potential threat. there is a lot we don't know. the cdc amped up its advice on vaccine boosters. the old world is that anyone 18 and older may get a booster. joins us to talk boosters, possible new versions of the vaccines, and a pill the company has been testing to treat covid. first, cnn's athena jones on why this variant has become so troubling so quickly. >> reporter: tonight, the president calling for calm. >> this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. >> reporter: as omicron, a new coronavirus variant, first detected in south africa, spreads around the world. >> this is a new wrench that's been thrown into the fight against covid. >> it's certainly not good news. >> reporter: raising new, urgent questions. >> we don't know everything we need to know about this new variant, yet. >> we don't know, yet, what the level of severity will be. >> reporter: omicron has at least 50 mutations, including some shared with the highly contagious delta variant. that drove a deadly-summer surge in the united states. the new variant has become the most dominant strain in south africa less than two weeks after it was first detected. the strain now confirmed on five continents in more than a dozen countries, including canada. the u.s. joining the european union and other countries in restricting travel from certain southern african nations. a move health experts say may slow down the variant's spread but won't stop it. >> when you have a virus that has already gone to multiple countries, inevitably, it will be here. >> reporter: u.s. federal health officials are bracing for omicron to be detected here. with the cdc sequencing coronavirus genomes and working closely with state health officials. but it won't be clear for a few weeks how transmissible omicron is, whether it causes more severe illness, and whether it can evade the immune protection offered by vaccines. >> the reality is we have only known about this virus for just over a week so we don't really have the kind of data to answer those questions definitively. >> reporter: scientists and pharmaceutical companies are working to get those answers. >> i don't think that the result will be the vaccines don't protect. i think the results could be -- which we don't know yet -- but the vaccines protect less. >> reporter: vaccine makers like pfizer and moderna stressing they are ready to respond quickly if changes to their vaccines are needed. >> we think within, you know, weeks to maybe two to three months, we would be able to have a omicron-specific vaccine booster available, um, for testing and then for administration. >> reporter: and until more is known about the new variant, health officials say the best way to protect yourself is for the still unvaccinated to get vaccinated and for those eligible for booster shots to get them. >> we expect that most likely, the current vaccines will be sufficient to provide protection and especially the boosters will give that additional layer of protection. >> reporter: athena jones, cnn, new york. >> you saw briefly in athena jones' report, he is chief executive officer of covid vaccine and therapy maker pfizer. thanks so much for being with us. how concerned should people who are fully vaccinated right now with the pfizer regimen be about this new variant? >> i think i am concerned but i am not in panic as the president said. i think we have been preparing for a moment like that for the last two months and i think we are now really, very well prepared to -- to win this battle. >> so just to be clear, and obviously we want to be precise. we don't want to overstate or understate the situation, the danger. how likely is it that the current pfizer vaccine will provide less protection against the omicron variant? and why would that be? >> a chance this will happen and we will know in two, three weeks and the more time passes, the more data accumulate on certain situation. but as i have said, i doubt that the results would be that we can find ourselves that we are not protecting at all. we can find ourselves that we are perfectly fine and we are protecting as high as with the delta. or that we are having a less protection with -- compared to the delta. and in both cases, boosters should reduce dramatically. >> and at what point -- i mean, again, this is all very new even in south africa, though it is now the dominant strain there. um, you've said that pfizer started the development process for a new vaccine tailored to omicron. can you just explain in -- i mean, i'm -- i'm the worst science person around so can you just explain in layman's terms how that works? and how science -- i mean, how is it that you are already able to be working on a vaccine that scientists are still trying to figure out about in south africa? >> there are few things that we don't know about the vaccine. but there are few things that we know for certain. we don't know if it is going to be more virulent. we don't know if it's going to transmit faster or have higher disease. we don't know if it will escape the protection of our vaccines but we know the sequence of the virus. we have. and this is how everything starts. we start [ inaudible ] on friday based on the sequence a dna template that will allow us