i'm curious to get your thoughts as to why the cdc did it this way? because i know there is reporting that the biden administration dismissed a planned pitch back in october to ramp up at-home testing ahead of the holidays. so the need to increase rapid testing seems to be at least a known concern for officials. >> yeah. and i can speak to that story because i was actually a part of that call. the "vanity fair" reporter actually didn't get it quite right. but be that as it may, the cdc has balanced a number of things when they make these decisions. unfortunately, there are no perfect decisions that this pandemic presents. you have to essentially make judgments that are going to be the smartest and soundest judgments. and even if 5% of people are infectious, slipped through the cracks because they leave too early, there are also 95% that were staying home, not going to work, not seeing their families if they were being isolated for too long. so saying that you can leave isolation after five days if you have no symptoms, and i agree with ashish completel

the cdc now projecting more than 21,000 deaths in just the next two weeks. and a new report suggesting the incubation period of the omicron variant may be three days, which is less than the delta variant. tonight, questions about the cdc's new guidelines for people with asymptomatic cases, cutting isolation time from ten days down to five. >>> new details about the deadly shooting spree in colorado. ilung police investigating seven different crime scenes from denver to lakewood. authorities today identifying the suspect, saying he was nobody to law enforcement and harbored extremist views. >>> news tonight about the 14-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed by police in los angeles. her mother in tears, describing her daughter dying in her arms. authorities releasing body camera video. officers opening fire on a suspect inside a store, not knowing the girl and her mother were in the dressing room nearby. >>> america's travel nightmare continues. roughly 1,100 flights canceled today. pilots, flight attendants and other essential staff testing positive for

the cdc would rather wait for data. then be fast. we are in the midst of a pandemic. ical. if you look at cdc history, sometimes the data they report can be years old. the second problem is a bigger one. that is that the cdc would rather reinvent the wheel than invest in innovations. at the beginning of the pandemic , the cdc had to rebuild its own diagnostic test despite the fact that other countries already had diagnostic tests going out. unfortunately, the test didn't work and that caused a big delight. and mike sprint the cdc i have learned that they just don't have a willingness to engage with private business. that is a big problem. there is innovation, diagnostic innovation, vaccine innovation going on in the private sector and cdc should be playing that central coordinating role. that's a big problem. if you're not willing to be that coordinating role in a pandemic, that's a problem. caroline: why is that? previous directors have said there is a lack of investment. you would think outsourcing would do away with the sheer scale of money they need to deploy thems

that is actually down from the original ten days that the cdc was recommending. that recommendation and the caveats -- they include, you know, for people who are vaccinated, people who are boosted. for unvaccinated, that actually has sparked a lot of confusion. it has sparked criticism and as you can imagine, it also has praise -- raised some praise as well and we certainly have a lot of questions so we want to try to get some of those answered for you tonight. joining us now, andy slavitt, the former senior adviser for covid response for the biden administration and president obama's former acting administrator of the centers for medicaid and medicare services. also, ashish jha. dr. jha, i would like to start with you here for a moment. we know that you have been advocating for a shortened isolation period for some time now. i follow you on twitter. i know a lot of people in this country do, as well. you also recommended that people that test negative at the end of those five days should leave isolation. but your key point was testing neg at the end of five days.

right now, pretty significantly from what the cdc said. > really important question. what we do, we take the genomic surveillance data and do p predictive modeling. and of course early in omicron when we had really rapid speed, those predictive estimates can be less stable. and that is what happened in this period of time. and so we have revised our estimates, we've done so transparently. but i think the important thing to note here is that there are areas of this country that have 20% omicron, there are areas of this country that have 90% omicron. and what we have seen and what our predictions have demonstrated is that this is a rapidly increasing variant in the united states. >> it is a rapidly increasing variant. i think that is why sequencing is so important to so many people to know of course where it is and how much of it is here. also, parents are paying close attention to this rise in pediatric hospitalizations that we've been seeing. luckily most are not severe cases. but i'm wondering if you have an update for parents on when kids

