Michael Phelps speaks out on vaccinating Olympic athletes: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Covid-19 cases are again soaring. Plus, we give an update on the Olympics and hear from Michael Phelps on vaccinating athletes, a giant heat wave (again) bakes the West, talks move forward on a bipartisan infrastructure bill and President Joe Biden meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson and this is Five Things You Need to Know, Monday, the 26th of July, 2021.

Taylor Wilson:

Today, the CDC may revert back to its former mass guidelines as COVID-19 cases surge. Plus, what Michael Phelps thinks of athletes getting vaccinated and more.

Taylor Wilson:

Here are some of the top headlines. More than 100,000 people are without power in Metro Detroit after heavy rains and tornadoes, no deaths were reported. 28 high school students have been freed in Nigeria. More than 120 students were abducted in the Northern part of the country. Several other students have escaped, but more than 80 are being held for ransom.

Taylor Wilson:

A Texas man has been arrested after telling his Bumble dating app match that he participated in the January 6th Capitol attack. He's accused of pepper-spraying and assaulting police officers who were trying to prevent riders from entering the building.

Taylor Wilson:

The CDC might be shifting back to its previous mask guidelines. Infectious disease expert. Dr. Anthony Fauchi said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union that he's had conversations about changing the current guidelines, which say that vaccinated people can take off their masks in most situations, outdoors or indoors. That came 11 weeks ago. But since vaccination rates have dropped, they reached a peak of about 3 million shots a day in April, but have dropped to about half a million daily since though Sunday saw a 29% bump from the week before at nearly 800,000 newly vaccinated Americans.

Taylor Wilson:

Some parts of the country, namely the south and rural parts of the west are still severely under-vaccinated. The Biden Administration is well aware of that as White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week,

Jen Psaki:

I don't think our role is to place blame, but what we can do is provide accurate information to people who are not yet vaccinated about the risks they are incurring not only on themselves but also the people around them. And well, if you are a young person, you may think you are superman or superwoman and immune from getting the virus, that is not true. That is not accurate. You can get very sick, you can die from the virus. You can also make your grandparents sick and your parents sick. That is factual information. But we're not here to place blame or threats we're here to provide accurate information.

Taylor Wilson:

But it's not clear how many new steps will be taken beyond health officials telling everyone to again, mask up. That might be necessary as COVID cases have risen 171% nationally fueled by the Delta variant. Deaths have not reached anywhere near peaks last fall and winter. The worst was nearly 4,500 COVID-19 deaths on January 12th and fewer than 500 people died from the virus every day this past week. But deaths still rose 19% from the week before.

Taylor Wilson:

The Biden Administration, like the, often criticized Trump White House is putting the onus on local governments this time on mask-wearing. Los Angeles county and St. Louis are both now requiring indoor and outdoor mask use, regardless of vaccination status. It's becoming increasingly clear that the Delta mutation of COVID-19 is also making younger people sicker than the original virus strain. As local doctors are reporting from around the country. Dr. Katherine O'Neill from Baton Rouge Hospital Our Lady of the Lake regional medical center,

Dr. Katherine O'Neill:

Delta Virus is much more infectious. Its viral load is thousands of times higher than our previous variants. It's going to make even the average healthy person sick now, as opposed to that person may have had great antibodies for last year's virus or at least some immune system for it, but not this year's.

Dr. Katherine O'Neill:

I stood in front of our hospital last year and said, "Kids don't really spread this virus," right? But that was last year's virus. This year's virus, kids are infected and they're spreading it.

Dr. Katherine O'Neill:

Lots of people are going to do okay with COVID. That's not why we get the vaccine. We get the vaccine because of the people around us. We're actually contributing to their health and will contribute to their death if we're un-vaccinated.

Taylor Wilson:

56.8% of Americans are at least partially vaccinated and 49.1% are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Taylor Wilson:

Three days of official competition are in the books at the Tokyo Olympics. US swimmers have added two more metals with a gold in the men's four by 100 freestyle relay and a silver for Katie Ledecky in the women's 400 free. They come as part of 10 total medals for team USA on Sunday, including four goals. That's after being shut out of any metals on day one. But Olympic organizers are keeping a close eye on a tropical storm that's approaching and could impact several events. And the pandemic isn't stopping just for the Olympics, another 10 positive tests were announced Sunday for people connected with the games that bring the total to at least 137, including 16 athletes.

