Morning, everyone, im poppy harlow. Im jim sciutto. A decision and perhaps some good news imminent. The fda could announce it is authorizing pfizers vaccine for emergency use. That announcement could come at any moment. Hhs secretary alex azar says the agency does plan to move forward. Hours from now another big step a cdc Advisory Panel will meet. Which means americans could start getting vaccinated in a few days. Critical as the nation is seeing its most dire days so far in the pandemic and experts warn it is going to get much worse from here. Lets begin this hour with elizabeth cohen, good morning to you. Talk us through what the next 24, 48 hours look like. Good morning, poppy and jim. This is going to be a momentous weekend. Lets talk about what our sources tell us is going to happen. We are hearing that on saturday, the fda is expected to give its emergency use authorization. That authorized the vaccine to be used. We hear its going to happen saturday, thats not written in stone but thats what government workers are told to expect. Then on sunday a committee at the centers for Disease Control is scheduled to vote on this vaccine because this needs approval not just from the fda but also from the cdc. And then after that, cdc director dr. Robert redfield will sign something accepting the committees recommendation, which should happen within hours. By the end of the day sunday, we could have an approved coronavirus vaccine. Poppy, jim . Can you explain to us how this emergency use authorization would work. Who does that then open to getting the vaccine right away . So usually were used to just drugs being approved by the fda and then whoever gets it, gets it. Theres not any priority. Whoever gets prescribed it, gets prescribed it. Thats not the case with an emergency use authorization. With an emergency use authorization the government steps in and has a heavy hand in saying these are the people who are going to get it first. Lets take a look at this. Were expecting that this first group could start getting shots maybe even as early as monday. Certainly early next week. That first group will be Health Care Workers and nursing home residents. Next after that, over the next several months other High Risk Groups are expected to be giving vaccines, other elderly people, essential workers Like Police Officers and firefighters and those with underlying medical conditions and later would be everyone else. By later we mean probably the spring. If youre not in a High Risk Group you probably wont be vaccinated until the spring or maybe even into the summer. There are some groups who may not get vaccinated at all, thats because theres not enough data to show its safe for these groups. Lets go over who these groups are. Theres not any data on children under the age of 16, and whether the vaccine is safe for them. Same with women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, people with immune compromised systems and people with severe reactions in the past. The cdc may be telling those groups you will not be getting vaccinated until we do more studies. Thanks so much. Its good news. Its moving. Thats great. Understand authorized, ups and fed ex say in 24 hours theyll carry the vaccine by air and ground, more than 600 hospitals and pharmacies across the country. How theyre going to get it to you, pete our colleague joins us from michigan. Youre in front of one of pfizers main facilities where theyre going to ship the vaccine from. Whats the time line like and the logistics, and it has to be freezing the whole time, as they get it around the country. Reporter you mentioned that pfizer said it will send trucks out, carrying the vaccine within 24 hours of the final fda american use authorization. This is so critical to the distribution network, this pfizer facility in cal ma zoo, michigan. We know that vaccine arrived here late last month but according to operation warp speed it could be leaving here bound for 600 individual locations like hospitals, pharmacies, cvs and walgreens. Its ups and fed sex responsibl for delivering those. It says that each package will come equipped with a thermal sensor. We know the temperature of the vaccine is critical in transportation it needs to be negative 100 degrees fahrenheit. That sensor can beam the temperature back to headquarters in louisville. Trailer loads that are coming out of michigan and wisconsin will carry this device and all that data is streaming in to our command center in louisville. We have eyes on the shipments from orjigin to the final dosi destination. Its not Just Companies bearing the burden here. The federal government is also helping out. We have learned truckers have relaxed restrictions to drive extra hours. Air Traffic Control is being directed to give cargo flights carrying the vaccine priority clearance through the airspace system. And were learning that u. S. Marshals will be monitoring the shipments. And it all begins here in michigan. Maybe 24, 48 hours theyll be heading out. Pete, thank you. Joining us now is dr. Jesse goodman. Good morning, its good to have you. Good morning, very exciting. Can you explain to people who may be waking up this morning confused saying well, i thought if the Fda Committee advised the fda yes, then they would just approve it and why is the cdc now a body that has to vote on sunday . Can you explain that . Sure. First of all, as you pointed out, this is an emergency authorization. Its not the same as a full approval. But there is really strong evidence of efficacy and safety. Cdc looks at the whole Public Health picture and helps decide who