redfield: this is really important. one of the goals i have had as cdc director is to move away from what we call vaccine hesitancy to a culture in our nation where vaccination with confidence. where we find that less than 50% of the american public takes the flu vaccine, and i tell you in the last decade, 300 safety thousand people died of flu and we have a vaccine, then how do we begin to get the american public to embrace vaccine? what is one of the most important contributions of science, modern medicine, that is vaccination. so many people leave that on the shelf for themselves, their family, their community. we are trying to build that advocacy. it is a long journey. let's take non-covid vaccines. a lot of parents, the reason they are hesitant to vaccinate, they do not want to make a mistake for their children. i have six children. it is going to take time for the health care professionals to sit down and have a dialogue about this. maybe several times before parents embrace vaccines. doctors will ask you, you wan

redfield in there. if this is -- if it all has a certain odor about it, consider that a few weeks ago, tout a covid treatment in such glowing terms he was later forced to apologize publicly. consider that the president is, again, declaring victory on the pandemic as thousands are still dying. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta and founder and director of the institute near san diego join me now. dr. topal, i mean, do you buy what the president is saying and apparently what the cdc is now saying? that director redfield, you know, misunderstood the question under oath and he's been working with viral infections and infectious diseases for more than 30 years. i mean, for any criticisms how he is to run the cdc, he does have experience actually with pandemics. >> well, good to be with you, anderson and sanjay. i think the key, here, is that dr. redfield was telling the truth. and the truth is we're not going to have vaccines, if we do this right, until the end of the year, beginning of next year,

this is redfield's latest tweet. the best defense we currently have against this virus are the important mitigation efforts of wearing a mask, washing your hands and being careful about crowds. clearly redfield, he doesn't want to say he disagrees with t the. the boss and nearly the only and he's now said several times including and he has kept at a distance bringing together. some of whom will just by the law probably get infected. sadly, some may die. dr. redfield didn't give him much ground. members of his own agency appear to be introducing a big bust over what he said about the timing of a vaccine. >> if you're asking me when is it going to be generally available to the american public so we can begin to take advantage of vaccine to get back to our regular life, i think we're probably looking at third rate, second quarter, third quarter 2021. >> so dr. redfield said that under oath in front of a senate committee under oath today and the president said this. >> i think he made a mistake. i think it's just incorre

redfield has a medical degree from georgetown. he's a professor at the university of maryland school of medicine, he served on an advisory counsel on hiv/aids under george. with bush, he's been cdc director since 2018. as for donald trump, his uncle taught at m.i.t. he also lies about everything from crowd sizes to injecting disinfect accountant, so there's that. this morning, we have new developments in the aftermath of hurricane sally. a season's worth of rain fell on the gulf coast in a matter of hours. serious flooding, you can see right there. the storm washed out a section of the three-mile bridge in pensacola, florida, and it's not done yet. let's begin with the latest, though, on the pandemic. cnn's nick valencia, who's got sources up and down inside the cdc has the very latest on dr. redfield clearly laying out a timeline on vaccines, clearly laying out the medical advocacy for masks and then being directly undermined by the president. >> yeah, good morning, john. we've seen this play out before. president trump criticizi

redfield? >> yeah, i do. >> you just said he gave answers -- >> well, he gave some answers, he sort of i think maybe misunderstood a question. but we're beyond that now. we are really in final stages of vaccines. we're getting ready to go phase one on distribution. i think it may come out sooner than you think. i think the vaccine is going to be even better than people thought originally. i think people are going to be really surprised at the success of the vaccine. i think it is going to be a tremendous success. we're fighting a very powerful party with a poor candidate in my opinion but we're fighting a very powerful party and they're partners with the media because they're working together very closely and they only started hitting on the vaccine, when they hit on the vaccine they only hit on it when they realized, wow. this is amazing. they may have it even before the election. all of a sudden they didn't like the vaccine so much. >> thank you so much, mr. president. were you informed about

