and good evening. we end the week with sobering news about the pandemic, even with vaccines on the horizon. new records being set for cases, people being hospitalized, and people dying. local icus are running out of capacity. also, an hour from now, a special, cnn coronavirus town hall. dr. sanjay gupta and i focusing on your questions about vaccines. we are featuring dr. anthony fauci. he'll be joining us, live. we begin, tonight, though, quickly, with a white house in upheaval. as one official put it, becoming

more toxic, by the day. our jim acosta is there. he did the reporting. joins us now. so, i understand this involves the president's staff. what's going on? >> that's right, anderson. we saw, yesterday, the white house communications director stepping down. and that, i think, raised some questions because, you will he rememb remember, a month ago, issued this threat to white house officials saying if you leave your job, if we catch you looking for a job, you are going to be fired. all of that is gone. staffers, here, at the white house, from what we can tell doing our reporting, they are ignoring those threats from mcatee and others, and they're starting to head for the exits. and i talked to a white house official, earlier today, who said, listen. the atmosphere inside this west wing inside the white house is getting toxic -- more toxic, by the day. that, people are turning on each other, and they are trying to settle scores. that is one reason staffers are leaving because this toxic environment. others are leaving because they're fed up with the

president, quite frankly, anderson. there are staffers that are sick and tired of this president not conceding this race. but, also, undermining democracy because it's undermining people's faith in elections, in u.s. elections. and finally, anderson, is just the practical fact of the matter. people need to find jobs. president may think he is heading into a second term, come january, 2021. but just about everybody here at the white house understands it's time to move on and they have to find other jobs. >> the president's making money off these falsehoods about election fraud. you know, he -- he -- he -- he's making millions on this, potentially. tens of millions. how is the president taking this, given his usually-high demand, should we say, for loyalty, which he doesn't necessarily ever reciprocate? >> you know, right now, he appears to be unfazed by this because he is making the same, baseless allegations. spreading the same lies about the election. claiming that there's still some chance, you know, if this state

is challenged over there, and that state is challenged over there and so on. and so, this is a president, as we've been saying for weeks now, who is not dealing with the reality of the situation. even though, i'm told, he privately understands that he is going to be leaving office, come january 20th. but, i -- i think we're going to get a -- a better sense of that question, that you're asking, anderson, in the coming days. when he starts to see some of these staffers leaving. you know, anderson, the number of staffers here is dwindling. and you are seeing high-level staffers exiting the white house, and low-level staffers. and he is going to start to notice some of the people he was surrounded by, just weeks ago, are simply going to be gone because it's time to move on. >> jim acosta, appreciate it. thank you. going to come back to jim in just a bit for new reporting on the president's plans to campaign in georgia this weekend. now, the pandemic and a staggering, new fact. more than half of us know someone, personally, who's been hospitalized of covid-19 or has died of it. 54%, to be precise, of people in this country according to the

latest survey from pew research. means, all the scary numbers bombarding us, it is that one figure, 54%, that perhaps says the most. it tells the story of conrad buchanan, a dj in ft. meyers, florida, who loved dancing with his daughter, skye. his family never got the chance to say good-bye. they are now part of that 54%. that 54% includes people who knew and loved ellen shriner. a hospice nurse in fairborn, ohio. her sister, nancy, calls her the best aunt, ever. also, among the 50%. peggy flanagan. to many, he will be a statistic. but i'll remember a loving older brother, father, uncle, and husband. that 54%, also, includes everyone connected with 23-year-old riley barrons, who contacted cov contracted covid and suffered a

mini stroke. >> i would say i think there's a lot of people still not taking this seriously, and now is the time to do that. i never thought -- one, i never thought that i would get covid, in the first place. and then, two, didn't think that it would be that bad when i first tested positive. i thought, i'll get over this. and so, i think it's important to realize how unpredictable this virus is, and to start taking it seriously. >> young or old, 54% of us now know someone like riley or have lost someone like peggy flanagan. and saddest of all, with every passing day, with more and more americans dying, one every 30 seconds or so, eventually, that 54% will be 60%. then, 75, or higher. yes, vaccines are coming, but they can't come soon enough. nearly 2,300 new deaths reported today, and today's figures won't be final, for hours. covid is now the leading cause of death in this country, according to an estimate by the university of washington's institute for health, metrics, and evaluation. the institute is now projecting more than a quarter million

