Governor asa hutchinson, next. Building bridges. As one congressional divide grows deeper, senators are struggling to come together on a muchneeded infrastructure plan. Can they reach a deal . Senator Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/pat-toomey'>Pat Toomey joins me exclusively to discuss in moments. Plus, monster inferno, wildfires in the west harming Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/air-quality'>Air Quality from Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/coast-to'>Coast To coast. It is literally Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/climate-change'>Climate Change playing out before our eyes. How much worse could this get . Ill speak exclusively to Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/oregon-governor'>Oregon Governor Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/kate-brown'>Kate Brown ahead. Hello. Im Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/jake-tapper'>Jake Tapper in washington, d. C. , where the state of our union is sad and confused, as the u. S. Suffers tHrough yet another covid surge, one that did not have to happen. The highly contagious Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/delta-variant'>Delta Variant is fueling a rise in coronavirus cases in every state with cases at their highest level since may. And one clear Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/demographic-group'>Demographic Group causing the spike. Those who are not vaccinated. Only 49 of the united states is fully vaccinated. For those eligible for the vaccine, those 12 and older, its only 57 . The most severe outbreaks, not surprisingly, are happening where Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccination-rates'>Vaccination Rates are the lowest. Just tHree states, just tHree, florida, texas and missouri, accounted for 40 of all the new cases this week. Weve heard some heartbreaking stories of intensive Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/care-unit'>Care Unit patients begging for the vaccine as theyre about to go on a ventilator only to be be told by Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/health-providers'>Health Providers its too late. For some Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/health-care'>Health Care workers, as well as vaccinated people who are digging out their masks again, patients with those who are not vaccinated is running thin. Now the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/white-house'>White House, who seemed to be celebrating Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/independence-day'>Independence Day from covid, is debating whether to recommend masks for everyone indoors again and facing pressure to back Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccine-requirements'>Vaccine Requirements or mandates in some circumstances. The administration is actively exploring how to provide Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/booster-shots'>Booster Shots to vulnerable americans, whom they increasingly expect will benefit from another dose of the vaccine. Joining me to discuss all of this and more, chief medical adviser to Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/president-biden'>President Biden, dr. Anthony fauci. Thank you for joining us today. One model projects if we do not improve the vaccination rate, cases will continue to rise and the u. S. Could see a tripling of the current daily death toll, by midoctober. Worst Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/case-scenario'>Case Scenario in this modeling, that number could climb as high as 4,000 deaths a day, about as bad as it was last winter. Do you think its possible it could get that bad, 4,000 deaths a day . Well, when they do modeling, jake, they generally give you the worst Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/case-scenario'>Case Scenario and the best Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/case-scenario'>Case Scenario, but somewhere in the middle, if you look historically at the modeling that has been done over the last 18 months, for the most part, its been pretty accurate. So im not sure it would be the worst Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/case-scenario'>Case Scenario, but its not going to be good. Were going in the wrong direction. If you look at the inflection of the curve of new cases and, as you said in the runin to this interview, it is among the unvaccinated. And since we have 50 of the country that not fully vaccinated, thats a problem. Particularly when you have a variant like delta, which has this extraordinary characteristic of being able to spread very efficiently and very easily from Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/person-to'>Person To person. And we know we have many, many, many vulnerable people in this country who are unvaccinated. And thats the reason why, as ive said so many times, we have the tools to blunt that and make that model wrong. But if we dont vaccinate people, the model will predict that were going to be in trouble as we continue to get more and more cases. And almost entirely the victims will be Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/unvaccinated-americans'>Unvaccinated Americans . Well, yes, jake. Thats the issue. And thats the thing that sometimes gets confusing to people. If you were vaccinated, the vaccine is highly protective against the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/delta-variant'>Delta Variant, particularly against severe disease leading to hospitalization and sometimes ultimately to death. So it really is, as dr. Walensky has said many times and i have said, it is really a pandemic among the unvaccinated, predominantly among the unvaccinated which is the reason why were out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out there and get vaccinated. Thats the reason why its very heartening and positive to hear people like Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/governor-asa-hutchinson'>Governor Asa Hutchinson and others to go out there in their own state and say hey, lets get vaccinated because thats really the solution to this. About a month ago we saw Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/president-biden'>President Biden and a number of governors across the country, democrats and republicans, saying that the virus was in retreat. In retrospect, that sure seems premature. Well, it certainly is in retreat among the vaccinated, jake. It gets back to what weve been saying. Its like you have two kinds of america. We have the very vulnerable unvaccinated part, and we have the really relatively protected vaccinated part. If you are vaccinated you are in a very different category than someone who is not vaccinated. A new poll shows 80 of Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/unvaccinated-americans'>Unvaccinated Americans say that they probably will not get the shots or definitely will not get the shots. 