to make -- put into this vaccine. if a few weeks from now, we realize that we don't need a vaccine like that, then we will put it in a cell. a better, specific tailored vaccine but never used because we are protecting better with the current vaccine and delta vaccine but we never use for the same reasons. so doing the same with omicron right now. we will not have wasted any time. >> so, you -- so you put resources into developing a vaccine for delta when delta was rising in the thought that it might -- if that became the dominant strain and the current vaccine didn't work, you would have that ready to go but you didn't use that? >> exactly. and the same. exactly the same. >> so, moderna's chief medical officer says his company is also developing an omicron-specific booster that would take two to three months to get into testing and then production. you said pfizer could do the same 100 days or less. is that a window that can be narrowed depending on how the -- the work goes? >> i think, likely, would be the window because we have measured it twice almost to the day. this means that around 60 days on the development, we will have clinical production of a vaccine so that we can go and test it in humans. and then, within 95 days, we will have the full results of -- of this trial. and the most important is that if we have the vaccine and it's needed and it works, we should be able to transition manufacturing to this new vaccine without losing any single dose -- almost any dose from the current capacity. i remind you, right now, we are at 1 billion doses. this is how much we produce this quarter. which means next year, easy 4 billion doses. i think if we have to go to new vaccine, we will be able to produce easily 4 billion doses for the new vaccine. >> until everyone around the world has access to vaccines, though, we are all -- even if we're -- have full regimens here in the united states, we are still going to be vulnerable to mutations, correct? >> absolutely. first of all, in a -- in a pandemic, you are as protected as your neighbor. neighbor down the road but also the neighbor in geographic sense. so we need to make sure that everyone is getting enough vaccination because vaccinations is the problem. >> the distribution. albert bourla, i really appreciate your time and work tonight. thank you. more on the medical and public health dimensions now. joining us for that, cnn chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. also, dr. leana wen, cnn medical analyst, former baltimore health commissioner and author of "lifelines, a doctor's journey in the fight for public health." so, sanjay, we just heard from mr. bourla. what stands out to you about what pfizer is doing and about where we are at? >> well, there is a lot we still don't know. we are seeing the scientific process unfold, real-time, once again. i think there -- there was a couple things that sort of jumped out. it will be a couple of weeks at least before they can tell just how well the vaccines protect against this particular variant. that takes time. some of that's laboratory studies where they will take this variant, omicron, put it in -- into a -- a petri dish with the vaccine and basically see how well the -- the antibodies neutralize the virus. they are also going to be following real-time data in hospitals and tracking cases as they are in south africa. they are going to be doing that all over the world. but this is just going to take some time. i -- i think what i -- when i hear all these comments from these vaccine makers, i think one of the consensus is that there is probably protection that is still offered certainly by these vaccines. so, they're still very effective. the booster would make them even more effective because you are generating more antibodies. but this -- this virus appears to be different, and may require a -- a different booster at some point in the future. >> dr. wen, though, i mean, you know, one scientist in south africa who raised alarms about this had said that the cases she had seen were -- were mild. um, do we know yet how worried we should be? i mean, do we know what -- okay. there's a new variant and, yes, it's got all these attributes that are very concerning. but do with know yet whether the actual -- somebody who gets ill with it is worse off than they are with delta or something else? >> we don't, anderson. there is so much that we don't yet know about omicron. but there are things that we know that make us worried. for example, how transmissible it appears to be in south africa. although, we don't know whether that's going to pan out in the rest of the world. we also don't know about immune escape, as sanjay was just saying. but we don't know this question of is it causing more severe disease? or is it going to cause really mild illness? we don't know. but i think this is why the u.s. and many other countries are doing the right thing when it comes to preparing for the worst. we would much rather do that than the reverse because for so long in this pandemic, we have been doing the opposite. we have been waitling for something terrible to hit us. we were caught off guard with the delta surge. i think it's much better if it turns out to be a false alarm and we