good afternoon and thank you so much for joining us. i'm morgan radford. right now we're following two developing stories as the incoming biden administration braces for twin crises, they are going to inherit on day one. the first of course, this raging pandemic while the moderna vaccine is now being distributed, we are still months away at least from a vaccine being widely available to the public. right now on capitol hill, lawmakers are racing to finish a $900 billion covid relief deal. biden and democrats are already vowing that there will be more than relief in the new administration. that of course is going to be a tall order. the current bill is still struggling to getting across the finish line. there could be votes well into the night. lawmakers haven't yet seen the text of the massive bill. but here is what is expected to

be included. a $600 stimulus check for most americans and $300 per week of enhanced federal unemployment benefits among other relief measures. but to make matters even perilous for the incoming administration, they will he also be inheriting a government that has just been breached by a massive russian hack. meanwhile president trump is casting doubt on russia's role in the attack, even though u.s. officials, lawmakers, experts and even the secretary of state and the attorney general have all said russia is culprit. and the president is using the hack to instill further doubt about the legitimacy of biden's victory. for the latest, imjoin'm joined garrett haake and josh lederman. garrett, when will we see the actual text of the covid relief

bill? >> we've been told that the text of the bill was imminent since about 10:00 this morning. there are reports that it is being held up by printer problem, digital unloading problems, it is giving me nightmares of term papers finished too late. but this is what happens when you are trying to finish a bill that will be in the thousands of pages, very technical, spending billions upon billions of dollars at the very last minute. gh now, i joked with chris jansing in the last hour, lawmakers won't read this bill. they don't read most of the bills. at the know the language ththeyn it and we know that they are committed to finishing it today. >> but what is interesting is that for me at least, perhaps just as interesting is what is in the deal is what is not in the deal. for example, these liability protections which mitch mcconnell called his red line and then of course you've got the money for state and local governments which democrats had demanded.

so is anyone actually happy with this bill or is everyone just a little bit unhappy? >> everyone is going to go away a little bit disappi pinpointed is often the case particularly in qudivided government. this is a politics and elections have consequences momt. for democrats, they mout their hand would be strengthened by picking up seats in the house and senate and they could strong arm republicans into taking a deal included the state and local money now so they wouldn't have to take a worst dealing for themselves in the beginning of a biden administration. that did not come to pass. so democrats did not have the muscle necessary to push that across the line in this bill, similar situation with republicans. but the hope is with those two big, you know, chips still off the table, they could be used to bargain for a next relief package in perhaps march or april of next year. biden has said that he wants to take another bite of the apple here and with those two things out there, there is a lot to start negotiations with

potentially. >> and you mentioned march or april of next year. let's turn gears for a moment to josh. the president is currently taking credit for at least part of this covid relief bill, which is those direct payments to americans. so what role did president trump and his administration actually pay in getting this deal done? >> reporter: for all the president's talk about being the ultimate dealing maker, his approach to this deal has largely been hands off as it has often been during his administration. and i think sometimes that actually makes it easier for folks on the hill because whenever the president gets deeply personally involved in those negotiations, the goalposts tend to move so quickly that it is hard even for his fellow republicans to figure out what the president at the end of the day would actually agree to sign. so he's moos will stly delegate authority to his chief of staff and also steve mnuchin.

and the president's main interests has seemed to be to getting those direct payments into the bill which he likes for americans to think of as checks coming directlyald j. trump to american citizens. but the good news is that the white house tells us that when this deal does reach the president's desk, he does intend to sign it. >> so he intends to sign it, but let's turn for a minutes, because another big story right now at the white house is this massive russia attack.minutes, e another big story right now at the white house is this massive russia attack. the president is down playing the significance of the hack. first mike pompeo said russia was likely the culprit and then here is what attorney general barr said. take a listen. >> from the information i have, i agree with secretary pompeo's assessment. it certainly appears to be the russians. >> so josh, what is the mood at the white house on this front? >> well, there is really no way

