good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington, at a critical turning point for the nation, breaking all covid records with more people dying yesterday than were killed on 9/11. at this hour an independent fda advisory panel meeting to decide whether to recommend emergency authorization for the pfizer vaccine. the final step before anticipated fda approval within days. >> i'm not going to prejudge what the advisory committee, which is a nonbinding committee of scientific experts, will say to us. we'll have to see what the scientific and medical discussion is today. but our plan is to take their recommendations into account for our decisionmaking and make a decision shortly thereafter. >> front line workers in hospitals across the country desperate for a vaccine to help turn the tide against covid-19. they're all watching today's

meeting closely as we see the horrifying toll from this virus. a record 3,103 new covid-related deaths on wednesday alone and a record 225,000 positive cases in a 24-hour period. joining me now, nbc's morgan radford outside fda headquarters in maryland. nbc's steve patterson in phoenix. dr. kavita patel, former health policy director in the obama administration. and our own nbc senior medical correspondent dr. john torres. morgan, first to you, i think you may have said there's a lunch break or they've taken a lunch break. what have we heard so far from the panel today? >> reporter: andrea, that panel just came back from their lunch break moments ago and they've been meeting since 9:00 a.m. virtually. basically what they've been doing is going over all of the data that pfizer has provided them about the efficacy of their vaccine. and today, between 3:15 and 5:15 when that virtual meeting ends, that's when we expect them to make their vote, to vote whether

or not to recommend emergency use of the pfizer vaccine to the fda. and andrea, the fda could vote to approve that as early as tomorrow. and once that is approved, that means millions of doses of this vaccine will go to every corner of the country within days. and there's already a very elaborate distribution plan in place. it's a military-led effort that will be partnered with ups on the east coast, fedex on the west coast. and they will take those boxes, 2.9 million in the first batch, and they have to make sure those boxes stay below 80 degrees celsius when they're taken from the pfizer freezer farms in the midwest. the big question, andrea, is who is going to get this vaccine. we do know that the elderly and that front line health care workers will be prioritized first. but one of the things that experts say they're focusing on right now as they try to reach the general public is the issue of trust. the latest quinnipiac poll shows only 61% of people say they're willing and plan on taking this vaccine. but experts say they need about 75 to possibly 85% of the

general population to take this vaccine for it to really be effective and make sure we can clamp down on coronavirus. but beyond that, it's not just this pfizer vaccine that people are waiting to see. this is almost a first day test, andrea, because the moderna vaccine, johnson & johnson, as well as astrazeneca, they all will also come up for approval. that's what these people are focusing on today, because it's a day of science, and hopefully, andrea, a day of hope for the general public. >> absolutely. dr. torres, we're talking about science now, and there's been a lot of pressure from the white house, speed the process up, why are we behind the uk and now canada. these are the independent scientists and doctors who are looking at all the data from the companies to reassure the american people that the fda and government who have been somewhat discredited during this last period of course under president trump that this is an independent scientific decision.

>> exactly, andrea. that's exactly what this committee is set up for, it's called vrbpac, that looks at all the information, looks at all the data. in addition to the data, the fda is giving them questions, saying here are some things we want better understanding of. the important thing to understand about this committee, and there are a variety of committees under the fda they use for this type of purpose, these are independent committees. these are independent committee members that are experts from around the country that are not beholden to the fda, they're not on their payroll. there's no reason for them not to make independent decisions. then the fda takes it as advice because these truly are advisory committees. so what dr. hahn was saying, what he told me personally a couple of weeks ago, is the fda is going to look at this information, look at this advice very closely and they're going to make sure this vaccine is safe and effective regardless of outside pressure before they move forward with that authorization because they want to make sure that once they get the emergency use authorization, that the public understands it's

safe. they're also making sure these meetings are open to the public, the information is transparent. we got this information a few days ago, the same information the vrbpac is using to make their decision. the fda will answer those questions a lot of people are asking about the vaccine, about certain groups, about the potential for side effects, we've heard about the allergy side effects that have happened, they want more information on that as well. and then the vrbpac will give them that information, give them that advice, and take a vote at the end of the day saying, yes, we do recommend this vaccine, and the fda will use that as part of their strategy to look at everything and see if they want to give it the emergency use authorization. by most expectations they'll be giving that authorization but they still need to look at all the data, andrea. >> and just to drill down on that, i would imagine that it's possible they will give it emergency use authorization, but then an advisory that it should not be used for certain categories of people, like the people with allergies. >> they will give it the emergency use authorization.