americans will die by the beginning of april, bringing the total to nearly 539,000, by april. so, even with vaccines, these next few months, this will be unlike anything we have seen before. >> i think we have not, yet, seen the post-thanksgiving peak. that's the concerning thing because the numbers, in and of themselves, are alarming. and then, you realize that it is likely we'll see more of a surge, as we get two to three weeks past the thanksgiving holiday. and the thing that concerns me is that abuts right on the christmas holiday, as people start to travel and shop and congregate. >> dr. anthony fauci joins us, at the top of the next hour, 9:00 eastern, for a special, cnn town hall. today, he talked about the single-best thing we could all do right now, which is wear a mask. think about that when you think about peggy golden -- peggy -- the woman, peggy, we talked

about. her brother. peggy flanagan. her brother, ron, who died. the ihme stimestimates as many 66,000 lives could be saved by april 1st, if 95% of us were willing to wear masks. today, the cdc put out new guidelines making universal-mask wearing a priority, including at home. it works so well, the agency says, that some communities should consider giving them out. the current president made going without one a political statement. as a result of decisions like that and many, many more, the number of people hospitalized for covid broke another record, today. topping 101,000. and in those figures, there's something even grimmer. according to the atlantic's covid-tracking project, as hospitals have been filling up with covid patients, the percentage of covid cases has actually been falling. suggesting there may not be enough available care in places, even for covid patients.

the bulk of evidence now suggests one of the worst fears of the pandemic, that hospitals would become overwhelmed, leading to needless deaths, is happening now. joining us now, someone who's been following the strain on hospitals, along with others, dr. chris murray. also, cnn's chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. dr. murray, your latest projections showed that, even with the expected vaccine rollout, the united states forecast to see 539,000 deaths by april 1st. even more astonishing, even with a vaccine, if states don't act to bring current surges under control, the death toll could reach 770,000 by april 1st. that's more than died in the so-called spanish flu epidemic/pandemic, back in 1918. >> yeah. we're -- we are facing, you know, a number of pretty grim months, ahead, anderson. and we've seen the numbers very high, this week, already.

we think they'll go up towards 3,000 deaths a day, in january. so it -- there's a long -- a long passage, ahead. and, although the hope of vaccines is there, it's not going to come in time to deal with that january-february surge. >> and, dr. murray, you know, when you look at the model, people may not realize. bu but there's sort of these triggers built in. it assumes many states, for example, if i read it correctly, once you hit about eight deaths per million residents, that many states would reimpose mandates. we -- we've hit that mark. i did the math. that's about 2,800 deaths, nationally, per day. and we've hit that mark. is it realistic, do you think, that these states are going to reimpose mandates? and how bad do they get if these mandates don't go into place? >> well, it can get much worse. you know, they can get up to 6,000 deaths, a day. it's possible, you know, 770,000 deaths by april if -- if no

states react. now, we know some states are acting. we are seeing what's happening in california. you know, minnesota. a number of other states have acted to take measures. we still believe that states will take measures, but it is very concerning that the death toll is so high. and some states have not acted, yet. >> and, dr. murray, in your predictions, found that in the u.s., the expected vaccine rollout plan only reduces the number of deaths by 9,000, by april 1st. why is that? i mean, presumably, that will increase, as the months roll on, i assume. >> well, i think, if you look far out to the summer, vaccines are going to make a huge difference. they are going to save a lot of lives. they're going to get us back to normal much sooner. but the problem there is that, you know, even if we authorize the vaccine next week, start to scale up, get up to 3 million people being vaccinated. the lags built into that, the weeks it takes, the two doses, and the fact that the bad times

are now and january means that, disturbingly, we don't get a huge impact, until after april, from vaccination. >> dr. murray, you also, in the report today, it said that the -- that essentially, if you looked at the numbers, covid-19 would be the leading cause of death this week. i mean, it was over 11,000 deaths, if you added it up. and that outpaces heart disease. heart disease, you know, on average, in an average week, is i think 10,500 people, sadly, die every week. so, covid-19. is it, now, the leading cause of death in this country? how did you -- how did you arrive at this? >> yeah. i mean, as part of what we do at the institute, we look at every cause, not just covid. and so, we track the data pretty carefully. and so, yes, we can say that covid is the leading cause of death in america, this week. >> president-elect biden said, today, that his team hasn't seen a detailed plan for distributing the vaccine. do you believe that's accurate? and given your data and everything we know from your projections, what would that mean if there is -- if there is not a detailed plan?