80 . A lot of people are getting frustrated with those vaccine holdouts because the current state of this pandemic is completely preventable. Here is republican Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/alabama-governor'>Alabama Governor Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/kay-ivey'>Kay Ivey. Take a listen. These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of selfinflicted pain. Folks are supposed to have common sense. But its time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. Its the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down. The unvaccinated folks are letting us down, she says. Former white Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/house-adviser-andy'>House Adviser Andy slavitt says he thinks that Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/president-biden'>President Biden should get very aggressive in turning up the heat on unvaccinated people. Do you agree, and do you share governor Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/iveys-anger'>Iveys Anger . Well, im very frustrated. I generally dont like to get involved in blaming people, because i think that would maybe push them back even more rather than i mean i could totally understand the governors frustration. I dont have any problem with that. She has every right to be frustrated. What i would really like to see is more and more of the leaders in those areas that are not vaccinated to get out and speak out and encourage people to get vaccinated. I was very heartened to hear people like Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/steve-scalise'>Steve Scalise come out and say we need to get vaccinated. Even governor desantis in florida is saying the same thing. Weve got to get more people who relate well to the individuals who are not getting vaccinated to get out there and encourage them to get vaccinated as well as the trusted messengers in the community. Weve just got to do better, jake, because we have the tools to do this. This is an unnecessary predicament were putting ourselves in. A new study out of israel suggests the pfizer Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccines-effectiveness'>Vaccines Effectiveness can drop as low as 39 six months after getting the shot, although this is preliminary data. The biden administration expects some vulnerable americans will ultimately need Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/booster-shots'>Booster Shots. Thats a shift from a few weeks ago. What changed . Well, i think, you know, its a dynamic situation. Its a work in progress. It evolves, like in so many other areas of the pandemic. Youve got to look at the data. And the data thats evolving from israel, from pfizer indicates it looks like there might be diminution in protection. When you have that, the most vulnerable people are the ones you were talking about a few minutes ago, people who have suppressed Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/immune-system'>Immune Systems, those who are transplant patients, cancer chemotherapy, Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/autoimmune-diseases'>Autoimmune Diseases that are on immunosuppressive regimens, those people, if there will be a third boost will be among first the vulnerable, and a acip, which met july 22nd, they looked discussed that in some detail and might push us in that direction. Lets talk about the origins of the virus. You and Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/senator-rand-paul'>Senator Rand Paul exchanged tough words a few days ago where each of you accused the other of not telling the truth. Take listen to some excerpts of that. Dr. Fauci, knowing it is a crime to lie to congress, do you wish to retract your statement of Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/may-11th'>May 11th where you claimed that the nih never funded research in wuhan . Senator paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly. And i want to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about. If anybody is lying here, senator, it is you. I want to take a sec to explain to our viewers what this was about. For those Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/exploring-whether-covid'>Exploring Whether Covid originated at the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/wuhan-institute'>Wuhan Institute of virology or if it was a natural origin, theres questions whether or not nih helped fun gain of function research. One definition is when scientists make a virus more deadly and contagious in a lab in order to identify potential pathogens and prevent pandemics. Nih says very clearly that the research the u. S. Funded in that lab did not meet that definition. Either way, dr. Fauci, critics say the wuhan Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/lab-experiments'>Lab Experiments were, nonetheless, risky whether or not they fit that category, and obviously the chinese government is not a good faith partner. Theyre not allowing transparency or a real investigation. So as a matter of policy going forward, given that the chinese Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/government-wont'>Government Wont allow any real investigation, do you still think the u. S. Government should collaborate with labs like wuhan, especially on research that experts consider risky . Well, you know, jake, if you go back to when this research really started and look at the scientific rationale for it, it was a peerreviewed proposal that was Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/peer-review'>Peer Reviewed and given a very high rating for the importance of why it should be done, to be able to go and do a survey of what was going on among the bat population. Everyone in the world was trying to figure out what the original source of the original