plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a $500 prepaid card when you upgrade. switch today. a very good day to all of you from msnbc headquarters in new york. it's a very big day. welcome, everyone, to weekends with alex witt as we share developments on the covid-19 vaccine front. history is unfolding as the coronavirus pandemic enters a

new chapter. distribution efforts of the first covid vaccine are officially underway after fir. after first leaving the pfizer facility this morning, a shipment arrived by plane to louisville. another ups flight will be landing there and another one at fedex in memphis soon. they're all part of half a million doses making their way to distribution hubs across the nation right now. those near 200 boxes will then be shipped to all 50 states with the first box said to arrive at health care facilities tomorrow. it will reach 636 destinations by wednesday as the vaccine gets one step closer to americans. the director of the national institute of health is pleading with the public to put their trust in the vaccine. >> the data is out there now. it's been discussed in a public meeting. all the details of the safety and efficacy for anybody who wants to look, this is a very

powerful outcome of this incredibly intense year-long experience to develop this. people are dying right now. how could you possibly say, let's wait and see if that might mean some terrible tragedy is going to befall. >> so that point, it all comes as the coronavirus pandemic reaches alarming levels as there are now 16 million confirmed cases in the u.s. 297,000 people have died in america. the clock is ticking for a deal to get done on another round of coronavirus relief. >> we should not leave for the holidays until we have adopted that $908 billion framework to give a next round of relief to the millions of americans who are facing eviction, hunger, unemployment, disease. it includes funding for vaccine distribution and $300 billion for small businesses to keep them afloat or help them reopen. i am really optimistic we can get this done this coming week.

>> they have five days to do it. we have a team of reporters and analysts following the very latest for us this hour. let's begin with the flight that landed in louisville carrying that vaccine. that is where our colleague msnbc's morgan chesky is standing by at louisville international airport. morgan, we wilcome to you this hour. we heard from those pilots. bring us up to date. >> reporter: alex, so much anticipation here in louisville for the arrival of this boeing 757 carrying that first load of covid-19 vaccines. a smooth landing, it taxied off and we know those shipments are being handled as we speak. we get a chance to hear from the man in the cockpit, captain houston mills. you're a marine pilot from the past, you flew in desert storm, but today put this one flight in perspective for us. >> i served in desert storm on

the ground back during desert storm, but this flight in particular is just phenomenal. i haven't served our country in the marine corps for nine years. the fact that this vaccine is going to mean so much to so many people, it's really going to bring hope. the holiday season is all about bringing things together and hope about what the future bring brings. it's an honor to be part of this flight and what it means. >> reporter: is it incredible to think what a part of history you've been? >> we know the fatigue the pandemic has caused the last number of months and what it's done to families. to be part of this phenomenal warp speed effort, this public and private partnership that means so much, we're so grateful. every day we have the opportunity to deliver over 50,000 life-saving medicines all around the world. we have such tremendous capability, so for us to be here

at this moment, we're absolutely ready. >> reporter: walk me through the moment from you take off, you land here. during that process when you're up in the air and you kind of look over your shoulder and you realize what's in your plane and how many people it's going to help. >> as i mentioned, it's very humbling. my first officer neil newell who was with me, it was overwhelming. we've moved over 24 million pounds of life-saving ppe in the past several months. and we've also opened up our facilities to the national stockpile program. so this particular moment is a continuation of what we've been doing. as i mentioned, we've got 10 million square feet of facilities spread out over 32 countries around the world. we've got significant cold

storage ability to store these vaccines, so we're just very grateful for this process. >> special moment in louisville today. the first flight of many. where do the deliveries go from here? >> all over the world. this location allows us to hit almost anywhere in the world. we have 20,000 pounds of dry ice a day. the facilities require special packing. they'll be monitoring the distributions. the shipment itself will contain the vaccine at the right temperature for several days. after that it's going to need some cold storage capability, so this dry ice, we'll be shipping it out around the world to assist those providers to make sure they have extra dry ice to keep them cold. we have a phenomenal capability here for ultra freezer capability. the pfizer vaccine in particular needs to be cold stored at least

