so let's go now to elizabeth cohen on this. elizabeth, what impact is this going to have an reopenings? >> you know, i think there are several components that will fast track, that will make it easier for schools to reopen. and this is one of them. telling teachers and staff, hey, you don't have to keep the children six feet apart. you can do three feet apart. it sounds like it's not much of a difference but i imagine that it will be, that it's sort of less of a burden but of course schools still have to make sure the children wear masks and perhaps the most challenging part of this is they need to come up with testing strategies. dr. rochelle walensky has said that this week, that she wants to see more robust testing systems in every school in the united states. >> it's been impossible actually i think to keep kids six feet apart in some cases considering the confinement of the classrooms, so perhaps this is going to make people feel like they are actually operating within the guidelines. elizabeth, thank you so much. elizabeth

>> elizabeth cohen, grateful as always for the reporting and the context. you very much. >>> coming up, bimigrants on th border. a record number of migrant children in border custody. yeah. turns out you were right about the general. they're actually a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage, go with the general. it's moving day. and while her friends are doing the heavy lifting, for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? ...delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. >>> welcome back. we should see the president of the united states any moment. president biden leaving the white house to a small business here in washington, d.c., a, to talk about loans for small businesse

let's begin though with our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen on the state's opening up morning eligibility for vaccines today. >> right, poppy. it is getting easier to get a covid-19 vaccine. many states are changing the eligibility requirements, widening them. take a look at a smaterring of states and see what they're doing. for example, in alaska, they're saying you just have to be over the age of 16 in order to get a vaccine. in california, they say anyone 16 plus that has certain health conditions and so on and so forth. just getting easier. so because there is more vaccine out there, the federal government and the next few weeks tells me that they -- sources tell me they'll be releasing a new ad campaign aimed in part at getting foam take the vaccine. so let's take a look at this campaign. it's $250 million. that is a lot. i'm told that can add -- that can buy a lot of ad time. the ads will be on television, radio, billboard, print and digital. there will be a podcast by a well known figure. the focus will be on wearing masks, practicing social distancing, avoiding crowds

elizabeth cohen is with us now. the big question on everyone's mind is, are these dates achievable, elizabeth, because people are getting tired of all of this. >> we are getting tired, there is no question. and, brianna, if everything goes according to plan, then yes, we've done the math and these dates are achievable. first let's take another look at the dates you mentioned. what the president has talked about is may 1st vaccines will be available for all adults. you don't have to be 65, you don't have to be a teacher, essential worker, et cetera, et cetera, anybody is eligible to get them. then on may 31st, we would have enough vaccine for all those people. so you may notice at least in the beginning, you may want a vaccine but can't get a vaccinement by may 31st, the president says there will be enough vaccines for all adults. we'll get into those numbers in a minute. and on july 4th, celebrate independence day in small groups, that there will be enough immunity that we'll be able to do that. so this hinges on tha

elizabeth cohen grateful for the reporting. dr. you shay black stock joins us. the ceo and founder of advancing health equity. dr. black stock it is great to see you again. let's start with what the cdc laid out. dr. wall enski says it is a balance. as dr. cohen just noted it is a chance to sit around with close friends, a chance to hug your grandchildren perhaps. what strikes you most about them? >> i think the early guidelines -- remember, they are early because we are still waiting for more conclusive evidence whether or not vaccines help with transmission of infection but they are incredibly encouraging. i have to admit i felt emotional when i saw they were published. i think especially as you mentioned for older individual who are looking to socialize and get back together with their family these guidelines are incredibly meaningful. there are a few caveats, as dr. wallenski mentioned. they are still discouraging non-essential travel. we have to think about those grandparents who are not local. but they are vaccinated and whether or not families will be fol

elizabeth cohen is us with. the daily vaccinations keep going up, that's great. you have the big gatherings without masks like we saw images of and serious hesitancy, mainly from republicans. >> that's right. it's interesting. in a way we can't visualize the hesitancy. so many people are getting vaccinated which is great. i've been talking with public health officials that are concerned that once everybody that wants the vaccine gets it, we'll be left with an unfortunately sort of chunk of america that doesn't want it. cnn polling showed that half of republicans say that they will not try to get the vaccine. now, of course, many of those republicans would look up to trump as their leader. and we know that trump was vaccinated along with his wife back in january. but he has not talked about it. so cnn asked the department of health and human services would it be helpful if trump stepped up and talked about the need to be vaccinated. let's take a listen to his answer. >> i think it's very important for former president trump as well as the vice president to activel

