>> all right, steve osunsami leading us off tonight, thank you. again, the bottom line tonight, americans will want to know how soon we could see millions of doses, who gets them first? so, let's bring in dr. ashish jha. thank you for being here. and obviously encouraging news tonight. given what you've heard so far, when would you expect americans to have access to this potential vaccine? >> david, thank you for having me on. this is really good news. this is encouraging. 90% effectiveness, better than i was expecting. i expect that health care workers and first responders may be by december or january. high risk people, february february/march, most americans april through june. there are a lot of americans we need to get vaccinated, but it's going to take a little while. >> i remember dr. anthony fauci on this broadcast telling me that some vaccines are 50%, 60% effective, he was hoping for 70% to 75%. but we heard that news from pfizer, 90% effective, what do you make of that number? >> yeah, i have to tell you, i'm surprised. pleasantly so. b

second question, we were just talking about the senate, the control of the senate with steve osunsami, really a steep climb for democrats if they want to try to take over control based on the senate races in georgia. but there was news overnight in the senate race in arizona. >> reporter: that's right, david. arizona is sending a second democrat to the u.s. senate -- mark kelly, the astronaut, the husband of former congresswoman gabby giffords who was shot and nearly killed back in 2011. martha mcsally struggled to distance herself from the president late in the campaign stretch. during a debate she would not say three times whether she supported donald trump. mark kelly will fill the seat of the late john mccain, a huge win for democrats trying to flip the senate. >> whit, thank you. >>> in nevada, joe biden extended his lead. the question, is that lead large enough to keep the president at bay? because as we saw, he would need to win pennsylvania and a number of states. let's bring in matt gutman tonight for nevada. what are you looking at? >> reporter: vice president joe biden exte

steve osunsami leading us off. steve, thank you. >>> meantime, hospitalizations do continue to surge. tonight, 93,000 americans are in the hospital with covid. tonight, hospital staffs overwhelmed. as i mentioned at the top tonight, new york's governor warning hospitals to reach out to retirees, nurses and doctors, to prepare for what's coming and for more, what's already here. here's abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the image of that doctor, wrapped in ppe, and cradling a covid patient resonating nationwide. it was taken on dr. joseph varon's 252nd consecutive day of duty. >> we are exhausted. we are tired. i have nurses who in the middle of the day are crying. >> reporter: and in the original epicenter of the pandemic in this country, new york, governor andrew cuomo warning another pause could be on the way. >> we are now worried about overwhelming the hospital system. every hospital has to identify retired nurses and doctors now. we're already experiencing staff shorta

>> all right, steve osunsami with us. steve, thank you. >>> and when we come back on the news this monday night, the images coming in at this hour, >>> we are monitor, an attack in vienna tonight. police say gunmen with rifles opened fire in six locations. surveillance showing one of the attacks. at least one person killed, 15 wounded. authorities say one gunman shot and killed by police. they are searching for other suspects tonight. >>> when we come back >>> we have learned tonight that prince william battled covid. he was treated for covid-19 back in april but didn't want to make it public. prince william contracting the virus after his father had been infected. he has recovered. >>> when we come back here tonight, the volunteers we thought it was important to thank tonight. i'm alex trebek here to tell you about the colonial penn program. if you're age 50-85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. the three what? the three p's? what are the three p's? the three p's of life insuranc

>> all right, steve osunsami with us again tonight from atlanta. thank you, steve. >>> we're going to turn now, though, to veterans day. the heroes you've met right here, many of whom you'll remember. we have long believed returning to the veterans we've met along the way has been so important. and so tonight, we do it again, we check in on them. and this evening, their wish on this veterans day. tonight, we go back to find the veterans you met right here. it was just last year, we documented our world war ii veterans and their return to normandy 75 years later. there was the moment, strangers walking up to them to say thank you. onofrio zicari originally from geneva, new york, was so moved. >> thank you for everything you guys did for us, for your service. >> thank you. this whole beach, whole sections, as far as the eye could see, was just men coming ashore, coming ashore. unbelievable. >> nono told us he had one more wish. >> a lot of graves. look at all the crosses. oh boy. >> to find the grave of the friend he lost. holding the photograph of h

