Good afternoon. Im chuck todd. Here are the facts at this hour. Any moment were expecting to hear from new Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on whether schools will remain closed in the state. That as andrew cuomo is saying hes sending 100 ventilators to new jersey. And although hospitalizations in his state are down. New jersey likely coordinates with new york on that one. In about two hours, President Trump will join a teleconference with governors to discuss federal guidelines for reopening their states. And the Labor Department officially announced another 5. 2 Million People filed initial unemployment claims last week. Fourth consecutive week of essentially record jobless claims. This latest number means the u. S. Economy has erased nearly all job gains since the Great Recession ended in 0809. We have a team of reporters all over the country right now to bring you the facts as we know them this hour. First, a tragic story out of new jersey thats part of a bigger crisis facing this country when it comes to covid19. 17 bodies were discovered piled into a small morgue at one of the largest Nursing Homes in the state. The police first found the bodies this weekend at andover Rehabilitation Center after an anonymous tip. 68 people have died at this facility, including two staff members. This incident highlighting how vulnerable residents of Nursing Homes, longterm care facilities are to this pandemic. Joining me now is ron allen. He is live in andover, new jersey, this afternoon. Ron, a story like this, you ask yourself, how much of this is a nursing home facility overwhelmed . And how much of this is, on them, that this happened. What do we know . Its tragic all the way around, chuck. In addition to that, what you were reporting there is we believe there may be 70 more residents who are infected with the virus and as many as 40 staff as well. Theres been a lot of activity happening and right over here, police are gathering. Theyre about to make some kind of announcement. A local congressman has been demanding that fema, the National Guard come in here to do something about this place. The owner has been not cooperating. Hasnt been returning phone calls, not even to local officials we talked to. He released a statement saying that the backlog in the mortuary was due to the holiday weekend. And the accelerated high number of deaths, unusually high number of deaths in a short period of time. The statement sounded like he was trying to reassure the public and families who are terrified by this who have loved ones here that the situation is under control, but what were hearing from others who are watching out here are theyre not satisfied by any of that. Its they say that theres not enough staffing. They are worried about whether they are following the disinfecting controls, the nursing home has said that they are isolating patients who have covid. But the bottom line is this is a 700bed facility. A sprawling facility. Weve heard so many stories of how when a patient in a nursing home or resident, longterm Care Community tests positive, it just spreads like wildfire. And its a horrifying thought for anyone who has a loved one in one of these kinds of communities. So the local officials here are demanding action. They want to see fema. They want to see the National Guard. We expect that governor murphy is going to address the situation in his briefing thats about to happen. Weve been calling for a response from the state, the county. Weve been referred to that briefing. Hopefully hes going to Say Something thats going to give us some indication of whats going to be done about this situation here. Just horrific by any stretch of the imagination. Im just ron, im still just trying to absorb the fact that the owner of the facility said there was a backlog due to the holiday over the weekend and going, wait a minute. There is no yes, there was a holiday, but were all living a much different life. There is no up or down. So that seems like it just seems like an excuse that isnt going to match the facts at some point. But it was an anonymous tip. Can you walk through that . It was an anonymous tip somebody call in. Clearly people in the facility were concerned that not that the Larger Community didnt know. The local congressman here, Josh Gottheimer got a call from the administrator saturday night saying we need body bags. That was the call. We need body bags. Can you imagine that . There was also a call from some anonymous staffers saying there was a body somewhere out in a shed. Now that turned out not to be true, and its our understanding that that body was brought in from the shed and may have been amongst the 17 or so that were found in this mortuary which, as i understand it, weve been told, was built to accommodate as many as four or five bodies, not 17. So the alarm went off, and then people started responding. And, yes, the holidays were reality. We understand that the owner is an orthodox jew, practicing his religion during the holidays presumably which, of course, is a sensitive issue, but this is the reality of what were hearing out here. So that might explain something of what happened over that period of time, and his statement saying that, in fact, that it was a backlog due to the holida holidays. I can also tell you he said there are still eight other victims, fatalities here that theyre trying to remove those bodies at some point today, too. Chuck . Oh, my god. Just and youre right, ron. It feels like so many hot spots