at negative 80 degrees celsius. we also have a portable ultra cold storage ability we'll be sharing with folks around the world so it can be right for folks all the way around. >> they're not only packed with the dry ice surrounding the vaccine doses, they also have this bluetooth device, and if i understand correctly, it also monitors the exact location no matter where it goes, but you can gauge the temperature as well making sure not one dose here is compromised. >> absolutely, and that's important because we're delivering what matters most. we want to make sure the vaccines, with the best of the world coming together to get this done, in every package they'll collect all that data, as you said, we'll be able to share it, we'll actually be able to make changes in our operation based on what that data says to be sure the vaccine gets to where it needs to be. we're very excited to be part of

the process. >> reporter: you're very cool, calm and collected. i'm sure that's why they chose you for this activity today. do you have any reservations about this flight? >> i will say this. our founder jim casey founded ups. with a $100 loan he bought two bicycles and delivered telegrams. so i know today he looked at this moment as an organization to see how we're connected to this public/private partnership to bring vaccines so much needed around the world. he would be so proud, so to be connected to that moment is very humbling. we all trained for this opportunity so many ups pilots could also be trained in this. >> a humble pilot now a part of history, thank you for talking to us. >> thank you for this opportunity. alex it only grows from

here. we look at shipmening at vital coming here in the next days. alex? >> i wish you could have seen the look on my face as that man was reporting. what he did today may actually be the most important thing he has done in his career. morgan chesky, thank you so much for that. let's go to washington. joining me there is tom costello. tom, you know what really brought a smile to my face was when captain mills was talking about speaking with his fellow fighter pilot and just looking at each other, understanding what this flight was about, and they just looked at each other and basically expressed a big wow at all of this. it's hard to understate how significant this all is. how about you, what did you take away from that interview?

>> reporter: i got a little choked up, because i think he represents the best of america in not only, as you mentioned, his service to the country, but in the military and now in this role as well, and we are so grateful to not only the role that they are playing today but the role they have played for many, many years. and you're right, this is a massive distribution effort that's underway. this is operation warp speed. now, the military is in charge of putting out the plans. it's up to the ups carriers, the fedex carriers to actually get it to every zip code in america by plane, as you saw, by truck as well, and then it's up to the locals once that shipment arrives, it's up to the locals to get it to the hospital, for example, or the local clinic. you know, we talked about this before. it's one thing to get it to big cities in which you have a very good distribution network. the challenge is getting it to the far-out reaches, if you will, of alaska and maine and,

you know, the bayous, if you will, of louisiana. this country has some remote corners, not to mention, of course, the territories that also need the vaccine. so every one of them is going to be critical. i did want to make the point that they say -- the experts have all said they believe there are very few side effects associated with this vaccine, but some people, a very small number of people in the uk, the medical front line workers who receive the vaccine, have enough side effects they needed to take a day or two off work. so it's something similar to what you have when you get the flu shot. sometimes you feel a little not so hot for the next couple days. you need a tylenol, you may need to take a nap, whatever. that's what they describe it as, nothing more than that. and then they are continuing to watch anybody who may have any sort of an anophylactic reaction to the vaccine.

there were a couple people who carried an epi pen with them because they were afraid they might have a serious reaction. a couple people did have a serious allergic reaction. they want to do more research into exactly what triggered it, but the instances are so small, they really believe this is a very, very effective vaccine. >> you bring up such a good point, and it was addressed actually by dr. madad when she said, there has to be a uniform sense of communication now from the very top about what all this vaccine entails, the fact that it's two shots, that it's requested to be administered about three weeks apart. i know there is a little bit of flexibility there but not a lot within 21 days. and the fact that people have to dispel the concerns, which is a herculean task across this country given the histories. it's hard to get everybody on the same page. talk about the challenges of