i want to get to steve osunsami in atlanta tonight. steve, what are you learning? >> reporter: well, david, if biden were to win here, he would be accomplishing something that even president obama wasn't able to do twice here, and this is a state with a large black population. biden's team is still hoping for a surprise here in georgia and the numbers show that it is indeed mathematically possible. we're talking about 60,000 votes or so. at least two blue counties here are going to be counting absentee ballots into the night. that said, the math and the vote still favor the president here and his campaign is liking what they see, not only here in georgia, but also in north carolina, and this isn't just talk. about those delays in the counting, one person i talked with at a county today explained that while most people would like microwave food results, what's happening here is actually a grill. char marks and all. david? >> that's one way to put it. steve osunsami, thank you so much. >>> georgia, north carolina, so close. we saw this in the overnight hours. arizona

let's get right to abc's steve osunsami, tracking that race for us tonight. we know the president's lead in that state also shrinking today. >> reporter: that's right, david. it's clear that the absentee vote is breaking well for joe biden, because the president's lead has fallen from a high of close to 400,000 votes to now just under 10,000 votes. the secretary of state here says that he believes that there are about 30,000 to 40,000 outstanding absentee votes still to be counted, but even here doesn't have a lot of faith in that number, because the counties report those numbers to him. all of that state, it isest mated now that joe biden would need between 60% and 70% of that outstanding absentee vote to win here and that is mathematically possible, david. >> mathematically possible. 60% to 70% biden would need of the remaining ballots that they're counting. in the meantime, steve, this other story that has begun to unfold, based on what we're seeing in georgia, control of the senate could possibly, possibly be effected by what we're seeing in georgia. stil

>> all right, steve osunsami with us. steve, thank you. >>> and when we come back on the news this monday night, the images coming in at this hour, gunmen armed with rifles opening fire in six locations. of hpv can cause certain cancers when your child grows up. get in its way. hpv can affect males and females... and there's no way to predict who will or won't clear the virus. but you can help protect your child by taking a first step. the cdc recommends hpv vaccination at age 11 or 12 to help protect against certain cancers. hey cancer! not... my... child. don't wait... talk to your child's doctor about hpv vaccination today. (burke)stomer) happy anniversary. don't wait... (customer) for what? (burke) every year you're with us, you get fifty dollars toward your home deductible. it's a policy perk for being a farmers customer. (customer) do i have to do anything? (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) hmm, that is really something. (burke) you get a whole lot

but i am going to go to steve osunsami in atlanta.ead over the today. we're talking about the provisional ballots and maybe a recount. >> the military ballots had to be in by 5:00 today. they had to be postmarked by election day, but they have slightly different rules than some of the other ballots. there is a large universe of military and overseas ballots, but like i said earlier, one county we checked with said only about half of the balls came in. i've heard you talk about the provisional ballots. those are being counted as well, a ballot where a voter had an issue that couldn't be solved. they were given a temporaryish ballot and the decision would be made today if those would count. they're being counted. we're seeing something that is explaining how difficult this is, and that is that even tonight, counties that have already reported are reporting an additional numbers, some from the provisional ballots, some from the overseas ballots. we're going to keep seeing this happen perhaps for the next couple of days as they continue t

here's steve osunsami with the abc news investigation into "a quarter million, america's loss." ♪ >>ter: here in the heart of rural georgia -- >> for those trying to give up, for those struggling with covid-19 -- >> reporter: reverend willard weston praying for mercy from the coronavirus. >> a proper understanding, have mercy right now in the name of jesus -- >> reporter: begging the lord to keep it from stealing more lives. >> let us understand, lord, it can't be our way, it can't be my way, it has to be your way. and when you have spoken, lord, we must submit ourselves unto thee, amen. >> reporter: at sardis baptist church in dawson, this is what services looked like before the pandemic. and these are services here today, streamed online with only a few people willing to sit in the pews. families are still worried that if they come to church, they could get sick and die. even the wednesday night bible studies now broadcast from the pastor's home. >> god wants you to be blessed. >> does it surprise you to know that your county is on the list of one of the hardest-hit places in ameri

