of the united states in our nations capital, and in light of the attack on the capitol and the temporary closing of the national mall, the traditional inauguration ceremony has been modified. follow our live coverage as the danforth, starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern. watch the arrival at the capitol, the swearing in of joe biden and kamala harris, and the inaugural address. the nitration of joe biden, beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on wednesday. live coverage on c-span and c-span.org, or listen live on the c-span radio app. st: health care reporter andrew dunn back for a discussion on vaccine distribution and president-elect joe biden's distribution plan. where do we stand now when it comes to the number of vaccines that have been given, and how does that compare with the trump administration's original projections of where we would be

by mid-january? guest: thanks for having me back. happy to be here. we have seen about 11 million doses in arms of about 10 million americans. when you think about the scale of the country, 330 million, it is a long ways to go. as far as how far we thought we would be, we heard from operation warp speed officials, which run this federal government vaccine initiative, they give estimates in mid-december that they felt confident they could get 20 million people starting to get vaccinated in december, and 30 million more people in january, so by the end of january they were expecting 50 million people undergoing this vaccine process, which is a two dose process, the second dose three to four weeks leader. host: just -- guest: just given

the numbers we have seen, we are seeing about 700,000 vaccinations a day. if you extrapolate that outcome of that will get us 20 million total people by the end of january, 10 million more in the days to come, getting to 20 million, well short of the 50 million warp speed was aimed for. host: what's the holdup? guest: there's a lot of confusion. i think this rollout is fairly described as sluggish, confusing, and on the whole, disappointing. i think we have seen some people talk about it is a total failure here. that might be going a step too far, as we are seeing millions of people getting vaccinated and doses distributed, arising -- arriving around 30 million. as a whole, operation warp speed has taken it up to a level and handled -- handed it to the states. they have done the research to

make sure the vaccines are safe and highly effective. they produce the vaccines and give them to states for free for their citizens, so they arrive wherever states say they want to send them. that last delivery has proven to be very difficult as far as you have to -- this is no longer a production or distribution issue, this is administration problems. you have to find the right people, give them the right dose at the right time. if you look at the guidelines for the cdc, they wanted to prioritize health care workers in nursing homes. those are relatively easier groups at least as far as the geographic location you can hone in on. when you expand this to the elderly and people with comorbidities, that is more difficult and spread out across the countries -- country. you have to inform them they are eligible and get them the vaccine.

state officials don't have enough clarity from federal government on how much supply they get in the coming weeks, which makes it hard to plan for future appointments and figure out, should we have a mass vaccination site, and how many people should we alert if we are not sure the supply will be there? host: this is andrew dunn with us this 40 minutes -- 45 minutes. the phone lines, eastern or central united states, (202) 748-8000. northern or pacific -- mountain or pacific regions, (202) 748-8001. it was earlier this week that health and human services secretary alex azar changed how doses will be allocated. [video clip] effective two weeks from now, we are changing how we allocate first doses among the state. in order to make sure doses are being put to use and put to use

for the most honorable. we will be advocating -- allocating them -- based on states and based on the size of the 65 and over population in each state. we are giving states two weeks notice of the shift to give them the time necessary to plan and to improve their reporting if they think their data is faulty. this new system gives states a strong incentive to ensure all vaccinations are being promptly reported, which they are currently not, and gives a strong incentive to ensure doses are going to work protecting people rather than sitting on shelves or in freezers. with case counts we face now, there is absolutely no time to waste. we need doses going to where they will be administered quickly and where they will protect most vulnerable. host: andrew dunn, when alex azar is talking about vaccines sitting on shelves and the

distribution not going well, what states is he talking about? guest: if you look at the numbers there, we have from the cdc state-by-state numbers as far as how many doses of the vaccine have been distributed, have been used and administered into arms. we see lagging on that at the very bottom, georgia and alabama. if you broaden out and are looking at the five guest states in the u.s., one outlier -- biggest states in the yes, what -- in the u.s., one outlier is california. texas, pennsylvania could be on that list. it is an interesting proposal as far as this is coming this week and it is effective two weeks later. that is when the biden administration will be running course on the vaccine program in the u.s., and it is unclear if the biden administration buys in to this whole approach.

it is more stick if we send you vaccine and do not use it quickly enough and do not report back to the cdc. states and hospitals do not have to report within 24 or 48 hours how much vaccine they are using. they usually have days or weeks. host: we heard from president-elect joe biden last night talking a little bit about the covid vaccine rollout. we are expecting to hear more in the coming days. this was from the president-elect last night. [video clip] >> the vaccines offer so much hope and we are grateful to the scientists, researchers, and everyone who participated in the clinical trials. we are thankful for the rigorous testing that has led to millions of people around the world being vaccinated safely. but vaccine rollout in the united states has been a dismal failure thus far. tomorrow, i will lay out our vaccination plan.

