dasha burns, thank you for bringing that to us.ays an important reminder no one, frankly, is immune to this. no one is 100% okay. we have an idea who it affects more but we can never be entirely sure. and that's going to do it for me today. what a major day. a vaccine is here. people are getting vaccinated. it is the beginning of the end, the very beginning of the end. but remember the virus is still surging. so if you are going out, wear a mask. and if you're staying in, amen, moy hudean picks up our coverage after a quick break. >>> aymon hello everybody, ya know something? after the year we just had, the usual gifts are just not going to cut it. so we have to find something else. good luck! what does that mean? we are doomed. (laughter) that's it. i figured it out! we're going to give togetherness. that sounds dumb. no, santa, we're going to take all those family moments that make the holidays and package them. oh, you are getting so big! woahh! it's down to the wire, the team's been working around the clock. i'm not sure it's g

but the fundamental paradox that dasha burns pointed to at the top of the show is that when it wasn't as widespread and prevalent we had locked down all of society essentially. i mean, not really. you could still go out. you could still go to the home depot and buy a generator or whatever. but we had shelter in place orders. it's worse than it's ever been now and we don't have that and it's a weird paradox to be living through in terms of the messages people are being sent. >> yeah, chris, i think that -- i don't want people to think this is all about personal behavior because it's not. the ability to do the right thing in this country depends in large part on the color of your skin and how much money you have. >> yeah. >> congress, as you were just saying, hasn't stepped up and put money in people's pockets. essential workers. high proportions of black, latino, native americans out there are still getting infected at higher rates and being hospitalized at higher rates and dying at hospital rates -- at higher rates. and if congress doesn't act, what does it say about us as a nation in

nbc reporter dasha burns joins me now. keep those vaccines cold for that period of time. >> reporter: yeah, andrea, for civilians like us, drones are probably either toys or nuisances. but we are not talking about your teenage nephew's drone here. this drone is capable of flying at 60 miles per hour over a range of 50 miles. it can carry ten pounds of cargo. it can do what's called a soft touch landing, you see it doing that there. it's setting the cargo down, it's not dropping it, so it protects those precious materials in there like glass vials for vaccines. andrea, this project here in wilson, north carolina, what this drone has been doing is taking vaccines and medical supplies from merck pharmaceuticals' finishing facility here to a hospital in a rural part of north carolina. this is a test project. this is to see how this technology can really function best and hopefully to scale it for things like covid vaccine delivery. that cargo box you see there, that can store vaccines at minus 80 degrees celsius. we know that

joining me from johnson medical center is nbc news reporter dasha burns from johnson city, tennessee.fight the virus. it's another thing to fight misinformation about the virus here. what's been tougher for these health care workers? >> chuck, where i'm standing right now, this is not comfortable. these things are not comfortable or easy to talk about, but we're here because this is the grim reality. this morgue trailer behind me here, this is very real as you can see. and it is very necessary because the fact is that right now, johnson city medical center, their morgue is full as of today. and while this trailer is empty right now, it is possible, if not probable, that that will no longer be the case as some point today. and still, still there are patients coming into this hospital sick with covid who don't believe this virus is real. and that is perhaps the most heartbreaking thing for these frontline workers. i want you to hear from one of those nurses, allison johnson, and also from a former covid patient whose husband recently died from the virus, teresa fleming. take a listen to

da s dasha burns is in delaware. son is where the surge is pushing ambulance companies to their breaking points. let's start with dasha at duke where, frankly, vaccines is the one piece of good news we can talk about with covid so it's, pardon me, part wants to start with the coming good news but it is a challenge trying to scale up this vaccination plan. >> reporter: yeah. chuck, everyone is looking for some hope right now and at duke university hospital this room represents some of that hope, hopefully in the next couple of weeks there will be folks getting vaccinations right here and it may not look like much right now but there's thought put into this part of the process, a space big enough to socially distance the stations and ten here and move through people in through groups and with this vaccine taking two minutes to get the shot, there will be a 15 to 30-minute monitoring periods because it is likely that some people will experience some covid-like symptoms and monitored in this space here. this was strategic

nbc's dasha burns is at the stanford medical center in sioux falls. you've got an inside look at this two-fold issue, vaccinating health care workers now, but also getting the vaccine to the more rural parts of the state. what are you finding out? >> reporter: chris, that's absolutely right. we were here two weeks ago when we saw those freezers that had to be placed strategically across their facilities both in south dakota, and sanford health also covers north dakota and minnesota. a lot of ground to cover, as you said. 1.2 million people spread over an area the side of texas. so those cure years are going to be critical as the vaccine gets rolled out to the broader public. here today, this is the first full day of vaccinations at sanford usd medical center. they started at 7:00 a.m., going all the way to 7:00 p.m. let me walk you through what's happening here. katie is checking in the people who will get vaccinated, also making a second appointment for them. remember, this is a vaccine that requires two doses. if you follow me here, they've got four

