walensky. dr. walensky: good morning. let's begin with an overview of the data.esterday, cdc reported more than 33,000 new cases of covid-19. our seven day average is about 26,300 cases per day. 26,300 cas. this represents an increase of nearly 70% from the prior seven day average. the seven day average of hospital admissions is about 2790 per day, an increase of about 36% from the previous seven day period. seven day average daily deaths have increased by 26% to 211 per day. today, dr. fauci and i want to provide perspective about these numbers and how we should be thinking about where we are at this critical moment in the pandemic. there is a clear message that is coming through. this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. we are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk, and communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well. you can see the patterns of local outbreaks in the slide of community transmissions. the blue and yellow counties have low or moderate tr

walensky. i would like to continue along the line that dr. walensky mentioned but take a look at it from a global standpoint. clearly, the delta variant is dominant in the world. if you look at this map of the world, there is about 100 countries that now have the delta variant detected in them since june 2020. next slide. if you look at the average daily prevalence of sars-cov-2 worldwide, you see the extraordinary surge in the dominance of this variant worldwide. as was mentioned in several briefings that we have had, we are seeing an increment in our own country to a point of having more than 50% dominance and in some areas of the country greater than 80%. that is sobering news. take a look at what is going on worldwide with hospitalizations. although israel has the same issue with the dominance of the delta strain, there hospitalizations have dramatically diminished. if you look at the far-right of the slide, as of a couple of days ago, they are very low. in the next slide, we see the u.k. dramatic diminution in hospitalizations. if you lo

walensky.r. walensky: thank you, senator. we have numerous cohort studies. they represent tens of thousands of people and they're represented across the unite. these include data from 14,000 nursing home facilities, long-term care facilities. we have a heroes cohort, which is essential workers of 5,000 people that are getting weekly pcr testing. we have health care worker cohorts. we have cohorts across the country where we're following these data and really looking at it every several weeks to understand what the vaccine efficacy is, and it is among that and the laboratory data will be the decisions that we use. fortunately, we're anticipating that this will wane and not plummet, so as we see that waning, that will be our time for action. chair: thank you very much. we appreciate it. we'll stay in touch on that. i'll reserve the balance of my time. many members here. senator burr. senator burr: thank you, madame chairman. i've got to say. the last exchange was, oh, my god, we haven't learned a

walensky: thank you. you know, as we have said consistently, the greatest risk right now is to those who are unvaccinated. and we have consistently and repeatedly said, if you are unvaccinated, need to be wearing a mask to protect yourself and others around you. and we need more people to get vaccinated to stop this pandemic. so overall the c.d.c. recommendations haven't changed. fully vaccinated people are protected from severe illness. and we've always said that communities and individuals need to make the decisions that are right for them based on what's going on in their local areas. so if you're in an area that has a high rate and low rate of vaccination where delta cases are rising, you should certainly be wearing a mask if you're unvaccinated. if you are vaccinated, you get exceptional protection from the vaccine. you have the opportunity to make the personal choice to add extra layers of protection if you so choose. jeff: next question. "new york times." reporter: hi. can you hear me? jeff: yes. r

rochelle walensky, saying we are still in a pandemic of the unvaccinated. of transmission and severe disease almost exclusively happening among the unvaccinated population. experts telling me today's change is a step of what should be telling of what we are faced with in the u.s. with the delta variant. officially the cdc reverses its indoor mask policy, citing the latest data. samples contained the highly transmissible delta variant. >> in areas with substantial and high transmission, cdc recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor settings. >> repor

walensky. dr. walensky: thank you, jeff. good afternoon. let's begin with an overview of the data. yesterday c.d.c. reported 14,875 new cases of covid-19. our seven-day average is about 12,600 per day. and while this is a 95% decrease lower from our peak in early january, it does also respect a -- represent a 10% increase from the seven-day average of last week. the seven-day average of hospital admissions is 1,822 per day, a decrease of about 1% from the prior seven-day period. and the seven-day average of daily deaths was about 257. looking across the country, we have made incredible progress towards ending the pandemic. we continue to see overall low numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. however, looking state by state and county by county, it is clear that communities where people remain unvaccinated are communities that remain vulnerable. this is all true as we monitor the continued spread of the hypertransmissible delta variant. the delta variant is predicted to be the second mo