sarscov1 was. In that context, the research was done. It was very regulated. It was reviewed. It was given progress reports. It was published in the open literature. If you look at the ultimate back rationale, why it was started, it was almost as if you didnt pursue that research, you would be negligent in how to prevent this from happening again. Going forward a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/peer-review'>Peer Review is looking those are doctors and scientists are looking at the work of doctors and scientists. Right. Without factoring in the fact that you have an oppressive chinese government that wont allow transparency. Right. Going forward, are you still confident . Going forward, we are always going to be very, very careful. Go tHrough all kinds of review, including the risk benefit ratio. So, if your question, jake, is looking forward, are we going to be very careful about the research we do . Well, we have always been very careful. And looking forward, we will continue to be very careful in what we do. And we are always willing to reexamine the criteria that are used when you do research, wherever you do them. But i think doing research in the context of wherever these things happen is very important. And sarscov1 is very originated in china. And that is the reason if we were starting to look for bats in secaucus, new jersey, or fairfax county, virginia, it wouldnt contribute very much to our understanding of where Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/sars-cov-1'>Sars Cov 1 originated. It originated in china. We only have a little time left. Sources are telling cnn the top health officials are weighing whether to revise Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mask-guidelines'>Mask Guidelines for vaccinated americans. Are you part of those conversations . If so, what are you advising . Do you think masks should be brought back for vaccinated americans . You know, jake, this is under active consideration. If youre asking am i part of the discussion, yes, i am part of the discussion. But i think what you are seeing, even though as of our conversation at this moment, the cdc still says and recommends that if you are vaccinated fully, that you do not need to wear a mask indoors. However, if you look at whats going on locally in the trenches, in places like l. A. County, the local officials have the discretion and the cdc agrees with that Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/ability-and-discretion'>Ability And Discretion capability to say, you know, youre in a situation where were having a lot of dynamics of infection, so even if you are vaccinated, you should wear a mask. Thats a local decision thats not incompatible with the cdcs overall recommendations that give a lot of discretion to the locals. And were seeing that in l. A. Were seeing it in chicago. Were seeing that in new orleans, because the officials there, many of them are saying even if youre vaccinated, its prudent to wear a mask indoors. Thats a local decision. All right. Dr. Fauci, thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it. Coming up, they cant even seem to agree on something they agreed to agree on. The Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/biden-agenda'>Biden Agenda facing another major test as senators work to save the infrastructure deal. With Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/hearing-set'>Hearing Set to begin this week, can the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/january-6th'>January 6th committee cut tHrough the drama and uncover the truth . Republican senator Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/pat-toomey'>Pat Toomey on all that next. Stay with us. Just based on the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/interest-rate'>Interest Rate and how much i would be saving. There was only one that stood out and one that actually made sense and that was sofi personal loans. It felt so freeing. I felt like i was finally out of this neverending trap of interest and payments and debt. Among my patients i often see them have Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/teeth-sensitivity'>Teeth Sensitivity as well as gum issues. Does it worry me . Absolutely. 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The bipartisan Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/infrastructure-bill'>Infrastructure Bill could face another Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/test-tomorrow'>Test Tomorrow after republican senators sank a key procedural vote on the 1. 2 trillion agreement last week despite the handshakes at the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/white-house'>White House a few weeks ago. The bill is not finished and key sticking points remain. Joining us to discuss, the leading Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/ranking-member'>Ranking Member on the banking committee, senator Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/pat-toomey'>Pat Toomey. Negotiators are working tHrough the weekend to try to resolve these issues in the bipartisan infrastructure compromise. If this group reaches an agreement by tomorrow, will you vote to begin debate on the lags, just to invoke cloture and allow debate to proceed . It does depend on whats in the bill, jake. The reason that the procedural motion was defeated last week is because we were asked to vote on something that truly did not exist. Most senators think theres a good idea for there to be legislation before you actually vote on legislation, including voting to proceed to it. Im totally open to examining it closely. And if its if i think its reasonable and fits within the parameters that i think are sensible, then i would vote to go on to the bill. One of the major sticking points right now is the question of transit funding. You argue that Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/transit-systems'>Transit Systems have already received billions of extra dollars in Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/pandemic-relief-fund'>Pandemic Relief Fund that is not even spent yet and more funding is not necessary. There are a growing number of democrats who are tHreatening to withhold support of this compromise if the additional funds are removed from it. If these cuts you want arent included, will that cost your vote . So, jake, first of all, thats a