elizabeth cohen joins us to explain. what is the issue here, elizabeth?reporter: the issue here is whether these blood clots that are being seen in people who have taken the astrazeneca vaccine, whether they have anything to do with the vaccine. when you vaccinate millions and millions of people you're going to see some things happen, some people are going to get blood clots, some will get cancer or heart attacks. because it's 17 million doesn't mean the vaccine had anything to do with it. let's look at the numbers, specific to the astrazeneca vaccine. according to astrazeneca, about 17 million people have gotten their shots so far and there have been 37 reports of blood clots. the w.h.o., the european medicine agency, astrazeneca, they say there is no link so far between vaccines and blood clots and 11 million astrazeneca shots have been administered in the uk and that country still backs the vaccine. really, the work that needs to be done is the rate of blood clots that are being seen. first of all is that 37 number correct? and second of all, is that u

. >> cnn's elizabeth cohen joins us now with more. this is delivery. that's good news on supply.g deal. that's been an issue. will this accelerate getting those shots into arms? >> certainly. i can't imagine how that wouldn't be the case. as you said, two parts, the supply. what we're hearing is there will be enough for every american adult by the end of may, and then actually getting those shots into arms as we've seen is a bit of a different story. in the beginning, when clinics were slow to get shots into arms, that was the beginning. vaccinating an entire population is not an easy thing. it is unprecedented. we've never had to do this before. so it's kind of understandable that it did not go as smoothly as it should have, et cetera specially since the beginning was under the demonstration when their plan was basically to have no plan. things have been going better. they will have months of experience under their belt. hopefully once those shots are available, they will not sit around and go right into arms. poppy, jim. >> that's great. you have the cdc's latest projection say

joining me now is elizabeth cohen and dr. jorge rodriguez, a viral specialist. so elizabeth, this has been long awaited guidance that we'll be hearing. what do you know about the level of detail or how granular this guidance is going to get? >> you know, kate, if people are expecting guidance that said if you're fully vaccinated, you could now sit here and go here and getting very specific with specifi specific scenarios, they're very disappointed. but i think the biggest question on their mind after being vaccinated is can i visit with the people who i love who i haven't been able to visit for over a year. and let's take a look at what we mean when we say fully vaccinated. when the cdc said those are guidelines for those fully vaccinateds that means that you are two weeks after your johnson & johnson vaccine or two weeks after your second dose of moderna or pfizer. so once you hit the two week mark, from then on in you are fully vaccinated. so what the new guide lines say and these are being announced by cdc director dr. rochelle walensky as we speak, as if the

elizabeth cohen, always appreciate you giving us the latest on covid.c director today echoed a lot of worry that spring break travel could spark another surge in covid cases. we've been seeing now these spring break crowds in south florida, packing beaches, packing the bars and restaurants. crow see it there few masks, no social distancing and miami beach's mayor is warning we've got a problem, but the spring breakers, they're not too worried. >> no one cares around here it seems like. not no one cares but everyone is relaxed and we're doing that. >> i'm trying to do my part to help stop the spread or stop the spike. everyone else around me, not too worried. again, i am vaccinated. >> miami beach police arrested more than 100 people over the weekend and say two officers were injured by unruly crowds. miami beach police chief is joining me now to talk about this. sir, thank you for talking to us. these pictures we're seeing are -- i mean you have your hands full and your officers have their hands full. these big crowds, a lot of people at the beach, at t

is expanding the criteria was eligible for baxter as the plans to carry out an occupation dr elizabeth cohen of al-jazeera. well as the brazil and u.k. variants of cope in 1000 tighten their grip on latin america chile is government is considering postponing an election shojo for the 11th of april that was supposed to select the members that would draft a new constitution in santiago infections have risen 57 percent in 2 weeks this fight having the world's fastest vaccination program meanwhile brazil. makes up a quarter of global daily coronavirus this in the past hour it reported another 3438 couvade 1000 related deaths argentina has banned travel to and from chile brazil and mexico. the philippines meanwhile is again tightening restrictions as hospitals in the last struggled to cope with a rising number of coronavirus infections the measures include a ban on nonessential travel mass gatherings and restaurant dining and they will last for a week and will affect 24000000 people living in the capital and nearby provinces more than 1000 new cases have been reported in the past 2 days. china an