to square the president throwing out the possibility that this was china with what we're hearing from pompeo, from attorney general barr, and from basically everyone else who has been briefed on the intelligence on this saying that it is russia. and so the white house really has stopped trying to reconcile those statements. in fact shortly after the president made those comments on twitter over the weekend about china, u.s. official told me the white house had been preparing on friday to issue a statement formally attributing this breach to russia when they were told to stand down. so now the white house not saying much of anything as they leave to lower level officials like barr and pochl to tampeo. the comments from attorney general barr so striking because as he delivered what is most likely his final news conference before he wraps up his role as attorney general on wednesday, he seemed to be taking the opportunity to rebut president trump point by point, not only on this talk about china being behind the breach, but also barr

saying that he sees no basis for the u.s. gechlts to government voting machines and he sees no basis to appoint a special counsel to investigate hunter biden either. >> not only striking but conflicting messages. thank you both. and with me now is congressman, democrat from illinois and member of the house intel and oversight committees. congressman, thank you for joining us today. how do you justify voting for a bill of this size, of this magnitude, without actually having a chance to read it? >> i guess we voted it in the christmas spirit. a lot of faith in things we can't see sometimes. in all seriousness, we will be reviewing this as closely as we possibly can in the remaining hours before the vote.

i have also been told that the text is imminent and we have crack staff ready to go to check out the underlying provisions, although the overall outlines of the agreement look very, very good. >> and we are talking about thousands of pages of documents here. senator john are cornyn tweeted, pelosi and schumer have agreed to a $900 billion bill three months after turning down an offer of $1.8 trillion. so would you have been better on voting on that bill earlier? >> i think the one thing that senator cornyn doesn't mention is that we'll have a president biden in just over a month here pfrp a and i think the facts have changed on the ground. but nevertheless this bill is since relief for the next three

months which is possibly the worst part of the pandemic as you know. and i think that we'll have to do more come mid march once president biden takes office. >> i want to switch to something we just heard josh lederman say a moment ago about this russia hack. as a member of the house intelligence committee, what if anything at this point can congress really do to mitt gates the impact of such a massive hack? >> i think there are three things that we have to do. first, we have to obviously hold accountable the folks within the department of homeland security and other places who are supposed to be clearing out the malware and preventing such malware from entering our systems in the first place. we've been on notice for such a supply chain attack over the last four years, in other words, that russia and others would try to embed such malware in our systems. the second thing that we have to do is we have to authorize new

provisions of the ndaa, which is now on the president's desk, that would give our intelligence authorities even more capabilities to prevent these cyberattacks in the future. now, if the president vetoes this bill, we'll have to override it. and that may come as soon as this week or next. the third thing that we have to do, we have to hold russia accountable. there has to be a cost associated with what they did. in this particular case, as you mentioned, attorney general barr, secretary of state pompeo have already acknowledged, everybody knows it is the russians, but the president refuses to acknowledge that they were behind this attack. the sad truth is that the burden is still in the house. the russians and malware are still on our systems today. and so we have to tell them very straight -- in a straightforward manner that we know that you are here, we know your malware is here and if anything happens

because of that, we'll be holding you accountable and i'm glad joe biden at least is doing that, i wish president trump would do the same. >> and you hit something that i think is really important for our viewers and that is the issue of accountability. so did you worry at all that the president will use this hack to perpetuate his claims that the election was rigged? he already hinted at it in a tweet on saturday. >> he is going to perpetuate this myth as long as his fund raising apparatus needs that myth to be perpetuated. i know he will do whatever he is going to do, but from our standpoint, we have to band together with republicans and democrats who want to protect our cyber infrastructure from the russians and other made line being made lin actors. if we don't allow a foreign nation to attack our infrastructure and certain we'll hold them accountable if they