gross mischaracterization of my position. I know its been propagated by my democratic colleagues. Okay, please elaborate. Right. So the federal government historically in recent years have given Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/13-billion'>13 Billion per year to transit. Over the 12 months ending in march, the federal government didnt give just 13. Because of all the supplemental bills we passed, the federal government added another 70 billion, not 17, 70, for a total of about 83 billion. Thats more money than the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/operating-budget'>Operating Budget and the capital budgets combined of every single Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/transit-agency'>Transit Agency in america. Its so much money, they couldnt possibly spend it. About half of it is sitting there, not spent. Despite that, we offered our democratic colleagues a 35 increase in the annual Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/run-rate'>Run Rate of the federal subsidies to transit and tens of billions of additional dollars in this bipartisan agreement on top of all the money that they got. And theyre saying thats not enough. Thats where we are, jake. Its an incredible amount of money. So much that they cant spend what they have now. Theyve been offered many tens of billions more. And theyre saying thats not enough. Nobody is talking about cutting transit. The question is, how many tens of billions of dollars on top of the huge increase that theyve already gotten is sufficient . And thats where there is a little disagreement. So, what is your top Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/line-number'>Line Number . And if it goes above that, are you not willing to vote for the compromise . So, let me first of all, i dont want to negotiate the numbers here. Im not a negotiator. Ive been advising and discussing with the republican negotiators how they might think about this category. But i will tell you, a very, very important category for me is how this is all going to get paid for. We just spent 1. 9 trillion that there was absolutely no need for. A lot of that Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/money-hasnt'>Money Hasnt been spent yet, but it will. And now were talking about another Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/600-billion'>600 Billion on top of the ordinary spending. We know in a couple of months the democrats will pass what they call a 3. Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/5-trillion'>5 Trillion bill but really over ten years, its over Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/5-trillion'>5 Trillion. This is completely out of hand. There are people who think this is Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/monopoly-money'>Monopoly Money but its not, jake. The way we should pay for this Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/infrastructure-spending'>Infrastructure Spending is repurpose money we already approved but hasnt yet gone out the door. Thats a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/point-of-great-contention'>Point Of Great Contention with the democrats. Its not to me just the top line that matters. Its also how were funding it. At a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/cnn-town-hall'>Cnn Town Hall this week, Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/president-biden'>President Biden dismissed concerns of republicans and some economists that all this increased federal spending will cause longterm inflation. The president argued that the price increases were seeing now are a result of the economy picking up again after the pandemic. Do you think hes wrong . Well, certainly hes factually wrong on that last point you just made. If you look at the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/price-level'>Price Level in our Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/economy-today'>Economy Today and compare it not to a year ago when we had a big decline in prices, but rather to two years ago, before covid ever hit, before we had the decline and then the recovery. Were running at a 25year Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/high-rate'>High Rate of inflation. And its not a mystery as to why. Big part of the reason is a massive expansion of the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/money-supply'>Money Supply. Weve expanded the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/money-supply'>Money Supply the most since Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/world-war'>World War ii. And the fed continues to buy Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/120-billion'>120 Billion worth of securities, pumping that money into the economy, despite the fact that we have strong growth. So, theres no question we have serious inflation right now. There is a question about how long it lasts. And im just worried that the risk is high, that this is going to be with us for a while. And the fed has put itself in a position where its going to be behind the curve. You combine that with massively excess spending and it is a recipe for serious problems. Thats one of the things im worried about. You supported the failed effort in the senate to create a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate the capitol attack. Right. We saw an effort to investigate this on the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/house-side'>House Side tHrough a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/committee-blowup'>Committee Blowup after republican leader Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/kevin-mccarthy'>Kevin Mccarthy put two of the most prominent election liars, Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/jim-jordan'>Jim Jordan and jim banks, on the committee. Pelosi then vetoed them and mccarthy is now boycotting the whole thing. Without getting into the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/back-and-forth'>Back And Forth about this person and that person, why do you think so few in your party, the republican party, seem to want to take this seriously and get to the bottom of what happened on Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/january-6th'>January 6th . Im obviously not including you in that. I think people do want to get to the bottom of it. Yes, i did support