this is why the fda advisory committee did not want to approve it. they did not want people to have adverse effects if they were fine with their immune system. if you have a high immune reaction, you may have side effects for a couple days. kristen: vivian wants to know, should my 17-year-old diabetics type one get a booster? he is at school in person and it has been more than six months. dr. gandhi: this is only approved for over 18 because there is an increasing risk of adverse effects with young males. this is not going to be improved -- approved for 12-year-olds to 17-year-olds yet. kristen: gretchen wants to know, i need the flu shot and the booster. which is more important to get first? dr. gandhi: a study in the u.k. said it is fine to get both. that was on adverse effects and antibodies. if i had to choose, i would get the flu vaccine, instead of the booster, if you are not over 65. the flu is coming back. there was a big flu outbreak at the university of michigan. you are likely already protected from covid. kristen: we are hearing a lot of

when i spoke the last week, the fda advisory committee had just met and reviewed the data from pfizer that describes the covid-19 vaccine efficacy in children. pfizer submitted data on nearly 2000 children between the ages of five to 11 years and the fda reviewed effectiveness and immune response data. in the clinical trial, there are only three cases of covid-19 in the over 1300 children who received the vaccine. and 16 cases in the 660 children that received the placebo. the vaccination efficacy was nearly 91% in preventing the covid-19 vaccine. the fda advisory committee reviewed safety data from an additional 2000 children who received the vaccine and found no severe adverse effects. and reported post vaccine symptoms, including soreness at the site, headache, muscle aches and low-grade fever that were similar to the adult population. with these safety and efficacy results, the fda authorized the covid-19 vaccine for children ages five to 11 on friday. tomorrow, the cdc advisory committee on immunization practices will need to have their transparent, open conversation on data for

it takes our committee, our fda advisory committee, when i came on the committee four years ago, we're the people who take the flu strains. march we take them for september, the six-month production cycle. it's a group of nerdy virologists talking about which strains are circulating. certainly it's not televised on c-span, nobody is asking us for our opinions afterwards. it's not breaking news. it was great. now, suddenly, you're in the spotlight. all these fda vaccine advisers are in the spotlight. it's odd. in terms of the armchair epidemiologist or virologist, i get a lot of emails from people telling me how awfully wrong i am about whatever it is i most recently said. >> yeah. there's a lot of people in that club. what do you wish that the armchair virologists out there knew? what do they most often get wrong? >> i think the thing that's hardest for people to grasp, you sort of alluded to tirlier, is the notion of relative risk. i don't think we get that. it's hard to communicate risk. so for example, the risk of myocarditis is 1 in 50,000. the risk of severe clotting is 1 in 500,0

the fda advisory committee voted unanimously with only one extension to authorize this. it was not a close call. the overwhelming majority of scientific opinion is it is far safer and better for children, for families in our community to roll out this vaccine for everyone as opposed to risking getting covid. the delta variant is so contagious that one day or another everybody is going to get it. it is better to be vaccinated young, like with other childhood immunizations. here is where i stand. you just heard i am absolutely in favor of vaccine mandates but i would not mandate the vaccine for children yet. the reason is i do want to see more long-term safety data. we know these vaccines are safe because billions are being given around the world safely to my but children are different. they are not young adults. they have a different biology. i want to see whether there are any adverse effects that emerge. we are not expecting them other than those we know about, certain cardiac events. the cardiac events are really very rare. they are resolved quickly. the truth is that

i'm skeptical about everybody who's that's of the fda advisory committee table. i'm skeptical. let me see the data. now you've tested it. let's say the pfizer vaccine, in 40,000 adults. 40,000 adults got this vaccine. it was 95% effective at preventing any illness, mild, moderate, severe. that means 20,000 of the placebo -- 20,000! you want to be one of the first get that vaccine or do you want to wait until a few million doses are out? the truth is the father moderna vaccine, a man named marie's, he was the primary researcher were nine of the 14 vaccines that we currently gifted children said it best. -- until the first 3 million doses are out there, because sometimes if i know things you issued known earlier. so you want to point? you want to wait till there's 3 million doses out there? in which case you do risk getting an infection, because the infection is so common. this is what -- we've been there. now we have an 11 year old recommendation. do you want to wait? do you want to wait until a few million have been vaccinated knowing that every week between 150,000 250,000 chi