been tried for the last 6 or 8 years of this war and we've seen the absolutely dire consequences elizabeth cohen live in london but kind of is a perfect portray it of all the negatives and all the variables here we've seen the u.n. envoy recently in tehran for 2 days and 3 nights we don't know what came out of that conversation. so that's that's a conduit of communication that is a requirement because if you're going to have a peace process the peace process has got to include all the people all the time and on top of that the united states basically needs to get the saudis into a different place surely as well so it needs to get rio to accept that it's got to do a conjuring trick and go from being gamekeeper oil when you say conjuring trick that really sums it up we have a war that's been involved at 3 different levels now we have the international level the international community we have the regional level in particular saudi arabia u.a.e. . also to some extent oman and of course iran and then we also have the domestic level and all of those levels need to be resolved in order for the conflic

for a hindu festival could lead to a further spike in cases as spring in india correspondent elizabeth cohen who's in new delhi for so india facing the prospect of a 2nd wave of coffee 1000 lives just how bad is the situation right now. folly well the situation in india right now is the worst it's been in about 4 months for the western state of maharashtra very much leading the rise in case there is something like $26000.00 or more than half of the 40000 new infections reported on monday from maharashtra and just a handful of states account for 80 percent of the number of cases in the country the worst affected states along the maharashtra punjab karnataka and. now here in delhi cases have doubled since last week though they are still in the high hundreds around 800 today and not the 10s of thousands like in maharashtra in neighboring hard cases have gone up 4 times as much as they were just 3 weeks ago and to put that overall rise in context the number of infections in india had fallen from a peak of nearly 100000 cases a day in september to an average of 10000 a day in early february but t

expanding the criteria was eligible for baxter as the plans to carry it up it's an oxidation dr elizabeth cohen of al-jazeera new delhi. the philippines is again tightening quarantine measures as hospitals and i know us struggle to cope with surging coronavirus infections locked down to last for a week and will affect 24000000 people living in the capital and nearby provinces the past 2 days have both seen more than 9000 new cases. more than 3600 people died from coven 1000 in brazil on friday afternoon daily record as the toll mounts there is concern about the growing number of young people becoming infected and dying from the virus want to reports from rio de janeiro. in unusual holiday in rio de janeiro with empty streets and a crowded sidewalk protestors angry at the latest government to addict the mayor's a real one some have decreed an extended holiday and shut down brazil's 2 major cities keeping only essential services open and hundreds took to the streets saying they want their jobs back. informal workers see they're being punished for mistakes made by others. we represent 50000 beach

they fled because they were ordered to open fire on pro-democracy protesters india correspondent elizabeth cohen and reports. holding up the 3 finger salute that's become a symbol of resistance in myanmar the soldier looks towards the country he's left behind have chosen not to reveal his identity he says he fled his military camp in myanmar after weeks of being ordered to shoot at protesters. and when it i can no longer tolerate killing my own people innocent people i did not want to hurt them anymore the main reason was i did not support the military regime i hate the junta the former soldier is one of many army and police officers from myanmar who are taking refuge in the north east an indian border state of misrata at least 400 people are thought to have crossed the poorest border into the town of champigny in the past 3 weeks they are being looked after by locals. many of them came with no money and some of them with families the needs of these refugees were provided by the church of the socio the n.g.o.s. a student leader helping the new arrivals says most people seeking shelter in me belo

expanding the criteria that was eligible for baxter as the plans to do a lot it's an occupation dr elizabeth cohen of al-jazeera new delhi. now i want to also learn as top music venues will hold a concert for 5000 people in a covered 1000 experiment organizers want to see just how well they can prevent the virus from spreading at large events concert goers must present a negative test taken that day and also wear face masks summer event was held back in december. as a senior lecturer at university college london school of pharmacy she says such experiments will provide insight into the most effective ways to keep people safe. i think this is actually really important to better understand how economies that you have high rates of vaccination shouldn't flirt with any confined space so this type of experience is not the 1st we've seen similar again back in december we had a similar experience again in barcelona with 500 people there 5000 and equally also in berlin and germany and this is all going to be critical in terms of understanding exactly how we can provide interventions that keep people safe

expanding the criteria that was eligible for baxter as the plans to tell you it's an occupation dr elizabeth cohen of al-jazeera you did. more than 3600 people have died from cover 1000 in brazil on friday that's a new daily record and the toll mounts there is concern about the growing number of young people becoming infected and dying from the virus monica reports from rio de janeiro. in unusual holiday in rio de janeiro with empty streets in a crowded sidewalk protestors angry at the latest government and the mayors of real ones have decreed an extended holiday. you shut down brazil's 2 major cities keeping only essential services open and hundreds took to the streets saying they want their jobs back. informal workers see they're being punished for mistakes made by others. we represent 50000 beach vendors who are left with no income the lack of vaccines and public policies to encourage the use of masks and control can destroy parties have led to this chaos where the ones paying the price. more than 300000 brazilians have lost their lives jacoby 19 since the ban demick began a year ago hospitals