the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/senate-version'>Senate Version of a commission that would have been genuinely and truly bipartisan, both in its composition of members and staff, which i think is important. This exercise Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/in-the-house'>In The House was not meant to be that. Look, here is the bottom line, jake. We have a lot of investigations under way now. There are senate committees that have completed some. There are others still in progress. We have many criminal investigations. I would favor a truly bipartisan commission, but i think we should be candid about the fact that it is politically to the advantage of democrats to try to keep this issue in the forefront. James carville has been very candid about this. He has urged democrats, dont let the election be about Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/joe-biden'>Joe Biden and his policies in 2022. Make that election about Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/january-6th'>January 6th and Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/donald-trump'>Donald Trump. So, its very clear that democrats have an incentive to try to drive a political message here, and a purely partisan commission Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/in-the-house'>In The House is probably going to do that. What does it say about your party that an investigation into a violent insurrection would reflect poorly upon it . No, i think it is a constant reminder about a terrible episode in our history at which Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/donald-trump'>Donald Trump was at the heart of, rather than looking at the policies of the current president. Which is more relevant in 2022 . I would argue the current president s policies and the damage that hes going to be doing, thats what we should be debating in 2022. But, you know, im not sure thats what the democrats want to be talking about. Senator Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/pat-toomey'>Pat Toomey from the great commonwealth of pennsylvania, always good to see you, sir. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me, jake. Some republican leaders speaking up about vaccinations. Is it too late to change minds . The governor of a state with one of the lowest Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccination-rates'>Vaccination Rates joins me next. Ucing Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/aleve-x.'>Aleve X. 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Im Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/jake-tapper'>Jake Tapper. The u. S. In a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/pivot-moment'>Pivot Moment in the fight against covid, governors of states with lower Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccination-rates'>Vaccination Rates are tackling the problem differently, some with incentives, others are shaming the unvaccinated, and some trying to downplay and deny a problem at all. Arkansas Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/governor-asa-hutchinson'>Governor Asa Hutchinson is battling it with a listening tour, as arkansas faces one of the worst case rates in the country. Governor hutchinson joins me now. Thanks very much for joining us. The Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/university-of-arkansas-for-medical-sciences'>University Of Arkansas For Medical Sciences called the state, quote, a raging forest fire, unquote and warning of an exponential surge that could be worse than anything youve experienced so far. THree weeks ago on this show, you were optimistic that your state would avoid a third wave. What do you think happened . Well, low Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccination-rates'>Vaccination Rates, and you hit it right, jake, that this is a pivotable moment in our race against the covid virus. We have school coming up. We have a lot of Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/sports-activities'>Sports Activities that people are expecting and anxious about and is important for normalcy, and whats holding us back is a low vaccination rate. Were doing all that we can. And i made the decision that its really not what the government can tell you to do, but it is the community and their engagement and citizens talking to other citizens and trusted advisers, whether its medical community or employers, those are key. Thats why im having these Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/town-hall'>Town Hall meetings. It is more than listening. Its engaging the community. So far weve seen a 40 increase in our vaccinations since we started this. Your daily Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/case-count'>Case Count is higher now than it was when you first required masks statewide a year ago. In april, you signed a law that prohibits local or state officials, yourself included, from implementing any new Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mask-mandate'>Mask Mandates. That ban goes into effect this week. Why have a ban on Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mask-mandate'>Mask Mandates when youre having difficulty as a state getting control of this pandemic . Well, that was the will of the general assembly. I signed it at that point. We had very low case rates in arkansas. People knew exactly what to do. They were capable of making their decisions. And then we shifted to the emphasis on vaccination. And i really think its important not to have the current debate about mask wearing but have the current emphasis on getting a vaccine. So thats the singular focus we have, even though our guidelines continue to say, if youre not vaccinated, you should wear a mask. And that is the guideline that we have in place, but we dont have a mandate because that was held back from the legislature. As you pointed out, i signed that. And as we get ready for school, i think more people will be looking at that guideline as thats appropriate if youre not vaccinated or youre under 12. I want to play some of the video posted by washington Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/regional-medical-center'>Regional Medical Center in arkansas about the rise in serious cases theyre seeing among unvaccinated young people. The Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/regret-and-remorse'>Regret And