kids back into the classroom. the cdc is advising 3 feet of distancing instead of 6 feet for most students as long as masks and other measures are in place and depending on the community rates. joining me, andy slavitt who heads the covid response team. many states regardless are relaxing restrictions as cnn's alex alexandra field reports. >> k to 12 schools that operate safety can open. >> reporter: if even is masked, just 3 feet of students down from 6. >> the bottom line is there never was very good evidence for doing it alt 6 feet, not if kids are masked up. >> reporter: it's not clear how soon schools will implement changes as one said they'll, quote, reserve judgment. the push across the country accelerating as the new covid-19 cases hold steady. fewer than 55,000 new cases daily. still, alabama is one of the latest states moving ahead with plans to eliminate a mask mandate. >> the actual legal krgs of making it a mandate or not, you know, is not up to me, but we, you know, evidence supports their use. >> reporter: masks are no longer mandated in texas. police there say a restaurant manager was stabbed several times after telling the man to put one on. in the northeast, new york is easing indoor dining capacity limits today. new jersey is expanding capacity for restaurants and a slew of other businesses too. >> connecticut now lifting all capacity restrictions on restaurants and many businesses. >> reporter: as restrictions lift, the pace of vaccinations is rising. >> today, day 58, we hit our goal of 100 million vaccinations. >> reporter: president joe biden beating by weeks his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days, but there's a new set of challenges. >> i believe that we're going to be shifting from a supply issue to a demand issue pretty soon. >> reporter: a new survey from the kaiser family foundation and the "washington post" shows nearly four in ten unvaccinated health care workers say they won't get a shot or that they're undecided. more states are on track to expand eligibility to all adults in the next few weeks including nevada, illinois, missouri, and rhode island. and, jake, as we continue to talk about the expansion of access to the vaccines and more and more people getting out as we ease restrictions, we're not likely to get to herd immunity until children are vaccinated. as we discussed before, we won't see older children vaccinated until this fall. younger children, after that. >> thanks so much. joining us is andy slavitt for the white house covid response team. thanks for joining us. what's the news about schools? now the cdc is recommending only 3 feet is recommended, not 6 feet. president biden asked to have all p teteachers vaccinated. is there a reason for schools to not have in-person instruction? >> it's good to be with you, jake. i think you're right. barriers are coming down pretty rapidly for in-person instruction. it started a few weeks ago with the cdc releasing a roadmap to help schools put in place the things they need to put in place. but they also aggressively studied the obstacles. one of those was it's hard to have everybody back in school with space 6 feet apart. they did the science and said it's no longer necessary. as more get vaccinated, there really is a way for schools to begin to get kids back in classrooms. kids still have to wear masks. it's not all systems go. there are still guidelines around cafeterias and so forth, but so far it's a positive move. >> the head of the nation's largest teachers union said, quote, we are concerned that the cdc has changed one of the basic rules for how to ensure school safety without demonstrating certainty that the change is justified by the science. this is not the time to let down our guard, unquote. does the science justify this change to 3 feet, and if so, why does the largest teachers union not know that? >> well, people have -- you know, people, i think, when there are changes, they sometimes feel abrupt to people. the cdc says they've been st studying this for a while. i don't think people accuse them of being hasty in their decision. i hope one thing they know is cdc is acting completely independently by the science. sometimes what comes out of them is very inconvenient and people are annoyed by it and sometimes it's quite positive. whatever it is, it has to be the work done by the scientists. they released several papers that they reviewed and talked about it. they feel quite good about this or they wouldn't put it out there. >> president biden promised to have the majority of k through 8 schools open for in-person learning five day as week by the end of april. does it look like the science is there for that goal to be fulfilled? >> i think the science is there. obviously, these are local decisions, and we're doing everything we can to make sure all the conditions are ripe to open schools safely. when we first started on this right after inauguration, things didn't looked a good, but i think people have been working very, very hard on this. i think we're very strongly in that direction. i think the cdc has said no matter what the circumstances are, there are a way for schools to be open, and i think today's change areally in effect says it's the same size, so it makes it a lot easier. >> we know there's going to be enough of a supply for all adults by the end of may. it's quite different than saying the shots will be in the arms. when will the time be that adults will be able to get access to that supply or get that shot? >> step one is enough vaccines, vax neigh sites, and enough vaccinators. we've done a good job with that. the two challenges, one you pointed out, how quickly they can get the vaccines into people's arms. and when we got here, less than half of the vaccines were making their way into people's arms. today it's like 80%. people are doing a much better job. states are staying open later, vaccination sites. and the third thing which you also mentioned. vaccines are great and they have to be in someone's arm and someone has to want to have it in their arm. at some point we're going to get to a set of people who are kind of on the fence about whether or not they want the vaccine or not. more and more people will get off the fence