redfield and dr. hunt, some of the vaccines in phase three testing, evidently need to be stored in extremely cold temperatures. that's even by wyoming standards and that would be potentially as negative 3 degrees fahrenheit. hospitals, nursing homes, doctors offices, all of the places where americans can go to get their shots. however, they don't have the specialized freezers that would be necessary to store the vaccine especially in rural areas. so very few of those -- is there another solution or how can we ensure sufficient freezer and storage capacity so there's access to the vaccine and it isn't just limited to major cities? >> thank you very much, senator. again, there's a total commitment to work that this vaccine has distributed in an equitable and fair way across our nation. the funding i announced today that will get out to the individual states to be able to really begin to operationalize their plans on the playbook is critical and each jurisdiction will have to address those issues, partic

redfield offered. and then, he also disputed him on masks because he is talking about how valuable they can be in preventing covid-19. limiting the spread of it. and the president said he did not believe that a mask was as effective as a vaccine could be. that is a comparison that redfield made. and it was just -- you know, it was a remarkable moment to see the president rebuke the cdc director, in that way. and then, of course, we saw redfield respond in a way that was not either correcting his statement to be in line with the president, nor defending what he had said on capitol hill today when it came to a vaccine timeline. so that is something we'll li likely see continue to play out over the next few days but it was quite stunning to see the discrepancy on these two factors. >> it was an i know better than the generals, moment. dr. gupta, once again, the president's undermining his experts. claiming dr. redfield made a mistake and was confused on vaccines and masks. you know dr. redfield. did he so

the confusion starting wednesday on capitol hill when cdc director robert redfield told lawmakers not to expect widespread distribution of a vaccine until next spring. redfield testifying under oath that limited quantities of vaccinations are likely to begin for the most vulnerable this fall and that two doses will be required. >> if you're asking me when is it going to be generally available to the american public to begin to take advantage of the vaccine to get back to our regular life, i think we're probably looking at late second quarter, third quarter 2021. >> reporter: hours later the president said redfield was mistaken and claimed the government could start distributing a coronavirus vaccine as early as october. >> i don't think he -- when he said it, i believe he was confused. >> reporter: during his testimony, redfield also emphasized the importance of wearing a mask. >> i might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against covid than when i take a covid vaccine. >> reporter: but the president contradicted redfield on that subject as w

redfield. he did it earlier this year when the can cdc director warned against a double shot of a flu season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. and he made him come back the next day to walk back those comments. but what dr. redfield said today made complete sense. it was common sense. what he said was it's going to take a very long time to vaccinate the united states. we're only going to have maybe at the outset, if both the moderna and pfizer vaccines are approved, maybe about 45 million doses. that's 22.5 million people. that's 6% of the population. until more vaccine can be manufactured or other vaccines are approved. and that's going to talk a very long time. plus these vaccines require very complex distribution channels requiring ultra cold storage with the pfizer vaccine down to minus 94 degrees fahrenheit, stable in a refrigerator only a day two. it's going to make administering a vaccine very complex. >> yeah. >> the bottom line is we need to do everything that dr. redfield said

with the chief of staff saying that redfield is out of the loop. >> i'm not sure where dr. redfield got his particular time table, but it's not based on those that are closest to the process. >> so meanwhile an unusually sparse panel of the nation's intel chiefs testified at the white house's worldwide threats hearing where fbi director chris wray, one of the two officials who showed up, did not minutes his words about the foreign threat to the 2020 election. >> we've seen very active, very active efforts by the russians to influence our election in

redfield tweeted this last night.defense we currently have against the virus are the important mitigation efforts of wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancing, and being careful about crowds there is not, again, a debate among serious people it isn't unbelievable. it is believable because it is science. the masks work either the president doesn't understand basic science or he doesn't want to. either way, that isn't good. so let us not endanger more of our friends, neighbors, parents, grandparents, or children. listen to the public health experts who are, albeit diplomatically, telling you don't listen to the president, he isn't keeping you safe. and one more thing, the reason why it's so important for the president to get involved in this and onboard and behind masks is exactly what you just saw with cal perry's report there, because the president's supporters believe him and they trust him. and if he got out there and said, i believe in masks, and if he wore them, and if he modeled that behavior, we woul