levy joins us, a member of the fda advisory committee "closing bell" will be right back reducing ourons to net zero may be our biggest challenge yet. there's no single action that will lead us to carbon neutrality. but there is a single source of essential sustainability intelligence. s&p global sustainable1. uncover risk scenarios, reveal transition pathways, and optimize your net zero opportunities with our unparalleled data and insight. accelerate to zero with us. what's strong with me? what's strong with me? with our unparalleled data and insight. what's strong with me? what's strong with me? with me! with me! what's strong with me? with me! with me. i'll shoot you an estimate as soon as i get back to the office. hey, i can help you do that right now. high thryv! thryv? yep. i'm the all-in-one management software built for small business. high thryv! help me with scheduling? sure thing. up top. high thryv! payments? high thryv! promotions? high thryv! email marketing? almost there, hold on. wait for it. high thryv! manage my customer list? can do. will do. high thryv! post on soc

vaccine request to california to have the doses needed for 5 to 11 year-olds on the 26 an fda advisory committee approved the pfizer vaccine for that group. the agency authorized the emergency use. so that was last friday. and today the cdc approved the vaccine for 5 to 11 year-olds, as we've heard and if everything goes according to plan that might be available as early as tomorrow or thursday. >> helping children feel more comfortable. getting a shot will allow this process to go smoother, certainly for parents in san francisco elementary school students got a chance ask a doctor. some important questions about the vaccine front forces that unit continues. our team coverage. >> well, we have to get the vaccine. >> with the inevitability of covid-19 vaccinations being approved for children ages 5 to 11 the san francisco unified school district asked these malcolm x academy elementary school 4th of 5th graders to come up with their own questions about the vaccine little piece of it. i want to ucsf benioff children's hospital pediatrician doctor daniel woolridge had the tough job of answering the

an fda advisory committee approved the pfizer vaccine for that group. the agency authorized the emergency use of vaccine last friday. today the cdc advisory committee approved the vaccine for 5 to 11 year-olds and now that the cdc has given the final approval. it could be available starting tomorrow or thursday. so now all of this news will no doubt cause a lot of children to have questions about this. that is why elementary school students san francisco got a chance to ask a doctor. some important questions about the vaccine front force. has a june listening in on that event and has that part of our coverage. west. >> with the inevitability of covid-19 vaccinations being approved for children ages 5 to 11 the san francisco unified school district asked these malcolm x academy elementary school 4th and 5th graders to come up with their own questions about the vaccine little piece of it. i want to ucsf benioff children's hospital pediatrician doctor daniel woolridge had the tough job of answering these important questions. >> well, we have to get the vacc

it comes nearly two months after a public debate over boosters for all americans, when an fda advisory committee voted down a similar request from pfizer. >> dr. pearlman voted no, dr. ganz voted no. >> reporter: the cdc instead limiting pfizer and moderna boosters for people 65 and over and adults at high risk from health conditions or work. >> people should be reassured that these vaccines continue to work and are working well. and if you've gotten two doses of the vaccine, and if you're not currently eligible for a booster, you're protected. >> reporter: for now, o.j. people who got the johnson & johnson one shot are eligible for a booster, regardless of age. but in recent days, health officials signaling all vaccinated americans can expect a green light for booster shots soon. >> it will be very likely that everyone will be able to get a booster within a reasonable amount of time. >> all right, so, let's get to stephanie ramos back with us again tonight. stephanie, there is some reporting tonight that this decision, that this time, pfizer boosters for millions more, of course, 18 and older n

an fda advisory committee voted down a similar request in september but new information suggests the outcome could be different. sources tell abc news the fda will not be calling the independent committee to review pfizer date at which means authorization could -- data which means authorization could happen before thanksgiving. up almost 13% in the last two weeks. colorado, just 5% of icu beds available. >> hospitals and and and and up with patients going on ventilators and many of them dying. >> 21 states are seeing1 statesg uptick in cases. nearly all of the states are transitioning to colder weather, forcing people indoors. the request still has to go to the cdc. reggie: promising is from federal health experts about the covid-19 treatment bill. it could likely be available within a year. >> one has already received an emergency youth -- use authorization. it was shown that if you give it to people early in the course of infection, you diminished by 50% the likelihood that they will be hospitalized or die compared to placebo. reggie: dr. fauci gave an update during a town hall meet