famine any and then and then they will take an action it's just shocking elizabeth cohen live in london are the aid agencies and other people of yemen maybe waiting for a touch of clarity here from countries that have got more leverage inside yemen than other countries have got and yet we have to offset that against the reality which is that so many countries they're not turning their back on yemen but they are turning away from yemen i think the reality is just as bad as a fraud has described but the reality for 4 potential donor countries is that they do have their own concerns to worry about and yemen is just slipping down the agenda we hate it we think it's wrong but that is a reality now what i might say is that if they cannot stump up the aid that's required then at least they could stump up a bit more political will to solve the crisis in yemen because. of course no matter how much aid you throw at yemen it's not going to actually solve the underlying problems it's a bit like trying to put out a wildfire with a bucket of water you can keep the flames at bay but ultimately it's th

let's begin with elizabeth cohen. so elizabeth, tell us, one, what we expect to be in these guidelines, if we know, and just how essential they have as more and more americans get vaccinated. >> oh, jim, this is so essential. about 12% of american adults have been fully vaccinated. and i'm sure you know because you've gotten the questions, i know i've gotten them, a lot of people have gotten them, i'm vaccinated and what could i do now that i couldn't do before. questions like if i'm fully vaccinated and my elderly grandmother is fully vaccinated, can she and i hug? if i'm vaccinated, but my best friend isn't vaccinated, can we hug? can we sit in the same room? should we be masked or six feet apart? that is the questions people have and they want to know what to do and underneath that is the question i went to the trouble of getting vaccinated, is not always easy, what goodies does that give me, what benefits does that give me? i've been told from sources in the administration, tht not entirely prescriptive and think t

cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is joining me now. the cdc guidance, people still have questions and we're hoping you can answer them. so first here, there are a lot of people who live apart from one another. what does the cdc say about traveling to see loved ones? >> even if you are vaccinated, brianna, the answer from the cdc is no, don't do it, don't hop on a plane, do not travel. there are several reasons. one big one is that it is possible even if you have been vaccinated that you are carrying, you are infected with covid-19 and you feel fine, you don't even know it. but you hop on a plane, chances are 90% of the people on that plane l nwill not be vaccinatedd the cdc does not want you getting them sick. >> is there a limit on the number of vaccinated people gathering together, what about for couples who want to get together? >> the cdc says if you're vaccinated, you can be indoor without masks, without social distancing with other vaccinated people. they get a little vague because they say, don't go to medium or large-size gather

so let's go now to elizabeth cohen on this. act is this going to have an reopenings? >> you know, i think there are several components that will fast track, that will make it easier for schools to reopen. and this is one of them. telling teachers and staff, hey, you don't have to keep the children six feet apart. you can do three

let's talk about this with elizabeth cohen, our senior med medical correspondent, and lena nguyen. y big announcement here regarding the money for schools to expand testing. recognizing, they say, this will be new to schools knowing how they are going to proceed with a testing program. how important is that to getting kids back into the classroom and to convincing parents that it's safe to send their kids back into the classroom? >> well it's very important. throughout the trump administration we heard people saying if we could test kids it wouldn't solve everything, you could still have outbreaks in schools but it would go a long way to helping tamp down outbreaks in schools and help keep kids healthy. it's a tough endeavor. there are a lot of schools all over the united states, and there's no one centralized authority here, and some of these schools have more resources than others but if they can really get a good testing program going for schools, that really could be quite -- quite -- make quite a difference in keeping outbreaks out of schools and keeping kids healthy. >> doctor

