Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Craig Melvin 20201215

About modernas covid19 vaccine. Yes, there are more vaccines on the record. The fda reports its 95 effective at protecting illness and protects against infection as well. Here are the facts at this hour, the Moderna Vaccine data comes as the Fda Advisory Panel is set to meet on thursday. Its a critical next step. If all goes well then, the vaccine could get authorization by the end of the week, meaning americans would soon have two vaccines. The need, of course, is enormous. We just added more than 200,000 positive coronavirus cases on monday. Right now one in 20 americans has officially been diagnosed with the virus. That doesnt even take into account people who didnt know they were positive. Another tragic milestone, so far we have lost more than 301,000 americans to this virus. 48 states are experiencing a percentage increase in covidrelated deaths over the past 14 days. In florida, the Positivity Rate is higher than its been in a month. But help has arrived. In jacksonville it was still dark outside when Health Care Workers lined up to get their first shots. Nbcs Kerry Sanders is at the university of Florida Health system in jacksonville where he spoke with some of those Health Care Workers there to get their dose. Kerry, tell us what its been like to be there this morning and what those Health Care Workers told you. Reporter the Health Care Workers are excited and exhausted with everything theyve gone through. As we take a look right now, you can see yet another person who works here at the hospital is getting that vaccine. It takes just a few seconds. When you consider how much time it took for this to be developed and to make its way from the plant in michigan to then getting to u. P. S. And fedex and being transferred out and making its way to the hospitals, this little process here is really the easy part. It just takes a matter of seconds. Those who are here say it does not hurt. They can barely feel it. One nurse that i spoke to said, he couldnt remember for a moment which arm they had jabbed him in. It had been about 15 or 20 minutes. Thats the good news. The folks who are showing up here have testing backstories of where they spent time in covid units, dealing with those who have had losses, deaths, the challenges of that. Theres one dock who happens to be in kalamazoo, michigan. His father works for pfizer and theres this overwhelming sense of pride. This is what he had to say. Feels like any other vaccine, and this is the way we get out of the pandemic. Huge sense of relief that now we have protection against the virus. This is the moment weve all been waiting for in medicine and health care to have access to a vaccine, to get the population vaccinated so we can return to some semblance of normalcy, hopefully. Reporter do you have any hesitation that the science knows what its up to here . Zero hesitation. Reporter you may notice theres a camera behind me, a camera here, this has been in very many ways, jacksonville, across the country, a media event. Thats for good reason. There is some sense of hesitation out there about will i get the vaccine when it comes time for the public to get it. But when you see the overwhelming number of those who are in the medical professional lining up to get it and the confidence they have in science, it sends a signal to everyone that, if were going to beat this pandemic, it may be that we have to start with recognizing that the vaccine is the way to get there. Chris. Yeah. And what an awesome family they are. I want to be at that family dinner table when all this is over and hear their stories. Kerry, thank you so much, reporting from florida chl. right now cases and deaths are speaking over the last 14 days, and many icus are at capacity as the States Health care system is pushed to the brink. Nbcs Erin Mclaughlin is in los angeles for us. Good morning, erin. Tell us what youre hearing about how dire the situation is but also what they think is going to happen next now they think theres a vaccine. Reporter the situation here in california seems to be going from bad to worse in terms of the numbers, the new records set in the state. Yesterday over 42,000 covid19 cases confirmed by county officials throughout the state of california. Authorities are still struggling to get the situation under control. Its especially bleak in the San Joaquin Valley area where icu capacity is at a staggering zero percent. I was speaking to a doctor in fresno on the front lines. He said the situation there has been getting progressively worse. Theyre so overwhelmed that doctors and nurses are getting sick with the virus. The Health Care System in his area, more than 230 Health Care Workers have been infected. More than 300 have been quarantined in selfisolation. Its creating a crisis situation. He told me he, himself, contracted covid19 back in november. It was the last time hes able to have a day off. He had to enter a tenday quarantine. He said it was an agonizing wait because he sees his duties on the front line and sees people are dying as a result of the Health Care System there being overwhelmed. Take a listen. Were doing our best. We are certainly trying not to compromise the care, but inadd very at the present timely that is possible, and it is possible to happen more in the next few weeks. More people will die because youre overwhelmed. Yes. More people will die because the whole Health Care System is overwhelmed. Reporter now, i asked him when he expects to receive the vaccine. He didnt have an answer to that question. Health officials there telling me they expect it soon. But for now the doses have only reached a limited number of hospitals here throughout the state which gives you a picture of the logistical challenges of distributing the vaccine in a state as large as california. Almasri telling me when he gets the vaccine, when its available to him, hell want that dose to go to someone else because, again, hes already had covid19. Chris. Wow, what a powerful interview. I hope people are listening. This isnt just about what you want, your personal rights. This is about the potential for people to get sick and die. Erin mclaughlin, what a great interview. Thank you so much for that. In the last few hours new jersey started administering its first batch of 76,000 vaccine doses. It comes at a critical moment for that state, too. One in 500 people in new jersey have died from the virus since the pandemic began. Nbcs Anne Thompson is at Hackensack University Medical Center where the first vaccinations happened in just the last 30 minutes. Phase 1a of new jerseys rollout. Tell us about the effort under way there and where it goes from here. Were we saw it in the last half hour. Dr. Lisa tang got the vaccine. Shes the first person here at Hackensack Meridian Health to get the vaccine. She said she felt fine afterwards. She said she wanted to be first because it was her way of telling everyone that she trusts the science. She has faith in the science. Its also a way, she said, for her to pay it forward because, as erin said, its not just about you the individual. Its about the entire community. In fact, today here at hackensack meridian they hope to vaccinate 170 people. They have a staff of about 36,000 Health Care Workers, and they hope to have most of those vaccinated within the