why should americans trust the cdc? my job right now is to take all of the science and the information that we have and to deliver guidance and recommendations to the american people that is adapted to the science at hand. this pandemic has given us a lot of new and updated science over the last 2 years. and it is my job to convey that science through those recommendations. and that's exactly what we are doing. ok, i heard the term science about 4 times in her 22nd answer. but rick, if this was all about science, why don't we hear about the study of masks only being 3 percent effective? do you think the cdc priority is the well being of the american people and are honestly changing recommendations for the greater good? and do you think the cdc is giving out mixed messaging? well, absolutely. i don't think that the cdc really knows what the term science means. right now they tell the american public to go left and they go, right. they tell the american public to go right. they go left, they keep changing the rules. what i

on masks or boosters, why should americans trust the cdc? b right now is to take all of the signs and information we have an deliver guidance and recommendations to the american people adapting to the signs at hand. this pandemic has given us a lot of new updated science the last two years and it's my job to convey that science through the recommendations and that's what we are doing. >> struck this time, because the cdc stand for confusion, destruction and chaos? the panelist back. alexandra wilkes, jason meister and hannah cox. the nbc guide, the director of the cdc, does the cdc have any credibility? it's not exactly the same but what you think? >> i'd have to say no and it reminds me of late summer when we saw the disaster of afghanistan unfold, the situation was so bad people could literally see with their own eyes things spiraling out of control, they didn't get that loss from the media from the podium, in this case, they are hearing different things and it is confusing to them and i think in terms of rochelle walensky or doctor fauci,

i don't know what to say about what the cdc is doing. we have seen other countries do it differently. we were just talking with a doctor out of london who pointed out they have reduced the timeframe to seven days. as you pointed out earlier, nobody has gotten this 100% right. some companies have made mistakes here or there. it has been disastrous for administrations around the world. if the cdc just made a mistake, it is not the first and it will not be the last. i don't know what to tell you as far as going back to work. if i get covid, i am going to wait until i feel better physically and emotionally, then i will start testing. i want my colleagues to test negative before they come in. jonathan: what does that positive test actually mean? your positive antigen really does correlate with whether you are transmissible or not. we don't know the answer to that. the fda has not looked at whether your positive antigen really does correlate with whether you are transmissible or not. matt, how confusing is that? this is the quote from the head

the cdc insisting the change is motivated by the science purely. the science which shows you're most contagious in the first few days of your illness if you have covid but dr. anthony fauci admitting the new rules were aimed at least in part at getting people back to work more quickly. the flight attendants union now questioning how much these changes were influenced by pressure from corporate america and in addition, the president of the nation's largest nursing union predicting the cdc's change will only increase the spread of the virus. cnn's tom foreman starts us off with a closer look at what all this might mean for you and your family as we head into a new year. >> reporter: amid the winter weather, the pandemic is roaring across the country with an average of more than 200,000 new cases diagnosed daily. >> this omicron variant is such a game changer in terms of its high, high transmissibility. it's like this big virus blizzard. >> reporter: hospitalizations are only about half of what they were last winter, but some states are seeing peaks t

so confusion with the cdc and d.c. health, we don't think supports the public health. so we're looking at it very closely and we'll update our guidance accordingly. >> but you haven't made a decision whether or not to also adopt that shortened isolation period yet? >> we have not updated our d.c. health guidance yet. >> okay. mayor muriel bowser, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. >>> just ahead, a jury finds ghislaine maxwell is guilty of c sex trafficking a minor for jeffrey epstein. >>> today's crucial call between president joe biden and russia's president vladimir putin. and former first lady melania trump stepping back into the public eye. the lasting cologne scent of old spice dynasty helps get you off your couch. and into the driver's seat. when it comes to autism, finding the right words can be tough. finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org my nunormal? fewer asthma attacks with nucala. a once-monthl

so the cdc every week puts out reports. l the new cases out there, "x" percent are delta and "y"% are only crone and they have been doing this throughout the pandemic. the cdc said the week of december 18th, they previously said new cases were 73% omicron and everyone was like, wow, that got very big very quickly. now they are saying, we're revising that estimate. we think it's actually 23%. that is obviously a gigantic difference, and they say the week of december 19th through 25th was 59%, so omicron does not seem to be spreading quite as quickly. delta is still holding its own. how did this happen? it is unclear. one thing that we know, you know, people think, phil, that every -- that we do genetic sequencing for every case, we don't. we have to do estimates. we do a few and then we estimate, but it's a bit of a problem that this happened because you start making treatment decisions based on these numbers, and that number austin powers to have been wildly off. phil? >> yeah. that might even be an understatement still. evo