do, i think that we'll first consensus on those particular provisions. >> and there is a new strain ravaging the uk. so should we impose new travel bans here in response? >> we have to do something. as governor cuomo said, at jfk, there are since or seven flights from the uk every day. the same is true of o'hare international airport part of my district in chicago. we at the least have to prevent these people from just entering unimpeded. back in the spring, my subcommittee that i chair in the oversight committee pointed out we failed to screen and failed to prevent people from italy coming here who possessed a very contagious strain of covid back then. and that led to a big spread of

the virus across the country. we can't repeat that mistake now whether it is from the uk or any other country. >> congressman, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. and coming up just ahead, precious cargo, shipping companies are rushing to move millions of covid vaccine doses. the latest on their progress next. plus, the new coronavirus strain hitting the uk and causing a lockdown in london. what makes it different? and could it already be right here in the united states?

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coronavirus. but there is also new hope as nearly 6 million doses of moderna's vaccine are scheduled to be delivered across the country. moderna's vaccine will likely have a farther reach than pfizer's since it does not require that ultra cold storage. kerry sanders has been following a shipment of moderna vaccines as it travels from that u.p.s. truck to the vaccination site. so thanks so much for joining us. and take us through the distribution journey today. how exactly did the doses arrive and then from there, how quickly are they actually expected to be administered? >> reporter: we're here at baptist health in south florida and at their warehouse, it was a rather exciting morning for those involved in bringing in this moderna vaccine. it arrived with a u.p.s. almost special delivery because they went directly to baptist health

once it cleared the sorting center in miami. it was brought in in boxes and inside the boxes are the kind of like ice packs you might use in a cooler. but of course they are chemically based and they are certainly holding the temperature at 20 degrees below or colder. as the boxes were brought in, you can see that they were taken into an area where they were unboxed and placed into a freezer. but perhaps the most excited person at the moment was the pharmacist bringing in these yet more vaccines to help out. this is what she had to say. how do you feel about this just arrived, i mean, did you expect it today? >> no, we didn't. we actuallyxpected to come yesterday hearing the new, but it got here quickly. >> reporter: and how quickly does it wind up in people's arm sn s? >> well, first thing tomorrow morning we'll be vaccinating more people with the moderna

vaccine. so we'll prepare it. >> reporter: so a big day. >> it is a big day. >> reporter: what does it mean to you? >> it is like they say, it is hope in a bottle. and you know, return to normalcy. we want to get back to being able to see our families and to the things we used to do. and i think people are appreciating what a great life we had before this pandemic. and getting back to normalcy is a big thing. >> reporter: so 3500 of the moderna vaccine arrived to baptist health south florida today. they already had pfizer. they are right now getting vaccinations of the pfizer to 500 frontline health care workers a day. so once they run out of the pfizer advantage be evvaccine, to the moderna. but there is a bit of a dance in that that they have to have enough pfizer for the second shot that comes to those who had the first one. it is a 21 day gap.

where whereas with the moderna, there is a 30 day gap. and you can't mix and match. and so while they have the moderna in place, it is not being injected today. again, right now they are dealing with the pfizer. but bi, what an embarrassment of riches to have both vaccines available right now for those frontline workers who you pointed out at the beginning here are literally risking their lives every day they come to work and have been doing that since march. >> and which is so interesting because i was so struck by what that woman said when she called it hope in a bolt and that we all appreciate what life was before, but we also appreciate the work that she's doing every day to keep us safe. one thing i want to ask you, you talk about the 20 degrees or colder. they are in the warehouse but not exactly at the hospital itself. so what kind of extra preparations are the hospitals actually having to take now? >> reporter: well, what they need to do is they need to

prepare it so what they do is when they take it out before it actually makes its way to going in the arm, they get the vials and unlike pfizer, it doesn't need to have any sort of mixture, it is already ready to go. they get the syringes and they fillyringes up and they line them up. and it can be brought to room temperature for about five to six hours. so it doesn't go in your arm freezing cold. and they can get it into those syringes and then as john sits down, boom. as sally sits down, boom, give them a shot. of course you and i are all waiting for that moment. >> and i've had so many questions from friends and family about the difference between the two, the degrees of storage, so i can't thank you enough to walking us kerry, thank you very much. and turning now to the vice president of pharmacy operations for walgreens, i want to thank you for joining us.

