News. A declaration of victory by the taliban, moments ago in an Independence Day Statement the taliban announced they defeated, quote the powerful and arrogant United States. This morning, reuters reporting that at least 12 people have been killed in kabul since the afghan capital fell to the taliban on sunday. President biding is vowing to get 10,000 remaining americans out of afghanistan No Matter what it takes or how long even if it means keeping the recent surge of u. S. Troops on the ground at the airport in kabul beyond the original Withdrawal Deadline of August 31st. All troops are supposed to be out by August 31st. Even if americans and our afghan allies are still trying to get out, theyre going to leave . Were going to do everything in our power to get all americans out and our allies out. Does that mean troops will stay beyond August 31st if necessary . It depends on where we are and whether we can get ramp these numbers up to 5 to 7,000 a day coming out. If thats the case, theyll all be out. Because we have like 10 to 15,000 americans in the country right now, right . And are you committed to making sure that the troops stay until every american who wants to be out is out . Yes, yes. How about our afghan allies . We have about 80,000 people well, thats not is that too high . Thats too high. The estimate is somewhere between 50 and 65,000 folks total, counting their families. Does the Commitment Hold for them as well . The Commitment Holds to get everyone out that, in fact, we can get out and everyone that should come out. Thats the objective. Thats what were doing now. Thats the path were on. I think well get there. Americans should understand that troops might have to be there beyond August 31st. No, americans will understand we have to try to get it done before August 31st. If we dont the troops will stay . If we dont well determine at the time who is left. And and if there are American Forces if theres american citizens left, were going to stay until we get them all out. That promise extends to american citizens but didnt seem to extend to the Tens Of Thousands of afghan allies to the United States and nato forces that have been there for the last several decades. Now, 1,800 people were evacuated from kabul yesterday. Thats more than the day before, but its much less than you just heard President Biden said needs to be getting out per day in order to meet the goals. Cnns chief international Correspondent Clarissa Ward reports has been in kabul over the last week. Shes been our eyes and ears on the ground. She joins us now with the very latest developments. Clarissa, really the urgent situation is still surrounding the airport in kabul. Reporter thats right. I mean, were seeing images this morning coming in from people desperately trying to leave. Huge crowds once again particularly by the east gate. Thats in a different part of the airport than where we were yesterday. I spoke to an american who was there very early this morning around 6 00 a. M. He said he saw lines of cars along the road with families just getting out and abandoning them basically as they go and try their luck to get into that airport. And we are hearing that a trickle is managing to get in. The taliban is still manning that first perimeter, deciding essentially who gets to go to the next level. But not enough people. We heard one i spoke to one afghan translator for the u. S. Military. He sent a photograph of him and his family inside. But it is not easy. The taliban is checking peoples documents but theyre doing it in a very arbitrary way. Obviously most of these Guys Cant Read and certainly they Cant Read english. They dont know what a Green Card or a siv even looks like thats why youre seeing these chaotic scenes. As we saw yesterday for ourselves as well, john, the taliban using very crude methods for crowd control, firing into crowds, whipping people, beating them. Essentially trying to push them back and stop them from entering the airport. The american i spoke to this morning who was there said that he wasnt seeing as much of that in terms of violence, but thats probably because it was such early hour. And we are hearing from reuters that as many as 12 people have been killed either from shooting or from a stampede as these chaotic scenes continue at the kabul airport, john. And you mentioned yesterday, clarissa, that the taliban appeared to be obviously letting americans move more freely than afghans. Is that still the Case Today . Are you hearing of many afghans getting in . I have heard of one afghan getting in. That doesnt mean that there arent more. But Theres Something else that i want to add to give more context to our viewers. The taliban is providing the first perimeter. Then theres a next level which are afghan Special Forces who are still sort of working with the u. S. Or trying to help the u. S. With this. And we are Hearing Reports that they are being pretty brutal as well, some videos circulating online that i have to emphasize Cnn Hasnt independently verified yet but do appear to show them also beating people back. So if you are an ordinary afghan f youre one of the Tens Of Thousands who have given everything to the u. S. Or various different nato allies in terms of working with them over the past two decades and you are now trying to get into the airport, that is not for the faint of heart. You are really running the gauntlet there. There are huge number of obstacles and dangers to confront and theres no guarantee that youll even get there. I interviewed one member of former President Ashraf Ghanis president ial guard. He said i will go to the Airport Tomorrow if i could to flee because if i stay here im going to be killed. But at this Stage I Cant risk it because so few people are even able to get into the airport. Brianna. Clarissa, one question about the state of life right now for afghans and how it is different from 20 years ago. As you keep talking and we see the images of you talking to people on the streets there, im struck by how many people