>> well, you know, when you listen to the fda advisory committee and cdc advisory committee deliberate all day, you really do get a much clearer picture of just how thoughtful the discussions and deliberations are, and people giving the recommendations, many are parents and grandparents. we forget that in the reporting and the bureaucracy. many of us have been saying for months that in relative numbers, do children fare better than their adult counterparts with covid-19, of course they do, but they are so far from immune. in that age group, 5 to 11, there have been 97 deaths. may i remind viewers in 2019, 2020 flu season there were 199 deaths from influenza, and that was a really, really bad year. and we had hundreds more children die who are older than this, not to mention misc and long covid. if you're a parent out there, i assure you, you don't want your child getting multi system inflammatory syndrome. it is upending people's lives. it is really an historic time. everyone involved in the manufacturing and production and approval of the vaccines deserve a lot of our -- they deserve

. >> bret: all right, admiral breath giroir we will follow that fda advisory committee tomorrow. >> thank you. stocks were up today the dow gained 237. the nasdaq jumped 291 today. twitter co-founder jack dorsey is stepping down as ceo of the social media platform. the company says dorsey will remain on the board until his term expires in 2022. dorsey tweeted that he is really sad yet really happy about leaving the company and that it was his decision. he says there are not many founders who would place their company over their own ego. dorsey will be replaced by current chief technology officer. we have another chapter tonight in the feud between two congresswomen. one republican who said something that even her colleagues on her side of the aisle have condemned and one democrat who is reacting to those remarks and pushing back. congressional correspondent chad pergram tells us who is involved and what's being said tonight. good evening, chad. >> good evening, bret. there was a call today between the congresswomen. it lasted about two minutes. it did not go well. >> i will continue to fe

also on the fda's vaccine advisory committee. good to see you.ost vaccine clinics. in a letter to school superintendents, the biden administration notes there's ample funding and resources to help from the american rescue plan that passed earlier this year. the white house also notes information and encouragement directly from schools could help raise vaccination rates. but do you worry that many schools might just not want the headache? >> well, first of all, it's a great idea. so those schools that are willing to do it would certainly be a major contribution. it does remind one of the polio days. you're trying to mass vaccinate children. sometimes the easiest way is through schools. but, obviously, i think the fallback is going to be when pediatricians offices. >> since vaccines for children 5 to 11 became available last week we've seen an overwhelming response in some parts of the country with parents lining up with their kids to get shots but then one father in the d.c. area told us that he waited three-plus hours to get his kids vaccinated.

he's a member of the fda's advisory committee, which isn't being consulted by the agency for this decision. concerning to dr. jha is the update to boosters among those eligible a minority of people in nursing homes. he hopes simplifying who qualifies will help. >> possibly we'll neat a fourth shot >> the jury is out on that experts will say we'll have to essentially see what happens over the next six months to a year to understand how long the protection from a booster will last, but it is a possibility. >>> meg tirrell, thanks so much. >>> new calls to boy coit the beijing olympics, not just for diplomats but from everybody today tom cotton urged the biden administration to pull athletes out of the winter games. he said america should stand up to china's human rights abuses. >> we should launch a complete boycott of the olympics. i regret that it would prevent about 300 of americas's world-class athletes from competing. they've been failed by the leaders of the international olympic movement, who never should have awarded these games to a communist tyranny. >> the push for a boycott comes

