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>>> next at 5:00, the cdc rolling out guidelines for reopening schools. what doctors here think of the plan. how will it impact the bay area. what three different districts are doing right now. and right now cvs offering vaccines. getting a shot is not as easy as walking through the pharmacy door. >>> and the vaccine pecking order. the millions of californians that can get the vaccine starting next month. >>> businesses struggling to stay afloat despite a lot of people outside of their door. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure feature. this is abc 7 news. >> we begin with the cdc's new blueprint for reopening schools, something that school districts have been asking for for a long time. they say masks and social distancing are strongly advises but teacher vax in this cases are not required. >> thank you for joining us, it is very important to note that the cdc's guidance is just that. it cannot force schools to reopen. in fact the cdc was careful to say they're not calling for a mandate that all schools reopen. at least one local doctor sa

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the cdc just reaffirmed that yesterday. we know keeping kids apart three feet to six feet is very important. we know ventilation is important. other protective measures are vaccinations as well as doing asymptomatic testing. doing a testing regimen once a week where kids are getting tested and you are quarantining kids that test positive. but those are not needed. the best example of this is actually chicago. while all of these negotiations have been going on between the city and the chicago public school system, and the teachers union, the largest catholic school system in the country has been reopened since september. it has had fewer cases of kids and faculty catching covid in the closed public school system. the catholic school would not -- is doing this without elaborate on extensive measures. protective measures we have now well known and well established and well verified, masking, keeping kids distant, increasing ventilation in the classroom. also making sure there is hygiene. it is not that the vaccinations are unr

speaker psaki: i would suggest you ask the cdc cdc if there are differences between the schools. >> on impeachments, president biden said he was anxious to see what is republican friends would do. was he signaling for them to vote to convict mr. trump? if not, what else did he mean? speaker psaki: as you know, the president was in the senate for 36 years. the very institution he ascended for decades was under assault. this week he watched videos. we all did. it was a reminder how shocking that assault on our democracy was. for everyone's context, he was having his morning coffee, looking at the new hearts on the front lawn, when he was asked this question. he thinks the senate should take the responsibility seriously and how they view and pay attention to the trial this week. he is watching the trial, its a bit, like everyone else. not much, because we keep him busy. >> how can we stand up, and the president's eyes? speaker psaki: they can take the role they have, their responsibility seriously. they are all jurors. he said a number of times the senate will make the decision. there hav

they are cdc guidelines. >> i have a few questions. yesterday president biden was confirming they signed a contract for additional doses of vaccine. he says they will have enough for 300 million americans by july. that does not mean every american will have gotten it. when is the timeline for when all 300 million doses will have been administered? press sec. psaki: what the president was referring to and dr. fauci and others, that a vaccine is not the same as a vaccination. there are high percentages of vaccine hesitancy across the country. we have our eyes wide open of the challenge of addressing that and ensuring as we get to the point -- we are focused now on reaching these communities, but it does not mean that just because we have the vaccines everyone will be vaccinated. i cannot give you a prediction. it depends how effective it is, not just from here, but locally and in partnership with local health officials and the massive public campaign. we want to make sure the american people know it is safe and effective. >> on cdc guida

cdc has been acting on multiple fronts for variants of sars cov 2.ince november, state health departments and other public health agencies have been regularly sending samples to cdc for sequencing and further analysis. this system is called the national sars covid to strain surveillance. it is now being scaled to process 750 samples a week and will be increasing to 15 samples per week in the coming weeks geographically distributed across all states. we've also contracted with large national commercial reference labs to look for variants and expect these labs will be able to analyze 3000 samples per week now and 6000 samples per week by the middle of february. as a result of these efforts, our samples have increased tenfold in the recent weeks. going from 251 sequences on the week of january 10, to 2238 sequences during the week of january 24. this way -- this may well be among the reasons for finding more variants now. additionally, cdc has contracted with seven universities that are working with public health agency to identify variants. there is $1

we know the cdc reaffirmed that yesterday. we know keeping kids three feet to six feet apart is important. keeping air circulation in the buildings is super important. other important measures are vaccinations as well as a systematic testing. we are doing a testing regiment where kids are getting tested and you are quarantining kids test positive. the best example is in chicago that while all of these negotiations have been going on, the largest catholic school system in the country has been reopened since september and has had fewer cases of kids catching covid than the closed public school system. the catholic school system was doing this with not elaborate and very expensive measures but measures we are now well-known and well established and verified, masking, keeping kids distanced, increasing ventilation in the classroom and making sure there is hygiene. it is not that the vaccinations are unreasonable. teachers to get vaccinated very quickly, but that is an additional layer of protection. we can get teachers back in the