month. We asked them, did they expect all the Health Care Workers to be willing to take the vaccine. They did a survey here. They found about twothirds of the Health Care Workers were ready to take that vaccine now. They say as more people take the vaccine, they expect they will see that it is safe and effective, and so that will help erase doubts. And in the end, they hope they will get 80 of the Health Care Workers here to take the vaccine. Chris . Anne thompson, thank you so much from new jersey. Way on the to bring in someone who knows the medical landscape in that state very well. Dr. Robert la heat that, chairman of the department of medicine at st. Josephs Health Care System and professor of medicine at rurt gers University Medical school. Thanks so much for being with us. I want to first start for the good news and get your reaction to the vaccine rollout under way in your state. Its very exciting, chris. Weve been waiting for this. Weve seen people left and right dying in front of us. Its a great thing. One of the best things that could happen. Do you expect to get the vaccine sometime soon . Tomorrow. Were lining up tomorrow. Tomorrow. Its going to be delivered if it hasnt already been delivered, were hourbyhour waiting to see when en the scheduling of our various groups are. Well start with our Critical Care people. Then im going to have all of the faculty get injected, all the doctors, the nurses, the Critical Care nurses, the medical students, the residents. Its very, very exciting. Many of us have gotten covid. I personally have not. Im very lucky. But we are now dressed up to the hit in ppe and hoping we all stay safe. Your states governor is optimistic about getting this vaccine in the arms of people in the state pretty quickly, but hes also warning that the next six to eight weeks are going to be really, really tough. How do you get people to heed that warning . Yes, the vaccine is fantastic. No. We are not out of the woods yet. Thats right, chris. Getting the vaccine doesnt mean youre totally immune until you have the second shot which is in 21 days. Thats for the pfizer vaccine. Moderna will be 28 days after the first shot. Right now we have the pfizer vaccine. Just because you have gotten the vaccine doesnt mean you have to stop wearing a mask, stop social distancing and stop washing your hands. Youve got to just act as though youre still able to infect someone else or that someone else is able to infect you. Until immunity is covered, in a form which we call herd immunity which will happen sometime in the fall, no doubt, with all the vac newsmakerss of the general public, thats when we can relax, but not until that time, chris. Theres a really good Opinion Column in the Washington Post titled the vaccine scientists got the job done. Now the messengers need to do theirs. The main thrust is it is up to people like you, Public Health officials, politicians, us in the media, to get the correct information about this vaccine out to americans. I feel like weve been talking about it nonstop. Im sure every interview you do, you get the information out. But reviewing the landscape, doctor, how big a hill is it that has to be climbed here considering the pollicization of this country. I was in florida last week. There was a hospital that did a survey of its workers and only about half said theyd get it in the first round. Thats disturbing a little bit. It always relies, chris, on educating the people. I think we as doctors and nurses, if we get the vaccine, we can tell you just by example that this is a very safe thing. Science is amazing. This vaccine is incredible insofar as its a molecular vaccine which weve never had before. It is an incredibly efficient vaccine. More so than influenza, measles and other vaccines. Its something everyone should take. Certainly all of our Health Care Officials are inlooing up. We cannot almost control the crowd that is ready to get the vaccine in tiers. I advise everyone to go out and get it. Dont be afraid. Check with your doctor if you have concerns. Were prepared to tell you whether you can or cannot get the vaccine, chris. Dr. Robert lahita, its always grate to see you. Thank you so much. Let us know how it goes tomorrow. A little jealous. Not going to lie. Thank you so much for being on today. More Health Care Workers getting the first doses of the pfizer vaccine. Ill talk to a er doctor who just got the shot herself. With ten days until christmas, new Signs Congress might finally pass another relief bill. What it includes, what it leaves out and how soon it could happen. [ thunder rumbles ] [ engine rumbling ] [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] uh, you know theres a 30minute limit, right . Tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. [ beeping ] snarrow it down to alls the. Karate moms. With a sudden, desperate need for brown sugar. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. To make saving, shopping. And holiday chaos a little easier. Wait are those ninjabread men . Hiya introducing mywalgreens. Join for 30minute pickup at walgreens. Com i and nothing has really worked mifor me. Until now. Nd years. With nurtec odt, i have felt such relief. I am able to go about my day as if nothing happened. Nurtec is the only quick dissolve treatment for migraine attacks that can get many people back to normal activities and last up to 48 hours with just one dose. Dont take if allergic to nurtec. The most common side effect was nausea. For more information, go to nurtec. Com this morning, day two of coronavirus vaccinations is officially underway in connecticut. It was moments ago that more vaccines arrived at yale new haven hospital. Health care workers are expecting the receive their doses within a matter of hours. Right now connecticut is seeing a deadly surge with more covid deaths in the first two weeks of december than the entire montho november. Yasmin vossoughian is in new haven, connecticut outside that hospital, expecting to distribute more than 1,900 vaccine doses in the first week. Whats going on there, yasmin . Reporter can you believe it, chris . In that kind of small box, 1,90 do 30 0 there is a mix of nerves and happiness. Happiness because this day is finally here. Theyll administer vaccines at 1 00 p. M. Nerves because they dont know what to expect. Three of four beds in this hospital, Yale New Haven Health, are occupied right now with Covid Patients. 