. >> cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen has been following this. elizabeth, what does this mean for the timeline as to when the trial will be complete and, therefore, it will be safe for children to get the vaccine as well? >> you know, jim, moderna is not saying what their timeline will be, but we do know they are very early on in this clinical trial. they still haven't figured out what dose is best to give children of various ages. it will be months. it will take months to do these clinical trials. let's take a look at what moderna is doing. 6,700 participants ages 6 months to 11 years old. that's the age group that they're testing it in. they'll be testing it in those children in canada and the united states. and they are testing different doses to see what dose might be best for babies and toddlers and then for children ages 2 to 11. now it's important to note, pfizer will probably have its approval for a children's vaccine before moderna. pfizer fully enrolled its trial in january. so they are ahead of the game here. jim, poppy? >> there is som

let's get the very latest on where things stand with cnn's elizabeth cohen joining me right now. eth, let's start in california. what can you tell us about these variants? >> reporter: kate, people -- i think we've all heard about the uk variant and the south african variant, but i don't think people know there are variants popping up in the united states. let's take a look at the california variants that the cdc say are, quote, of concern. what the cdc is telling us is they are 20% more transmissible, these variants are 20% more transmissible than the coronavirus than came out before the variants. there's al an eli lilly antibody drug that's been used for quite a while that may be less effective. they say there's a moderate reduction in the effectiveness of antibody from covid-19 survivors, and that this variant is not responding as well as some other types of coronavirus to that particular treatment. kate? >> also, as we were talking about, the significant jump in cases, there's a rise of covid cases in 14 states right now. perhaps the most concerning elizabeth is likely in mich

. >> reporter: i'm elizabeth cohen. nursing homes have been hit particularly hard in the covid-19 pandemic, however, news now that vaccinations have brought infection numbers way down. let's take a look. an analysis of federal government data shows that on december 20th before the vaccine program was underway, there were more than 33,000 new covid-19 cases in nursing homes. fast forward, there were only about 3500. that's a nearly 90% decline. >> reporter: i'm richard quest in new york. two u.s. air lines are to begin vaccinating their front line staff. american airlines and united airlines have received supplies of the johnson & johnson vaccine from the chicago authorities. they're only allowed to vaccinate staff from existing eligibility. flight crew airline crews, front line staff and those over 65. they say they hope to begin vaccinating employees more widespread shortly. >> richard and all of our colleagues, thank you for those reports. >>> officials are looking into a mess in the covid vaccine program in shelby co

. >> i'm elizabeth cohen. today the director of the u.s. centers for disease control told congress that vaccinated people may be getting some new advice about travel. last week the cdc said that people vaccinated still should not travel but she said that that may change. and she said the question about travel for vaccinated americans is a key question. >> in berlin as the european union has unveiled its plans for a green travel certificate or a vaccination passport. essentially what this is supposed to be, supposed to give people vaccinated the chance to travel within the european union more freely. but it's not only for people searching the vaccine but also for no objection who have a negative pr test or for people who have already had covid-19 and therefore have antibodies. now the european union says it wants the project on the way by summer ready for the summer travel season. >> i'm paula newton in ottawa. canadian public health officials say despite european concerns they are expanding the rollout of the astrazenica vaccine to include

elizabeth cohen. >>> former president trump is out of office but back in the spotlight after spouting lie after lie at cpac in his first major appearance, repeated the big lie and took aim at perceived enemies in the gop. >> democrats don't have grandstanders like mitt romney, little ben sasse. richard burr, bill cassidy, susan collins, lisa murkowski, pat time. >> actually as you know they just lost the white house, but it's one of those things. >> so how the hell is it possible that we lost? it's not possible. >> this election was rigged, and the supreme court and other courts didn't want to do anything about it. >> it's just getting started. and in the end, we will win. we will win. >> j former republican congressman joe walsh who ran against trump in 2020. idf his speech? >> be with you. look, it's the same old same old, but it works. donald trump, brianna, lost the election, but i think among republican voters, he won the argument. he's hung on to his big lie. that the election was stolen. and i can tell you, because i hear from thousands of republican voters every single day. br

let's talk more about this now with our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen and dr. adrian burroughs, a family mets physician. elizabeth, i'm excited about the recommendations. walk us through these. >> it really is exciting, brianna. more people are getting vaccinated, good to know there are some benefits to it. let's take a look at these. first of all, these are for people fully vaccinated. i want to define what that is.c two weeks after your johnson & johnson shot or your second moderna or pfizer shot. what does this mean? if you're fully vaccinated, you can visit indoors with others who are fully vaccinated without masks, without social distancing. if you're vaccinated, your grandma's vaccinated give her a hug without a mask on. pretty darn exciting ar the year we've had. fully vaccinated visiting someone not vaccinated indoors, you can do it if one household. not visiting with a bunch of people. people from one family and at a low risk of severe covid-19. the unvaccinated people need to be from one household and at a low risk of severe covid-19 and you do not nee