did all the preparations and it turn out not to be a big deal but actually one of the things it could help with is maybe getting boosters out, for example, could help us to stem the delta surge. getting prepared is exactly the right thing for us to do at this point. >> sanjay, can you just give us kind of the long view in this? because just hearing this, i main i think like a lot of people, when i heard this news i just thought, you know, it seems like -- you know, relatively speaking, things were going in the right direction. then this thing comes along. but as we were talking about, unless everybody gets vaccinated around the world or has access to vaccines, i mean, this can just drag on for years and years and years with -- with new mutations occurring. >> yeah. i mean, you know, variants are likely to keep occurring as the virus continues to transmit. the more it transmits from person to person, the more mutation may occur but that doesn't mean they are all going to be potentially problematic mutations, either. there is also this potential tug of war as the south african health minister was talking about this morning as viruses become more transmissible, evolve into becoming more contagious, sometimes they lose some of their punch as well. they trade one off for the other. so you may sigh that. in terms of what we know, this is, again, unfolding real-time. the specimen that was collected that ended up being the first specimen that was on november 9th so, you know, just three -- three weeks ago or so. and it was identified to have this genomic sequence. we now know it's in 15-plus countries around the world and there's some 50 mutations on this. some of these mutations, we have seen before and they were associated with more transmissibility. other mutations were associated with a higher chance of escaping the immunity. i don't know if we have a 3d image we can just show this real quick. if we have it, you can see the spike protein of this virus and you can see all these various mutations on it. and it gives you an idea of what scientists are trying to deal with in terms of identifying -- that's it. the spike protein and these are the mutations with this particular variant. that's -- that's the 3d representation of what they are basically trying to deal with and address, anderson. >> i don't even know what i am looking at. i mean, i'm such an idiot. i -- i -- i wish i understood science because i don't know. i mean, that looks -- you know, i don't know. >> that is a spike protein and it's got all these different -- different mutations on. yeah. it's -- it's -- it's a lot there but the point is that you have -- when you have that many mutations on something, it -- it changes the character of it quite a bit. do those mutations add up to something that makes it even worse? or, you know, does it -- does it -- does it end up not mattering as much having all those mutations. >> >> apologize for my ignorance. i'm glad we have two very smart people with us. we are going to have more in just a moment. pick it up after a break. get a live report from south africa as well. also, tonight, another republican house member taking it to the next level this afternoon after leveling anti-muslim slurs at a colleague. the latest on this congresswoman -- lauren boebert -- and what her party leadership will do, if anything, about it. . . instantly clear everyday congestion. and try vicks sinex children's saline. safe and gentle relief for children's noses. no annual fee on any discover card. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ nyquil severe gives you powerful relief for your worst cold and flu symptoms, on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. hey, it's ryan reynolds. as owner of mint mobile, my goal is to spend as little as possible on things like commercials so we can pass more savings to customers. and when i saw what they're charging for holiday-themed stock videos these days, well, you can see what i decided to do. and that means we can afford to offer the samsung galaxy a12 and premium wireless together for just fifteen dollars a month. so let's all just use our imaginations, 'kay? just imagine me someplace festive no, no, don't make it weird. at the same time countries including the u.s. are slamming the door on travel from south africa as we wait to assess how dangerous the omicron variant is, one of the early doctors there treating it says the cases she has seen, as i mentioned earlier, have been relatively mild. now, if that holds true, it's certainly good news. but as we have been discussing, it's really too soon to tell whether that pattern will hold or not over larger case numbers. sadly, with only about one in four south africans vaccinated, answers should come sooner there than here. cnn's david mackenzie joins us now from johannesburg. so, what are doctors in south africa saying about the symptoms and the rates of transmission that they are seeing from this omicron? >> reporter: well, anderson, if you look at the numbers, hospitalizations are doubling in the province i am sitting in now every seven days. that is a rapid rise. so, the expectation is that this variant could be more transmissible. whether it's more severe, the jury is still