Remorse on their face and fear. That look on a patients face, i promise you, would be more motivating than anything to go ahead and get your vaccine if you have not already. Do you think you underestimated how vaccine hesitant and skeptical the citizens of arkansas were going to be . And why is there such reluctance to trust in this Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/miracle-science'>Miracle Science . Well, i dont know if i underestimated it, but certainly the resistance has hardened in certain elements, and its simply false information. It is myths. As i go into these Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/town-hall'>Town Hall meetings, someone said dont call it a vaccine. Call it a bio weapon, and they talk about Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mind-control'>Mind Control. Those are obviously erroneous. Other members of the community correct that. What you see in that ad, the message from washington Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/regional-medical-center'>Regional Medical Center is very critical. We are seeing younger adults going to the hospital. And people of arkansas and across the nation respond to risk. And whenever the risk of the covid and the hospitalizations was low, vaccinations slowed down. Now youre seeing a high escalation of the vaccines because people are measuring the risk. Youre seeing it younger, at a younger age. Weve had two adolescents pass away because of covid. And these are Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/alarm-bells'>Alarm Bells for everyone that follows this. So, our goal, get information out. Help them to make the right decision. Push the vaccination and hopefully well be ready for school within the next month. Your fellow southern republican governor, Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/kay-ivey'>Kay Ivey from alabama, really voiced some frustration with people refusing to get vaccinated. She said, quote, its time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks for, quote, letting us down. Do you agree with her . Well, youve got to understand that shes expressing her frustration that everyone feels, but at the same time, i dont want to get distracted into causing a division. Lets pull together. People can change their mind. Even though theres a very hardened resistance, its a small percent. And theres more that come to the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/town-meeting'>Town Meeting that are trying to get information, that they have put it off or theyre hesitant, theyre worried about health consequences. So thats where you have a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/community-physician'>Community Physician that answers the questions, and that is persuadable. So were seeing people that were previously resistant or hesitant about it, coming in and getting the vaccination. That should be the focus and not trying to divide our communities. But do you worry at all that by not allowing localities to impose a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mask-mandate'>Mask Mandate when this virus continues to rage like a wildfire, as your own experts say, you are actually ceding control of this virus to the unvaccinated, to the people who ask questions about Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mind-control'>Mind Control that you just talked about instead of giving Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/power-and-control'>Power And Control to the people who are taking this seriously, who are getting vaccinated but dont want to have vulnerable people like those under 12 or those who have Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/immune-system'>Immune System problems infected by those who are just ignoring the science. Theres two mandates that are possible. One would be a vaccine mandate. Were not going to do that because that would even cause a greater reaction of negativity toward the government and that imposition on freedom. Secondly would be a mandate for wearing masks. It is a conservative principle to allow for local control. That is a fair discussion about it. And Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/thats-something'>Thats Something were going to have to continue to weigh, depending upon Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccination-rates'>Vaccination Rates and how they proceed between now and school. But that is a legislative prohibition on having a Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mask-mandate'>Mask Mandate even in our schools. And so that will only change if the legislature comes back together and yields to that local control. I think Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/thats-something'>Thats Something that will be a continued point of discussion between now and the time school starts. But youve got to worry, jake, one, youre not going to be able to enforce it very well. The schools are in a better position to do it. But then also, youve got parents who genuinely worry about the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mental-health'>Mental Health of their child and whether thats the right reaction to it and whether thats going to cause more problems or alleviate it when theres a low risk for that age group. Thats something were continuing to get data on, as to whether what is the risk for that age group. We need to get everybody else around that young child vaccinated. Thats the cocoon. Thats the protection we need to provide them going back to school. Im praying for the people of arkansas. Best of luck on getting the people of arkansas vaccinated. Governor, thank you for joining us today. Thank you, jake. The Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/climate-crisis'>Climate Crisis leading to fires so intense people on both coasts are breathing in the effects. Oregons governor joins me next. Stay with us. All the time in the world. Its just a saying. But today, for women living with Hr , her2 metastatic Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/breast-cancer'>Breast Cancer. More time is possible with verzenio. Proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant. Verzenio fulvestrant is for Hr , her2 metastatic Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/breast-cancer'>Breast Cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. Diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. At the first sign, call your doctor, start and antidiarrheal, and drink fluids. Before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. Verzenio may cause low white Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/blood-cell'>Blood Cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. LifetHreatening Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/lung-inflammation'>Lung Inflammation can occur. 