redfield. he also attacked him, and this was even more from outer space, on the issue of mask wearing. i just want you to listen to what dr. redfield said about wearing masks under oath. >> these face masks are the most important, powerful public health tool we have. if we did it for six, eight, ten, 12 weeks, we would bring this pandemic under control. i might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against covid nan when i take a covid vaccine, because the immunogen immunogenicity may be 70%, and if i don't get an immune response, that's not going to protect me, but this face mask will. >> that so bothered the president, he bragged about calling dr. redfield to dress him down for testifying under oath. dr. sanjay suggests that the president's comments on masks are a side show. i'm not so sure. it seems to me he's once again assaulting the efficacy of mask wearing. he made fun of joe biden for wearing a mask. he said that waiters have been telling him that

redfield and dr. hahn. some of the vaccines in phase three testing evidently need to be stored at extremely cold temperatures. that's even by ewyoming standards, and that would be potentially as low as negative 94 degrees fahrenheit. hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, doctors' offices might be places where americans can go to get their shots. however, they don't have the specialized freezers that would be necessary to store the vaccine, especially in rural areas. so very few of those -- is there another solution or how can we ensure sufficient freezer and storage capacity so there's access to the vaccine and it isn't just limited to major cities? >> thank you very much, senator. again, there's a total commitment to work that this vaccine is distributed in an equitable and fair way across our nation. the funding i announced today that will get out to the individual states to be able to really begin to operationalize their plans on the playbook is critical. each jurisdiction is going to have to address tho

redfield. [inaudible chatter] >> appropriations subcommittee on labor, health, human services, education, and related agents these will come to order. witnessesthank our for appearing before the subcommittee today to provide an update on where we are on the areas that they are so involved in on covid-19. challengednue to be by this pandemic in the country, we know that 195,000 961 americans have died as part of the pandemic and 6.6 million have tested positive during the process of testing in the pandemic. 6.6 million have tested positive during the process of testing in the pandemic. this has rapidly swept across the globe, and even countries who thought their cases were contained are facing new outbreaks and dealing with those new and unanticipated outbreaks. this is a new disease in many ways. and even after 9 months we still know relatively little about this disease or coronavirus generally. this has hindered our public health response. in many ways this has been like trying to build a plan

redfield. >> dr. redfield. >> i think this is why i've said it is urgent. when we say that the vaccine could be ready in november, that's really six weeks away. >> yeah. >> so it is really urgent that we operationalize as rapidly as possible. >> what do you suppose this committee and others would say to you if you had a vaccine ready in november and december and you had not asked the states to get ready to receive it. >> you would probably be recommending that i get replaced. >> i think so. i think so. so i think this criticism of you and the professionals at the cdc for asking states to get ready to receive the vaccine when we know full well that it's likely to begin to be available in november and december is very, very misplaced and i think -- and i appreciated your comments and the way you handled them. a dentist told me there is no evident, dr. redfield, of transmissibility of covid-19 in a dentist office. is that true? >> i wouldn't necessarily state that. i think the dentist is probably going to say there is no proven transmission in a dentist office

redfield saying despite the latest spat between the president and dr. redfield, that dr. redfield shows no signs of resigning or has not irndicated rez egsignatt all but what played out sb the latest in contradictory messages coming from both men. listen to the president yesterday in a press briefing. >> i think he made a mistake when he said that. it it's incorrect information. i called him and he didn't tell me that and i think he got the message maybe confused, maybe stated encorrectly. we're ready to go as the vaccine is announced and could be announced in october or after october. but once we go we're ready. >> reporter: i think it's important to look at the details. you notice that the president made that statement without the presence of dr. fauci or dr. birx there at the press briefing yesterday. we did reach out to the cdc and they did send a statement which appeared to try to clean up dr. redfield's comments at the hearing but not walk back the testimony. it said the time period was when all americans would have completed the covid vaccine and not when covid-19