cdc's new phone-based vaccine safety monitoring system.mong those enrolled, 71% reported pain where the shot was given, 34% reported fatigue, and 30% reported a headache. these are common with most vaccines, and they typically resolve within a day or two of vaccination. it's important to know that about half the people don't feel very well after getting their second dose. this should not deter you from getting your second dose, but you need to have a light day of activity after getting vaccinated. there were also rare report of severe allergic reactions, an flaxics, serious but treatable. -- anaphylaxis, a serious but treatable reaction. in fact, there are 4.5 cases of anaphylaxis of 1 million doses given at this time. a rate similar to what we have seen in other commonly used vaccines. in the first month of experience, a total of 113 deaths were reported, of which approximately 65% were among long-term care residents. -- long-term care facility residents. a third of you said these deaths were not related to the covid-19 vaccine, and the d

the cdc on the reported from january to june on the first half of 2020. quite unfortunately think we are going to see again and it decrease in life expectancy once we look at the entire year because we do know the hardest hit demographics and high into mortality rates have been in older populations. i think we'll have a lover to do over the years ahead to try to make up for lost time with this pandemic and that will be including an inspection of her public health infrastructure in the entire nation especially improving the health of ethnic and racial minorities who were the hardest hit. >> thank you dr. walensky could i want to finish where we started which is to thank everybody who is going to be working over this weekend to catch up from weather-related events and to thank our partners in states and local vaccinators for extending their hours and increasing the access to folks to get their vaccines and to ensure people that if they are vaccine because -- their second child has been delayed for sure period of time it is not a problem. that will be accomm

announcer: next, health professionals including cdc director dr. rochelle walensky talk about new variants of covid-19. this is just over one hour. mr. morrison: welcome to today's session, covid-19 variants radel the world. i am j. stephen morrison, director of the global health policy center. this session is sponsored by the commission on strengthening america's health security, which was founded in 2018. that work is carrying forward through the end of 2022. we are delighted that one of our commissioners, peggy hamburg, the former fda commissioner during the obama administration, will be presiding today. i want to offer special thanks to my colleague for his careful efforts to put all of the pieces together very rapidly for today. and to anna mccaffery, my colleague, who also contributed substantially. and a special thanks to all who are assembled here today to speak. rochelle walensky, maria van kerkhove, loyce pace, oliver morgan, john brooks. they will be introduced momentarily by peggy hamburg. today's event grew out of a csi colleague that

cdc's new phone-based vaccine safety monitoring system. among those enrolled, 71% reported pain where the shot was given, 34% reported fatigue, and 30% reported a headache. these are common with most vaccines, and they typically resolve within a day or two of vaccination. it's important to know that about half the people don't feel very well after getting their second dose. this should not deter you from getting your second dose, but you need to have a light day of activity after getting vaccinated. there were also rare report of severe allergic reactions, anaphylaxis, a serious but treatable reaction. in fact, there are 4.5 cases of anaphylaxis of 1 million doses given at this time. a rate similar to what we have seen in other commonly used vaccines. in the first month of experience, a total of 113 deaths were reported, of which approximately 65% were among long-term care facility residents. a third of you said these deaths were not related to the covid-19 vaccine, and the death rate in this population, though truly sad and unfortunate, w

that promote equity, deploying cdc's social vulnerability index. these sites in california are just the beginning. we are working in partnership in states across the country to stand up new sites, and we'll have more to say on that in the coming weeks. so, across the first two weeks, we've activated a whole-of-government response. we have increased vaccine supply, ander ensuring that all americans, all communities, have a place to get vaccinated. now, let me turn to dr. walensky. dr. walensky -- for state of the pandemic. dr. walensky. >> thank you very much. i'm delighted to be back with you today, and i want to make sure we have time for questions, so i will be brief in my remarks. as i said monday, cases and hospitalizations continue to decrease. and we now appear to be in a consistent downward trajectory for both of those important outcomes. covid-19 cases have declined steadily since hitting a peak on january 18th, dropping 13.4% to an average of nearly 144,000 cases per day from january 26th to february 1st. cases are now back to the level we