and late this afternoon, an fda advisory committee voted 13-10 to recommend authorization of this drugor use in nonpregnant adults. now, if it is approved by the fda, this would become the first oral medication to treat covid-19. and the first that patients could take at home. bret? >> bret: i heard admiral giroir speak about that last night. jonathan, thank you. >> sure. >> bret: three students dead tonight several others injured and one student? custody following a school shooting in michigan. it happened this afternoon at oxford high school in oxford township about 30 miles north of detroit. correspondent garrett tenney has the latest from chicago. good evening, garrett. >> bret, good evening to you. the three students who lost their lives were just 14, 16, and 17 years old. two girls and a boy. this past hour we learned that 8 other people were also shot, including a teacher and are now being treated at local hospitals. police have identified the shooter as a 15-year-old sophomore who they say used a semiautomatic handgun with multiple magazines to fire 15 to 20 shots at objection

paul offit at children's hospital of philadelphia and a member of the fda advisory committee.ffit, and as part of that committee, tell us what the cdc panel is actually considering today. what are they looking at? >> they're looking at the data showing the degree to which this virus infects children 5 to 11 years of age. we know it's infectly almost 280 million children in the 5 to 11-year-old group. they're looking also to see if the vaccine works. it was in a child study and found to be 91% effective. and they were also looking most seriously at whether or not they feel that the benefits clearly and definitively outweigh the risks. we know for older children, the 16 to 25-year-old, that myocarditis was a rare symptom, myocarditis in the heart muscle. it was less in the 12 to 15-year-old, and now we're looking at the 5 to 11-year-old who are getting an even lower dose. this was a rare side effect, in about 12 of 20,000 people, but it was real, so you want to make sure the benefit clearly outweighs the risk before the vaccine gets out there. >> i think that's probably the reas

not much known about the treatment yet, the fda advisory committee meets on the myrt myrt -- merck pill in one week. the country made major improvements since last thanksgiving. new cases averaged above 170,000 every day and hospitals treating nearly double amount of covid patients they are today. with the holidays last year, it helped catapult the u.s. into its largest surge yet. if we aren't careful again this year, experts warn we could be in for another tough winter. joining me with the latest on the administration's battle to get employees vaccinated nbc justice correspondent pete williams. osha previously suspended this vaccine or test rule due to lawsuits before do we stand now? that's the step the administration is taking? >> reporter: still suspended but the administration asking the court emergency order to lift the stay. remember, like three dozen of these lawsuits filed around the country. all consolidated together. the sixth circuit court of appeals based in cincinnati. the government says in a new filing, two things. basically say the court, fifth circuit court of appeals

merck has not publicly released the potential side effects but an fda advisory committee will valleyd of the month. >>> and here at home, covid is surging in colorado where hospitals are rationing care. the governor warranted residents that the delta variant has made going out to eat and shopping in colorado a bit more dangerous than ever before. 80% of coloradoans are at least partially vaccinated. according to state health officials it's the remaining 1 million unvaccinated folks are the ones getting sick and crowding hospitals. nationally, there are hopeful signs the pandemic has turned the corner. especial with vaccine rollouts of tens of millions of children ages 5 to 11. thousands got kids size shots yesterday. luckily they didn't have to do it again. from d.c. to texas comfort dogs were seen working hard for kids who rolled up their sleeves. >>> up next, an exclusive one-on-one with climate envoy john kerry. you're watching "meet the press daily." you're watching "meet th daily. there's a different way to treat hiv. it's once-monthly injectable cabenuva. cabenuva is the only o

>> studies are going on, when the studies will be completed and presented to the fda advisory committeet year. >> some parents are just taking a wait-and-see approach. you know, maybe they want to get their kids vaulxnated but they have some concerns and i want to ask you about this. since you help create the rotavirus vaccine, your rota-tech was one of the first vaccines but it was taken off the market after it was linked to a rare and serious side effect. what do you say to parents who are taking it the wait-and-see approach with the covid vaccine who may be concerned, you know, with situations like i just mentioned? >> right. so that vaccine called rote asheshield was on the market for ten months when it was found to be a very, very rare cause of intestinal blockage. the vaccine was given to infants at mouth by 2, 4 and 6 months of age. this is very different. virtually unlike any other pediatric vaccine you have hundreds of millions of adults who have seen it and millions and millions of children between 12 and 17 years of age who have received it. i understand the parent hesitancy.