and they might advise that. but there is another group that comes into play, a cdc advisory panel scheduled to meet on sunday. and that advisory panel, once the eua, once the authorization is made by the fda, they sit down and say, here is who should be getting it, here is who should not be getting it, here is the dosing speed we need, right now it's zero days and 21 days, but it could go further than that. should we give it to pregnant women, should we give it to children, 16, 18 years old. this is what they'll be wrestling with on sunday once the emergency use authorization gets set. then people will start getting shots in arms. >> that's really important information, thank you so much. steve patterson out there in phoenix, you've spoken to people on the front lines. they're pretty desperate for help but there's been a lot of pushback. arizona is one of those states where there was a push and pull on mask wearing, on simple things that could have been done. >> reporter: high amount of

desperation, exasperation, fatigue. it's a crisis of capacity right now here in arizona, specifically when you look at 10% hospital bed space left, 10% occupancy in icu space left. now there's worry about moving to crisis levels of care, cabslicabs li cancelling or postponing elective surgeries. over my left shoulder, st. luke's hospital, which has been inactive since 2019, now spooling back up for health officials who say they may have to use that, kicking it into play in seven to 14 days if the state runs out of capacity entirely, spooling up an additional 235 beds. but it does not solve the crisis levels when it comes to staffing, because patients are outnumbering doctors, outnumbering nurses, nurses now doing jobs they were never trained to do. i spoke to a local physician about what they have to do to try to get people together to stem this incoming tide of

patients. here is what he said. >> what's important is not to just look at the number of beds, because those beds have to be attached to people. and the nurses who are actually there taking care of you at the bedside. and when those people are too tired, those people aren't around, they're not available, then you don't have the care that you need. >> reporter: and as you mentioned, some things that the state could do to help with this, the heads of major health providers in the state met yesterday. they all put out demands, including instituting a curfew, banning indoor dining, wearing a -- having a statewide mask mandate in place, just all these options that they're putting to the governor that they want, you know, everything on the table so they're able to help with this crisis which just keeps surging and surging week by week until some hospitals now report they will be at full occupancy by next week or even beyond that, a few days after, andrea.

>> oh, steve, such terrible news from around the country, there in arizona today. dr. patel, this morning you shared that one of your patients was among one of the victims, one of the more than 3,000 people who died yesterday. i can't imagine the stress on the family, you as the caregiver, the doctor. talk to me about that. >> yeah, thanks, andrea, for mentioning this. so a 98-year-old woman, very active and healthy, but unfortunately a statistic in this covid-19 disaster that we've been living through. and here's the part that really breaks, i think, everybody's heart. i can't help but think, andrea, if this conversation had taken place several weeks later, we would have had a vaccine, her nursing home would have been vaccinated potentially in that early rollout which we expect, could this have been prevented. and even more tragic is that these are people who have to die alone. even if a nurse or doctor or somebody can even hold their

hand, it's such a tragedy to not have somebody who lives an incredible life, to be able to tell their story. and that toll, getting back to the toll it's taking on families as well as health care workers, it just feels like there is nothing that we can do. and i think that's exactly why all of us are frustrated. but at the same time, andrea, i mean, i've been watching, i've never thought i would be so excited to watch an advisory committee of the fda meet. but thinking that this is all within possibility is keeping -- i honestly tell you, it's keeping health workers going, because there is absolutely kind of an excitement about being able to get this vaccine and show the country that we could, you know, hopefully within months, be able to decrease the virus. but we've got some dark days ahead that we have to get through. >> and we're seeing this post-thanksgiving surge. and now we're approaching the holiday season. dr. patel, one of the things, as you were watching it today, i'm

told that one of the advisories or concerns that came up this morning was for pregnant women, that it could precipitate an earlier delivery, preterm delivery. is that something you had heard today? >> yeah, so what was one of the most interesting aspects of the advisory committee was a briefing from the cdc based on what we've learned so far about covid-19. a couple of things just to note, andrea. as we have been hearing before, people who are older and have chronic conditions have a higher chance of being hospitalized and having severe covid, which is one of the reasons this vaccine could be helpful. it was studied to have a relative risk reduction of 95% against mild, moderate, or severe covid. but very importantly, the cdc presented data that shows, while not definitive, andrea, that people who do contract covid while they are pregnant might be at a higher risk for predetermine delivery. and it brought up a useful discussion between the advisory committee and the cdc presenters