walgreens is distributing the vaccine to long term care facilities. so take us through the rollout, how many facilities are getting the vaccine and frankly when? >> it is a great question. first of all, thank you so much for having me. we're really humbled to have the opportunity to help the public and especially these communities that are at risk that to get their vaccination and stay protected. so the way the long term care facility process has begun is that we began the planning process around six to eight months ago in partnership with the cdc and "operation warp speed." and most recently, we've been engaging with the states because the states are the ones that activate the long term care facility plan in their respective area. and so we have activated actually kicked off the event today in which we have over -- around 12 states that we're administering vaccinations to facilities in those locations address helping to ensure that those patients are taken care of. >> and you talk about the states

having a big responsibility here. but how did walgreens along with cvs become responsible to distributing the vaccine at care facilities and how are you diviing up that load? >> it is so important for our pharmacists to be able to play this role. we have a long history of being able to provide vaccinations in these types of facilities. since 2015 alone, we've administered over 150,000 clinics where we're able to have our pharmacists come on site and be able to administer the vaccine. so because of our experience and our history, we've been able to partner with the cdc as well as the states to offer this type of service. >> and we were all glued to our phones when the cdc just announced the next groups of people who will be getting the vaccine. that is something a lot of people have curiosity about. so will walgreens also be facilitating shots for those frontline workers and do you all have the infrastructure in place to really handle that load?

>> it is going to be really as inventory continues to build up, we'll continue to partner with the state as well as "operation warp speed" and the cdc so we can play a role in being able to administer the vaccines to the frontline workers as well as the next phase that is eligible for the vaccine. and so we're really excited about that. but it will be in coordination with the state because they will be the ones determining who and when that vax even will ccine w available. >> and we have new nbc data and according to that analysis, 20% of americans have to travel more than five miles to get to a pharmacy that is expected to have the vaccine and then 700,000 live more than 50 miles away from one. so, you know, as someone who is from the south, this is a personal issue for me. how does walgreen's plan to help patients in those rural areas or those patients who are in low income areas? >> it is something that is actuala

actual near and dear for me as well. access to care is extremely important for all of our pharmacists because that is what we're responsible for doing is ensuringing that everyone has access to care. as you mentioned, we do have our physical locations. but we've been providing vaccinations, we've actually provided over 70 million vaccinations over the course of our history. so what we're planning on doing is leveraging or footprints, but we'll be going into those communities. our pharmacists will be con difficulti i conducting the clinics at those facilities or setting up them so it is convenient to get a vaccine. >>. >> reporter: >> all right. thank you so much for your speed and accuracy. thank you for joining us. and right now we have breaking news for you, vice president-elect kamala harris is speaking in columbus, georgia. there she is at the podium. waving to some fans. she is at a rally for the two democratic candidates for the

senate. ossoff and warnock. now, of course these runoff races taking place on january 5 will determine which party controls the senate. so they are of enormous interest and importance. already more than 1.4 million people have either involved early in these contests. so let's take a listen for a moment to the vice president-elect. >> -- what are the priorities of georgia, what georgia will not allow to be denied about georgia, but you also made a statement about who we are as a country. you allowed people around this nation to say, uh-huh, don't ever put us in a box and tell us who we are. we will tell you who we are. that's what you did. that is what you did right here in columbus. so i'm here first and foremost on behalf of joe biden and myself to say thank you, thank

you to whfor what you did. and of course we're asking for a little bit more. so january 5th, january 5th, you know, 2020 has been a difficult year. 2020 has been rough. you know, people are making jokes about 2020 like we want this thing to be over. but you know what, as far as i'm concerned, georgia, columbus, 2020 ain't over until january can 5th. that's when 2020 will be over and we'll get this thing done. because as you know, everything is at stake when it comes to the need to elect reverend raphael warnock, to elect jon ossoff. to elect daniel blackman, everything is at stake. everything that was at stake in