redfield on this? >> reporter: they do. but despite the fact that top scientists back up redfield, the president is completely undermining him. we can't stress enough, this is just an extraordinary clash between the president and his own cdc director, right in the middle of a pandemic and with just 48 days until the election. david? >> and real quick, mary, before you go, the president just now confirming another member of the white house staff has tested positive for coronavirus? >> reporter: he did, but the president provided very few details. we do not know who this staffer is, but the president said it's not someone who he's been associated with. david? >> all right, mary, thank you. >>> and tonight, after that alarming rant by a top trump official at the department of health and human services, he's now taking a leave of absence. it comes after he made allegations against scientists at the cdc and telling trump supporters, "if you carry guns, buy ammunition." he also said, "my mental health is definitely failing." here

but as redfield said today even if it is ready, the infrastructure just doesn't exist. and that is what is most worrying to me, that we need to be doing the work of paying for it and building that infrastructure so that no matter when it comes out, we can get it as quickly possible. >> joe biden laid out a plan for that for getting the capacity as quick as possible. chris murphy, thank you for being with me. >> thanks. >>> next we have exclusive reporting tonight about the alleged pattern sometimes unnecessary and sometimes unauthorized medical procedures performed at an immigrant detention facility tonight we're hearing firsthand stories from women who were at that facility, what we have learned after this here? nah. ♪ here? nope. ♪ here. ♪ when the middle of nowhere... is somewhere. the all-new chevy trailblazer. ♪ i feel like we're forglet me check.ing. xfinity home gives you peace of mind from anywhere with professionally monitored home security built around you. no, i think we're good. -good. so when you're away, you don't have to worry. the tent. we forgot... the

redfield. aez the director at the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention for more than 30 years. he's been involved in clinical research related to chronic human viral infections and infectious diseases especially hiv. he served as the founding director at the department of ret row viral research in the military's hiv research program, retired after 20 years of service in the u.s. army medical corp. third witness, admiral brett giroir. he's the assistant secretary for health in the u.s. department of health and human services. he oversees the commission core of key public health programs. specific to covid-19 he's taken on testing and focused on increasing the number of tests that we can do with existing technology. his federal service includes directing the services office of the defense advanced research projects agency and several other important responsibilities. finally we will hear from dr. steven han, commissioner of the u.s. food and drug administration, the fda. before joining

he said that mr redfield confuse.staken but did not elaborate on that. is not coincident that trump is saying all this in the run—up to the election. mr redfield to testify in front of senate lawmakers and he said that any suggestion that the government has tried to get a vaccine ready as politically motivated is not true he said that "the scientific agents —— agency of his agency output would not become mice under his watch. was with both men's complete at 0z with each other there. indeed. thank you for being ina tour there. indeed. thank you for being in a tour attention. —— bringing that to our attention. germany has announced plans this week to take more than 1,500 migrants following the fire at a detention centre on the greek island of lesbos which left thousands without refuge. the tragedy was a reminder of the scale of a crisis which has seen vast movements of people fleeing war and poverty. five years ago at the height of the migrant crisis the bbc‘s fergal keane reported the extraordinary story of nujeen must

redfield. >> as dr. kadlec said i think there will be a vaccine that initially will be available sometime between november and december but very limited supply and it will have to be prioritized. if you are our ask me when it's going to be available to the general public so we can begin to take advantage of the vaccine to get back to our regular life i think we are probably looking at the late second quarter, third quarter of 2021. >> and so you think either late second or third quarter we will have started to vaccinate people? >> i think vaccination will begin in november and december and we will take up and it'll be in a prior ties way. first responders and those of the greatest risk for death and eventually that will expand. it's hard to believe that there are about 80 million people in our country that have significant comorbidities that put them at risk. they have to get vaccinated. and then the general public. >> i'm about to run out of time. what do you call this worldwide effort but to the united

