now work at beaumont. the team has worked at hospitals in 13 state since august. the situation so critical here. staff had to rush in to help a distressed patient. >> can you tell us what's happen behind us here? >> there's a patient that needs acute care. maybe a change in heart rate, a change in respiratory rate then a care comes that have critical care experience. they come in and help with care for that patient. i've been in almost 17 years and ask you asked me five years ago if i would be embedding in civilian hospital to provide care, i would have been like no, you've got to be kidding me. >> reporter: what is not surprising to the strike team or staff, people needing critical care are overwhelmingly unvaccinated. 443 out of the 583 covid patients its caring for statewide unvaccinated. the vast majority in the icu and on vent larts unvaccinated. sarah is a recovering covid patient. she says her vaccination status is private. she and her father who also has covid were admitte ted on sunda. >> i hope he's okay. i'm not allowed to see him because of the quarant

beaumont health says 443 out of the 583 patients it's caring for are mostly unvaccinated.id patient. she says her vaccination status is private. she and her father who also has covid was as mitted on sunday. >> i'm not allowed to see him because of the quarantining. it's been a roller coaster. sorry. it's been a roller coaster, but now i feel a lot better. >> she said she needed oxygen when she arrived but no longer, and she credits those working the covid unit here both civilian and military with helping to save her life. and as for urgent pleas for those in the medical field for more people to get vaccinated she says this -- >> what do you see as the right thing and the wrong thing? >> i -- i really like to stay neutral. >> reporter: nurses like lisa maddux know the stress for the eighth north team may just be beginning again. >> will i break in three months? will i break in a year? will i break in ten? i don't have that answer for you. right now i'm battling this with my patients, and i don't see a stop anytime soon. >> reporter: the doctors and nurses here expressed ho

now working at beaumont. the team has worked at hospitals in 13 states since august. the situation so critical here, just a few minutes into our interview, staff had to rush in to help a distressed patient. >> can you tell us what's happening behind us here? >> if there's a patient that needs acute care, maybe has a change in heart rate, a change in respiratory rate, generally, a care coms that have critical care experience, they come in and help with care for that patient. i've been for almost 17 years. and if you would have asked me five years if i would be embedding in a civilian hospital to help provide care, i would have -- i would have been like, no, you've got to be kidding me. >> reporter: what is not surprising to the strike team or to hospital staff, people needing critical care are overwhelmingly unvaccinated. beaumont health says 443 out of the 583 covid patients it is caring for statewide are unvaccinated. the vast majority of those in its icu and on ventilators also, unvaccinated. sarah is a recovering covid patient. she said her vaccination status is pr

eighth floor, north tower, at beaumont hospital in dearborn, michigan.seeing more and more patients, all while there are few nurses to care for them. >> there's been days where i have been like i don't know how much longer i can do this and i'm brand new, you know? but then at the same time, it's very rewarding what we do. >> reporter: the new wave of covid-19 is flooding michigan's healthcare system. overwhelming doctors and nurses admissions to hospitals statewide have risen 43% over the past month. currently, there are more than 100 people being treated for covid-19 at belmont hospital. by comparison, in july, hospitalized covid patients were only in the single digits. the influx of patients has taxed this hospital so much so, the department of defense dispatched a joint task force support unit to help. >> i mean, the pace is very, very fast. um, the need is -- is -- is constant. >> reporter: lieutenant colonel based out of brook army medical center in san antonio, texas. she is part of a mobile team that includes 14 critical care nurses, four doctors

looking at beaumont hospital where we are, we've talked to the doctors and the nurses here.here's no question they are overworked and understaffed. a number of covid patients keep coming in. when you look at the state, they've seen a steady increase in the number of hospitalizations here in michigan since august. the governor has reached out and said, look, we need help, and the federal government has answered, sending that special task force from the department of defense, members of the army coming here to help out, to plug in where help is needed. they have not only been here, but they've been to 13 states across the country. this team is made up of critical care nurses, respiratory therapists. the help is here and it's needed now. >> when you're giving all that you can and all that you are to your patients stoo to help them survive, it's hard to go home and be a wife and be a mom or, you know, be an aunt or whatever. you constantly are thinking about is my patient okay. like, i left and they weren't doing so great. they're teetering. are they okay? >> reporter: the task