around this Country Center around a nursing or senior facility. Ron allen in andover, new jersey. Approximately 10 to 20 of the u. S. Coronavirus cases are now Health Care Workers which is always a concern due to the influx on hospitalizations. As the epidemic grows, doctors and nurses face the challenge of their lives, their own lives. Joining me is dr. Ann ramon, professor of epidemiology. So let me start with this was always one of the concerns and i think the biggest concern is losing workers and the morale issue that goes with that. Absolutely. Absolutely. This is one of the things i think people are failing to consider here. Health care workers are putting themselves out there every single day. And while we are so appreciative of their bravery and of their courage and of their dedication, they are humans, too, that are undoubtedly facing stressors that are hard for people who are not there on a daily basis to imagine. And so we need to be thinking about them as a vulnerable population and a precious population. Doctor, i dont mean to interrupt you but were following this new jersey nursing home case and theres an update from the governor. My apologies. Heres Governor Phil Murphy where were expecting more details on the gruesome discovery of 17 bodies stored in a mortuary where there was room for four. From here, in each case, if we will do electronic notification as it relates to the overnight data and realities on sunday unless we think the group of us think it is meaningful to meet even by telephone in which case well let you know. Im joined by judy perukeli also dr. Ed lifshiz. And the superintendent colonel pat callahan. So well get right to the numbers if we can. Today were reporting an additional 4,391 positive cases. Positive test results. And for a total of 75,317 New Jerseyans who have now tested positive. According to our online dashboard, as of 10 00 p. M. Last evenin evening, 8 221 residents were reported hospitalized of whom 880 were in critical or intensive care. 46 patients are at one of our field medical stations, and between 10 00 p. M. Tuesday and 10 00 p. M. Last night, happy to say 802 residents were discharged from our hospitals. As i announced yesterday, the daily reports from our three veterans homes have been added to the online dashboard. And as judy will get into more color on all of the above. And as we note every day all of these numbers are just a snapshot in time, overnight changes or late reports may not yet be reflected in the posted data. Sadly, with the heaviest of hearts we have the duty to report the loss of another 362 New Jerseyans. 362 blessed members of our state and our community due to covid19 related complications. Our statewide toll now sits at 3,518. And that is now officially more than the lives lost from fellow New Jerseyans in the First World War in total. God bless their souls, each and every single one of them. Here are three stories of those we have lost recently. First up, michael burke. Lets get michael up there. God bless him. Look at that guy. Born in paterson but for the entirety of his life called nearby little falls home. And he devoted much of that life to his hometown. Mike was a volunteer firefighter, a 48year member of the Singac Fire Company number 3. And for 26 of those years as the companys president. He also served for 14 years as president of little falls fire department. When he wasnt at the fire house or out fighting fires or tending to emergencies, his day job was as Vice President of tritech design inc in little falls. To his son tyler with whom i spoke earlier and his fiance kathy, and the entire little falls community, the mayor reached out as well, we are with you all in mourning mikes passing and his blessed life. We also lost solomon david. There he is. God love him. By the way, lost at the tender age of 41. He was an emt with Trinitas Regional Medical Center in elizabeth for nine years. He also worked at st. Barnabas Medical Center as a hyperbaric Safety Officer in the wounded in the wound care center. But his most important jobs were as husband to his wife renee, and i spoke to renee earlier today. God bless her and father to their children, soul and journey. Solomon was a basketball coach for the North Plainfield nothing but nets organization. He was also a businessman. The owner of his own clothing company, Soulful Journey brand. And its hard not to see where he got that name. Helping people was his true calling, and i know his family and community will miss that the most. May god bless him and each and every one of his family and friends. 75 years ago yesterday, on april 15th, 1945, the Bergen Belsen concentration camp was liberated by british forces. One of those freed that day was margit feldman. She passed away from covid19 complications on tuesday, april 14th. She was just about two months shy of her 91st birthday. She was born margit burkehalter in budapest and grew up in a small town near the border with czechoslovakia. When the nazis came, she and her parents were sent to auschwitz. Her parents were murdered there, but she lied about her age, telling the soldiers she was 18 and not 15, making her eligible to serve forced labor. She would survive being sent to several camps, including one return trip to auschwitz in a death march to bergen belson. She was still just 16 and a survivor at her liberation. She would soon move to sweden and came to the United States in 1947 upon discovering an aunt and uncle who had moved here. Shed become an xray technician