now, and it is spreading, and it is going to increase. for the unvaccinated the, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death. for ourselves, families, and hospitals, they will soon overwhelm, but there s good news. if you are vaccinated and have your booster shots, you are perp protected from severe illness and death. doctors are pointing to the science that says this new variant is less severe. it is replicating at a higher level in the nose, but at a lower level on lung tissue. that is where severe illness occurs. it explains why we do not see cough and fever as often with omicron and why we have more spread, because we are blowing it off more so the upper respiratory package. and, of course, the biden administration is not ruling out new lockdowns and mandates. if the counts keep going up and test positivity keeps going up, we may need to be more restrictive. mandates that is a radioactive word people seem to respond better to that. they work. we are
[national anthem] [national anthem] [national anthem] [national anthem] [national anthem] [national anthem] pete: good saturday morning. our nation s anthem, the perfect way to kick it off. a tradition here on fox & friends weekend. let me say, guys, our viewers not the absolute best, i will confirm those are all viewer pictures that played during that nation s anthem of just absolutely beautiful. it is december 18th, year of our lord, 2021. and it is 6:00 a.m. where rachel is, it is 5:00 a.m. where will is. and it is 4:00 a.m. where i am mountain time because i m at the turning point u.s.a. america fest which kicks off today. registration starts in a few hours. and it is covered all by fox nation. so fox nation has got exclusive coverage here of that entire event. but, until then, we have four hours of fox & friends, rachel, will, good morning. will: good morning, pete. rachel: good morning. will: if not a show that represents america coast to coast thanks fo
number of the pandemic but death number its remain well below highs. we will take of some your questions in a few moments. critics are pushing back on mandates. right there are grim reminders of last year. rich edson starts us off. senior white house officials say americans can avoid president biden s scenario if they get vaccinated and boosted. event cancellations are returning as omicron spreads across the country. here we go again. long lines for covid tests. college basketball games scrapped. professional basketball, football and hockey players are on covid lists. north of the border they played without fans. in new york the christmas spectacular with the rockettes cancelled 4 shows and may cut more. the omicron variant is here in new york city in full force. we are announcing a series of measures to address this situation. outgoing mayor bill de blasio said new york will increase free covid testing including at home kits and distribute masks. white house officials
now, and it is spreading, and it is going to increase. for the unvaccinated the, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death. for ourselves, families, and hospitals, they will soon overwhelm, but there s good news. if you are vaccinated and have your booster shots, you are perp protected from severe illness and death. doctors are pointing to the science that says this new variant is less severe. it is replicating at a higher level in the nose, but at a lower level on lung tissue. that is where severe illness occurs. it explains why we do not see cough and fever as often with omicron and why we have more spread, because we are blowing it off more so the upper respiratory package. and, of course, the biden administration is not ruling out new lockdowns and mandates. if the counts keep going up and test positivity keeps going up, we may need to be more restrictive. mandates that is a radioactive word people seem to respond better to that. they work. we are