to correct course and meet our goal of 100 million shots in my first 100 days as president. this is one of the most challenging operational efforts we have ever undertaken as a nation. we will have to move heaven and earth to get more people vaccinated, to create more places for them to get vaccinated, to mobilize more medical teams to get shots in people's arms, to increase vaccine supply, and to get it out the door as fast as possible. host: andrew dunn, the incoming president last night and what we are expected to hear in the coming days. guest: this was kind of part of his announcement of the $1.9 trillion proposal of relief and a lot of it focuses on the vaccine distribution effort. if you look at the mission to bring out mass vaccination sites and have a team of basically

mobile units to reach rural areas to vaccinate people, it is a fundamentally different approach than we have seen with the trump administration where warp speed has focused on states, letting states drive and their language. we have seen this in other parts of the pandemic as far as ppe or setting up testing sites, that is up to the states. this response, we see some states doing quite well and others struggling based on the compensation -- competency and funding of your health officials. biden wants to have a coherent strategy across the u.s., and it will take significant moneys that will be included in that one point $9 trillion stimulus package. host: bill is up first, sebastian, florida. caller: good morning. i would like to know first of all, are there any costs

involved for testing or the vaccine itself? number two, i would like to know about the people who don't have any transportation. will they afford transportation or have delivery services? that is basically it. host: thanks for the questions. guest: good question thanks for it. on the vaccine side, which i can speak to more definitively, it has been the plan through operation warp speed -- and we heard it last night from the biden administration -- that these vaccines will be freed to the american public, so you should not expect -- free to the american public, so you should not expect to pay any upfront cost or deductible. this should be a free vaccination paid for by the u.s. government effectively. testing is more scattershot and varies state-by-state, locality locality -- locality by

locality. i know for me personally, i am in d.c. the city government has sent up free -- set up free testing stations at most fire stations. you can get a free test and get results in a couple days. that is not set up across the nation, so it is hard to give a full answer. what was the second part? host: transportation, concern about folks who cannot get to these sites to receive the vaccine. guest: it is a good point. i think we will probably see more details around this in the coming weeks when the biden administration actually settles into the role and brings details more in-depth. this idea he was getting at with mobile vaccination units to reach hard to reach areas, can we bring the vaccine to people rather than people coming to these sites, especially where it

will be a burden? it -- we need more details and as of right now, that is being left solely to the state and local discretion where these public health departments are under worked -- overworked and underfunded. it has been one of the many planning details that has gone neglected so far. host: one tweet from jodi on this topic -- we need to open up empty parking lots in businesses that are out of business across the land, red and blue states setting up vaccine drive-thru distribution sites. this just needs to be done. we have had experts to figure this out for a year. it's time to do it. william out of kenosha, wisconsin, good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i have a question about the projected number of vaccines to be in arms by the end of january. i guess there is a couple of data points, to millionaire the end of december, i think -- 2

million the end of december, i think you said 10 million today. it starts off slow and its speed starts to gain and the car goes faster and faster. the rollout of the vaccine and getting it, is there some sort of logical or bringing the vaccines, taking into account the improvement of the process? i guess i'm just wondering if that has been done, and what the range of potential vaccines in arms might be with that sort of insight. i will take my answer off air. host: did you get the question? guest: it is a great question i have been tracking closely. warp speed has not opened up as far as modeling on how they reached those numbers, those projections of 50 million people by january. this was the mid-december

projections they touted. they thought in february, 50 million more people, so by the end of february, one hundred million people starting vaccination, an astounding number when you think the biden administration's goal is 100 million doses in the first 100 days. taking a step back on that, we have seen the rate vaccination increase. like a car starting its engine, that's what hhs officials have been saying, and we do see a modest increased. the first couple weeks of the program, we saw 300,000 doses per day being administered, and right now we are at about 700,000, seven hundred 20,000 doses per day. if you listen to hhs secretary alex azar, he expects that figure to exceed one million vaccinations per day in the next seven to 10 days. right around the time biden is taking office, the u.s. might be

casing at a million vaccinations per day. still a long way to go. it is unclear as far as the infrastructure of the health care system in the u.s., how well-equipped is it to really suit, if there is exponential growth of production and distribution, can we have exponential growth of the capacity to administer it? it takes location sites and a lot of coordination and funds. we might see as far as mass manufacturing is kicking up, warp speed seems to be competent delivering the doses to the states, with 30 million already. the question is the administration. 30 million distributed, 10 million used. until we start to see the gap being closed in the coming weeks, that is a question on the top of my mind. host: your column at business

insider, some of the breaking news, biden picks former fda commissioner david kessler to lead operation warp speed. what do we know about david kessler? guest: david kessler was a longtime figure in the public health circle. he was the fda commissioner through most of the 1990's under bill clinton. he is seen overall as a very competent figure. he has decades of experience in this realm of public health, and should be well suited taking a similar role for operation warp speed, kind of on the science side and driving that there is a pipeline of other vaccines we hope will work and be highly effective, and steering them through clinical trials and the regulatory process, that is what we should expect. host: scott in thomasville, georgia, you are next. caller: ok.