redfield. leeann leigh ann caldwell is on capitol hill, monica alba and dr. john torres. there have been questions about the cdc about, for example, the guidelines they put up and pulled down, about the coronavirus, and the way that it is transmitted and questions raised, in particular by democrats about the potential for political interference. talk about what we expect to hear over the next hour or so today. >> hey, hallie. the gang is back together. the task force is once again testifying before the senate and as you mentioned it is expected to be the last time they appear together before the election and they have a lot of questions to answer. that's for sure. their testimony comes at a really grim time too as this week the country has reached its $22 200,000th death as trust in the vaccine among the american public is at an all time low. and there is continuing to be mixed messages from the administration and their own agencies about guidance. the cdc put up guidelines about how covid is t

but as redfield said today even if it is ready, the infrastructure just doesn't exist. and that is what is most worrying to me, that we need to be doing the work of paying for it and building that infrastructure so that no matter when it comes out, we can get it as quickly possible. >> joe biden laid out a plan for that for getting the capacity as quick as possible. chris murphy, thank you for being with me. >> thanks. >>> next we have exclusive reporting tonight about the alleged pattern sometimes unnecessary and sometimes unauthorized medical procedures performed at an immigrant detention facility tonight we're hearing firsthand stories from women who were at that facily,it what we have learned after this try mr. clean magic eraser sheets. just wet, squeeze and erase icky messes in microwaves and on stovetops for an amazing clean, get the power of mr. clean magic eraser in disposable sheets. you're on it. exercising often and eating healthy? yup, on it there too. you may think you're doing all you can to manage type 2 diabetes and heart disease... ...but could your me

redfield by president trump saying redfield, who has spent his career studying viruses and heads theld's premier public health agency, misunderstood the question when he testified under oath it will take until the middle of next year to vaccinate enough americans to limit the spread of covid. with the election just 47 days away, the president keeps suggesting a vaccine will be ready before americans cast their ballots. now, that is something that most experts including the government's own scientists say is just not true for the general public. and that disagreement has led to a day-long fight pitting science versus spin, it's the kind of political fight you might expect in an election year, only this time american lives and the economy are at stake. as we come on the air the number of people killed by coronavirus in the u.s. is now nearly 200,000. and tonight the country's largest public school system, new york city is abruptly canceling its plans to start in-person learning for all students on monday. there is a lot of new reporting to get to tonight. our team of correspondents is

redfield's defense. and what dr. anthony fauci is saying about when millions of americans will likely get a vaccine. the president offering his own timeline, much closer to the election. and all of this as the u.s. now nears 200,000 american lives lost. >>> tonight here, a reality check. abc news reaching out to the leaders, the scientists leading more than a half dozen vaccine trials. so, what do they say about when there could be a vaccine and when americans could get it? also, the new obstacles for schools. new york city schools and the setback. and the pastor who told members of his own congregation they didn't have to wear masks now reportedly in the icu, battling the virus. >>> the remnants of hurricane sally. the storm turning deadly. flash flood watches and warnings across several states tonight, all the way up to virginia. the tornado watch and the rescues still under way. rob marciano in the storm zone. >>> the fbi director on capitol hill today grilled on the president's claims of voter fraud. the fbi dire

redfield will be shown the door. certainly they are frustrated with him, and talking to a couple of sources, there's some wishes that dr. redfield had not mixed the subjects of masks with vaccinations. those are sort of two differ things. but also there's a general understanding that what dr. redfield was trying to say is that while we're all waiting for a vaccine to be developed and put out in a mass market way to americans all over the country, that you need something to protect you in the meantime, and a mask does that. now, mark meadows, the white house chief of staff was talking to reporter earlier this morning and are sort of shrugged off the contradicty statements between the president and the doctor, saying you'll get contradictory statements all the time, but you sort of have to throw the penalty flag a little on that comment, brooke, because sduring a -- during a pandemic, six months in, one would think the white house, task force, top scientists would not have contradictory mixed messages. they would at le

robert redfield told senate lawmakers that a vaccine likely will be ready before november or december. the president has a news conference said redfield had it wrong. >> i think he made a mistake when he said that. it's incorrect information. i think he got the message maybe confused. it could be sometime in october or november. i don't think it's going to be much later than that. under no circumstance will it be as late as the doctor said. >> melissa: meanwhile, democratic nominee joe biden yesterday raised concerns the president was putting politics ahead of public safety. listen. >> i trust vaccines, i trust the scientists, but i don't trust donald trump. at this moment, the american people can't, either. this administration is going to have to answer to assure the american people that politics

