hi there, everyone. i'm in for hallie jaxxs. it is wednesday, december 30th. first to the coronavirus, the u.s. now reporting the first case of the highly variant, first identified in the united kingd kingdom. colorado's governor confirming a man in his 20th with no recent travel history tested positive

for the variant in his state here in the united states more than 3300 people died due to the virus, including republican congressm congressman, he leaves behind a wife and two young children. at the same time the uk has just approved the astrazeneca vaccine for using in that country. some are calling it a game changer because it's cheaper and easier to store and distribute. and back home we're expecting to hear from nancy pelosi in about 45 minutes or now, as the battle rages on about the direct payments to americans struggling in the middle of the pandemic. we'll bring you her comments as soon as they happen. we have to start with richard engel live in london for

you. let's talk about this game changer as it's being described. what do we know about the approval of the astrazeneca vaccine. >> reporter: so far it only means it will be distributed starting monday here in the uk. but british officials are very excited about it. they think it will allow them to dramatically increase their vaccination program, to speed it up. right now it's been a very slow program. the doctors and nurses, some of whom i have watched do the process, are intimidated by the pfizer vaccine. it's hard to handle. it has to be kept in these us ext ultra-cold storage facilities. you can't shake it up. they're only allowed to move it four times. it comes in bundles , and they'e trying to figure out how long

they have until they get their 1,000, and then they have to order a new bundle. this vaccine is much more familiar to people. it is able to be kept at fridge temperatures, frankly like many drugs, so you won't have to go into some ultra-cold facility to open it, repackage it, distribute it. that, according to british officials, will make it much, much easier for them to push out this vaccine in potentially very small numbers to the places where it needs to go. because of the storage requirements, what has been happening here predominantly is patients have been going to hospitals on an appointment basis, getting the vaccine, and then going home and waiting for the next appointment. once it is out at doctors' offices and they can easily get it, they're hoping this will be a game changer and change the face of the program. >> understandably so. richard engel live in london for

us, thank you. joining us is dr. peter hotez, dean of the national school of tropical medicine at baylor college of medicine. dr. hotez, great to have you back on the program. give you a reality check about the variant of the virus. it's just confirmed in colorado. what more should we know about it? how concerned should we be it's arrived here by someone who hasn't traveled? a has it arrived here by someone who traveled or could it have mutated in the united states as well? >> my concern is this is not a rare variant, that it's fairly common by now, it's just we've not been looking. this variant rose out of the uk around september, but then it really began to out-compete, replace other variants in the uk, especially in southeastern england around kent and in london, now it's one of the more

common variants in the united kingdom. and on that basis, that's why they say it's more transmissible. there's no experimental evidence to show that it's more transmissible. it's more hypoththe uk has -- -e only sequenced 50,000. >> why the lag in this country so far? >> yeah, it's just one of the -- one of sevenor eight instances where the -- where our public health system has come up small. we've not been -- australia has done 50% of the viruses, pulled genomic sequences. so we need to scale that up.

not only is the uk variant probably more common, the south african variant is probably here as well. that wouldn't surprise me. i'm guessing there's probably home-grown variants that are similar that we also have not picked up. that's got to be a priority for the biden administration too really scale that up and get to a million or really 10 million genomic sequences. the u.s. was first to sequence the human genome. this is our wheelhouse. we do this better than anyone. we have enormous genomic sequencing capability. the list goes on and on, and we're not capitalizing on that. >> it raises the question as to why we're lagging on that front. let me ask you what i think a lot of people are concerned about, which is is there any evidence this new variant could be resistant to the vaccine, bus more importantly does it affect

how we tests. with you current tests that are already lagging and struggling and insufficient, does it matter? >> so far most of the variations are this the spike protein, like our vaccine. so i'm relatively optimistic. we'll have data pretty soon from our vaccine and the others that are testing, that this variant will not affect vaccine development in the foreseeable future, but these are moving goal posts. the virus is continuing to mutate. by next year or the year after, there may be a variant that could escape the vaccine. that's why we have to have a progress effort program of surveillance. if it's more transmissible, this is another reason to ramp up vaccine delivery, and we're messing up on that as well.

