it will take someone like denise taylor. denise taylor used to be a professional basketball coach. she was the head coach of the woman's team a jackson state for ten seasons. she went on to be a coach for the wnba. these days, she works in health care. she runs an operation for a clinic and the restaurant started the -- part of the state. now she's doing something in mississippi that could be the playbook anywhere, struggling to get people vaccinated. mr. taylor is essentially one woman traveling salesforce trying to sell the vaccine across our community to people who have not gotten it. she drives around looking for pockets of unvaccinated neighbors having personal one-on-one conversations to convince people to get the shot. yesterday, if you went to a conference of teachers to talk to many educators about boosting mississippi's vaccination rate before the school year starts. miss taylor said she talked to one teacher for half an hour. >> tell me, the program run by denise taylor's clinic has gotten more than 700 people in the communities they serve, vaccinated. how is she doing t

joining me now denise taylor. look at that smile on your face. >> vaccination time! >> that is exactly right. you have made it vaccination time for a whole bunch of people who were not going to do it. it doesn't seem like the most efficient way of doing it, but it seems remarkably effective. you're getting out there, spending half an hour talking to someone and she comes away not only ready to get a vaccination, but ready to tell -- she said a hundred people to get vaccinated. >> absolutely. that was so awesome, man. again, just my heart started beating like so fast. i was just so pleased to hear that when she -- i talked to her yesterday and then today she was like, i'm going to do it. so it makes a difference. >> talk to me about what it is that makes a difference? can anybody go up to anybody or what is it you had to understand about this person that allowed you to speak her language, to speak to her own fears, to overcome her resistance in order to get her to say, i'm moving from vaccine hesitate or vaccine resistant into a vaccine salesperson, frankly? >> first

. >>> joining me now is former head coach of the wnba's utah stars denise taylor. she coached multiple college basketball teams across the u.s. and is currently the operations manager at the delta health center. we appreciate your time. i know you've been working to get people vaccinated in it mississippi where only about 36% of the population has gotten one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. that's a pretty low number. what are the concerns that you're running into when you speak to ordinary people about why they remain unvaccinated and how do you change their snindz. >> absolutely. one thing we're running into is, number one, people are afraid of needles. number two, the misinformation and all of the misinformation they get on social media. and number three, is that you to educate and really do some one-on-ones because the hesitant people are the ones that you have to do one-on-ones and really educate them on, hey, trust the facts. trust the science. and so that's what we're seeing here in mississippi. >> one thing we're noting is trust and trying to get the vaccin

denise taylor, who coached college basketball and in the wnba is trying to change that. >> i am coaching. i'm just coaching on a different court. >> reporter: taylor is going one-on-one each day to make her pitch relatable. >> what i found is i put myself in their shoes. and then i let them know, you know what? i was hesitant too. >> reporter: among those not yet vaccinated around the country, some say they will not be persuaded. >> i tol >> reporter: and the president and first lady promote vaccines as safe, free and readily available, the white house touts progress, while still short of its own goal of 70% of adults with at least one shot. >> covid-19 has not been vanquished. we all know powerful variants have emerged like the delta variant. >> reporter: that strain spreads more easily. dr. fauci says the unvaccinated are at greatest risk of death. >> which is the reason why we say this is really entirely avoidable and preventible. >> and kelly is with us now. kelly, that july 4th goal was missed, but how long does the biden administration think it will take to have 70% of adults vacci

. >> denise taylor is the clinic operator in mount bayou, mississippi. she coached women's basketball in the wnba and jackson state university. she's going out in the community to convince her neighbors to get vaccinated. >> i'm going to be counting on you to recruit some more people. >> yes, ma'am. >> what is it like for you when somebody you've talked to for 30 or 45 minutes, then you see them come and get a vaccine? >> it's like winning the game. >> people are tired of hearing from elected officials and doctors about it. >> yes. >> but they'll hear it from a coach. >> yes. >> reporter: taylor is worried about the delta variant which is responsible for the majority of mississippi's new cases. even with the variant on the rise, enthusiasm is still low. on this trip the community bus only brought in two patients. is that a win? >> absolutely. i mean, if you can get one person to get the vaccination. the win is to bring the numbers up. you told no more than you told yes. so when i'm told no, i say, i respect that. >> reporter: but you're still going to tr

denise taylor who coached college basketball and in the wnba is trying to change that. >> i am coaching. i'm coaching on a different court. >> reporter: taylor is going one on one each day to make her pitch relatable. >> what i found is i put myself in their shoes and then i let them know, you know what? i was hesitant too. >> reporter: among those not yet vaccinated around the country, some say they will not be persuaded. >> i told them i'll take my vaccine on the way to the cemetery in about 15 to 20 years. >> reporter: as the president and first lady promote the vaccine as safe, free, and readily available, the white house touts progress while still short of its own goal of 70% of adults with at least one shot. >> our thanks to nbc's kelly o'donnell for that report. >>> meanwhile as the delta variant continues to surge in the uk, prime minister boris johnson announced yesterday they'll lift face masks and social distancing. he acknowledged that lifting the restrictions are going to drive covid cases even higher. scientists have urged caution saying ditching masks and social distancin

, obesity, high blood pressur everything >> reporter: former college and wnba basketball coach denise taylore pr campaigns help, but it's the one-on-one outreach that makes a difference >> education, motivating, encouraging and showing them and then using examples. and i think you have to meet people where they are. >> reporter: meanwhile, the white house says it will spend the summer doubling down on efforts to get shots into arms as the stakes remain high. >> any chance this virus has to replicate is a chance for it to mutate and another chance for it to escape immunity >> gabe, this comes amid new data on the pfizer vaccine's efficacy against the delta variant. what can you tell us >> reporter: according to a preliminary study by israel's health ministry, the pfizer vaccine is only 64% effective that's, of course, much less than it was against other strains. more than 90%. but, and this is important, sheinelle, according to the preliminary study, the pfizer vaccine is more than 90% effective still against serious illness or hospitalizations. sheinelle. >> right if it can keep us out of th