and take the vaccine as they see the evidence, but that's going to be a lot of local conversations, and i suspect that will be the last factor. we'll have the vaccines and the places to go, but we're going to have to have these local dialogues with people to help them understand and answer the questions about the vaccines. >> so you think it needs to be local? my understanding based on polling is that the biggest resist ters of the vaccine are trump supporters. would it not be beneficial to have donald trump do a psa or have sean hannity, tucker carlson, any of the people very popular in the make ga ga commu come out and talk about how positive the vaccines are? >> i think all that stuff helps marginally. the truth is what people say, particularly conservatives, they don't want an authority to try to convince them to take a vaccine. what they want is not that different than what other folks want. they've got a series of questions and they don't want to feel like they're being manipulated. they want to feel like they're getting straight answers to those questions. when asked where does that come from for you, oftentimes it's their local doctor, local pharmacist, sometimes it's their clergy or someone in their life that they trust. the vaccines tell a great story, so getting that information out to people is important. and then i'd also say you have to fight disinformation. people pick up rumors on social media that aren't true. for people who are needle-phobic, there are 10-inch needles that they're going to get, and that can be damaging. >> right now the number of vaccines administered daily is 2.5 million. what do you want that number to be? >> i don't want to sound flip, but there's not a number high enough to get people vaccinated fast enough. we set a goal of 100 million in 100 days. that was the floor for us. we've seen a high of 3.2 million in a day for the flu during peak season. we can do about 3 million a day. we're challenging ourselves to beat that. i'm not predicting that we will, but i'm saying we can make it go up from here. even if we hold it steady from here, 2.5 million, we're in pretty good shape, but i don't think we're going to try to rest on that. we're going to try to beat it. >> andy slavitt, thanks so much. come on the show much more. we love talking about this issue. >> of course. any time. tomorrow night join cnn's miguel marquez on the story of loss and survival experience during that pandemic. the cnn special report "the human cost of covid" airs tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. coming up, it was to be a trip to support the covid vaccination, but because of the spa murders, that changed. right now we're going to talk about the bodies of women who are being used in war. stay with us. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. get 2 unlimited lines for only $70. and now get netflix on us with your plan. and this rate is fixed, you'll pay exactly $70 total. this month and every month. plus, switch today and get a free smartphone for each line. the best value and award-winning customer service. only at t-mobile. antibacterial or moisturizing body wash? definitely moisturizer! antibacterial can i have both? new dove care & protect body wash eliminates 99% of bacteria and moisturizes for hours two for one! can i keep it? new dove care & protect, zero compromise! ♪ ♪ this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... ...with humira. humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage and clear skin in many adults. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your rheumatologist about humira. go to humira.com to see proof in action. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. you're strong. you power through chronic migraine - 15 or more headache days a month, ...each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. so, if you haven't tried botox® for your chronic migraine, ...check with your doctor if botox® is right for you, and if samples are available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection ...causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, ...speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness... ...can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions... ...neck and injection site pain... ...fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions... ...and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. 95% of patients may pay as little as zero dollars for botox®. so, text to see how you can save. botox® has been preventing headaches and migraines before they even start for 10 years. so, ask your doctor about botox® today. if you wanna be a winner then get a turkey footlong from subway®. that's oven roasted turkey. piled high with crisp veggies. on freshly baked bread! so, let's get out there and get those footlongs. now on grubhub, buy one footlong, get one 50% off. how great is it that we get to tell everybody subway®. eat fresh. how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance footlong, get one 50% off. so you only pay for what you need? i mean it... uh-oh, sorry... oh... what? i'm an emu! no, buddy! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ in our politics lead, at any moment we're expecting president biden to speak from atlanta. he's there with vice president harris meeting with the asian-american community who are still reeling from the spa shootings. the plan was to tout his 1 pres1$.9 trillion relief bill, but the shooting has made his mission a much more solemn one. he's attempting to serve as consoler in chief as cnn's jeff zeleny reports. >> reporter: president biden visiting atlanta today, condemning rising acts of hatred and rising hatred toward asian-american. at this hour president biden and vice president harris are meeting with community leadering in the wake of a rampage that killed eight people this week including six asian women. he wants to pass an act. the president and vice president also visiting cdc headquarters in atlanta. >> your support for cdc is so important. >> reporter: receiving a briefing from officials on a day where the administration hailed the milestone of hitting 100 million coronavirus shots with a promise to reach 200 million doses in arms by