walensky. >> thank you so much for that introduction. and since coming together in the spring, you, our nation's largest employers and part of the health action alliance have been strong partners in our nation's fight against covid-19. you've shared facts and vaccinations by providing time off, connecting families, child care, hosting vaccination clinics and offering employees incentives. for that we say a very sincere thank you. today, we're actually shifting our focus, to our children. and childhood vaccinations and the dual goals having children ages 12 and older vaccinated against covid-19 and they've caught up on the key immunizations they may have. and working with the impact op covid with the vaccination in children. just last week, we learned the cumulative orders for vaccinations through the vaccines for children protection program are down by more than 12 million doses since the start of this pandemic. especially concerning our renewable vaccines and other vaccines routinely recommend

walensky. >> get vaccinated and get your neighbors vaccinated. >> dr. fauci. >> get vaccinated, and encourage family and friends to get vaccinated. >> dr. woodcock. >> couldn't say it better. >> ms. o'donnell. >> get vaccinated. >> thank you to all of you. >> the quick development of effective covid-19 vaccine is a success story, key to everyone's ability to return to normal lives. with the spread of variants driving increases in cases and deaths now, i'm encouraged to see public health experts and vaccine developers are now considering the possible need for boosters. you mentioned this a bit in your opening remarks, but i wanted to ask you, how do you assess the duration of vaccine efficacy, and the impact of variants on that efficacy? >> thank you very much, madame chair. there are two ways actively being used to assess the answer to your question. one is there are correlates of immunity that have been established. in other words, you have a level of measurable laboratory, for example, neutra

rochelle walensky with updated guidance late today, saying new and worrisome data on the delta variant, spreading quickly in the u.s., tonight saying new data shows that vaccinated people with those rare breakthrough cases may be contagious and able to spread the virus to others. so, the cdc is now recommending vaccinated americans wear masks indoors again in areas with high transmission of covid cases. to protect themselves from breakthrough cases and to keep from transmitting the virus to others. also tonight, the cdc saying with millions of children heading back to school, all students, teachers and staff should wear masks regardless of vaccination status, to keep everyone safe. dr. walensky saying it didn't have to be this way, had the vaccination rate in this country been higher. dr. jha is standing by to answer your questions at home tonight. and late today, president biden on the new guidance, saying we are not going back to last year. and tonight, new reporting, could there soon be a vaccination mandate for federal workers? cecilia vega with late reporting live from the white h

walensky?m, at the cdc to provide technical assistance for all areas of travel as well as to provide technical assistance at the southern border so as people come in we are keeping migrants, as well as those communities as safe as possible with the technical assistance and infection prevention guidelines from the cdc. >> bret: but do you know the surge, how the surge of illegal immigrants with covid is affecting the overall rate, you know, it sounds like the percentages down there on the border are astronomical? >> yeah, you know, i would say that the percentages in the southern part of this country are really quite high and i don't necessarily think we can attribute all of that to what's going on at the southern border. i think what we really need to do is spend our time getting our communities vaccinated to getting our individuals vaccinated to prevent disease from transmitting in our communities. >> bret: lightning round here. which vaccine is best against the delta variant? >> i don't think

rochelle walensky doesn't care.he charge for more mandates of children and adults. according to rochelle walensky we need. vaccine passports to make children people who got a shot can't leave their homesor or make a living. >> they are doing it in europe. of you are not cdc of europe which i know you are plenty happy about. there are human health passes there. you can go to a disco if you have a health pass. is that something that the cdc would advise here? >> i think some communities are doing that. that may be a path forward. >> tucker: what people are going to protect us against this? this is insane? who will say so? no one so far. instead,fa the floor is left to rochelle walensky and people like her. manipulators of data. liars. we need vaccines. immediately. everybody should be forced to get one. if there is one message around covid that is consistent from the biden administration from day 1, it's that: get the vaccine and don't ask questions. the biden administration's lackeys in the media push the same thing.

