particularly for students and even more so for younger students. let me explain. we've been talking about this idea for some time. it's now official from the cdc. but they're specifically saying for all students, elementary school students, they can maintain just three feet apart when mask use is universal regardless of what is happening with community transmission. that's for elementary school students. so that's going to be a big deal. but they also say, kate, that for middle school and high school students, they should still maintain at least six feet apart if the community tr transmission in their community is high. so making a difference between older and younger students. for all elementary schools, regardless where you live in the country, guidance is now going to be three feet. but if you happen to live in a community where community transmission is high still, at about 41% roughly of counties in the united states do have high transmission, if you live in one of those communities, this doesn't change for middle school and high school students. they still have to maintain six feet of distance. that's the guidance from the cdc. so they're drawing a dings between older and younger kids. >> that is interesting. talk to me about the science behind this. >> well, i think that the science is emerging. i think, you know, we have to have, you know, humility as we're looking athe all the emerging science. but what we've been seeing for some time is that the idea that older kids are going to behave more like adults, be more likely to actually transmit the virus to one another, makes them be a little more cautious. but with the younger kids, you know, i think the evidence is becoming increasingly clear that their transmission is going to be lower. so they're a little more willing to say, hey, three feet across the board for elementary school students. but let's maintain some of that caution for middle school and high school students. it may change again. it may loosen again, you know, kate, over time. i should point out, kate, just short of more broadly speaking, you may know this. the world health organization, if you look out of their recommendations, they recommended since the beginning one meter of physical distancing. which is around three feet. so that's been true for many countries around the world for some time. we're now slowly adopting it here in this country. >> and the american academy of pediatrics is also kind of been more along that vain as well, i believe. how much -- you've been as we all have been, but you've been looking at this very challenging issue of schools and getting back into classrooms now for a year since the pandemic has shut them all down. how much of a game changer do you think this guidance is going to be? >> you know, i think it will be pretty significant. i think there is caveats. i'll tell you. but i think it will be significant because when i talked to school administrators in my own, you know, kids' school district and schools around the country, just finding the square footage has been challenging. you know? you say six feet apart, how do you do that? you probably can't bring all the students in at the same time anymore. you just don't have the space. how are you finding extra space with gymnasiums and cafeterias and auditoriums and things like that? how much can you do outdoors? it's a logistical challenge. the caveats though, obviously this means that more kids could be in a classroom. but you have to remember that ventilation can suffer as a result. you have to have adequate ventilation which basically means you still have to have low levels of carbon dioxide, our xh exhaled breath can't rise too much because that's how it spreads. 40% of the schools in the country needed updates to the ventilation. so this is forcing a lot of issues. and, you know, if you start putting kids in without adequate ventilation, that's a problem. three feet, still got to maintain the masks and ventilation and still have to abide by all the other public health practices. >> giving more leeway though for school districts across the country to make the decisions based on the other mitigation factors that they can put in place? >> exactly. that's right. the basics apply. the only change really here is the six feet to three feet and primarily, again, as we discussed, primarily for elementary school students. >> very important and very interesting. sanjay, thank you so much for bringing that to us just as soon as it came out. >> you got it. >> also, any minute now, president biden and vice president harris leaving the white house, leaving d.c. heading to georgia. and president biden is facing with this president biden's facing what every president eventually does have to face which is the responsibility of helping the country grieve and the reality that their agenda must take a backseat when tragedy strikes. this trip was originally planned as a trip, a visit to promote the coronavirus relief package. biden and harris focused on meeting with members of the asian-american community in atlanta. this is during the wake of the deadly shootings there that left eight people dead and six of them asian women. the president and vice president p will be speaking as well to the growing climate of fear among the asian-american community nationwide. they've seefn an increase in anti-asian hate and violence. the white house stopped short of calling tuesday's shooting spree a hate crime despite ka tocallso do so. law enforcement are saying it's too early to declare a motive. but this he have not ruled out that