in worthington, minnesota, dasha burns, walk us through what happens next. the first shipment got there in the last couple of minutes. am i wrong? >> reporter: hallie, you came to us just at the right moment. moments ago the vaccine arrived here in this box right here, but this box is empty because they've already put the vaccine in that ultra cold freezer. hallie, this is the second delivery of pfizer vaccines to worthington, minnesota. you might wonder why worthington? a town of 13,000 people. why are they getting two vaccine shipments back-to-back? it's because this is the hub for vaccines in this rural part of minnesota and all morning i've been watching pharmacists pack up these boxes and brian, the pharmacy manager is taking that box to someone from a clinic in this area. we've seen people come here from 100, 150 miles away with towns with populations of 700 people, a thousand people, these small communities that need this vaccine and it has been a massive effort, and i want to bring in the woman who has been coordinating this whole thing. this is alys

. >> dasha burns, thank you so much for the update. >>> let's turn to the nation's capitol where they're finishing touches on a relief deal and avoiding a looming government shutdown. where do things stand? let's bring in tracie potts. it looks like congress could be working through the weekend. >> they're getting close senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said they'll work until it's done and likely through the weekend. keep in mind the deadline for the shutdown of the government is tonight they want yet another short-term extension through the weekend to make that happen chuck schumer, the minority leader in the senate, says they have worked out the big issues the devil is always in the details and that's what they're working on, trying to complete these are the relief programs that would extend unemployment, small business loans, a lot of these programs, rental and food assistance programs that many are running out right after christmas. lawmakers are now scrambling to prevent that from happening. >> so from the information of all senators, we're going to stay right here, right here

dasha burns has more. >> reporter: hospitals and health departments are in overdrive preparing to roll out the covid vaccine as soon as it's approved. the race is on to get the ultracold freezers in order to store the pfizer vaccine and make a plan for distribution it's a problem for rural states like south dakota. our team spent some time there and got exclusive access to one hospital's storage units and their plan to vaccinate the rural population in south dakota hospitals hit hard. >> we're definitely in a crisis situation. >> reporter: rural regions facing a lack of access and resources now faced with the daunting task of distributing a vaccine. for sanford health, the largest health system in the region, cold storage is the key. here in sioux falls, south dakota, they have two freezers one for the fooifz and one for moderna. they have eight ultracold freezers strategically placed to reach the rural communities. each costs 10 to $15 million and can hold 75,000 doses. >> they're double doors. the other door with the latch on it, you can lock this and then inside here is where the ac

nbc's dasha burns has more. >> reporter: south dakota this morning facing a coronavirus nightmare.wide mask mandate. doctors and nurses here desperate to save lives while waiting on the vaccine. >> we are, you know, at capacity. >> reporter: sanford health, the largest provider of rural health care in the country may have an answer to keep people out of the hospital, building a bridge to the vaccine. >> it's a really exciting time for us, to be able to move upstream in the disease. that's a win-win for our staff and for our patients. >> reporter: the solution, monoclonal antibodies. the same therapy given to president trump, ben carson and chris christie. valerie and her husband are among about 200 patients that have received this experimental antibody treatment at sanford health. >> that's a weird feeling, when you see on your chart, you know, your covid test is positive. >> reporter: health workers reach out to high-risk patients within 24 hours of their positive covid test to offer them the new antibody treatment. >> when we got this phone call, even though we know the infusion

dasha burns, you're in south dakota looking at what will happen once the vaccine gets to some of these locations. talk to me about the cold storage you're seeing at one hospital? >> yeah, ultra cold freezers have been an ultra hot commodity. this is truly critical. especially hospitals serving areas like this one. we just got exclusive access into the type of medical center here and there. we have one for the fipfizer vaccine. they purchased eight freezers, and katie the cdc told hospitals not to do this. to hold off on purchasing these, but i asked why they went ahead and bought them anyway, and she said they had to get ahead of the game here because they face such challenges. but across the area, the size of texas, seen their distribution had to reach far and wide. so with those eight freeders they had to figure out where to place them strategically. and especially because the vaccine doesn't have a long shelf life. there is a timing issue there as well. lastly as you talked about for a vaccine to work people have to take it. they're doing education campaigns here with your own staff

