Another 2. 1 Million People have filed for unemployment. That brings the total to over 40 million americans in the last ten weeks. And finally, two new studies suggest that the number of asymptomatic people with coronavirus may be a whole lot higher than we thought. One study put the number at 4 in 10 and a second put the number at 8 in 10. The first study also found, though, that people without symptoms are not as contagious as people with symptoms. Weve got to start this morning with the breaking news. Escalating protests in minneapolis, minnesota, turning violent overnight. Hundreds of people taking to the streets with multiple fires that were set and several businesses looted. The protests were sparked after the death of george floyd. An unarmed black man who died while in police custody. Four officers involved in floyds detainment have been fired with the family protesters and even the mayor calling for immediate charges to be filed. If you had done it or i had done it, we would b
from william hazeltine. grateful for your time today, sir. a, do you think the governors of delaware and new jersey are right, and are we going to see much more of this now that we see the omicron case count dropping dramatically? first thing to say is that masks do work to prevent covid infections, influenza, respiratory virus and a number of other things. so there s no question that masks are working. it s really a question of what is the risk of not wearing a mask? and as you pointed out, the risk is dropping very precipitously. it s a great thing about omicron that it rises quickly but the good thing about it is that it falls quickly, too. and so that s happening around the country. if the trend continues, it s prudent to relieve the mask mandates, and i think you ll see many more states doing so. so the question i guess is where is the sweet spot? you make an important point.
hospitalizations on it. but you mentioned this death count. still averaging 2462 of our friends and neighbors, fellow americans dying from covid yesterday. i have already have a fourth shot. a fourth shot because i m immunocompromised. you got a fourth shot. you think the white house should be doing more to promote fourth shot for which populations? from the very beginning, they should have had the third shot the moment the israeli data came in. the reason i got the fourth shot is we re in very vulnerable groups. i saw the data. actually saw the data from israel from people who aren t so vulnerable after the third shot for omicron. it s what decided me to get it. i think the government should make those shots available for people on demand. i have friends that have pharmacies to get their fourth shot and turned away because they can t say they re immunocompromised. if they want a fourth shot, they should be able to get it. william hazeltine, appreciate
half a billion tests to be sent to homes in january. but that is not the beginning of january, that is likely the middle to the end of january. those tests have to be manufactured, there has to be a website set up for them to be requested. so there are many questions about how that is all going to work. but testing remains the central question of the criticism here at the white house, wolf. there s a lot of frustration out there, people want to get tested and they apparently have to wait in long lines to get it. thanks very much, jeff zeleny, for that. joining us now, dr. william schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at vanderbilt medical center. also with us, william hazeltine, a former harvard medical and public health school professor. he s the author of the book variants: the shape shifting challenge of covid-19. dr. schaffner, first to you. how big of a difference will this new pfizer pill make in the fight against the pandemic? well, it s certainly good