november is at stake leading up to january 5th. look at what is happening right now in this state. we're looking across the country at so much devastation. people who have lost family members, lost time being able to go to work, lost time in terms of our children's education and the days of their education they have missed. there has been so much loss these years. and in particular this year. we're looking here in georgia at the fact that one in seven families is describing their household as being hungry. we're in the midst of a hunger crisis in america. and it is hitting georgia hard. one in seven describing hunger in their households. one in six georgia families are

describing an inability or difficulty to pay rent. one in four small businesses in georgia have gone out of business or are about to go out of business. and what we are here to talk about and why everyone all the leaders are here right now together, because if you are here, you are a leader, it is to say that we will have our voices heard, we will not let anyone silence us, we will speak up about what we need, we will tell you what we want and we will make it happen through our vote. and just like you did, we'll do it again. here's the thing. i was here, joe biden was here, we were all here together this georgia before november. and remember how we knew what was at stake and the challenge

ahead of us. we knewey abrams had been telling us that there would be powerful people trying to prevent us from voting. we knew the kind of games they would play to make it difficult to suppress our vote, to make it confusing to discourage us. and in november we talked about that and we said we know the challenge that is before us. the same challenge exists today. so we again ask as it relates to january 5, the question we asked in november. why are so many powerful people trying to make it so difficult for us to vote? we have to ask the question why -- >> that is the vice president-elect harris saying everything that was at stake in november is also at stake in january.

she said that 2020 ain't over until january 5th. so be sure to catch the reid out tonight because joy will sit down with the vice president-elect right here on msnbc. but don't ghe anywhe don't go anywhere, we'll be right back. right back 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.

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to make your experience incredible. and putting you in control of the whole thing with powerful technology. that's why we've become the nation's fastest growing retailer. because our customers love it. see for yourself, at carvana.com. good afternoon and welcome back. i'm morgan radford. it is the uk's nightmare before christmas.

london and southeast england are under a strict lockdown as a new and more transmissible train of the coronavirus is quickly spreading. the lockdown announced this weekend will last for at least two weeks. experts say the new strain is not more deadly and that it should still respond to vaccines, but even so, at least 30 countries are now banning travelers from the uk. joining me now is dr. patel, a primary care physician and former white house director of health policy during the obama administration. she is also an msnbc medical contributor. doctor, what do we need to know about the new strain, is is it more dangerous or does it simply spread faster? >> good to be with you. so the short answer is that we didn't know enough. but what we do know is what you pointed out, that this virus -- and this is based on some modeling that has been done in the uk as well as in south

afterward ca africa where they also have picked up the mutation, that they have seen at least 70% kind of more what they call trance miss ability, did means that it is much easier to get and give this virus.rancemiss ability, d that it is much easier to get and give this virus. again underscoring that it doesn't necessarily lead to more severe disease, but you can imagine that if we're telling people six feet apart and you should be safe, this could mean that six feet apart indoors or maybe even outdoors, if someone is coughing and doesn't have a mask fitting properly, that could be dangerous. so it is something that we're watching and i do think that you are correct to point out the vaccine should be because it does cover this mutation and it also allows for the immune system to respond to any of these types of viruses. but what this means in the long term is something we'll have to watch closely for potential need of future vaccines, maybe something like a yearly flu

vaccine but you for covid. >> and that is what i was going to ask because i think on one hand we're hopeful because we've now seen millions of doses of the vaccine be transmitted across the country, but on the other hand, question of how easily it can pass from one person to the next is a lot of concern. so when will we know if the vaccine will actually work on this strain and as you mentioned, how likely is it that we would have to develop a new vaccine variation for each and every strain because it may not be the last? >> that is a great question. and just to put people's minds at ease, this mutation that has been picked up in the uk has been one that is cataloged for the three leading manufacturers at a minimum, pfizer, moderna, and assistrazeneca. but to your point, viruses are mutating constantly. it is how they survive. and most of these mutations don't make any differences. i think the reason this is getting a lot of attention is because of what you pointed out,