the cdc lowering its estimate of the variant from 70 to 59%. that drop suggests while the new variant is on the rise, it was not infecting people at the same rate the agency had initially projected. >> pediatric hospitalizations are near their september peak. nationwide, hospitalizations of children with the virus have jumped on average nearly 50% in just one week. parents are understandable concerned as vaccination rates, particularly among the pediatric population, continue to lag, leaving many children vulnerable to infection. president biden now says the vaccine requirements for domestic travel could be imposed if his medical team recommend it. but dr. fauci said don't expect one for now. health officials are advising we should be bracing for case numbers to skyrocket in the new year. now to laeyla santiago in miami. we know sometimes the waits have been hours long. leyla. >> reporter: yeah, kaitlan. we are still seeing very long long lines here. miami-dade opened two new sites yesterday. they had to wait anywhere from three to four workers

>>> new advice from the cdc on what to do if you get covid. can it keep america running during this omicron surge? >>> and breaking overnight, five dead, including the shooter as a gunman goes on a rampage through several locations in the denver area. >>> and new body cam video from the l.a.p.d. raising questions about use of force after a teenager is killed by an officer pursuing a suspect. >>> good morning, everyone. it is tuesday, december 28th. it is 5:00 a.m. here in new york. thanks so much for getting an early start with us. i'm laura jarrett. >> and i'm paula reid in for christine romans. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we have reports from los angeles, moscow, bough jing, delaware, rome and mexico city. >> basically everywhere. welcome to "early start." paula, so nice to have you again today. >>> we begin with a major change when it comes to how we live with the virus and frankly each other. the cdc has officially shortened its recommendation time -- isolation time for people who test positive with cov

c. news as the head of the cdc. today, you said last week you said that the, i'm, a kron accounted for 73 percent of new infections. and now you say this week, it only accounts for 23 percent of new infections. how can you be believe? so let's, let's just say she's correct. let's just say so now. now i'm a client is going to do a quarter of the infections. so that means the other 75 percent are the delta variant, which this, this treatment does work on. so they are making this up as they go along on every level. you could not find logic. if you extend their comments to anything else, you can not by logical consistency. so i've, course it's politically motivated. i mean just like hydro clocks hydro classical hydrochloric way early on, was politically motivated. oh, it has side effects. every drug you ever see a drug commercial on tv, those side effects will make you run the other way. every drug has side effects. so it's always been political. yeah, it's been about the right for sure. and now, ever since the pandemic

over the past few months, the cdc has collaborated with school districts across the country to evaluate a new strategy known as test to stay. today, we are releasing cdc evidence. it allows children to stay in schools they have been exposed so they don't have to miss school. and the test to stay protocol, there is increased testing of close contacts after a covid-19 exposure and that needs to be at least twice during seven days after exposure. if exposed children meet certain criteria and continue to test negative, they can stay in school instead of quarantining at home. the cdc is releasing two reports with the use of test to stay and how it worked in two communities. these studies demonstrate that it works to keep unvaccinated children in schools safely. in order for test to stay to be implemented, some key prevention measures need to be included. in both studies, masks were worn consistently and correctly. " of a positive case were monitored for symptoms and stayed home if they became ill printed those without symptoms had regular testing. test to stay is an encouraging practice to k

gail and the cdc is now going a step further to try and prevent any international travelers from bringing more cases into the country. a pilot program just started for international travelers where they get free covid-19 rapid test. >> new rule started december 6th requiring international travelers to get a covid test within 24 hours of arrival. and coming up a little bit later here on kron from his 00:00pm tonight we will hear from health officials about why the cdc is recommending that people got the pfizer or moderna vaccines rather than that johnson and johnson covid vaccine, which is one week to go to chmas. hundreds of families in the south bay today getting some. >> gifts and food for a holiday meal. the salvation army's second annual toy enjoy christmas gift distribution event was held in san jose and kron 4 all spoke with volunteers. >> and organizers who feel very fortunate that they're able to make a difference. >> a drive up to the s ap sports and entertainment center in san jose and a warm greeting from volunteers at the salvation army silicon valley winds down the end of ano