and married Harvey Feldman with whom shed raise a family. Their son joseph himself, a medical doctor, working in east orange, and i spoke to him earlier today. And daughter tina. And she and harvey would see their children marry and give them three grandchildren. Harvey, her husband, it should be noted, is currently in morristown Medical Center, also with covid19. Please, everybody, keep him in your prayers. Margit was active in her synagogue and with the Jewish Federation among other organizations. But margits legacy is best captured in her work to ensure that the world never forgets the horrors of the holocaust. She would share her story of survival and liberation with tens of thousands of students across the state and served as a Founding Member of both the new Jersey Holocaust Education Commission and the holocaust and Genocide Institute at rareton Valley Community college. For her, i recall the words of the great eli vizel. Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings. Margit gave us so much hope over her 90plus years. She will be buried tomorrow, two days after the 75th anniversary of her liberation. May her memory be a blessing to her family and to us all. Three remarkable lives of three remarkable New Jerseyans. Each gave so much to their communities and for every single one of them, those we have just lost and those we have lost over the past number of weeks, we take a moment to remember, and we look to our flags flying at halfstaff. This is the ultimate toll of covid19. All of a sudden, social distancing doesnt seem so much of an inconvenience if it means that we dont have to keep mourning so many blessed souls. It remains the key to us flattening the curve and eventually coming down the other side of it to the point where we can responsibly begin the process of reopening our state. Ive been showing this map every day, and i want us all to see it again. Our efforts, folks, are working. Were not home yet, by any means, but our efforts are working. Over the past few weeks, weve taken a map that was once red and bright orange and were turning it lighter and lighter. And thats good news. It means that were aggressively slowing the transmission of covid19. But if we let up, even just a lit, we will risk seeing these colors rapidly turning to bright orange and, please, god, not again to red. The colors determine how fast the spread is doubling. This is our challenge together. Our goals are twofold to flatten the curve and bend it back down. We cannot have a spike. That would be potentially disastrous for our Health Care System and its workers. And it would be countless more deaths. 3,518 is already 3,518 too many. And we know were going to lose more of our blessed residents. But how many more depends on you and we maintaining our practice of social distancing. Of staying at home. Please continue to do just that. It is working. Notwithstanding the loss of these blessed lives. It is working. Together well break the back of the virus as close to zero and begin responsibly to get back on our feet. It is in this vain that today im announcing our Public Schools will remain closed through at least friday, may 15th. Another four weeks. I made this decision in careful consultation with judy and the department of health, as well as the department of education among other key stakeholders. Theres nobody who wants to reopen the schools more than i do. Im a father of four kids, one of whom is in high school and i want him to return to his regular classrooms but i cant do that right now, but i remain hopeful we can. We cannot be guided by emotion. We need to be guided by where the facts on the ground, science and Public Health take us. And that means it will not be safe to reopen our schools or start sports back up for at least another four weeks. I know this is hard. Its hard on all of us. Ive got a senior in college. His graduation ceremonies have been canceled. Its hard. But if we all keep pulling and working together, i hope that it will put me in a position, in a months time, to make a different announcement. There is no doubt we are saving lives, and we must maintain the course. Now please allow me to switch gears to a couple of different topics. I will first address the heavy news that came out last night regarding a longterm care facility in sussex county. I am heartbroken by the tragic news that several individuals have lost their lives in a coronavirus outbreak at the and otover subacute and Rehabilitation Center one and two and pray for the health and recovery of the other residents and employees devastated by covid19. I am also outraged that bodies of the dead were allowed to pile up in a makeshift morgue at the facility. New jerseyans living in our longterm care facilities deserve to be cared for with respect, compassion and dignity. We can and must do better. I have asked the attorney general to look into this matter as well as to do a review of all longterm care facilities that have experienced a disproportionate number of deaths during the covid outbreak, and i know he will take any and all appropriate action. Our full focus must remain on mitigating the spread of the virus and minimizing the impact to all who remain, in this case at the andover facility, as well as all of our other longterm care facilities. Commissioner persichilli has directed the department of healths Communicable Disease service in coordination with their team in coordination with the local Health Department to enforce critical Safety Measures and protocols. A