on what does this mean for vaccinations in pregnant women. i certainly think it's going to be too soon to tell how to offer or if to offer this vaccine to pregnant women. but i can promise you this will be watched closely along with the issue of children. cdc presented data that showed compelling statistics, andrea, around older adolescents having pretty severe effects from covid if they're hospitalized. these are all the reasons that i think the country, the world, is really waiting to find out who and when and how they can get the vaccine. >> i may have just misspoken, i wanted to clarify that immediately. so it was not in the context of the vaccine bringing on early delivery, it's that covid brings on early delivery, so then there should be -- >> correct. >> -- a good medical debate as to whether the vaccine should be used for pregnant women in order to ameliorate the concern about the virus' impact. >> that's exactly right, andrea.

it was a concern that early statistics demonstrate that pregnant women who get covid might be at higher risk for preterm delivery, and i think they were raising this just as a point to make, that this could be a population, that is, pregnant women with covid-19, that we want to understand better and could have implications down the line for when we offer the vaccine to pregnant women. >> that's exactly why we call upon you scientists to clarify all of this for us. and thank you so much, it's so important. morgan radford, steve patterson, dr. patel, as always, dr. john torres, we thank you all so very much for starting us off today. president trump also trying to join an unprecedented court case as texas now tries to sue several states over their election results. this is unprecedented. it's a stretch, according to all of our legal experts. we'll talk about that. john fetterman, lieutenant governor of pennsylvania, one of

the states being targeted by the president and his allies, joins us next. breaking news on the transition, two top obama white house officials are being tapped by president-elect biden, former national security adviser susan rice to head biden's white house domestic policy council, and former chief of staff denis mcdonough, nominated to be secretary of veterans affairs, a cabinet job that would need confirmation, rice's would not. all coming up after a quick break, stay with us. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. introducing fidelity income planning.

we look at how much you've saved, how much you'll need, and build a straightforward plan to generate income, even when you're not working. a plan that gives you the chance to grow your savings and create cash flow that lasts. along the way, we'll give you ways to be tax efficient. and you can start, stop or adjust your plan at any time without the unnecessary fees. talk to us today, so we can help you go from saving...to living.

talk to us today, people are saving hundreds on the most reliable in a land not so far away, network with xfinity mobile. they can choose from the latest phones or bring their own. and choose the data option that's right for them. they even get nationwide 5g at no extra cost. and since they are on the carrier rated #1 in customer satisfation, they live happily ever after. again, again! xfinity mobile. your wireless. your rules. your way to stay closer together. click, call, or visit an xfinity store today.

gubut force factor's test x180 are tough. can help us man up, america, by boosting total testosterone. build muscle, fuel desire, and improve performance. get test x180 from force factor, the #1 fastest-growing men's health brand

at walmart. 41 days until inauguration day, and president trump is still not giving up his failing attempt to overturn the election results. even using a white house hanukkah party to falsely claim he can still win. take a look. >> certain very important people, if they have wisdom and if they have courage, we're going to win this election in a landslide. >> and the president is joining a texas lawsuit asking the supreme court to overturn the votes in multiple battleground states. an unprecedented challenge that nbc's pete williams calls a long shot, to put it mildly. that did not deter republican attorneys general from 17 states to join the lawsuit. and a group of these attorneys general are now gathering at the white house today for lunch with the president, at this very hour. the president is also making calls to his congressional

allies to back his legal challenge before the electoral college votes on monday which is scheduled. nbc's garrett haake joins me now from capitol hill. garrett, first of all, are more republican senators finally breaking ranks and separating themselves from this foolhardy and arguably destructive effort by the president? >> reporter: yeah, it's interesting, andrea, we're seeing this go in two different direction. on the house side there are two different efforts going on to enlist more house republican support of the president's effort. there is a letter going around from mike johnson of louisiana trying to get republican house members to get more directly involved in that suit. and there is another house member, lance gooden from texas, who is urging the justices department to invoke a special counsel. on the senate side, though, we're seeing things go in a different direction. whether it's mitch mcconnell a few days ago thabt things that will happen with the new administration in january, all but accepting the reality of a biden presidency, or john cornyn, former number two senate republican, telling reporters