have their cells outside and different documentation on it and getting information on their cell phones. Thats radically different than 20 years ago. So im just curious what that means for the situation there because it would seem that the citizens there are much more up to the minute on the situation. Reporter yeah. I think thats such an important point, john. We have been talking a lot about has the taliban changed. Well, whether or not the taliban has changed fundamentally, the people of afghanistan over the last 20 years definitely have. And we are seeing some pretty extraordinary acts of courage across the city and across the country. Today is afghan independence afghanistans independence day. We saw people coming out in the streets of kabul, waving flags, carrying one sort of huge Flag And Sort of pride but also a form of protest against the taliban. Given that the Scenes Yesterday in jalalabad, a different city where people had taken down the taliban flag and put up the afghan flag and were met with a hail of bullets, that gives you a sense of just how brave people are. I also think it gives you a sense of at least in kabul the taliban is trying to show that it can be magnanimous, it can be tolerant. They are allowing Shiite Muslims today to carry out their festivals. They meet with representatives at the temple and saying people can fly whatever flag they want. So theyre trying to show that they have a sort of more conciliatory, more diplomatic and open position, although when you see reports of gunfire at protests in Jalalabad And Cur fuse instated in the city of khost and reports of houses being searched, one has a feeling of dread, how long does this last and how long before true colors may be revealed . Clarissa, Stand By For A Minute if you will. Were just getting in some brand new sound from the interview that President Biden did with George Stephanopoulos. Lets listen. The idea if i had said i had a simple choice. If i said were going to stay, then we better be prepared to put a whole hell of a lot more troops in. Top military advisers warned against withdrawing from this timeline. They wanted you to keep more troops. I knew that theyre going to have an enormous look, one of the things we didnt do people from getting out. What they would do. All troops are supposed to be out by August 31st. Even if americans and our afghan allies are still trying to get out, theyre going to leave . Were going to do everything in our power to get all americans out and our allies out. Does that mean troops will stay beyond August 31st if necessary . It depends on where we are and whether we can get ramp these numbers up to 5 to 7,000 a day coming out. If thats the case, theyll all be out. Because we have like 10 to 15,000 americans in the country right now, right . And are you committed to making sure that the troops stay until every american who wants to be out is out . Yes, yes. How about our afghan allies . Does the Commitment Hold for them as well . The Commitment Holds to get everyone out that, in fact, we can get out and everyone that should come out. Thats the objective. Thats what were doing now. Thats the path were on. And i think well get there. So americans should understand that troops might have to be there beyond August 31st . No, americans will understand well try to get it done before August 31st. If we dont, the troops will stay. If we dont, well determine at the time who is left. And and if there are American Forces if theres american citizens left, were going to stay until we get them all out. Well, there was the commitment right there. Were going to stay until all americans joining us now, cnn political director david chalian, Kaitlan Collins and former white House Adviser on Pakistan And Afghanistan and actually i can see on my screen here clarissa is still with us. As long as we have clarissa, Let Me Go first to you, clarissa. Again, what we heard we heard a little new sound from President Biden there that we had not heard before and it had to do with the well did the military tell us to keep troops there or not and then transitioned into the now, into what is going to happen for the people getting out now which i still think is the most important thing to discus at this moment because theres a crisis with Tens Of Thousands of people to get out of the country, and President Biden is promising that u. S. Troops will stay as long as it takes to get americans out but not as far as i can tell extending that same promise to the afghan allies. Reporter yeah. I mean, thats what its sounding like, john. That will be met with some real deep, Unease And Anxiety and frankly Resentment And Bitterness by a lot of people on the ground here who are still desperately scrambling by the way to get their paperwork in order. Some are having to try to track down the Hr Departments of companies that were here in 2017 but have left and how on earth are they supposed to do that and track them down to texas to get all the bureaucracy in order. Its an absolute mess. And what people here very much want to hear and see is a clear, Coherent Plan for the u. S. We sat down with the taliban. We hashed out a deal. This is how its going to work. Were going to do this first. Then this is the next plan. And what were not getting that. Were getting a lot of platitudes, a lot of sort of commitments and principle. But not hearing that absolute rock solid assurance if you worked with america, if you put your life on the line, if youre facing threats, we will get you out. We will not abandon you. And that is what people on the ground here are desperate to hear right now. Yeah. There is a lot of Wiggle Room that were hearing from President Biden. What are we not hearing . The question is what exactly is the time frame . Clearly theres not a consensus On This inside the administration because during a Pentagon Briefing Yesterday the first time we heard from the Defense Secretary and the chairman of the Joints Chief On This kabul had fall on the the taliban, they would not commit