joining me now is a member of the fda advisory committee and a director for vaccine education at philadelphia for our viewers. right now 195.7, so 196 million americans are fully vaccinated by the governor's definition about that, about 72% of them, 32.5 million have received boosters already. now that we expect by the end of the day that the government will green light boosters for all adults so we have to change our definition of fully vaccinated? does fully vaccinated mean you now have a bhoefrt six months after the second dose? >> that depends on what we expect. if we expect the vaccine to protect against serious illness, the kind that makes you go to the hospital with the exception of people recently who are 65 years of age or others over the age of 50 with a high-risk medical condition in which case you could reasonably argue for those groups because you want to make sure you have a high level of protection against serious illness. on the other hand, and the reason that's true is because all you need for protection against serious illness is immunological memory cells, so-called memory

. >> just six weeks ago the fda advisory committee rejected the yet of people 18 and over needing a boostered since then? >> we are seeing new data emerge, including more data out of israel that's much ahead of us when it comes to data collection and when it comes to boosters. and the data that we're seeing includes that the immunity wanes and also that a third dose provides that additional protection. i think it's reasonable for the fda and cdc to start with those who are particularly high risk, who are older, have underlying medical conditions that make them more susceptible to severe outcomes from covid-19. if you're 18 and older and you deem yourself to be at high risk because of occupation or underlying medical conditions you can get a booster now. i think it makes sense for the fda and cdc to revise the recommendations based on this emerging new data and at some point recommend that everyone needs a booster. that would be a good idea to do especially before the holidays. >> basically if you're walking in to a cvs right now can you just say i need a booster? is it super easy? >> yes, i

paul off yffitt, a member oe fda's advisory committee.nsylvania's department of health. the standard for vaccination that currently applies and the type is tiny, but let me just tell you and everybody else that for attendance in all grades, children need four doses of tes diphtheria, two of measles, mumps, rubella. three of hepatitis b, two of chickenpox, should covid-19 be added to that list? >> yes. i mean, do you think covid-19 is as serious or more serious than those diseases, of course it is. we're in the midst of a pandemic, and the thing about vaccine mandates is they work. we have had vaccine school mandates since the 1970s, primarily because of measles jo outbreaks at that time, and what we found is we were able to eliminate measles from this country, and measles is far more transmissible and contagious than covid-19, and certainly vaccine mandates work, and children will benefit from those mandates. >> so where there is now final approval, why isn't there more of an effort underway because we did research this week and it just d

fda advisory committee is meeting right now to consider whether or not to recommend the first pill. to treat covid-19 patient's drug maker. merck says the pill is the first in a new class of treatments that could work against a wide range of variants . the fda panel is deciding whether to recommend authorizing it for high risk patients. it has been shown to modestly reduced the risk of hospitalization and death. new at noon, oakland's police chief addresses an increase in violent crime and homicide rate that already far surpasses last year's total, he said more police recruits are expected to graduate soon, with more police on patrol by next month. katie was ali rasmus. i know you were listening to the chiefs update a minute ago. your live now to get us up to speed on this. a lot of information coming from this update with oakland's police chief laurent armstrong. it just wrapped up a few minutes ago. one of the first things that you've talked about is some new information in the case of a deadly shooting near lake merritt over the weekend. the chief released this description of the

fda vaccine advisory committee member dr.on the threat of the omicron variant and whether treatments should be used for widely to ghfit it we'll be back in two minutes [energetic music throughout] what's strong with me? i know when i'm ready to run. what's strong with me? i can find strength in a rest day. what's strong with me? there are some nights i sleep so well... i'm ready for anything. find out what's strong with you with daily readiness on fitbit. small businesses like yours make gift-giving possible. now, comcast business has an exclusive gift for you. introducing the gift of savings sale. for a limited time, ask how to get a great deal for your business. and get up to a $500 prepaid card with select bundles when you switch to the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses. or get started with internet and voice for $64.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee. give your business the gift of savings today. comcast business. powering possibilities. >>> welcome back there was the close for the nasdaq