it is these mitigation strategies the cdc just did that stop transmission. god forbid you have a virus, you're going to get less sick if you have the vaccine. that is why any front-line workers should be given the front of the line in terms of the vaccine. the cdc in december said educators as well as other front-line workers should be in this category, and some places have done it and some places have not. today and saturday in washington, d.c., every educator that wants their second shot, they've already gotten there first, every educator that once their second shot will have their second shot today and saturday. they worked out with the governor, andrew cuomo, that they could stand up their own vaccination programs, which they did for emblem health and nyu. they are all heroes to me. in new york city, 15,000 educators have already gotten there vaccine. that was part of the fight in chicago, that we said that if people are going to be in school, they should have first priority to these vaccines, and we also had to make sure, and the cdc has now done that a

american can get the vaccine and exclusive with vice president kamala harris does she agree with the cdc's plan for reopening schools and what she says about vaccinating teachers >>> our series, kids under pressure teens warning homework has become a nightmare in the pandemic one school working to change all that >>> the tribute to rush limbaugh, the controversial conservative media icon. >>> and scout's honor. 17 young women making history and inspiring america. >>> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening and welcome these are desperate hours for millions in texas still left in the cold and dark this evening from a failing power grid. their misery compounded by subfreezing temperatures and only vague assurances of when the lights may come back for good the frantic search for warmth putting some families at deadly risk for carbon monoxide poisoning as others find their water supplies frozen.exeme wean unrelenting. another storm on the march bringing ice and snow across more than a dozen states all this hitting vaccine shipments hard we're going to talk about that and w

now to the cdc recommendations on how to get kids back inside schools. white house correspondent peter doocy on the north lawn. >> the white house's friday after 5 p.m. news dump is president biden wants all states to follow cdc guidance for opening schools. it does not mandate opening them. he points out that following these new steps will cost money, but congress still has to cut a check. >> the need to help states economically with unemployment to being able to make sure they are able to get kids back in school. >> teachers don't need to be vaccinated according to guidance from the cdc. >> we believe that schools can be reopened safely prior to all teachers being vaccinated. >> the cdc suggests teachers should be prioritized for the vaccine. the districts should be broken up and students should social distancing. >> schools can full instruction with masks. >> the white house hasn't promised to follow these guidelines. >> the cdc guidelines will be the guide through which we work with policy teams. >> the democrats trying out a covid-19 relief bill sti

the cdc issued new guidance focusing on the fit of the mask against your face. the cdc says double masking offers more protection against,% of the virus. >> with cases, hospitalizations, and deaths still very high, now is not the time to roll back mask requirements. >> reporter: the cdc recommend americans wear masks with nose weiers and tie loops on surgical masks for the best fit the new research comes months after cdc has been slow to issue mandates on mask wearing. >> the cdc says wear a surgical mask like this one for the first layer with a cloth mask on top. >> reporter: the university shows the benefits of wearing a double mask. it helps block particles from escaping rchers say there's even more to do to make sure your mask fits correctly. >> if you live in a cold environment and your glasses or sunglasses are fogging outside, that means air is flowing up around your mask and into your eyelids, that means air around the smask leaking. >> reporter: with a more contagious variant projected to be dominant by march, the cdc recommends any mask is better than

the cdc guidance on reopening the schools and the back and forth that we saw with the cdc and the white house. we all remember the friction in the last administration. seems like there was a little bit of that going on this week. your thoughts on what we can expect on that front first. >> it's a big deal. that story resonates with everybody across the country. every time you talk about it and the battle with teacher's unions in different communities, you have democratic officials like the chicago major standing up and making a stand saying these kids have to get back to school. so the fact that we saw the white house kind of stumble along in its answers and that we're getting the cdc guidance friday afternoon kind of interesting. but it is the guidance that they should open up. we'll see how the teacher's union deals with that in various places across the country. it's the biggest story how deal with covid in their own lives. as emotional as january 6 was, as horrific as it was, this impeachment we'll find out that over time people are going be much more concerned about what is happenin