>> well, you know, the -- the vaccine, the mrna vaccine, the two that are going to come up first. you know, pfizer and moderna. really, require something more than the usual flu vaccine. they require the supercold storage. so, there's more of a challenge to scaling that up. but, our understanding, from both the supply -- you know, the producers and from the discussions that we've all heard about from government and state governments, is they're primarily going to try to use the normal mechanisms of going to clinics and hospitals to get vaccinated. so, i -- i think a lot will be left to each state. but, we do think that, you know, vaccinations will start in december. and we will start to see a sort of steady scaleup. the other thing we see is that if we could, somehow, double our efforts and -- and be twice as fast, you can make a bigger dent. but even then, you're talking about saving maybe another

24,000 lives by that double-speed vaccination. >> and, sanjay, the vaccine advisory committee today recommended not to use emergency-use authorization for vaccination in children. do you think that is a good call? and when do you expect children will be able to get the vaccine or what age they should get the vaccine? >> right. it's a tough call but i think it's a good call. first of all, there's just not a lot of data, yet. they've started adding children into these clinical trials but we don't have data. you can't just look at children as small adults. the dosing will be different. there may be different vaccines that work better. and i think the other part that went into that decision, anderson, is that while kids can get sick, and we've heard some, you know, tragic stories. they are far less likely to actually develop the symptoms and get, you know, sick. so, wish we had more vaccine but it's not here, yet. >> dr. murray, the cdc said, today, that masks are critical to stopping the spread. i mean, we've talked about this, endlessly, now. even at home, sometimes, they

said. have you seen an indication that people are doing that? and what circumstances would inside-the-house-mask use be warranted? i understand places outside the house, but inside the house. >> well, inside-the-house mask use makes sense, if you are going to come in contact with anybody outside your household. so, if you are just at home with your own household members, there is no purpose in wearing a mask. unless, they're going out and at risk of exposure. but, if you have any contact with people from outside your household or members of your household are having to work and come in contact with others, then yes, that makes a lot of sense. and, you know, we've been saying for so long that masks work. and it's really a question of getting more people to use them. the good news is that it's -- as things get bad, people are more likely to wear a mask. and so, we're seeing that in the data. the use numbers are slowly creeping up. we just would like them to go up

faster. >> sanjay, what do you make of where -- where we're at right now? >> i -- you know, it's -- it's -- it's sad. it's tragic. it's worrisome, for the months ahead. i was writing an essay, today, sort of really reflecting on the last nine months. and looking at all these points where we could have, you know, intervened in some of the ways dr. murray is talking about and we didn't. it's kind of like a patient who, you know, give the treatment plan to. they don't follow the treatment plan. then, they come back angry a few months later because they're getting sicker. you know, that's how i feel things are. i remain optimistic. i'm glad vaccines are on the way. and i hope it sort of inspires people to redouble their efforts. >> sanjay, i'm going to see you at the top of the hour. cnn town hall, the vaccine. dr. anthony fauci is going to be taking your questions. again, that is sanjay and i, 9:00 p.m., eastern, right here. next for us, this hour.

breaking news. another string of postelection court rulings and another string of defeats for the president. also, atlanta's mayor, keisha lance bottoms, on the president's visit to georgia. also, the nightmare for two incumbents, namely, the president, more interested in fighting his own, hopeless election battles, and erring his own grievances, than fighting for them. eplaced them with flexible power fins to directly engage floors and dig deep into carpets. pick up more on every pass with no hair wrap. shark vertex with duoclean power fins. so now that medicare annual enrollment is here, it's time for a plan that gives you more for your medicare dollar: an aarp medicare advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. call unitedhealthcare today to get $0 copays for all primary care doctor visits,

