the day. we re going to take you live to pa so. and unfolding this morning at airports nationwide, frustrated and confused passengers still stranded with southwest airlines in the midst of that meltdown. transportation secretary pete buttigieg is calling for accountability. it comes as thousands are trying to recover from that once in a lifetime blizzard that left more than 60 people dead. we ll take you live to buffalo for the latest. also this morning, we re keeping a close eye on the vatican. pope francis calling for prayers for his predecessor, the retired pope benedict, as his health worsens. and with covid cases rising sharply in china, two officials now tell nbc news that the white house is weighing new travel requirements for travelers from china. we begin with the ongoing legal limbo for migrants trying to come to the u.s. in search of a better and safer life for themselves and for their families. the u.s. supreme court says the public health measure known as tit
transparently reporting their data. health officials here in the u.s. are bracing for the possible surge in respiratory illnesses after the winter holidays and travel. just as school picks up again and folks gather after those hoidays, there maybe another outbreak to worry about. it s strep. the cdc tracking rising cases of strep a, specifically in europe and warning about an increase of severe pediatric cases right here in the u.s. joining us now is the codirector of the center for vaccine development dr. hotez. he s the dean of tropical medicine at baylor college of medicine. it s nice to be with you. we know we re looking a the what can be the potential incubator for a lot of illnesses over the course of the next several weeks. you have all these families gathered. a lot of of people at theme parks. and they want they return home after air travel and it become a
overwhelming the hospitals. think over your new year s eve carefully and be home with people who you are vaccinated or safe. don t make this worse going into the new year. jim? great advice. tom forman, thanks. let s bring in dr. peter hotez, from the center for vaccine development. thanks so much. you know, as pediatric hospitalizations in the u.s. reach the highest that they have been throughout this pandemic, just so alarming. we re learning that the fda will allow the booster shots for 12 to 15-year-olds in the coming days that s got to about god send to a lot of parents waiting for this to happen. yeah. and the reasons, jim, there s twofold concern regarding the kids. threefold, really. the hospitalizations among children s hospitals are starting to increase, so this business that it s not a severe disease doesn t always hold. so we are seeing the kids get hospitalized. so many of the pediatric staff,
co-director of the center for vaccine development. dr. hotez, you saw miguel s piece from texas children s with those heartbreaking stories from your colleagues about patients there. how are hospital staff dealing with this wave that s hitting kids so especially hard? yeah, well, we got a hint of it over the summer with delta, which was more transmissible than previous lineages but this is by far, the king of transmissible covid viruses. so we re seeing unprecedented nu numbers of kids getting infected and going into children s hospitals. i don t think this virus is selectively targeting children. what s happening is we re seeing unfold across the country a virus firestorm, a virus blizzard and so many kids are getting swept up in it. what we tend to see are they come in two flavors. kids admitted for other reasons who are found on routine testing upon admission to be positive. but also kids who are getting sick from covid.