to staying there past August 31 gs. Saying thats the deadline. Of course the pentagon is following orders from the Commander In Chief. The president is clear the u. S. Troops would stay there until all americans were out but he was more equivocal when it came to the afghanistan allies. The law make rs have been hitting the White House hard about that. Even democrats are making sure they get the afghan allies out. Thats still a big question going forward. I mean, we heard administration officials call it a moral obligation a moral obligation that the united States Government has to help those afghans and allies that helped the u. S. Over these last 20 years. But what you heard from the Commander In Chief and the president of the United States is that he seems to think the moral obligation required to keep u. S. Forces there to finish the job relates purely to american citizens. So theres a disconnect there from what were hearing from some administration officials and what the president is willing to put American Forces, keep them on the ground past the deadline for. Because what hes saying may be just an admission of whats possible. Well, i think hes outlining two priorities. The first priority is always to protect american citizens which they clearly had not planned for. I mean, the embassy i know had been planning for every possible contingency, but like i said, they didnt expect the taliban to take over the country so quickly. So this caught them flat footed. First and foremost their obligation is to american citizens. Taking care of afghans that worked for the u. S. Government is a complicated process this requires Leg Work with other countries who will be willing to take these refugees and that requires a lot of Advance Planning that clearly hasnt happened yet. One of the things, david, that struck me over the last several days there have been those says President Biden needs to admit how bungled this one and he messed up. Having several covered administrations i havent heard a president say, man, did i blow this. It just doesnt happen anymore. But, what matters now is assuring The American people and the world u. S. Allies and the people in afghanistan that the u. S. Has a grip on the current situation. And im not sure that he is conveying that at this moment. Right. Because in this interview when pressed about sort of the images that are coming out there right now, you hear the president get defensive and say, well, thats from four or five days ago. What did i think then, i thought we had to get our arms around this and get it under control and we did but we still see images that show anything but an in control situation. So what you have here is a president who is calling cards, right, were sort of competency, honesty, going to do speak to you straight from the shoulder, he says, all the time. And that now those Character Traits get called into question just because his words arent matching up with what were seeing. And i think a big part of this also has to do with what is happening right now. I think when we look back On This, of course, weeks from now, years from now on how this all played out a lot will depend on how this evacuation wraps and what it looks like. Thats what the is White House is focussed on instead of looking back at what went wrong with the intelligence but that raises a lot of questions as well. We hear two different thing. We hear from the pentagon that everything is under control and most of the reports they see is that people are getting through the Check Points with ease. Clarissa is reporting something completely different from what she is seeing on the ground. One really stunning thing that came out of the briefing with the pentagon is so much is hinging on the taliban and their diplomacy is how one reporter from the New York Times framed it with the United States and letting americans through, letting afghan nationals through. Once that changes or if that potentially changes, it changes the situation a lot. So i think that is a really big question for the White House is how theyre communicating with the taliban, what they expect this to look like going forward because really so much of this is hinging on those conversations. Its such a good point. Look, were getting new sound in as we speak from President Biden on some of these very subjects. Stick around. Well discuss right after the break. [music playsys. ] this is the sound of change from pnc bank. Its the sound of A Thousand sighs of relief and of a company watching out for you. This is the sound of low Cash Mode from pnc bank, giving you multiple options and at least 24 hours to help you avoid an overdraft fee. Because we believe how you handle overdrafts should be in your control, not just your banks. Low Cash Mode on virtual wallet from pnc bank. One way were making a difference. I just heard something amazing now for the first time one medication was approved to treat and prevent migraines. Dont take if allergic to nurtec. The most common Side Effects were nausea, stomach pain, and indigestion. Ask your doctor about nurtec today. Now were giving you even more reasons to rediscover the joy of travel. Like more ways to reward your loyalty. Which means future trips can be even more rewarding. Reconnect with more. Its time for the biggest sale of the year, on the new Sleep Number 360 smart bed. It helps keep you effortlessly comfortable by sensing your movements and automatically responding to both of you. And, its Temperature Balancing to help you stay comfortable all night. It even tracks your circadian rhythm, so you know when youre at your best. In other words, its the most energy building, wellness boosting, parentpowering, proven quality nights sleep weve ever made. And now, all smart beds are on sale. Save 50 on the new Sleep Number 360 limited edition smart bed. Plus, 0 interest for 24 months. Only for a limited time. Age is just a number. And mines unlisted. Try boost® High Protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. Versus 16 grams in