Thats right. So the question this morning is, what does this all mean for you . Obviously, these numbers are going to give people some pause in terms of choosing perhaps this vaccine. Dr. Fauci says vaccines, though, still, whatever you can get, the best way to keep this virus from evolving further. Officials in South Carolina also have just confirmed the nations first cases of the south africa variant. The new model shows the pandemic could claim nearly 654,000 lives by may 1st. Lets begin with the j j breaking news. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is with us. Can you explain what that means for everyone watching . The bottom line is, if the Johnson Johnson vaccine gets authorization from the fda and you are looking for a vaccine, and youve looked for moderna and pfizer, which are better, theres no question, but you cant find them because theres not enough of them but you can get Johnson Johnson, experts are telling me, get it. Do not hesitate to get it. It is still a
more states are easing restrictions. the standard for normal cannot be zero cases. in oklahoma the standard for normal is freedom. you wear your mask not because your governor tells you to. you wear your mask because you want to protect yourself, your loved ones. this is new day with alisyn camerota and john berman. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world this is new day, friday, march 12. 6:00 in new york. president biden is targeting july 4th as the day that america can start feeling a sense of independence from the pandemic. in his first prime time address last night the president pledged to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by may 1st. that s just seven weeks away and a month earlier than the last projection. but first president biden is pleading with all americans to buckle down until then to beat the virus. putting dates on it is really interesting. really interesting to have an actual finish line t
important night for president biden. what can we expect? reporter: well, he s been preparing for it for about a week now, according to his aides who say he s been going through the speech line by line not only because he wants to strike that balance that you were talking about earlier, talking about coronavirus fatigue that s happening inside the country while also still talking about those 1,500 deaths still happening every single day. they also say he wants to properly convey what this $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill he just signed a few hours ago is actually going to mean for americans. it s this big, massive, complex bill, so they want to make sure he s talking about how it will benefit those lower and middle-income americans that they say he intended to look out for in this bill. of course, wolf, this comes as he signed the bill earlier today, earlier than expected. thank you all. appreciate it. reporter: with that signature, joe biden sealing a defining mome
the way now for massive amounts of aid to begin flowing including direct payments of up to $1,400 that could land in some people s bank accounts as soon as this weekend. this comes exactly one year after the kworldworld health organization declared a coronavirus pandemic that so far has claimed more than 530,000 american lives and infected almost 30 million people in the u.s. alone. by contrast, a year ago today, there were just 1,100 known cases here in the united states, underscoring the virus s devastating spread across the country and, indeed, around the world. and the cdc has just confirmed to cnn that data suggests 2020 was the deadliest year in u.s. history, with a 15% increase in the death rate due to the pandemic. let s go to the whoite house, or chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins is joining us now. we re told that the president has been working on this speech for a week. what s the latest? reporter: yeah, wolf, top aides say he s been editing it line
for fully vaccinated programs. the cdc says it is safe to they say vaccinated grandparents can safely visit unvaccinated grandchildren. the cdc is still cautioning against travel, although that may change as more people get shots. that s all such welcome news, but experts warn coronavirus variants could still trigger another deadly surge especially as states relax guidelines. texas is set to end its statewide mask mandate tomorrow. a final vote in the house on president biden s $1.9 trillion relief bill is expected tomorrow morning. it will bring critical dollars to millions of struggling americans. the president will out the the measure when he delivers his first primetime address to the nation on thursday. so we begin with cnn s dan simon live in houston with the latest on the pandemic. good morning, dan. reporter: well, good morning, alisyn. that s right. beginning tomorrow that mask mandate will end here in texas. and businesses can open at full capacity, that as we f