that, tom. >> you're absolutely right. i have covered covid since last january or february, i'm losing track now. i think the first was last january, and then being knee deep in talking to the world experts, whether they're here in the united states or overseas, for the better part of a year. they all say the same thing. we can come up with a vaccine and the fact that it has happened so quickly is a huge scientific accomplishment. but we now have to convince the american public that this has been vetted thoroughly and that it's a safe and effective way ask it is the best way to protect you and your loved ones going forward. there is already a bit of an anti-vaccination movement in this country even before, of course, we had the covid situation, and science experts and doctors have all been fighting that battle for years trying to overcome that new bias against vaccines. but in this case they are all unified and saying, listen, this has been thoroughly vetted

despite some appearances of political appearance as recently as friday night in which the white house was saying to the fda chief, either you approve this vaccine today or submit your resignation. it really does not help the messaging because it really was going to be approved in a matter of hours, so when you add that politicization to it, it really undermines the efforts to convince people there was no political interference. the u.n. chief reiterating that politics did not play a role in getting this vaccine approved. >> yeah, it was all about science. that's what we keep hearing and need to reiterate. tom costello, thank you for the chat, my friend. new information came in just a short time ago about new jersey and when its first coronavirus vaccines will be administer administered. we know that governor phil murphy and the health workers in the state will get the first shots.

a doctor in new jersey is joining me now. are you going to be the one administering these first vaccines? is that where you are, exactly where they'll be administered? set this up for us. >> we're in the hospital right now preparing for the receipt of the vaccines which as you just described is an extremely complex process. we've been organizing for weeks in coordination with our governor and the entire team. i will say i will not be the one individually giving the vaccine, but we have a wide open space that makes social distancing possible, and essentially we've set up an assembly line to make sure we can vaccinate up to 600 people a day. that's the model we'll be able to scale up when we do the larger mega vaccine sites for the community. as you know, we're going to start with our own health care heroes at university hospital and also the long-term directors and health care workers will get it as well in the first phase. it's going to be a really amazing profound moment on

tuesday when we deliver that first vaccine to one of our health care heroes and the governor will be right there alongside us. >> i'm curious. i have read about certain hospitals across the country, they've sent out sort of advance questionnaires, if you will, to all those front line workers, some of which have come back with concerns about getting the vaccine. do you have any of that within your hospital and how will you address that? >> we did conduct a survey on willingness to take the vaccine as soon as it arrives, and 75% of our health care workers are willing to get it as soon as it arrives, 25% are skeptical. we've been doing intense town halls with our employees, i've gone to these meetings myself to talk about these issues. once we explain how science was able to do it appropriately, albeit fast, as we talk about

the side effects, people have been more and more willing to do this. people of all stripes and all levels, get to the front line and convince them to do it. we will not be mandating this vaccine. we're hoping folks take it, including in the community, and nobody will take it especially in our community unless they know they're trusted health care workers, they're doctors, they're nurses, the folks they trust with their lives are willing to do so themselves. >> doctor, i'm curious, in terms of following those administered, they're vaccinated and have to come back approximately three weeks later for the second. how does that happen? do you return to the exact same facility where you got your first shot? is there going to be some massive database? how is that going to be tracked? >> it's tracked in a lot of ways, and i'm glad you asked that question, because it's important that folks follow the exact protocol that was followed in the initial trial. day 21 you have to get the

second dose and it cannot be a different type of vaccine. the department of health have made sure that at least in the beginning, any given hospital or clinic gets one type of vaccine. that limits the possibility that anyone can make a mistake on delivering two different vaccines. the second thing is we have fact sheets, we have information, we have all the clinical trial information to be given to folks in terms of informed consent so they know what to expect, and we have a period of observation that's mandatory for everybody who gets the vaccine, at least 15 minutes with four or five nurses going around to 20 chairs where folks will be sitting, asking how people are, monitoring their systems, and we also have epinephrine pens in case of an allergic reaction. we don't expect to use any of that because the side effects are so low.