here's steve osunsami. >> let them know that all they got to do is call on the name of jesus. >> reporter: reverand willard weston in terrell county, georgia, says that church services here have never been this empty. so now he livestreams them online, on some nights from his home. >> god wants you to be blessed. >> reporter: families still worry that if they come to church, they could get sick and die. the coronavirus hit this rural community hard. 33 people were killed during the height of the pandemic. does it surprise you to know that your county is on the list of one of the hardest hit places in america? >> no, i'm not surprised. because it was happening so frequently. >> reporter: abc news and our abc-owned stations across the country have taken a close look at the data, and it shows the 100 counties in the u.s. with the highest rate of death. what many of they have in common -- most are rural, poor and have limited access to quality health care. the hardest hit -- gove county, kansas. >> and it's been hard because we have cared for them so long. >> reporter: in south georgia, there

steve osunsami from georgia now. >> reporter: it's looking very likely tonight that control of the u.s. senate will lie in the hands of georgia voters on january 5th, when four candidates who are unable to win a majority in the election will try to punch their ticket to washington. these seats have been held by republicans for the bet paert of two decades. but democrats raphael warnock and john ossoff think they can make history here. >> i think that these incumbent republican senators just felt entitled to an easy dance back to victory. >> reporter: conventional wisdom says the democracts shouldn't win, that they do poorly in runoffs here, but joe biden is proving that things change. holding onto a heat in a state that president obama lost twice. sitting senators david perdue and kelly loeffler are trying to beat the democrats. >> in january, i have one of the most radical opponents on the democrat ticket. >> reporter: at the same time, they're calling for the resignation of one of their own. georgia's republican secretary of state, who ran the election and says he's not going anywher

so, let's get to abc's steve osunsami, who is based in atlanta for us. and steve, i guess the same question to you that i asked eva, which is, do we have any grasp of how many ballots are left and, again, the percentage of those ballots, what joe biden would need to catch up, finally, to the president and surpass him if he wants to try to take that state, which would be historic. we haven't seen that since '92 and bill clinton. >> reporter: that's right, david. even president obama was unable to win this state twice. what we're seeing is that the absentee ballots that are being counted right now are breaking very well for joe biden, so much so that the president's lead, which was once close to 400,000 votes, is now, and this is just in, down to 3,600 votes. 3,600 votes. the secretary of state here says that he believes that there are about 30,000 to 40,000 absentee votes out there that still need to be counted, but even he doesn't have a lot of faith in that number because these are reports that are coming from the different counties. generally, joe biden

steve osunsami is there. this could still take some time in georgia, steve. >> reporter: it could. we expect to hear more from the secretary of state today. he's holding a news conference later today. george, i want to underline, there are a lot of georgians waking up this morning, democrats and republicans, wondering what georgia did they wake up in. that's how significant this lead that joe biden has taken is. if he's able to hold on to it, he will accomplish something in georgia that president obama wasn't able to do twice. it is really breaking the conventional wisdom we're seeing here. there are people on the left who are celibaebrating and saying people like stacey abrams had a lot to do with this lead and john lewis, part of his district is responsible for a number of these votes for joe biden. about the vote itself, the secretary of state who i will underline is a republican. we'll get more to that later. he points out there are about 8 to 9,000 outstanding votes. we're going to be counting military and overseas votes today. about 17,000 of those i think or so have laalread

steve osunsami is in atlanta where the cdc is issuing new guidance on voter safety. ng, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you, george. the administration's response to the coronavirus is absolutely on the ballot for many voters, and the cases are up. it's the day before the election, and the coronavirus is as busy as ever in america this morning. 47 states are seeing the number of cases move in the wrong direction. 45 states are seeing a jump in the number of people needing to be hospitalized. and 25 states are seeing daily increases in the number of people dying from covid-19. on friday, the united states made covid history again reporting more than 99,000 new cases in a single day, the largest number of new cases recorded in a single day by any country in the world. el paso county, texas is struggling. the deaths from covid-19 are getting so high, they're adding a fourth mobile morgue. jerome adams, the u.s. surgeon general, says a vaccine is coming soon, but until then americans should try to protect themselves. >> all indications are that we will have a vaccine