do you think the cdc is priority? is the well being of the american people and are honestly changing recommendations for the greater good. and do you think the cdc is giving out mixed messaging? well, absolutely. i don't think that the cdc really knows what the term science means. right now they tell the american public to go and left and they go, right. they tell the american public to go right. they go left, they keep changing the rules. what is the science then? and that's really the question that the cdc directors should be answering is, why are the recommendations moving from 10 to 5? why not? or why not 3? so now they're saying, well, we have to take the economy into consideration and make sure that i solution time periods are only 5. so we can get health care workers back to work. and so they keep changing the rules. they're not defining what science they use. they keep using the term science and using it fairly liberally without any definition behind it, even the medical community has no idea what to do. and i

and that's what the cdc did. >> while we're on the subject of mitigating risk, why do you think the cdc has not taken a position on the quality of masks? because it does seem as though there is data suggesting that an n95 mask is much, much better than a cloth mask. i don't even know if a cloth mask does anything at this point. can you clear this up? >> right. the reason the cdc has not done that, if you ask dr. walensky, and she articulates it when she gets asked that question is that the cdc is concerned that people just wear a mask, any mask. there are so many people who just don't want to wear a mask that if we can get anybody to wear a mask, that's a big plus. obviously, the epitome of the best masks are the n95s. n95s are less likely to be worn because they are not particularly comfortable. you put an n95 on for a period of time, it is not the easiest thing to wear. so the decision was made by the part of the people at the cdc, we would rather have people wear a mask than have to worry about people not wearing a mask because it's uncomfortable. >> it's been more than a year since

why should americans trust the cdc? >> my job right now is to take all of the science and information that we have and to deliver guidance and recommendations to the american people that is adapted to the science at hand. this pandemic has given us a lot of new and updated science over the last two years, and it is my job to convey that science through those recommendations, and that is exactly what we are doing. >> that's the director of the cdc, and she's been pressed after the decision to relax isolation guidelines just as covid cases hit record numbers. the question is did she provide assurance that the agency can, in fact, be trusted? >>> and fully vaccinated. it's currently defined as two doses of either pfizer or moderna vaccines or one dose of the j&j. the question, is it now time to redefine that term? >>> and ghislaine maxwell, convicted of sex trafficking for her role in recruiting teenage girls for jeffrey epstein. the question this morning, is the case closed? it's "way too early" for this. ♪♪ >>> good morni

in corning in new york and new jersey where the cdc projects that omicron could represent about 13% of all cases. they are looking on early data about transmissibility of omicron from other countries. we expected to see the proportion of omicron case here in the u.s. continue to grow in the coming weeks. early data suggests omicron is more transmissible then delta with a doubling time of about two days. what does this mean for individuals and families as we head into the winter? it is a time when families may be gathering with one another over the holidays. it means it is vital for everyone to get vaccinated and boosted if they are eligible. given the increase in transmissibility, this also means continuing to be vigilant about masking in public indoor settings and areas of substantial or high community transmission. as of now, this represents about 90% of all counties in the united states. vaccination, boosting, and masking are especially critical for those most vulnerable, including seniors, pregnant people, and those who are immuno compromised. tomorrow, we will release data on cdc'

the cdc decision for some people is a bullish call. lutely, because of the problems businesses have had with employees being out for a full 10 days, at least 10 days after testing positive and they shut down services some companies have shut down production and some companies have shut down retail outlets. if they can reduce that to five days, and the cdc says you can, that obviously opens up a chance for them to do more business and raise more revenue and profit as well. jonathan: and makes it may be easier to forecast the economy. let's talk with the chief economic advisor at bree capital. john, it's good to see you. what are you focused on? >> i think the main focus is the inflation story. as early as april of last year, we warned we were going to have an inflation event. it would negatively with the virus in the government measures would negatively hit the supply side. the supply chains have been hit harder, more prolonged than we imagined. on the others coming we are going to get massive demand stimulus that was monetary financed a