yesterday he's never seen anything quite like what the president is trying to do. take a listen to this. >> you can make claims of constitutionality in that state in lawsuits, but i've never seen something like this. >> reporter: andrea, cornyn is pretty much smack dab in the middle of the republican conference so he probably speaks for more than just himself. oh, by the way, this is a guy who was an attorney general of the state of texas and former state judge, not somebody who makes comments about how a state handles its legal obligations off-the-cuff. so that's particularly noteworthy there. >> indeed it is, garrett haake, thank you very much. joining us now is tom donilon, former national security adviser in the obama administration, former state department official before that in the clinton administration. welcome, tom. thank you very much for being here. first of all, how does this latest legal effort, you're of course a lawyer, an expert, how does this legal effort affect the senators, the sitting

senators and representatives who are supporting it, impact the transition? you've been close to it. as well as even possibly the electoral college. >> a couple of things about it, andrea. it's not a well-grounded effort, legal effort. nothing like has ever been seen. here are the facts, here is what i'm worried about from a national perspective. one is, this all conspires to slow down the transition. and there's now some talk about even slowing down confirmations, hearings and confirmations going into next year which will delay putting in place permanent officials in charge of the federal government. that is really -- that's really a mistake in the midst of a pandemic, an economic crisis, and we have a post-trump international situation which is challenging. so slowing down the transition is really not in the interests of the united states government. other specific things that have been done during the course of this effort like firing chris krebs at dhs, the person in the

united states government in charge of cybersecurity, was really kind of a reckless thing to do in the midst of a transition. the second thing is, it really does undermine faith in the electoral process. the president of the united states, as you know i've worked for three presidents, i've been privileged to work for three presidents, are stewards of democracy. this is a positive story for the united states, despite all the challenges, as you know. the election went off without major disruption and went off peacefully, that should be something that should be celebrated. as you and i talk today, andrea, all of the states have certified their electors and they'll be counted on monday. the last thing that's important, and you and i have watched transitions in this country for a long time, and that is that the peaceful transfer of power is a linchpin of our democracy. for the president to not participant in that is really damaging for the democracy. you and i have witnessed these transfers in very difficult circumstances where people lost difficult campaigns, in 1980, in

1992, in 2000. but the majesty of watching that transfer peacefully, of watching the former president and the incoming president coming together to celebrate the democracy, for that to be missing is really damaging, don't you think? >> no, absolutely, it's stunning. but the other practical effects are that we'll be having a hand-off between these two administrations on the vaccine rollout, that needs to be done. delayed, but finally, the president-elect and the vice president elect are getting their intelligence briefings. but just today iran passed a law to really accelerate the timetable, laying down 60 days before it will begin really bumping up its nuclear weapon -- or nuclear fuel production, you should say more accurately, a real breakout unless sanctions are lifted. this is a squeeze on president-elect biden when he becomes president. he has to make some big decisions right away.

this is all, you know, really having an impact. >> andrea, the most important national security issue right now is to successfully address covid and successfully distribute the vaccine and get a takeup for the vaccine in the united states. that's the first challenge the next president has. and this should be a joint effort. i took part, as you know, in the transition between the bush 43 administration and the obama administration. we met almost every day with the outgoing officials in the bush administration. we went over plans, how the hand-off was going to take place, what was pending in the world, a really important conversation, for example, that i would have with steve hadley on a regular basis. so we were well-prepared when we came in to deal with it. but this covid and vaccine issue is essential, it's essential to the country's health, it's essential to the country's economy, and it's essential to our position in the world. and you mentioned the iran situation. there's a world full of these

situations that are going to be challenging for the united states. they come out of a disruptive period under president trump. and those challenges need to be met by people who are in their seats, running these departments as soon as possible. one of the challenges we've had to date, of course, as you all have covered on nbc, msnbc, a lot has been the instability in the leadership of these organizations. it's important to get strong, stable leadership. >> i want to ask you about susan rice because we've confirmed she's -- they've now announced she will be the head of the domestic policy council and her experience is of course in foreign policy, but as the nsc adviser she dealt a lot with issues like the pandemic playbook. we also know that denis mcdonough will be head of veterans affairs. but susan rice in the white house, it's an interesting pick. >> it is. a couple of things about that, it's interesting, you talk about the pandemic. when she orwas national securit