should be prioritized, who should get it first and with the support of fdas data, those recommendations go out. So its an important additional step where theres outside expert input and an opportunity for the public to participant. Theres been unevenness in terms of access to health care throughout the pandemic, who can get tests quickly, who can get experimental treatments quickly. Concerns about the vaccine. I want to play what dr. Fauci said on the fda panels recommendations and get your thoughts. Have a listen. We want to make sure that we impress the American Public that decisions that involve their health and safety are made outside of the realm of politics, outside of the realm of selfaggrandizement and made, in essence, by independent groups. Should americans be confident that holds true as the vaccine is distributed and why . Well, one, im very proud that fda has had this speedy, but yet science based processed and this transparency with its Advisory Committee and has taken the time to look hard at this data, perform its own analysis and i think that increases the confidence we can have, so thats excellent. I think as the vaccine is rolled out, there are issues of equity. First, people need to realize theres very limited vaccine, not even enough right now to immunize that first group. So youre going to need to be careful and even though this is hopefully the beginning of the end of the pandemic, were all going to need to keep distancing and wearing face coverings. The other thing, as its distributed we want to make sure its distributed fairly to all those in those initial priority groups. I want you to react to something that we heard from the person who heads up the respiratory Viruses Branch of the cdc. He said yesterday he thinks the number of deaths is actually extremely undercounted. I want you to explain this to folks. Here it is. Based on surveys and models, the total estimated number of infections is likely two to seven times greater than reported cases. We do feel, as with hospitalizations and illnesses, that the reported number of deaths is likely an underestimate of the true number of deaths. What does that tell you what we need to know now as we move into the vaccination phase . First it tells you with these hundreds of thousands of infections and 3,000 deaths daily, this is a serious problem, and as i said we cant let up our guard. You know, its lots of people with mild illness may not get tested. There are people who come into the hospital and die and the diagnosis may not be made. So were not always seeing all of this problem. Thats really what this tells us, that we really need this vaccine, we really need a Strong Program of testing so we identify individuals who are infected and we need to take Public Health measures and take this virus serious. A lot of patients get on the other side and dr. Fauci said if the rollout runs smoothly well have some form of normality by next summer, certainly the fall. Whats your best assessment as to when that happens . I would agree with those predictions. I think both from the unfortunately from the virus ripping through the population and as increasing amounts of vaccine get used, that will kick in and start to protect more individuals. So i think were going to hopefully see this begin to go down towards the second half of last year, i would hope for sooner. We still dont know how vaccine production is going to go. This is all new, new technology, new manufacturing. Lets hope it gets ramped up very quickly. Dr. Goodman, thank you for the work youre doing. My pleasure. Thanks, and stay safe. Still to come this hour, a new twist in president trumps reelection fight. More than 100 republicans are supporting a lawsuit that has no basis to overturn the 2020 election. And now, the four battleground states targeted in this, theyre firing back. Plus hospitals are struggling to treat Covid Patients and now theyre getting ready to vaccinate people, perhaps in just days. How one facility is making sure this will go smoothly. Also this hour, restaurants across the country are pleading this morning for a lifeline and everyone is feeling the pinch. Well speak with two chefs in San Francisco who wrote a letter to Speaker Pelosi pleading for help. Battle in my career. So when i heard about the applied Digital Skills courses, im thinking i can become more marketable. You dont need to be a computer expert to be great at this. These are skills lots of people can learn. I feel hopeful about the future now. How did you know . Mom. That was taken at the farm. It was in this small little village. In connemara . Right connemara it is. Honestly, we went there oh, oh look at that look at that. My gums are irritated. I dont have to worry about that, do i . 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The beautiful bath youve always wanted, done right, installed by one expert technician, all in one day. Weve been creating moments like these for 35 years, and were here to help you get started. Book your free virtual or inhome Design Consultation today. Awaiting word now from the Supreme Court for a response this morning after more than 100 gop lawmakers signed a brief supporting a texas lawsuit which is seeking in the simplest terms to invalidate millions of votes. All for the battleground states mentioned in the case have issued their own responses. Joining us is john harwood, ariane de vogue and manu raju. Ariane naif i can begin with you. The Supreme Court knocked down one case from pennsylvania already swiftly and definitively earlier this week. When do we expect to hear from the Supreme