57 people on ventilators right now. 433 Covid Patients in the hospital. They are reaching capacity. As you mentioned, just the last two weeks or so have been devastating for the state of connecticut. One of those people that is going to be one of the first people to be getting a vaccine here at Yale New Haven Health is Katherine Kay husler. Shes one of the folks that is nervous and excited at the same time. Thank you so much for joining me on this day. Its so incredible to think just in about an hour and a half youll be getting the vaccine. How does it feel for you . It feels good. Im really grateful to be able to get it early. Its like a breath of fresh air in a transition thats going to be coming. At the same time, youre going to get this vaccine and go back to work in the intensive care unit with so many people there in dire straits. Theyre dying every single day. We have this very long road ahead. Thats difficult i feel like, for someone like you, knowing that youre getting this vaccine. It is. It is a long road ahead. It also its up lifting because its the beginning of a change. Weve been dealing with this for almost nine months now, and its been really difficult to watch some of the sickest patients weve been taking care of have been the Covid Patients. Im glad we can start getting through it and past it. Your colleague told me youre one of the best nurses in the intensive care unit. Thats one of the reasons they chose you to be one of the first to get the vaccine, because of the care youve shown your patients who have had to die alone over the last ten months. You have to wait 21 days to get the second shot. What are you going to do that you havent been able to do . I want to go home and visit my family. Its been almost a year and a half since i have seen them. It will be exciting to not have to deal with the stress of transmitting covid to them or bringing it back with me. Where do they live . Seattle. I do want to talk to you after you get the vaccine. Thank you for all the work that you do. Having had two kids personally, chris, ive got to say, nurses are everything. They do everything for sick patients as we well know in hospitals every day. They are the lifeline to these Hospital Systems in helping keep people alive. As weve seen throughout this entire pandemic, theyve helped save so many lives. Just in a couple hours, were going to see catherine get vaccinated and wait 21 days for her second shot. Its a momentous day, to say the least, at Yale New Haven Health. Ill say. She has such a positive personality in spite of everything shes seen over the last nine months or so, not being with her family. Thanks to her, thanks to you, yasmin. Appreciate it as always. I want to turn to dr. Liz goldberg, an Emergency Room Physician in rhode island who just moments ago got her coronavirus vaccine. Good to see you dr. Goldberg. First of all, how are you feeling . Im feeling great. Its been three hours since ive been vaccinated. Its just an incredibly happy day for me and my colleagues and for americans and for the Global Community really. I was vaccinated around 8 00. I stood in line in front of our icu director. I saw our emergency medicine director there and a lot of people ive been working with side by side taking care of some of the most critically ill patients. We havent had a lot of good news. Today was a good news day. Were looking at Memorial Hermann texas Moderna Vaccine<\/a> data comes as the Fda Advisory Panel<\/a> is set to meet on thursday. Its a critical next step. If all goes well then, the vaccine could get authorization by the end of the week, meaning americans would soon have two vaccines. The need, of course, is enormous. We just added more than 200,000 positive coronavirus cases on monday. Right now one in 20 americans has officially been diagnosed with the virus. That doesnt even take into account people who didnt know they were positive. Another tragic milestone, so far we have lost more than 301,000 americans to this virus. 48 states are experiencing a percentage increase in covidrelated deaths over the past 14 days. In florida, the Positivity Rate<\/a> is higher than its been in a month. But help has arrived. In jacksonville it was still dark outside when Health Care Workers<\/a> lined up to get their first shots. Nbcs Kerry Sanders<\/a> is at the university of Florida Health<\/a> system in jacksonville where he spoke with some of those Health Care Workers<\/a> there to get their dose. Kerry, tell us what its been like to be there this morning and what those Health Care Workers<\/a> told you. Reporter the Health Care Workers<\/a> are excited and exhausted with everything theyve gone through. As we take a look right now, you can see yet another person who works here at the hospital is getting that vaccine. It takes just a few seconds. When you consider how much time it took for this to be developed and to make its way from the plant in michigan to then getting to u. P. S. And fedex and being transferred out and making its way to the hospitals, this little process here is really the easy part. It just takes a matter of seconds. Those who are here say it does not hurt. They can barely feel it. One nurse that i spoke to said, he couldnt remember for a moment which arm they had jabbed him in. It had been about 15 or 20 minutes. Thats the good news. The folks who are showing up here have testing backstories of where they spent time in covid units, dealing with those who have had losses, deaths, the challenges of that. Theres one dock who happens to be in kalamazoo, michigan. His father works for pfizer and theres this overwhelming sense of pride. This is what he had to say. Feels like any other vaccine, and this is the way we get out of the pandemic. Huge sense of relief that now we have protection against the virus. This is the moment weve all been waiting for in medicine and health care to have access to a vaccine, to get the population vaccinated so we can return to some semblance of normalcy, hopefully. Reporter do you have any hesitation that the science knows what its up to here . Zero hesitation. Reporter you may notice theres a camera behind me, a camera here, this has been in very many ways, jacksonville, across the country, a media event. Thats for good reason. There is some sense of hesitation out there about will i get the vaccine when it comes time for the public to get it. But when you see the overwhelming number of those who are in the medical professional lining up to get it and the confidence they have in science, it sends a signal to everyone that, if were going to beat this pandemic, it may be that we have to start with recognizing that the vaccine is the way to get there. Chris. Yeah. And what an awesome family they are. I want to be at that family dinner table when all this is over and hear their stories. Kerry, thank you so much, reporting from florida chl. right now cases and deaths are speaking over the last 14 days, and many icus are at capacity as the States Health<\/a> care system is pushed to the brink. Nbcs Erin Mclaughlin<\/a> is in los angeles for us. Good morning, erin. Tell us what youre hearing about how dire the situation is but also what they think is going to happen next now they think theres a vaccine. Reporter the situation here in california seems to be going from bad to worse in terms of the numbers, the new records set in the state. Yesterday over 42,000 covid19 cases confirmed by county officials throughout the state of california. Authorities are still struggling to get the situation under control. Its especially bleak in the San Joaquin Valley<\/a> area where icu capacity is at a staggering zero percent. I was speaking to a doctor in fresno on the front lines. He said the situation there has been getting progressively worse. Theyre so overwhelmed that doctors and nurses are getting sick with the virus. The Health Care System<\/a> in his area, more than 230 Health Care Workers<\/a> have been infected. More than 300 have been quarantined in selfisolation. Its creating a crisis situation. He told me he, himself, contracted covid19 back in november. It was the last time hes able to have a day off. He had to enter a tenday quarantine. He said it was an agonizing wait because he sees his duties on the front line and sees people are dying as a result of the Health Care System<\/a> there