>> so there is no sensibility with the pfizer vaccine. it was suggested maybe with moderna there might be a little bit more, but they have yet to have 100% approval, but with the pfizer, you get that shot and you're back 21 days later? >> because these vaccines -- only one has emergency authorization so far, but we have one coming hopefully in the coming days, that we have to follow exact protocols that were in clinical trials. if there was flexibility in some cases, maybe you can model that and afford that for your patients, but we have to follow the protocol exactly, because the 95% effectiveness, the profile happens when you do it exactly the way it was done in clinical trials. we're being very careful about this. because the pfizer vaccine is so delicate, when you put it in a dry ice refrigerator, you cannot refreeze it again, so every vaccine has to be tied to the person at the end, which is a

very difficult, logistical challenge. but we've already scheduled people to take it and we're excited to get started. >> the fact you're talking about all the challenges in great, excruciating detail means it's been addressed, and that should bring confidence to those receiving the vaccine. come tuesday morning, governor phil murphy and the health commissioner of the state, they'll be there getting their first vaccinations a lonlong wi front line workers. doctor, thank you for everything. we have the congressman of the armed services committee. congressma congressman, good to see you. the "wall street journal" says getting the vaccine to people will cost the states billions they don't have. do you feel that you can coincide with this monumental moment, and do you have confidence it gets done this week? >> some of us do, and regretfully, mitch mcconnell is not on that list and this has

been the case since may. there are many reasons we need to pass a covid relief package. i saw in earlier coverage and others, people are hurting across the country. poverty rate is height, food insecurity is high, people are facing eviction losing their homes. one of the big reasons is what you were just covering is the public health side of this. the only way we get out of the economic problem is to get the pandemic under control. the vaccine gives us the best shot to do that. states are going to be critical to distribution and they don't have the money. and look, we have a relief package out there, and the house has passed a couple but now we have a bipartisan $900 billion relief package which will give some support to state and local governments. this will be significantly hampered if we don't pass support. will mitch mcconnell and other republicans realize that? i hesitate to predict, but the country needs it and we're keeping pressure on them until

we do. >> the president was asked where he thinks the relief negotiations stand. let's take a listen to that. >> reporter: what about the aid package for the american people? >> it's moving along. >> reporter: what could you do to get the relief package out? >> i'm pushing for it, and if democrats want to do the deal, they should do it now. i want to see checks going for more money that they're talking about going to people. >> what do you make of that characterization? >> that's just the idiotic dishonesty that's been going back and forth in this administration. they have to agree. mcconnell says he doesn't want more than $100 trillion. the president says, oh, i think it should be 2 trillion. it's costing people lies as well as suffering. trump ought to call mcconnell up and say, put the bipartisan plan

on the floor and vote on it. mcconnell and trump have done an effective job of both stopping the relief from happening and spreading a disinformation campaign about whose fault that is. we in the house have been prepared to pass any one of, gosh, a dozen different covid relief packages. thus far mitch mcconnell has been prepared to pass nothing, not a single thing. if he wants to pass something, pass something. so let's not get distracted about, look, it's the senate. the senate isn't doing anything, because mitch mcconnell isn't letting them do it. put the pressure on him and let's get this done. if mitch mcconnell said -- i agree, let's put forth the bipartisan package put out there. >> so we're on the cusp of relief getting to millions of americans, yet there is still a stigma on it. what do you think about the

vaccine, and what pressure can be put on people so they take it? >> there is skepticism, but people know this is the pathway out of the pandemic, and they desperately want that. i think people will take it. i think the big focus right now is the distribution and development of the vaccine. we've got about 40 million doses they're talking about. but it's only 20 million when people have to take it twice. how do we get the vaccine, everything necessary, in the distribution process? i think the federal government needs to throw everything we can to make sure we can develop it and distribute it as widely as possible, and yeah, then it's a basic health campaign to tell people why it's important and to convince them that it's safe. i think we need to use the cdc and paul the public health officials to make that case, and if they do, i'm confident the people will respond to that and recognize the necessity of taking the vaccine. >> let me quickly get to something which i wish we had more time to discuss given your