walensky place. inmate the cdc announced new guidance for fully vaccinated individuals, that they could resume activities without wearing a mask for staying socially six feet apart. at that time the cdc further said they would continue to update guidance for travel as of the science was developing. they would need to collaborate with other agencies regarding facemask requirement. a month later me and a number my colleague sent a letter t to the cdc and utsa asking for an update regarding the mask requirement during the travel -- tsa. while we had a response and tsa we have not had a response from cdc and i wondered if you would tell me where the cdc is in the process of updating the'v mask requirement for fully vaccinated individuals while traveling? the mask requirement for fully vaccinated individuals while traveling? >> thank you for that question, senator. obviously, as you know, the discussion about masking on aviation and ships is an interagency process not simply with cdc. a lot has changed si

walensky on your second skin. dr. fauci: as we always do we leave the situation of the kinds of restrictions that are going to be put on people, to the olympics to local authorities who know best with what's going on. with regards to the athletes themselves, protocols in place to protect them are really quite stringent. many of them, maybe the majority are going to be vaccinated, but the care being taken to avoid the spread is really something that i think is quite impressive from what i've heard about it. the question about the first lady going there. i think that's going to be up to the first lady. i believe there is no reason right now given the situation that the protocol to protect her held will be rather stringent. i don't have a concern about that. the final choice of what you do -- she does is up to her. dr. walensky: if you have symptoms that could suggest covid-19 that you should absolute get a test. we don't see any reason currently to test those who are asymptomatic. what i want to emphasize is those sympt

rochelle walensky. let's watch. >> the delta variant is showing its willingness to outsmart us and be an opportunist in areas that we have not showed a fortified respond against it. this week our data shows that delta remains the predominant variant circulating in the united states. eight in ten samples contain the delta variant. in resent days, i have seen new scientific data from resent outbreak investigations showing the delta variant behaves differently from past strains of the virus that cause covid-19. information on the delta variant from several states and other countries indicates that in rare occasions some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others. this new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendations. first, we continue to strongly encourage everyone to get vaccinated. getting vaccinated continues to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death even with delta. it also helps pr

walensky is saying this is new.s is something they are seeing that is new with the delta variant, that people who have been vaccinated and are infected, they may not be getting sick or seriously ill, but they are transmitting the virus, which is part of the reason the cdc is now recommending people mask up again in these highly impacted areas. she also did say, though, that almost most of the transmission is happening from unvaccinated to unvaccinated. still, you know, what's your reaction to what you heard? >> yeah, well, i thought that was really good interview, john. i think the fundamental problem -- we just have to state the fundamental problem, exactly what you said. everything else left aside for a second, the fundamental problem is still in this country, unvaccinated people are transmitting the virus to unvaccinated people, and that's who is getting sick. that is who the doctor you interviewed from louisiana was talking about. that is still the fundamental problem. what dr. walensky is referring to seems to

fauci and rachel walensky testify. mixed messages on schools, the scourge of misinformation on vaccines. we learn of break through cases among white house and capitol hill staff. >>> plus, the bipartisan infrastructure bill could be in real danger as chuck schumer makes a move intended to get the deal done. meanwhile, mccarthy makes his move, picking republicans to serve on the january 6th select committee, including several who objected to certifying joe biden as president. >>> later, newly identified potential cases of mysterious havana syndrome mean as many as 200 americans around the world reported possible symptoms of direct energy attacks. we have the latest from the pentagon. welcome to tuesday. it is "mtp daily." i am garrett haake in for chuck todd. we begin with some fireworks on capitol hill, the white house top public health experts testified before the senate about the alarming surge in covid infections, just as the public learned about break through infections at the white house and speaker pelosi's offic

rochelle walensky, the director of the cdc. dr.alensky, thank you for joining us we've got the delta variant. we've got rising infections we've got dropping vaccination rates. is this becoming a worst case scenario? >> unfortunately, no, i think things can still get worse, which is why we're doing everything we can now to make sure that that doesn't happen. >> but it is starting to look like you're hitting a brick wall when it comes to vaccinations have you identified why those numbers are dropping so quickly? >> we knew that this was going to be harder as time -- as time went on. places with low rates of vaccination are actually seeing more disease, and we're really trying to go there now to say please we don't want to hit that worst case scenario >> you have been very bullish on the idea of getting kids back in school for the fall. watching what this delta variant is doing right now and the knowledge now that it could be wintertime next year before younger kids are eligible for a vaccine, is there any consideration, any scenario

