He also says he believes with the breakthrough they received now, with some of the approvals they think theyre going to get in the coming days, coming weeks, this could be, he said, the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Lets listen in. We believe it is really the start of the end of the pandemic, if we can he sure now a bold move out of the vaccine. I personally believe theres a number of companies now reaching, reaching, reaching the approval in the next few months. We might be able to deliver a sufficient number of doses at the end of summer 2021 to reach 60 to 70 coverage, which could give us the ability to have a normal end of the year. Its shocking to see with biontech and i asked him what will happen with the u. S. , what the next stages are there, jim, and he said he believes once the fda looks at the data, they will get approval a couple of days after the key meeting on the 11th of december, that they could get emergency use authorization in the United States and distribution there will begin very quickly as well. One more thing i thought was actually very, very important, the Pfizer Vaccine is the one that needs to be stored and shipped at minus 100 degrees fahrenheit, very difficult to ship now. He said theyre already working on a formulation to ship it at better temperatures or easier temperatures to make sure its more easy also to get it into Rural Regions of the United States for instance as well. I asked him when is all of that going to make a difference . When can we get back to normal life potentially . He said if their vaccine gets approved the way they hope, he thinks the end of summer 2021 is when life will start going back to normal, jim. And different version that would not require that level of refrigeration would be wonderful. Jim pleitgen, thank you very much yesterday was the second deadliest day of this entire pandemic. Were following the latest. Its a reminder with the good vaccine news, its coming but were in a bad period thats getting worse. Thats right, jim. If youre experiencing covid fatigue, these numbers help you snap out of it. Yesterday recorded the second highest number of deaths since this pandemic started, nearly 2,600 deaths recorded on tuesday. What beat that record was back on april, a date that only had six more deaths than what were seeing just on tuesday. And, of course, were also seeing hospitalizations across this cross at a highest weve ever seen in this pandemic, nearly 100,000. Thats double what we saw in november and triple what we saw in october. Of course, when we see more hospitalizations, its a signal were likely going to see more deaths. Models are actually showing we can see double the amount of deaths in december that we saw in november. To break that down for you even more, jim, in november, we saw 51 people die every single hour. Those are sobering, sobering numbers. Of course, the White House Coronavirus task force is telling states, take precautions, wear masks, social distancing, shut down businesses that dont need to be open in order to keep these numbers at bay. There are many states across this country that are having their worst day ever scenarios when it comes to some of the metrics in regards to the coronavirus and this, of course, jim as a reminder were still seeing the fallout of all of that travel that we saw and all of the gatherings that we saw over the thanksgiving holiday. Jim . Listen, with all of the good news even, we still cant get ahead of ourselves until serious risk. Brynn gingras, thank you very much. Were joined by the chief clinical officer at Providence Health system and dr. Neera shaw, director at the maine center for disease patrol and prevention. Always good to have you on. Dr. Shaw, i wonder if i can begin with you, the approval in the uk, which is a stringent standards of approving vaccines, i imagine a good sign for u. S. Approval . It is encouraging. It otters well that based on this approval our colleagues at the u. S. Fda will follow the same pathway. Its impossible to judge the outcome before theres an outcome, but it is encouraging the experts across the atlantic found a set of data and found it sufficient to grant this emergency authorization. That seems to be where the momentum is, approval for this vaccine, perhaps others, and as soon as this month. Your hospital, dr. Compton phillips, Providence Health system, huge one, deep into the planning for distribution. Tell us where that stands and where the country stands to getting this out to tens of millions of people . Well, yeah, you have to start with the first step and youre exactly right. This is a really complex thing to distribute. You mentioned the cold chain we have to have, this ultra cold temperature means we have to start with really large locations that have these supercold freezers. Right now what were doing as you know, there is a phase 1a, the jumpstart population were going to start vaccines here in in the u. S. And thats Health Care Workers and likely people who live in nursing homes. We can do those via mass immunization events. We cannot use mass immunization events for every person in the u. S. So as we get more vaccine thats can tolerate a slightly lower temperature, it will be easier to do the