area of expertise, but we have joe biden's nominee for defense secreta secretary, retired attorney general lloyd austin who will be testifying in the key committee. what do you think of him? >> his standing of the military, we on the house side have a responsibility of giving him a waiver. you have to be out of the military for seven years before you can be secretary of defense unless you get a congressional waiver. the senate is responsible for the broader confirmation issue. so what we really want to talk to general austin about is what is his understanding of why it's important that the civilian control the military? what's going to be different about his job as secretary of defense than when he was a general in charge of syncom. i'm very confident he'll be able to do that. i've spoken with him since his

nomination. he's incredibly smart and talented. but we do have to hear from him because we have to vote house. congressman, thank you so much for your time. i appreciate it. meantime, everyone, it just got uglier what happened in washington last night and some concern elected officials have about their personal safety. s he about their personal safety. febreze odor remover and concentrated detergent. try gain flings and smell the difference. you're choosing to get connected to the most to xfinity mobile, reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $400 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store.

the ugliness over the election results boiling over in the streets of washington, d.c., trump supporters clashing with anti-trump demonstrators last night leading to dozens of arrests and four men were stabbed in a fight. eight police officers were also injured during those protests. the outrage over the results reaching michigan last weekend, and in fact, the home of the secretary of state, jocelyn benson, said protesters gathered in a threatening matter outside her home chanting bogus claims about election fraud. >> reporter: we are here in front of the secretary of state's house. we want her to know we will continue to be here. that's right, stop lucille, right there. we are going to continue to be here because we are tired of them ignoring everything that has to happen. >> joining me now is michigan's

attorney general dana nessir. she was home with her four-year-old son at the time. what is being done to prevent further tactics like this? >> what's unfortunate is that many of us in government are forced to have to have security now when that was never the case with our predecessors. i was on the phone with secretary bensen when she was in her basement with her four-year-old son as there were angry protesters demonstrating outside in the dark of night. it's certainly a frightening set of circumstances, but it's not just those of us in statewide elected office. the slate of electors are going to have to be escorted by the city police tomorrow when they

vote. it's also canvassers, and local officers that are under threat. >> how do you get people to stop acting like this? >> well, firstly, people are going to have to get charged and prosecuted when they violate the law. that's something i intend to do. but in addition to that, you know, it's really up to elected leaders. republican leaders need to call out this kind of conduct and they need to call out the president. because at the end of the day, he is really what i believe to be behind all of this. if he would only do the right thing and concede this election and tell his supporters to stand down, and if he wants to run again in 2024, he's free to do that, but he needs to stop this and he needs to ensure that people understand this is a

free, fair and most of all an accurate election, and if and when he does that, i think we'll see all of this activity come to an end. but if he doesn't do that, i'm concerned that this type of violence and this kind of hostility will only escalate. >> michigan attorney general dana nessil, i'm sorry for the brevity of this situation because it's quite serious. i hope to have you back again. thank you for your time. who is next in line to get the vaccine? a lot of you have e mailed us. we have a panel here to answer all your questions about the rollout, coming your way next. rollout, coming your way next. m. we have a panel here to answer all your questions about the rollout, coming your way next. -. we have a panel here to answer all your questions about the rollout, coming your way next. he rollout, coming your way next. experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list sales event.

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it is a historic day in america's fight against the coronavirus. the first shipments of the coronavirus vaccine are on the move. half a million doses are under delicate care and very close guard set to arrive in all 50 states tomorrow. hospitals now very busy making

last-minute preparations to receive them. it's been called the beginning of the end, but the u.s. has passed 16 million covid cases. there are now 279,000 deaths. covid cases are increasing daily in almost every state, but as we witnessed, there is relief on the way. this is raising concerns about who can take the vaccine and when to take it, so we're going to answer your questions in this special half hour. i have a panel of medical experts to help navigate this all. she is a member of the advisory board. she is also an infectious disease specialist. and we have a doctor at a hospital center, and an infectious disease physician. dr. claiborne, we'll talk to you