adviser, a pandemic like this would be front and center. susan is deeply familiar with issues like this. more importantly, she's familiar with the white house and is expert at running policy development process. it's a really good selection, congratulate her. she and i worked closely together for many years. denis mcdonough at the va, dennis, as you know, and i worked very closely together, he was my deputy for several years in the white house. this is what i'll say, he is passionate about government and about the performance of government. he is passionate about our servicepeople, particularly focused a lot on the health care for wounded warriors and others who come out of the service. he spent untold, no-publicity weekends at walter reed hospital. he also had a lot to do, andrea, with working to reinvigorate and

to restore a healthy and well-functioning health system at the va. these are two deeply experienced people. and it's a sharp contrast, isn't it, with the trump administration. deeply experienced people, passionate about governing. i think they're both terrific picks and i congratulate them. >> and i know your wife is going to be in the white house too, so -- and your brother. so there's going to be a lot of donilon connections to this administration. thank you so much, tom donilon, it's great to have you. we're talking about a retiring senator, tom udall, with his warning about what was once called the world's greatest deliberative body. >> the senate is broken. and it's not working for the american people. i've proposed senate rules changes when i was in the minority and when i was in the

majority to make sure this institution does not remain a graveyard for progress. s- uh um... >>it's shiori. sh-ori. thank you, that's great. ♪ shiori. i really love it.

iwith vicks sinex saline nasal cmist.tion for drug free relief that works fast.

vicks sinex. instantly clear everday congestion.

the senate is broken and not working for the american people. those were the words from democratic senator tom udall in his farewell speech on the senate floor. this as congress is deadlocked on a covid relief package still. joining me now is retiring senator tom udall who serves on the appropriations and foreign relations committees.

senator, thank you very much. you were passionate in speaking out. what changes do you think can be reasonably expected to break this paralysis? >> well, i really think that they need to take a hard look at the senate rules. the rule right now requires a super majority to do almost anything that's big legislatively. i think you've got to break that and get to the thing where you have talking, you have amendments, you allow a lot of debate, but at the end of the day, a majority decides the issues that move forward. otherwise this paralysis i think will deepen and you can see the frustration, the package that's coming forward now as democrats and republicans meet together to try to go around the leadership and go around the other incoming fire they're getting to just try to break this deadlock. >> i mean, just in the last 48

hours, the president had a new proposal on stimulus. mitch mcconnell had a new proposal to get rid of the two most controversial factors and just proceed as though that could be a solution, ignoring this bipartisan group that had come up with something that was endorsed by both schumer and pelosi. and so you're working backwards with a one-week extension that's not helping anyone. people are leaving town. people are justified in saying what's going on here, to say nothing of the fact that ron johnson, one of your colleagues, is talking about hearings next week to relitigate who won the election even after the electoral college has voted. >> i don't think we've ever seen anything like this in american history. i remember seeing a couple of tapes in the last couple of days of all the presidential candidates stepping forward, whether democrat or republican, and saying, you know, the time is done, the election has been held, i'm going to concede. and i wish the person the very best. we don't see that from this

white house. i mean, this is really one of the most destructive things that can happen. we need a peaceful transition of power. and that's where i think we need to head. but i don't think we're going to get it from the trump administration or from president trump. >> and so much is now resting on the georgia senate runoff of those two seats. either way, the margins will be so close. obviously it will be very different if there is a majority, a democratic majority, it will be different for joe biden. he seems to think he can get along with mitch mcconnell who he knows well, he's avoided saying whether or not they've talked, so it's a pretty clear indication they have talked. can personal relationships with joe biden make the difference? >> well, i think that the president-elect, with the experience he has in his 36 years in the senate, his incredible ability to deal with every single senator, whether it's a democrat or republican, i think that's going to make a big difference. the question is is whether you