elizabeth cohen is joining me now. she is looking at the details that are released. elizabeth, what are the details of this pediatric trial? ? >> let's take a look at this, kate. this is very interesting. a second vaccine maker in the u.s. is doing a trial on children. right now there are no vaccines for children under the ages of 16. so moderna's vaccine is limited to 18 and older. let's take a look at what they're doing. they're doing a trial with 7,000 participants. these are children ages 6 months old to 11 years old. they're in canada and the u.s. they're testing to see whether different doses should be used for children 6 months to 2 years versus 2 years to 11 years. they'll be doing that trial. we don't know when they're going to have results. we do know that pfizer fully enrolled their trial with children in january. but still it will likely take months until we hear about their results and until children will be able to take the vaccine. >> is it a coincidence or side effect? serious concerns around the vaccine. the who is meeting today to look at the safety

pete muntean is in kentucky, but first go to elizabeth cohen on the time line for all of this. they are not wasting any time getting this vaccine out there. what more are you learning about when the shots will be available and what people need to know about it? >> so, kate, we know that 4 million shots will be shipped immediately. those are expected to arrive at their destinations as early as tomorrow. by the end of the month, we should see 20 million or more johnson & johnson shots and as you said it is a one-shot vaccine. when we talked about moderna and pfizer, we have to cut everything in half because two doses were needed by 20 million doses will cover 20 million people. >> we need to go straight over to the white house. the covid response team beginning their update. >> on so many fronts this is certainly a very encouraging development. today we'll get a state of the pandemic update from dr. walensky. dr. fauci and dr. nunez smith will discuss the recently authorized j&j vaccine and i'm close on on update and planning and distribution of the j&j vaccine and then open it u

cnn's medical correspondent elizabeth cohen has more on the company's next testing phases. >> reporter: the fda authorized johnson & johnson's covid-19 vaccine. the company says her going to be doing tishl studies of its vaccine in certain groups. let's take a look. it is not authorized for anyone under 18. johnson & johnson will be studying that group starting with teens first and that work is expected to begin very, very soon. they will also be testing it more in pregnant women who are in their second and third trimester. and also people who are immunocompromised that work is expected to begin this the come months. while people who are under the age of 18 can't get it right now. pregnant women can, and so can people who are immune compromised. >>> now the cpac, the annual conference that has morphed from colorful conservatism into candy for conspiracy theoriests. headlined this past weekend by the ever lasting gob stopper of lies himself, former president donald trump. >> it's just getting started. and in the end, we will win. we will win. we've been doing a lot of winning. >> that i

. >> elizabeth cohen has more. >> good morning, laura and christine. the cdc has laid out what you can do once you're fully vaccinated so let's take a look first at what it means to be fully vaccinated. what it means is that you are at least 2 weeks out from having had your johnson & johnson vaccine or two weeks after your second dose of moderna or pfizer. if you are fully vaccinated, you can visit others who are fully vaccinated indoors with no masks, no social distancing. no limits on that. and if you're fully vaccinated you can visit unvaccinated people indoors if, first of all, they're from one household, not from a variety of families and, two, if they're at low risk of developing severe covid-19. >> if grandparents have been vaccinated, they can visit their daughter and her family even if they have not been vaccinated so long as the daughter and her family are not at risk for severe disease. >> to be clear, the cdc did not say you can do anything you want. they put on limits. even if you are vaccinated, you shouldn't travel. they said you shouldn

. >> our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is with us. good morning.s eager parents what all this means. >> well, the university of illinois set out to see we did certain things during the pandemic to keep outbreaks low at our school. did it work at ours and other schools as well? let's look at what they did find actually worked. they followed the numbers and followed the outbreaks. they found frequent testing, they called it bulk testing, meaning lots of different people, even if they are asymptomatic. and that is so key. you don't just test someone because they've been exposed or because they have symptoms. frequent testings and that the test results would be available in 6 to 12 hours. that's so important because if someone is positive, you need to tell them to go home and if it's three days later, that's not really so useful. it needs to be quick. also this is very important. people needed to mask and they still needed to do social distancing. this frequent testing with fast results was not a replacement for masking and distancing. all of those thi

our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is with us this morning. good morning.it's different state by state, but it seems like a big deal. >> reporter: good morning, poppy. it is a big deal. in the beginning, the rules were so strict about who could get a big deal that has changed in many states. here's a mattering of states, for example, in alaska, you have to be over the age of 16. in california, anyone with certain health conditions can get vaccinated. that is a big difference. it's worth to know if you are eligible yet. once there is more supply and eligibility. the u.s. department of health and human service will be budget out a $250 million ad campaign doing among other things, promoting the vaccine. so let's take a look at this campaign and what it involves so ads will be on tv, billboards, print digital. one expert says a quarter of a billion will get you ads. there will be a podcast. it hasn't been announced who that is. the focus will be on avoiding clouds and getting the vaccine. you might wonder why when people are fighting to get it? well, the think