racism and sexism was a factor. joining me now, cnn's reporter in atlanta. jeff, when biden and harris do arrive in georgia, what are the plans for them during this visit? >> well, kate, president biden and vice president harris will be stopping briefly by the cdc to meet with health experts there and mark the 58th day of their administration where they reached the goal of having 100 million coronavirus vaccines, of course that, was the goal he set out to have in the 100 days of their administration. they reached that easterly yifrment. from there they're having that litre with asian-american community leaders in emory university in atlanta. this is a opportunity for the president to listen and hear the concerns of asian-american community leaders here. we're told that several state legislators will be meeting with the president and the vice president. and the white house is going to listen to this and then the president is going to be giving a remark, a speech i'm told is a forceful speech condemning the rising violent incidents across the country directed towards asian americans. and the white house, as you said, stopped short of calling this a hate crime. but it is very likely that the president could call on this to be investigated as a hate crime. it is a difference there. of course, he's the president. he does not want to interfere in this investigation. but they also are not going to dwell on that. the president i'm told is going to make it very clear that there is no doubt, there is a rising episode of hate incidents all across america, particularly here in atlanta. so a completely different schedule than he was planning. he was planning to sell the covid-19 relief bill. but this, of course, comes first. a very important speech later this after nnoon. >> police released information about the victims and shootings. what more are you learning about this? >> yeah, kate. we had the names of the people who were killed here at a spa location in cherokee county. but atlanta police have now released the names of the four people killed at the two spas within the city. they are 74-year-old s yi park and 63-year-old young a yi. it is very concerning to the asian-american community because the four people killed in atlanta were all asian women. two of the four people killed here in cherokee county were also asian women. the discussion, of course, is about whether this is a hate crime in addition to the murder charges that have already been brought forward. here is atlanta mayor bottoms discussing that issue. >> well, it looked like a hate crime to me. this is targeted at asian spas of six of the women who were killed were asian. what we know about the definition of a hate crime is it can also be based on someone targeting women. >> and the suspect has told investigators in an interview that his motivation was more related to a sex addiction and not racially motivated. but, of course, investigators are looking into all angles. atlanta police said nothing is being left off the table. they're going look at all angles of his motivation and, of course, it's hard to ignore the fact that a majority of the victims were women, servingly women of asian dissent and the businesses were asian owned. kate. >> natasha, thank you. jeff, thank you so much. joining me for more on this is chair of the georgia chapter of the asian-american action fund, democratic political action committee. thank you for coming in. i'm just curious what you want to hear from president biden and vice president harris today when they do come to georgia. >> i want them to be more committed to taking action on this and, of course, we appreciate them so much from coming down and to speaking with our aapi legislative leaders. we would love for him to -- to further the covid-19 hate crime act that's been proposed by representative and senators. that will be a big step forward. we would love to hear him talk about more common sense gun safety legislation that we can put in place. you know, have the perpetrator been, you know, forceded to wai three days to get his hands on guns. maybe this would not have happened at all. so, you know, besides just hearing the pain the community is experiencing and acknowledging the rise in a hate crime against asian-americans because of the china virus, you know this is like the second part of his coronavirus package. he's got to deal with some of the racism that came from this pandemic too. >> you know, as natasha chen is laying out, right now law enforcement, they're still investigating the motive, they say. the fbi director was asked about it yesterday. and he said that at least it does not appear from his perspective the motive is racially -- racially motivated though he deferred to state and local who are investigating it, of course. you'll see this as a hate crime against asian women. what do you -- >> yeah. >> what do you say to this when you hear the caution from the fbi director? or you hear the caution from investigators? >> it's infuriating. you know, everybody who is looking at this is looking at it and they smell and they see that it's a hate crime. this incident would not have garnered national and international attention if it didn't have this aspect to it. if it was just a guy having a sex addiction. it would probably not make the news as much as it has. you know, we're -- you have to look at the environment we're in. the environment we're in is one where asian-americans are being targetted and pushed down on to the ground with the heads smash the against the cement and elderly. you know, 300 -- 3,800 plus