i have a question. are you there? host: we are listening. caller: i have a question. i've been trying to get information about where i live in thomasville, georgia through the mayor's office and the health department, but they can't tell me when like people that are 50 with cardiac problems that are in that category, when we are going to get it. they told my mother and father they were going to get it next week because they are 70 and above, but when i was in the hospital getting my heart cath, i was told they were getting their vaccines in. that was two weeks for health-care workers. they say they are not going to take it, so my other question is, what is going to happen without leftover, and how do we know which ones we can take,

moderna or pfizer in our area? host: a couple questions. did you get them? guest: yeah. overall, this is where it has been quite difficult and chaotic because it really varies state-by-state. to give some context that might be helpful, these are numbers i saw this morning from "the new york times." they aggregated across the country kind of checking the pulse of where we are at as far as how many states are still strictly in phase one a, which is just getting doses to frontline health care workers in nursing homes, and how many states have moved beyond that as far as expanding, like you said with your parents. 28 states have expanded to the elderly population, and this is generally depending on the local area defined by 65 plus, 70 plus, or 75 plus, and 32 states expanding to groups of critical workers that could be

firefighters or other essential frontline staff. when you think of police officers, and so on. that gives essentially about half the country, a little more than half the country is starting to expand the eligibility pool. half the country isn't and is focused on frontline health care workers in nursing homes, which can be frustrating if you are an elderly system with several comorbidities where this virus poses a great threat to you just by happening -- and just by happening to live in a certain state, you might not have access. it is difficult to speak to georgia specifically because there is 60 some local territories to cover here, but georgia does have one of the lower vaccination rates per capita, which is worth pointing out. they have done a worse job, at least reporting, the vaccinations in georgia. as far as advice to people figuring out where you fall in

line, it is difficult. i would try to identify, locate, and follow your public health officials, listen to the news conferences, see what they are describing is the plan. there is a lot of uncertainty at the state and local level about how many doses will we receive, what is the cadence of those doses, and that is limiting the ability to project it at state level. if you are 50 and have a comorbidity, we are expecting you to get a vaccine x weeks away. it is hard to say those numbers now because we don't see much visibility on these distribution administration numbers. host: i think i have the map you are referring to from "the new york times." it might be helpful to see that. more than half of states have begun vaccinations for older adults in addition to health care workers and residents of nursing homes. the darkest purple in the map, the states that have begun

vaccinations for 65 plus, the next darkest purple 70 plus, and light purple is states that are at 75 plus, and the states that are not yet prioritizing by age, on that first level, that 1a level are white on the map. brian in pompano beach, florida, your next. caller: can you hear me? host: yes, sir. caller: dr. abraham, i would like the extra credit now, please. host: lisa is in california. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call, and i appreciate being able to call in. i am kind of in econ one a one person, so i'm looking at supply and demand -- an econ 101 person.

we have 330 million people in the u.s. i think a lot of people were holding back and waiting to get the vaccine to make sure that it was safe, and now that we are seeing -- i think that people kind of, a lot of people held back to wait and see, so i think as time has gone by, more people have gained confidence in getting the vaccine. and so my question is, is -- well, my thought is, i understand that wisdom and allowing frontline workers come at the most vulnerable, people in nursing homes to get the vaccine first. couldn't there be some way that -- but saying that, there will still be a lot of people who will not take the vaccine or get the vaccine, especially in the

initial rollout, just like there is a lot of people that don't get the flu shot. my question is, what is the ability of our -- of the manufacturers to manufacture vaccine on a supply and demand scale? like, if we were able to open up , like generally open it up, i definitely think people who live with people who are vulnerable should be able to get it, and also, i just think that people with children may be, young children, who aren't as likely to get covid maybe would hold back. i am just curious as to -- are these manufacturers not able? what is the production ability of the manufacturers? guest: a lot of good questions

in there, so let's start with production and what we have seen. right now in the u.s., for context, there is two authorized vaccines led by pfizer and moderna. the u.s. has supplied with both of these for about 200 million doses from each manufacturer. the end goal is, you know, we are seeing these numbers change almost on a week by week basis as far as -- i guess the broader context is these are messenger rna vaccines, very complex to manufacture. there are a lot of moving parts in getting it out to the supply chain. it is not like a small molecule pill where it is easy to scale up and produce billions. they are sort of stressing out their capacity as much as they