redfield, dr. scientists working on this the polls show that the public is much more trusting right now of the scientists than the president. and it's because the president's own messaging has been at the very least contradictory among himself at the same time he's contradicting the scientists it's a remarkable thing yesterday, it's hard to imagine a president sort of dressing down one of the nation's top scientists for an agency that's a premier health agency, for not just policy recommendations that the president might take into account different factors than a scientist would but the facts being presented by the scientist. that's a remarkable situation. >> there is a big concern, people watching this presidency, this wannabe dictator. that this is becoming cult like. the people who love this president and follow him and follow him all the way to refusing to wear masks and calling it their right and follow him in different ways when he is delivering flatout lies to the american people. he's tweet

redfield, is, of course, right on the money.masks is simple, easy and profoundly effective if we would all but do it. we protect each other and we protect ourselves. if we do that comprehensively, we can diminish the spread of this virus. it stands to reason. this virus is spread by exhaling the virus. if we inhibit exhaling the virus, hello, it's more difficult for the virus to find someone else to infect. it's very straightforward. and obviously it protects us to a degree, too, because it will prevent some of the virus that's out there from getting in. so wearing masks, that's the easiest, the cheapest, the least intrusive thing that we can do. some of them even look kind of flashy and nice. >> i would show you mine, but i won't at this moment. you know, he also said that they might offer more protection than a vaccine when we actually get one and that vaccines might be completely -- might not be completely effective. how will people know once they get the vaccine if it is working for them or not? >> ah, that may be a little b

robert redfield.don't know what it will mean for their relationship but another negative for dr. redfield publicly. >> thank you for the reporting. dr. carlos del rio, executive associate dean of emery university of medicine. d what is the public health implication of not only a clear divide and disagreement within the task force but dr. atlas has the president's ear still? >> poppy, it's concerning because the reality is that cdc has not been at the forefront of the response. when we think about what, who needed to guide the response that needed to be cdc and because cdc was sidelined from the very beginning after dr. nancy mesamire gave the statement it would be bad and the president didn't like it and they sidelined cdc. the president is getting advice from dr. fauci and dr. birx, who are terrific and doing a good job but grown frustrated with science and wants to move on and dr. atlas is telling him exactly what he wants to hear and i want to be really clear. we could use herd immunity but herd im

redfield is not backing away from that. how this came about and what you're hearing now. >> reporter: exactly, hallie. a striking assessment from a high ranking coronavirus task force member of another one of his fellow members. dr. redfield was traveling from atlanta to washington, d.c. on friday evening and i happened to be on this same aircraft and overheard this conversation he had in public with a colleague, where he said, everything dr. scott atlas is asserting when it comes to the efficacy of masks, whether they may be useful or not, when it comes to whether young people are susceptible to the virus, the potential benefits of herd immunity, dr. redfield saying that everything when it comes to what atlas is telling the president is false. and increasingly concerned that what scott atlas is sharing with the president is making its way to the public. now, i approached dr. redfield after we landed and asked him if indeed he was referring to atlas. he confirmed that to us, and then talked to me for several minutes about h

redfield -- and he was speaking as if he knew more than the head of the cdc, who is dr. redfield. a member of the coronavirus task force. he has a laundry list of qualifications. president trump, not so much. is there anything confusing about what redfield is saying? >> well, redfield was saying what he understands, from the facts. we recently had an unveiling of some of those facts with the publication of the timelines for the vaccines. the very vaccines that the administration is talking about. at the very earliest, we will have emergency-use authorizations, maybe, in november. but if you are really looking at those timelines, they're not going to be available for the general public until about a year from now. that's if the vaccine is partially effective and partially safe. >> can i ask you, real quickly, please? because you can answer this. 51% of americans -- this is a poll -- would get a vaccine if it were available today. a jaw-dropping 78% worried approval will move too fast. go on. that's alarming, by the way. >> it is alarming. and the reason is that there's been great c