out. as you said, some doctors are saying they are seeing less severe cases. but the early cluster outbreak of this surge was from a university. you know, so that lends itself already to less severe disease. >> so, what do we know about the medical community? i mean, about what they expect during this critical two-week period as the world is waiting to see how the various vaccines respond? >> well, this is the critical period. and earlier-this year, we were in a lab where they were trying to do just the same thing with the beta variant. challenging live virus in the lab to get a sense if it escapes previous immunity. and crucially, the vaccines. now, a bit of good news, though it's early days, there is expectation from scientists here that it will hold up on some level. the vaccines will hold up. and also, the vast majority of patients right now in hospitals in south africa are those that are unvaccinated, anderson. >> south africa, to its credit, has been very proactive and forthcoming with its data, which is certainly not the case we saw with china early on in this. what's been the reaction inside the country to the number of other nations around the globe now imposing travel bans? they cannot be pleased about this. >> well, let me put it this way. told me that it's disgusting. another one said that not only is it unhelpful, it really is pointless at this point. you know, president biden said this is to buy time for scientists in the u.s. to kind of gather their thoughts, get people prepared. and maybe, that's true in terms of booster shots and vaccines. but scientists here say even though south africa was very swift in warning the world about the possible dangers of this variant, the cat's already out of the bag. you are seeing cases crop up everywhere possible. community transmission outside of the southern africa region. so, the w.h.o. and others are saying, well, while it might seem like these are useful measures, it's really more about showing that they -- that politicians are doing something, rather than actually having a public health impact. anderson. >> david mackenzie, appreciate you being there in johannesburg, south africa. back with dr. gupta and wen. by the way, has spent time living and working in south africa. sanjay, as david was saying, the variant is now dominant in south africa even though it was only detected two weeks ago. um, when you hear from some doctors there that the symptoms have been mild, what should we take from that? because i mean, is it possible that if a mild virus is more transmissible, is that actually a bad thing at all? i mean, if -- if it gets people -- if it's more mild than something else and people get immunity or some level of immunity after having it, is that a bad thing? >> i -- i think it is. i mean, i don't think it's a good strategy because, you know, people can still get sick and, you know, as david pointed out, this initial cluster was in college students. what about older people? what about, you know, people who don't have any immunity yet? i think the vaccination rate around there is under 40%. so, um, we -- we -- we just -- we don't know. but i think the idea that something is contagious and, therefore, you say, hey look, let's let it sort of spread and potentially get to infection-acquired immunity across the population is dangerous because when you start to get that in a large population of people, there will be people who get sick. hospitals start to become overwhelmed. i want to show you one thing, anderson, if we have this. i looked at the data specifically in the province and this is the area i think david was talking about. this is -- this is just basic data from their healthcare system if we have it but basically, thee weeks ago compared to now, you do see hospitalization rates are increasing. this is sort of their late spring at this point. so, this is probably not flu. weather's getting warmer. hospitalization rates have gone up. so is that related to this? we don't know. you know that there is usually a lag time between hospitalizations and new cases. but that's the sort of data people are going to be paying attention to, to determine is this -- is there evidence that this is actually making people sicker? >> dr. wen, you wrote an op-ed for "the washington post" saying president biden was right to commit to travel restrictions but that it's not enough. what would be enough specifically in your view because obviously there is very little known about what this variant means? >> i mean, travel restrictions are really hard. they cause economic hardships. they are clearly opposed by the countries that are affected by them. and my point here is travel restrictions can work if they're done the right way in terms of buying us time. but right now, what president biden has is this really porous system that's not going to do much good. but citizens can still come back and i think that is a good thing. we should have americans return to their own country but why not also put them up in quarantine hotels? and as many other countries have instituted, why not also retest them and have additional screening protocols if we know there is a high prevalence of omicron from these areas? i am not saying we shouldn't have