shaffner, it certainly is. i wonder though, do you think people will look at this and say, you know what? if there is a way to treat it, then why vaccinate? is that a risk people are thinking about trying to mistake that the pill is somehow a substitute for vaccination and prudent vaccination and testing? >> well, we do like pills in the united states. i have already heard people express that very same point of view, that now there is treatment. we don't have to get vaccinated, which i think is a false concept. prevention first, treatment second. why would you want to begin to get an infection and have the risk of getting seriously ill when you could have prevented it on the front end? and getting paxlovid is not like going to a machine and getting a candy bar. it takes a series of events. first of all, you have to be tested to find out that you are positive. look at all the problems we're having with getting tested. then you have to take that result quickly to a health care practitioner and get a prescription.

william shaffner.uman psychology here is a little bit different from maybe what we saw a few months ago when delta and the other variants were moving around. people are saying, we will take precautions, but i will not be stuck in the house anymore. paul: i saw that yesterday watching a bunch of nfl games. stadiums were full, people are out, and i think you are right, certainly the vaccinated folks, particularly the boosted, i will go on and live my life. yes, there is a risk out there, but there is a general risk in life. unfortunate that we still have a high percentage that is not vaccinated, because that is the incubation for these mutations. romaine: you walk the streets of new york over the last couple of days, the lines for these testing centers were around the corner, but in that same space, you would see outdoor dining areas packed full of people. there is this weird dichotomy going on. paul: interesting to see how people adapt, but we are adapting. we will see how this plays out. more, coming u

shaffner, is going to happen in the next couple weeks? with those case numbers going to go higher or are we close to the peak? >> i think this omicron strain, which is responsible for so many of those cases, is going to continue to spread and make more and more cases over the next four to six weeks. after all, we've gotten together for the holidays, traveled, and provided environments for this virus to spread. now, that said, behind that will come increases in hospitalizations, and those hospitalizations, whether adult or pediatric, continue to be in prominently unvaccinated persons. so, we want to get our unvaccinated friends and neighbors in to get their first doses just as soon as possible. that will blunt what's happening regarding hospitalizations. and then, in addition, i'm sorry, i have to bring up yet another nasty respiratory virus, influenza, it's beginning to get active all over the country, and we'll see influenza and covid both driving people into the hospital. so, we're in for a rough few weeks in the beginning of 2022. >> i

william shaffner. mike, let's start with you. the white house task force briefed a little more than an hour ago. how did they defend the cdc's new quarantine and isolation guidelines? >> reporter: yeah, joe, this was an important opportunity for the country to hear from the president's top advisers on dealing with the pandemic. so many questions about a number of issues. we heard from dr. fauci, new data, which indicates that this particular strain, the omicron strain, while it is much more highly transmissible, does appear to be less severe. that's certainly some good news, even if the transmissibility is a problem leading to those record case counts. we also got a little bit of an update on the announcement the president made last week, 500 million testing kits made available to americans. indicating a contract will be finalized within the next week. still on that january timeline to deliver those tests. obviously, the big question and the real defense coming from this team, specifically from cdc director walensky, around that