incidents of hate and abuse against asian-americans since the pandemic. and then we have, you know, the black lives movement as well. i mean, there's a racial issue in the country. this has gotting to somebody that we're not conservatively trying to manage but we need to actively get ahead of it. this is a problem. it's a hate crime against a minority community. it is targeting asian-american businesses. it's targeting asian women. >> we heard from a fellow activist who is on cnn earlier today from atlanta this morning. and she said that she has received an outpouring of support from oren the community since the shootings happened. but also she's getting a lot of hate mail still. since the shootings. in just the last couple of days. still happening. are you seeing the same? >> i've not got any hate mail or death threats or anything like that. but i could. and, you know, that just points to the fact that the issue is continuous. you know, sticking out against the issue is causing a backlash of, like, i don't know if it's white supremacy or racism against asian-americans for speaking out. there is a problem in this country. it's a social justice issue. it's affecting all communities of color, black, brown, yellow community. and this is one piece of it. there is a stereotype of asian women as an exotic play toy thing. if you're addicted it to, you can objectify it all and get a gun and shoot down a bunch of spas where you can get rid of why you are temptation. i mean that's a racial issue. it's a gender issue. >> thank you. >> yes. >> sorry. the technical issue of the audio. thank you so much for coming on. thank you for your words. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up for us, more on the breaking news that was just coming up at the top of the show. the game changing new guidance from the cdc on social distancing in schools. up next, we have the president of the american federation of teachers on her take. awhat she thinks of what we just learned. >> plus, a dramatic diplomatic showdown between united states and china. what happened during last night's talks in alaska? 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[short laugh] bring your family history to life, like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™ janssen can help you explore cost support options. back to breaking news from the cdc, updating guidance for schools and social distancing. it includes reducing physical distancing between some students in classrooms from 6 feet which we've known for a very long time now down to 3 feet. this is potentially a huge announcement likely to having major impact on getting most schools ready to reopen for in person learning. joining me right now for more on this is dr. lina wentz, former baltimore health commissioner and randy winegarden, president of the american federation of teachers, the second largest teachers union in the country. randy, you've been critical of the talk of this move coming. what do you think now is the announcement's come out? >> so we're reserving judgement, kate. we have to see the studies. the study out -- so the study that was out in the last few days from massachusetts, the doctor said was not ready for prime time. and, you know, i've been listening all day to the experts you had on and, you know, and dr. wen will obviously talk about this too. but the issue is this is being driven by space concerns not by safety concerns. and when that happens, we have to see what it means. and frankly, in so many of the place that's i represent, meaning urban places that have just now recently reopened, because they don't have great ventilation, the density of classrooms is really important if you had a lot of, you know, bodies in a room. and so, you know, the cdc is saying that all these other mitigation factors have to stay there, including good ventilation which 40% of the schools don't have including mask wearing which texas and florida and others are not doing. and so, you know, the teachers are being vaccinated. that's really good. but i worry with the new variants what's going to happen in terms of transmissionability with kids and with their families. so we got to read the studies. we have to see what it really means. and i just hope this is not a rush to put in twice as many deaths in a place where we're really starting to get things reopened. >> i'm surprised to hear you think that this is a rush, randy. let me get to that in a second. let me bring in dr. wen on this. where is the science on this, dr. wen? >> well, they -- the cdc very clearly says they don't move until there is the science to suggest it. >> here's the thing, i'm actually surprised by the cdc guidelines. here's what i'm not surprised by. i'm not surprised by the move from six feet to three feet in general. i think it's important to do that if we have any chance of having our schools being fully reopened for in person instruction. so i think the goal of doing this is really important. i was expecting though for the cdc to say if you want to move from six feet to three feet, you also need to have additional mitigation measures in place. as in if we see physical distancing as one layer, if we're peeling away that one layer, you also need to put in other layers. for example, twice weekly testing. or making sure that there are -- that there is improved v ventilation. and i also hope they put vaccinations in this as an additional layer. making sure that students that are in schools with three feet distancing have a opportunity to be vaccinated. just saying they want to move from six feet to