>> it's almost scary to think about what is ahead. let's talk, if we can what is being described as a game changer in the uk. you probably heard richard engel talk about it. ext astrazeneca's vaccine has been approved in the uk. from your perspective, is it a game changer? >> it's a new technology. we have never licensed this type of vaccine before, so we'll still learn a lot about it. we don't need the deep freezer requirement. logistically it's a lot less complex. so i'm hoping that in the u.s. we can get that up and a similar vaccine by johnson & johnson, so the home is by q2 we'll have a whole fleet of vaccines, because

we'll need them all to vaccinate the u.s. population. that's point one. point two is the fact there's not a lot of health vaccine options for low and middle-income it is countries. moderna and pfizer vaccines are expensive, he and complicated, so this one will be important for global health. i have please the with how they're partnering with -- that's actually what they call themselves, the developing country vaccine network, in india and brazil to scale up protection, because they were running out of options for the world, and, you know, right now when we have our russian and chinese vaccines of uncertain quality and a lot of the other vaccines are delayed, so this will be important, j & jamb, and

maybe our vaccine as well. >> i'm certainly no scientist, but i know in the last couple weeks as we learned about the terminology of mrna, and you stalked about the distance of this astrazeneca vaccine, do we anticipate it being approved here in the united states, given what we are learning about it in real time? >> i hope so. the fda has been in consultation with astrazeneca, i'm certain, and looking -- there were some issues around the fact that -- got changed -- as part of the trial, trying to make decision, but i'm hoping that in the new year this one will get up. we're going to need it to clearly vac nate the u.s. populate. >> dr. peter hotez, thank you for your time this morning.

i want to go to kerry sanders here, where there are long lines for people hoping to get a coronavirus he vaccine. kerry, bring us up to speed on what you're seeing there with how the vaccine distribution is playing out in florida. >> reporter: it's not going well. we know the national numbers, the expectation was 20 million week vaccinated by now, and we're slightly over 2 million. at some hospitals, vaccinations are going to the healthcare workers that work at the hospitals, but there are many healthcare workers that don't work at specific hospitals. look at the lines here. this is at holy cross health here in ft. lauderdale. they're allowing all healthcare workers to come here. there's been long lines, people ranging do show up here at just after midnight so they can get in line to get a vaccination. about 200 people are getting vaccinated today, but they're

complaining this is chaotic, it doesn't make sense and quite frankly they think most of the blame lies in washington with the roll-out of how this vaccination effort is going. this is what one of those healthcare providers who is in line here today told me. >> total chaos, told lack of coordination. and i feel like i'm obsessed, all you've been doing is to be through. by the time i got through yesterday after calling, saying there were no more appointments and i found out people were just coming down, but we were not told that. if there was better coordinat n coordination, at least people know what to expect. >> so, ayman, the real question is if things are this messed up for healthcare workers, it's a domino effect for the rest of us waiting to get our vac natiocin.

they called this operation warp speed. if you're a "star trek" fan, you know the dilithium crystals are not working. >> i've heard they couldn't have thought up a worse name, on so many levels. ahead this hour, some americans woke up to $600 in their bank accounts from the federal government, but the fight over an additional $1400 ranges on. i'm going to ask if it is still possible. plus how a 2019 phone calls could have prevented the christmas day bombing in nashville. we have the latest in that investigation. ville. we have the latest in that investigation. moisturizer goes beyond just soothing sensitive skin? exactly jen! calm + restore oat gel was designed for sensitive skin. uh! it's incredible! we formulated it with a super nurturing ingredient. prebiotic oat. it soothes skin and strengthens its moisture barrier, too. uh! i love it! i love it!

aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ oh. wait! wait! sabrina! there's a serum, too? of course, there is. of course, there is. i knew that.

sabrkeeping your oysters too? busihas you swamped.s. you need to hire. i need indeed indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job at indeed.com/promo

this morning treasure secretary mnuchin sense americans are receiving $600, but there is a fight city plays out on capitol hill over whether those payments should be raised though $2,000. joining me with the latest, monica alba is in palm beach with the president. mcconnell blocked the effort, and then proposed a new bill. tell us what is playing out on capitol hill.