ensure High Protein. Boost® High Protein also has key nutrients for immune support. Boost® High Protein. Every single day, were all getting a little bit better. Were better cooks. Better neighbors. Hi. Ive got this until you get back. Better parents. And better friends. No no thats why comcast works around the clock constantly improving americas largest gigspeed broadband network. And just doubled the capacity here. How do things look on your end . Perfect because were building a better network every single day. The Taliban Takeover was highly unlikely. Was the Intelligence Wrong or did you down play it . There was no consensus. If you go back and look at the intelligence reports, they said that more likely to be some time by The End of the year. You didnt put a timeline out when you said it was highly unlikely. You said flat out its highly unlikely the taliban would take over. Yeah. The question is whether or not the idea that the taliban would take over was premised on the notion that the somehow the 300,000 troops we had trained and equipped was going to just collapse. They were going to give up. I dont think anybody anticipated that. Senator said it was predictable the taliban was going to take over. Well, by The End of the year, said that was a real possibility. But No One said it was going to take over then when it was being asked. When you look at whats happened over the last week, was it a failure of intelligence, planning, Execution Or Judgment . Look, i dont think it was a failure look, it was a simple choice, george. When the taliban let me put it another way. When you had the government of afghanistan, the leader of that government, get in a plane and taking off and going to another country, when you saw the significant collapse of the afghan troops we had trained, of the 300,000 of them, just leaving their equipment and taking off, that was, you know, im not thats what happened. Thats simply what happened. So the question was in the beginning the Threshold Question was do we commit to leave within the time frame that was set that we extended to September 1st. Or do we put significantly more troops in . I hear people say, well, you had 2,500 folks in there and nothing was happening. There wasnt any war. But Guess What, the fact was that the reason it wasnt happening is the last president negotiated a year earlier that he would be out by May 1st and that when we return there would be no attack on the American Forces. Thats what was done. Thats why nothing was happening. But the idea if i had said i had a simple choice, if i had said were going to stay, then we better be prepared to put a whole Hell Love a lot more troops in. Your top military advisers warned against they wanted you to keep 2,500 troops. No they didnt. That wasnt true. That wasnt true. They didnt tell you they wanted troops to stay . No, not in terms of whether we were going to get out in a time frame all troops. They didnt argue against that. So No One told your military advisers did not tell you, no, we should keep 2,500 troops. Its been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that . No no, one said that to me. That i can recall. Look, george, the reason why is its been stable for a year is because the last president said were leaving and here is the deal i want to make with you, taliban, were agreeing to leave if you agree not to attack us between now and the time we leave on may the 1st. Less than two months after i elected to office i was sworn n All Of A Sudden i have a May 1 deadline. I have a May 1 deadline. I have two choices. We had Tens Of Thousands of troops there before. Tense of thousands. Do you think we would have they would have just said No Problem . Dont worry about it. Were not going to attack anybody. Were okay. In the meantime the taliban was taking territory all throughout the country in the north and down in the south. So would you have withdrawn troops like this even if President Trump had not made that deal with the taliban . I would have tried to figure out how to withdraw those troops, yes. Look, george, theres no good time to leave afghanistan. 15 years ago would have been a problem. 15 years from now. The basic choice is, am i going to send your sons and your daughters to war in afghanistan, in afghanistan, in perpetuity . No one can name for me a time when this would end. What constitutes defeat of the taliban . What constitutes defeat . Would we have left then . Lets say they surrender like before. Okay. Do we leave then . Do you think anybody the same people think we should stay would have said no, good time to go . We spent over a trillion dollars, george. 20 years. There was no good time to leave. But if theres no good time, you know youre going to leave eventually, why not have everything in place to make sure The Americans get out, our afghan allies get out so we dont have these chaotic scenes in kabul. Number one, as you know the Intelligence Community did not say back in june or july that, in fact, this was going to collapse like it did. Number one. They thought the taliban would take over but not this quickly. Not this quickly. Not even close. We had already issued several thousand passports to the sivs, the translators. When he came into office before we had negotiated getting out at The End of august. Secondly, were in a position where what we did was we took precautions. Thats why i authorized there be 6,000 american troops to flow in to accommodate this exit, Number One. Number two, provide all that aircraft in the gulf to get people out. We prepositioned all that, anticipated that. Now, granted, it took two days to take control of the airport. We have control of the airport now. Still a lot of pandemonium outside the airport. Well, there is. But look, No One is being killed right now. God forgive me if im wrong about that but No One is being killed right now. We have 1,200 out yesterday. Couple thousand a day and its increasing. Well get those people out. But we all have seen the pictures. We have seen those hundreds of people