travel restrictions but rather if we are going to go that way anyway and try to do everything that we can, then we should really do it right. or else it is just something that's done for cosmetic and political reasons. i also think that more can be done in this country as well when it comes to compelling vaccinations. and also, if we are already experiencing a delta surge and on top of that, we are worried about omicron, why not also have president biden ask states, locales, businesses to reimplement indoor mask mandates? >> sanjay, dr. wen, appreciate it. thank you reminder join us wednesday night this time for a special "cnn town hall." we will no doubt have more information by then, perhaps better answers to your questions and concerns. be sure to tune in with dr. fauci and others. coming up next tonight, the congresswoman who appears to be doubling down tonight on defiance, instead of simply apologizing for the offensive things she said about a muslim sitting member of congress. the new sensodyne repair and protect with deep repair has the science to show that the toothpaste goes deep inside the exposed dentin to help repair sensitive teeth. my patients are able to have that quality of life back. i recommend sensodyne repair and protect with deep repair. look, serena williams... matrix... serena... matrix... serena... matrix... ♪ get your tv together with the best of live and on demand. introducing directv stream. 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i looked to my left and there she is. ilhan omar. i said well, she doesn't have a backpack. we should be fine. >> both, before and after those remarks, congresswoman boebert refers to congresswoman omar as a member as i said of the jihad squad. friday, she put out a semi-apology to quote anyone in the muslim community i offended. this comes just days after republican congressman paul gosar was censured for posting a death fantasy video featuring a cartoon version of himself killing congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez. if mccarthy does as he did with congressman gosar, which was to avoid saying anything publicly about it until asked directly by reporters, it will be up to democrats again to weigh disciplinary action. for more on how many might unfold politically, we are joined by democratic strategist james carville. so, james, you hear these -- these comments. i mean, do you think democrats should try to do something? or is it a waste of time? >> look at lauren boebert's rap sheet. paul gosar, every one of his siblings campaigns against him. these are not quality people and you should just -- kevin mccarthy can't do anything. most of his majority approves of the seditious criminal acts that took place on january the 6th. and what congressman omar should do is i'm working day and night with president biden trying to get vaccines distributed, jobs created, solving supply chain issues. and -- and let them dwell in their own stupidity. >> it just seems like there is an awful lot of folks in congress who aren't actually doing anything. you know, i mean, i don't -- i mean, boebert's not exactly in the forefront of a lot of legislation. um, it just seems like there is a lot of people who are just, you know, working on their social media profile and trying to raise money so that they can continue -- i don't know -- getting whatever free parking spaces they get by being a member of congress. >> and that's exactly what i am suggesting. don't -- don't even try. you can't -- you can't imagine the level these people will go to. just talk about things you trying to do for your district in the country. don't go there because reporters are going to go and say -- ask her something. they are going to run down the hall, ask somebody else something and they are going to go back and forth. just go away from it. paul gosar of -- of -- or marjorie taylor greene or boebert or any of these people. just let 'em go. mccarthy can't do anything. he's a pretzel he's so tied in a knot. just laugh at him. just be amused by it. but don't -- don't get in the volley in this. it's not the place you want to be. >> so, what -- i mean, what happens? the more people get elected like this, who are just mining their social media profiles, trying to get more instagram followers and tweets and stuff like that. what happens to not only the republican party but also just our democracy? >> well, we got a problem. we got a lot of crazy people in this country and a lot of 'em vote. and we got to work really hard and people like me, the democrats, have got the only chance for this country. we got to work hard to -- to try to win as many elections as we can. but this country's always had a lot of crazy people, and seems like now we might have more than normal. but the response to them can't be we'll see your crazy and then we'll raise you another crazy. the response is we're not getting in this game. we're -- president biden's doing a hell of a job if you look at these economic numbers, they're staggering. the ceo of walmart was bragging what a good job he was doing helping them with the supply chain. use this as a way to pivot and get out and talk about things that matter to people. people don't care lauren boebert's -- >> you