Were waiting on the fda to give emergency approval to a second coronavirus vaccine. The Moderna Vaccine is expected to get the okay today. Great news, that is being tempered by some major distribution issues. Governors across the country, democrats and republicans alike, say they were told they will be receiving significantly fewer doses of the Pfizer Vaccine than they were initially promised. The white house is blaming pfizer for the shortages, while pfizer is blaming the white house. It says it has millions of doses ready to go, but has not received guidance from trumps team on where to send them. Former fda commissioner under donald trump scott got lean who now sits on the board of pfizer explained the problem to stephanie ruhle. Theyre holding back doses. In part they say they want to hold back a second dose for everyone who receives the first dose. The 25 million doses that the companys promised for december has largely been manufactured, and many more of the lots are released, ready to be shipped than what are being shipped actually. The Trump Administration has been promising americans the vaccines will be widely available by late february or early march. But according to reporting by nbc news, the incoming biden team is worried it will inherit approval delays, disruptions and quantities that will slow down distribution, potentially moving vaccination to late summer or early fall. As for the president elect himself, nbc news has learned he will receive the vaccine in public on monday. This follows Vice President mike pence getting the vaccine today. Joining me now nbc news senior White House Reporter and the codirector for the center of Vaccine Development at texas Childrens Hospital dr. Peter hotez. Shannon, a lot of this reporting is coming from you. First up, though, what is this administration saying about these delays . As you out lined so much back and forth on day five already between pfizer and the Trump Administration and the Trump Administration says that everything essentially is going as plans, that they are going to be shipping out millions more doses next week, emphasizing the Moderna Vaccine is on the way. But a number of states and hospitals saying they have not gotten the supply that they need. And essentially that they are ready to go and be vaccinating people. But they havent gotten that supply. Pfizer saying they have the doses, theyre waiting on the u. S. To tell them where to ship them out. And i think it was interesting insight from Scott Gottlieb but not part of the Trump Administration. But his take on this being that the administration wants to hold back some doses so we make sure when you get to the point where Everyone Needs that second dose in three or four weeks that the vaccines there for them. So, just really highlighting the very complex logistical challenge were going to be facing because this is just the very beginning right now. So the biden team, shannon, according to your reporting, is worried about the process getting slowed down right now, and that carrying over to his administration. What specifically are they worried is going to continue on between now and then . I mean, theres a lot of different expectations i hear when i talk to those working with operation warp speed and when i talk to those who are advising the biden team in some capacity. Operation warp speed is laying out a very aggressive time line that by late february the general population, the healthy population out there could start getting this vaccine by march or april we could start getting to that herd immunity phase. Those doctors who are working with the Biden Administration coming in say that is way too aggressive, maybe if everything goes right and theres no hiccups along the way we could potentially possibly get there. But they see so many hurdles to come including getting more vaccines approved because they do need either additional vaccines to be approved or additional vaccine to be produced by pfizer in order to get to the general population. And then all the manufacturing issues that could come up, supply chain issues. Then the distribution, issues were seeing with distribution and getting the vaccine where it needs to be and of course in the final crucial stage of what they emphasize as 600 million shots in arms, its a task weve never undertaken before as a country. And there are so many variables that they are concerned were going to see come into play that were not even thinking about right now. Dr. Hotez, im just curious where you stand on this because to this administrations credit, they have been saying that they would have a vaccine before the end of the year and there was a lot of skepticism from a number of doctors and experts out there that this would even be possible. Lo and behold we dont just have one vaccine, were about to have two. What do you think about the timelines the warp speed time line on getting everybody vaccinated or the beginning of it by the end of february, potentially early march, and the biden teams i guess more managed expectations of late summer early fall . Well, katy, ive always taken the operation warp speed statements and goals as more aspirational than anything else. If all of the stars align, it theoretically is possible. But theres a lot of stars and a lot of alignment to do. I think, as shannon points out, i dont