get the same response that the majority leader had for president obama when he said i want to make sure he's a one-term president. we don't want to see that kind of thing in the senate from either side. when you have a president, let's give him a chance to get going and try to work with him to move for progress for the american people. >> i want to say, senator tom udall, you come from a storied political family, great public service. i first covered mo udall in 1972. so thank you for everything you and your family, your wife, have done over all these decades. just sorry to see you leaving the senate. >> well, thank you so much, andrea. i'm not giving up on public service so maybe you'll have me on later on other things that i'm doing. thank you. >> come back often. thank you very much. >> okay, thank you. and coming up, on a grim

note, mobile morgues are lining up outside a tennessee hospital, overwhelmed with victims of covid-19. just as concerning, the number of people who still think those morgues aren't real. d'shea: i live in south jamaica, queens, born 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. if something happens with her, where i need to be home, i can just log out and just say "okay, my family needs me." i don't have to answer to nobody. i don't want to be nobody's employee. i do what i want, i'm independent. independent lady. that's what i like about it. i wasn't sure... was another around the corner? or could things go a different way? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis

didn't experience another. -and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily- and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. what's around the corner could be worth waiting for. ask your doctor about eliquis.

what's around the corner could be worth waiting for. and now with q4 wrapping up, the north pole has to be feeling the heat. it's okay santa, let's workflow it. workflow it...? -uh-huh. just picture it... with the now platform, we'll have the company you always imagined. efficient, productive, seamless. ok, i'm in. whatever your business is facing... let's workflow it. servicenow. ♪ ♪ you're all, you're all i need ♪

♪ you're all, you're all i need ♪ ♪ as long as i got you then baby ♪ ♪ you know that you've got me, oh! yea...♪ ♪ as doctors and nurses battle the coronavirus around the country they're also fighting misinformation about covid. in tennessee, where this mobile morgue truck is parked at johnson city medical center, some people still do not believe that the virus is real. nbc news reporter dasha burns is there at the hospital in tennessee. dasha, you've been all over the country, but when you return to appalachia and places like this, this is the largest hospital in the region, the morgue is full, and people are still in denial? >> reporter: yeah, andrea, look, this is not comfortable to talk about. it's not comfortable to stand here right now.

but this is the grim reality. johnson city medical center has had to activate this mobile morgue unit because they have run out of space in the hospital's morgue. the death rate is rising so quickly here. this is empty right now but it is possible if not probable that may no longer be the case at some point today. but andrea, here is the heartbreaking twist in this. we're hearing from front line workers that many in the community do not believe covid is real. there is even a conspiracy around this morgue trailer. people do not believe this morgue trailer i'm standing in front of right now is real, to the point where the ceo of the hospital system here has had to publicly come out and confirm that this is the reality. i want you to hear from him now. listen. >> when the local news reported there was a truck here, to us that was just a factual statement. and the next thing you know, social media blows up that it's not real. it's real. i don't know how else to say it. this is a region of the country

that very heavily supported president trump. our nurses and our doctors, all over the country, i think they would benefit from hearing from him the empathy that they deserve. if we were in a war, there's no doubt in my mind the president would go to the front line and be there for the troops. i would like to see him be there for the front line now. >> reporter: andrea, people are dying in part because of politics and misinformation. people are delaying care. they're not going to the hospital because they don't believe they're sick with covid. by the time they get here, it's often too late, andrea. >> dasha, thank you so much. really intrepid in doing this, it's so difficult. i can't even imagine. thanks for being there today. and now we go to pennsylvania where the governor, tom wolfe, has just tested positive in the last day for covid, warning no one is immune as the state considers new restrictions. with cases and deaths spiking

after thanksgiving. now joining me is the lieutenant governor of pennsylvania, john fetterman. governor fetterman, thank you for being with us, your governor tom wolf now suffering from covid. do you know how he's doing? i hope it's a mild case. >> he's doing fine, he's asymptomatic and isolating at home and doing the people's business at home, remotely, down at his home. he's doing absolutely excellent. of course everyone is pulling for a fast, full recovery which that's what we're all expecting. >> i want to ask you about the rollout of the vaccine. let's assume that this advisory panel does recommend sometime between 3:00 and 5:00 eastern today proceeding, and that the fda then issues the emergency authorization and the cdc adds their voice, from their advisory panel, over the weekend. what are the plans for the rollout in pennsylvania, how well-prepared are you? >> i think between the governor