rochelle walensky. bret, so much to get into with the director.the main focuses for you with this interview? >> good afternoon, charles. the main focus is what we're hearing from a ton of people. they want to hear the science behind these decisions. people got vaccinated thinking that that was the thing that was going to clear them from having to wear masks and to be able to do things that they wanted to do. now kind of going backwards in a number of communities, being told that they have to wear masks even if they're vaccinated. we want to get into the data, the new information that the cdc -- they didn't put it out but it leaked out of what they thought about in these different circumstances where vaccinated people caught the delta variant, covid, in greater numbers. if you look at the big numbers of the break through disease, the break-through people that had vaccines and then had troubles or went to the hospital or died, they are minuscule when you compare them to the 163 million people across america that have been vaccinated. that's number 1

walensky?absolutely. >> because again the cdc changing, updating your guidance as far as recommending universal mask wearing indoors regardless of vaccination status, so what is your message to parents who want their kids to have a normal school year? >> so do i. i'm a parent too, and i want our kids to have a normal school year, so we are continuing to lean in and say, the children can and should be back to full time in-person learning in the fall as long as those protection measures are in place. we've seen time and time again this past summer, or this summer that there are outbreaks in school, clusters in schools that are not taking prevention interventions seriously. they're not masking and, in fact, as we conduct those outbreaks, many of these schools are now saying, oh, yes, we really do need to mask. what's different now, we certainly have more delta now than we initially did during our initial school guidance or the guidance published earlier this month. we have less vaccination than we

here is walensky. listen. >> when we see more and more people vaccinated and children vaccinated and have full vaccination in schools and full vaccinations in schools and documented and disease rates that are low, then we can start thinking about what -- how we can loosen up. >> the department of veterans affairs requiring health facility employees to get vaccinated or face weekly testing. president biden is weighing shots for all federal government employees and appears to be shaming the unvaccinated in his message. listen. >> president biden: one thing we know for sure if those other 100 million people got vaccinated we would be in a very different world. get vaccinated. if you haven't, you aren't nearly as smart as i said you were. >> are vaccine mandates legal under emergency use authorization? d.o.j. office of legal counsel put out an opinion saying they are despite the vaccines not having full fda approval. whether or not the president was wearing a mask, didn't appear to be now. we'll see if he

walensky, thanks for your time tonight. dr. rochelle walensky is the director of the cdc. we appreciate you being here. >>> when we come back, we'll hear more from today's harrowing testimony about the storming of the capitol, including words i never thought i would hear uttered in a congressional hearing, said for a powerful reason. stay with us. are you one of the millions of americans who experience occasional bloating, gas or abdominal discomfort? taking align every day can help. align contains a quality probiotic developed by gastroenterologists. it adds more good bacteria to your gut to naturally help soothe your occasional bloating, gas and abdominal discomfort. support your digestive health with align, the #1 doctor recommended probiotic. try align today. and try new align fast acting biotic gummies. helps soothe occasional digestive upsets in as little as 7 days. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned caref

row chel walensky, director of the cdc. dr.ensky, thank you for your i'm, thank you for being with us this evening. the reaction i've seen on social media to this is it's giving people whiplash. the cdc has changed fairly suddenly in the opinion of some people. give me a sense of the science behind this decision. >> good evening, thanks for having me. 80% of those counties that are orange or red hatch less than 40% of people vaccinated, so those counties very much correspond to the people who are undervaccinated in this country. where we have not put up a large enough fortress as a population to tackle this delta variant. i think that's really important because the main message here is that map looks like that because we haven't done a good enough job of getting people vaccinated. the most important message is to get vaccinated. when i became the director of the cdc, i felt it my responsibility, and i told the american people, that i would follow science. and that science would be what is motivating and driving our recommendati

walensky very well said. children. if they're not yet able to be vaccinated, they should still be wearing masks indoors, including in the classroom. >> in terms of risk from the delta variant, dr. walensky there, sanjay gupta said the same on our air yesterday, that if you are vaccinated, that you are safe from the delta variant. just because you and i can't control what other people do, whether they get vaccinated themselves. but for us who are vaccinated, should we have a reasonable sense of comfort as to our own personal risk from the delta variant? >> those people who are vaccinated should feel very safe we are protected from severe illness due to the delta variant. it is extremely unlikely we're going to end up in the hospital or die. we are seeing more than 99% of people dying from coronavirus now are people who are not vaccinated. so that illustrates how well the vaccine protects against the delta variant. however, we don't know. and i think the cdc really needs to step up and do a better job of tracki