three feet, i'm not sure that the data are sufficient to say that this is safe, especially considering the variants we have that are more c contagious. i hope the cdc addresses the additional measures. >> i'm looking down because i'm looking at the information that has come down from the cdc guidelines. sanjay is laying out earlier, does talk about other mitigation layers being in place. it does -- the guidance is talking about the masking needed and ventilation being needed. and we've already heard about a prioritization of vaccines that's been, like, where the whole conversation of reopening schools was before this. but you do think on the most basic level that the science is there to move from six feet to three feet. right? >> i think the science is there if these additional requirements are also put into place. and so if we say that we're going to eliminate this physical distancing guideline, we also must have regular surveillance testing and we need to have these -- this particular checklist for what improved ventilation is going to look like. so i think that's the part that is missing. i mean, i do have a concern. there are a lot of teachers, a lot of parents who still have not -- who still don't feel safe in school. and if we're going to make the move to increase the density even further in schools, we need to give nemthem more reassuranc. >> the reassurance is in hearing a clear message from the cdc. hearing a clear message from public health officials. hearing -- seeing and hearing the sucience behind it. randy, you touched on this just a second. you touched on this in just a second ago. but you also told "the new york times" that you think the cdc is under a lot of outside pressure in order to change this guidance. i was really struck by that wording, randy. do you think the cdc is not following the science here? do you think they're actually bending to outside pressure to do this? >> look, i think there is a lot of outside pressure for good reason to get our kids in school. i'm not saying that pressure is wrong. we all, you know, as you know, kate, we've been trying to figure out how to get kids back in school since last april, a year ago. i think what happened is you have the school people who think about all the logistics of what this means and how this is going to work and you have the health people who are basically saying that, you know, that this will allow, you know, twice as many deaths in a classroom. and the context here is what's missing. that's why we said when we saw the cdc, we were briefed last night, and we said today, we will reserve judgement. i do believe that this new cdc really wants to speak about the science. they have a lot of integrity. i'm not suggesting that they don't. but there is a lot of pressure about the space issues and my frustration is that there is so many extra space in so many places and communities that we should be using that space now and just really assuring everyone that as we -- that as we reopen in person, that the joy of that reopening is not mitigated by concern about safety. >> you said all along, you need to meet fear with facts. and that's what i'm trying to understand is what are the facts? >> we don't -- >> that you think you know the facts that you want to see that, would get you to a place of telling your members you can be comfortable with this? >> so, kate, i'll give you an example. the study that was out yesterday from massachusetts, dr. off thorholm says at the not worth the paper written on. my words, not his. but he's been on tv all day saying that study doesn't say anything. so we -- >> randy. i'm so sorry, randy. president biden is coming to speak to reporters right now as he's leaving the white house. let's listen. >> are you going to take putin up on his offer to talk live with you? >> i'm sure we'll talk at some point. [ inaudible ] >> are you going to impose sanctions on russia? [ inaudible ] >> we hope we can keep the pace about 2 1/2 million a day. that would mean we may be able to get to double it. but we met the goal. and we're continuing to move forward. thank you. >> all right. joe biden speaking briefly with reporters as he's leaving the white house getting on marine one heading to andrews and then as we talked earlier, going to atlanta where he's going to be meeting with members of the asian-american community there. let me bring in cnn's john harwoord for a little more on thfrment i missed a little bit of the top. we do know that the president, i think i did hear him say at the very top, he's very proud of his be secretary of state which you got to know is with regard to what tony blaken faced off with chinese officials yesterday. >> right. let's take the two foreign policy issues in tandem. you had the president in terms of vladimir putin saying we're going to talk at some point. he laid down a marker. he did that interview with george stephanopoulos the other day when he was willing to call vladimir putin a killer. he was saying this is going to be a different story from the trump administration. donald trump excused things that vladimir putin did. i'm going to call him out and make him pay a price though he declined to specify any particular sanctions that we expect in the coming days. in china, different message. he's going to sustain the posture of president trump in c confronting china. but he's doing it in a more he could coherent way. and the message to counterparts in afrpg wrath anchorage. he was willing to take on china. remember, a lot of the attacks that came from republicans last year were that joe biden is going to be soft on china. he's trying to lay down a marker in both of the foreign policy cases to say i'm going to stand up for american interests differently with respect to russia than with china. but in both cases, a stern posture. of course, on vaccinations, he's taking credit for the acceleration in vaccinations that allowed him to get to 100 million earlier than he said. that was a goal that was set low deliberately so that they could exceed it. he's going to tout that success today. >> absolutely. john, thank you. we're going to have much more with john here and much more on u.s. tensions with russia and china. real sudden and sudden and quick escalation on the global scale. we'll be right back. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be one hundred percent recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. it's an important time to save. with priceline, you can get up to 60% off amazing hotels. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. we're bracing now for more tensions when top u.s. and chinese officials meet this morning in alaska. the important face-to-face kicked off yesterday and veered off course. all playing out in front of reporters and cameras which is extremely rare as these diplomatic visits are so often so highly choreographed. that did not happen. one secretary of state and jake sullivan sat down with chinese counterparts for the first time shins president biden took office. can you see the secretary of state was not holding back. >> we'll also discuss our deep concerns with actions by china including hong kong, taiwan, cyber attacks on the united states, and the alternative to a rules based order is a world in which might makes right and winners take all and that is a far more violent and unstable world for all of us. >> joining me now is cnn's reporter for more on this. kylie, can you tell us more of what happened here? >> yeah. so what you saw there, kate, were the opening remarks. they were about two minutes. they were very direct. he cited the deep concerns that the united states has with actions that china is undertaking. he was previewing what the officials were going to discuss with chinese officials. but the chinese side didn't take that well. they responded in about a 15-minute response. pointing out divisions in u.s. society, pointing to the black lives matter protests and calling the u.s. champions of cyber attacks. and after that happened, it was very clear that secretary of state tony blanken felt like he needed to respond. he turned to the cameras. he told them to stay in the room. and he then said that the united states makes mistakes. but it also makes reversals. it recognizes where it takes missteps and it, you know, does so and focuses on those in public in, the public eye. then the cameras left the room. i want to show you what happened when they came back in the room. it's very rare that cameras will be shuffled back and forth. but that's what happened. let's look. >> when i entered this room, i should have reminded the u.s. side of paying attention to its tone and opening remarks. >> as you can see, chinese officials recognizing what they believe to be the tone of the u.s. officials that they didn't like. they said that they were condoning a ban that they were not talking to them in a way that they accepted. the chinese want to give their rebuttal here on camera. and so this was a very acrimonious opening to the first u.s.-china talks of the biden administration. now we should note that after this happened, a u.s. official, a senior administration official said that the talks continued. they were substantive and they were direct. and president biden is just this morning saying that he is proud of secretary of state tony blanken. kate? >> two men quite close. thank you. not just china. the biden administration is facing off with russia. president biden called putin a killer in an interview earlier this week. russia responded by raising the specter that biden is too old for the job. joining me now, didn't stop there. joining me now "washington post" columnist josh rogan and author of "chaos under heaven." good to see you, my friend. what do you think of how quickly and suddenly the biden administration is seeing this escalation with russia and very clearly now with china? >> you know, there was a lot of hope by the chinese leadership that they would get warmer reception from the biden administration. they're confronting china on the human rights violations and lots of other violations would be over. but that's just not the case. and the biden team is very clear that they're going to stand up for american interests. but also american values. and sort of stand with allies and put focus on allies and give these countries, our adversaries, china and russia, the cold shoulder. so that's a measure of continuity with the administration that the chinese nor the russian leadership is going to like. but they're not supposed to like it. because we're supposed defending what we believe and not what they're doing. >> one thing, you know, we have the diplomatic talks behind closed doors. we hear from sources and officials and anonymous source this is is happening. but this isn't happening behind closed doors. look at what went down with tony blanken yesterday in alaska. this is happening publicly. this is a deliberate choice. what is the biden administration strategy here? >> we heard similar messages in private. but it's very unprecedented for them to do it in public. it shows that china is feeling vulnerable about the globalization of the human