first. tell us when we'll actually see these first doses administered. is that as soon as tomorrow or is that tuesday? >> it's going to depend on the rollout procedures for each hospital system. i know here within the university of maryland system, i've received personal notification as a front line provider and physician that we are getting organized for what is going to happen to the vaccines when they arrive in maryland, but there are some specific details that are not clear at this point. so tomorrow possibly, i would say it's likely going to be a few days depending on the organization, but of course this is being rolled out very carefully because of the need to properly store and refrigerate and care for these vaccines moving forward. we're all excited and waiting. it will be in the next days but we're not specifically sure on exactly when. >> and, again, getting in line is going to be a very important thing, and i do want to point out that governor phil murphy in new jersey, there was some concern whether or not he would be getting one of the very first

vaccinations at the new jersey state hospital on tuesday. apparently now he's going to wait and first responders will be getting it when he does. to you, dr. gander, a month from now, how widespread will this virus be? will we still be seeing the significant numbers we've seen in the last couple weeks? >> phase 1 will be including health care workers and residents and staff of nursing homes. we do know that nursing home residents are among the highest risk for dying of coronavirus, but it's going to take at least a month to get all those people vaccinated, perhaps longer, and then you have to wait for the vaccine to induce an immune response which takes another couple of weeks. i don't think we can really look at this as a silver bullet that's going to solve the current crisis. we are still going to see many deaths in the coming months. we're still going to see hospitals overwhelmed.

unfortunately that is baked into the system with the transmission that occurred over thanksgiving and i fear may happen again over the upcoming holidays. >> that is a fear many share. let's move, dr. bedelia, to you as we get specifics on that. we know the millions of doses going out this week will be prioritized for health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, and we have robert who writes, i'm 80 years old with comorbidity issues like copd and cancer issues. how will i gnotified when and where i can get my first vaccine? >> great question, robert. what we know from the advisory of practices, the first phase, dr. gounder says it is health care workers and long-term care workers, but then it will be the

essential workers or patients who are over 65 who might have co mo comorbidities who might have access. really, we're not talking until february or march authorize who might have access to that. the states will notify the facilities who will be pending this out and you might get notification from your state as well as from your primary care provider or your physician when these are available in your area or what pharmacies in your neighborhood. >> okay. dr. clayborne, this question from kimberly who wants to know how long it takes the vaccine to have full effect and asking when will i be immune after the second dose? >> great question, kimberly. both the pfizer and moderna vaccine do require two doses that are spread between three to four weeks. they will be taking the second

dose, but that depends on the person's particular immune response. we do believe there have been decent results showing protection in at least a week after the second dose. of course, those studies are ongoing and they're continuing to collect information and we'll continue to know more as the vaccine rolls out. >> and kwame asks, how long will the protection last, and is it the second dose that ensures that protection? >> great question, kwame. the frank answer is we do not know right now how long the protection will last. we hope this is long, robust, durable protection, but the only way to know that is by studying people who have received the vaccine for as long as a year or two years. only then will we be able to say the vaccine is durable for a year or two years. it's really something that we're all going to be learning together. >> dr. bedelia, we have sandy who says i'm probably going to

receive an earlier dose as i'm 80 and have health issues. once everybody is vaccinated, are they capable of infecting others? >> sandy, this is one of the outstanding scientific questions that we have. what we know from the study that pfizer did and moderna did, they were looking for people who developed symptoms after getting a vaccine, so they were looking for symptomatic effects, not someone who may have been asymptomatic. currently we don't have that data. what we know is it will prevent you from getting potential disease, but you may potentially be a carrier, so that's why we ask that people continue to wear a mask so we know that transmission is not violated or so people couldn't get the disease from you. >> this is carol who asks, what

happens if i have covid but don't know it and get the vaccine? dr. clayborne, is there any harm in that, and could something like that happen? would you need to test negative before you even receive the first dose? >> great question, alex. this is something people are concerned about especially if they're currently affected. we don't know exactly how long you may have immunity from covid-19. it is still recommended that you get infected, depending on your health status. if you've been significantly ill in the past, you want to move forward since we're not completely sure if that illness carried out during your infection will be as cured with this vaccine. >> we have more from all of you up next.