he testified on choose day before -- tuesday before director walensky. you can see the entire hearing tonight at 9:30 eastern euros c-span. -- here on c-span. this -- cdc director michelle walensky spoke about the effectiveness of the vaccine and about how the business community can have a role in increasing vaccination rates. this is just over an hour. good afternoon to my friends on the east. i would like to welcome you to our town hall on business actions to support childhood vaccinations. a note about the action alliance. we provide companies at large and small with free resources, trainings and events that will deliver health communications to their employees and encourage their consumers to make informed decisions about the vaccine. this was founded by the ad council roundtable, cdc foundation, beaumont foundation, in partnership with our team at meteorite. thank you to our founding partners for their leadership. today kicks off a national effort to support working parents who want to get their eligible children vaccinated from covid-19 and other r

cdc director doctor rochelle walensky says the percentages are even higher in areas where vaccinationow. the best way to prevent the spread of covid-19 variants is to prevent the spread of disease and vaccination is the most powerful tool we have. well, he says, more vaccinations are needed to further protect the nation. >> 6 senate minority leader mitch mcconnell supports. >> the shot need to get everybody is armed as rapidly as possible. we're going to be back in a situation in the fall. that we don't yearn for that. we went through last year. >> now, when asked about students returning to school. doctor walensky recommended as some of those those safety measures that are that were used during the pandemic such as face masks. this is in order to protect those who are still unvaccinated reporting live in washington. i'm basil john. >> thank you. base hill. meanwhile, the cdc is urging americans not to travel to the united kingdom. the cdc raised its covid related travel warning for the uk to read today. the highest level it comes on the same day british officials lifted nearly all co

walensky to take questions from the reporters. you heard her give her opening statements making that announcement, talking about the updaded guidance from the cdc which now says in areas of high and substantial covid-19 transmission, fully vaccinated adults should wear masks indoors. she went on to add that all students k-12 in schools regardless of vaccination status, that includes teachers and workers at these schools, also wear masks and should require in person learning come the fall. let's cross back into that briefing now and listen into the questions. >> if you have questions following the briefing, feel free to call our main media line. can you also e-mail those questions to media@cdc.gov. we'll continue to stand by for our first question. >> dr. rainy, you outlund a little bit of what she was going to say based on your own medical expertise. i would like to ask you specifically about what qualifies as high and substantial transmission? that is the point she is saying as a result of what she is seeing with the delta varian

the agency's director, rochelle walensky, described the delta variant as one of the most infectious respiratoryiruses seen in her 20-year career. the con stages strain accounts for more than 80 cases across the nation. laura podesta is in new york tracking the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the delta variant has led to a surge in hospitalizations, but also a slight uptick in vaccinations. this as more than 610,000 americans have now died from covid-19. new cases of covid-19 are mostly in states with low vaccination rates. >> this week just three states, florida, texas, and missouri, accounted for 40% of all cases nationwide. >> reporter: some good news -- white house health officials noted vaccination rates are going up in states being hit hardest. >> we need to come together as one nation unified in our resolve to protect the health of ourselves, our children, our community, our country, and our future. >> reporter: missouri has seen a bump in vaccinations, but officials at local hospitals say they're already suffering. >> we've had days in the last few weeks where 100% of ou

cdc director doctor rochelle walensky says the percentages are even higher in areas where vaccination rates are low. the best way to prevent the spread of covid-19 variants is to prevent the spread of disease and vaccination is the most powerful tool we have he says more vaccinations are needed to further protect the nation. >> 6 senate minority leader mitch mcconnell supports. >> the shot need to get everybody is armed as rapidly as possible. we're going to be back in a situation in the fall. that we don't yearn for that. we went through last year. >> now, when asked about students returning to school. doctor walensky recommended prevention strategies such as wearing a mask in order to protect those who are still uovaccinated reporting live in washington. i'm basil john, will the president address the pandemic during his cabinet meeting today. what was his message to americans on fighting back against covid-19. >> well, the president just wants americans to be as just data before you do see these rising rates throughout different parts of the country when it comes to that delta varia