abc's steve osunsami is in atlanta with that. his vaccine is believed to be 90% effective within 7 days after the second dose. that is more effective than the flu vaccine. so as you can imagine, once it's approved, there will be immense pressure to roll it out. as the clinical trials this morning for the various coronavirus vaccines are wrapping up, the drugmaker out the gate first says it will work with local governments to move the drug across the u.s. drugmaker pfizer says that seniors who are more at risk and first responders like doctors and nurses will get the drug before anyone else. california's vandenberg air force base will be one of the first places to get shipments. hospitals, clinics and pharmacies will follow. moving the doses is a huge challenge. patients need two doses and they have to be stored in freezer that keep them 94 degrees below zero and pfizer is using temperature-controlled thermal shipping with dry ice and gps sensors that track the location and temperature of the packages. they're using fedex and u.p.s

steve osunsami is there as well and closing in on the final count, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you, george. 7:00, of course, on tuesday the polls closed. by midnight, the president was up about 372,000 votes. this morning that lead has shrunk to about 18,000 votes and the secretary of state now says that there are about 25,000 absentee votes still to be counted. about 7,000 of those votes we hear are here in fulton county which is breaking heavily for joe biden. they are going to continue to count the votes in counties across this state. these are all absentee votes that we're talking about. this is going to be super close. all of a sudden those provisional ballots are going to count. military, overseas ballots are going to count. the democratic party's encouraging residents here who voted by absentee to make sure that their vote was counted and if there are issues, if their votes are one of those cure ballots they have only a couple of days to fix it, george. >> thanks very much. let's bring in rahm emanuel and chris christie for more. rahm, let me begin with you. you've been

steve osunsami has more. he's there in atlanta for us this morning. from covid-19, just to underline the context of it all, that is more people than the populations of many, many cities in this country. a vaccine can't come soon enough, especially for these communities hardest hit. there is a new sign post this morning on a very tragic road. more than 250,000 people in this country have died from covisid-. abc news has joined our abc own stations across the country and taken a close look at the data, underlining the 100 counties in the u.s. with the highest rate of death. many of them are rural and poor. the hardest hit, gulf county, -- gove county, kansas, and right behind them, jerauld county, south dakota, counties in virginia, montana, north and south dakota and georgia are at the top of the list more than once, and in rural georgia, latosha taylor lost her aunt and her aunt's husband and believes if they lived in a big city with access to better health care, they might still be alive today. does it feel like the rest of the country forgets about

steve osunsami joins us now from atlanta with more on that for us. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you, robin. pfizer says it has a stockpile of this medicine ready to go as soon as the government says it's okay. in the race this morning to help heal the world, drugmaker pfizer and a german partner appear to be leading, saying that the early results show that their new coronavirus vaccine could be as good as 90% effective. financial markets around the world went soaring after the good word. >> as a vaccine, it's more than 90% effective which is extraordinary and will play a major role in what the outcome of this is going to be. >> reporter: pfizer is now planning to ask for fda emergency use authorization of this new medicine as soon as next week for first responders like doctors and nurses and for at-risk groups like seniors and pfizer says at first there's only enough medicine for 25 million people worldwide. dr. anthony fauci says that people getting the first shots could get them by december. moving the drug across the world won'

steve osunsami joins us from atlanta with a restaurant that's doing all they can to fight for survival the hardest parts is getting people to invest capital in your dream. we are here because of the good people of black restaurant week who are putting a shine on businesses like this one. this is apartment 4b. an upscale spot that opened on famous peach tree road in atlanta and opened for in june. sim was determined to open a restaurant in atlanta that reminded him of his roots. with the fresh breeze of the caribbean and the island flavors that he learned cooking with his jamaican mother in her new york restaurant. >> i grew up under her really watching her cook and eating her food. ginger, coconut milk, the essence of the jerk. >> reporter: introducing apartment 4b. >> we opened up a concept called apartment during a time when people are quarantining and spending their time at home. >> reporter: but his timing isn't nearly as good as his food. he, his partners and his chef that come from caribbean families are open for business in the middle of the pandemic. >> i really look at it as w