>> reporter: a significant move yesterday. what mcconnell appears to be doing is combining the additional pamt with the things trump demanded. repeal of internet liability law known as section 230, and the creation of a commission to study voter fraud. the likely impact of this, if mcconnell does bring this bill up, as is, is the $2,000 cash payments will fail to pass, because democrats will not stomach the other provisions that are attached. it comes as mcconnell is facing competing pressures. trump is demanding congress pass the $2,000 payments, many members of the caucus are resistant. some like pat toomey are outrise opposed, and there's a crucial runoff election next week in

georg georgia. >> monica, mcconnell seems to be appeasing the president here. you can say these tree topics are the president's priorities. any reaction from the administration how this is playing out? >> reporter: even though mcconnell is attempting to appease the president, he does not seem at all pleased with the senate majority leader, at least according to tweets earlier today, indicating he wants that vote for $2,000 checks to happened immediately and not for it necessarily to be linked with these other items the president himself was the one, of course, to first raise in that statement re leased on sunday. it was that delay that was chaos of the president's own making that has now put us to the place where we are, with the discussion of the larger checks. the reason we don't know much more about who in the

administration is necessarily advocating for this or talking to the president is baas he hasn't had any on-camera or public events to explaining his thinking. we know there's discussions going on with senator lindsey graham, for instance, who had been golfing with the president over the weekend, and of course as sahil pointed out, the critical two senators up for election in georgia, endorsed the $2,000, so they're closely aligning themselves to the president ahead of the runoff next week. there's a lot of concern that remains in the republican party how this would affect the national debt and the deficit. that's not something the president has addressed at all in any of his tweets so far today, ayman. >> thank you both for joining us this hour. joining me to discuss all of this, cochair of the problem

solvers. they worry that the stimulus checks will be going to people who don't really need the money. this was senator pat toomey yesterday. watch. >> we're talking about sending checks, the vast majority of which will be going to people who have had no loss of income whatsoever. that's just a fact. we're in a very different place today than we were back in march. now we've got a very different situation. the economy grew at 33% last quarter. >> a, is that a concern, and b, why can't you get the money to the americans who need it? >> i invite him to new jersey, 30% of small businesses have gone out, and there's a lot of people who need the extra help, especially as the virus

continues to spike and we're in some of the toughest months. so, you know, people need help. it's why many of us are behind this to folks and it's why we fought so for a for -- the checks will go out today, but extra resources could help people through the toughest months in the emergency we're facing as a country. >> so let's talk about the effort to get that money to the american people. senator mcconnell has proposed a bill that the combine stimulus checks of $2,000 with a repeal of section 230, as well as setting up a commission to check voter irregularities or voter fraud. we now that irregularity or fraud is -- he said this is mitch mcconnell muddying the waters. what do you think about what

he's -- >> i think it's a huge way to try to kill this effort to get more resources to people. the problem is by adding these provisions together in a grab bag of items not related, you get a bunch of people to vote against the $2,000 checks. all the senate would need to do is to get that. it's clear the president wants this. a bunch of senators, including the candidates in georgia, have come out behind this extra resource to the american people. i think the majority leader is trying to figure out a way to block this. he's not been supportive of these extra resources, so this is just a tactic to put the brakes on it. >> is there a tactic that the democrats can do to play shrewd politics, and accepting the measure that mcconnell puts forward and ultimately down the road, two weeks from now when a potentially new congress, new

president is in power, repeal the measures or stop them from being implemented. >> the problem now is just a matter of timing before the end of the year which the time runs out on the clock. if you want they see checks out in this congress, they need to -- just vote it up and down. i don't really know what the issue is, in a bipartisan, bicameral ways, with democrats and republicans, we were ability to get behind the package to get the reout the door, so it's doable, but these stopgap tactics, that's my concern. let's get these dollars out the door. >> you and your colleagues did in fact pass relief, unfortunately it took you seven months, but by the nature of pote politics, should you get getting started on more aid now?