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breaking news, tonight, that will likely not improve the president's mood or the climate tow whi at the white house. four more court defeats. for the second day, in a row, the conservative-controlled, wisconsin supreme court, throwing out a case, aimed at invalidating results there. a district judge in nevada rejecting republican attempt to declare president trump the winner in that state. and in arizona,. the judge saying the plaintiffs had failed to prove fraud, misconduct, illegal votes, or an erroneous vote count. meanwhile, his trip is fraught with all sorts of complications. as you know, the president has routinely attacked an array of elected republicans in the state for not finding fraud in the state's presidential balloting that was, of course, won by president-elect biden. now, we want to go back to cnn's

chief white house correspondent, jim acosta, who has new reporting on the president and georgia republican governor, brian kemp. jim, what can we expect from the president given the battle he's been waging on leaders in the state and particularly, now, the governor? >> yeah, i just talked to a white house adviser about this. and this adviser said people around the president, they are, quote, panicked about what might happen with these runoffs. and the reason why is because the president started this, and then he had surrogates like sydney powell and lin wood pick this up. but, what those two are down there doing is sechlgessentiall raising these questions, casting all sorts of aspersions about the vote in georgia. and essentially, sending the message that it's not really worth it to go out and vote in these runoffs because your vote may not count because of all of these baseless and false and crazy allegations of election fraud. and what this white house adviser and other people i've spoken to about this, including aides up on capitol hill, gop

aides up on capitol hill, is that the unintended consequences of all of that is you could have a depressed base turnout. and in runoff races, anderson, as you well know, a lot of times, it just boils down to turnout. and the democrats are pulling out all the stops to win those two seats because, obviously, they win those two seats, they win the majority in the senate. this white house adviser, a short while ago, said the president is very concerned about that. if you have a democrat-controlled senate. >> by emphasizing the need to hold on to those two senate seats to keep a republican marn majority, the president would essentially be acknowledging he and vice president pence will be out of office. how do you expect him to walk that line? >> right. yeah. exactly. they are essentially admitting, at this point, that they've lost this election, indirectly. the vice president was down in georgia, earlier today. he was making this case.

that, you know, if ossoff and warnock win these senate seats, that the democrats are going to control the senate. the president is expected to have the same message, tomorrow. this adviser i was just speaking with a few moments ago, said that the president is going to be talking about his legacy. talking about his record. and that the democrats, if they take control of the senate, will be undoing that if this base does not turn out. now, the president has been able to count on this base, you know, i guess, if you go back to 2016. but, as we saw in the 2020 election, anderson, his base ended up not being enough. especially, in that state of georgia, which surprised everybody. this has been getting under the president's skin. my colleague, kaitlan collins, talked to her sources. and found that the president has been saying, privately, that georgia's gop governor, brian kemp, is a moron and so on because he hasn't been able to do the president's bidding. and so, anderson, you could have i guess the mother of all unintended consequences if the president, by starting all of this nonsense and having

surrogates like sydney powell and so on carrying this water down in georgia, could actually take control of the senate, and hand it over to the democrats. that would be just the ultimate of all ironies, at the end of this, if that's what happens, anderson. >> yeah. i mean, he used to praise georgia's governor, brian kemp, of course, when he was trying to urge people to get back to -- to work. just, what -- is he going to have a big rally in georgia? do you know what the plan is? >> yeah. the plan is for the president to hold a rally, tomorrow evening. and it is expected to attract a huge crowd, obviously. the question is just how far the president wants to go. we're going to be watching this language, very carefully, because if the president is saying, as you were just saying a few moments ago. that, you know, if you don't go out there, we're going to lose control of the senate. that is essentially acknowledging that joe biden and kamala harris are coming into power, on january 20th. and so, you know, he's going to be walking that line. but as we have seen all week, anderson, the president has continued to, you know, wage

this -- this futile battle, where he thinks he is going to, somehow, you know, have these voter-fraud allegations and so on, result in him keeping control of the white house. nobody thinks that. as we were talking about this earlier, even staffers inside the white house don't believe it. that's why they are leaving right now. so, it'll be very interesting to watch what the president has to say, and we'll be dissecting it a all of it for you tomorrow, anderson. >> joining us now, mayor keisha lance bottoms. do you think the president -- given his attacks on now the governor and secretary of state? >> i -- i -- i think they should have concern. and, of course, i just hope that, as democrats across georgia, we have enough discipline not to just wait for the republican party to self-implode. it's -- there's been a lot of infighting. obviously, a lot of incoming fire from the president. but, for us to win january 5th, we have to remain focused. and that focus has to continue

to be to get people to turn out and vote. there were still a lot of people who stayed at home in november. we had a record turnout in this state, but there was still a number of registered voters on the democrat side who did not turn out to vote. so we've got to continue to push that message, that it's not over and january 5th is just as important as the november election. >> i mean, some of the president's supporters, obviously, have been actively encouraging republicans not to vote in the special elections. claiming, it is rigged. obviously, there is no evidence of that. zero evidence to back up any fraud claims. what does it say about where politics are in your state that, that is what is happening right now? all these republicans have been going along with the president since the election, in the hopes that he will back these candidates in -- in georgia. now, you have, you know, some surrogates for the president, some folks, supporters, of the