the role the federal government can play is not just from providing the cdc guidelines from the cdc director and their team but having the department of education work with schools on figuring out how to apply the review or the research that is currently underway and how to apply the mitigation steps. but it will be up to local school districts to determine the mitigation steps. >> today you're watching c-span that is brought you via public service. the 170 congress includes over 60 members that includes former professional athletes. watch our conversations. tonight, we feature former members of congress. watch interviews with new members of congress tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or listen on the c-span radio app. >> on thursday the house financial services committee hearing on the stock price of gamestop and decisions to restrict trading of gamestop. robin hood ceo, and financial analyst keith gill. watch live thursday beginning at noon eastern on c-span, online at

the cdc posted guidance on how to safely enjoy the game. thank you i will turn it to dr. fauci. >> thank you very much doctor wood linsky i want to make a couple of points related to questions and issues that have been brought up over the past couple of days to help clarify and i'll be very brief we have heard from studies emanating out of the astrazeneca platform that in the uk they are talking about the possibility since the data seems to show this that if you prolong the interval between the first and second dose and even go with a single dose you can get good results and in fact the interval between the first and second dose can now be measured in months with according to their own data that is actually a favorable response. we certainly respect that the uk scientists and health officials are going by their data and letting their own data for their own platform dictate their policy, the question has been asked often why don't we do the same thing with our candidates that are being distributed to people in the united states. the response is simple, we are also going ve

walenski and the cdc.d nor teachers to be vaccinated to get students safely back into the classroom. clearly the science shows that. a study in wisconsin were there multiple school districts, almost 5,000 students over 13 weeks. not a single staff member got infected. not a single one. the second is we don't have to have hundreds of millions of tests to test every student every week. the cdc guidance says that screening testing could be available layer in the future but it's not required. there's no excuse to keep harming our children by keeping them out of every day learning. it's compelling. we need to get them back in the classroom. >> jerry: the administration says they want the vaccinations but to eliminate the health care risks from viruses. we don't do -- every year we get flu viruses, cold viruss in the schools. people get sick. as we said clearly from covid, it seems that very few children get very seriously sick. so what are we doing? what are teacher's unions doing? they're not going back to sch

fauci as well as the new cdc director dr. rochelle walensky. we'll bring you that as soon as it begins. this comes at a critical point in the fight against the virus. as experts are warning that the country is now in a race against time and also simultaneously at a cross roads. with new variants popping up across the country and a vaccine distribution effort that is still plagued with delays and uncertainty. leading one top infectious disease expert to warn of this. >> the fact is that the surge that is likely to occur with this new variant from england is going to happen in the next six to 14 weeks. and if we see that happen, which my 45 years in the trefnches tel us we will, we will r going to see something take we've not seen in this country. >> after the year that we've been through. at the same time the extreme financial toll that the pandemic has taken on almost every american is also in the spotlight today. in just a few hours ten republican senators will be meeting with president biden at the white house to talk about the covid relief p

through january 30, 438,035 deaths have been reported to the cdc. during the week of january 24 to january 30, the seven-day average increased 2.4% to over 3000 per day. while the rate in decline in hospitalizations and cases are encouraging, they are countered bylund's by the fact that in january, we recorded the highest number of covid 19 deaths in any month since the pandemic began with over 90,000 deaths reported overall. next, i want to give you an upton on the covid 19 surveillance. surveillance remains of rate concern, with at least 33 jurisdictions reporting variant cases, 471. some of these were first detected in the u.k., and cases of this variant have now been detected in multiple states. three of the cases are of the variant first detected in south africa. two states have reported cases of this variant. this includes one confirmed case in maryland over the weekend and two confirmed cases in south carolina. cdc has followed up with maryland to offer support, including additional case verification and laboratory support. cdc is also workin

the cdc guidelines don't require it because what the cdc guidelines say is that the mitigation strategiess prevent you from getting really sick. should we do both? of course we should do both but if you can't right now, you have to have the transmission -- you have to prevent the transmission because as you said earlier, the reason we are working so hard to try to get schools reopened in person is because that's what helps kids. ultimately, all the risk is on the adults who are doing the education. that's why we're trying make sure that things are safe. but we know that the benefits are huge for kids. that's why we're trying to take this risk. >> it is a conversation that i'm sure we'll continue for many months to come. we certainly invite you to come back any time to join us and to talk about it. randi weingarten, thank you for your time this afternoon. >>> that wraps up this hour for me. see you back here tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. "deadline: white house" with nicolle wallace after the quick break. nicolle wallace after the quick break. power max gels. with 25% more concentrated power. oh, w