>> i think we have to start working with the new administration on what has to happen as soon as they get in, especially helping or state and local governments, more resources to people, if that's the case, of course we have a lot of cops, firefighters and teachers that will get laid off if we don't help quickly. the good news, in the package we did get done, it had a lot of resources for vaccine distribution. as you know, that is deright now to get the vaccines out, you know, warp speed has been anything but warp speed, so i want to make sure we get the vaccines to people as quickly as humanly possible. >> the president has tweeted out this morning, it's up to the states, like yours and others in north carolina and elsewhere, to get the vaccines out. he's essentially saying get moving, putsing the blame on you guys, and people in your state. your reaction? >> i don't get that. there's been no federal

coordination. we've had 11 million shipped sitting there. the logistics on this has been anything but something that we have try to emulate. it's got to be fixed. we've gotten 2 million done, 11 million out the door waiting. we have to actually make this warp speed. we're will 18 million short of what the administration said we would have by the end of the year. we've got to get to it. the governors working with the administration the last weeks to make sure we can speed up the delivery of the vaccines, it's critical, especially with so many people hurting, people in food lines for the first time. we lost a congressman-elect last night. you know, it's just heartbreaking, and so many other americans, so in new jersey we've been able to get those out to our frontline health care workers. that's all good, but we have to be better. >> congressman-elect, with no underlying health conditions,

congressman, thank you for your time. i appreciate it. >> happy new year. >> and to you. i want to go to a fight playing out. jeremy peters, good to talk with you. the president put republicans in quite a tough spot. now he's saying this fight for $2,000, you know, $2,000 stimulus checks, many of his own party are against it. what do you make of this? >> i think it's a fight that really shows the internal struggle over what the he republican party is going to be post the trump era. we have every indication that he is very much going to stay a part of the debate over what the republican party is, and has become. on the one hand, you have the kind of fiscal conservative, more traditional tendencies

within the party that were always popular with republican donors and eliting, but never really all that popular with republican voters. you know, the idea of restricting government spending, slashing budgets, social welfare programs, was always something that appealed to people in theory, but when you got right down to the nuts and bolts of it, you know, most people liked the idea of some type of government assistance, and the deficits and debt at the federal level is just an abstract thing. i think that's what a lot of republicans are starting to realize. you see people like josh hawley, marco rubio, who really have their eye on the future of the party and roles for themselves as leaders of the party saying, you know what? we backed this $2,000 plan and the defer s

the deficit is something we can worry about later. that's becoming a more serious discussion in the party, whether or not to jettison, or at least, you know, kind of play down some of the concerns about spending that have been front and center to the party's existence for so long. >> how is all of this impacting the runoff races in georgia? they threw their weight behind the president, who put them at odds with mcconnell, who blocked the measure, so you see this infighting among the senators who desperately need to win. >> i think the fact, you know, they're both conservative republicans and they're supporting this, tells you all you need to know about the political appeal of this, and the lack of political appeal for reduced spending, making that, like a central piece of what the republican party stands for.

they both factored this in and decided they took a better chance if they supported them. i think that says a lot about where the debates are headed in the post-trump republican party. you know -- an interesting footnote what happened in florida, a state that trump won, they approved a minimum wage increase by over 60%. so there's definitely a coalition there for people who are republican-leaning as trump supporters, who like the idea of more federal assistance. >> jeremy peters, thank you so much for your time. always appreciate it. >> thanks, ayman. what's it looks like now first epicenter of the virus. > w first epicenter of the virus university of phoenix is awarding

up to one million dollars in new scholarships through this month, because hope fuels opportunity. see what scholarship you qualify for at phoenix.edu fixodent ultra dual power

provides you with an unbeatable hold and strong seal against food infiltrations. fixodent. and forget it.

it was exactly one year ago that the first warnings of a mysterious virus began circulating in with ycirculate ing in wuhan, china. now this morning we are learning more about the original outbreak and how it was likely far bigger than first reported. janis mackie fraher has more.