beaumont was giving us this regular, disturbing update. >> once we do get our surge, i don't know where we're going to put these people. >> i think we've come a long way in terms of having vaccines, and knowing how to treat this disease, but yeah. i just -- i really -- i don't think any of us want to go back there. >> reporter: dr. hoge says despite the uncertainty about omicron, he is still hopeful that the finish line is in sight. >> we really do expect this will end, and i'm still quite hopeful that 2022 will be the year when that happens. we can't rule out that there will be another surprise, but as we build higher and higher levels of immunity, we think the virus will run out of room. >> we all hope for that. >>> joining me now is the director of the cdc, dr. rochelle walensky. thank you so much for coming in this morning, dr. walensky. we know this could take weeks before you have all the data as he said, but right now at this moment, what do you know about the variant, and what are your concerns? >> good morning. glad to be here with you. you know, the first thing i think we shou

. >> reporter: mary ellen kochis- rouillard is the chief nursing officer at michigan's beaumont dearborntal, where the i.c.u.'s capacity remains at 98% and the u.s. military has deployed a team to help with staffing. >> to be here now, it really gets us down. i think if we can get more people vaccinated and with their boosters, that that will help us get through this surge, as well as any future surges that come. >> reporter: and the first federal emergency covid testing site opened today in new york city. meantime, some good news from overseas. in south africa, where the variant was first detected about a month ago cases are now starting to drop very quickly. but, jamie, it's still too soon to tell if that will happen here. >> yuccas: despite the surge in covid cases more than 100 million americans are hitting the roads and crowding airports at near-pre-pandemic levels. cbs' mark strassmann reports from a busy hartsfield-jackson international airport in atlanta. >> reporter: bundling up with p.p.e. for the holidays. it's beginning to look a lot like our first covid christmas everywhere

. >> family and friends, beaumont east tradition is back.ews starts now. >> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. dan: officer said the man had been shooting as neighbors cowered in their homes. good evening, thank you for joining us. let's get right abc 7 news reporter tim johns live in antioch. this all started about 1:00. reporter: as you can imagine, this is been an active day here in antioch. police say the man died after being shot by officers. that following the hours on standoff that took place in this neighborhood, just behind me. antioch police initially responded to calls of shots fired near dove court. when officers arrived on scene, it was confirmed that the suspect was armed with a rifle. he was actively shooting at cars and houses. nearby residents were told to shelter -- shelter-in-place. antioch pd said they attempted to make contact with the suspect several times, but the suspect continued firing. even bringing down a police drone. >> over the course of those hours, the suspect r

. >> family and friends, beaumont east tradition is back. abc 7 news starts now. >> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. dan: officer said the man had been shooting as neighbors cowered in their homes. good evening, thank you for joining us. let's get right abc 7 news reporter tim johns live in antioch. this all started about 1:00. reporter: as you can imagine, this is been an active day here in antioch. police say the man died after being shot by officers. that following the hours on standoff that took place in this neighborhood, just behind me. antioch police initially responded to calls of shots fired near dove court. when officers arrived on scene, it was confirmed that the suspect was armed with a rifle. he was actively shooting at cars and houses. nearby residents were told to shelter -- shelter-in-place. antioch pd said they attempted to make contact with the suspect several times, but the suspect continued firing. even bringing down a police drone. >> over the course of those hours, the s

. >> reporter: sarah rauner is the chief pediatric nurse at beaumont hospital in troy, michigan. >> we are burnt out. we are tired and we are disheartened. so much of what we see on a daily basis is preventable. >> reporter: president biden now calling in a thousand additional military doctors, nurses, and paramedics to help. and tapping the national stockpile of masks, gloves, and ventilators. >> we're ready to send them immediately to any state that needs more. >> and so let's get right to cecilia vega, live at the white house tonight. and cecilia, back to this issue with testing, the president promising to send out 500 million at-home rapid test kits to americans come january. and i know you pressed the white house press secretary today on exactly how this is going to work. >> reporter: yeah, david, they still don't have a lot of details. we know these are at-home rapid tests, brandens that have been approved by the fda. the website to get one isn't live yet. but the press secretary assured me that it will be able to handle the demand. you heard the president here today, he said thi