we at cdc consider this very concerning shift some the trajectory. the most recent seven-day average of cases approximately 66,350 is higher than the average i shared with you on wednesday. in fact, cases have been increasing for the past three days compared to the prior week. and while deaths fluctuate more than cases and hospital admissions, the most recent seven-day average are approximately 2,000 per day is slightly higher than the average earlier in the week. we're watching this concerning data very closely to see where they go over the next few days but it is important to remember where we are in the pandemic. things are tenuous. now is not the time to relax restrictions. although we've been experiencing large declines in cases and admissions over the past six weeks, these declines follow the highest peek we have experienced in the pandemic. so i want to be clear, cases, hospital admissions and deaths all remain very high and the recent shift in the pandemic must be taken extremely seriously. cdc has been sounding the alarm about the continued

through january 30, 438,035 deaths have been reported to the cdc. during the week of january 24 to january 30, the seven day average of deaths increased 2.4% to 3,146 per day. while the rates are encouraging they are counterbalanced by the reality that, in january, we recorded the highest number of covid-19 that's then any month since the pandemic began. with over 90,000 deaths in january alone. next, i went to give you an update on variant surveillance. variants remain a great concern and we continue to detect them in the united states with at least 30 jurisdictions reporting 471 variant cases as of january 31. 467 of these cases are b117 variants first detected in the u.k. and they have been detected in 32 states. three of the cases are the b3135 variant detective in south africa and 2 states have confirmed cases. one of these was over the weekend and 2 from south carolina last week. the cdc followed up to offer technical assistance including case investigations and laboratory support. the cdc is working with the health department of south carolin

we have a double barrel presentation first from cdc. deputy director of immunization safety office and then fda, doctor steven anderson, director epidemiology. we'll have the presentations in sequence and the question. following. please, go ahead. >> thank you. can you hear me okay? >> we can. >> all right. good morning. today i'm going to do an update on one of cdc's safety monitoring systems, adverse reporting update. going to spend some time focusing on vaccine safety. just to remind folks, this is our smartphone -based text and web survey monitoring system cdc set upp just for covid vaccines, the covert vaccination program. it involves what happens daily, the first week after vaccination and then weekly after six weeks and then three, six and 12 months in the process starts again when they get a second dose. it's a voluntary self enrollment program. if on any health check in, they receive medical care, we will follow up to our call center take a report. questionnaires allow for identification of pregnant women and also a pregnant re

he said the cdc was talking about that.ration met with airlines after weeks of pushback from them. it was only haours after that meeting on friday that airlines heard from the white house and the cdc that they were not considering a domestic travel mandate at this time. instead the cdc not only recommending passengers get tested one to three days before their trip and three five days after their trip. we'll see if people follow that guidance. it does seem like people are following a little bit of guidance in that they're told not to travel. >>> the european cdc has also issued a new warning saying that the majority of countries in europe are still experiencing high rates of covid infections and deaths in older age groups despite vaccine rollouts that have prioritized the elderly. let's get a check on the very latest from the pandemic from correspondents around the world. >> i'm will ripley in hong kong. new zealand is locking down its largest city of auckland after just three confirmed cases so far of covid-19. all in a sin

the cdc says that's not necessary. the white house agrees, though e the administration and top health experts had said by fall, but now -- >> by next christmas, i think we'll be in a very different circumstance, god willing, than we are today. >> reporter: dr. fauci now predicts some "degree of normality" by the beginning of 2022. what's going on here? when do we think we will get back to some taste of normalcy? >> i think the president wants things to return to normal, as we all do. but we don't know at this point what that timeline is going to look like. >> mary bruce back with us live from the white house tonight. mary, americans are exhausted, really, we all are, and it seems president biden and this administration facing a real test here on how to set tis en tse timelines n month, people areea a nd news th c >>r: welid, the white house wants to give americans hope and they are making headway, but the reality is that there are very real challenges here, like some people being hesitant to take the vaccine. and there