being overwhelmed. Take a listen. Were doing our best. We are certainly trying not to compromise the care, but inadd very at the present timely that is possible, and it is possible to happen more in the next few weeks. More people will die because youre overwhelmed. Yes. More people will die because the whole Health Care System<\/a> is overwhelmed. Reporter now, i asked him when he expects to receive the vaccine. He didnt have an answer to that question. Health officials there telling me they expect it soon. But for now the doses have only reached a limited number of hospitals here throughout the state which gives you a picture of the logistical challenges of distributing the vaccine in a state as large as california. Almasri telling me when he gets the vaccine, when its available to him, hell want that dose to go to someone else because, again, hes already had covid19. Chris. Wow, what a powerful interview. I hope people are listening. This isnt just about what you want, your personal rights. This is about the potential for people to get sick and die. Erin mclaughlin, what a great interview. Thank you so much for that. In the last few hours new jersey started administering its first batch of 76,000 vaccine doses. It comes at a critical moment for that state, too. One in 500 people in new jersey have died from the virus since the pandemic began. Nbcs Anne Thompson<\/a> is at Hackensack University<\/a> Medical Center<\/a> where the first vaccinations happened in just the last 30 minutes. Phase 1a of new jerseys rollout. Tell us about the effort under way there and where it goes from here. Were we saw it in the last half hour. Dr. Lisa tang got the vaccine. Shes the first person here at Hackensack Meridian Health<\/a> to get the vaccine. She said she felt fine afterwards. She said she wanted to be first because it was her way of telling everyone that she trusts the science. She has faith in the science. Its also a way, she said, for her to pay it forward because, as erin said, its not just about you the individual. Its about the entire community. In fact, today here at hackensack meridian they hope to vaccinate 170 people. They have a staff of about 36,000 Health Care Workers<\/a>, and they hope to have most of those vaccinated within the month. We asked them, did they expect all the Health Care Workers<\/a> to be willing to take the vaccine. They did a survey here. They found about twothirds of the Health Care Workers<\/a> were ready to take that vaccine now. They say as more people take the vaccine, they expect they will see that it is safe and effective, and so that will help erase doubts. And in the end, they hope they will get 80 of the Health Care Workers<\/a> here to take the vaccine. Chris . Anne thompson, thank you so much from new jersey. Way on the to bring in someone who knows the medical landscape in that state very well. Dr. Robert la heat that, chairman of the department of medicine at st. Josephs Health Care System<\/a> and professor of medicine at rurt gers University Medical<\/a> school. Thanks so much for being with us. I want to first start for the good news and get your reaction to the vaccine rollout under way in your state. Its very exciting, chris. Weve been waiting for this. Weve seen people left and right dying in front of us. Its a great thing. One of the best things that could happen. Do you expect to get the vaccine sometime soon . Tomorrow. Were lining up tomorrow. Tomorrow. Its going to be delivered if it hasnt already been delivered, were hourbyhour waiting to see when en the scheduling of our various groups are. Well start with our Critical Care<\/a> people. Then im going to have all of the faculty get injected, all the doctors, the nurses, the Critical Care<\/a> nurses, the medical students, the residents. Its very, very exciting. Many of us have gotten covid. I personally have not. Im very lucky. But we are now dressed up to the hit in ppe and hoping we all stay safe. Your states governor is optimistic about getting this vaccine in the arms of people in the state pretty quickly, but hes also warning that the next six to eight weeks are going to be really, really tough. How do you get people to heed that warning . Yes, the vaccine is fantastic. No. We are not out of the woods yet. Thats right, chris. Getting the vaccine doesnt mean youre totally immune until you have the second shot which is in 21 days. Thats for the pfizer vaccine. Moderna will be 28 days after the first shot. Right now we have the pfizer vaccine. Just because you have gotten the vaccine doesnt mean you have to stop wearing a mask, stop social distancing and stop washing your hands. Youve got to just act as though youre still able to infect someone else or that someone else is able to infect you. Until immunity is covered, in a form which we call herd immunity which will happen sometime in the fall, no doubt, with all the vac newsmakerss of the general public, thats when we can relax, but not until that time, chris. Theres a really good Opinion Column<\/a> in the Washington Post<\/a> titled the vaccine scientists got the job done. Now the messengers need to do theirs. The main thrust is it is up to people like you, Public Health<\/a> officials, politicians, us in the media, to get the correct information about this vaccine out to americans. I feel like weve been talking about it nonstop. Im sure every interview you do, you get the information out. But reviewing the landscape, doctor, how big a hill is it that has to be climbed here considering the pollicization of this country. I was in florida last week. There was a hospital that did a survey of its workers and only about half said theyd get it in the first round. Thats disturbing a little bit. It always relies, chris, on educating the people. I think we as doctors and nurses, if we get the vaccine, we can tell you just by example that this is a very safe thing. Science is amazing. This vaccine is incredible insofar as its a molecular vaccine which weve never had before. It is an incredibly efficient vaccine. More so than influenza, measles and other vaccines. Its something everyone should take. Certainly all of our Health Care Officials<\/a> are inlooing up. We cannot almost control the crowd that is ready to get the vaccine in tiers. I advise everyone to go out and get it. Dont be afraid. Check with your doctor if you have concerns. Were prepared to tell you whether you can or cannot get the vaccine, chris. Dr. Robert lahita, its always grate to see you. Thank you so much. Let us know how it goes tomorrow. A little jealous. Not going to lie. Thank you so much for being on today. More Health Care Workers<\/a> getting the first doses of the pfizer vaccine. Ill talk to a er doctor who just got the shot herself. With ten days until christmas, new Signs Congress<\/a> might finally pass another relief bill. What it includes, what it leaves out and how soon it could happen. [ thunder rumbles ] [ engine rumbling ] [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] uh, you know theres a 30minute limit, right . Tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. [ beeping ] snarrow it down to alls the. Karate moms. With a sudden, desperate need for brown sugar. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. To make saving, shopping. And holiday chaos a little easier. Wait are those ninjabread men . Hiya introducing mywalgreens. Join for 30minute pickup at walgreens. Com i and nothing has really worked mifor me. Until now. Nd years. With nurtec odt, i have felt such relief. I am able to go about my day as if nothing happened. Nurtec is the only quick dissolve treatment for migraine attacks that can get many people back to normal activities and last up to 48 hours with just one dose. Dont take if allergic to nurtec. The most common side effect was nausea. For more information, go to nurtec. Com this morning, day two of coronavirus vaccinations is officially underway in connecticut. It was moments ago that more vaccines arrived at yale new haven hospital. Health care workers are expecting the receive their doses within a matter of hours. Right now connecticut is seeing a deadly surge with more covid deaths in the first two weeks of december than the entire montho november. Yasmin vossoughian is in new haven, connecticut outside that hospital, expecting to distribute more than 1,900 vaccine doses in the first week. Whats going on there, yasmin . Reporter can you believe it, chris . In that kind of small box, 1,90 do 30 0 there is a mix of nerves and happiness. Happiness because this day is finally here. Theyll administer vaccines at 1 00 p. M. Nerves because they dont know what to expect. Three of four beds in this hospital, Yale New Haven Health<\/a>, are occupied right now with Covid Patients<\/a>. 57 people on ventilators right now. 433 Covid Patients<\/a> in the hospital. They are reaching capacity. As you mentioned, just the last two weeks or so have been devastating for the state of connecticut. One of those people that is going to be one of the first people to be getting a vaccine here at Yale New Haven Health<\/a> is Katherine Kay<\/a> husler. Shes one of the folks that is nervous and excited at the same time. Thank you so much for joining me on this day. Its so incredible to think just in about an hour and a half youll be getting the vaccine. How does it feel for you . It feels good. Im really grateful to be able to get it early. Its like a breath of fresh air in a transition thats going to be coming. At the same time, youre going to get this vaccine and go back to work in the intensive care unit with so many people there in dire straits. Theyre dying every single day. We have this very long road ahead. Thats difficult i feel like, for someone like you, knowing that youre getting this vaccine. It is. It is a long road ahead. It also its up lifting because its the beginning of a change. Weve been dealing with this for almost nine months now, and its been really difficult to watch some of the sickest patients weve been taking care of have been the Covid Patients<\/a>. Im glad we can start getting through it and past it. Your colleague told me youre one of the best nurses in the intensive care unit. Thats one of the reasons they chose you to be one of the first to get the vaccine, because of the care youve shown your patients who have had to die alone over the last ten months. You have to wait 21 days to get the second shot. What are you going to do that you havent been able to do . I want to go home and visit my family. Its been almost a year and a half since i have seen them. It will be exciting to not have to deal with the stress of transmitting covid to them or bringing it back with me. Where do they live . Seattle. I do want to talk to you after you get the vaccine. Thank you for all the work that you do. Having had two kids personally, chris, ive got to say, nurses are everything. They do everything for sick patients as we well know in hospitals every day. They are the lifeline to these Hospital Systems<\/a> in helping keep people alive. As weve seen throughout this entire pandemic, theyve helped save so many lives. Just in a couple hours, were going to see catherine get vaccinated and wait 21 days for her second shot. Its a momentous day, to say the least, at Yale New Haven Health<\/a>. Ill say. She has such a positive personality in spite of everything shes seen over the last nine months or so, not being with her family. Thanks to her, thanks to you, yasmin. Appreciate it as always. I want to turn to dr. Liz goldberg, an Emergency Room Physician<\/a> in rhode island who just moments ago got her coronavirus vaccine. Good to see you dr. Goldberg. First of all, how are you feeling . Im feeling great. Its been three hours since ive been vaccinated. Its just an incredibly happy day for me and my colleagues and for americans and for the Global Community<\/a> really. I was vaccinated around 8 00. I stood in line in front of our icu director. I saw our emergency medicine director there and a lot of people ive been working with side by side taking care of some of the most critically ill patients. We havent had a lot of good news. Today was a good news day. Were looking at Memorial Hermann<\/a> texas Medical Center<\/a>. These folks are getting the first round of vaccines there. What do you say to people who were a little nervous about going or maybe a lot nervous . I understand that theyre nervous. This is a new vaccine. Weve never had an mrna vaccine before. Ive read the peerreviewed data and following the trials really closely. They were conducted in a really scientific fashion. We know after the second dose you are 95 protected against this vaccine. You follow the majority of the side effects are mild. A lot of people have injection site pain. Some have fever, fatigue and headache, but those are symptoms that are far better to have than to have severe covid19. After seeing so many critically ill patients and people in the Field Hospital<\/a> and people dying alone, im just so happy that we have our first step now to a solution to this, and we can soon return to a point where we can hug each other and have economic recovery and return to all the social activities that we love. We know, and you know this obviously as a gyre at trick researcher, that such a huge percentage, 70 i think it is now, of the deaths have been in Nursing Homes<\/a>, folks in Nursing Homes<\/a>. But according to the providence journal, the local newspaper there, Nursing Homes<\/a> in your state will have to wait another week or two to get the vaccine. I was in florida with some workers who are at several different Nursing Homes<\/a> in florida, and they were talking about the strain, the strain of the illness, but the strain of the social isolation. And they actually believe its contributed to more serious illness and even death not related to covid. Why the delay . Are you confident about the elderly, about people in Nursing Homes<\/a> getting this vaccine . Yes. I think this is our only path forward, is vaccination. Unfortunately, when you get older and you are in a facility, youre very close to others and youre reliant on other people for support. Because of that reliance, because of being in close proximity with many other people that are vulnerable, the vaccine is really the only way forward, the only way were going to achieve herd immunity. I also have really have faith that the cdc and researchers around the United States<\/a> and around the globe are very closely monitoring the side effects that we experience from this vaccine. So theres a new app called be safe by the cdc where people are recording their symptoms. I think as the next couple of weeks go on, were going to find out more and more about experiences that people have, and i