the cdc today announcing a major shift to isolation guidelines as omicron fuels the latest pandemic surge. the cdc shortening its recommended covid isolation period from ten days to five. for those testing positive, but who don't have any symptoms. followed by five days of mask wearing when around others. dr. ashish jha breaking down what it all means, as covid cases skyrocket over the holiday weekend. across the country, people waiting for hours in long testing lines. president biden today acknowledging the government's pandemic response is clearly not enough, and saying, "we have more work to do." covid hospitalizations among children surging in parts of the country. in new york city, a five-fold increase, with less than a third of eligible children fully vaccinated nationwide. >>> holiday travel nightmares playing out at america's airports. more than 1,000 flights canceled today, after thousands more were halted over the weekend. airlines blaming omicron-fueled crew shortages and bad weather. people left stranded at the airport, scrambling to get home. what dr. fauci said today about w

the new data that omicron is likely less severe than delta, and new information from the cdc on when people are most contagious. >> most of your transmission potential happens in the one to two days before you have symptoms. >>> holiday travel nightmare. nearly 1,000 flights canceled today the massive pile-up in wisconsin as severe weather begins to roll through the southeast. >>> high stakes call president biden set to talk with vladimir putin tomorrow as fears grow that russia will invade ukraine. why did the russian president request the call >>> truly free returns. the secret policy at some major retailers that lets you keep the item you want to give back and the refund. >>> and the tributes pouring in for two towering figures we remember former senate leader harry reid and nfl great john madden. >>> this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening i'm kristin welker in for lester after the death of jeffrey epstein, the world has watched and waited as the jury deliberated for days about what would happen to his confidant, ghislaine maxwell. tonight they have found her

is it fair to single out cruise ships the way the cdc is doing? >> i think that it's -- when i first saw what cruise ships had to kind of go through and the levels of vaccination and the infection controls they had, i thought, this is a good thing. but let me tell you, if we start to see a pattern like we did with the original holiday cruise, any of the cruise lines that were in the 2020s causing people to be sealocked until they were quarantined, so i don't think this is overstepping by the cdc, this is exactly what we want the cdc to do. their job is to quarantine and isolate. you're just watching them do this in a much broader sense. a distinction between a cruise ship and an airplane, for example, is the ability to control, isolate, and also deal with circulation. believe it or not, air circulation on airplanes is incredible, that's why you don't see people benching the entire airline industry. when i had to work in the white house, we worked on cruise ship outbreaks of other types. so this is something the cdc has done before, it just hasn't g

the holiday period. delta didn't do that. cdct in half of the isolation time when someone is infected, with no testing before going back out into public. but, with two key points. that you are asymptomatic and that you continue to wear a mask. it is really important that we lift this up and cdc should be recommending if they're going to fall in line with what the airlines want, that the airlines also say how they're going to implement this to make sure that it is only for people who are asymptomatic, who are coming back to work, so that people are not forced to come back to work when they're still sick and how they're going to implement ensuring masks are worn at all times, including in the flight deck. >> so they say people should continue to wear a mask for those five days after they are asymptomatic. going back to work. you said you talked about the cdc citing the science here, the driving force behind this decision, but you said the fact that it aligned to the number of days pushed by corporate america is, quote, less than re

why should americans trust the cdc? >> my job right now is to take all of the science and information that we have and to deliver guidance and recommendations to the american people that is adapted to the science at hand. this pandemic has given us a lot of new and updated science over the last two years, and it is my job to convey that science through those recommendations, and that is exactly what we are doing. >> that's the director of

this is a quote from the cdc. people who test positive should isolate for five days and if asymptomatic at that time they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for five days to minimize the risk of infecting others. now, that new guidance is sparking relief for some, confusion for others as americans attempt to navigate how to manage the virus at this point and, of course, the new variant. these changes come as new cases are surging across the country right now. the us .s. is averaging more th 237,000 daily cases. for many americans, this holiday season may be remembered for hours spent in long testing lines or desperately searching pharmacy shelves for at-home tests. our team of reporters following all the latest developments this morning, but first, to our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen on this big shift in guidance from the cdc. good morning. explain it to all of us because it is coulnfusing, even the lite part where it says that the time. does that mean you need to be asymptomatic at th