distribution everywhere. Dr. Shah, this country has not done still not doing a great job of testing, administering testing on a broad scale and nationally. Given that experience, should we be more confident that it could do vaccination better on this scale . Jim, i think there are reasons to be more confident with respect to vaccination, particularly the mask vaccine model that were talking about here today. Testing indeed was a new phenomena but we fumbled it in the United States. When it comes as mask, this is something we have a good bit of experience with in 2011 with respect to a mass vaccine for another large infectious disease. I think where were going here now is we have better understanding of what is on the table, the vaccine, who it needs to be given to, according to the cdcs expert group yesterday, when that might happen. Now its really up to the states and Health Care Systems to accomplish the how. For that, of course, more resources are going to be needed. Yeah, no question. Okay, dr. Compton phillips, when i look at these categories, we had sanjay gupta yesterday laying out the number of people in the various highrisk categories getting this first. 20 million Health Care Workers. You begin with Health Care Workers but thats a big number, right, with variants inside of that group as to how many people are actually frontline workers. Then you look at people with preexisting condition, kind of the next line, and thats like 100 million people. Should we be confident theres going to be a smart and effective delineation of whos at the front of the line within these groups . I can tell you that states, Health Care Systems, even places like cvs and drugstore chains have been working for the past couple months trying to figure exactly those details out. How are we going to get started . How are we going to make sure people, Health Care Workers, for example, people that work with Covid Patients are at the front of the line and not every Single Health care worker, because were not going to have 21 million doses on day one. So weve had to be thinking about how are we going to pace this out and make sure we have some kind of logic to ensure those at the highest risk get the vaccine first. Okay. And dr. Shah, is there an embarrassment of riches perhaps at some point here where you have multiple options . Perhaps approval, emergency approval by the end of this month of two vaccines, pfizer and moderna possible. Is there one thats necessarily better than the other . Or are they in your view equally good . Let us hope in the nottoodistant future we have voices of that nature. That would be a great position to be in. The devil there will be in the details. Were still awaiting as a country and as a public Health System the refined, granular analysis that career scientists from the fda will be doing with the data to understand whether a certain vaccine works preferenceably better in one group versus another group. That will help us refine our overarching plans even more. We generally have a sense of where were going. I see this as sort of a relay race. In any relay race, we at the state level are ready to take the baton but in any relay race, youve got to start running before that baton is passed to you. We may find as we go through there are some groups that fair better with certain vaccines and we can make those refined course adjustments as the data comes out. Youre right, its a good problem to have. Dr. Amy compton phillips, dr. Shah, thank you very much to both of you. Be sure to tune in for tonights cnn coronavirus town hall. With vaccines available, get your answers to them. With Anderson Cooper and sanjay gupta on cnn. And cnn learned President Trump is talking about pardoning his children, his soninlaw, his personal lawyer rudy giuliani. Why is he doing this . What is he protecting them from . And helping millions of americans who are on the edge of a benefit clip. And more on the devastating toll this pandemic is taking on frontline workers. Theres been a lot of tears shed in er rooms during covid because were treating that person dyeing like our loved one dyeing because they dont have anyone else. They need that grace and they need that human touchp they need someone to be there when theyre taking their last breath. They someone to be there when theyre taking their last breath. Did you know diarrhea is often caused by bad bacteria in food . Try pepto diarrhea. Pepto® diarrhea is proven effective to treat symptoms, and it also targets the cause of diarrhea. The 3 times concentrated liquid formula coats and kills bacteria to relieve diarrhea. While the leading competitor does nothing to kill the bacteria, pepto® diarrhea gets to the source, killing the bad bacteria. So, try pepto® diarrhea, and remember to have it on hand every time you travel. Also try pepto®bismol liquicaps for onthego relief. Less sick days cold coming on . Zicam® is clinically proven to shorten colds highly recommend it zifans love zicams unique zinc formula. It shortens colds zicam zinc that cold the annual Enrollment Period is here. The time to choose your coverage. Begins october 15th and ends december 7th. So call unitedhealthcare. And take advantage of a wide choice of plans. Including an aarp Medicare Advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. It can combine your hospital and doctor coverage. With part d Prescription Drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan. For a low monthly premium or in some areas, no plan premium at all. Take advantage of 0 copays on all primary care doctor visits, all virtual visits, and all lab tests. Also get 0 copays for preventive dental care, 0 copays for routine hearing exams, and 0 copays for eye exams. Plus, free designer frames and prescription lenses. Nows the time to look at unitedhealthcares variety of plans, and let us help find the one that works best for you. Ask about ppo plans, too. They let you see any doctor who accepts medicare, without a referral. And pay innetwork costs, at home or traveling, when you see doctors in the Unitedhealthcare Medicare national network. Take advantage of 0 copays on hundreds of Prescription Drugs at the pharmacy or by mail. In fact, last year our Medicare Advantage plan members saved an average of over 7,200. And with renew active, enjoy a free gym membership with access to an extensive nationwide network of fitness locations now including premium gyms. Now more than ever, count on unitedhealthcare to help you get the care you need, when you need it. We can even help schedule appointments or find a specialist. Enrollment ends december 7th. Call unitedhealthcare or go online today. We make it easy to enroll, too. Its time to take advantage of all the benefits of. The only Medicare Advantage plans with the aarp name. [sfx mnemonic] tech every customer has their own safelite story. This couple was on a camping trip. When their windshield got a chip. They drove to safelite for a sameday repair. And with their insurance, it was no cost to them. Woman really . Tech thats service you can trust. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Well, they counted again in georgia and biden won georgia once again. This just in to cnn, georgias secretary of state Brad Raffensperger gave an update on that states second recount of votes in the president ial election. Have a listen. Now on to the recount. We have had about 110 counties that have finished their work and are continuing conversations with the counties. We anticipate all of them will make our midnight deadline. Well be putting up the reporting site at 2 00 p. M. Today. Weve seen no substantial changes to the results from any counties so far. And thats what we expected. And i think thats what most other people have also. So a republican election official defending the results of an election. The well, there was another blow to the president s claims of widespread fraud. He and Vice President pence will be in georgia this week ahead of Critical Senate runoffs as President Trumps days left in office grow shorter, his potential pardon list grows longer. Sources say preemptive pardons for his own children, his soninlaw, his personal lawyer have been discussed by this president. Cnns john harwood is at the white house. John, listen, in the deluge of the unusual over the last four years, we should note this is not normal, right . Its not normal to have family working for you in a close capacity but to be discussing preemptive pardons for them, what can you tell us about those discussions . Its not normal and, of course, its not normal to have a president with so many people close to him who have been engaging in or been investigated for potential criminal behavior. We dont know what exactly President Trump or his children or rudy giuliani, all of the details about what me might have been engaged in that make the president and people around him think they need the protection of a pardon. Theres they are speculating the Biden Administration may go after them. Dont know exactly what for. We do know Robert Mueller found that President Trump had engaged in action that met the definition of obstruction of justice but felt he could not charge a sitting president. We know that donald trump jr. Was involved in some of the exchanges with russia. Dont know exactly what ivanka trump, Jared Kushner and others may have been engaged in. Rudy giuliani was involved in trying to get dirt from the ukraine as the president was and he was, of course, impeached for that. The challenges several weeks left in his presidency, he could issue pardons theoretically for himself or others, but that would not shield his family members from the state investigations under way in new york, from the state attorney general manhattan district attorney, that may be where the real exposure lies for them, but the president may be focused on getting whatever protection he can. John, first of the Christmas Parties last night the president mentioned in his words another four years. Was he talking about beginning january 2021 or looking ahead to 2024 . I think this is all part of the president s effort not to recognize that he was beaten by joe biden to suggest i still may be here for another four years. But if not, i will be here four years from now. Suggesting i will run and beat him next time since the election was stolen from me this time. Its not true. But hes having troubling acknowledging that in any public way or around his own supporters. Listen, hes getting covered