think people in longterm care can absolutely be vaccinated and we should follow their symptoms closely. Dr. Liz goldberg, thank you so much, appreciate you taking the time. Good to see you. It is ten days before christmas. Hard to believe. Right now a noreaster is threatening to delay shipping of holiday gifts. More than 47 Million People<\/a> across the northeast are under some kind of winter storm watch or warning as heavy snow is expected to blanket a huge area, including the big cities of new york, philadelphia and boston. Usps and retail giant target are issuing warnings about potential shipping delays due to this storm. A spokesperson for the post office told nbc news it is closely monitoring the storm and taking, quote, all available actions to reduce possible delays. So for all you lastminute shoppers, today is the recommended deadline for ground shipping for all carriers to make sure you have the best chance of your gifts actually getting where you want them to go before december 25th. Ahead, a michigan congressman is leaving the Republican Party<\/a> because of its efforts to overturn the election results. Ill talk to one of his republican colleagues who says the misinformation has created a fever of nonsense and hes pushing voters to reject it. Plus, more than a month after president elect joe biden beat President Trump<\/a>, Republican Senate<\/a> leader Mitch Mcconnell<\/a> is admitting that publicly for the first time. Today i want to congratulate president elect joe biden. The president elect is no stranger to the senate. Hes devoted himself to Public Service<\/a> for many years. I also want to congratulate the Vice President<\/a> elect, our colleague from california, senator harris. Beyond our differences, all americans can take pride that our nation has a female Vice President<\/a> elect for the first time. Before we talk about taxsmart investing, whats new . Audreys expecting. Twins wed be closer to the twins. Change in plans. At fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. Looking to save money this look at allstate. N . Drivers who switched saved, averaged 718 dollars. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. Than Rheumatoid Arthritis<\/a>. When considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz. A pill for adults with moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis<\/a> when methotrexate has not helped enough. Xeljanz can help relieve joint pain and swelling, stiffness, and helps stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. Before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. Tell your doctor if youve had hepatitis b or c, have flulike symptoms, or are prone to infections. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. Taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. Tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. Dont let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. Xeljanz. I got it all from you im always pushing through i know well make it to the finish line i know youre waiting on the other side im like you ondemand glucose monitoring. Because theyre always on. Another lifechanging technology from abbott. So you dont wait for life. You live it. Financial help may be on the way. A Bipartisan Group<\/a> of lawmakers unveiled two covid19 relief bills that would provide about 908 billion in aid. Senate majority leader Mitch Mcconnell<\/a> is signaling he could support one of the measures, 748 billion in unemployment, Small Business<\/a> aid as well as more. Leigh ann caldwell is on capitol hill. Well hear from mcconnell at his press conference this afternoon. Is he going to voice support for one of these, potentially both of these. Are we making Real Progress<\/a> is the bottom line . Reporter hey, chris. Those are all the questions. What we do a lot around is read the tea leaves. Theyre telling us theres at least a willingness to want to get something done. The question is what those congressional leaders going to do about it. The fact is theres really just one game in town. Thats these two proposals released by this Bipartisan Group<\/a> of negotiators. They separated the controversial from the noncontroversial. 750 billion of things people agree on. Separate from that is the 160 billion in state and local funding and this Liability Protection<\/a> for people who get covid and want to see an employer or a business. Also, Senate Majority<\/a> leader Mitch Mcconnell<\/a> is indicating he seems okay with moving forward without this Liability Protection<\/a> which is a reversal from something hes been saying for months. He would say that nothing would come to the senate floor without that. But yesterday, in a speech on the senate floor, he talked about getting something done. He did not mention Liability Protection<\/a>. The question is, will democrats be okay with setting aside state and local funding, because for some reason, those two things have been tied together. That is what we are waiting to hear from these congressional leaders if they can move forward with just this, 750 billion, nancy pelosi and schumer set aside state and local and mcconnell set aside this Liability Protection<\/a>. Like you said, well hear from mcconnell this afternoon. Well also hear from schumer this afternoon as well and well ask these questions, chris. Leigh ann caldwell on top of it, as she has been for a long time. Thank you so much for that. I want to bring in outgoing congressman denver riddleman, author of the new book big foot, its complicated that exams the roots of extreme belief systems. Congressmen, its good to see you. A fascinating topic for a book. Youve been part of bipartisan talks, outspoken about congresss inability to agree on a measure to help the American People<\/a>. Whats your level of confidence this latest plan will actually pass . As we get closer to christmas, the fact they split it up this morning between two sections and debating sort of the most the contentious parts of the covid bill, i think we now are a little bit more i would say its more likely well get something passed here before christmas. Thats what im here for. Hopefully they call me back. Its time to work together. Everyone wants a deal. With the sds 750 billion or sorks i think that will pass. Lets debate the most contentious stuff. Lets get going and do something now. Why does it take christmas coming to get something done . Its been hundreds of days. There are literally children in america going to bed hungry, people worried about whether theyll have a roof over their head in the new year. As somebody who is leaving, open up the flood gates for us . What do you see thats broken . Because the American People<\/a> surely want to know. Its always brinks manship and this tribalism ive seen since ive been in congress. Its as if getting reelected is more important than the people theyre serving. It seems to be that tribalism has taken over. You see the ridiculous going on with conspiracy theories or whats going on during the election, all the attention has been on this rather than helping people. Thats where politics and politicians are failing. Hopefully i can continue to serve and do the best i can. What youre seeing right now is politics over people, rather than putting people first. Yeah, and arguably in a different realm, one example is Vladimir Putin<\/a> congratulated joe biden on his election this morning