rights charges against them. and the insistence by countries like the united states to confront them on things like the uighurs genocide and hong kong crackdown, threatening taiwan, et cetera. so there are choices to double down. and there are choices to lash out. and at least we know how they're going to play itten that is useful information. the biden team is not able to do what the chinese want. what the chinese leadership wants is for us to shut up about their action ands shut up about their human rights violations. the biden team just can't do that. it's an escalation that is definitely going to get worse before it gets better. the biden team is doing what they can do which is basically what they should do is speak clearly, try not to raise the temperature any more than necessary but not bend to the demands that we just ignore all of the addresses. >> it's interesting. you just noted this. you note this in your book. this is one area, one of few areas i would say, of unity in american politics. views towards china. approach towards china. similar approach from trump to hear. do you think china understands that? you dive into this in your latest column. >> right. and that's not to say that, you know, we're headed for a cold war with china or anything like that. in fact, we should be doing what we can to avoid the conflict that neither side seeks. but at the same time, there is just no doubt that people around the country, voters, democrats and republicans, are telling their politicians, elected lawmakers and the american leadership that they want a tougher china policy, especially since the pandemic. and we're finding out that chinese government's actions affect us, our security and our prosperity and public health. not just us, countries all over the world. so as china rises, its behavior is becoming a problem for americans and people in other countries. you know this is the broad effort that we're all engaged in to try to manage that rise to avoid the conflict. but it's going to require the chinese government to realize that they can't just tell the international community to shut up and eventually going to have to respond to the criticisms. hopefully stop the atrocities. and those atrocities shock americans and people around the world. that's why you see the reaction from governments around the world that you're seeing now. >> and they should. it's going to be interesting to watch tony blanken lead on this and navigate. josh, thank you. congratulations on the book. >> thank you. next, former president bush in a rare interview describing his reaction on the day of the capitol insurrection and making clear really how far away the republican party has moved from their former standard-bearer. 100% online wouldn't work.ths but we went to work. building an experience that lets you shop over 17,000 cars from home. creating a coast to coast network to deliver your car as soon as tomorrow. recruiting an army of customer advocates to make your experience incredible. and putting you in control of the whole thing with powerful technology. that's why we've become the nation's fastest growing retailer. because our customers love it. see for yourself, at carvana.com. antibacterial or moisturizing body wash? 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[ clicks tongue ] i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might just need to break 'em in a little bit. you don't want 'em too loose. for those who were born to ride there's progressive. with 24/7 roadside assistance. -okay. think i'm gonna wear these home. -excellent choice. former president jogeorge w bush doing something he does rarely, an on camera interview, and making clear how they have moved from bush's brand of conservatism. he sat down with this interview with the texas tribune as part of the virtual version of this year's south by southwest. the first time that we've heard from bush on camera since the insurrection at the capitol on january 6th. listen to how bush described his reaction. >> i was sick to my stomach. and then to see our nation's capitol being stormed by hostile forces. and it really disturbed me to the point where i did put out a statement. and i'm still disturbed when i think about it. >> john harwood is back with me now. it's not just bush's reaction to january 6th that is strikingly different from many republicans in congress were able to muster up, but this divide that is evident in this interview really extended well beyond that. >> it's a fundamental split within the republican party. and as you indicated, kate, president george w. bush and his family have not hidden how they feel about donald trump and his effect on the republican party. but he doesn't often say it out loud. he took that opportunity speaking with evan smith of the "texas tribune." one thing he said is something that you have a very hard time getting republican members of congress to agree which is that joe biden was legitimately elected, defeated donald trump for the presidency. take a listen. >> was the election stolen or not? >> no. >> did you believe that our own government in any way was putting our democracy at risk? >> no. i think what is putting democracy at risk is the capacity of people to get on the internet and spread all kinds of -- all kinds of stuff. but checks and balances . >> that's right, and so here you have former president george w. bush, his father had been president before him, long history in american politics, standing up for the american system. and the question is going to be, as more republicans, if more republicans speak