can't tell you how dedicated the doctors and nurses are here in terms of how long they'll be here at beaumont hospital. after that, they'll head to another hospital where there is month need. >> incredible reporting. thank you. president biden renewed his pledge to defend voting rights this week, slamming republicans for backing election laws and blocking federal reform bills. >> i've never seen anything like the unrelenting assault on the right to vote. ever. i don't think any of you have ever seen it. not a joke. folks. as john lewis said, it is the only -- without the right to vote, there is no democracy. lawmakers have been voting for support. at least two have made clear, they are not ready to break the filibuster. there is also a battle over redistricting. suing the state of texas this month, they argued new congressional maps discriminate against minority voters. texas state officials call it absurd saying it is a ploid to control texas voters. they recently a proved a map expected to squeeze out the only democrat and african-american on the commission. he's our next guest. commissione

. >> reporter: mary ellen kochis-rouillard is the chief nursing officer at michigan's beaumont dearbornpital where the icu's capacity remains at 98% and the u.s. military has deployed a team to help with staffing. >> to be here now it really gets us down. i think if we can get more people vaccinated and with their boosters that that will help us get through this surge as well as any future surges that come. >> reporter: and the first federal covid emergency testing site opened today in new york city. meanwhile, some good news from overseas. in south africa where the variant was first detected about a month ago, cases are now starting to drop very quickly. but jamie, it's still too soon to tell if that will happen here. >> we hope it does. nancy, thank you. >>> despite the surge in covid cases, more than 100 million americans are hitting the roads and crowding airports at near pre-pandemic levels. cbs's mark strassmann reports from a busy hartsfield jackson international airport in atlanta. >> reporter: bundling up with ppe for the holidays. it's beginning to look a lot like our first co

matter if you are a softball player in one part of the the country or a youth football player in beaumont, texas, if you are challenging, the status quo, or challenging the way white supremacy works in this country, people are not just going to disagree to disagree, people will not say you are making a good point, maybe i should listen. in cases people do that. some people have changed but in other cases the response is not only do i want to hear but you have to say, but i will respond violently to that. what the young athletes responded, it was like the canary in the coal mine with the warning. and related to critical race theories, we got a sneak preview of how a certain segment of the population will respond if you dare raise up the flags against structural racism. >> i think that reminds me, i am a student, a history major, studying history of social change. one of the most basic stories, profound and well-known stories. nonviolent protest from civil rights era and mlk, they used nonviolent knowing specifically it would cause a violent reaction. and violent attack on nonviolent people

-- and not just our community hospitals -- the university of michigan, henry ford health system, beaumontems in the state, are at capacity. the intensive care unit have many people on ventilators, and the hospitals, which i am talking to every day now because i am trying to stay on top of this, say patients that are in the icus are mostly unvaccinated people. our front line workers are burnt out. they are -- i mean, some were just crying. yesterday, i talked to some of the nurses who just wanted somebody to hear what was happening. it's a problem. you know, people get mad. they don't want mask mandates or vaccination mandates, but our schools are being closed. quite frankly, because of surges in covid and because we've had a surge after the horrific incident at oxford. our schools are being closed because we've had so many -- i hope they are fake -- but threats to the schools. our prosecutors just in the county i live in have prosecuted 15 to 20 students or are going to press charges because of that. it is a little rough in michigan right now, to be perfectly frank. >> yeah. we should und

his beaumont conservative lawmakers are calling on the biden administration and social media companiest they claim is censorship. as gigi stone sidestepped questions about her past questionable remarks. hillary vaughn checking on that story for us tonight. >> so you're referring to my tweets that are now pretty famous. >> were pretty infamous. gigi stone, biden is picked to be commissioner, she should be in charge of the very news agency. she has publicly attacked repeatedly on twitter. stone says fox is "state-sponsored propaganda" she also questions -- asking if the sec will ask to take sinclair off the airways. stone also had some sharp jabs for the geo. replicants say stone is just the latest example of a pattern abided nominees. >> seems like one of the ways to get nominated for a position in this instrumentation is to get some really good nasty tweets against republicans. republicans are racist, the usual b.s. >> maybe the tone was a little sharper, maybe i should have -- those are my words, my opinions. but they will have no bearing on how i would act if confirmed. >> she has a