before Mitch Mcconnell<\/a> did. What do you make of Donald Trumps<\/a> on going hold over your party . Its nonsense. Just this morning i track this. I have a report coming out, the Network Contagion<\/a> on antisemitism. I saw this morning where the president retweeted ron watkins from qanon. If youre retweeting a chuckle head like that, youve lost your realistic base. I think the other thing is retweeted that the governor and secretary of state should go to jail. These things we should not put out on these social network platforms. To a point where youve got to call a fact a fact. Thats what im going to do. Thats sort of maybe the facts par rye yeah of the Republican Party<\/a>. Im going to keep saying what i think needs to be said, especially based on my background in counterintelligence. In your remarks you spoke about the disinformation surrounding the election. You talk about chuckleheads. How dangerous to our democracy are these bad actors as youve described them . Incredibly dangerous. Ive seen radicalism my whole life. When youve been on the serbian border, Operation Enduring<\/a> freedom after 9 11, you know how crazy things can get, especially if you dont have a factbased policy position or youre putting out radical language or dehumanizing others. What ive been trying to warn people about is this, the baseline of these conspiracy theories are antisemitic and based on fantasy. When you dehumanize others and youre more worried about your tribe rather than whats good for the people, you can get in real trouble. Seeing the things happening right now, i think its more of a grip. A lot of us are the griptocracy. Its going to take some courage to stand up and say, hey, shouldnt be retweeting nonsense, pushing conspiracy theories and we certainly shouldnt be leading people astray on this. I will continue to fight for this. I just cant back down on this. Well, the president and his campaign are still trying to raise money for Election Fraud<\/a> that doesnt exist that theyve not been able to get anywhere with. In fact, one of your colleagues, Paul Mitchell<\/a> said hes leaving the Republican Party<\/a> over the president s attempt to overturn the election. Have you thought about that . Have you thought about leaving the party . Of course i have. Paul mitchell is a dear friend of mine and a really brave man. Here is the thing, being an Intelligence Officer<\/a> or thinking about the world we live in today, a question i have for everybody. Do you get out and try to change it from the inside or change it from the inside. Thats the thing ive been fighting with with myself to be completely blunt. How do i do this . I have sirtely no support in some sections of the Republican Party<\/a> in virginia just saying that the crack en isnt real gets me censured. I was censured for officiating a septembersex wedding a year ago. You were censured for a samesex marriage ceremony . Yes, maam, yes, maam. I think i was the first sitting republican to officiate a samesex wedding. Ive been censured so many times over the samesex movement, ive got a wall of fame. I care about being censured as much as i care about missing a tupperware sale at walmart. What it does affect is other people that could be influenced by this. If were not going to be a party of liberty and a party of facts, its difficult to stay in. I think i can change things if i can use honesty, factbased analysis and try to hit people with facts and as much compassion as i can. So far its been a rough row to hoe. I tell you that. Congressman denver wriggleman, keep us posted. Thank you so much. We want to go live to chicago because the first vaccines in the city are set to be administered. Im told that the mayor, Lori Lightfoot<\/a> is there. Can we listen for just a second . Each vaccine dose includes both very carefully measured amount of vaccine mixed with something to dilute the vaccine. You might have heard this vaccine is stored in ultra cold temperatures, but it is brought all the way up to Room Temperature<\/a> before it is going into anybodys arm. So thats a question that we get a lot. In each case here we track very carefully the timing between when the vaccine leaves the warehouse, whether that is the warehouse of the manufacturer or the Chicago Department<\/a> of Public Health<\/a>s warehouse. We track very carefully the time and temperature, and then we basically by the time we get to the patient, we are ready to go. All right. Are we ready . What were going to see. The doctor is going to clean off the patients arm, very standard procedure, just like a regular vaccine. Here we go. All right should we applaud . I think so. Wow. Look at that. Applause. 43,000 doses received in illinois. The Chicago Tribune<\/a> says theyll reserve the initial ones for Health Care Workers<\/a> in 50 counties that have seen the highest per capita death rates in covid19. This hospital is in an area of chicago hard hit by the pandemic. I was tweeting this yesterday, i was always so squeamish about watching people get shots. I couldnt stop watching yesterday. I cant stop watching now. Its something remarkable that were witnessing that in a very short period of time, incredibly dedicated and brilliant people have brought this vaccine to market. Well keep following all these developments. But theres a lot of politics going on as well. President elect joe biden back on the campaign trail. How hes trying to convince voters to turn out again in those crucial Georgia Senate<\/a> races. Autism, finding the right words can be tough. Finding understanding doesnt have to be. Together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. Go to autismspeaks. Org of the financial system. Le have been shut out [music playing throughout] my grandfather founded Industrial Bank<\/a> in 1934 so black people would have a bank that would work with them. Because our doors are open, other doors are opening to more opportunities for our community. Were excited to work with citi, so we can realize our dreams of expanding our reach and impact. Citi is committed to working with blackowned banks like industrial, so they can continue to support their clients and communities. This afternoon joe biden leds to georgia to help campaign in the Crucial Senate<\/a> runoff elections. His visit comes a day after the first day of early voting, and nbc news has confirmed more than 168,000 people took part monday, outpacing what we saw in the general election. That is remarkable. Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock<\/a> and jon ossoff are in a momentous battle with david perdue and kelly loeffler. Nbcs Geoff Bennett<\/a> is following the biden transition from wilmington, delaware. How much can biden do to help flip the senate blue after his president ial win was affirmed less than 24 hours ago . Reporter chris, its the big question, and its a great question. I think the truth of it is that joe biden really had no choice but to go to georgia and campaign for these two candidates. Imagine if he had stayed home. Imagine if he had stayed here in delaware even as President Trump<\/a> and Vice President<\/a> mike pence had gone to georgia to campaign for the two republicans, that would have sent a signal to georgia democrats that these two seats were either too far out of reach or not worth fighting for. And the opposite is, in fact, true. So much of a joe biden legislative agenda hinges on the makeup of the u. S. Senate that he will inherit next year. Will it be an evenly split nat senate with future Vice President<\/a> Kamala Harris<\/a> the tiebreaker . That will be the case if ossoff and warnock win their races. If both or either loses, youll have a republican majority. Its not entirely clear the level of resistance that joe biden and his administration will meet in a senate that is again run by mitch mckochbl, chris. Geoff bennett, thank you, my friend. Still ahead, a crisis in the u. S. One in six player cans is in danger of going hungry because of the pandemic. How one restaurant is getting meets to people in need. Take a look at this video. Health care workers in boston dancing it out on the streets monday, unable to contain their excitement over the rollout of the first coronavirus vaccines. Go ahead. Dance along. So, uh, yeah, just a silly mistake. I guess i look pretty. Ridiculous. [ chuckles ] no one looks ridiculous, bob. Progressive is always here for you with roundtheclock service. Just so you know, next time, you can submit a claim with our mobile app. Good. Thanks again for for rushing over. Are you kidding . This is what 24 7 protection looks like. Okay. You smell like fish. Sorry. I was talking to jamie. This holiday season, many families are relying on food banks and nonprofits to put food on the table. According to feeding america, due to the pandemic, more than 50 million americans may go hungry. Thats one in six who could be affected by Food Insecurity<\/a> this year, and its up substantially from 15 million last year. If you are inspired to give, there are a number of ways to help. Learn more with this qr code at the bottom of your screen. Just open up the camera on your smartphone, hold it to the screen. A notification will appear on your phone that will take you to today. Com where you can learn more about how to support feeding america. Joining me is a Restaurant Owner<\/a> in albany, new york and president of the nonprofit feed albany. Its great to see you. I recognize that backdrop. Tell me first of all, what did you see in your community, dominic, that drove you to start feed albany . First off, good morning, chris, thank you for having me. On march 14, when they started closing the schools across the country, we knew there would be a need for families who depended on subsidized breakfast and lunch to feed the children. Its 52 weeks a year that those meals are provided. But now that parents and restaurant workers would be out of work, we pivoted to make sure people had dinner on the people. We would give them two, four, six, eight, ten meals depending on the size of their family, to make sure we could do what we could to curb Food Insecurity<\/a> right here in the capital region. How were you able to do it . Because a lot of folks who work with you and for you have lost their jobs. Sure. It was a big effort. Originally it started because when the restaurants were shut down across the country, many of us have frerget furefrigerators food that was going to spoil. So it began with cleaning out our refrigerators and freezers. The nay eivete was that it woul last two weeks or four weeks. We wanted to make sure they could be fed. Through social media, people came in, asked us how we could help. We started a gofundme, people provided money. Once we went through our coolers, we purchased food and had several distributes who donated food, local farmers, local ranchers, local dairy, and the outpouring of support for people who wanted to help, whether there were cooks or restaurant workers who wanted to give back, because they couldnt write a check, or banks and Credit Unions<\/a> who saw what we were doing and were inspired and wrote checks and gave big grants and all those things that were tremendous in helping us to continue to help these people. It is a tremendous effort. And in the midst of it, youre fighting for your business. Before the pandemic, you and your family had two successful restaurants. They were full, they were fantastic. Full disclosure, i lived in albany for 20 years, i know your family, i know those great restaurants. But now youre in a situation with congress not passing a new relief bill for hundreds of days. How critical is it that they get this done now before the holidays . Chris, this is a matter of survival. 10 of the u. S. Workforce works in restaurants. Thats 16. 1 Million People<\/a>. We had 600,000 restaurants at the beginning of this pandemic. Weve lost over 110,000 so far. Its only going to get worse this winter. Many of us were able to survive on Outdoor Dining<\/a> and takeout and things like that. But the industry is holding on by a thread and that thread is fraying heavily. Congress, a representative from oregon introduced the restaurants act on the house side on june 5. Were now 5 1 2 months into that. Weve not gotten any help from our leadership. This is a matter of survival for 16. 1 Million People<\/a> who rely on restaurants to pay their bills, to give food to their family, to pay their rent, to survive through this winter because obviously Outdoor Dining<\/a> is over, especially for those of us, you know, in the northeast and across the midwest, even in southern california, you know, theyre struggling with just having Outdoor Dining<\/a>. This is a matter of survival for so many restaurants across the country. And its up to the leadership who have been sort of going back and forth and pointing fingers across the aisle, they need to step up. They need to be leaders as theyre supposed to do. Theyre supposed to be the leaders of this country. They need to step up and make sure restaurants are taken care of, make sure these Small Business<\/a>es can survive across the country. It is a critically important message. Dominic, thank you for coming on. Good luck to you. Everybody out there, support your local restaurants. And if you would like to help dominic and his organization, you can go to feedalbany. Com. Say hi to my friends in albany, dom, i appreciate it. Coming up next, the chief adviser to operation warp speed will join Andrea Mitchell<\/a> to talk about the nations vaccine rollout, after a short break. In rollout, after a short break get realtime insights in your customized view of the market. Its smarter Trading Technology<\/a> for smarter trading decisions. Fidelity. Life doesnt stop for a cold. [man] honey. [woman] honey thats why theres new dayquil severe honey. Its maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Dayquil honey. The daytime coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, power through your day medicine. Good day, im Andrea Mitchell<\/a> in washington where the fda is reporting highly favorable results from a second vaccine produced by moderna and is scheduled to grant authorization to moderna. The big news for moderna this morning is its vaccine is 94 effective and appears to help prevent the spread of asymptomatic infection, unlike the pfizer vaccine. It doesnt need to be stored at arctic temperatures, which is a very big deal. How many doses could be immediately available . Ill ask the head of operation warp speed in just a few moments. But first, more images of hope this morning, vaccines administered to Health Care Workers<\/a> in new jersey, florida, and Howard University<\/a> right here in washington, d. C. 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