cbs's jon lapook spoke with the first american in the trial. >> reporter: 23-year-old jacob serrano was the first volunteer to be dosed in the u.s. with the oxford astrazeneca vaccine or placebo. he has lost seven family members to covid-19 and he wants to be part of the solution, no matter the cost. >> i know this is a risk is that the trial, but i would rather have us one. >> reporter: serrano was dosed on friday in lake worth, florida. >> the immune response is very encouraging. >> reporter: dr. larry boesch is the lead investigator for this trial. he says he's optimistic this vaccine is effective. >> the phase one and two trials the vaccine has been proven that not only do you get robust neutralizing antibodies to fight the coronavirus, you get a t cell response to fight off the cells that do become infected. that's crucial in fighting infections. nds says they ford has been -- are focusing on enrolling members of the african-american and latin x community who have been disproportionately affected. >> those groups of people are becoming infected at higher rates, and therefore that i

jon lapook. good morning to you, dr. lapook. i know your name.hy are some doctors very alarmed by this potential move? >> well, good morning, gayle. dr. hahn was already facing criticism over his agency's decision to grant emergency use authorization for ,hich was late escent plasma. both treatments were heavily promoted by the president. now dr. hahn's latest comments have renewed concerns that his agency is being politicized, something he flatly denies. >> our decision at fda will not be made on any other criteria than the science and data associated with these clinical trials. >> reporter: fda commissioner dr. stephen hahn vowed not to let politics interfere with the approval process for a coronavirus vaccine. at any point in the pandemic, have you felt pressured politically to make a decision one way or another? >> i have not been pressured politically to make an incorrect decision. >> how about pressure to make what you think is a correct decision? >> so we have felt -- there's been pressure throughout this pandemic. i think anybody who does

jon lapook asked dr. steven hahn if politics are playing a role in vaccine development in our series of racing to a cure. >> a really good question. >> reporter: dr. steven hahn insists the agency is not losing its independence when it comes to making a vaccine against covid-19 available. >> the public is concerned about the politicalization of the process. president trump tweeted about a deep state at the fda. there are people in the medical community being critical of the whole process. >> i can tell you our decision at fda will not be made on any other criteria than the science and data associated with these clinical trials. >> reporter: dr. hahn says depending on that study a vaccine could be available by election day before a phase three trial is finished. >> have you felt pressure to make a decision? >> i have not been pressured politically to make an incorrect decision. >> how about pressure to make what you think is a correct decision? >> there's been pressure throughout this pandemic. anybody who

jon lapook. >> as one college after another suffers an outbreak of coronavirus, a small campus in maineo be different. the plan centers on a key ingredient-- aggressive testing. clayton rose is bowden's president. >> we will test them every other day and then twice a week thereafter. >> reporter: results come back quickly, within a day. in the second week, testing picked up two infected students who had no symptoms. they and their four contacts were housed separately. so far, senior alex ontogtokh has tested negative. you're kind of part of an experiment. >> yes, but it's exciting. this is an historic time. >> reporter: just 670 of bodyin's 2,000 students, mostly freshmen, are back on campus. aside from writing seminars that meet under tents, instruction is all online. >> i've got my molecule kit here with me. >> definitely hard to do zoom classes but one perk: i can eat breakfast during class. >> it's the density, the safety practices and the testing practices that are the three legs to our school. >> reporter: safety measures include updated ventilation and gatherings limited to small

jon lapook in an exclusive interview. >>> and in our "school matters" series, we look at the shortage why many districts are scrambling. >>> that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. a great day.

jon lapook asked dr. stephen hahn if politics is playing a role in vaccine development as we continue our series "racing to a cure." >> reporter: tonight f.d.a. commissioner dr. stephen hahn insists the agency is not losing its independence when it comes to making a vaccine against covid-19 available. the public is concerned about the politicization of the protest. process. president trump tweeted about a deep state of the f.d.a. people in the medical community are critical of the who whole process. >> i can tell you our decision at the f.d.a. will not be made on any other criteria than the science and data associated with these clinical trials. >> reporter: dr. hahn says depending on that data, it is possible a vaccine could be available by election day, under an emergency use authorization program before a phase three trial is completely finished. have you felt pressured politically to make a decision one way or another? >> i have not been pressured politically to make an incorrect decision. >> reporter

jon lapook speaks exclusively with one of the few coronavirus survivors to states.cribes how difficult it was to breathe and his life or death decision. we'll be right back. me see a gre sandwich and ask, "why?" i see a new kitchen with a grill and ask, "why not?" i really need to start adding "less to cart" and "more to savings." sitting on this couch so long made me want to make some changes... starting with this couch. yeah, i need a house with a different view. and this is the bank that will help you do it all. because at u.s. bank, our people are dedicated to turning your new inspiration into your next pursuit. to turning your new inspiration i had moderate-to-severes rheumatoid arthritis. i've always been the ringleader had a zest for life. flash forward, then ra kept me f and what my doctor said surprised me. she said my joint pain could mean pmaoint dage. and enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop that joint damage. ask about enbrel so you can get back to being your true self. enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious sometimes fata

he sort of picked up on what jon lapook said that #don't kill grandma. wear your masks. it not only saves you but people you love. very important message. >>> we're going to begin with the effects of hurricane sally. it can already -- she can already be felt this morning as she bears down on the gulf coast. the storm weakened overnight but forecasters warn it could be a category 1 when making landfall tomorrow. the gulf coast is already seeing intense waves there. forecasters say the biggest threat from the slow-moving storm could be an immense amount of rain. that means a lot of rain. we begin in mobile, alabama, wither lead national correspondent. there is david begnaud. good morning to you. we see the rain already. >> good morning. things have really died down in mobile. that's consistent with this storm which has weakened and slowed down. this sucker is barely moving at 2 miles per hour. i was told that it is going to be recorded as one of the slowest storms on record for this part of the gulf coast. but here's the major threat. it's the rainfall. it could produce up

jon lapook -- >> it's a basic rule of public health. you need have one message. no mixed messages.nd you want to hear that from people who spent their career figuring out, how do you explain complex health issues to the public. >> reporter: and then this moment on capitol hill yesterday. dr. anthony fauci clashed with senator rand paul over public health orders. and what role they've played in keeping the virus at bay in new york city. >> they are looking at the guidelines that we have put together from the task force. >> or they've developed enough community immunity that they're no longer having the pandemic because they have enough immunity in new york city to actually stop it? >> i challenge that, senator. >> i'm afraid -- >> please, sir, i would like to be able to do this because this happens with senator randall a the time. you are not listening to what the director of the cdc said. in new york booit's about 22%. if you believe 22% is herd immunity, i believe you're alone in that. >> reporter: not only is dr. fauci right, but new york city is getting it right. the test positi