by most sitting republican lawmakers, we should note that as well. John harwood at the white house, thank you very much. Today we are awaiting the president s response to his attorney general bill barr. Bill barr publicly stating that the Justice Department found no evidence to support the president and his lawyers baseless claims of widespread election fraud. With me now, longtime republican election lawyer ginsburg. Mr. Ginsburg, thank you for being on. Thank you for having me. And you think this may be check mate that barrs announced theres no fraud. But what damage is he doing to still stand behind this . Theres certainly damage to the system if people dont believe the Election Results and the president is doing his best to stop people from believing that. There are also damages to the Election Officials in the different states who are doing their job to certify the elections. You heard that yesterday from Gabriel Sterling down in georgia. That does harm to individuals. So you got both harm to the system and harm to individuals doing their job. It the republicans keep punting, many of them, say let the Legal Process play out, the president is lost in court and now saying lets wait until december 14th when electors are chosen but the fact is the president doesnt look like hes going to recognize that either. Given it seems to be political fear thats keeping republicans from contradicting the president on that, where is that going to leave us after december 14th . Are we still going to have a large portion of this Republican Party not recognize recognize the results of this election . You know, theyre not really going to have that luxury. On january 6th, the slate of electors is open before the congress and the members of the house and the senate are going to have to vote at that point. Significantly, thats the day after the Georgia Special election. I think there is something to the theory that republicans wanting to retain a majority in the senate are holding their punches on President Trump for now just because the electoral politics in georgia are getting so difficult. Yeah. Well see. I wonder, do you think bill barrs job is in danger now . Theres only six, seven weeks left in this but we know how the president treats even his most loyal aqua lights when they get on the wrong side of it . Im not sure with only days left, why make bill barr the martyr . It was an impact he was such an enabler and fraud preelection. No question. And the country is bracing itself for the likelihood the president uses this pardon power quite liberally first on members of his family and then himself. First, his family here, is there any question that preemptive pardons stand up . Well, theres nothing to stop a president of a United States from pardoning whoever he wants to, with the possible exception of himself. Usually in the pardon document itself, you have to spell out what the person is being pardoned from. Those will be interesting documents to read. Dont you legally if you accept a pardon somehow grant legal liability or guilt, or is that not part of the deal as it were . You get to you get to escape from legal liability, but you are in effect saying theres something you need to be pardoned from. So that is absolutely true. You know, jim, it may be interesting to bring in the pardons, both the pardons for his family and the pardon investigation by the department of justice, along with the 2020 candidacy. If youre a candidate for president , it gives donald trump the ability to say if anyone comes after him, federal or state, its a political prosecution. Im the leading candidate in 2024 and my enemies are continuing to witchhunt and trying to come after me. Legally would a selfpardon a self president ial pardon allow him if he were to run in 2024 to do whatever he wants, to break the law . Well, thats why selfpardons of a president have never been done and are unlikely to stand up. One of the principles of the law is no person should be the judge of their own case. And so if the president pardons himself, hes violated that basic principle, never been litigated before but on shaky, shaky grounds. Lets hope it is, right . Lets hope it is. Ben ginsburg, always good to hear from you. Thanks, jim. Los angeles county has its worst single day of the pandemic. Hospitalizations hitting peaks there, daily new infections reach record highs. Were going to take you there live. I felt like. I was just fighting an uphill battle in my career. So when i heard about the applied Digital Skills courses, im thinking i can become more marketable. You dont need to be a computer expert to be great at this. These are skills lots of people can learn. I feel hopeful about the future now. I feel hopeful youre still the one that i love to touch still the one and i cant get enough were still having fun, and youre still the one applebees 2 for 20. Now thats eating good in the neighborhood. [announcer] forget about vacuuming for up to a month. Shark iq robot deep cleans and empties itself into a base you empty as little as once a month. And unlike standard robots that bounce around it cleans row by row. If its not a shark, its just a robot. The teams been working around the clock. Wire, weve had to rethink our whole