and dr. levine and their team of public health experts, i think it's going to be smooth. and i think it's going to be rapid. and it's going to be successful, because both -- well, everyone believes in science. everyone understands how critical this rollout is going to be. everyone understands how eager we all are to get back to normal life. and everyone understands that this vaccine is the way forward to doing just that. >> you've got rural poverty, you've got urban poverty, you've got areas, a big agricultural community, you've got it all, philadelphia, pittsburgh. how do you determine who gets it first and how it gets delivered, given these subfreezing temperatures that are required? >> i certainly don't know exactly what that looks like. but what i do know is that pennsylvania will be ready when the vaccine is ready. we have a top notch team that

saw this commonwealth through this pandemic, to minimize the loss of life. there's no deniers, everyone firmly is in the camp of science and understands that this vaccine is the way forward to the way back to normal life for all of pennsylvanians, because right now the governor, we've been trying to strike that balance between lives and livelihood, and it's a delicate balance. and right now we need to make sure that the vaccine rollout goes smoothly and i have no doubt that it will. >> let's talk politics, pennsylvania was ground zero for some of the early challenges, and you've had at every level with the republican legislature and all kinds of national challenges. again, the president joining this texas lawsuit where texas is suing pennsylvania and 16 other states trying to get the supreme court to overturn biden's win in pennsylvania and these other battleground states. i guess we saw josh shapiro is

fighting back against it and thinks it's completely foolish and dumb and not legally sound. do you have any concern that pennsylvania's electoral votes are not going to be counted for joe biden? >> no. i don't have any concerns whatsoever. let's be honest. this is all just an arms race among republicans to see who can simp harder for the president. i don't take any of this seriously, i have no doubt that joe biden is going to be the next president, let's be honest here. the case with all the attorney generals from the republican states is a scaled-up version of the kelly case in pennsylvania which was dismissed unanimously with essentially an instan sent the supreme court. this case isn't going anywhere. everyone knows how this movie is going to end, especially the president knows that joe biden is number 46 and we'll be moving on because we certainly have moved on in pennsylvania. >> john fetterman, lieutenant

governor, thank you so much. stay safe and thanks to all of you in pennsylvania for what you're doing as well. why is it so hard to get a covid test? the answer to that could depend on where you live. white house covid testing czar admiral brett giroir joins us next.

we're all finding ways to keep moving. but how do we make sure the direction we're headed is forward? at fidelity, you'll get the planning and advice to prepare you for the future, without sacrificing the things that are important to you today. we'll help you plan for healthcare costs, taxes and any other uncertainties along the way. because with fidelity, you can feel confident that the only direction you're moving is forward. the independent advisory committee previewing the -- and

reviewing the pfizer vaccines is moving closer to a recommendation today as the u.s. has just had the largest number of new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period. joining us now, admiral brett giroir, assistant secretary of health at the department of health and human services and a member of the white house coronavirus task force. admiral, thank you for being with us. first, let's talk about the numbers. more than 3,000 people across the country and testing is still in high demand. i know there's been a lot of massive testing but even right now in virginia, unless you're a symptomatic, you can't get a test. >> you're exactly right. we're at this crossroads that everyone is incredibly excited because we have a vaccine, probably two vaccines and even more that are going to be coming. we'll be immunizing 20 million people in december, another 30 million in january, another 50 million in february, but the reality is right now, we have got to do what we've been telling everyone to do. and that is wear a mask, physically distance, avoid

crowds because those numbers are going up and the vaccine will not provide immediate relief. we'll get it to the elderly and start protecting them, but it's going to be into 2021 before the majority of americans can be vaccinated. so it's really critically important. the light is at the end of the tunnel. we know how this epidemic, this pandemic is going to end. until we get that vaccine sdrntsed and into the arms of millions of americans we'll have to do the things americans know how to do and have done before. >> well, one problem has been that a lot of people are ignoring all the good advice from you and others. these new cases are now being linked to the thanksgiving holiday, travel, people ignoring advice does not have large family gatherings and we're only two weeks from christmas eve. these holidays are piling up, and, you know, exacerbating the problem. what do you want people to do now? we're in the holiday season? >> you're exactly right. and i know this has been incredibly difficult on the