redfield is correct. the virus does go away. now he's got to stop freelancing that bit at the end more powerful than a vaccine, why would the head of the cdc sow any concern about vaccine that he doesn't need to, that's not his point. but his point about masks is right. >> i thought you'd going to bring up the wizard of oz to make me feel better about wearing ruby slippers. sanjay, just to be clear, the time line for a vaccine availability to the general public is what dr. redfield said yesterday and we did hear from dr. anthony fauci yesterday on when they do become available what's really important. so listen. >> what would happen if only a third or -- two-thirds or a half get vaccinated is that enough? >> i don't think it would be at all. i think that's important for the public to appreciate and that's why i appreciate the opportunity of having this interview with you. one of the things you need to understand it's the combination of how effective a vaccine is and how many people use it. >> you thought that sound was really im

robert redfield about the timetable for a coronavirus vaccine. here is a look. that. redfield confirmed it looked like november, december, the first doses would be able to be distributed, but then you said that the vaccine for the general public likely would not be available until probably next summer, maybe even early fall. are you comfortable with that timetable? >> no, i think he made a mistake. that is incorrect information. i called him and he did not tell me that and i think he got the message may be can used, maybe it was stated incorrect lee. we are ready to go immediately as the vaccine is announced. it could be october, it could be a little bit after october, but once we go, we are ready. as you know, pfizer is taking a tremendous financial risk and they are spending billions of dollars on making this vaccine. they are at a stage where they are actually making it because they feel confident as to the results and they will be announcing the results fairly soon. that is incorrect information. i don't think he means that. when he said it, i believe he was confu

redfield in which they overheard dr. redfield on a phone call with a colleague saying everything this man says is false, referring to dr. atlas. the cdc said that nbc news is reporting one side of a priftd phone conversation of dr. redfield overheard on a plane from atlanta. dr. redfield having a private discussion regarding a nuchl bier of points he's made publicly of coronavirus. dr. atlas has no expertise in infectious disease but appears to be a top adviser to the president of the coronavirus. we have reached out to the white house and not heard back and clearly some thing that is dr. atlas said is concerning to many in the public health community including dr. redfield. brianna? >> thank you so much. >>> dr. chris prenell is a physician and lost her father to coronavirus and is a volunteer for a covid-19 vaccine trial. doctor, i want to start by getting your reaction to the head of the cdc expressing concerns about dr. scott atlas saying that he's sharing misleading information about the virus with the president. >>

robert redfield in an extraordinary public disagreement.told congress that wearing a mask may protect more people from covid than a vaccine will. and that a vaccine is still months away. a few hours later the president said redfield was confused and insisted a vaccine could be ready for the general public as early as next month. weijia jiang is at the white house. these were pretty remarkable statements by the president. >> good morning. this is not the first time president trump has been at war with scientists, but this time he unequivocally threw his own cdc director under the bus. the president considers a covid-19 vaccine a crown jewel of his response and with 46 days left to go before the election, it's no surprise he rejects any assessment that it could take longer than he wants. >> it was an incorrect statement. >> reporter: president trump insisted cdc director dr. robert redfield was wrong when he testified under oath that the general public may not have access to a covid-19 vaccine until later this year. >> i called him. i said, w

robert redfield, on both the value of wearing masks and the president's widely disputed statements that a vaccine could be available before the election, just 47 days from now. dr. redfield had testified under oath to congress yesterday that a vaccine would not reach the general public until later next year >> if you're asking me when is it going to be generally available to the american public so we can begin to take advantage of vaccine, we're probably looking at third -- late second quarter, third quarter 2021 >> i think he just made a mistake. he just made a mistake i think he misunderstood the question, probably under no circumstance will it be as late as the doctor said >> and the president also said last night, dismissing dr. redfield's advice on wearing masks. >> these face masks are the most important, powerful public health tool we have. we have clear scientific evidence they work and they are our best defense. >> i think there's a lot of problems with masks. as far as the mask is concerned, he made a mistake. there are some people that don't like the mask because unfortunate