think were going to be able to do this with the mrna vaccines alone. I think the technology is still pretty new in terms of scaling up and distributing it. And of course the onerous freezer chain requirements for the Pfizer Vaccine. Thats one issue. Well almost certainly need additional new vaccines to be authorized through emergency use. I think thatll probably include the j j adenovirus and the astrazeneca vaccine and then theres a particle vaccine from novavax, and maybe one or two others. But thats what were going to need to meet that ambitious target of at least threequarters of the u. S. Population, which is our estimate based on studies of the university of new york showing that we could slow virus transmission. So its not impossible, but theres going to be a lot of things that have to happen. And of course we still have to overcome the vaccine hesitancy. We have the new poll coming out from the Kaiser Family foundation, high resistance among what they call republicans. So thats an issue that we can discuss, and also the africanamerican community. And then the likelihood that well need to vaccinate adolescents and kids in order to meet that 75 target. So, everythings possible. And a lot has happened already that defied our expectations on the positive side. But its going to be a heavy lift. On the trust and the vaccine, shannon, i know weve had this discussion before. But Vice President mike pence got the vaccine today. I know the president had coronavirus. He may think that hes immune to it, at least for some time. Is there any word from the white house on him getting this vaccine . No specifics. And as you mentioned, he already had the virus. He already received this Monoclonal Antibody treatment. There was some indication from the cdc that people who received that treatment shouldnt get the vaccine or they should wait. Im not the doctor here, but they should wait a certain period of time before they get the vaccine because it could interact with the monoclonal antibodies. But the president has just been so silent about this vaccine rollout given how much emphasis he put on it early on. And we have not seen him at all. And while weve seen some other World Leaders like Justin Trudeau go out and immediate with people. Of course youve had other highprofile people in the administration, i do think its quite noticeable that we just have not seen or heard from the president at all trying to capitalize on this huge moment and huge success for his administration. It is about messaging right now, especially to those people who only believe donald trump. Yes, Vice President mike pence got the vaccine. But he doesnt have the same cache as the president does. Weigh in on what shannon was talking about with the antibodies. Yeah. Well, with regard to the antibodies, its more of a theoretical concern. Id be more concerned with certain types of vaccines like live virus vaccines. So i dont really think its going to be much of a problem if you had a Monoclonal Antibody, and those antibodies will decline in levels pretty frequently. So i think hes probably close to being able to get a vaccine. I think the bigger issue is the fact that if you look at that Kaiser Family foundation poll, it found the highest group of resistance is among what they called republicans, 42 . And this goes back to the last five years of the Antivaccine Movement that it made this pivot to the political right under a fake banner that they call Health Freedom or medical freedom. And that same movement then glommed on protests against covid prevention measures including masks and social distancing, which was championed by scott atlas and his colleagues at the white house. They created a mess. And now i think we need the Republican Party to help fix the mess that they helped create. And we really need leaders in the Republican Party to step up and show that theyre getting vaccinated. Yeah, exactly. Dr. Hotez, you got the vaccine, we have video of you getting the vaccine. I want to ask you how youre feeling. I feel great. It was really no problem. That night i had a little bit of arm soreness, body aches, maybe a slight fever and woke up with some aches and pains. But by midmorning it was absolutely fine. And i think most people will probably have that. So, yeah, there are side effects, they will be mild, some say the second dose may be a bit more. But its certainly no worse than any other vaccine ive gotten in the past. So, the bottom line is get your vaccination, you have no excuse. You tell me though, are those cringe eyes or are those smiling eyes in that video . I cant quite tell. Do you not like shots . Well, i mean, who does, right . I cant say theyre fun. I do. I actually kind of enjoy it. Im a weirdo. I dont mind it. I dont know. I wanted to be a doctor. I failed in that journey. So i dont know. I was smiling as well because, lets face it, when you get the two doses of the vaccine you know youre not going to wind up in an icu or the hospital. Its a very powerful vaccine with levels of protection as good as the measles vaccine. So, at least now we can, since we dont have a National Containment program for covid19, we have to vaccinate our way out of it and hopefully well have the tools to do that now. Dr. Peter hotez, thank you very much. Shannon pettypiece, thank you as well. Joining me now is nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster. He is at a Vaccine Distribution center in olive branch, mississippi. Shaq, what can you tell us about the distribution so far . Any hiccups . Reporter well, it hasnt started yet. Theyre waiting for that green light, that emergency use authorization from the fda. But when that comes, things will move very quickly at the mckesson plant in olive branch, mississippi. Mckesson is responsible for distributing the vaccine, turning modernas stockpile of doses into individual shipments. What we know about the time line at this point, were waiting for that emergency use authorization from the fda. Next the cdc will then place an order with mckesson asking them and telling them where to send the specific amount of vaccines all across the country. Mckesson is a company that has worked with the cdc before, not only for the seasonal flu vaccine but also for the h1n1 or swine flu vaccine about ten years ago. Workers then will combine the vaccine doses in boxes with kits of medical supplies and will send them out. The key difference with this Moderna Vaccine is that it doesnt have to be stored at that extremely cold temperature that we saw with the Pfizer Vaccine. What that means is it can go a little bit more faster. It can go out in boxes with simple freezer packs, its something that companies are more use to dealing with. And it can go to more places like Nursing Homes, pharmacies, doctors offices. They expect this vaccine to go out more quickly and to more places. Moderna is saying that they can get about 20 million doses out by the end of this year. Thats in about two weeks. They say that they will head up to about 200 million doses by the summertime. When you look at the different state plans, im talking about states like georgia, like iowa, while they did get that first round of vaccines from pfizer and some of them say theyre still waiting for more of what they were expecting, its really the vaccines from moderna that will really add to their numbers and help them vaccinate the entire population that theyre looking to vaccinate in this first phase. Katy . Hopefully theyll know where to send them. Also great news about the Moderna Vaccine. It doesnt need to be refrigerated at that ultra cold temperature that the Pfizer Vaccine does. So its easier to get out to rural areas. Shaquille brewster, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. 40 of covid19 deaths nationwide have happened in Nursing Homes. Now, Nursing Homes are finally getting the help that they desperately need. And later, our National Security has been compromised. The department of Homeland Security, the bepentagon and th agency that oversees our Nuclear Stockpile have all been hacked. The white house though is silent on this. First up though, where is covid relief, and is the government about to shut down . Now of all times. Senator dick durbin joins me next. From your walmart store. Really fast. Really perfect. Lets end the year nailing it. Letsrecommercials withtng it. Exciting stunts. So to help you remember that Liberty Mutual customizes your Home Insurance, heres something you shouldnt try at home. Look, Liberty Mutual customizes Home Insurance so we only pay for what we need. Its pretty cool. That is cool grandma very cool. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. 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Lets end the year enjoying more. You are all i need baby baby to get by leits moving day. And are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. It only takes about a minute. Wait, a minute . But what have you been doing for the last two hours . Delegating . Oh, good one. Move your Xfinity Services without breaking a sweat. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Xfinity makes moving easy. Go online to transfer your services in about a minute. Get started today. Congress has had a major totodo list today. They have a midlight deadline to avoid a shutdown which hinges on a 900 billion relief package lawmakers had hoped to attach that bill. How soon it can pass both chambers and get critical aid to Americans Still remains uncertain. Joining me now is democratic senator and minority whip dick durbin of illinois. So it seemed like, senator, that this was all smooth sailing, that this was going to get passed quickly, there was an agreement. And now there is this hitch about the Federal Reserve and some of the money that was left over from the c. A. R. E. S. Act. What exactly is going on . Whats going on is washington is at its worst after i joined a group of eight senators, four democrats, four republicans, we put together a proposal, introduced it tuesday, we picked up momentum. The leaders were meeting, the white house was meeting. And then came one of the senators from pennsylvania who said i want to introduce into this conversation a question about whether or not the Federal Reserve should have the opportunity and authority to deal with emergencies in the future and the process stopped. Think about that. The millions of americans that are waiting for their unemployment insurance, the thousands of companies, maybe millions of companies that are looking for help to stay alive. And were going to stop and debate at length a policy of the Federal Reserve. Give me a break. 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