Taylor Wilson:

Not every athlete has come to the games fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That includes about a hundred members of team USA, like swimmer Michael Andrew. Legendary US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is weighing in on the vaccine conversation. As he told USA Today's Sports Josh Peter,

Michael Phelps:

Everybody has the freedom to do whatever they want with their body. And, I think, in this day and age it's hard, it stays challenging. For me, I'm very happy that I was able to get vaccinated when I did. And if I was competing, I would guarantee you that I would be vaccinated as well. I don't like kind of playing with things like that. So for me, this is something that I've always done, I've always been vaccinated. So yeah, I mean, everybody to each their own, right? I don't want to dis anybody. I don't want to talk down to anybody. I mean, we all have the option to do everything and anything that we want. So it's challenging, it's hard, this is a difficult situation for everybody. So yeah, I mean, I don't even know how I'd travel if I wasn't vaccinated, I'm not sure I would feel comfortable traveling. And it's all those other things that are going through your head. So, yeah, it's just a weird time.

Taylor Wilson:

As for the metal count, China leads with 15 overall followed by the US with 14, and host Japan with nine. Team USA is on top of the gold medals chart with seven. For all the latest head to our Olympic updates page on USAtoday.com.

Taylor Wilson:

A giant heatwave is sprawling across the US this week. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, temperatures will be five to 10 degrees higher than average in some places. The reason, another heat dome, the results of a strong change in ocean temperatures in tropical parts of the Pacific Ocean during the previous winter. Warm air from the Western part of the ocean gets trapped in the jet stream as it approaches land and then the atmosphere traps that hot air when it arrives overland.

Taylor Wilson:

Early this week, temperatures in the mid 100s will hit parts of Montana, the upper Missouri Valley, and South Dakota. Over 110 in St. Louis and triple digits, once again, in the Pacific Northwest, by the end of the week. That region got slammed with record-breaking heat last month, causing hundreds of deaths.

Taylor Wilson:

The Western US has already been experiencing severe drought all summer with 95% of the west in drought according to the US drought monitor, and about 80 large wildfires are burning around the country. Elsewhere, parts of New England will largely escape the heat.

Taylor Wilson:

Talks on a possible bipartisan infrastructure bill are moving to their final stages. Senators are pushing to finalize it this week to provide funding for roads, bridges, broadband internet, and more. Senate Republicans blocked the start to formal debate on the legislation last week in a narrow 51 to 49 vote that needed 60 to succeed. Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer also voted against debate after changing his vote to be on the prevailing side to call it up for another vote in the future.

Taylor Wilson:

But Senators from both parties called the setback temporary. Republican Senator Mitt Romney said he expects up to a dozen GOP Senators to support the legislation. And 11 Republicans have signed a letter to Schumer for debate on the Bill on Monday. A 22 member bipartisan negotiating group also issued a statement after last week's failed vote saying, "A final agreement is close." The bipartisan plan has broad support, but Republicans are wary about a Democratic $3.5 trillion plan to help expand Medicare and subsidize two years of community college for Americans. Schumer said last week, he wants votes for both plans before leaving for the August recess, which is set to begin the second week of the month.

Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Monday. The visit comes during reports that the US may withdraw combat troops from the country by the end of this year. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week, that discussions between the two governments have been constructive, but would not say whether Biden is planning to announce a specific date and other withdrawal plans. But Iraq's foreign minister said he expects an agreement will be announced. The US still has about 2,500 troops in the country after a series of drawdowns in recent years, their assignments include counter-terrorism and training Iraqi security forces. The Biden Administration announced a major troop withdrawal from Afghanistan earlier this year.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for listening to Five Things. You can find us wherever you get your audio, including Stitcher, Spotify, Apple podcasts, and more. Thanks as always to Shannon Green and Claire Thornton for their great work on the show. Five Things is part of the USA Today network.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phelps on unvaccinated Olympians