january 30, 25.9 million cases had been reported to the cdc. during the week of january 24 to january 30, is seven day average increased 14.5% to 149,000 cases per day. the seven day average of new hospital admissions for patients with covid-19 during the week of the 23rd through the 29th decreased 14.6% to 11,800 admissions per day. however, 85,655 people were hospitalized with covid-19 january 29. through january 30 438,035 deaths have been reported to the cdc. during the week of january 24 to january 30, the seven day average of deaths increased 2.4% to 3,146 per day. while the rates are encouraging they are counterbalanced by the reality that, in january, we recorded the highest number of covid-19 that's then any month since the pandemic began. over 90,000 deaths in january alone. next, i went to give you an update on variant surveillance. variants remain a great concern and we continue to detect them in the united states with at least 30 jurisdictions reporting 471 variant cases as of january 31. 467 of these cases are b117 variants first

we now have some guidelines from the cdc with several mitigation steps. we will have to work, we need funding to do that, that's a little piece of it and many school districts need funding and don't have it and the secretary of education have to be in place to workto implement . >> another follow-up on last night, the president said clearly that he doesn't think they have the authority to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt.today senators schumer and moran said in a statement they were told the administration is still working on figuring out if it has the authority . so if your lawyers would determine that canceling was legal with the president go ahead with this and if not why not? >> first on last night's town hall for those of you who didn't see the whole thing he was reiterating his previously stated position which is doesn't favor $50,000 in student loan relief without limitation and use examples of the types of school for when it should be reimbursed or refunded. he said previously relief above $10,000 should be targeted based on the borrower's inco

and by the way, the cdc guidelines now are very, very strong on this.eet. we know to do that, we need more educators. we need buildings that are safe. that's what we're asking for. and we know that if congress does its job, that we will have the resources to do just that. >> okay. so just, again, i want to be clear. so if all those mitigation efforts are in place, you're comfortable with teachers going back if they haven't been vaccinated is what i heard from you. so, let's talk about these mitigation efforts in schools being key to reopen. this is what rochelle walensky said to my colleague jake tapper today. she of course is the cdc director. >> we really don't want to bring community disease into the classroom. we also know that mask breaching is among the reasons that we have transmission within schools when it happens. so we really need to do the hard work to make sure that there is universal masking, there's strict six feet of distancing between, that there's cohorting or podding, so that there's restriction of disease if it wrb to be transmitted,

walensky, cdc, dr. fauci will have their own views of that. as of now, i think we should go with the two dose regimen for pfizer and moderna. see what happens with the johnson & johnson vaccine. there's a lot of vaccine hesitancy in black americans, less so in latinx community but still there. in our experience in upper manhattan, what we found is at the beginning of the rollout, 25% of our area of people of color were coming in. now that's up to 80%. you have to work with community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, have interpreter services, use telephone as well as online. getting our underserved minority communities or people of color vaccinated is a critical component. >> you said you went from 25% to 80%? how did you do that? what did you change? >> we are working with 40 community-based organizations, faith-based organizations. we have extensive educational community. we are making appointments through those organizations. we have opened phone lines in addition to web access. a lot of people don't have web access or are unf

the cdc is actively looking at this question. what has been -- what some of the data that have been emerging is as we found some of the variants in the contact tracing of them, we are finding that people were actually not taking the primary measures of any masking or distancing. i think that is really our best barrier against these variants is to do the masking and distancing. you will -- more data will be forthcoming from the cdc with regard to the value of double masking. >> i will remind everybody on his first day in office, president biden signed an executive order requiring mask wearing in all federal buildings, all federal places and in public transportation, interstate travel. that is all part of a nationwide 100 day mask challenge. the president is asking everybody to mask up for the next 100 days. the estimates are that will save over 50,000 lives. masking up is one of the things that all americans should be doing. >> we have time for one more question. >> thank you for doing this and taking my question. i have two quest

today we are talkingng about fda and cdc's advisory committees.r writer with staff use here to talk about these two advisory committees, let's begin with the fda. what is there advisory committee? >> the advisory committee helps them on issues related to the approval of vaccinations, vaccines vaccines and related biological products advisory committee, mostly people -- [inaudible] >> they are set to meet this week. what are they expected to talk about? >> you remember when the fdada s under political pressure to fast-track the vaccines and then commissioner stephen was trying verywa hard to safeguard the process to approve vaccines, make sure they were based on science, not political expediency, made the commitment that it would reach every time there's a new covered vaccine to be considered for emergency use authorization. since then, he's kept that promise every time, he's no longer in office but the fda has kept that promise everyy time a new covered vaccine is ready by fda to continue to consider whether or not tode issue emergency use authori