it is much more transmissible. and i think what will happen is that people will continue to look at the genetic map of viruses everyone as we have got most of our population vak natured just like we do for the flu. so there is going to be a constant surveillance effort to look at the genetic mutations and to test current vaccine technology against those strains. so i hope the public kind of understands that they shouldn't be alarmed, butwho are familiar with those traveling to and from the uk should heed these warnings. and you are already starting to see local travel bans like the state of new york and governor cuomo, that might continue. >> and dr. patel, it is interesting because earlier in this show, congressman raja sort of compared to what we saw happen earlier in italy. so how would you rate the uk's responsibility to this spread and frankly, what kind of action would you suggest that our government heerd tare takes to

the strain from reaching the u.s. if it is not already here? >> a couple of things. i think number one, absolutely the congressman is right, it does kind of remind what you saw in italy. and i do commend the uk, the national health service for trying to get in front of this, they knew that this travel pattern around the holidays was going to increase. and they wanted to send a signal that this is an incredible fragile time. the united states just traditionally follows the uk and the eu in terms of patterns by about two week. so we don't think that there is a -- that this strain is here in the united states, but we don't want to take those chances. in general, travel bans are kind of the most crude way of doing things. but the fact that we're already literally breaking our hospital systems and we're seeing record numbers of deaths, it is reasonable. and i think on top of that, it is worth reminding people that we need to just again keep doing what we said that we need to continue to do. the masks and the distance and

washing hands. and then an appeal to everyone with that four days from christmas, if you can, rethink those holiday plans and be conservative. >> which is interesting because you talk about the travel bans being kind of the most crude tool that we have in our tool box, just moments ago the surgeon general said that we'll talk about a potential uk flight ban. so can the united states handle a faster spreading strain when we're frankly already stretched on thin? i mean, how destructive could this be to the progress that we have already made? >> yeah, it is troubling. it is funny, i switch back and forth emotionally between being joyous at the vaccine and the images that you showed earlier, you know, always bringing me to tears still to this day. and then at the same time, the just massive incalculable losses. so, yes, this could be on top of what we already expect from a holiday surge, this could be

devastating. and so i do think that travel bans and some of the things that the federal government can do are what they need to do, i think that we also need to think about how to act locally. and it will just be really hard. people are closing down in-door dining and taking pretty drastic action, but that might be all we can do to plug the faucet. remember, the vaccine can't take a garden hose to put out a wildfire and that is what we have in the form of a vaccine. >> and dr. patel, you are the calm, composure and science that we need. so thank you so much for joining us. and just ahead, advice for the spring semester from the head of the university that successfully beat back coronavirus and stayed open. with dq cough and congestion. it's max strength formula coats your throat and provides powerful relief. new dayquil cough and congestion. the maxcoat daytime power through your cough medicine.

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. for colleges and universities that held classes in person this fall, students are coming home for the holidays

as cases in the united states heech staggering new heights. so now amid a worsening pandemic, schools are facing the very difficult decision of whether to welcome students back to their campuses in the spring. purdue university did hold in-person classes this fall. and is planning on doing it again next semester. the university considers their response a success. mitch daniels is the president of purdue university and former governor of indiana. so i want to thank you so much for joining us today. and first and foremost, what lessons did you learn from this semester, are you anticipating any challenges that perhaps you may not have had this semester? >> we learned inthat you couldn start early enough, you couldn't take too many steps or take too many investments and we made every one that we could think of. and the most important factor was the behavior of our students was exemplary, leadership in all the things that we asked them to do, all the inconveniences that we asked them to bear up under.