looking at the numbers, merck shows 50% efficacy, pfizer showed 89 and merck already has an fda advisory committee 30th. we don't know how quickly the fda will be able to move on that but this is moving quickly pfizer up by quite a bit merck down 8.5%. and moderna down almost 20% as the vaccine stock is taking hit on this news guys >> i mean, just looking at the moves we are seeing the in stocks you just pointed out, we think about how major the sales numbers have been for a company like pfizer for the vaccine. when you think about how much of the u.s. population, at least adult population is already vaccinated, do we know how large the treatment market could actually be for something like these antiviral pills going forward? >> that's a really good question and i haven't seen estimates yet from wall street but even though this trial was done in just unvaccinated people, the expectation is it could be used also for vaccinated people if they have an infection after vaccination that keeps it a pretty broad market do they recognize their symptoms early enough to get treated? it's quite a large market

patients that pfizer initiated to really deliver on additional data as requested by the fda and advisory committeepressure i think from the international public to demonstrate that boosters are necessary six months after a second dose. it come through, the data did. 10,000 patients average age of 53 years demonstrated a third shot on an average of six months after the second dose raises that efficacy, becky, to 95% so pretty much what you'd experience after full immunity from that first and second dose, which is incredible. this on top of the evidence of break through infections can lead especially in certain adults, not just high risk but people under the age of 50 that these can lead to hospitalizations that's a significant marker that i think should put to rest this debate i think everyone does need a booster after six months from their second dose at least >> there were questions about this before. the real world studies we seen play out in israel, where they moved ahead quickly, was four booster shots. what was different about what we were seeing in israel with some of that data was it not as

>> first of all, 17 members of the fda advisory committee voted yes.o and one more conservative. they all voted yes. why? the vaccine at that 1/3 dose looks to be 90% effective and safety excellent. some parents will say safety in 1600 kids. i want to see what it is in 100,000 kids and why my opinion. my opinion is let's give it to kids where we know -- this is a medical term and use it in the doctor's office all time, the word is cost-benefit analysis. what it means. i know a kid at high risk with an underlying condition, diabetes, cancer, i know they are much worse off with covid even though covid tends to affect kids more mildly. they are much more likely to be hospitalized if they have those conditions. they need the vaccine first. >> bill: the panel voted 17-0. based on a question whether or not they would give the vaccine to their child or young child. my barometer has been to rely on people like you asking whether or not you would take the shot. from the very beginning you were in on this so the fact it went 17-0 says something about it. >> bill

response that he felt comfortable with being protected and this is coming up now on the fda vaccine advisory committee and we are going to consider on tuesday several thousand child studies for the 5 to 11-year-olds so i'm gettingto that in this context . so he didn't want to, he was happy. he said i got up, tells his wife donna i've got. but nonetheless heat the march of dimeswanted to do a big study. he didn't want to do that. he didn't want to inoculate children with a placebo vaccine during polio season . but nonetheless that was what was done he had 420,000 children got the vaccine, hundred thousand placebo. the vaccine was declared by you later by the person who hated that trial safe , and effective in those three words where the headline of everynewspaper in the united states . church bells rung at synagogues, portland sort of stopped to announce that over the loudspeaker in and it was over the voice of america and at last polio had been conquered. how do we know it was effective? we don't it was effective because 16 people died in that study in the placebo group. 36 children were paralyzed in

why the fda advisory committee -- voted down boosters for all.ve they go a fourth or fifth with wave going through? i see austrian cases hit a record high. they're taking actions against christmas markets in germany and elsewhere? another wave hitting there, is another wave going to come here? >> i think the delta wave is the final wave in the united states. we'll have to see what the data shows on the durability of the vaccine in older people but if you look at what's happening right now we have extremely low levels, maybe the lowest levels of the entire pandemic in the southeast united states. the great lakes region is struggling right now. they have vaccination rates in the 60, 70% range. look at some of these firewalls if you will, some of these backstops of pennsylvania, connecticut, massachusetts, vermont, they have 92, 93% of population over 12 vaccinated. so i think this is the final wave. we're seeing viral season with cold weather. stuart: we love to hear that. dr. marty makary, thanks for joining us doctor, always appreciate it. >> tha