team has been deployed to assist the center, its staff and its residents. We know this is an issue that is not unique to new jersey. It is national in scope. We know there are bad actors in the industry across the country, but new jersey can lead in how we respond to these issues. Switching gears to another topic that was new Jersey Governor Phil Murphy there reporting a number of things, including another rise in cases. He also said schools will remain closed until may 15th. He Just Announced there he plans to ask the attorney general to launch an investigation into the 17 bodies that were found at that nursing home in andover, new jersey. Joining me is dr. Galisetos, a professor of pulmonary medicine at johns hopkins. I want to ask you specifically on these longterm centers and these senior facilities. Obviously, these are places with the most vulnerable population. Underlying conditions are almost a preexisting condition for most of the residents in these facilities. But it does seem as if some facilities are doing better than others. It seems as if the uneven regulation of these places has also contributed to the uneven death tells, if you to be frank. Yeah. Yes, no, what i just heard about these deaths due to this ubiquitous virus is unconscionable. This is an ethical reckoning. My heart goes out to all the families in new jersey that are hearing such news at this time. I will say that the concern that we have as a Health Care System, whether its a hospital or longterm facility, we need to recognize whatever disparities existed to begin with. They are about to be amplified now. And what we need are actionable items. We need a commitment to oversee these gaps to make sure they dont exist or well be hearing more and more of these stories from longterm care facilities to vulnerable neighborhoods of disadvantaged socioeconomic status. These stories arent surprising but they break my heart. And its now the time to really put forth a strong effort to make sure that medicine is a public trust more than ever. It certainly is surfacing a Public Policy toto list like no other. Thats for sure. Let me ask you specifically now, you have a lot of over the next four weeks, were going to have a rise in tension between Health Security and financial security. Youll in some cases you have the president versus governors and some cases governors versus mayors. Las vegas is a great example where the governor wants to stay shut down. The mayor of las vegas is antsy and itching to reopen. Whats the likelihood that a las vegas can reopen even 25 of its doors. So as a physician and as a scientist, i really pull from one main principle, to maintain medicine as a public trust. And to be able to achieve that, i pull from my own Clinical Experience and i pull from expert conclusions that hopefully are rooted in Evidence Base medicine. Come to the front lines that everyone applauses for and thank you for that, but you can hear that hospitals, we are doing our best, but every day its a new conversation of, do we have enough resources . Were put in this ethical conversation of, are we having to allocate and so forth . And then you supplement it with our experts. Public health is complicated. Social engineering is complicated but were hearing that those efforts are needed in a time like this because if we let go, were going to get these massive spikes and then youll be asking Health Care Professionals not only to care for patients but make the ethical conversations nobody wants to make. Please listen to your physicians and nurses now and the Public Health experts, the epidemiologists looking at those numbers every day. My opinion if you look to them, and maintain transparency, lives theres not a cost to them. We cant sacrifice them in a time like this. And however we can look at this, this is working. Its complicated, but its clearly working. We have slowed this thing down. I think it would be scary if for some reason we took we didnt all of a sudden things came back. Doctor, i appreciate you sticking around and helping us out there with your expertise. Up next, as the world struggles to get a grip on the pandemic, President Trump is halting funding to the World Health Organization leading the global fight against the virus. The decision is being met with resistance from World Leaders and from some unusual places, including the u. S. Chamber of commerce. Youre watching msnbc. Playgroun. All those places out there, are now in here. Thats why were still offering fast, free two day shipping on thousands of items. Even the big stuff. And doing everything it takes to ensure your safety. So you can make your home everything you need it to be. Wayfair. Way more than furniture. Swithout even on yoleaving your house. Just keep your phone and switch to xfinity mobile. You can get it by ordering a free sim card online. Once you activate, youll only have to pay for the data you need starting at just 12 a month. There are no term contracts, no activation fees, and no credit check on the first two lines. Get a 50 prepaid card when you switch. Its the most reliable wireless network. And it could save you hundreds. Xfinity mobile. The economic pain for millions of americans during this coronavirus pandemic keeps getting worse. Another 5. 