>> >> reporter: the first time i went to wuhan, there were roughly 200 cases. now a year later, they are still questions lingering. investigators have yet to get on the ground. there's a new study about antibodies from china's public health authorities that suggests or raises the possibility that the virus was spreading in wuhan at a far greater rate than what was reported. this morning new data. china's cdc saying testing for andy body in wuhan revealed as many as 500,000 may have been infected, nearly ten times china's official tally. one year on, life in wuhan appears strikingly normal. streets are busy, kids are back

in school, people packing bars and parties. we're standing here today very happy, she says. there's even a new exhibition in town, praising china's president xi jinping for defeating the virus, and a highly touted hospital built in ten days apparently no longer needed. this hospital has been closed for months. it's deserted now, but officials have left it here just in case of another wave of infection. a year ago wuhan's hospitals were alerted to cases of unexplained pneumonia. it triggered a drastic 76-day lockdown. that's when i scrambled to leave wuhan. a documentary shows what it was like then inside wuhan's hospitals. >> it feels so long ago. but at the same time the images, the stories are still really

present. >> reporter: this man lost his father to the vaccine, now he's a handful of citizens trying to sue the local government. if i keep silent, nothing will change, he says. china has long tried to contain criticism, this week censors a video. her lawyer seg she is did nothing cruel, she's innocent. the world health organization is still waiting to get outside experts to wuhan. >> the purpose of the mission is to go to the original point where human cases were detected, and we fully expect to do that. >> reporter: and the seafood market at the center of it all, where chinese officials say they found traces of the virus is now fully hidden behind new walls that surround it. the w.h.o. team is scheduled to travel here next month. they'll work alongside chinese

scientists and they'll look at anything that might help explain how and where the virus spilled over to humans. the lack of transparency, as well as the lack of outside involvement to this point has left a lot of room for speculation and theories about the origins of the virus, but these answers are crucial, ayman, in order to prevent future pandemic, especially when we have the w.h.o. warning this may not be the big one. aym ayman? >> thank you, janis, as always. overseas in the middle east a former u.s. navy analyst who is serving 30 years in jail after spying for israel, just got to tel aviv. jonathan pollard's plane touched down earlier. he kissed the ground as he was welcomed by a prayer from benjamin netanyahu. he's a 66-year-old civilian intelligence analyst. he was arrested in 1985 after he

failed to get asylum at the at the embassy in -- two years later -- he was released on parole. the man investigators say set off a bomb on christmas day. new details about a call police received more than a year ago. s received more than a year ago.

senator schumer is speaking about coronavirus measures. >> i'm very confident it will pass if it's put on the floor, and we can move forward.

okay? two questions. >> reporter: have you had any conversations with the white house or republicans that gives you hope? >> there are a number of reps who have come out for the $2,000 checks. that gives me real hope, if it was put on the floor. >> reporter: do you believe, though, there are 60 votes for the cash act? >> put it on the floor and i believe it will get the 60 votes, yes, i do. >> reporter: if it doesn't go to the floor, can americans just forget the idea? >> no, we're going to keep fighting and fighting and fighting for this, but the quickest, best and right november before january 3rd, the only way to get it done is put the house passed bill on the floor, get 60 votes and send to the president, who will obviously sign it. thanks, everybody. that was senator schumer calling on senate majority