approach. Were going to give togetherness. Logistically, its been a nightmare. Im not sure its going to work. Itll work. I didnt know you were listening. Theres been a devastating surge of coronavirus cases in los angeles county. Officials there calling tuesday the countys worst day of the pandemic yet. Cnns Stephanie Elam is in los angeles. Stephanie, tell us where and how were seeing this spike. Yes, you know what, the scary part about that too, dr. Barbara ferrer talking about these numbers here in l. A. County, she said this is the worst day weve seen in l. A. County but its likely not probably going to be the worse well see throughout the pandemic and that is scary because yesterday l. A. County posted a 7,500 almost 7,600 new cases yesterday. That is a record. Previous record, by the way, was set just last week at over 6,100. The virus spreading more quickly now than any other point. Yesterdays Positivity Rate they reported in one day, 12 nearly. Its almost 12 . By comparison one week ago it was about 7 . You take a look at the hospitalization and new record set there. More than 2,300 people in the hospital. The previous record for hospitalizations was during the summer surge. This tells you things are going in the wrong way. On november 1, there were just about 800 people in the hospital so you see almost every single day since then, weve had our hospitalizations increase here in l. A. County. When you look at the state as a hole, yesterday california adding more than 12,000 cases and the Positivity Rate for the sevenday period there 7 . For the 14day period, about 6 1 2 there, also noting one more county in california moving into the purple tier, which is the most restrictive tier of what we see here and that means 52 of 58 counties are in the purple tier and 99. 92 of the state are under restrictions as they are trying to control this virus as it is not as deadly as it is continuing to be now, jim. Seeing this in so many states around the country. Stephanie elam, thank you very much. This morning a dire dead line facing millions of americans, perhaps some of you, edging socalled closer to a benefits cliff with unemployment payments set to expire, listen to this, the day after christmas. This if Congress Fails to act again. And eviction moratoriums also set to run out just afterwards. On tuesday a group of bipartisan lawmakers proposed a 908 billion compromise aid plan to help extend these for those hit hardest by the epidemic. With me john representative scott wye hiemer from new jersey and the cochair from the congressional problemsolvers caucus. Gentlemen, thank you for taking the time this morning. This nation needs problem solvers. We know the political reality here. Congressman reid, perhaps i can begin with you, Mitch Mcconnell is floating his own plan, about half the size you guys are talking about, 500 billion package viewed by some and rejected. I wonder without his support, are your efforts dead in the water . I absolutely do not believe theyre dead in the water. The proposal i heard from Mitch Mcconnell recently was estimated to be 550 to 700 billion is my understanding of whats being put on the table. Thats inching closer to the 908 billion in the bipartisan plan, meaning we stood with nine senators yesterday, we put together yesterday. Remember the Problem Solvers Caucus represents 50 members of congress. Were getting closer, but to your point, christmas is right around the corner. Its time to listen to the American People and deliver this christmas need asap. Congressman, i wonder because nancy pelosi, speaker and chuck schumer, Senate Minority leader, theyre making their own offer and they were reluctant to go below a 2 trillen figure before the election. Do they have buyin to this bipartisan proposal . What we offered up is a very shortterm emergency focus package to get us through into the new year and into the new administration. Obviously, its a down payment. Well probably have to do more after the new year. But the bottom line is and tom is right here, both sides of leadership will offer their proposals. What we put out there is something where we think they can land, its a compromised position. It does all of the things that are critically important as you talked about earlier, helping students with eviction issues, extends unemployment resources to families which are so critical this time of year, ppe and another round of Small Business loans. A third of Small Businesses in new jersey have gone out already. Our Small Businesses need help. This will give them extra help. Its food and nutrition, so many people, 40 , are getting food support for the first time in their lives. This around the holiday, times are spiking around the country. We just talked about l. A. But its hundreds of thousands of new cases everywhere. Weve got to give urgent relief now and no more politics, no more delaying. I wonder congressman reed where the president is in these negotiations . Hes tweeting a lot about election fraud. Hes talking about vetoing the defense spending bill. Is he involved in these negotiations substantively . So my understanding, we always in the problem solving caucus have a rich legacy keeping our leadership and the white house on a covideo, keeping them i