. >> that was nbc's dasha burns reporting. is time magazine's first ever kid of the year. 15-year-old gatangalie, she is using science to tackle the world's biggest problems. she is awesome and that's why we have had err -- we have her on screen in the newsroom ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin ♪ ♪ who invented we're car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. with your uniquely-you sneeze. and, your uniquely-you heal

nbc news reporter dasha burns is there at the hospital in tennessee. over the country, but when you return to appalachia and places like this, this is the largest hospital in the region, the morgue is full, and people are still in denial? >> reporter: yeah, andrea, look, this is not comfortable to talk about. it's not comfortable to stand here right now. but this is the grim reality. johnson city medical center has had to activate this mobile morgue unit because they have run out of space in the hospital's morgue. the death rate is rising so quickly here. this is empty right now but it is possible if not probable that may no longer be the case at some point today. but andrea, here is the heartbreaking twist in this. we're hearing from front line workers that many in the community do not believe covid is real. there is even a conspiracy around this morgue trailer. people do not believe this morgue trailer i'm standing in front of right now is real, to the point where the ceo of the hospital system here has had to publicly come out and confirm that this

dasha burns is in tennessee.you've been talking to a father whose 11-year-old son, isaiah, is in the hospital. tell us more about their family story. >> hey, andrea. yeah, we spent some time in the children's hospital here where i met isaiah and his father, corey. isaiah was the only person in the family who tested positive for covid-19. they said they did all the right things. they wore masks, they socially distanced. when isaiah tested positive, they quarantined. he recovered, went back to school, but a few weeks later, developed misc, that multi system inflammatory disease in children and wound up here in the hospital. this is the reality. in a community where the levels of virus are so high, in this part of appear lash ya, the positivity rate is 26%. and that impact does trickling down to children, particularly in an area where there are already underlining conditions like asthma in children, already a respiratory kw . i want you to hear from isaiah's father, corey, about this. >> it was scary. i mean, becaus

with a look inside, here's cnbc's dasha burns >> my team and i received exclusive access to the outpatient therapy center where they are giving covid positive patients an experimental anti-body therapy in hopes of keeping them out of the hospital and icu. this is largely viewed as a bridge to the vaccine. although a vaccine is coming, it's not necessarily coming quickly enough for hard-hit communities like this one. experts tell me they're concerned about what might be coming in a week or so when they might see the kwonconsequences the thanksgiving holiday if you are covid at risk or 55 or older with two chronic conditions, you will get a call within 24 hours of your positive test i want you to hear from the chief medical officer about her hopes of what the treatment can do that. >> if we can cut that off, identify the patient and treat them, we can prevent all those covid cases and though may not have to be intubated >> >> reporter: i got a sense of empowerment from workers who have felt helpless now they feel they can take some action to help their health system from being overwhelmed. t

let's go to dasha burns at a hospital in south dakota now. she just got access to the ultra cold storage units that will hold the pfizer vaccine. what's it looking like there and how is this going to work? >> reporter: hey, chris. yeah. my team and i just got out of that facility. those ultra cold freezers we saw just became an even more precious kplodty aft tcommodity breaking news. something sanford has been talked about even before pfizer announced the temperature of the vaccine needed to be stored at but knew it could be coming and wanted to be prepared. this is an especially challenging situation for areas like this one with logistics of distribution, because sanford health serves mostly rural populations, and getting that vaccine out to those harder-to-reach areas could be difficult. that's why they purchased eight of these freezers and are not cheap. go for about $12,000 a pop but purchased eight of these, and placed strategically across their facilities in south dakota, north dakota, minnesota and iowa so that their couriers to get th

nbc's dasha burns in north carolina with new details on vaccines. and dr. peter hotez, director of vaccine development at texas children's hospital. welcome, all. jacob, first to you. california has new restrictions. governor gavin newsom announcing new orders because the hospitals there are reaching icu capacity. what changes are in store? >> andrea, these are big, sweeping, statewide policies being implemented by governor newsom, yesterday announcing if a region, in this case the governor has divided the state into five regions, if one of those regions falls below 15% icu capacity, that will automatically trigger a three-week stay-at-home order. that will close all unnecessary businesses. that will close schools if they have not -- i'm sorry, that will keep schools open if they have not already been closed. and all restaurants will have to be just delivery and takeout. really sweeping restrictions across the state. you know, what we're seeing here of course is record breaking numbers. more than 85% increase over the last 14 days in new cases. california w

