the past recognized that this is about keeping america open. it's about our freedom. >> mr. secretary, um, what about the threats of legal action? um, how solid do you think the legal ground is here for these new rules? >> well, i don't think there's any legal ground at all, joh