leader mcconnell to bring the house-passed bill that increases payments to $2,000 to the floor to the senate for a vote. senator schumer believes it would get the 60 votes needed to make that law ultimately to the president's desk. we're also waiting to hear from house -- speaker of the house nancy pelosi. once those comments get under way, we will bring to say comments live to you. we want to switch to another major story. we are learn more about the massive bombing that rocked downtown nashville. police released a report from 16 months ago that anthony warner was building bombs in august last year. the report also set the attorney for warners's girlfriend told police, quote, he frequently talks about the military and bomb making. the police also say they knocked on his door, but didn't get an answer. nbc's tom winter has been digs

into the story. he joins us now. the girlfriend called police, the police knocked on the door, and then what happens? >> well, then what happens is the investigation doesn't appear to have been developed too much further there, ayman. there were statements from the girlfriend, who we are not naming, she was taken for psychiatr psychiatric care -- her attorney says she was suicidal, that's why the police were initially -- it's not unusual -- i'm not saying it happens every day, but it's not unusual for a girlfriend, a boyfriend, spouse, partner, whomever, to make claims about another individual they're in a relationship with, that there may be acting out on some sort of threat or might be doing something illegal, in order to get the other person in trouble. that can sometimes create issues for police, but what creates a

concern here and raises serious questions about the efforts of the metropolitan national police department is when they followed back up to, as you said, they knocked on the door, they couldn't get in, couldn't see inside the rv. they later reach out to this attorney who also represents anthony warner, who is responsible for this bombing, they reached back out to the attorney andside we'd like to look inside the rv. the attorney says, look -- being a good attorney, i'm going to advise my client not to do that. but as you said, ayman, this attorney says, well, look, he has talked about bombmaking. if you're police, you have the suspect's attorney saying he's interested in bomb making. that should be a concern. it doesn't appear for an investigatie ivive effort beyon this. were think any subpoenas to determine if he was purchasing

bomb-making supplies? really serious questions. >> let me ask you about a question that is lingering right now. are we any closer to finding out the motive behind this attack? >> i think so. i think every single day gets us closer to that. more interviews are occurring. i think we'll end up with a process that takes weeks, as the fbi says, it's going to be kind of an amalgamation, a mish-mosh, not a clear definitive answer. >> thank you, my friend. meanwhile, the louisville police department is taking steps to fire two overs are officers from the breonna taylor case. they plan to fire debitive joshua james, and the lawyer for top cosgrove said he received notice. she was killed nine months ago

during a raid on her apartment where police didn't find any drugs or money. nbc's gabe gutierrez has been all over this story from the beginning. he joins us live now. the police department taking steps to fire these officers. you know, what is the significance, if you will, of those steps they are taking? >> reporter: there is a significant development. the significant is in that pre-termination letter for the detective that obtained the search warrant, the interim police chief said he obtained it incorrectly. he had spoken with a postal inspector, when in fact he spoke to another officer, so that calls into question why police got this search warrant in the first place. as you mentioned, the other officer that is planned to be

fired here is myles cosgrove. he is the detective that fired the fatal shot, according to the fbi that ended breonna taylor's life. now, the attorneys -- cosgrove's attorneys confirm his client received the letter, but has not commented further. the attorney for detective james, he says that the mayor's office and the police department have botched this investigation from the beginning and they're simply looking to throw somebody under the bus, but certainly breonna taylor's family views this as a step further for justice, they say, and now a hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, a pre-termination here, where at least one of the officers is expected to defend himself, ayman. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you. next, the country's largest nursing home main is rolling out the covid vaccine to residents. i'm going to ask their chief medical officer how they're managing that mass distribution efforts. stay with us. ging that mass dis efforts. stay with us once-weekly ozempic® is helping many people with type 2 diabetes like emily

lower their blood sugar. a majority of adults who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. here's your a1c. oh! my a1c is under 7! (announcer) and you may lose weight. adults who took ozempic® lost on average up to 12 pounds. i lost almost 12 pounds! oh! (announcer) for those also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. it lowers the risk. oh! and i only have to take it once a week. oh! ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) ozempic® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not share needles or pens. don't reuse needles. do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your doctor if you have diabetic retinopathy or vision changes.

taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. once-weekly ozempic® is helping me reach my blood sugar goal. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 1-month or 3-month prescription. ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor.

tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. new projects means you need to hire.gers. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home.

new this morning. 36 states and the district of columbia have begun vaccinating residents at long-term care facilities. it can't come soon enough arc cording to the associated press. the virus has killed more than 110,000 people living in nursing homes across this country. as we've been talking about this, the rate of vaccinations has been very slow so far, with only about 2.1 million people having received the vaccines so far. far from the promise of 20 million. joining me is dr. richard

feffer, the chief medical officer at genesis nursing homes. the vaccine rollout under way at the 350 genesis centers across 25 states. give us an update how that's going. >> vaccinating nursing home residents and staff across america can't come a moment too soon. as you know, nursing residents have been so severely affected by the pandemic, they have suffered, their families have suffered. we kicked into high gear working with our pharmacy partners to ensure the vaccine can get into the arms of residents and staff as quickly as possible. what i can tell you today is, we're only ten days into it, about 25% of our facilities have been fis sits visits by pharmac. we should be through the first round in a few more weeks. then we'll start on the second round. >> a very important point there.

talk to us about the number of residents and staff getting vaccinated. do you find anyone reluctant to take it? are you requiring folks to take it? >> vaccine hesitancy is a very important issue in society in general. there are a lot of questions people have. nursing home residents and their families and even nursing home staff are no different from the rest of us. they want to understand the vaccine development process, the approval process to make sure no steps were, in fact, skipped, so they can have confidence that the vaccine will be both safe and effective. we've been working for many weeks now, long before the fda authorization to build that level of confidence and transparency and to build trust. we're seeing acceptance rates that are quite high. there are folks that still have unanswered questions. so we've mounted a multiprime campaign to engage folks and convince them that, in fact, getting the vaccine is the right thing to do. it is the only way we'll put an end to this pandemic in general and in nursing homes. >> i'm sure you get asked this

question a lot. this is how "the new york times" put it. family members want to know this, now that grandma has been vaccinated, may i visit her? >> that's such an important question. they have been deprived of those human needs over the last nine months or so as we work so hard to keep nursing home residents staef, and visitation is one of the risks that we, frankly, needed to limit because there was such a risk and still is of the virus coming from the surrounding communities and affecting nursing home residents. we look forward to the day in 2021 when family members can visit their loved ones. it's not going to happen overnight. it takes time for the vaccine to take effect in each individual resip kbrept and it takes time for a number of recipients together to reduce the level of coronavirus in the community and in nursing homes. it's going to happen, but it's

not going to happen instantaneously. >> very important point, dr. richard fiefer. thank you to you and all the people at your facilities doing the incredible work. >> thank you. that wraps up this hour of "msnbc live." craig melvin picks up coverage next. save hundreds on your wireless bill

without even leaving your house. just keep your phone and switch to xfinity mobile. you can get it by ordering a free sim card online. once you activate, you'll only have to pay for the data you need starting at just $15 a month.

there are no term contracts, no activation fees, and no credit check on the first two lines. get a $50 prepaid card when you switch. nationwide 5g is now included. switch and save hundreds. xfinity mobile. a good wednesday morning, everyone. craig melvin here. we're following a number of fast-moving stories right now. first, any moment now, house

speaker nancy pelosi will be talking to reporters on capitol hill. when that starts, we'll take a look and listen in closely. we're also watching a republican-controlled senate. there's a stalemate over the house-passed plan to increase the checks that are getting to $2,000 instead of $600. more on the stimulus showdown in a moment. yes, the house speaker just walked through the door. we'll listen closely and take you there in just a moment. first let's dig into the facts on this pandemic. the united states has reported its first known case of that more contagious, mutant covid-19 strain, the strain first identified in the united kingdom. colorado's governor says it was a man in his 20s with no recent travel history. also, another vaccine, this one in astrazeneca