formed. My understanding is if we get a deal done before january 1, the president is interested in signing that legislation because he recognizes theres a need out there that needs to be addressed. We go past january 1, then i think were into the next administration and that is going to be problematic. That means no relief until february or march. That is why its unacceptable for us to leave d. C. Without getting something done before the holiday. Congressman gut hiemer, do you agree congressmen should stay in washington, forget the holiday break . Absolutely. The idea to me we can go home without something to me is absolutely unconscionable. Too many people are hurting. Which is why we should not leave washington until it is done. What was proposed yesterday, 50 of congress, half democrat, half republican, nine senators standing together. Clearly theres an agreement to be had here that covers all of the issues that helps our local and state governments so we can make sure our cops and firefighters and teachers stay employed, helps people with food, helps Small Businesses. These are the things family need now and we cant leave here unless we get that done. Members of congress and the senate are making that clear to leadership, you absolutely cannot go home until you get this done. I hope you do. We speak on this broadcast to americans who are suffering through this and i dont have to tell you, its real. On another topic if i can, because this just happened moments ago, comments from the secretary of state of georgia, Brad Raffensperger, republican, talking about threats against election workers. Have a listen. I want to get your reaction. Even after this office request that President Trump try and quell the violent rhetoric being borne out of his continuing claims of winning the states where he obviously lost, he tweeted out, expose the massive voter fraud in georgia. This is exactly the kind of language that is at the base of a growing threat environment for election workers who are simply doing their jobs. It congressman reed, is it time for the House Republican leadership, Kevin Mccarthy among them, to acknowledge biden as president elect and stop sharing disinformation that is, secretary of state raffensperger said, led to threats against him and others. As a member of family who received a brick and dead rat at our front step just a matter of weeks ago and received these threats, i will tell you this environment is not helpful. Its not something i support. And i have recognized Vice President biden as president elect. We should continue to move forward. I think were coming to the conclusion of this process, and i will just defer i can only control what i do. I will defer to the leadership as to what they want to do as we go forward. Congressman gottheimer br efe we go, the continuance of the president to share disinformation in the face of fellow republicans like congressman reed and in georgia pushing back . Obviously, its unacceptable. Im glad you have got officials like those in georgia pushing back and the bottom line is my concern is not just for this election and obviously the threats happening to families,s which as tom just pointed out, is unacceptable but the longterm impact on voting and faith in elections, that to me is a huge concern. Youve got people who were every day losing faith not just this election but the next one, thats what we also have to be very careful about right now and im very concerned about that. Listen, congressman gottheimer and reed, thank you for making an effort to work together. I know a lot of folks who watch this Program Welcome that effort. Thank you. The American People deserve it. Thank you very much. Coming up Health Care Workers are devoted to caring for us in the pandemic. Im sure many of you encountered that. Who, though, is caring for them . If youre on medicare, remember, the annual Enrollment Period is here. The time to choose your coverage. Begins october 15th and ends december 7th. So call unitedhealthcare. And take advantage of a wide choice of plans. Including an aarp Medicare Advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. It can combine your hospital and doctor coverage. With part d Prescription Drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan. For a low monthly premium or in some areas, no plan premium at all. Take advantage of 0 copays on all primary care doctor visits, all virtual visits, and all lab tests. Also get 0 copays for preventive dental care, 0 copays for routine hearing exams, and 0 copays for eye exams. Plus, free designer frames and prescription lenses. Nows the time to look at unitedhealthcares variety of plans, and let us help find the one that works best for you. Ask about ppo plans, too. They let you see any doctor who accepts medicare, without a referral. And pay innetwork costs, at home or traveling, when you see doctors in the Unitedhealthcare Medicare national network. Take advantage of 0 copays on hundreds of Prescription Drugs at the pharmacy or by mail. In fact, last year our Medicare Advantage plan members saved an average of over 7,200. And with renew active, enjoy a free gym membership with access to an extensive nationwide network of fitness locations now including premium