packed into a c17. We have seen afghans falling that was four days ago, five days ago. What did you think Kwwhen Yo first saw those pictures . We have to gain control of this. We have to move this more quickly. We have to move in a way which we can take control of the airport and we did. Do you think this exit could have been handled better in any way . No mistakes . No, i dont think it could have been handled in a way well go back in hindsight and look. The idea somehow theres a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, i dont know how that happens. I dont know how that happened. So for you that was always priced into the decision. Yes. Now exactly what happened i was not priced in but i knew theyre going to have an enormous look, one of the things we didnt know is what the taliban would do in terms of trying to keep people from getting out. What they would do. All troops are supposed to be out by August 31st. Even if americans and our afghan allies are still trying to get out, theyre going to leave . Were going to do everything in our power to get all americans out and our allies out. Does that mean troops will stay beyond August 31st if necessary . It depends on where we are and whether we can get ramp these numbers up to 5 to 7,000 a day coming out. If thats all right. Lets discuss what we just learned these new parts of this interview done by George Stephanopoulos. What stands out to you first. I think its clear the president is digging in. He feels very certain about his decision. He has known for a long time there are no good options. What im reading Between The Lines is the United States is telling the world, we are going to be pursuing extremely minimalist foreign approach to afghanistan and can expect the approach to extend to the rest of the region. But in the weeks and days to come i think we can expect them to just focus on the Security And Safety of american citizens. David . Well, one thing thats stunning to me is the missed Empathy Moment which is a rare thing in a Joe Biden interview. He doesnt often miss moments to express empathy. And when George Stephanopoulos talks to him about the images that weve seen of the packed Military Aircraft or afghans running on the runway, he just i mean, despite his sort of being defensive there in a moment, he also then just said, we have to get our arms around this and get this right. There was no sort of classic Joe Biden Moment of empathizing with that experience of that person running, hanging on to a plane on the runway which normally Joe Biden does. Yeah. Im kind of surprised as well and have been really throughout all this just given he touted himself as the Foreign Policy president. He had decades of experience. Thats something especially when it comes to afghanistan. This is something that his aides cite all the time. His refusal to acknowledge this is not gone the way they expected or has gone in a positive manner, this draw down has not been smooth is kind of surprising to me. Especially if you look back to his Town Hall that he did with Don Lemon in july when he said, im going to level with The American people and if i make a mistake, i will be straight with you and i will tell you. If i think i did the right thing, ill tell you, too. When you talk to people inside this White House, No One thinks this has gone the way they wanted it to. Now, they will defend how they responded and how they handled it and how things can be surprising, but his saying this isnt a failure and saying there was no way this could have happened without complete chaos is surprising to me. Hes not acknowledging a mistake. There are a couple things in there that jumped out at me as pieces of new information or new statements from President Biden. Number one, while he has in a way blamed the situation left to him by former President Trump for the decisions he made, he just told george that he would have pulled all u. S. Troops out any way. Or worked to do it any way. Thats pretty interesting given that in his previous statements including the paper statements he made clear that he felt he was forced into part of this by decisions from the trump administration. The other thing he said there, which i think is going to raise a lot of questions, is the idea that he Cant Recall ever being told by military leaders that the United States should leave in a contingent of 2,500 or small group of troops. I dont know if hes splitting hairs there because its not often people tell president of the United States youre wrong. You should do exactly this. But based on our reporting it certainly seems there are senior members of the military who expressed that the United States might be in an advantageous position if they left in several thousand troops. Finally, what i see here is a president who is hung up on the decision itself, who is convinced he made the right decision to do it, to withdraw u. S. Troops, but still cant seem to hear the questions about what is happening on the ground now. Its whats happening now where lives hang in the balance. David . Your third point, john, is tied to your first point. The reason he said that he would still have moved forward as President Irrespective of the Trump Policy pulling all troops out is because of how committed he was to this notion of ending americas longest war, of bringing all the troops home, of not handing this on to yet a fifth american president to deal with. That is where he is most comfortable and quite frankly its where hes aligned with The American people On This as well. So Thats Part of why i think you saw him say that part about irrespective of the Trump Policy he was going to pull everything out. I think maybe the Time Line could have been perhaps a little different. John, i think your second point is so critical because i think we heard Joe Biden say two different things. He said to his Recollection Nobody told him, nobody from his military advisers told him, mr. President , you should keep 2,500 troops in there. But just moments before that, he said the advice