Court on this one . Reporter this particular one is a very unusual case. Because you basically have one state, texas, supported by trump, telling other states he didnt like the way they ran their elections and the Supreme Court often takes disputes between states and theyre hear it directly but usually those disputes are issues like water rights or boundaries here this doesnt seem to have that kind of injury between two states. The more the Supreme Courtesies th courte sees this as a political brawl theyre not likely to rule in favor of texas. But texas is going on saying actors violated the States Election law. And theyre saying this dispute doesnt belong here and this has been handled. So now the Supreme Court, as early as today, could rule on this. Theyre meeting behind closed doors in a conference. Doesnt the constitution leave it to stays to write and carry out election laws . Reporter thats the dispute here. Thats what the states are saying. Theyre saying this isnt a job for the Supreme Court to step in. This is for the states. Manu, 106 House Republicans who i note on the air constantly, were all elected in the same election that theyre attacking. And 16 of them i believe in the states involved in this. You speak to a lot of lawmakers on the hill. When you asked them, do you question your own election as a result, whats their answer to that . Reporter they dont. I have asked that question to a number of them. One of them being the House Freedom caucus chairman, andy biggs who says he does not question his own election. He, like the president , is making the argument that has not been proven in court, does not have evidence to back it up, that there was something nefarious that happened at the top of the ticket but down ticket it did not happen. That is the argument that republicans have been making arguing that voting by mail, the way the states have done it in their view is unconstitutional. But a lot of republicans dont view it that way. Some are pushing back. I spoke to some from texas themselves who are critical of it, including the senior texas republican senator john cornyn who told me he questions the legal theory behind it. Also kate granger said its a distraction. And curt roy said this is not the way to go down. And the Republican Leadership in the house is split on this. Kevin mccarthy did not sign onto it. I asked him twice yesterday if he supports this lawsuit. He would not respond. So some of the republicans are in a difficult spot as the president asks for loyalty, asks them to sign on. But some recognize that this suit is probably going to go nowhere and raises some serious questions about their efforts to overturn the elections here. So they may not be speaking out, but theyre not joining this either. We should note that every time republicans in a number of forums have brought up the fraud allegations in court, they have lost the cases. And, in fact, have not alleged even that fraud in court, where there are sanctions for making false allegations. But john harwood, this is more a p. R. Campaign than a legal one, is it not . And one even if the Supreme Court knocks it down today, do you expect it to end or is this something the president carries all the way to 2024 . Reporter i expect the president to continue ranting about the election defeat that he cant accept for some time to come. I think its way too early to expect that the president is may run for reelection in 2024 setting aside his age, the fact that his health is not particularly great. This is a president who is now facing a criminal investigation in new york. We just had reporting this morning from the New York Times that said that cy vance and his prosecutors, the manhattan district attorney, have been questioning his bankers and Insurance Brokers about potential fraud. So, you know, this president has got a lot of things to worry about after he leaves office on january 20th, than running for reelection. But thats not going to stop him because he finds it difficult emotionally and psychologically to accept that he was defeated, hes going to rant about it. And to the extent that he continues to have a grip on the base of the Republican Party and, therefore, makes these republican members afraid of him and afraid that he can turn that base against them, theyre going to go along with it. Its a pretty sad spectacle. Manu, does this foreshadow efforts in gop controlled state legislatures to restrict or ban mailin voting for the next election . Reporter i think its going to not just do that but on the congressional level youll see republicans try to take aim at mailin voting. They probably arent going to succeed in getting something through congress, certainly not with a democratic house. But theyll raise questions about it. But watch if the Senate Republicans retain control of the majority, them to try to raise questions, investigate mailin voting and do what they can to pass something on the federal level, perhaps pressure the states to act instead. Jim . Thank you all very much. Still ahead, Health Care Workers are preparing for a new chapter of this pandemic. Were going to take you inside a hospital thats being transformed right now into a vaccination site. To stir that fire, university of phoenix is awarding up to one Million Dollars in scholarships through this month. See what scholarship you qualify for at phoenix. Edu. See what scholarship you qualify for did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn before it begins . Prilosec otc uses a unique delayedrelease formula that works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source.