the cdc presented to the fda advisory committee the data that 42% of kids 5-11 is are estimated to have had the delta wave. it's north of 50, maybe 50-60%. stuart: do all of these kids though they're had covid or presumed? >> presumed, most kids are likely to have asymptomatic cases. also professional athletes in the same category. stuart: okay, doctor, we hear it. much obliged to you. thanks very much. >> thanks, stuart. stuart: i'm going to show you the market one more time because we had this dramatic inflation news earlier today, and we've got reaction on the market. it's down, but it's not really way down. i'm talking about stocks now. in fact, the cryptos, they are holding up quite well. now -- there you go. it's on the screen now. 63 points down for the dow, 90 for the nasdaq. that's not a huge reaction to the inflation news. right. aaron rodgers, he was on your screen a moment ago, he's now speaking out about his own vaccination controversy. lauren, what did he say? what's he saying now? >> he said sorry, not sorry. here you go. >> you know, i made some comments that people migh

the fda advisory committee voted unanimously with only one extension to authorize this.close call. the overwhelming majority of scientific opinion is it is far safer and better for children, for families in our community to roll out this vaccine for everyone as opposed to risking getting covid. the delta variant is so contagious that one day or another everybody is going to get it. it is better to be vaccinated young, like with other childhood immunizations. here is where i stand. you just heard i am absolutely in favor of vaccine mandates but i would not mandate the vaccine for children yet. the reason is i do want to see more long-term safety data. we know these vaccines are safe because billions are being given around the world safely to my but children are different. they are not young adults. they have a different biology. i want to see whether there are any adverse effects that emerge. we are not expecting them other than those we know about, certain cardiac events. the cardiac events are really very rare. they are resolved quickly. the truth is that you are more l

then you have the fda, and cdc advisory committees meet, and put the brakes on it.one. and i think that really, lawrence, that put a lot of public health officials, doctors like, me in an awkward position. because people were confused. and many of us were confused. and then fast forward to here we are, finally, facing increasing cases. something of a fifth wave as many of us are seeing on the ground. and we are all just trying to prevent as much as possible. the booster is what i think, naturally would have been in a vaccine series. this isn't a failure of a primary series. this is a novel virus. we've never had a vaccine for it before. and as we are learning, like many other viruses, we need at least three doses. maybe more. but at least for now, three doses to constitute a full immunity for least a year. >> when they put the brakes on, did more information, and more data get developed, but then clarified that, okay, there is no need for a break here, let's just go ahead with everybody getting a booster? >> yes, i think it was two things. one, it was pretty compell

then you had the fda, and cdc advisory committees meet putting the brakes on it, it's not there, it'sns, but not everyone, and i think that really, lawrence, put a lot of public health officials, doctors like me, pharmacists in an awkward position because people were confused and many of us were confused and then fast forward to here we are, finally facing increasing cases, something of a fifth wave as many of us are seeing on the ground, and we're all just trying to kind of prevent as much as possible and the booster is what i think naturally would happen in a vaccine series. this isn't a failure of the primary series. this is a novel virus. we have never had a vaccine for it before and as we're learning like many other viruses, we need three doses, maybe more, but at least for now, three doses to constitute a full immunity for at least a year. >> when they put the brakes on, did more information and more data get clarified that, okay, there's no need for a break here, let's get ahead with everybody get a booster? >> yeah, i think it's two things. one, there was a compelling set of d

what will be interesting about this move by the fda is what the advisory committee at the cdc will dong to allow this vaccine to be given to everyone over 18, they've said no. we'll see what they say here. >> let me ask you this, as you're talking about cases and hospitalizations and death and what the goal is. now i'm starting to wonder, you've got new cases up 16% in the last two weeks. that is concerning health officials. anthony fauci saying he's worried what this all means as it's heading into the winter. with vaccines and boosters now widespread especially amongst the most vulnerable, is new infection still the right measure, if you will, when we want to know where we stand in the fight against the pandemic? >> i think the important measure is hospitalization and death. i think dr. fauci is right. as you head into winter, knowing you have a susceptible population of children that are 5 to 11 gathering in one place, even the 12 to 15-year-olds who are gathering or generally undervaccinated or there are communities undervaccinated, it's likely we'll see a rise of not only infectio