can. moderna is saying this year they should produce 600 million to one billion doses. pfizer recently this month up there estimate from one billion doses to 2 billion doses, so a massive increase as far as figuring out these international supply chains and how to get the raw cereals to mass-produce the vaccine to the billions of numbers -- vaccine -- raw facts -- not enough the entire country, but for a good swath of the public. it is also worth thinking about, the vaccines that could come online soon. we are waiting any day or week now for johnson & johnson. they've been running a late stage clinical trial testing a single dose vaccine, which will be remarkably simpler logistically as far as one dose and you are vaccinated. it can be stored at simple

refrigerated temperatures instead of the extreme cold with pfizer's vaccine. if that proves effective and safe, that supply should build on top of moderna and pfizer, and ramping up from there. we have seen some reports from " the new york times" about j&j having struggles with their production, and their closer to seeing more supply in february and march. host: with that back emergency use authorization and review from the fda? guest: j&j, just because we see good data, that doesn't mean the next day it will be rolled out. we will see j&j perhaps in a few days submit for emergency use

authorization, quicker pathway that is more flexible for regulators getting a product to people in an emergency situation. from this fda process we see play out with pfizer and moderna , the fda will have an advisory committee, independent experts, review the data in a public meeting that lasts about eight to 10 hours, fund to cover, and drawling to listen to. -- fun to cover, and and throttling to listen to -- enth ralling to listen to. a little under three weeks from the time j&j submits to the time they may be able to get an authorization, that is what i would expect. given that timeline, we are looking at an authorization potentially in late february, probably more likely in march depending on how fast the process can go. host: gino, atlantic city, new jersey. caller: good morning.

is there enough infrastructure in place to keep this stuff at its 70 degrees below zero temperature, and is there a range of where it is safe? let's say it is 40 below. i have a real concern about that. the other thing is, do they ask you what prescriptions or what you are on now so they don't interact with some of the ingredients that might be in this vaccine? guest: on the second point, that is this idea of contraindications as far as with any medicine. are there any groups that should not take that medicine? the only one we have seen so far as far as on the fda label that came through this fda review process came around some of these cases of severe allergic reactions.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. january 15, 2021. i hereby appoint the honorable terry a. sewell to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by chaplain kibben. chaplain kibben: would you pray with me. everlasting god, hear our prayers as we make our requests spoken and unspoken to you. relieve us from any anxiety that prevents us from believing in and living into your gracious plan for these days.

remind us to not look not to our own interests but to the good of this country and its people as we move forward. reveal to us that which is true, honorable, just, and pure and may we, in all that we say and do, be guided by these things in serving your people. this is the day that you have made. and we lay before you-all our plans and purposes. may our lives today and always reflect both the joy and the hope we find in you that all will know your forbearance with us and your sacrificial laws for us. we pray these things in the strength of your holy name, amen. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 5-a-1-a of house resolution 8, the journal of the last day's proceeding is approved. the chair will lead the house

in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, madam. growing up in new orleans, east playing little league it never occurred to me that i would one day represent louisiana's second congressional district. after graduating from benjamin franklin high school, i left new orleans briefly to attend more - house college before attending tulane university law school. never leaving those same little league fields as a volunteer coach, i saw the needs of my community and hoped i could make a difference. 20 years ago i was elected to represent new orleans and every day since i strive to live up

to the trust my friends, family, and community have placed in me. during that time i have started my own family, stood side by side with my constituents through multiple disasters, and experienced joy and sorrow. through it all it has been an honor and privilege to represent my home. i am eternally grateful to my constituents for giving me this opportunity. new orleans will always be home but it is time to represent my community in a different way. i am writing to resign my seat in the united states house of representatives effective january 15, 2021. i would like to thank you and all my colleagues for working together to try and improve the lives of our constituents and make our country a more perfect union. signed, sincerely, cedric l. richmond. the speaker pro tempore: under clause 5-d of rule 20, the chair announces to the house that in light of the resignation of the gentleman from louisiana, mr. richmond, the whole number of the house is 432.

pursuant to section 5-a-1-b of resolution, house resolution 8, the house stands adjourned until 1:00 p.m. on tuesday, january 19, 2021. >> and wednesday joe biden will be sworn in. the traditional are great -- inauguration ceremony has been modified. watch the arrivals at the capital, the swearing in of joe biden and, harris, and the inaugural address. the inauguration of joe biden getting at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> you are watching c-span, your

unfiltered view of government. c-span was created by america's cable television company in 1979. today, we are brought to you by these television companies who provide c-span2 viewers as a public service. -- c-span took public -- c-span to public. major new relief package is needed in the united states. >> during this pandemic, millions of americans, through no fault of their own, have lost the dignity and respect that comes with a job and a paycheck. millions of americans never thought they would be out of work. many of them never even envisioned the idea of facing eviction