countries have been vaccinated. in fact, we re working, trying to get more vaccines distributed, but we have a long way to go and the wealthy countries in the world have not stepped up. we ve, of course, led we have not done enough, so we have to come and we are just learning about this new variant. so i m not certain, and i have to be honest, i m not certain what the policy should be because we cannot deny people the right to come into the united states only from africa or only from certain countries. right. when, in fact, these barriers are not in place from other countries. so the administration has got to get this right, but priority, we have to save lives, both here in america and throughout the world, specifically now on the african continent. this is very serious. the scientists now in the world health organization are trying to determine the pat of this variant is going, and, in fact,
so that both of these bills can pass. now, congresswoman, i want to get to the fears around omnicron variant of the covid-19 virus and with that the travel bans from the countries in the u.s. and other nations from south africa where the variant was identified, along with other south african nations. i wonder if you see the criticism around the global health community not to mention south africa itself that are hypocritical, the result of vaccine hoarding, and where do you come down on the criticism? first of all, saving lives is a priority and we have to have a balance. i, for one, am making sure that the vaccines are distributed equitably globally. let me tell you, reverend al, today under 2% of people living in africa and in low-income
arbery and pastor mark baker, thank you for joining me. coming up in this week s gotcha, my warning to racists. the long arm of the law is coming for you. later, yet another republican lawmaker finds themselves in hot water for her hateful comments. my political panel will discuss this latest outrage. but first, my colleague richard lui with today s top news story. good saturday to you. some of the stories we are watching for you this hour, many countries are considering a new wave of covid restrictions because of the new variant combed omicron. monday the biden administration will restrict travel from eight south african nations where it was first detected. scientists say the new strain highlights the importance of widespread vaccination. many black friday shoppers were out despite pandemic concerns. sales were up nearly 30% friday from last year according to mastercard spending pulse. increased security greeted some