out the way george w. bush did in that interview, what effect is it going to have on the party and its future direction? there's no question that donald trump is a heck of a lot more popular within the republican party than george w. bush is. on the other hand, the slice of the republican party that believes what george w. bush said, including many of those suburbanites, without those people, the republican party cannot win elections. and exactly how they manage the split between those two groups is a critical element of determining joe biden's success as president in the future course of the republican party. >> thank you so much. regardless of any impact from here on out, it's good to hear from the former president. coming up, europe getting hit by another wave of the pandemic. today's cnn hero struggled with adhd and dyslexia, and now he's running an organization to make sure other children like him don't fall through the cracks of the education system. eye to eye provides a safe space that's constructed around what's right with kids. so they can talk about their experiences. >> do you get scared during tests or nervous? >> i have anxiety. >> i shake a lot. >> that happens to me sometimes. >> people's hearts sing when they're seen. >> really cool. i like how you use duct tape as a handle. >> my moment that i am wishing for is when the problem of stigmatizing kids because they learn differently goes away. i want them to know that their brains are beautiful. i want them feeling like they know how to ask for what they need and they can do it. that's what we give them. >> all right, daniel! for more information, go to cnn heroes.com. we'll be right back. you can try to predict the future or you can create it. we're driving it. everywhere. we emit optimism, not exhaust. we plug in our vehicles as naturally as we charge our phones. we. we are generation e. we want smart. clean. and safe. to also be fun, easy and powerful! ultium! a battery that charges fast. runs long. it fits everyone. nobody will be left out. and that, changes everything. ♪ ♪ europe is beginning to lock down once again, leaders are sounding the alarm about a new spike of coronavirus cases, the french prime minister saying it's becoming abundantly clear they are entering a third wave. some countries are now seeing new infections jump by more than 40% over the previous week. and add to this europe is also dealing with the rocky rollout of the astrazeneca vaccine. cnn's fred pleitgen is joining me now. you've been speaking to biontech looking to scale up production. what are they telling you? >> reporter: they're doing everything to scale up production as fast as possible. they've bought another factory that's going online very soon where vaccine is already being produced and ready to roll out. they're doing what they can to roll it out as fast as possible. they also say at the same time they're continuously testing their vaccine against possible coronavirus variants and are already mapping out steps they would take if there are new dangerous variants coming up. let's listen. >> from what we know based on the scientific data the current variants, for example the uk variant and south african variant, we are protected against those with the current version of our vaccine. however, what we also prepare is -- and this is basically to be prepared for tomorrow in case such a variant of concern would occur. >> reporter: and kate, that also means that companies like biontech are constantly in touch with regulators to already map out steps beforehand that they would take in case they come upon a variant that their vaccine would not be effective against so they can get that going as fast as possible, kate. >> fred, countries are heading into new lockdowns, we're seeing these new surges. what are you hearing about if they think the restrictions will work this time? >> well, i think right now for europe the situation really is very dire. it was very interesting because the german health minister came out today and said even with astrazeneca available again he thinks there's not enough vaccine in europe to stave off this third wave of the pandemic and then you look at france and they're already putting new measures in place. you have measures in 16 regions in france right now, including the capital of paris. the large city of nice, new measures that will last for four weeks and residents in these areas have to get approval certificates to walk or exercise outdoors. that, of course, is very reminiscent of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, and also nightly curfews have been moved to 7:00 p.m. some very strict measures in france, very strict measures in other european countries as well as this third wave is becoming more and more dangerous. kate. >> the prime minister saying it is abundantly clear there they're entering a third wave, not a good sign for things to come. thank you, fred, great interview. thank you all so much for joining us today. it's been a very busy week. i'm kate bolduan, have a good weekend. john king picks up our coverage right now. ♪ hello, everybody, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm john king in washington. thank you for sharing this busy news day with us. president biden and vice president harris due in -- the task is somber, biden and harris helping a community mourn after a gunman killed eight in a string of shootings. the president stopped and answered questions from reporters a short time ago on his way out of washington, for a brisk 49 seconds. including touching on his pandemic goal of 100