2 Million People filed for unemployment benefits. So since this began were up to 22 Million People have filed for unemployment over the last four weeks. Meanwhile, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell is criticizing his democratic colleagues over the paycheck Protection Plan tweeting that, quote, democrats did nothing and now the program has shut down. Hes referring to the fact that they basically have run out of money. Nbc capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt joins me live and Kristen Welker with some new reporting on the white house efforts to expand testing. So let me start with the testing situation. Forgive me. The white house has discovered that the testing is the barrier to any hope they have of reopening the economy. But it still looks like they havent decided whether they want to take control of this or continue to punt this to the states. Well, and publicly, chuck, of course, President Trump has said its up to the states. But we know now that privately theres a robust effort behind the scenes to ramp up testing nationwide because they know that will be critical to opening the economy. They are considering a number of different options. A few of them we were able to drill down on would include ramping up testing through a Public Private partnership with the goal of public having as many as 3 million tests per day. Now i want to caution that some Administration Officials say, look, that figure is a little unrealistic and might not be necessary but i think it underscores the fact that they know they need to ramp up testing nationwide. Another possibility, chuck, would be to use the defense production act. President trump has invoked it in various instances, but he has not used it with a broad brush. So its not clear that he would want to use it in this instance to ramp up testing. We know the administration has been in contact, including dr. Deborah birx with the hospital associations throughout the country. So far, though, they have told us, chuck, no specifics that they are hearing from the white house. Now all of this comes against the backdrop of President Trump saying that later today, he is going to unveil his guidelines for the various states. Not clear this testing proposal will be a part of that, chuck. Kristen, if i asked you to pinpoint the Single Person who is the point person for the federal government on testing, who would you point your finger at . Boy, thats a really good question, chuck. The administration would likely say Vice President mike pence, that he has been the person charged with this whole of government effort. But if you drill down into the specifics a little more, look, we know they are looking to their top doctors to help guide them through this process. So dr. Birx clearly one of the people who has been in contact with the hospitals but as you and i have discussed for quite some time, chuck, there has been some confusion about who specifically is the point person, whether you are dealing with testing or ppe, getting that critical equipment out to hospitals all across the country. So i think ultimately the white house would say, look, this is up to Vice President mike pence. But there are a number of officials behind the scenes also trying to get this done. But at this hour, it appears as though they havent come to a final determination about what its going to look like, chuck. I think thats the point here. There is no point person. Nobody seems to be the sole the person who is the last resort responsible for this issue. And that seems to be among the points here. Lets go down to congress. Kasie hunt, a week ago democrats, im guessing, thought if they didnt, you know, if they sort of if they held the line here on this issue with the republicans, they just wanted to replenish the Small Business fund. Democrats want to do that plus aid to states and hospitals. Clearly democrats thought republicans or the white house would come around to them. They didnt. Now what . Chuck, theres supposed to be more negotiations this afternoon. But as you point out, they dont seem to be at any kind of advanced or critically urgent stage that would suggest a deal is in the works. There was optimism yesterday that they would be able to get something done by the end of the week. But this is a classic standoff and now were in a blame game with Mitch Mcconnell pointing to nancy pelosi for refusing to do this. Pelosi saying on a Conference Call a few minutes ago, i would look at them. Id turn that around on them. Why not fund hospitals and all of these other priorities . So this has become a pretty tough standoff, and its a horrible situation for these businesses that are waiting to get loans. Many of us, i certainly in my own life, interact with a few people who are trying to keep their Small Businesses afloat whether its a physical therapy practice or any of these businesses we encounter in our lives. And none of these groups that have tried to get loans have been able to get them, and theyre reading reports in the wall street journal about Bigger Companies that are getting access to this money. So, you know, i think thats one of the points democrats are making. This is only going to the banks biggest giants, to people in the strongest positions to try and get this money. Theyre trying to address that. Right now its hard to see where the end game is, chuck, and having trouble even getting clarity on some of these nittygritty sticking points. Why didnt democrats just go along with republicans on the Small Business thing . I mean, they were going to get theyd have only gained more leverage later on the issue of aid to states and hospitals. I think that they saw this as an opportunity. I mean, and also questioned why you would give up any