don't think there is a danger in not responding and not trying to censure? you just think it is a waste of time? >> the danger is getting bogged down in there and spending 48 hours on a censure resolution. it -- these are just bad people. and they're not going to change their behavior. at all. and it -- it -- and it doesn't do you any good to engage with them. you cannot -- i don't know congresswoman omar but she strikes me as a really good american. a well-motivated woman. i probably disagree with on some issues. but -- but she is a quality person and you don't need to get into this. let them swim in their own slop. you don't need to be there. >> you have been critical of the democratic party going too far left, too woke you said. but would you agree that this situation is not that? i mean -- >> the woke thing is -- to me -- is kind of silliness. all right? it's well-meaning people with too much education and too much time on their hands. this is crazy. this is not -- this is not -- this is not some -- some well-meaning people trying to change the way that people talk. these are people that approve of sedition. these are people that approve of the criminality you see. these are people that put up violent images on the internet about murdering people. it's not the same thing. being naive is not anywhere close to being the equivalent of being evil. at all. >> and that's what you believe these people are? >> well, i -- i -- let's put it this way. i -- they're certainly very tolerant of what i think happened on january 6th. i think it's pure evil when you -- you stormed the capitol. you -- beating up policemen, you are trying to stop a constitutionally required procedure in the congress of the united states. yeah, that's not good at all. and you shouldn't approve of this. and mccarthy is leading a caucus of people who overwhelmingly don't want to do anything about this, who probably at some level even support it. it's just not the same thing as being a kind of woke on some college campus and storming the capitol is -- they're not comparable acts. >> james carville, always appreciate talking to you. thank you, james. >> you bet. coming up next. this is a different -- this is different because lives are a at stake. we are going to visit this new covid variant and the republican congressman, a doctor, no less. i mean, this guy -- again, this is just one of those things you just shake your head at. a doctor who calls it a plot to steal the next election -- the new variant. you get more with aarp medicare advantage plans from unitedhealthcare. like $0 copays on tier 1 and tier 2 prescription drugs. ♪ wow! ♪ ♪ uh-huh. ♪ $0 copays on primary care visits. ♪ wow! ♪ ♪ uh-huh. ♪ and with unitedhealthcare, you get access to medicare advantage's largest provider network. ♪ wow! ♪ ♪ uh-huh. ♪ most plans even have a $0 premium. so go ahead. take advantage now. ♪ wow! ♪ we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. look, if your wireless carrier was a guy, you'd leave him tomorrow. not very flexible. not great at saving. you deserve better—xfinity mobile. now, they have unlimited for just $30 a month. $30. and they're number 1 in customer satisfaction. his number? delete it. i'm deleting it. so break free from the big three. xfinity internet customers take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings. or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. even as we are seeking answers on the latest coronavirus variant to raise alarm bells, the one sadly predictable fact of this pandemic remains. what ought to be a question of public health alone has become politicized. and sadder still, this deadly hybrid of disease and politics, it is also mutating. case in point, this tweet from a doctor who once had the rare honor of taking care of the former president. here's what now-congressman ronny jackson posted about omicron. here comes the mev, the midterm election variant, exclamation mark. they need a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. democrats will do anything to cheat during an election but we are not going to let them. that's where we are tonight. joining us, andy slavitt, author of preventable, the inside story of how leadership, failures, politics, and selfishness doomed of the u.s. coronavirus response. i have always thought, andy, that doctors are just incredibly intelligent, smart people. this guy -- he's either an idiot or just incredibly machiavellian because now, he needs to get elected to represent his district supposedly represent them. i don't know exactly what he's doing. um, but he's just now making just this complete conspiracy theory. he's a doctor. i mean, he -- he's supposed to do no harm. he actually is doing harm. >> yeah. i -- anderson, i agree with you. i think it's cynical and in a word, it's dangerous. you know, he knows that this was not invented even in the united states, let alone by democrats in the united states. you know, anyone can see that it's been watching this that -- that scientists have been reporting these very troubling developments in south africa and we have all been reacting to it in real-time. um, but sadly, the reason it's dangerous is because unfortunately, there are people that listen to people