we should note we heard the cdc director, dr. hat they ramped up surveillance trying to find this, including the four airports in the united states, all of those trying to find these cases. part that far is getting contact information from the travelers who are coming from these nations where we note this is spreading, where those restrictions have gone into place which don't apply to american citizens, don't apply to legal residents. that presents a problem for them to try to contact trace as well. so that is something they'll be dealing with now that it has been identified here in the united states. >> kaitlan, stand by. i want to bring back dr. leana wen to react to this information you just shared, which is we now have our first identified case of omicron, this variant of covid here in the u.s., now detected in california. we were just discussing this idea that it is likely already in the u.s. and just hadn't been picked up yet, so i don't think this information is a huge surprise to anyone, but i do believe viewers at home ar

the reason the cdc gives is not because there is a shortage of tests. so that was one of the injection -- objections, excuse me, that one of the people who wrote in or made the comment to you. that's not the issue, according to the cdc. according to the cdc, what they're saying is that for the first five days an abintigen te would be predictive of whether a person is transmissable. it's much more likely predictive. as you get further into the course, namely, out to the seven, eight, nine, ten days, the predictive value of an antigen test to say weather you are transmissable to someone else is really not only not known, there is no evidence indicate that that has any predictive value. in fact, what they're telling us, and it's true, is that the fda approved that antigen test and never approved it for the purpose of saying it has any predictive value when you are eight, nine, ten days into the course, whereas early on it gives you much more predictive of weahether you are enficktiver transmissable. >> here's what i'm dr. fauci, here is what i am not hearin

ahead right here on "cnn newsroom," the cdc is now defending its decision to reduce isolation times amid record high case counts in the united states. >>> elghalain maxwell is found guilty on six counts including sex trafficking a minor. >>> and drastic measures in china to curb the spread of covid-19. why these rule breakers were paraded through the streets. >>> so medical experts called 2021 the year of the vaccine, a chance for people worldwide to try and protect themselves against the coronavirus pandemic. but according to john hopkins university at this hour the year is coming to a close with an average of more than a million new infections a day right around the globe. that is an all-time high. the u.s. is also breaking records. for the first time averaging more than 300,000 new cases a day. john hopkins reports close to 490,000 cases on wednesday alone. now, of course, we want to point out that that number could be the result of a lag in reporting over the christmas holidays, but a staggering number, nonetheless. meantime the centers for disease control and prevention is forecasti

big news from the cdc. new guidelines shortening the recommended isolation and quarantine times for those who test positive or exposed to the coronavirus. here's how it breaks down -- people who test positive but have no symptoms should, in fact, isolate five days instead of ten. and then wear a mask for those five days following. the if you guidelines apply to everybody, by the way, including the unvaccinated. we'll dig into that. all of this announced after the president met virtually with some of the nation's governors monday conceding that not enough has been done to expand covid testing capacity saying, there's a lot more work to be done, but making a pledge. >> just have to stay focused and continue to work together. my message to the governors is simple. if you need something, say something. and we, we're going to have your back, in any way we can. >> and then omicron forcing more closures across the board. apple temporarily shutting down about 20 of its retail stores after a wave of covid-19 hitting

six to go as the year end santa claus rally sees the best start in more than 20 year >>> this as the cdc updates its quarantine guidance for those who test positive for covid-19 but will it be enough to ease the shortages? >>> one major retailer in new york city is forced to close its doors in store with no reopening date in sight. >>> holiday travel headaches going strong as airlines rack up hundreds more cancelled flights. and one giant joining the likes of nike, coin base and more with a big bet on the metaverse it's tuesday, december 28th, 2021, you're watching cnbc's "worldwide exchange. >>> good morning, i'm seema mody in for brian sullivan at this hour kicking off your tuesday morning with a look at u.s. stock futures after stocks hit a record high yesterday. the dow up 91 points, nasdaq higher by 77 and the s&p 500 also trading in positive territory. this again after a very strong start to the final week of trade for 2021 with the dow gaining some 350 points, or roughly 1% in yesterday's trade, the s&p surging 1.4% to its 69th record close of the year. the index is now up four da