leverage, if you think about how nancy pelosi tends to operate. I get it. They need her to sign off if they want to pass anything at all. I think its possibly a reflection of some of the behind the scenes negotiations on the first package. There obviously was a protracted back and forth. Both sides prioritized the Small Business project but a lot of disagreement about how much money states were going to get, especially if you think about the democratic caucus. Youre talking about california and new york. Disproportionate amounts of the cases. If you look at the per capita amount of money each state is getting or per case. So i be therethink theres a at here. But i think the pressure points are coming and something has to break open this week. No, it is. At some point, the governors could become an interesting political player here, too, to force congress hand. Kasie hunt and Kristen Welker on top of both sides of pennsylvania avenue. Thank you both. The u. S. Chamber of commerce is criticizing President Trumps decision to halt funding to the World Health Organization. In a statement, the chamber said ku cutting the w. H. O. s funding during the covid19 epidemsick not in u. S. Interests given the organizations Critical Role assisting other countries in their response. Joining us now, nbc news correspondent billum marks in london. There was a teleconference meeting as well today between the g7 leaders, President Trump, the fellow g7 leaders. The white house read out to the pool said the entire conversation was about the incompetence and bad leadership at the w. H. O. My guess is that was one persons point of view on that one . Well, i wouldnt want to speculate on that, but this is an important issue when it comes to global health. A lot of g7 leaders would have made that clear to the u. S. President. If you look at the way the funding is allocated that the u. S. President is threatening to withhold. Over a twoyear period, and its paid two years, its around 200 million. Around a quarter of that is assessed contributions. Amounts the u. S. Has to pay as a member state of the united nations. The rest has been voluntary. And the w. H. O. Officials are saying thats where the concern is because of the huge amounts of money the u. S. Voluntarily gives to Disease Eradication efforts, including polio, in many parts of the developing world. If thats halted or withdrawn it will be devastating, they say, for a lot of the Vaccination Efforts around diseases like polio, like measles that were once prevalent in the u. S. Just a couple generations ago but still having a very serious consequence for children in particular in parts of the world like pakistan and afghanistan. Theres not a single other european nation considering pulling funding from the w. H. O. , is there . No, theres not. If you look at why right now its important, not only is it the leadership globally the w. H. O. Provides when it comes to combating this pandemic, its also the infrastructure, the strategization and expertise. The cdc has worked hand in glove with the w. H. O. For generations, including during this pandemic. A lot of concern about the fact that epidemiological expertise would be withdrawn in the form of cdc personnel. Certainly seems like an odd decision to do during a pandemic. It sounds like something youd think about after you were through the worst. Willem marx reporting out of london, thanks very much. Up in ill be joined by a doctor working right now on a coronavirus vaccine. Just how realistic is 18 months . Youre watching msnbc. If you have moderate to severe psoriasis, Little Things can become your big moment. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not a cream. Its a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Otezla is associated. With an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression. Or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines, and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. We cant offer much during this time of crisis, but we can offer what we have. So from all of us working early mornings on the farm, long days in the plant, or late nights stocking shelves doing all we can to get you the milk you need. We hope it makes your breakfast a little brighter. Your snacks more nutritious. And reminds you when it comes to caring, there is no expiration date. Milk. Love whats real. It means being there for each other. Thats why state farm is announcing the Good NeighborRelief Program we know our customers are driving less, which means fewer accidents. So state farm is returning 2 billion dollars to auto policyholders for the period ending may 31st. And well continue making real time decisions to best serve you our customers. Because now, more than ever, being a Good Neighbor means everything. Like a Good Neighbor, state farm is there. Today, growing concern about the nations Food Supply Chain as pork production giant Smithfield Foods has to close two more of its plants. This time in wisconsin and missouri. The wisconsin plant will be closed for two weeks while the one in missouri will be closed indefinitely because of its connection to materials from a closed plant in south dakota. Now the shuttered sioux falls plant reports more than 500 covid cases among its employees. The facility also produces more than 5 of the nations pork. The president and ceo of smithfield says the company is doing everything to protect employees from covid in the workplace including using thermal scanning, protective equipment and physical