president out there, saying don't go vote. >> yeah. it's really interesting, anderson, just by way of -- of -- of a bit of history. brian kemp, the governor of georgia, was endorsed by donald trump during the primary. he was the underdog during the republican primary. so there is long history there. we, of course, have a republican-elected secretary of state. and to watch republican officials have to push back against the president is something that we've not seen before. but, welcome to 2020. there are all sorts of things we've not seen before, including a president of the united states who refuses to acknowledge that he's lost. so, it's my hope, again, that across this state, including those republicans who voted for joe biden and kamala harris. those independents, who voted for joe biden and kamala harris. that, they will remember the chaos of this time, and that they will go and vote for raphael warnock and jon ossoff.

>> former president obama was part of a virtual rally, today. and i want to play part of what he said. >> you are, now, once again, the center of our civic universe. because the special election in georgia is going to determine, ultimately, the course of the biden presidency. >> do -- are there still people who haven't made up their minds, who to vote for? is it just a question of getting people out to -- to -- to vote? >> from all of the polling that i'm seeing, i think it really is going to be about turnout. and we know, quite often, people believe they've done enough when they go and vote in the presidential election. and we rarely have runoff elections for senate races in this state. and then, on top of that, to have an opportunity to elect two

senators. this is a place and a space that we have not been in, in quite some time. and so, it is going to be about turnout. about reminding people, and in some cases, educating people, on why they have to go back and vote. because many voters voted for the first time, this election. there are many people who had never voted before and -- and really don't even understand the concept of a turnout. >> yeah. >> of a runoff. >> speaking of, black voter turnout did increase in the presidential cycle. it did lag behind some other demographics, in that state. what do you and other democrats think is the best way to increase turnout among black voters for the special election? >> we did have an increase in turnout. but, anderson, i can tell you, the number is staggering, the number of african-americans who did not vote in november. and so, what we have to do, we have to reach people where they are. it's great that the television ads are running but i have an 18-year-old in my house who doesn't watch television.

so, we've got to talk to them via social media. we have got to knock on doors. we've got to make phone calls. we have to cover all bases, in order to get people back out to vote. >> mayor keisha lance bottoms, thanks very much. up next, kyung lah talks to the very people who matter most when it comes to control of the senate. republicans who trust president trump so much, it could topple the gop's last grip on power. w,s right where you need it with an adjustable precision jet spray and an advanced pad system. and offers personalized cleaning suggestions unique to your home. braava jet m6 and the irobot home app. only from irobot. a livcustomizeper iquickbooks for me. braava jet m6 and the irobot home app. okay, you're all set up. thanks! that was my business gi, this one's casual. get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults.

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stop living with at&t. xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes. we showed you, a few moments ago, how the gop, from president trump on down, is scrambling to protect its senate majority, as the georgia runoff nears. but tonight, kyung lah looks at why democrats aren't the biggest

obstacle for republicans in keeping the senate. it's republicans who take president trump at his word. >> reporter: 60 miles west of atlanta sits harrelson county, georgia. here, lunch is served with a side of disbelief. >> do you believe in the results, and what happened here in georgia? >> no. i really don't. >> who do you think won, in november? >> i, honestly, think trump did. >> who do you think won the election, if your viewpoint? >> trump. i think trump did. >> reporter: for some shell-shocked supporters of the president, it's impossible to think about the upcoming, january senate runoffs, with a continu continued deluge of misinformation from president trump and others. >> you voted in november. how are you feeling about the runoffs? >> i really don't know. i don't know if it's going to change anything, or not. it may. it may not. >> why do you say that? >> i mean, with all the voter fraud and all the stuff they're talking about. so, i don't know, 100%, you

know, what's going on. or how they -- how they count the votes or whatever. so, you know, it's confusing, you know, trusting anything, anymore. >> reporter: that is a republican nightmare in the upcoming, senate runoffs because, here, the republican who could hold the most sway is trump. in harrelson county, the president increased his support by about 3,000 votes, from four years ago. a trend in deep-red counties. donald trump, not only won these counties in november, he did so by roughly 276,000 more votes than in 2016. republicans need that enthusiastic gop base, in places like harrelson, to vote for incumbent republican senators, kelly loeffler and david perdue in the january 5th runoffs. but, there is a complication. the president keeps saying this. >> they know it was a fixed election. it was a a rigged election.