like him either because he is a doctor or because he's a congressman. and so, he needs to take some responsibility. um, all of the -- all the bashing of -- of the congressman aside, you are doing things particularly as a physician that put people in danger as he is doing is something that is really regrettable. >> he was slimy as a doctor. i mean, i think most people will remember one of the press conferences he gave when the former president was in the hospital when he was just lying by omission. avoiding, you know, actually saying factual things to the press. for some reason, he held the press briefing and yet, he was giving, you know, inaccurate information and certainly inaccurate impression of the president's condition to reporters as a doctor in his role at the white house. and now, he's a member of congress just, i guess he feels even freer to -- to do this kind of thing. um, how does the president now -- president biden -- try to effectively manage concerns about this variant in a nonpolitical way? i mean, do you think supporters of the former president believe anything the administration says at this point? >> we have enough to worry about without getting distracted by this kind of nonsense. um, and, you know, it -- the most dangerous thing is that state legislatures and governors -- mostly -- almost entirely in republican states have passed 100 laws that prohibit states from enacting common sense public health measures, like asking people to wear masks when they go inside buildings. those hundred laws are things that, um, in the light of day and in the light of omicron, people should take down and say, oops, we should not be restricting our ability to save people's lives. i think president biden said it well today when he said this is the reason for concern but it's not reason for panic. and it's certainly not reason for politics. so i think he needs to just be very steady and his team is very steady. i spent much of the day talking to them. they have got a plan. they'll execute the plan. we have plenty of tools. all of us have plenty of tools. we should all get boosted. that's becoming very clear from the cdc. everybody should get boosted. and -- and then, that's how we'll manage this. >> yeah. andy slavitt, appreciate your time. thank you. coming up next. tonight, there is breaking news. tiger woods speaking for the first time since his car accident about his health and his future in golf. we are joined by the reporter who got the exclusive. ers from a spider bite? 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(gasps) ♪ did it work? only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ spider-man no way home in theaters december 17th ♪ ♪ [doorbell] ♪ ♪ [doorbell] ♪ ♪ [doorbell] all the delivery. no delivery fees. dashpass. what i've learned from so many years . . . . . . of living with hiv is to enjoy every moment. my name is hugo and i'm on biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment . . . . . . used for hiv in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights hiv to help you get to . . . . . . and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low, it cannot be measured by a lab test. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding . . . . . . or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv . . . . . . keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. breaking news. for the first time, pro golfer tiger woods is speaking out about his health and his future in the sport after his car accident back in february. he broke the internet recently when he posted this video of him hitting golf balls. quote, making progress, end quote he wrote as the caption for the video. but in a new interview with golf digest, he says his days of being a full-time golfer are over. he will pick up and choose which tournaments he plays in. he also had this to say. >> been a hell of a road and, um, a long one, a sore one. but i am making some really positive strides. i had some really, you know, tough, tough days. some -- some really hard, hard weeks. some setbacks here and there. overall, everything is progressing nicely. but it -- just not at my timetable and at the speed i would like to heal at. >> joining us now is former professional golfer, henni koyack, who did that interview. she is now a golf digest correspondent. were you surprised when tiger woods told you that his career is going to look a lot differently going forward? >> no. you know, i think he's been doing an incredible job of managing his rehab in the last nine months. um, as we just heard him say, it we heard him say it wasn't on his timetable. i'm sure he would love it to be healed quicker. but it's phenomenal he is where he is in those nine short months. it was lreally able to hear fro him, especially for his fans to be able to see him and see him smile and know that he's happy and healthy and he does have a club back in his hand. >> did he say how often he wants to compete? >> in the interview today he quoted mr. hogan's schedule which ranges from five to nine times a year and he would love to be able to play as much as he can and prepare as best he can for when he does appear out on tour. you know, i think as he says to me today, he just is