was split. What is the split . Because it would seem that maybe in that split of advice he got somebody was telling him a different option than pulling everything out. So those two things didnt seem even though they were within seconds of Each Other to go quite together. Can i just add, this is not a new Joe Biden. We have heard Joe Biden as senator and as Vice President be critical about the war in afghanistan. He had always wanted to get out. He had always wanted to focus purely on a Counterterrorism Mission and looking at the military guidance with a certain amount of suspicion. We always anticipated for the possibility that once we left, we would have to characterize bhafs happening in the country as something that was domestic and up to the afghan people to sort out. Which i think intellectually is still accurate. Intellectually we should withdraw. However i take issue with the mechanics and the methodology of the withdrawal which we can all agree is a failure. We known this is his position. The questions that democrats in congress have is over how this is happened. And regards to what he said about the military, we reported back in april when he finalized this decision and announced it that there are top military officials who said they did believe that they should continue the presence a little longer, they did not think it should happen this quickly, this rapidly. One was the chairman of Joints Chief of staff general Milley Who advocated for this. The White House confirmed at the time, they were asked, is this a decision the president is overruling top brass at the pentagon . They said essentially he asked for a nonsugar coated viewpoint from his top aides On This. So confirming essentially that there had been differing viewpoints over how this should proceed. We do know that was a factor that played into all this. Yeah. In fact of all the president s who presided over this war, he did fully overrule some of the Military Advice that he got. That is sort of narrative coming out of this. Thank you so much as were trying to piece together so much at this critical moment. So wonderful to have your ber spectives. As for the president s other focus, the administration is now advising Covid Vaccine Booster shots for all americans who are 12 and older and this will be eight months after they get their second shot. Health officials cited three separate studies that show the Vaccines Protection drops over time. So joining me now for more On This is u. S. Surgeon general dr. Vivek murthy. Thank you so much for being with us On This, sir. Okay. First things first before i ask about this booster, how much drop in protection are we talking about over time . Well, good morning. Good to be with you as well. A few things i would say. Number one the drop in protection that were seeing is against mild to moderate disease. Now, really important distinction here because the protection that we see from the vaccines against the worst of covid, hospitalizations, severe disease in death, that remains strong. That is why people who are fully vaccinated today should still feel good. Its why we dont think you need to go out and get a booster today. But using our clinical judgment, our feeling is this trend in decline in protection will continue over the months ahead and may extend actually to a reduction in protection against those severe outcomes. Thats what we want to be ahold of. And thats why yesterday we announced a plan on September 20th to start boosting people who are at their eighth Month Mark after their second dose. This is listen contingent on the fdas full review and the cdcs advisory Committee Review and recommendations. So how do you do this . How do you roll this out assuming federal regulators give you the go ahead On This . So, there are a few things. It starts Number One with communicating with people to left them know theres a plan in advance. Thats what we did yesterday. Yesterday was also important because we had always been telling people that we were looking cloets closely at the data to see if theres a reduction in protection. Recognizing that for most vaccines theres a reduction in protection over time. When we see a signal, well tell you. Thats what yesterday was. It was making good on that commitment. The other things that were going to be doing other the next few weeks is working closely with state and local partners and to set up the right distribution mechanisms. Thankfully we already have similar to that infrastructure set up more than 80,000 pharmacies with vaccine. We have more and more doctors offices around the country that are carrying vaccine and can deliver them to patients. We have Experience Setting Up Infrastructure to make access easy, but well continue to expand that. Finally, well work also on ensuring that this is done in an equitable way. We laid out a pathway through which the most vulnerable people will get vaccinated first. The people who, in fact, began our vaccination effort, the elderly, healthcare workers, particularly those in longterm care facilities. Those individuals will be prioritized based on their anniversary schedule. So we had reported that 99. 