the cdc is also making it clear that today's announcement is only guidance. it cannot force schools to reopen. >> i was very happy to hear that a lot of the kinds of things that we've been doing in alum rock totally align with the cdc. >> reporter: the superintendent in the alum rock school district is crossing her fingers for a fall reopening, but she says congress first needs to fund the reopening plans nationwide. >> for alum rock, it's about $9 million. if we were to bring back the kids and everybody, we would provide masks, we were to provide the sneeze guards. >> reporter: for the simmons family, they're hoping that schools reopen as soon as possible. in san jose, damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. >>> check this out. this is a new map from the governor's office tracking school reopenings. the areas in dark blue shows schools currently doing in-person learning. you can see that's very few. light blue represents hybrid learning. everything in yellow, they're continuing remote learning. you can find the full interactive map on our website. go to nbcbayar

and i want to read what the cdc guidelines says about that.ntent possible such as opening windows and doors to increase the delivery of clean air and pollute potential con tammin ants. the cdc did link into a deeper dive into ventilation and you say this falls short. why is this not enough. >> i should congratulation cdc on releasing this report. the last administration doesn't acknowledge that vent lation or airborne transmission is an problem but that is a an improvement but that is a low bar to compare against. but the new report from cdc mentions vent lation but it is buried about midway through the report if you click through the links and it takes two or three, you get to detailed guidance. you problem there is an emphasis on cleaning surfaces which is not driving surfaces and playground structures so ventilation is buried in the my concern is many schools will miss this guidance. cdc acknowledges airborne transmission is happening. it's just totally buried in this document. we have been arguing for a long time, for a year now, we need h

. >>> what the cdc says about whether teachers should get vaccine priority >>> travel surge as highly contagious variants spread in new states >>> governor cuomo under fire when a top aide admitted of covid deaths >>> the survival story of the deadly pile-up. >>> 80 migrants is trapped inside a truck gasping for air. the new roadblocks to filing the pandemic and how to get around them and they're turning this winter into something inspiring america. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening everyone, the second impeachment trial with donald trump is on a fast track tonight. they call the accusation that mr. trump incited the attack on the capitol of a monstrous lie. the defense labeling trump's call fight like hell, punctuating the point of a 10-minute video montage of democrats uttering the same words. >> we are in the fight of our lives right now. >> we fight like hell. >> democrats are standing up to fight. >> we are in this fight in a serious way. >> the defense attacking the legality of the trial while avoiding some key questions of the president'

ends monday. >>> the cdc has new guidelines for reopening schools safely during the pandemic.me parents and teachers nervous. this evening the cdc's new director, she said we are not mandating schools reopen and they are simply how to do so safely under different levels of disease in the community, unquote. nbc's blaine alexander has more. >> it's the long awaited guidance from the cdc, getting kids safely back in classrooms. after reading it, there's more concern. >> my initial concern is it's taking five steps backwards and it's going to be a real empedestrianment getting kids back in the classrooms. >> i am frustrated because i was holding on to the hope there would be clear guidance coming out. >> it's wonderful to get this guidance, but if the guidance is not implemented, it doesn't mean anything at all. >> as for teachers -- >> it would have been great to have this ten months ago. >> it is a relief. >> guidance includes implementing a color-coded system on which schools should be open based on how covid is spreading within the community, and back in the classroom schools

that promote equity, deploying cdc's social vulnerability index. these sites in california are just the beginning. we are working in partnership in states across the country to stand up new sites and we'll have more to say on that in the coming weeks. so, across the first two weeks we've activated a whole-of-government response. we've increased vaccine supply and we're ensuring that all americans in every community have more places to get vaccinated. now let me turn to dr. walensky for a state of the pandemic. dr. walensky. >> thank you very much. i'm delighted to be back with you today. i want to make sure we have time for questions, so i will be brief in my remarks. as i said monday, cases and hospital admissions continue to decrease. we now appear to be in a consistent downward trajectory for both of these important outcomes. covid-19 cases have declined steadily since hitting a peak on january 8th, dropping 13.4% to an average of nearly 144,000 cases per day from january 26 to february 1st. cases are now back to the level we were before thanksg