for more details, let's bring in cnn's medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. good morning. >> good morning. this is a large campaign. a quarter of a billion dollars. let's take a look at where that money is going to go. it's go doing go largely to tv, radio, billboard print, and digital ads. there will be a podcast by a well-known figure. we don't know who that is. while it will talk about social distancing and staying away from crowds, it will focus on vaccination and they're going to promote it to protect your family, to protect your community. they found that that kind of residency resonated well with people. you might wonder, gosh, so many people are scrambling to get a vaccine, do we really need to be promoting this? they're going to time it when there's more vaccine out there so they don't create more of a demand than can behandled. but there are people who do need to hear this message. there are people out there hesitant or adamant about not getting the vaccine. let's take a look at how those numbers break down. when we did a cnn poll march 3rd through

. >> reporter: i'm elizabeth cohen.s recently authorized for adults ages 18 and older, but the company says they will be testing their vaccine in children and if they get authorization from the u.s. food & drug administration, it could be available to children in september. now that's important because the pfizer vaccine is authorized only for 16 and older and the moderna vaccine is authorized only for 18 and older. >> reporter: i'm nick watt in los angeles. over in arizona governor doug dousy has signed an executive order saying schools must offer in-person teaching by march 15th or the end of spring break. he says the science is clear, it is safe. about half the schools in the state are already open and more need to follow. there is an exemption for counties with very high case counts. >>> i'm erica hill in new york where three mass vaccination sites will now offer 24/7 appointments in an effort to maximize the state's first shipment of the j&j vaccine. they received 154,000 doses. governor cuomo noted shipments of th

cnn's elizabeth cohen is reporting the cdc is expected to change its social distancing guidance for schools, recommending separations of three feet instead of six. i want to bring in dr. adrian boroughs, a family medicine physician. what do you think about this? is this the right call or is this just kind of acknowledging the reality of having kids in school that you can't actually space them six feet and get them all in a classroom? >> hi, brianna, thanks for having me on. i think it's a little bit of both. i've looked at this research and it does seem that the spacing doesn't need to be as far as six feet in order to keep the children safe, and so that's one of the factors involved in the cdc changing its guidelines. the other factor is exactly what you said. there is a push to try to get these schools reopened and then you can't do that with them six feet apart so i think both factors play a role, but it does seem, from what the evidence looks like, that three feet might be enough distance. >> with masking, right? masking is obviously the key part. >> correct, correct. yeah. so, the thin

elizabeth cohen, more on this johnson & johnson vaccine, how effective and how quickly will it become available to folks watching right now. >> jim, this is a very effective vaccine. i mean, it is the numbers so great, not as great as moderna and pfizer but still terrific. it is being shipped out and will be received at various locations as early as tomorrow. so let's take a look at those efficacy numbers. according to johnson & johnson, the vaccine is 72% effective at preventing covid whether it is moderate covid tor severe covid, the range is 72% effective, 85% effective against severe disease. i know that is confusing. 72% effective at preventing covid basically abroad range of covid. but 85% effective against severe disease. and in other words the kind of disease that could lead you to getting -- being hospitalized or lead to killing you and that is the number that many doctors will say the most important one. what vaccines should do is prevent you from getting so, so sick that your life is in danger. so that is a really great number. not as good as moderna and pfizer but still a

here's our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. >> reporter: laura, christine, the director of the u.s. centers for disease and prevention is warning americans not to get too lax about covid-19. yes, over the past few months the number of cases and deaths has gone down. she points out that the variants pose a real risk. these variants, there's one that started in the u.k., another one that started in south africa and others have posed challenges. they do seem to be spreading faster. there is some evidence that they can cause more severe disease so dr. walensky had this to say. >> please hear me clearly. at this level of cases with variants spreading, we stant to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained. now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of could he individual 19 in our communities, not when we are so close. >> reporter: after more than a year there is covid-19 fatigue. in this country we have more than 2,000 deaths a day from covid-19 and dr. walensky pointed out that very recently the number of new cases and t

then's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is joining us now. i feel like this uk variant has been the tsunami we see coming at us. where is at this point in time? >> that's for sure. remember, brianna, when we were counting cases by variant, one by one, but now there are thousands. what we know about this uk variant, it's been spotted in 48 out of 50 states. the vaccine seems to work pretty well against it but it seems to spread more easily. and according to a new study just out, the risk of death when you get it is 55% higher than the death rates for other variants. that is obviously not good news. now dr. rochelle walensky has talked about this variant quite frequently. let's take a listen to this. she talks about how soon she thinks it's going to become the dominant strain in the u.s. and by the way she calls the uk va variant by its scientific name, which is b.1.1.7. >> in some states, florida and california, it's up to 25%, in other states it's lower. our current models still project by the end of march, early april, b.1.1.7 will be the do