99 of people fully vaccinated are not in the hospital. Are you still seeing that . Or are there folks challenging that fact . Overall the protection against Hospitalization And Death remains high if youre fully vaccinated. Vaccines not 100 . Are there individuals who have breakthroughs and some rare cases even breakthrough hospitalizations and death . Yes, that will happen with any vaccine. But thankfully it is far more rare compared to the deaths and hospitalizations that are happening among the Unvaccinate Chd tells us the vaccines are still working at the heist level. We need to make sure that continues to be the case. We want people to know that the protection they have today from the vaccines will be there tomorrow. Thats the purpose of the boosters. So vaccines for kids under 12, i think were sort of expecting 9 to 12, 6 to 9, 3 to 6 to go back. You can correct me if its going to be rolled out in different way than that. When are we going to see vaccines for children younger than 12 approved . Well, brianna, depends on how the trials go and how quickly the companies get the data to the Food And Drug administration. But once they do that, i can tell you this, the Covid19 Vaccine reviews are the Top Priority for the fda, and they will move quickly to make sure a thorough review is done but that its done on the fastest, feasible time schedule because we all want to protect our kids. I have kids under 12 who are not vaccinated because theyre not eligible yet. I want a vaccine for my children as well. They just want to make sure that its done in a way that people are assured that these vaccines are safe and effective for their kids. As soon as they get the data from the companies and the trials are under way they will row view it. Its possible we may have vaccines for Under 12s before The End of the calendar year. Thats certainly what im hoping for and certainly what we will work toward. Before The End of the calendar year. You know, talking about kids in school, some of them are already in school. Some will be going in the coming weeks. Floridas Governor Ron Desantis says that choosing whether or not to quarantine what he called a healthy child after a possible Covid Exposure in school should rest with the parent. Lets listen to what he said. I dont think to say anyone that was in like a hallway or in a classroom that they even if theyre healthy should be sent home. I think quarantining healthy kids deprives these kids of an ability to get an education. Now, maybe a parent would want a healthy kid to be quarantined if theres an exposure, but i think that should be the choice of the parent. What do you think so about that . And how should schools approach this . Well, when it comes to our schools, Theres Nothing more important than keeping our children safe. And thats got to be our Top Priority. Weve got to use science and Public Health to guide us in that. What the science tells us clearly is a few things. It tells us if our kids are old enough to be vaccinated, that thats a powerful pathway to reduce their chances of getting sick or spreading to others. It tells us also that masks work to reduce the spread of infection. Tried and true methods by contact tracing, Isolation And Quarantine when required, open ventilation, regular testing, these are all layers of precaution that we can take to reduce the risk to our children. And when we know that, when the science directs us to that, those are the kind of measures we should be putting in place. Now, thats the approach i see many schools taking which is good, but i worry very much, brianna, about the places the counties and states where schools are being blocked from taking evidencebased scientific prevention methods because we have a moral obligation to follow the science and keep our children safe. Its about the health of the other kids, not just ours. We do not want our kids getting sick but we also dont want them putting other children at risk. We have to take a Community Approach to this, we have to recognize that we got to get through this together, Take Care of Each Other and the scientific Public Health approaches have shown us that the best way to do that is to follow these layers of precaution that weve been talking about for the last many months. Thank you so much, Surgeon General dr. Vivek murthy for joining us this morning. Thank you so much, brianna. Take care. Take care as well. Tempers flaring over School Mask mandates. Well take you there. As someone who resembles Someone Else. I appreciate that Liberty Mutual knows everyones unique. Thats why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. [ nautical Horn Blows ] i mean just because you look like Someone Else doesnt mean you eat off the floor, or yell at the vacuum, or need flea medication. Oh, yeah. Thats the spot. Only pay for what you need. Liberty, liberty, liberty, Liberty Polls show overwhelming majority of americans support masks in schools. When you hear a debate, its really not as debated as some might have you believe. Theres an angry vocal minority. Schools in florida issued new Mask Requirements after a pretty rough meeting that lasted hours. Reporter well, john, as you mentioned, this debate is continuing even after school has started. Im in the 7th largest district in america. Behind me is an elementary school. I talked to a mother there yesterday who showed me a Text Message coming in from the school. A kid here has covid. We had to quarantine kids. Its happening to kids all over this district, and yet here in florida people are debating masks and the very mitigation strategies needed to try and slow this spread down. The battle over masks rages on in florida. As three more School Boards vote to implement Mask Mandates for students. Overnight Palm Beach County School Board defied Governor Ron Desantis order against requiring masks. Passing a Mask Mandate for students by a vote of 61. Floridas largest school district, Miamidade County, also passing a similar measure 71, with no option for parents to opt out. Mask off. Mask off. Reporter protests advocating for and against the Mask Mandate intensifying outside the building as the School Board debated for hours. This is not a joke. We are in a pandemic right now. Please amend a17 and make masks mandatory. Forcing the mask, youre assaulting parents, youre assaulting children. Reporter hillsborough County School Board also voting to enforce a similar Mask Mandate for students. Protesters against the Mandate Yelling at our Cnn Crew while we were interviewing one concerned mother. Its disrespectful to our children. Its disrespectful to my kids. You cant get vaccinated because theyre not old enough. And its really, really upsetting that we have people like that, disrespecting people who just want to protect our kids health. Reporter nearly 1500 students and more than 500 teachers have tested positive for coronavirus in hillsborough county. And