walensky was trying to make. >> and the cdc director, dr.day that the highly transmissible covid variant makes up 83% of all covid cases. this variant is clearly highly transmissible. what do vaccinated and unvaccinated people need to know today? >> vaccinated people need to know they are very well protected. it is extraordinarily unlikely they will become ill. it's unlikely they will become infected. it's much more unlikely that they will become ill and possibly die. the unvaccinated needs to know that you can die from this virus. it is much more transmissible and you can very well die. all of the people in hospitals now essentially are unvaccinated around the country. there was 7,000 new cases in florida today. in two weeks we're going to start to see, again, unacceptably high levels of death coming out of the south and southwest and up through the midwest in this country. it doesn't have to happen. this is happening in unvaccinated people. we have the answer. it's just the shot. get the shot. >> get the shot. during the height of the pand

what lince -- la wednesdayky herself -- walensky herself. we're going to continue to make sure we communicate directly with the american people and work hand in hand with local governments and stake owners as well. >> to follow up on all of that you mentioned the c.d.c.'s data that was released on tuesday. i think the question is why doesn't that guidance match the internal memo's guidance? on tuesday the -- they updated the mask guidance to say you only have to wear it in places in a high or moderate transmissibility. the internal mem memo that was leaked says, given higher transmissibility in current -- and current coverage, vaccine coverage, universal masking is essential to reduce transmission. so one, why don't we the recommendations match? and two, should the american public anticipate updated guidance that includes universal masking and also new guidance about large gatherings and how many people should gather given what we are seeing from provincetown? karine: as you know, we do not make those types of decisions from here when it com

walensky in terms of mask policies, shutdown policies. the president has been very, very clear, no more shutdowns for this country. just as the economy is roaring back, just as we saw 6.5% growth. just as we saw more jobs created in the last six months than any administration. we cannot afford to shutdown this economy. the president is not going to do that. we cannot afford to shut down any of our schools. children of the age of 12 need to be vaccinated. we saw 3 million new first doses administered this week. we are on the right track in terms of an upward trend in terms of the first vaccinations. kids need to get vaccinated. we need to keep schools open we can't shut down the economy. >> shannon: this is at the "washington examiner." it's an opinion piece. he said covid cases are surging but covert deaths are not. daily infections have risen dramatically in the u.s. up roughly 200% in the last month, there's been no corresponding upswing in the number of deaths caused by the virus. now that the risk of death carried by the infection is

rochelle walensky is testifying on capitol hill right now and i want to play what she just said about contagious delta variant spreading across the country. >> the delta variant now represents 83% of sequenced cases. this is a dramatic increase from, up from 50% of the week of july 3rd. in some parts of the country, the percentage is even higher. particularly in areas of low vaccination rates. >> the country is now averaging nearly 35,000 new cases per day and an increase of nearly 50% from last week. in cases arising in 44 states and up sharply in 20 states. hospitalizations are also on the rise. almost exclusively among unvaccinated people. walensky is reiterating as well the importance of wearing masks, particularly for children who aren't yet able to get the vaccine. just yesterday, the american academy of pediatrics released new recommendations saying that everyone over the age of two should wear masks in schools even if they are vaccinated. and joining me right now is dr. lee beers, the president of american academy of pediatrics. doctor, thank you so much for being here. i saw

rochelle walensky saying the findings from provincetown were a pivotal reason behind the updated mask guidance, that even fully vaccinated people if infected can carry high virus loads and potentially be contagious, but that report concluding perhaps the guidance didn't go far enough suggesting that even areas without substantial or high transmission might consider expending their prevention strategies, including masking in indoor settings regardless of vaccination status and shep, a lot of people are raising questions about whether we're going to start seeing stronger measures from the federal government and, in fact, dr. walensky was just asked about this on fox news tonight whether they are considering mandating the vaccine on a federal level. she said, quote, that's something that i think the administration is looking into shep, that's a reversal from what we've been hearing from the administration in fact, just from a white house spokesperson today who said that is not on the table. so we'll wait to see if that's really a change or maybe a misspeaking. shep. >> we'll see i bet we

rochelle walensky, calling this a, quote, pivotal moment. tonight los angeles reporting 20 times the number of new cases from just a month ago. the headlines in philadelphia and in houston on masks. and the cdc advisory panel tonight now studying possible booster shots and who might need them first. whit johnson standing by. >>> also tonight, major concerns about the virus on the eve of the opening ceremony for the olympics in tokyo. the new number tonight, more than 90 people inside the olympic bubble now infected with the virus. simone biles and the u.s. gymnastics teams arriving for practice in masks, and james longman again tonight from tokyo. >>> also at this hour, the alarming images coming in. fighting multiple wildfires on the ground and in the air. tonight you will see the firefighters and what they're doing with nearly 80 fires burning in 13 states. the view as firefighters drive through the tamarack fire in california. >>> the newly released audio tonight from an interview tonight with former president donald trump, describing the

