is, this is the spike protein. this is omicron specifically. all those different colors represent new mutations. there s e484a. you don t need to remember that, but it is a mutation that can help the virus escape some of the protection from the antibodies. there s another one, 501, which basically makes it more transmissible. that s what the scientists are working on right now, to try to figure out how well do the vaccines work, will a new type of vaccine be necessary in the future? then, you know, in light of that, the potential impact, the cdc has strengthened its booster guidance, saying going from you may get it to you should get it if you re an adult. tell us about this. yeah. before, it was after age 50, you should get it. be people 18 to 49 may get it. now, they re saying every adult should get the booster vaccine. here s where we stand on boosters right now.
rights and advocacy movement pointing out they are being insistent in this. a huge difference between the vaccine and concerns that mississippi has advanced about both maternal health here and about fetal health. two lives directly at stake here. when the state which even roe and casey acknowledge, the state has an interest in preserving fetal life and making sure that unborn lives are protected and see that happen in other ways in state law. you aren t allowed to attack a woman intentionally to kill her unborn child for example. this is again a challenging balance that states will have to reach. the proper constitutional way to do it is to let the states make that balance because the federal government nowhere in the constitution they should really have no role in this matter. dana: the last point this time around the court is different. makeup of the court is different as president trump nominated three conservative justices. we ll see what they say tomorrow. the other thing change
it more transmissible, does it evade vaccine? we are working hard to get those answers. as you say we should have them in weeks. in the meantime there is stuff people can do and i think a prudent approach here is called for. that means raising your guard. what raising your guard means here is if you are not vaccinated please get vaccinated because that could save your life. vaccines are necessary and also you need to follow the public health measures people know so well. outdoors better than indoors. well ventilated rooms. physical distancing. wear a mask. those are prudent things that people can do to take in their own hands while the answers are being sorted out. the only thing i would say is you have to be careful about connecting this variant to the efficacy the vaccine because we don t know yet and while it is likely the vaccine should have some degree why set yourself up for pushback? what does it mean to people coming out of south africa that
gone that way. what s going to happen here in this country in just about two hours from now is that angela merkel who is still chancellor here in this country is going to meet with her designated successor olaf scholz and they are going to start debating measures with the representatives of the german states to see what can be done. it s not clear whether or not they are going to decide on some sort of further lockdown measures today, but it is certainly something that many people here feel might be in the cards very soon as europe general struggling with the coronavirus and now the omicron variant on top of it, christine. fred pleitgen in berlin, thank you so much. meanwhile here at home, president biden tried to calm fears of the unknown about this virus. addressing the nation monday. this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. we have the best vaccine in the world, the best medicines, the best scientists and we re learning more every single day. the president
and is confident the company can respond with the new vaccine. listen. there are a few things we don t know about the vaccine but a few things we know for certain. we don t know if it will be more virulent or transmit faster. we don t know if it will escape the protection but we know the secret of the virus. we have it. and this is how everything starts. he says that they have the secret to unlocking omicron specific vaccine and can do it quickly. is he being overly optimistic here? you know, i don t think he s being overly optimistic. the mrna technology, so much of what was developed with our tax dollars to the nih is extremely versatile and so they can make slight changes to the vaccine to adjust to changes that are seen in the virus. you know, the fact that the south african scientist so