more than 10,000 students are quarantining. Were surrendering our children to a pandemic of severe ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Reporter even given these alarming figures, desantis said this about students quarantining. I think quarantining healthy kids deprives these kids of an ability to get an education. Now, maybe a parent would want a healthy kid to be quarantined if there is an exposure. But i think that should be the choice of the parent. Reporter the tension over masks boiling over in other states, too. No more masks. Reporter in louisiana, a state School Board meeting was forced to adjourn after descending into chaos in a debate over masks. In texas a parent ripped a Face Mask off a teachers face. At least respect the person who is wearing the mask. They are on the front lines of teaching the kids during a pandemic. Lets give them a little space and a little grace. Reporter now, john, we are in the School Year. This is the second School Year weve had during this pandemic. People know how this works at this point, and the difference this time is this Delta Variant that here in florida is putting thousands of kids in isolation as the School Year begins just a few days into it. Yet yesterday talking about this battle between the governor and these major counties here in the state, Miamidade County passing that Mask Mandate in violation of the governors order, in defiance of the governor, the governor telling cnn forced masking of all schoolchildren is not consistent with making parents decisions for their children. They dont know whats going to happen. The School Board made the decision. Masks are on like places here in hillsborough county. The governor might come in and change that again. All this debate happening while kids are actually in school around other kids who may or may not have covid. John . Evan santoro. Terrific reporting. Reminder, this is not the Controversy Shouting might have you believe. A comfortable majority of americans support the idea of masks in schools. A programming note. I will. Im going to go. Im going to tell you all about it, berman. Join cnn this weekend for we love new york city, the Homecoming Concert saturday starting at 5 00 p. M. Eastern. That is exclusively on cnn, and new day continues right now. Life is full of surprises when you least expect it. woman laughs and open. What happened to all your things . I know you needed a place to study, so. And other times, it pays off knowing what to expect. At university of phoenix, you can count on fixed, affordable tuition from the moment you enroll to the day you graduate from your program. Learn more about our Tuition Guarantee at phoenix. Edu centrum multigummies arent just great tasting. Theyre powerpacked vitamins. That help unleash your energy. Loaded with b vitamins. And other key essential nutrients. Its a tasty way to conquer your day. Try centrum multi gummies. Now with a new look. Its time for the biggest sale of the year, on the new Sleep Number 360 smart bed. It helps keep you effortlessly comfortable by sensing your movements and automatically responding to both of you. And, its Temperature Balancing to help you stay comfortable all night. It even tracks your circadian rhythm, so you know when youre at your best. In other words, its the most energy building, wellness boosting, parentpowering, proven quality nights sleep weve ever made. And now, all smart beds are on sale. Save 50 on the new Sleep Number 360 limited edition smart bed. Plus, 0 interest for 24 months. Only for a limited time. Ive lost count of how many Asthma Attacks ive had. But my nunormal with nucala . Fewer Asthma Attacks. Nucala is a oncemonthly addon injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. Not for sudden breathing problems. Allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Infections that can cause shingles have occurred. Dont stop steroids unless told by your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. May cause headache, injectionsite reactions, back pain, and fatigue. Ask your doctor about nucala. Find your nunormal with nucala. Your mission stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. And take. It. On. With rinvoq. Rinvoq a oncedaily pill can dramatically improve symptoms. Rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. And for some, rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. Thats rinvoq relief. With ra, your overactive Immune System attacks your joints. Rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. Your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. Tell your doctor about any infections. And if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. Take on ra. Talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. Rinvoq. Make it your mission. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. Millions of vulnerable americans struggle to get reliable transportation to their medical appointments. Thats why i started medhaul. Citi launched the Impact Fund to invest in both women and entrepreneurs of color like me, so i can realize my vision and give everything ive got to my company, and my community. I got you. For the love of people. For the love of community. For the love of progress. Citi. Do we commit the leave within the time frame we extended to September 1st . Or do we put significantly more troops in . I hear people say, well, you had 2,500 folks in there and nothing was happening. You know, there wasnt any war. But Guess What . The fact was that the reason it wasnt happening is the last president negotiated a year earlier that hed be out by May 1st, and when they returned there would be no attack on American Forces. Thats what was done. Thats why nothing was happening. But the idea, if i had said i had a simple choice. If i said were going to stay, we better put a whole lot of more troops in. This Time Line, they wanted you to keep 2,500 troops. No, they didnt. It was split. That wasnt true. That wasnt true. They didnt tell you they wanted troops to stay . Ot