the cdc said all close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative. now san francisco mayor and the sf director of public health just held that press conference. they wrapped it up and as we listened he said that this isn't surprising. take a listen. >> i also want to say that this is not a surprise for those that have been following this we knew that omicron would be here. we thought it was already here. we just haven't detected it yet. this is cause for concern. it's also certainly not a cause for us to panic. >> now he reminded us there's still a lot we don't know about the variant like how transmissible it is or how effective the vaccines are against it. any more information we get regarding this case will be sure to update you. reporting from sfo. >>> the governor tweeted this response saying california's large scale testing and early detection systems have found the new variant in california. we should assume that it's in other states as well. there's no reason to panic but we should remain aware. that means get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a ma

rochelle walensky, director of the cdc, live on "the beat." first, eugene robinson from "the washington post," where he is a columnist and pulitzer prize winner, and libby casey. libby, when we look at the president today as well as these officials, and i'm about to be joined by one, there's an emphasis on taking the variant seriously while reminding people that it is not yet found to be deadly in the u.s. and it is not everywhere yet. does that policy message work, do you think, right now? >> well, yesterday, 2.2 million shots were administered, ari, including more than a million boosters. that's the highest single day since may. omicron may be causing alarm in people but it also may be waking them up. the message that you'll hear in a minute from dr. walensky as well as from the biden administration is, fight omicron, get vaccinated and boosted. but there's focusing also on what delta does. we have a lot of questions about omicron but we have a lot of answers about the delta variant. we're hearing a message from officials saying, look, if we

jen ashton inside the cdc. what they're seeing across the nation. and what has the cdc director most concerned? also, dr. jha here tonight answering your questions. if the boosters are, in fact, this effective against this new variant, what about children and the current timeline? >>> also tonight, the trial of former police officer kim potter now under way. officer potter charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing daunte wright, who was unarmed during a traffic stop. she claims she confused her gun for her taser. daunte wright's mother testifying about her final phone call with her son when he was stopped by the police. >>> tonight on capitol hill, the head of instagram grilled about its effects on children, particularly young girls. so, what's being done? rachel scott on the hill tonight. >>> it was a case that horrified the country, so tonight, why was convicted killer scott peterson back in court today? the family of lacy peterson watching it all again in that courtroom. >>> tonight here, the never before seen photos revealed at the tria

but first we begin with nbc's sam brock >> reporter: tonight a change in policy from the cdc cutting the recommended quarantine time in half for all americans infected with covid-19. from 10 days down to 5, provided they are asymptomatic and wear masks around others for five more days this as testing for the virus reaches a crisis point by 5:00 in the morning, the lines in south florida were already forming with the prospect of free covid testing kits luring thousands what are you seeing in store shelves right now? >> oh, empty empty everywhere every pharmacy you go to >> they're all in stock. they're all fine, but i guess they just disappear in a matter of three days. like they just weren't there. >> reporter: at this library in miami-dade county, you are looking at two different lines right now. this is for free testing kits this one is for testing on site. both of them snake around the building in both directions with no end in site it is a miami microcosm of a national crisis. chaos in line from new york to charlotte to dallas president biden pressed today on the inadequate supply

. >> the california and san francisco departments of public health and the cdc have confirmed that a nt case of covid-19 among individual in california was caused by the omicron variant. >> the first case of the omicron variant has been detected right here in san francisco. and now scientists around the world are racing to establish whether or not it is more dangerous than the previous variants of coronavirus. thank you so much for joining us here. during kron, 4 news at 5 o'clock tonight. i'm justine waldman in for vicki liviakis. and i'm grant lotus. public health officials confirming today, the first known covid case with the omicron variant is in the u.s. and it is a san francisco resident who recently returned from traveling to south africa. kron four's, dan kerman joins us live tonight with more. dan, almost everybody. knew it would show up in the u.s. eventually. and here it is in the bay area. that's right here in the bay area here in san francisco, likely first identified here because of the quick testing that goes on and so much testing going on in san francisco. maybe not t