barriers. It is worth noting yesterday, the government put out the secretary of agriculture to very they didnt put a lot of spotlight on this at this briefing but its important, the secretary of agriculture acknowledged that there will be disruptions and says the food supply is there, but they acknowledged there will be disruptions to your superparket when it comes to meat selections and things like that. As americans across the country struggle to put food on the table, the big question is, when will it be safe to return to work . Many medical experts will tell you not until a vaccine is developed. Where are we on that . Joining me is dr. Dan baruk at the center for virology and Vaccine Research at beth israel deaconess Medical Center. His lab is the first so far to move Forward Clinical trials in developing a covid19 vaccine. Doctor, heres what i heard. I got a briefing earlier this week that indicated there are four vaccine trials in phase one trials around the world or around the country. But the depressing news was, realistically, were looking at 20 months, and that would be if everything goes right. What is realistic to you . Thanks, chuck. A vaccine very well may be needed to end this pandemic. And Vaccine Development is traditionally very slow. Typically it takes many years, even decades to make a vax tecc to a brandnew pathogen. The global need and urgency has spurred the vaccine world to try to make a vaccine for covid19 as fast as possible. In this case, multiple different vaccine manufacturers are attempting to make a vaccine in 12 to 18 months which is truly unprecedented in the history of vaccinology. There are many steps that need to be done to make a vaccine. In this case, the goal is to work in parallel as much as possible with many steps occurring at the same time as opposed to in series. And, thereby, accelerate the vaccine process. But importantly without compromising patient safety. All right. Lets give me some vaccine trial 101 here. When we hear phase one trial, that means what . A phase one trial is the first test of a new vaccine or drug or another substance in humans. The goal is to show safety. For a vaccine, manufacturers are also very interested in showing whether it raises the type of immune response that we think might be important to protect against this disease. That then leads into larger scale studies to optimize the dosing, as well as importantly to show whether or not the vaccine is effective. For covid19, the goal is to do smallscale studies as quickly as possible and then launch larger studies also as quickly as possible. As soon as its safe to do so. I would imagine island nations or sort of i want to say isolated communities that have distinct physical barriers or physical borders are the best places to go first . I think it really depends on the actual type of vaccine. In many cases, vaccines can be tested here in the United States. In other cases it will be elsewhere. But what is important is safety, speed and efficacy. Right. And when a vaccine is decided that it works, okay, and we have it, mass producing and scaling that up, walk me through, you know, whats a realistic timeline there . We know we have it. We know this vaccine works. All right then basically how long until all of our extended families iy has it . Thats the critical question for vaccines. The timeline that matters is not the time to start a phase one trial and not even the time to show efficacy. The time that matters is the time required before hundreds of millions of doses or billions of doses can be manufactured and deployed globally. Thats the time that really matters. So its very important to apply that to the different types of vaccines that are being developed right now. Some can be mass produced much more easily and some cannot. So it depends on the actual type of vaccine. Ideally, one could make hundreds of millions or billions of doses of the vaccine early on so that very soon after a vaccine shows efficacy, then it can be distributed globally. That requires taking risks, and that requires a large Financial Investment up front. Well, that may come from a lot of governments who are all wanting a piece of this as well. Dr. Dan barouch, thank you for sharing some of your expertise with our viewers. Up next we often turn to sports to lift us up during trying times. Or simply to serve as an escape. So when can we expect a return to our escape . Return to see teams return to stadiums . And arein as across the country. And what will that look like when they do . Were live from the home of the miami heat after the break. This is what its all about. Why the heart beats the pulse races why the weight of the world is carried with a smile. And where the comfort thats so desperately sought, is found. This is whats worth protecting embracing. And ensuring for others, especially now. This is why medicare from Blue Cross Blue Shield continues to improve what we can do for you. Putting over 80 years of healthcare expertise into action. And making Coverage Even more accessible in times when its needed most. Were here for you now, and always. This is the benefit of blue. Subway is still serving the subs delicious subs made fresh and easy to get for takeout or delivery. And now, with our family takeout special, get a free footlong when you buy two. Subut when we realized she wasn hebattling sensitive skin, we switched to new tide plus downy free. Its gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. New tide pods plus downy free. Safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. In times of crisis, many of us turn to sports as a possible escape, particularly for six months a year, baseball. After september 11th, the new york mets vaulted the city to the seat when the home run over the braves and a few weeks later george w. Bush threw one right over the plate to open the world series that year. But in good news, Major League Baseball could be coming back. For more, we turn to sam brock. On this idea of playing baseball with no fans. So, sam, some players arent into it. I still wonder if they cant get the players to start players to buy in, i dont know how they do it. They seem determined. What is the likelihood . Baseball here, chuck, basketball, hockey, all of the major sports have hit pause for a second. I think you probably will see sports in the coming weeks. As you suggest, not without fans. All of the major sports organizations right now are looking to Public Health officials for guidance on what to do and there is no shortage of major story lines right now. Were in miami. The heat are good begin. Lebron james right now chasing history out in l. A. The Washington Nationals and baseball, i think you might have heard of them, they are looking to repeat their world series from last year. Alex ovechkin in hockey chasing Wayne Gretskys all time goal record in the coming years. All that is secondary though to Public Health and testing, chuck. The sports cannot resume until there is widespread testing not just for antibodies but for active coronavirus. I spoke to the nhl commissioner recently and asked him with the Public Perception about nba players getting preferential treatment when they first got tested, what is the nhls approach to this . Were focused on that issue. If the medical Community Tells us for us to come back, we need to have testing. And thats a discussion we have had internally. So the expectation is that there will be enough tests for all purposes at the appropriate times. Assuming the testing is there, sports can be a calm. The first time a sports team played in new york. They were firefighters families, First Responders families and loved ones in the crowd crying when he hit that home run because for a second, people could smile. Chuck, back to you. Yeah, you know, here in washington, we like to get our national some love and attention for that amazing run first the Houston Astros cheating scandal steps on it and now they dont get to celebrate this. Some of would you say like to compartmentalize that and celebrate that for a day. How many people across the country are trying to figure out what is the best way to venture outside. A man from ohio found a unique way to practice social distancing. Kelly king has this report. Youve probably never seen anyone shovel food into their mouth quite like this. Im a one man show. It runs in the family. For chris, the expression has taken on a literal meaning. Here is your pizza. Craving sparked the Ground Breaking idea. I come up to get a pizza one night. I couldnt eat tv dinners any longer. I saw chris with this tape measure kind of joking around with our employees here. I pull out the measuring tape. I said six foot, greenly. You have to stay six foot. I said put it on the ground and kick it over to me. He said i dont that. I said thank god she had the right answer. We cant put food on the floor. So he dug up another tool. I said i need a shovel. Ill keep my six foot. Hes been eating here for years. He says he eats here about four times a week and hasnt let the coronavirus stop him. We all just got a kick out of it. For this, his orders basically spoon fed to him. I went to arbys and those girls liked to flipped out. A dusting of humor. The way decree grew up, god made dirt and dirt aint bad. You have to have tools if youre going to survive. And chris seems to have all the right ones. If theres a will, theres a way. You can overcome anything. Thats what americans do. Got to love that. All right. Pizza on a shovel. That wraps it up for me this hour. Ill see balk here in three hours at 5 00 p. M. Eastern for meet the press daily. My colleagues pick up our coverage right after this quick break. R coverage right after this quick break. Now, theres skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved. 90 clearer skin at 4 months. After just 2 doses. Skyrizi may increase your risk of infections. And lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection. Or symptoms such as fevers,. Sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs. Or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. I feel free to bare my skin. Visit skyrizi. Com. Thousands of women with metastatic Breast Cancer, which is Breast Cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, are living in the moment and taking ibrance. Ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr her2 metastatic Breast Cancer, as the first hormonal based therapy. Ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole, and shrank tumors in over half of patients. Patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. Ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs that can lead to death. Tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, cough, or chest pain. Before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Be in your moment. Ask your doctor about ibrance. Here are the facts as we know them at this hour. There are over 640,000 confirmed cases of covid19 in our country and a reminder once again, the number is so much