university the hospital is already taking steps to prepare for the first round of shots here's nbc's dasha burns the end of the grim week everybody is looking for air little bit of hope and here at duke university hospital this room represents that. this is where hopefully in a couple of weeks or so people will be getting some of those first vaccinations may not look like much yet but had so much planning into it they had to find a space large enough to set up stations at a social distance. they have about ten of them set up here and be able to move people through here in groups, now, it only takes about two minutes or so to get the shot but this is a vaccine that will require a 15 to 30-minute monitoring period because some people will likely experience some covid-like side effects so they'll be put over here for monitoring this room is right next door to the hospital because some of the first people in these seats, they're going to be frontline workers and many will have to go right back to work caring for covid patients after this. this is just one piece of this symphony that will have to pla

dasha burns just arrived in sioux falls, south dakota. what did you hear when you went to eastern tennessee where you were about what' sense of the risk was of the potency of the virus and what was happening when that meant reality? >> hey, chris. thanks so much for having me. the chief infection prevention officer at the hospital where we were reporting put it plainly. she said they've been preparing for the possibility of a pandemic like this for years. what they weren't necessarily preparing for is that people wouldn't believe that one was happening, even as it hit their community very hard. and that is exactly what is going on right now. you mentioned hospitalizations in that region more than doubled in the last month. in this time we were on the ground reporting, the hospital system there told us they saw the biggest jump in a single day of hospitalization. chris, that was actually thanksgiving day to the following day friday. on that holiday they saw more people hospitalized than they have in this entire pandemic. the front line wor

dasha burns, thank you. good to see you. >>> still ahead, everybody, a health official in rural america speaks out about the damaging impact of pandemic politics. >> even if we're physically safe from the virus, there are a lot of hurt feelings. what i worry about is that it's going to take much longer to get through that than it would be to get through the actual pandemic itself. >>> and later, new reporting that the president is considering pardoning up to 20 aides and associates before leaving office. what that -- would that be, excuse me, an admission of guilt? >>> but first, new data out today showing our economic recovery screeching to a halt. hiring has slowed, unemployment claims are still high, right when relief is set to expire. we'll be right back. en relief ie we'll be right back. pen... it's welcoming... everything we want to be when helping people find a medicare plan. so if you're looking for yours, say hello to hellomedicare... ...a one stop shop for medicare plans, ...including a range of un

joining me now is nbc's dasha burns where they're trying to figure out logistics hurdles to get staffg ready? >> reporter: this really is a huge effort. right now i'm in the room where hopefully in just a couple weeks here people will be getting vaccinated. now, it may not look like a lot yet, but even this had so much thought and planning. they had to find a place big enough to put the stations in a socially distanced way. there's about ten of them. they'll be able to move people through in groups. the shot itself only takes a couple minutes but then with this vaccine, there's a 15 to 30-minute monitoring period. this will be an area where people will be able to wait and be monitored in case they have side effects. that is likely to happen to come people with this vaccine. this room is placed nearby the hospital because the people who will be in these seats first, they're going to be the health care workers that right now are taking care of co-vid patients and many of them are going to have to go straight back to work of this. this room is just a small slice of the symphony that has

dasha burns is in tennessee.s to the only children's hospital in the reek on, talk to us broke what you saw. >> reporter: the head of the children's hospital here tells me they are now seeing three to five children a day at this hospital either with covid-19 or misc. and although those rates are much lower for kikids than adul was surprised. but the reality is when you have a high rates of spread in the community, in this part of appalachian, the positivity rate is when 2about 26%. and so that does trickle down to kids. particularly in an area like this where you also have high levels of underlying conditions, a lot of kids with asthma here already a respiratory condition. and i met the father of an 11-year-old boy named isaiah, he was hospitalized here for misc, he is now covering. but i want you to listen to his dad's experience. >> i'd rather be him in the bed than him at any point. and for him to be in that bed, it is eye-opening. you know, it hits one out of every five kids. you never think that it will be y

and dasha burns where they are preparing to roll out the vaccine. good to see both of you. jacob, what's going on in california that the governor felt he needed new restrictions? what are they? when do they take place? >> well, chris, you know, the governor had been intimating for weeks this was coming but finally it has arrived. essentially he's looking here at a lack of hospital capacity and the worry that, you know, as we had talked about back when we were first talking about flattening the curve, when that phrase first became popular back in march, we're back in that situation again. here's how the governor described the decision to impose these new restrictions. >> regions where the icu capacity is falling below 15%, we are now mandating that we are implementing a stay-at-home order for three weeks. the icu capacity in all of these regions by the end of this month will drop based on our current projections below 50% in total capacity. >> basically, chris, between now and a couple of days from now we're going to begin running out of hospital beds here in california. eve