. >> reporter: well, when you look at what's happening where we are here at beaumont hospital, just here in deer born, michigan, the doctors and nurses here, jim, they are a dedicated group of people, but the reality is they are understaffed and overworked. situation has gotten is bad here in the state of michigan, the governor reached out to the federal government and said, look, we need help here in the state. and the help has come from the department of defense. the army put together a special task force of team members that head out and help beleaguered hospitals. they head out -- so far to 13 states, since august, including right here in michigan. this special task force is made up of doctors, critical care nurses, respiratory therapists and what they do is they plug in where help is needed. the help is needed here. and it is needed now. >> during covid it has taken over my life. we do work more hours. this is my family. the hospital is my family. and when you're giving your all, all that you can, and all that you are to your patients to help them survive, it is hard to go home and

we went to beaumont health system as well.chigan. sparrow wants a federal strike team. there are just not enough to go around. there's too many in michigan already. hospitals across the entire state are just filling up to the point where literally they're not going to be able to take patients even more, and it's going to get worse. . >> it really is stunning that you've been here and you're here again and there are still people unvaccinated. i have to believe it weighs on the health care workers. exhaustion. >> reporter: seeing their faces -- you can literally see it in their faces. they are exhausted and over it. that's why most are leaving the business. not because of vaccination mandates because they are stressed out or taking higher pair traveling nurses jobs. it's just too much stress. >> yeah, look. they're burnt out. there's going to be a lot of -- already are, nurses and doctors who need mental health help. this is like ptsd waiting to happen what they have been through at this sustained level. miguel, thank you so muc

it's like if you are -- beaumont, texas. if you're challenging the status quo, challenging the way white supremacy works in this country, and people are not going to just agree to disagree, or people are not going to say you are making good point committee i should at least listen to you and your you out. in some cases people do say that and there are stories of people who are actually changed through these protests. but in other cases the response is not only do i not want to hear what you have to say but i'm going to respond violently to that. i feel like what all these young athletes went through from 2016-2020 was kind of like the canary in the coal mine, you know, the warning of everything you're seeing right now with regards to so-called critical race theory and the idea of teaching about structural racism in schools. we got such a sneak preview around these kneeling protests about how certain segment of this population will respond if you dare raise up these flags against structural racism. >> yeah and i think it remi

i interviewed young athletes from this book from beaumont, texas, to the florida panhandle, and thesean go to the nearest black lives matter demonstration. they were in this state of frustration and what can they do to register to their community that they are upset, to start a conversation in their community? and by kaepernick taking that knee they immediately saw something and recognized a language and method by which they could register their discontent, and the shock waves that that created i would argue has gone largely unreported, but we are talking about hundreds if not thousands of athletes throughout this country that over the last four or five years have seen the playing field as an appropriate place to register dissent. >> dave, as you say, the book is about a lot more than colin kaepernick, although he is of course at the center of it. it goes back to the history of protests in sports, a long history that obviously didn't begin with colin kaepernick, you talk about muhammad ali, talk about the '68 mexico games, but also what's come since as you have alluded to and way the

i mean, i interviewed young athletes for this book from beaumont, texas to the florida panhandle.here in texas and go to the nearest back lives matter demonstration. they were in a state of frustration. it's like what can they do to register to their community they're upset. to start a conversation in their community. by colin kaepernick taking the knee, they immediately saw something and recognized a language and method by which they could register their discontent and the shock waves it created, i would argue, it has gone largely unreported. we're talking about hundreds, if not thousands of athletes throughout the country that, over the last four or five years, have seen the playing field as an appropriate place to register dissent. >> yeah, dave, as you said the book is about a lot more than colin kaepernick. he's at the center of it. if goes back to the history of protest in sports. a long history that didn't begin with colin kaepernick. you talk about muhammad ali and the '68 mexico games. and what has come since, as you alluded to, and the way the leagues handled it differen