with regard to the next semester, we betwedo see the possibility of a different challenge, namely that many of o our -- maybe of our critical staff will be incapacitated either through their own illness or more likely because they know someone who becomes ill. so we're making preparations for that. but having survived one semester, we gave ourselves one day and then began working on the next. >> so i know that you are preparing to have students on campus for the spring semester as long as they have a negative test. but are you confident that that is enough, and how will you really enforce that? >> we will require a test as we did the first semester before a student can come on campus and then we'll test very aggressively on a surveillance basis and of course 234ib with any simp anybody with any symptoms, that worked have he well.

we never came close, morgan, to using all the quarantine space we had. we never had a single case among a student go above level four -- we had 1% go above level four on a six level severity scale. as you i think know, the virus has next to zero lethal risk to students that age. so it is a matter of managing them, taking them out of circulation so they don't spread to other until they recover, which they invariably did. >> and you mentioned taking them out of circulation. so what is your plan specifically when there is inevitably a positive test? >> yes, this was a major undertaking. our faculty and academic folks did a spectacular job. it was not enough simply to move them to a safe and comfortable quarantine space for the requisite number of days. we wanted them to keep up with our academic work and that meant

that we had to build a whole system so they could seem l seamlessly transition from either in-person or partially in-person hybrid courses to online and back again. that was a major part of what we did and we have to be prepared do again. >> president trump daniel, will you require a vaccination for the students once they are available? >> well, it is probably a moot point for the spring semester and quite properly they will i believe be at the end of the priority line. once again, we now know, and very knew months ago, that someone the age of our students is frankly under -- is in much greater danger of dying from a host of other threats than this one. so i don't expect that the vaccine will be available for most of this spring. we do require flu vaccinations, measles vaccinations. it wouldn't be unheard of for to us do that. but we've made no decision yet.

>> best of luck to you. i know that there are a lot of factors at play. mitch daniels, thank you for joining us. and just ahead, the devastating toll of covid-19 on food in-securities among america's tloops. we'll have that steer. s if a's tloops we'll have that steer. s if rpaying for your prescriptions? try optum perks. it's a new way to save up to 80%. and everyone can do it. it's from optum, a health care company that's trusted by millions of people. you don't have to sign up for anything. just go to optumperks.com. and get a coupon to use at your pharmacy. that's it. i opted in. i opted in. you can, too. opt in and save big today.

welcome back. this pandemic has left millions

of americans struggling to find food for their families. among them military families that already face stress from the dangers of defending our could be try. sam brock spoke to a member of one of those families about her struggles and about how the military is there. in ft. bragg where i am right now a soon to be mom is talking about her struggles hoping it will hope others seek the help they need. >> any specific needs you have this morning? >> i would say canned vegetables and fruit? >> rachael is collecting the

basics. she moved to the military base two years ago when her husband joined the military. she has a baby due in january. >> covid happened and unfortunately i lost my job in july due to the virus. >> in a million years. >> i have never been someone who needed someone to pay for me, i paid my own rent, paid for my own school. >> the armed services ymca says deployment for spouses has always been difficult, but add a generational pandemic and groupt is a they're seeing a 400% increase

in dekd. >> other groups are tracking equally unnerving trends. serving is not profits which saw food insecurity ahead of employment and housing. >> there is a lot of stigma and shame and the families have said to us yes, our children are hungry, but that food is not for us, it's for the people that we serve. >> even she admits it was not easy to come forward. >> does it hurt you that it is affecting your entire family? >> yeah, it does. sorry. >> ft. braggs helping people know that child care and food assistance is available. >> it is important part of the

community here. >> would you rather look for help and be embarassed or drain your savings. >> as a window into how difficult this has been the armed services ymcs says there is some 2,000 families on this base getting help right now. >> sam, thank you so much. msnbc coverage continues live with alicia menendez after the break. a menendez after the break. or just the west side. run payroll in less than five minutes with intuit quickbooks.

good afternoon, i'm aliciamen me in dalicia menend menendez. 20 million doses of vaccine are promised in just two weeks. and the cdc is already looking ahead to inoculating more americans and advisory committee recommended the next round of vaccines for nonessential