tonight the cdc as an agency formally adopted that recommendation. so the bottom line here is if you haven't been vaccinated yet, go get vaccinated, particularly with case numbers just skyrocketing right now and this new variant storming the country. go get -- if you have not been vaccinated, go get vaccinated. and when you go get vaccinated, get pfizer or moderna. that's the bottom line. now, millions of americans, including yours truly, have already been vaccinated with johnson & johnson. what this means for those of us who already got johnson & johnson as our initial shot is not to worry about that having been our initial shot, but it does raise interesting questions about our boosters. everybody in the country basically right now is recommended to get boosted, even if you have previously been fully vaccinated. well, what about booster shots for those of us who have had the johnson & johnson vaccine? what this means tonight from the cdc is that if you had johnson & johnson as your first shot, your booster shot ideally should be pfizer or moderna. m

now,ly say that the cdc has been clear that there's a large margin of error here. this is not an exact science. but interesting to see that it's not sort of taking off the way that people thought it might, at least according to these numbers. >> elizabeth cohen, i appreciate you. thank you so much. >>> as you know, the covid surge is leading to long, very long testing lines from new york to austin to milwaukee, people spending hours waiting to just get tested. cnn's leyla santiago is live at a testing site in miami where, yes, people are waiting hours to get tested still. leyla? >> reporter: amara, we just got new numbers at the site where i am right now, one of the busiest in south florida. they tell me that they tested about -- or they administered about 9,000 tests here, 60,000 across miami-dade county. let me put that in perspective for you. that's about a 50% increase compared to the peak during the delta wave. so that really speaks to the volume, the increase and the demand for testing. as a result today, miami d-dade county has opened two more sites and have

the cdc has requested they wear those for five days. so, you know, we all want to focus on the same thing, that the original quarantine and isolation periods were very long. you'll remember when we started they were at 14 days, went down to 10 days. this virus moves quickly and makes people sick quickly, and people also seem to recover quickly. >> clearly the economy is part of the equation now when it comes to public health. >> it is. >> dr. bassett, thanks for your time. best of luck to you as you navigate the tough days ahead. appreciate it. >> thank you. thank you, amara. thanks for having me. >>> coming up, we are just hours away from president biden and vladimir putin meeting again. will it de-escalate tensions over ukraine? we will dismuss next. throughout history i've observed markets shaped by the intentional and unforeseeable. for investors who can navigate this landscape, leveraging gold, a strategic and sustainable asset... the path is gilded with the potential for rich returns. got lingering odors? grab febreze small spaces.

the cdc reported more than 4500 cases of the flu last week, up from 2500 cases two weeks prior or test positivity is rising in san francisco and is directly coupled with hospitalizations or two publican lawmakers have been fined for violating mask rules. ama: i think it is positivity is up but it sounds like a not as many people are being hospitalized. the cases of the true. viewers agree with me again but we were wrong last time. what is it? >> you were right this time. i will not pretend like we give it away. test positivity is rising in california, but that is one metric this could be by virtue of the fact that omicron is a more mild variant. we do not know what could happen with the unvaccinated get hit, but it is good news to see it is not necessarily coupled. a is true, and it is important to remember influenza hospitalized is a lot of people. c, ridiculous, this is andrew clyde and marjorie taylor greene have been fined fined fined fif money. the cdc guidance for those who are unvaccinated say after five days of isolation if you test positive you should wear a mask. there is a b

shattering its record average of daily coronavirus cases, and the cdc slashing estimates for how much omicron is actually in the u.s. plus, the political world and the sports world are mourning the death of two american giants, harry reid and john madden. but first let's get to the pandemic. the u.s. hitting a record of more than 265,000 new coronavirus cases tuesday alone as two highly contagious variants fuel surges across the country. but we need to note that the number of hospitalizations are not rising yet at the same rate. and the cdc is lowering the estimate of the prevalence of the omicron variant from 70% to 59%, suggesting that while the new variant was on the rise, it is not infecting people at the rate that the cdc just projected. >> pediatric hospitalizations are also near their september peak though. nationwide hospitalizations of children with the virus have jumped on average nearly 50% in just one week. parents understandably concerned as vaccination rates particularly among the pediatric population continue to lag leaving many children potentially vulnerable to infect