>> elizabeth cohen, thank you very much for that. i'll try this again, because i don't think you reacted quite enough the first time. >> the dangle was good, but this was better, okay? >> is this shakespeare? >> almost? >> lies, revenge, and bears, oh, my. >> well done. >> thank you. >> what did the former president just do to the republican party? that's next. introducing voltaren arthritis pain gel. the first full prescription strength non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel... available over the counter. voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. voltaren. the joy of movement. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis... stelara® can provide relief and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection... fl

. >> reporter: i'm elizabeth cohen. cnn has learned that the u.s.ontrol is expected to change its guidelines for schools on friday. now, the cdc has been telling people throughout the pandemic that in schools children and other people in schools need to stay at least six feet apart, it's expected that the cdc will tell people, do you know what, now you can be three feet or more apart in schools. the hope is that this will hasten an easy return to school if people can be three feet or more apart, but it's unclear exactly what affect the new guideline will have. >>> i'm pete muntean in washington. air travel recorded its biggest week of the pandemic. for the first time in a year the tsa screened more than a million people at airports across the country each day for seven days in a row. also a pandemic first, wednesday's number was higher than the same figure from the year before. delta ceo ed bastion says a recovery in travel demand is under way. these numbers are only about half of what they were pre-pandemic and health officials are still warning ag

is expanding the criteria was eligible for vaccine as a plan for a lot it's an occupation dr elizabeth cohen of al-jazeera new delhi. allez there brazil and u.k. variants of covert 19 tighten their grip on latin america chile as government is considering postponing an election for the 11th of april that was supposed to select the members that would draft a new constitution in santiago infections of now risen 57 percent in just 2 weeks despite having the world's fastest vaccination program. meanwhile brazil makes up a quarter of global daily coronavirus that's it's expected its daily death toll could soon reach 4000 argentina has banned the travel to and from chile brazil and mexico let's go live now to daniel in buenos aires so tell us a little bit more about the measures being introduced in argentina. well barbara i think the government here in argentina fills our blige in many ways to enforce these measures because as we've just been hearing with the news from india that the kovacs scheme is not releasing as many vaccines as many countries would like they're arriving in dribs and drabs her

expanding the criteria was eligible for baxter as the plans to tell you it's an occupation dr elizabeth cohen of al-jazeera nudity. the philippines is again tightening quarantine measures hospitals and struggle to cope with surging coronavirus infections a lockdown will last for a week and will affect 24000000 people living in the capital and nearby provinces the past 2 days have both seen more than 1000 new cases more than 3600 people died from cover 1000 in brazil on friday that's a new daily. a record and as the toll mounts there is concern about the growing number of young people becoming infected and dying from the virus. reports from rio de janeiro. in unusual holiday in rio de janeiro with empty streets and a crowded sidewalk protestors angry at the latest government to addict the mayor's a real one some have decreed an extended holiday and shut down brazil's 2 major cities keeping only essential services open and hundreds took to the streets saying they want their jobs back. informal workers see they're being punished for mistakes made by others much damage damage that we represent 50

expanding the criteria was eligible for baxter as a chance to tell you it's an occupation dr elizabeth cohen of al-jazeera you did. or more than 3600 people died from cover 1000 in brazil on friday that's a new daily record and there is concern about the growing number of young people becoming infected and dying from the virus monica and i kept reports from rio de janeiro. an unusual holiday in rio de janeiro with empty streets and a crowded sidewalk protesters angry at the latest government to addict the mayors of rio one some have decreed an extended holiday and shut down brazil's 2 major cities keeping only essential services open and hundreds took to the streets saying they want their jobs back. informal workers see they're being punished for mistakes made by others much damage damage that we represent 50000 beach vendors who are left with no income the lack of vaccines and public policies to encourage the use of masks and control kind this time parties have led to this chaos where the ones paying the price. more than 300000 brazilians have lost their lives jacoby 19 since the ban demick