gyms. Now more than ever, count on unitedhealthcare to help you get the care you need, when you need it. We can even help schedule appointments or find a specialist. Enrollment ends december 7th. Call unitedhealthcare or go online today. We make it easy to enroll, too. Its time to take advantage of all the benefits of. The only Medicare Advantage plans with the aarp name. [sfx mnemonic] stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. And take. It. On. With rinvoq. Rinvoq a oncedaily pill. Can dramatically improve symptoms. Rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. And for some. Rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. Thats rinvoq relief. With ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. Rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred. As have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. Your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. Tell your doctor about any infections. And if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. Take on ra talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. Rinvoq. Make it your mission. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. If you cant afford your medicine, is now a good time enough, crohns. For adults with moderate to severe crohns or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. You, getting on that flight . Back off, uc. Stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flulike symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. Rpls, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. Some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. Lasting remission can start with stelara®. If youve been financially impacted by covid19, janssen may be able to help. To use your vision benefits before the years up. This is us making sure you dont. Use em before you lose em, backed by our 100day guarantee visionworks. See the difference. New garlique healthy Blood Pressure formula helps maintain healthy Blood Pressure with a custom blend of ingredients. Im taking charge, with garlique. The surge in the coronavirus is taking a serious toll on front line Health Care Workers who are seeing the tragic toll in person every day firsthand. In colorado, hospitalizations are surging as that state reported its highest number of people hospitalized ever in this pandemic on tuesday. Cnns lucy kafanov spoke to nurses and doctors in the state who are themselves struggling to cope. We might not show it if were interacting with you, but its so hard. Reporter the words of a colorado physician whos had enough, dr. Shannon tapeh is one of thousands of Health Care Workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. Sleep is rare now. Reporter she switched to telehealth to keep her patients and herself safe. What do you want people to know about the experience of these frontline medical workers, including yourself, under covid . We might not talk about it because we know people dont want to hear it. We know everyone is struggling. The and we know covid changed everybodys lives. Its just been so hard. And i dont want to say its been harder for us than it has to be everybody else, but the truth is, it has. It has. Its not the same, and its not just the same when you feel responsible for peoples whether it be their life or quality of life because you care. Reporter colorado is in the midst of its third pandemic surge. Cases and hospitalizations have been breaking records. What matters now in colorado one out of 41 people are contagious so it could be anywhere. Reporter more than 14,000 coloradans have been hospitalized since the pandemic began. Among those facing the bankrupt, doctors and nurses like allison burner. As an er nurse, i havent cried a lot on the job. You hold it back and you want to stay tough for the family and stoic and theres been a lot of tears shed in er rooms for covid. Were treating that person dyeing like our loved one dyeing because they dont have anyone else. They need that grace and that human touch and they need someone to be there when theyre taking their last breath reporter before the pandemic, she said work had never caused her to lose sleep. Now she regularly has nightmares. How has the covid crisis impacts nurses and yourself on a personal level . Youre seeing this day in and day out. On a personal level, its hard. We lean on each other. The holidays have been rough for a lot of us. Were not seeing our families. Were doing everything we can to keep the public safe so its extremely frustrating for us when people are not doing that. Here on the front lyons, this virus is incredibly real. Reporter with cases rising, her employer released this psa. Please, let have each others backs. Reporter the message dr. Tapia shares, seeing the toll on all longterm care facilities, accounting for 40 of the deaths in the country. Many die alone. Its so hard on their loved ones and their families because they can not grieve it the way they should be able to. Reporter she found new ways to cope a puppy, therapy and antidepressants. But with a virus raging unabated, she worries how much more she and other frontline workers can take. I think there will be a huge reckoning when things calm down and people get to really process whats