his 100th day in office by the end of april. >> we owe you a gigantic debt of gratitude, and we will for a long, long, long time because i hope this is the beginning of the end of not paying attention. >> reporter: earlier in the day as he left washington on a windy morning, biden struggled to find his footsing as h i i ing as he stairs, promoting a spokeswoman to say he's fine. for biden and harris, there's no state like georgia that went blue. the state also delivered two new democratic senators ending republican control of the senate. it paved the way for their agenda and passage of the american rescue plan. the white house picked georgia on the stop but it was canceled after the deadly asian-american shootings. >> they auld to investigate it as a hate crime and investigate the people living in georgia. >> reporter: state representative bee nguyen was speaking there. a white house official tells me they're going to force fwli condemn the violence against asian-americans, jake. the question is will they describe this as a hate crime. >> thanks so much. in our international lead we're learning more about the victims. today they released the names of all eight victims. the husband of one of the victims said the most valuable thing in his life was taken from him. the question is what led to these heinous acts. christopher wray does not think he played a role. >> reporter: as a community comes together to grieve, cnn is learning more about the lives that were violently taken on tuesday. all four killed at the two spas in atlanta were asian women. 74-year-old soon sy pack. 51-year-old hyun jchlt grant, 69-year-old suncha kim and 63-year-old yongyue. at the asian massage the victim have been identifieded a 49, tan. she was loving and unselfish. fang, 44, paul andre michelle is 54, and 33-year-old delina ashley yong. >> this is so heartbreaking. he took a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a sister for no reason. this family is broken because of this man. it is so hard on everybody today. this man taking this innocent angel from us. he took an angel from earth who would do anything for anybody. >> reporter: the 30-year-old was shot in the head according to his wife who started a gofundme page, but he survived. he called her on the phone and said, i have been shot. please come. i need you. as president biden and vice president harris meet with the community, local authorities say they're looking at everything to determine whether or not the three spa shootings were racially motivated. christopher wray told npr thursday he doesn't believe race played a role. >> while the motive remains still under investigation at the moment, it does not appear that the motive was racially motivated. >> reporter: the fbi is currently playing a limited role in the investigation into the killing spree where six out of the eight women were asian women. director wray's comments was upsetting to the community. >> it's infuriating. everybody looking at it, they smell and see it's a hate crime. >> i'm going to point out two things. one is in the state of georgia, 4% is asian-american. however, all of the victims of this crime, of the eight victims, 75% of them were afgs american. >> now, you heard from georgia state senator dr. michelle au. i also spoke with a state representative who tells me that they together will be pushing for the white house to call for the shootings to be investigated as hate crimes but they'll also be pushing for initiative for asians to report crimes against them. they're severely limited in reporting because of the language barrier and status and they genuinely feel asian crimes are not taken seriously. it doesn't capture the full picture, jake. >> amara walker with that important report. thank you so much. coming up, a cnn investigation in a country where rape is being used as a weapon of war. we're going to hear from one of the survivors. stay with us. i'm a verizon engineer. we built our 5g nationwide so millions of people could do what they love in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. want to brain better? unlike ordinary memory supplements— neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. i've always focused on my career. but when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths always calmed him. so we turned bath time into a business. and building it with my son has been my dream job. at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com [ traffic passing by ] [ birds chirping ] mondays, right? what? i said mondays, right? [ chuckles ] what about 'em? just trying to make conversation. switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. our world lead, brand-new cnn investigation revealing the heartbreaking and extremely disturbing reality of women in ethiopia where an escalating conflict has caused thousands of deaths and others to leave their homes. they announced that the administration was sending more than $50 million in aid to the region and sending chris coons, democrat of delaware there to meet with the country's prime minister and address what secretary of state blinken has labeled an ethnic cleansing. >> the challenge in ethiopia is very significant and it's one that we're very focused on, particularly the situation in tee ray where we're seeing human rights atrocities that are ongoing. >> soldiers are using rape as a weapon of war, and we want to warn you some of what you're about to see and hear is graphic. we hear the descriptions of a humanitarian crisis and ethnic crisis. who's responsible for these alleged crimes? >> well, what we're hearing from the women we've been speaking to, jake, really is they feel like no man in uniform is safe for them. a combination of militia groups, soldiers from a neighboring area, even here. just a few months ago this was a safe haven for tigrayans. nows that i describing a toxic mix of all of those forces, them blocking them just from across the river where we're standing here from coming to safety. they feel that shadow, jake. they feel that fear. >> and you were able to speak with a doctor who's treating some of the women who have been attacked and even one of the victims. >> reporter: we went to a clinic where this extraordinary surgeon when he w