with and i will be curious to see what the advisory committee for immunization practices does with this recommendation, come friday. >> because as you know, the fdacision without consulting the vaccine's advisory committee. do they already have all the d data they need? should they come back to your committee for more input? >> i think the data that they have are that if you give a third dose of pfizer vaccine, you get a booster neutralizing antibody and, therefore, you lessen the symptomatic or mildly symptomatic infection. which unfortunately, have been called breakthrough infections. a vaccine that is working well is a vaccine that prevents serious illness. meaning, keeps you out of the doctor's office, out of the hospital, out of the intensive care unit. these vaccines are currently doing that. we set a much higher bar for this vaccine when we talk about protection against asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infection. and i think, you know, if that's the goal, this -- this booster won't be the last one. >> so quickly, do you think adults 18 and over should take -- get that third shot, that booster? >> i think people who are over 65 years of a

fda. and then the advisory committee for immunization practice. you have hours and hours of slides and discussion for that. get that down to about two minutes. it's really hard to do it. but these kind of programs are great because you get to develop themes. >> i'm a big proponent of long form conversations as well. i've never been good at getting a point across in four minutes. i'm sympathetic. i really enjoyed the conversation today. so thanks so much for embarking on this long form conversation. >> thank you. it was fun, i really enjoyed it. thanks so much. >> thanks again for all of your wisdom in sharing these stories from our history. really, they're especially pertinent today and really great reminders of what we have ahead of us, honestly, with vaccines and therapies for covid. >> thank you. >> "after words" is available as a podcast. visit c-span.org/podcasts or search c-span after words on your podcast app. was this and other interviews at booktv.org. click the "after words" button at the top of the page. >>> weekends on c-span2 are an i

that given what we have seen today but there is no reason they have to wait for that advisory committee for the fdao approve that that happened with antibodies. there was no ad combefore the antibodies were approved because the safety and efficacy was so very clean. >> could this supplant the vaccine? where does this leave you for 2022 >> i think 2022 is going to be a robust year in terms of vaccine sales. but this definitely adds a lot of upside. we will see tens of billions of dollars from their covid-19 franchise which i think people didn't fully expect. 2022 for vaccine sales, i think a lot of that is this the bag because their already have contracts doses. they could make up to 4 billion doses. i think 2022 will still be good. i don't expect it to fully impact vaccines. i think if you want to get a vaccine, you are still going to get it if you don't want to get it, you are not going to get it. but what it does help is to really stamp out this virus. for those who don't want a vaccine, who can't get it depending on what part of the world you are in. >> i got my booster shot this morning, if you

cnn has learned on another important issue, that the fda is now considering bypassing its vaccines advisory committeethout hearing the form at input that usually goes into a decision like that. do you think that's a good idea? >> yes, i do. frankly, this was already foreshadowed at the last might. the fda asked the advisers, what do you think about increasing the eligibility, so the advisers already gave input into that. many have already been on record saying they're okay with this decision, and at this point, the u.s. should look at the data coming out of israel, uk, qatar, canada that's expanded eligibility to everyone over the age of 18. probably the pfizer and moderna he recommended to probably be three doses. especially before the potential winter surge and people gathering over the holidays. >> after nearly ten months in office, president biden is finally, finally moving to select a permanent fda commissioner. we expect the president to nominate dr. rob kaycaliff for t position? >> there's still so many decisions to be made, including boosters for younger children, treatment, testing, not to m

and the advisory committee has given the fda their go ahead and said let's create some kind of frameworkime a decision needs to be made. now we do know that the cdc does plan on consulting their advisory committee before they are making any decisions. but when we're just talking about changing age groups, i think it is okay to move forward. >> and quickly, do you know if there is an abundance of supply for third shots for anyone who wants it that is over 18? >> it seems like there is. the u.s. government has made sure that they are continuously putting in bids to have endless supply of vaccines. so it is not an issue of vaccine supply. it is a about convincing people that getting vaccinated is the right thing to do. >> and so we've got thanksgiving coming up, right. a lot of people i know including myself will be traveling, a lot of us have little ones who are not old enough to be vaccinated. what do we need to know regarding family gatherings, what is safe and what is not safe? >> you know, as we're moving into the winter months, people are moving indoors and we do know that being insid