happened to them. Now dr. Shannon tapia works in hospice care. Shes no stranger to death. Same for the er nurse, allison burner. These are people trained to help humanity in their darkest moments but they are completely overwhelmed with the covid surge, jim. There may be a vaccine on the horizon, but nearly nine months into this pandemic , there are still people not taking this virus seriously. These doctors and nurses are pushed to the limit. For them, theres no end in sight. We often forget how much they face on a daily basis. Lucy kafanov, thank you very much for bringing us their stories. And president elect biden is facing about who hes not picking. Braava jet m6 and the irobot home app. Only from irobot. Braava jet m6 and the irobot home app. Listerine® cleans virtually 100 . Helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. Never settle for 25 . Always go for 100. Bring out the bold™ with priceline, you can get up to 60 off amazing hotels. And when you get a big deal. You feel like a big deal. Priceline. Every trip is a big deal. I got it all from you im always pushing through i know well make it to the finish line i know youre waiting on the other side im like you ondemand glucose monitoring. Because theyre always on. Another lifechanging technology from abbott. So you dont wait for life. You live it. Not because i didnt want it. I worried it was too expensive, and i was having a hard time paying our other bills. But now, for the first time in our lives, i can do both. Covered california was made by californians for californians. And it makes Health Insurance more affordable, with financial help for people who need it. Covered california. This way to Health Insurance. Enroll by december 15th. Welcome back. Pp president elect joe biden continues to fill out his team with less than 50 days until his inauguration but hes now facing pressure to appoint more minority nominees to remaining top positions. With us from wilmington, delaware, cnns jessica dean. Where is the pushback coming from and what posts are we talking about in particular . Well, they still have cabinet nominees to fill and the biden transition is hearing from, for example, the congressional hispanic caucus, writing them a letter asking them and pushing new mexico governor michellep lieu hun grisham to be selected as health and Human Services secretary. We know congressman jim clyburn, who played a pivotal role in biden winning the primary, said he would like to see more black nominees, more black people filling these key roles. And we also see in the Washington Post theyre reporting that seven different civil Rights Groups have requested meetings with the president elect and that they want to put more pressure on him, again, to fill these top posts with africanamericans. Now, the Transition Team for its part did give me a statement, i want to read part of it, theyre saying, president elect biden his campaign succeeded in this effort. He announced several historic and diverse white house appointments and cabinet nominees to this point and his success in finding Diverse Voices to develop and implement his policy vision to tackle our nations toughest challenges will be clear when our full slate of appointees and nominees is complete. Again, jim, they really want to acknowledge the fact that they are trying to build a diverse team both in the white house and in these cabinet positions, and when the full slate is complete, they feel like they will have accomplished that goal. Jim . All right, well see how well they satisfy. Its always a battle. Jessica dean, thank you very much. And thank you very much to you for joining me today. Im jim sciutto. Newsroom with our colleaguep kate bolduan, will begin after a short break. You can really save. Save for being a new customer. Save more for adding drivewise. Save even more for driving safely. Take another look at allstate and start saving. And start saving. Just between us, cleaning with a mop and bucket is such a hassle. Well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. Its an allinone that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. And it helps prevent streaks and haze. Stop cleaning. Start swiffering heart monitors that let your doctor watch over you, just like you watch over your best friend. Another lifechanging technology from abbott, so you dont wait for life. You live it. Hello, everyone, im kate bolduan. Thank you so much for joining us this hour. We begin the hour with several major developments in the quest for a coronavirus vaccine. The United Kingdom becomes the first country in the world to approve the approve the vaccine made by pfizer with the first doses set to be rolled out next week. So does the big news out of the uk raise the pressure on the United States . Here in the United States, the fist shipments of pfizers vaccine are set to be delivered on december 15th. Thats according to an internal government document obtained by cnn. The fda will be meeting next week to consider authorization of the vaccine, and the cdc panel is recommending that Health Care Workers, nursing home residents and those and employees working in those nursing homes, that they should get the vaccine first. They should be first in line. While all of these