american people. this has been almost a year of isolation, stress, people have lost their relatives, loved ones, friends. there's been social isolation. you know, you name it. what i'm imploring the american people to do is understand this is not forever. we're going to have 100 million people vaccinated by the end of february but we have the ability to save or lose tens of thousands -- tens of thousands of american lives depending on what we do. we know that if we do these simple measures, it's not forever. it's for the next couple of months. we can flatten those curves like we've done in april and july and european countries have done just recently with their outbreaks. we don't need to close schools. we don't need to close universities. we don't have to end all businesses but we do have to limit indoor crowded spaces. very important. indoors. we've got to wear a mask. it protects others. it protects you. i implore the american people, i know we can all do it together. you can save your grandfather's

life, your children, your friends, relatives. please do that. i want to get the message out. i think everyone is consistent in our administration and certainly you're hearing it in the biden administration. wear a mask. watch your distance. wash your hands. avoid travel. >> are you connecting as a transition matter? are you connect with the incoming administration on the roll-out of the vaccine and other critical issues? >> yes, ma'am. i've had several sort of unofficial, informal calls and then a very extensive two-hour in-depth technical and policy briefing on testing. it was extremely positive, very interactive. i have another transition team meeting this afternoon. from my perspective on the public health side, some of the public health professionals are well known. we're well known to each other. we're colleagues. saving lives and reducing suffering is not a political issue. so i think it's going really very well, and all of us on the public health side, you know, pledge to do whatever we can to

make the biden administration as successful as possible, as we are working to make this administration as successful as possible. >> i know a lot of people are looking at the vaccine as a panacea, but one of the important pieces of advice is to keep wearing masks in public in places indoors where you are close because you can still communicate the vaccine, even if you are inoculated. >> so we don't know right now whether the vaccine will protect you from transmitting even low levels of virus because some vaccines work. you don't get sick, you don't get infected but may be able to transmit. we don't know that yet. we're saying everybody that's been vaccinated. we still want the mitigation measures. once we get 70% or 80% of the american people vaccinated or haven't gotten the disease naturally, now we want it vaccinated, then this will go away. this will be sort of like polio where there are still going to be cases but they'll be very low. until we get to that level,

we'll have to still continue our mitigation. we hope to be saving a lot of lives of elderly and chronically ill with the first doses of vaccine but won't put an end to the pandemic, the outbreaks until most americans get vaccinated. and that's probably not until april, may, june timeline. we're confident by june any american who wants a vaccine will be able to get a vaccine. >> and, of course, the bottom line is it's safe and people should take it and not be afraid. i know that you would be saying that. we're out of time but admiral brett giroir, thank you very much. we're at a real crossroads today. and that does it for "andrea mitchell reports." remember to follow the show online on facebook and on twitter @mitchellreports. my friend chuck todd is up next with "mtp daily" only on msnbc. but we didn't stop there. we made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. no matter what it does, or how it changes.

and we kept going. so you only pay for what you use. because at dell technologies, we stop...at nothing. ♪ that's why we've merged with sprint.get more. because at dell technologies, we stop...at nothing. now it's about to get even better. and as we work to integrate sprint's network,

our nationwide 5g keeps getting stronger. with the capacity and coverage to reach more people and places across the country. who says you can't have it all. now is the time for 5g. now is the time to join t-mobile. the only thing a disaster can't destroy is hope. donate now at redcross.org keeping your oysters growing while keeping your business growing has you swamped. (♪ ) you need to hire i need indeed indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base so you can start hiring right away. claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job

at indeed.com/promo but you can work out anything wowith comcast business.w. get fast, reliable, and secure internet on the nation's largest gig speed network. flexible tools - like wi-fi you control. voice solutions that connect you from anywhere. and expert advice here, here, or even here. be fast. be flexible. bounce forward with comcast business. get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just $64.90 a month. plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a $500 prepaid card when you upgrade. switch today.

if it's thursday, america is facing two crises at once. the pandemic. that's now claimed a staggering 3,000 lives in a single day. and the latest effort by the president and his supporters to undermine the election and the democracy. plus, we could soon be one step closer to getting vaccines in arms here in the united states. an fda panel is meeting to decide whether to recommend the pfizer vaccine on an emergency basis. and the battle against the other epidemic. frontline health care workers being forced to fight coronavirus and misinformation. in a place where both ha