incredibly happy to be where he is at but it's taken a lot of hard work and as we're seeing in this video now just for him to, he spoke so brilliantly about the emotions he feels just to be able to have a golf club back in his hand and what golf really means to him and i finished the interview feeling like at times i wanted to cry from, you know, the emotion that he spoke with and cry from laughter as well with his humor and his mindset. on his journey. >> he also spoke to you in terms of the injuries that he suffered in the motor vehicle crash back in february. i want to play some of that. >> i was basically immobilized for call it three to five months where i couldn't activate my core. i was just laying there. i lost all my core strength and when i bent over obviously everyone knows i've had five back operations so bending over and holding a putting position with the right leg trembling because there is no strength in it, looked like the wind was blowing and there was no wind. so that was a bit of an eye opener. >> he's had five back operations. it is incredible that he can still, i mean, swing. it is really remarkable. did he talk about his routine with you? >> yeah, he spoke a little bit about the journey that he has been on over the last nine months and as you said, it really is just phenomenal that he is swinging a club again right now. the thing that stands out for me in my years working for and with him is his mindset and how strong that is and how positive he is able to remain. he speaks a lot about a lesson he learned from his dad, which was just go meal to meal one step at a time one day at a time and eventually you know he ends up here where he is at, able to swing a club. as you said, break the internet. >> wow. >> it will never not amaze me his mind set. to him it is so normal but to listen is incredible. >> a fascinating interview. i really appreciate your time tonight. thank you. >> thank you. up next, a story that is going to make you smile and want to sing forever more. tony bennett's story, from his farewell concert. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list event. hey, it's ryan reynolds. as owner of mint mobile, my goal is to spend as little as possible on things like commercials so we can pass more savings to customers. and when i saw what they're charging for holiday-themed stock videos these days, well, you can see what i decided to do. and that means we can afford to offer three months of free service on any plan, including unlimited. so let's all just use our imaginations, 'kay? just imagine me someplace festive no, no, don't make it weird. ♪ ♪ cases of anxiety in young adults are rising as experts warn of the effects on well-being caused by the pandemic. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ baby got back by sir mix-a-lot ♪ unlimited cashback match... only from discover. i know it is easy to be depressed by the news of the new variant today so we thought we'd close with a few moments of music and hope and wonder. last night tony bennett's last concert aired on cbs. he played two amazing nights in new york last month with lady gaga. it is amazing because not only is he 95 but also has dementia from alzheimers disease. i reported on tony's last performances for "60 minutes" a few weeks ago and was so moved to see how his mind still remembers the things he loves. his wife susan, his kids, and his music. >> wow! ♪ >> once he saw the audience, and, you know, he raises his hands. i knew we were all right. because he became himself. he just turned on. it was like a light switch. ♪ let someone ♪ >> his wife susan you just heard. i spent time with him in the weeks before the concert. it is amazing what happens when tony hears the music he has performed his whole life. here is part of my report from cbs's "60 minutes." >> how you doing, handsome? >> okay. >> you want to look over here at me? >> when it was time to rehearse, something incredible happened. tony's accompanist began playing and suddenly the legendary showman was back. ♪ let someone start believing in you ♪ ♪ let him hold out his hand let him find you and watch what happens ♪ ♪ smile though your heart is aching smile even though it's breaking ♪ >> he had no notes, no cue cards. ♪ when there are clouds in the sky you'll get by ♪ >> we were amazed. all his old songs were somehow still there. he sang an hour long set from memory. ♪ if you just smile ♪ [ applause ] >> tony bennett, remarkable. the news continues. let's hand it over to chris for "cuomo primetime." >> he is a remarkable guy. i was very lucky to have tony in my life for a long time. he was a good friend of my parents and it is not unusual for somebody to have something that is really encoded in their mind last even when they start to deal with dementia or whatever the variety of malady is. but he is one of the few who has transcended more decades, more generations, and there is so much people don't know about him. i just hope they find out, he lets them find things out before he's gone. even the high school that he put together in queens he named it after frank sinatra instead of himself because he said i don't deserve a school. >> he fought at battle of the bulge, in selma with dr. martin luther king.