they know it. and i appreciate their support. >> reporter: that baseless claim puts the incumbent senators on the ballot in a political pickle. >> president trump's very frustrated and i'm very frustrated. and we're going to do everything we possibly can to make sure that whatever anomalies are uncovered in november don't happen in january. but this is illogical for any republican to think i'm just going to sit down and not vote and hand over, as you say, keys to the democrats. >> reporter: a former georgia state representative, he says republicans are already telling him they will not vote in january. >> i've had dozens of people tell me that. people that i knew. >> they're just not going to show up? >> uh-huh. i do my best to talk them out of it but the internet spreads things like wildfire. >> what happens if the president keeps tweeting and talking about a rigged election? >> it hurts. it absolutely hurts because he has a very passionate group of followers, who, frankly, are more committed to him than they are to the republican party. if he were to continue with that

message, that would be very hurtful to -- to the republican party and to loeffler and perdue. >> not everyone in harrelson county believes trump's mixed message hurts. says the more outrage trump is at the rally, the more enthusiasm for the senators. >> it's going to boost to come out stronger, i believe. >> and why stronger? >> it's defiance. it's, you know, we're not going to take this stuff sitting down. we're going to come back out. we going to vote. we going to show that we care. >> reporter: kyung lah, cnn, harrelson county, georgia. >> i want to bring in abby phillip and paul begala and scott jennings. abby, some are worried about president trump's visit to georgia, tomorrow, understandably. worried about what he might say and not say. do you think the potential benefit of having him there, revving up the base, outweighs the possible negatives? >> well, you know, it's hard to say. i think that it's important for the president to be there, if

they're going to have even a shot at getting the kind of turnout they need. the president's rallies are really effective turnout mek mechanisms for the trump campaign and the republican party, in general. it gets thousands and thousands of people out of their homes, which is a huge -- i think it is ea huge endeavor, in any campaign, to simply get people to get up and go and do something. the problem is that president trump is very much focused on himself, at all times, as we all know. and his fixation on his own sense of grievance about the november election could totally turn this whole thing up, on its head. if he can't get focused, this weekend, enough to say i need you to get out and go vote. then, i think it could all be for not. he may spend an hour at the rally talking, and basically telling his supporters that the whole thing is rigged. and i'm not sure that that's going to be particularly helpful to republicans. >> scott, i'm not going to ask you what you think the president will say because there's no way to predict that. but, in terms of what he should say, i -- i mean, i guess, the

message would be the system is rigged, but go out and vote, anyway? >> i mean, if you want me to paint a perfect picture, here's what he should say. look. i know you're disappointed but here's what we're going to do. we're going to stick it to the people who made my life miserable for the last four years. and you're going to deliver a republican-senate majority because it's going to preserve everything we fought for. all of the things you liked about my administration, we can preserve, if republicans are in charge in the senate. and it all goes away, if we turn it over to the democrats. that's what he should say. that's the clearest way to get republicans to rally and vote in this election. >> but, doesn't that acknowledge that he has lost? >> well, yeah. but, you know, you're trying to do algebra here and i'm not sure the both sides of the equal sign are going to -- are going to come out right here, anderson. i mean, the -- i mean, the reality is you asked me what he should say. and to get republicans to vote, it's to tell them everything we're fighting for goes away, if you let these democrats win.

but here -- here's the truth about what the republicans think about georgia. number one, the polling sucks. number two, and by that, i mean, nobody -- no one believes the polling. it wasn't right in the election. i mean, no one -- no one knows who is going to vote so it's hard to poll. and, number three, it's incredibly close state. and so, i'd say we're flying on instruments here but the dials are spinning and we've got unruly passengers back in first class. i mean, we're totally flying blind on this thing. and that's why trump being such a wildcard has the chance to really help or really hurt. and it really all comes down to what he says. >> paul, how do you see this? >> well, i think abby really hit the nail on the head when she says it's always about trump, right? me, me, me, me, me. the first-person singular is his favorite part of speech. this could be a trap for democrats, though. i'm -- i, actually -- of course, i watch trump fight with kemp, it's like when texas a and m plays oklahoma. i hope they can both lose.