redfield is. take a look at the plan the cdc released and their scenarios for distribution to know what the president said was inaccurate. it wasn't just a mistake that dr. redfield made. when it comes to the mask, this is a simple tool that we have available today. we don't have a vaccine available today. we now know that masks will help us save lives. it's a simple tool not only that but there's discussions if you have a mask on, it might reduce the amount of virus that you're exposed to and might decrease the disease severity if you are exposed to the virus. all of those are benefits. as a physician who basically saw 74% of our hospital filled with covid patients in the spring, i don't want to go into another peak of this none of us do. and the people who are not going to listen and not wear the mask are the people -- are people who are going to listen to the president, are his followers and to most of us, it doesn't matter if it's blue states, red states it's human lives that are going to be a

robert redfield saying, quote, everything he says is false.hese are stunning things to be saying about someone who was a stanford radiologist. what is your reaction? >> my reaction is you have the world's best, not just the country but the world's best infectious disease doctors at your disposal who from the start could have helped shape this pandemic into a different trajectory but were not listened to. that is why we're a he in the mess we're in and now this one doctor who again it makes no benefit to disparage him. i am sure he as very smart guy but these are the world's best infectious disease doctors. this is not like going and getting a second opinion should i get my knee replaced or not, take the biotic or not? they are taking very, very risky decisions, not even their risk. this isn't about the president's health but the health of the nation. my reaction is seething outrage. you have the world's best doctors and yes there may be a variety of different opinions on smaller things but the big issues, masks, herd immunity, there is no -- t

redfield's testimony about masks. >> they work and they are our best defense. i might even go so far as to say this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against covid then when i take a covid vaccine. >> when i called up robert today, i said to him, what is with the mask? he said i think i answer that question incorrectly. >> reporter: in a statement, dr. redfield did not directly address the president's claim but he did reiterate masks are part of the best defense against the spread of the virus. >> we have to have this national mandate. we must do it. >> reporter: democratic presidential nominee joe biden says his legal team would have the authority as president to order the national mask mandate. >>> president donald trump held a rally in the key swing state of wisconsin. joe biden is headed to pennsylvania. his running mate, senator kamala harris, is in and sylvania rlierd small businesses. she and biden both argue president donald trump is politicizing the development of a vaccine and say he can't be trusted. >>> to wall street now where stocks are f

redfield by saying it was simply a mistake. dr. redfield was addressing congress in testimony that by its very definition requires that it be truthful whether an oath is given or not it's a crime to lie to congress, and so with his judgment, expertise and experience, he talked about his concerns about the need for masks and seeing those as one of the best mitigation methods we have available now, and his time line for a vaccine. here's how dr. redfield laid it out. >> i think there will be vaccine that initially will be available sometime between november and december, but very limited supply >> we're ready to go immediately, as the vaccine is announced. >> i think we're probably looking at late second quarter, third quarter 2021 >> i think he made a mistake when he said that. it's just incorrect. >> when i take a covid vaccine -- >> it's not more effective by any means than a vaccine i think there's a lot of problems with masks -- >> reporter: so dr. redfield didn't seem confused or mistaken in the way he presented his knowledge,

the president has suggested that mr redfield is confused.n extraordinary comment. he said, and i can give you the quote, he says i think its incorrect information, i called him, he didn't tell me that, i think you got the message, his maybe confused, maybe it was stated incorrect but mr redfield was very clear in the testimony that he gave to the panel of senators today, and in fact he has just tweeted about half—an—hour ago, in which he said that vaccines are important but he reminded the american public that the best thing you can do right now to protect yourself from the virus is where a mask which is something that mr trump has contradicted before. all this only like to confuse everybody a little bit more u nfortu nately. a little bit more unfortunately. thank you very much, nomia. tropical storm sally has made landfall along the gulf coast in the us state of alabama, causing devastating flooding and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. sally was downgraded to a tropical storm in the last few hours but the nati