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after that second injection, i developed quite a lot of symptoms. i had chills, nausea, fatigue, headache the day after the vaccine. that evening i started developing a fever and that kind of escalated overnight. i woke up the next morning with

a very high fever and at that point thought i had pretty much received an active vaccine. >> that was my question of someone who suffered severe side effects after the dose of the second vaccine. this was during the trial. let's go back to our panel of experts, dr. celine gounder, dr. bhadelia and dr. clayborne. i want to point out that for others who weren't watching yesterday, her fever got pretty high, to 103.9. how should people react to that when they take this vaccine, and we're getting a lot of questions about that. >> i do expect that side effects with the coronavirus vaccine, in particular the pfizer vaccines as well as the moderna vaccines, may be more significant than you're used to having, say, than with your typical flu shot. we are seeing injection site

soreness, which we often have after a vaccination, but also fever, some headaches, and i think it would be advisable to give yourself a snow day, so to speak, the day of an after-vaccination just so your body has time to mount the appropriate immune response here to adapt to this and for you to feel better before you go back to work. >> i just want to point out while talking with that nurse from california, she said, i had these symptoms for a very short period of time. certainly by later that day, if not the next day, i was feeling great again. but yes, there was some alarm. you say 104.9, and that certainly is a level of great concern, but again, it subsided pretty quickly. dr. bhadelia, a lot of people are asking about allergies and the vaccine. one said, i'm a front line worker and have allergies from food, mold, dust, et cetera. i'm concerned about getting the

vaccine as i understand people with allergies may experience an adverse reaction. what would you advise someone with these allergies? >> great question. i know there have specifically been concerns because there are a couple cases from the u.k. of front line workers who received this who may have had something called anaphylactic reactions. this is from people who may have a propensity for severe allergic reactions. the cdc says if you have severe reactions to the vaccine or components of the vaccine, then you shouldn't receive the vaccine. however, if you have run of the mill allergies like i have, if you experience this, you should discuss this with your clinician because it may just mean you could receive the vaccine but you need a little time of authorization after you take the vaccine. most of these allergies, by the way, is right after you get the vaccine. right after you get it, they may

watch you for a little bit longer to make sure you're not developing any side effects. >> one says is there a website that talks about the ingredients in the vaccine? >> because of the way the vaccine is rolling out, that information will be dependent on which vaccine you're receiving. i believe, of course, they'll always make information available to those who are receiving it, so you may have to specifically request that from the organization that is going to be administering it for you. i don't believe that it's widely available online, every ingredient at this time, but it's certainly something that is known and can be accessible if you're going to receive it. it is going to be something that is, you know, commonly understood to be included in most of these vaccines the way that they are stored, and it's not going to be any ingredient that is outside the realm of what you would expect in other vaccines that we've seen that

are administered in this way. >> there is one more allergy question. i'm going to give this back to you, dr. clayborne because it's pretty specific. phil asks, are the vaccines safe for someone with a needle covers latex free? >> in general, the way that the vaccine is currently stores, it is safe for those who have a latex allergy. you would want to make sure when you're getting the vaccine administered, that you let everyone know that you have a latex allergy, because a nurse or someone may potentially have a latex product and not know about that. but that would be specific to who's administering the vaccine and not specifically related to how the vaccine is manufactured and being stored, prior to its delivery in a health care system. >> okay. a lot of actual specific concerns that have went to other conditions. this is from lee, who says, i received a liver transplant in 2003 and have taken immunosuppress sent drimmuno

suppre suppressant drugs for almost 20 years. i receive a flu shot every year with no problem and i am 75 years old. should i take a covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available or wait a few years until it becomes more refined? >> we have not studied either the pfizer vaccine or moderna vaccines for people who are on immun immunosuppressive drugs. and we don't have a lot of data in these people who have hiv, for example. so these are groups in which you're going to be wanting to hold off until we have a bit more information. and i would consult in this particular case with your transplant doctor, for the latest guidance on when it is deemed safe to be vaccinated. >> good advice there. dr. bedelia, this specific question from one viewer, asking, is the vaccine known to be safe for those who are hiv positive? what, in fact, do we know about that? >> yeah, and alex, there are actually hiv-positive patients in the pfizer trial. whether it be hiv or any other