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Joining me now, Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/oregons-governor'>Oregons Governor Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/kate-brown'>Kate Brown. The Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/bootleg-fire'>Bootleg Fire has burned more than 400,000 acres, making it your states third largest fire since 1900. What are your biggest concerns right now . Obviously, im very concerned that these very high Heat Temperatures will continue. I have to say a shout out to the over 2,000 firefighters that are fighting this horrific fire. We really appreciate their dedication and determination. And my heart certainly goes out to all the oregonians that have been impacted by this terrible fire. Are you getting everything you need from the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/biden-harris-administration'>Biden Harris Administration . The Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/bidenharris-administration'>Bidenharris Administration has stepped up. We always continue to need additional resources and boots on the ground but Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/thats-something'>Thats Something we will have a conversation about postwildfire season. Its incredibly important with Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/climate-change'>Climate Change that we get into these forests and start doing the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/thinning-and-harvest'>Thinning And Harvest and prescriptive burning so that we can create healthier landscapes, landscapes that are more resilient to wildfire. Im really pleased i was able to sign legislation this past week that provides the state with more tools, including resources for our communities to be more adaptive to wildfire. Additional resources to ensure we have the adequate firefighting tools and more resources to do the prescriptive and Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mitigation-work'>Mitigation Work that we need to do on the ground. But, jake, the harsh reality is that were going to see more of these wildfires. Theyre hotter. Theyre more fierce and, obviously, much more challenging to tackle. And they are a sign of the changing climate impacts. In the last year, oregon has had four federal Emergency Declarations in addition to the pandemic. We had historic wildfires last fall that we are still rebuilding and recovering from. We had terrible Ice Storms in february, over half A Million people lost power. And then most recently, as you know, we had the heat drome event. Yeah. We unfortunately lost over 100 oregonians. Climate change is here, its real, and its like a hammer in the head. We have to take action. Do you think enough is being done at the federal level to mitigate these type of crises . Im not talking necessarily about the longterm approach to Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/climate-change'>Climate Change that obviously is important. Im talking about in the short term, the fact that maybe next year will be even worse in oregon, the year after that will be even worse than that. Is enough being done . Well, i really appreciate the strong partnership with the Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/biden-harris-administration'>Biden Harris Administration. As an example, we are working with the u. S. Forest Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/service-and-blm'>Service And Blm to partner around a group called good neighbor authority, and that provides federal resources so we can put oregonians to work on federal lands doing the thinning and prescriptive burning we need to reduce the impacts of these wildfires. It creates elghealthier landsca. It puts oregonians to work and its definitely a winwinwin. We need more of that type of approach, and i really appreciate the president stepping up and leading the way. However, this is a 4 Billion to 5 Billion problem in oregon, and well need to partner tHroughout the west to tackle these issues. As you know, wildfire knows no jurisdictional boundaries. In oregon well continue to tackle these issues, but we are also taking action on Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/climate-change'>Climate Change. I just signed the most aggressive clean Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/energy-bill'>Energy Bill in the country, and we are continuing to invest in ev infrastructure, particularly for our Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/lowincome-and-moderateincome'>Lowincome And Moderateincome families. I only have about a minute left. I want to ask you about the pandemic because Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/vaccination-rates'>Vaccination Rates in your state have been slowing. Youre now averaging more than 400 daily cases which is double what it was at the beginning of the month. Are you considering reimplementing statewide restrictions such as Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/mask-mandate'>Mask Mandates and social distancing in order to stop the spread . Heres the good news. Oregonians have made really smart decisions tHroughout the pandemic, and as a result we have one of the lowest Infection Rates and lowest Mortality Rates in the country. Were working with a more localized traditional approach. Well be working with medical experts on the ground, but this is really the tale of two pandemics, one of the vaccinated and one of the unvaccinated. Its critically important that we continue our work with communitybased partners and particularly Href='https://vimarsana.com/news/health-care'>Health Care providers to get the message out. This is truly a oneonone, door knocking, phone calling, reaching out to individual oregonians to encourage them to get the vaccine, make sure they get their questions answered and that they have the information they need. 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