rochelle walensky, saying the rise of the delta variant here in the u.s. is, quote, troubling. this variant now behind 80% of cases in parts of the midwest and the plains. and news tonight on whether millions of americans will need a booster. what pfizer is now saying about a possible third shot, a booster, and when. >>> there will be no fans with the olympics set to begin in just two weeks in tokyo. tonight, a state of emergency declared in tokyo, with the coronavirus. there will be no spectators in the tokyo area and it comes after members of one delegation already arriving testing positive. they were quarantined. >>> in haiti tonight, after the president was assassinated, several suspects now killed in a gun battle with police. at least six more suspects under arrest tonight, including at least two americans, what we've learned. >>> back here at home tonight, the chilling body cam video. the police rescue of a kidnapped girl in louisville. the 6-year-old crying, "i want my daddy." authorities now thanking a quick-thinking neighbor. >>> and news tonight on alzheimer's. the fd

walensky.it it's going to show based on what she has told me is that the overall amount of virus that someone carries even if they've been vaccinated and develop a breakthrough infection, is going to be very similar to an unvaccinated person who's been infected. as you point out, the vaccinated person may not even know it because the vaccines work really well at preventing them from getting sick. but they could still transmit the virus. in addition to that she has also talked about the fact they now have outbreak studies. so not just showing that there's that same amount of virus in the nose and mouth but that in fact it is leading to transmission and they're following these transmission chains. but we have to see this data. it's really important to continuously point out that the biggest problem here is unvaccinated people transmitting to unvaccinated people. even if this data is what dr. walensky talks about, that's still a small percentage of the viral transmission that's happening in this c

walensky was quite clear this morning. reporter: we heard the c.d.c. director warn about the rise in the delta variant saying it's spreading with incredible efficiency. at what point would the white house reconsider protocols for the president and for administration officials? jen: we're guided by the public health guidance and the c.d.c. guidelines. that's what we abide by here. they have not changed those and so we continue to abide by the guidelines we've announced to all of you. reporter: obviously there are a lot of parents who are wondering what school is going to look like in the fall. last night the president said this, quote, the crth is going to say that everyone under the age of 12 should probably be wearing a mask in school, that's probably what's going to happen. has the c.d.c. indicated that that is in fact their position? [indiscernible] jen: they did already announce that several weeks ago of the. as a part of their c.d.c. guidance for schools. anybody under 12 is not eligible to be vaccinated so they would not be vaccinated and so ther

walensky explained to bret baier that that's one point of data the c.d.c. was looking at with the mask recommendations as they move forward. it is confusing, isn't it? for so many americans, they get the vaccination and they were told that this would help things and here they are go enbeing told they're going to have to put their masks back on. >> here is an example of where this is confusing, in the house of representatives, for example, we have a high number of members that are vaccinated and speaker pelosi just arbitrarily decided we're going to implement a mask requirement in the house of representatives, but over on the senate side, there's no requirement for masking. i don't know how the virus knows which side it can be, you know, it can infect and which it can't based on masks, so, i mean, it makes no sense at all and that point was made the day before yesterday in a presser by some of my colleagues, but you get the idea it's not based on science. there's certainly a political dynamic, but it's the wrong message to send if we're trying to encourage p

rochelle walensky. always a pleasure to see you.o exactly what problem does the delta variant create that masks for vaccinated people solves? >> good morning, john. thanks for having me back. so, this is -- we have new data here. we have always seen -- first of all, i want to reemphasize our vaccines are working just as we thought they would. with the delta variant to prevent severe hospitalization and death. we should be getting vaccinated to prevent severe disease in ourselves and to protect ourselves from the delta variant and from getting severe covid. here is the new science we saw just in the last several days. with prior variances, when people had these rare breakthrough infections, we didn't see the capacity of them to spread the virus to others. but with the delta variant, we now see in our outbreak investigations that have been occurring over the last couple of weeks, in those outbreak investigations, we have been seeing that if you happen to have one of those breakthrough infections that you can actually now pass it to so