but here is the problem. that game doesn't affect my life. it's a sideshow. 470,000 georgians are infected. by the way, david perdue and kelly loeffler are worried about their controversial trades, while they got rich while we got sick. democrats need to bring this back to your life, not to the sideshow. i am telling you, this is a trap for the democrats. i know you got dr. fauci coming up in the 9:00 hour. this is what people ought to be talking about, by god, mr. trump, governor kemp, senator loeffler, senator perdue, and certainly the democrats. reverend warnock and jon ossoff, actually, doing a good job of trying to explain to people, the only way you're going to get covid aid is if the democrats win because the republicans have killed it. they're killing unemployment compensation, small business aid, student loan aid, that's the message democrats ought to be pushing. >> abby, there is this argument

happening among some trump supporters in georgia. not to vote because they claim the election is rigged, which is baseless. while, the rnc and campaign are pleading with voters to turn out. >> yeah. the problem for the rnc, in particular, is that a lot of the trump supporters, who kind of most surprised pollsters by showing up in places and at times when pollsters don't expect them to are, also, the ones who are spending a lot of time in the parts of the internet where the words and comments of people, like sydney powell and -- and, you know, and others. about how the election is rigged and you shouldn't give the -- the -- you know, the system your vote. they are listening to those things because that's what they're seeing, day in and day out, in their day-to-day lives. and they're talking about it, among their friends. so, it's hard to kind of counter that -- that message from a 10,000-foot perspective with, you know, ronna mcdaniel telling

people to go ahead and vote, when they're not listening to the ronna mcdaniels of the world. so, you know, this is a profound problem for republicans because i think their disinformation could be coming back on them. and -- and we've already seen like, you know, in 2018, when president trump is not on the ballot, it is a little bit harder for those types of voters who kind of help him along, to come out again for republicans down ballot. >> paul, how concerned are georgia democrats about their voters getting a little complacent? >> very. they're not complacent. it's just very hard. i've been through a lot of races in georgia. as you know, i used to work there. and -- and the democrats usually have the harder time in a runoff motivating their base. a runoff is about motivating your base, and unifying your party. mr. trump motivates his base, but he does not unify his party. democrats usually have a hard time moving two key groups. young people and african-americans. and -- and guess what? the two candidates are jon ossoff, who's, like, nine.

and reverend raphael warnock, the pastor of ebenezer baptist church, the most-storied church in america. actually, think that's pretty hopeful for the democrats but, again, i don't think democrats should fall into this trap of talking about this feud and brian kemp. they need to talk about people's lives and i do think ossoff and warnock are doing that. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. covid vaccine could be available, 20 million americans, by the end of this month. dr. sanjay gupta and i are going to discuss that, and more, with dr. fauci. that's in our next hour, starting about ten minutes from now in our cnn global town hall. the vaccine will be, obviously, a relief for many. but not everyone is rushing or lining up to try to get a shot. lot of concerns, especially in one of the states being hit hardest by the virus and within communities hit hardest. we'll take a look at what's fueling those concerns, coming up. rn and raised. i'm a doordasher, i'm a momma with a special needs child, she is the love of my life. doordash provides so much flexibility.

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the covid vaccine certainly can't come soon enough, but they are coming, and there's a hurdle of convincing americans they will be safe to take. many are expressing hesitancy, particularly in some black and latino communities. our national correspondent spoke to residents of one of the hardest hit towns in alabama on what is fueling that distrust. >> reporter: hobson city, alabama. the term city used loosely. it's really a small town, population about 800. >> we're a small community, small enough to know everybody and everybody's cat.

>> reporter: hobson city's mayor says small enough to know when it comes to trusting in a covid-19 vaccine, many people here feel the way she does. >> i'm reluctant to take the vaccine. >> you yourself are reluctant? >> reporter: most of those who live in hobson city are african-american. distrust of the medical community runs deep. the town, located about 100 miles from tuskegee, alabama, home to one of the darkest chapters in american medical history. in the 1930s, government doctors conducted experiments on black men, leaving them untreated for syphilis until the 1970s, so doctors could monitor how it affected them. alabama is taking a beating from the coronavirus. the state's 14-day positivity rate at just over 29%. in calhoun county, where hobson city sits, the rate is 37%. still older residents suches a joe cunningham have such little faith in doctors, he was reluctant to go in for a covid-19 test and any discussion about a vaccine is off the