condition that's immunocompromised, the concern is, we don't have as much safety data, but with vaccines like the pfizer vaccine and moderna vaccine, because it is not a live atenuated virus, it has a messenger structure that helps provide one of 28 proteins. so it is not shown in that study, there was no difference in seeing anymore safety signals for patients that are hiv positive. the recommendations will be to have a conversation with your physician to make sure that that's something that you can take at this time. >> there's a lot of polling which also shows some vaccine skepticism within the black community. and that concern was reflected in our viewer questions. neal poses a good question by asking, given the concerns that many african-americans have, concerning the vaccine based on the tuskegee experiment, what is

the medical community doing to reestablish trust in this community? also, what percentage of african-americans participated in the vaccine trials? dr. claiborne, first, can you talk about the racial makeup of the trial participants? >> so, the trials did have backgrounds of all individuals from different races, ages, as well as health conditions. i learned with other physicians, specifically with african-americans, but there was a decent number of participants that did come from that particular background. and this was specifically paid attention to, because the african-american community has been so hard-hit by covid-19. and disproportionately affected with adverse outcomes and deaths. to the larger question, this is something that, you know, i take personally very seriously. i have my own family members, since i am an african-american physician, asking me, texting me, calling me all the time, dr. claiborne, should i take this

vaccine, should i trust what's going on? i don't want to be a guinea pig. and i have to tell you, i tell all of my family members, i personally will be taking the vaccine. i believe in the ability of this vaccine to protect me. would i go and do every day on the front line as an emergency physician is very high risk andty need a layer of protection that is going to prevent me from getting sick, prevent me from bringing home this deadly virus to my family. and also prevent me from having to take care of people who look like me every day and seeing it ravage their families and our community. so i implore everyone that's from the african-american community to talk to someone in your family or your trusted circle, who has the knowledge and understanding of what this vaccine does, how it's made, and how it's being deployed. and think about how it can save lives. i think it's going to be the light at the end of the tunnel, but it will only serve that for our african-american communities if we vaccinate. >> dr. gounder, big picture, as

someone who's working with the boo biden administration, how can that community between the health care industry and the evolve and improve? what needs to be done? >> i think in the short-term, we really do need to emphasize having people, african-american doctors and other doctors of color like dr. claiborne, like dr. kazimkia corbitt, who led a program. these are the kind of people we need communicating directly with their communities, saying, here's my understanding of the vaccine. i'm getting vaccinated because i feel it's safe and effective. in the longer term, we need to address these issues of trust and what is driving them. and that's really going to mean some structural change and addressing these very real health disparities. >> we have so many more questions, but time for only one more. this one comes from louise who says, i'm 71 and received the

original shingles vaccine ten years ago and my doctor tells me i need to get the new two-dose vaccine now. should i wait to get the covid vaccine before i get the shingles vaccine? what would you advise louise? >> louise, i think the biggest concern here is that, you know, you might have these symptoms after the covid vaccine that as we talked about, the fever, the myalgia that might not make you feel good, so i think the best thing to do is to speak to your physician. they may want to stagger, get your first dose in, have you recover from the symptoms and come back. i would have a conversation with your physician about how to stagger. that is really making sure that you don't feel more rundown than you want receiving both vaccines at the same time. >> can't thank you enough, doctors. thank you so, so much. you have heard from the doctors, everyone. coming up next, we're talking about logistics. the where and the when and the how this vaccine will be administered, coming your way in just a few minutes. coming your n just a few minutes (customer) something like that...

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good afternoon to msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here's what's happening right now for you. after months of darkness, today, a glimmer of hope for millions of americans as distribution of the first coronavirus vaccine is officially underway. right now, fedex and u.p.s. are gearing up to ship half a million doses of the pfizer vaccine nationwide. that first batch is slated to arrive at more than