table. >> i'm afraid to take the test. >> why not, mr. cunningham? >> i don't know. i don't understand it. i'd like to know who it's coming from. >> i'm going to have to convince my father because he don't know what this vaccine is about. as black people, that's all we know is to trust the lord and trust god. we have to convince our family that this is the right thing to do because this will help slow it down and help us to survive. >> reporter: distrust in communities of color is not just a small town problem. it's nationwide. a study conducted in september exploring the issue in black and latino communities found just 14% of black people and only 34% of latinos trust a vaccine will be safe. >> it's like a -- it's almost to me like a fear. like i have a phobia of needles. i'm almost at that point where i phobia of doctors. >> reporter: carmen bailey was diagnosed with covid-19 in april. bailey says she avoided medical help because she feels she has been poorly treated by doctors in the past. now the grandmother of three

suffers from adverse effects with her heart, lungs, and kidneys. >> sometimes i can barely walk, and i'm tired of hurting. i don't know what to do. >> reporter: what she will not do is take a vaccine. >> we don't know any kind of side effects from them, so i just really feel like at this point people that's going to take that vaccine is guinea pigs. >> you really think they're guinea pigs? >> i do. i just feel like we don't know enough. >> reporter: dr. margaret larkins pettigrew and her husband know the health community has a number of hurdles to overcome to reach communities of color. >> when you talk about trust, you know, you're looking at that tug-of-war. do i trust the science because they're telling me this is what's going to help me, you know? but i have a lived experience that says that this may not be so because i have been deprived of other things. >> reporter: the pettigrews come from a place of experience professionally and personally,

both lived and works in tuskegee for a time. both are participating in a covid-19 vaccine trial currently under way. and the couple is advocating for trust in the science behind a vaccine. >> we thought that it was important to make this contribution and to represent the community that we're part of in a way that says you can do this, and you can take this vaccine. >> was there any hesitation at all? >> i had no hesitation. i see what happens when people of color are not included in studies, and that is the, you know, downside of things. >> reporter: back in hobson city, the mayor says she's had a change of heart, but it had little to do with science. >> i sat across from a young man who came in to purchase a grave for his 59-year-old wife, who died of covid-19 last wednesday. and if anything makes me change my mind, that changed my mind. his wife's grave will be right over there in our cemetery.

59 years old. >> he changed your mind? >> he changed my mind. >> reporter: jason carroll, cnn, hobson city, alabama. >> a lot more to come on the vaccine front. an entire hour of your questions with dr. anthony fauci here to help answer along with dr. sanjay gupta, who i'll be co-hosting with. ok. let's see what you've got, oculus... don't look down, don't look down! ooh. shouldn't have looked downnn! whoo! it's ok. i'm ok. let's go. hey. how do i...? relax. get into it! yeah! i've got it! whoa. rated e for everyone.

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hall on the coronavirus. only this time the title is a hopeful one, the vaccines. as always we're being seen around the world on cnn international and streamed on cnn.com. >> as we come to you tonight, two vaccines right now, one from pfizer, the other from moderna appear to be on the cuss fda approval which is only the beginning. it's going to take a massive effort to produce, distribute, deliver and store doses to people. according to president biden today, he's november satisfied with what he's seen of it. >> there is no detailed plan that we've seen anyway as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an injection syrin syringe, into somebody's arm. and it's going to be very difficult for that to be done, and it's a very expensive proposition. there's a lot more that has to be done. >> just ahead tonight, we'll ask the nation's preeminent disease expert, dr. anthony fauci. he's been tapped to serve as a chief medical adviser to serve in the biden administration.

>> we're also going to ask dr. fauci about the national vaccine advisory committee's decision today to not recommend an emergency use authorization for a covid vaccine in children. in addition, your many questions for dr. fauci. please tweet them to us with the hashtag #cnntownhall. you can leave a comment on the cnn facebook page as well. >> a lot of you have sent them in video form. you can see some of them up on the screen and we'll get to as many of those as we can tonight as well. we'll be joined by a couple who took part in vaccine testing who will tell us about their experience and the side effects one of them felt. we'll talk about the months ahead and how rough they're going to be vaccines or no rough vaccines. today so far the third worst day ever for new cases, 204,000 new infections and still climbing. the university of washington health metrics team is projecting more than a quarter million more lives lost between now and april. so there's a lot to get to tonight. first, sanjay, this is the point in each of our town