And what else needs to happen before this pandemic is over. Lets get to our reporters on the ground. Ellison barber is in springfield, missouri, chef any gosk in new york and sarah harman is in london. Ellison, lets start with you. Theyre getting those new shipments today of the moderna vaccine. There was a bit of a hitch yesterday. Whats happening on the ground now . Reporter it was delayed, did not come. Not long ago, maybe 20 minutes, we watched a fedex truck pull up at this loading dock with white boxes filled with the moderna vaccine. Brown boxes filled with the kits necessary to administer the vacci vaccine. The syringes, the sanitation wipes, the reminders for people to get their second dosage. They made their way to the pharmacy. They watched as they unpacked those tiny vials, the tiny vials that look so small and insignificant but are so powerful. This hospital, they did not have any shipments of the pfizer vaccine. Theyre only getting the moderna vaccine. They waited eagerly for this to arrive yesterday so they could get vaccinations under way. It did not come. It was delays for reasons that werent entirely clear. They had some shipments sent to some of their sister hospitals further away in smaller rural communities. They borrowed those vaccines so they could vaccinate people at this hospital who were signed up and scheduled to get it yesterday. Again, those did not come. This morning they had to khcanc the vaccinations that were scheduled. The afternoon vac nations are back on and for this hospital, its not a minute too soon. Craig. Ellison barber starting us off in springfield. Ellison, thank you. Lets turn to Stephanie Gosk in new york. Starting today British Airways passengers would need a neg ti covid test before getting on board a plane from United Kingdom to new york. New yorks governor is calling for an outright travel ban, right . He is. Hes calling for an outright travel ban. He doesnt have the Legal Authority to do that. He wants the federal government to step in. In lieu of that band, hes asked airlines to take part. Delta and Virgin Atlantic say theyre willing to give peeft tests, show theyre negative before they travel to new york. This corridor between new york and london is one of the most important ones in the world for business and banking. But you have local leaders here in this state very concerned after what happened here in the spring. The idea of having a more virulent strand of coronavirus on the streets of new york city has a lot of people concerned. Theyre only just barely keeping a lit d on the numbers here. You had mayor bill de blasio threatening a possible pause or shutdown in the knee future. Governor cuomo multiple times has said he wants the federal government to step up and do something, calling them out, he says, for inaction. Craig. Stephanie gosk in new york city. Steph, thank you. Lets go over the pond now. Sarah harman is in london. Sarah, lots of concerns about this mutating virus. Well get more on precisely what this mutation means and what it doesnt mean in a moment when we talk to dr. Ashish jha. This morning, encouraging news from vaccine maker biontech. Biontech, the maker of the vaccine says hes confident this will work against the new mutated version of the covid strain. He added, even if it needs tweaking, it can likely be done in a number of weeks. Take a listen, craig. We can directly start to engineer a vaccine which completely mimics this new mutation and will be quickly able to provide a new vac covid19, technically within six weeks, it means a vaccine that contains this information. Reporter so six weeks is pretty quick, craig. Thats for the science part. If there were regulatory approval, that would be necessary on top of it, it could delay it further. Again, he did say hes confident this will work against the new strain. Thats good news here in the uk where the word British Isles has never run more true. Its increasingly apparent in the last 24 hours that were on some islands. If you look, there are 1,500 trucks stuck on highways. Goods from europe can no longer get in. 40 countries now are banning arrivals from the uk over fears that this new mutated covid strain could spread. Epidemiologists tell us if it is, in fact, as containing ougs as early studies seem to show, its likely already traveled out of the uk. Craig. All right. Sarah harman in london. Joined now by dr. Ashish jha, dean of the Brown University school of public health. Lets start where sarah left off there. This idea this mutated strain is likely already in this country. Is that the reality . That may well be the reality, craig. Thats where we are. Look, this is a global pandemic. While were seeing numbers of cases of this mutated strain grow in the uk, were seeing some cases outside of the uk. I would suspect we have some here. A travel ban or testing everybody before they get on still will slow down how many more of those strains show up here, but i dont think this is the kind of thing where you can contain just within the uk. To be clear, dr. Jha, this isnt unusual at all with viruses like this, correct . These viruses mutate. If that is the case, how concerned should we be about this particular mutation . So viruses mutate all the time. Rna viruses like this one tend to mutate more. Weve seen lots of mutations on this. We havent seen one where we see a real functional difference. This is one of the first ive seen where theres pretty good evidence that it is now more contagious. Thankfully not more deadly if you get infected. Im with everybody on this, im not worried that the vaccine will somehow not be effective against this strain. This idea of a travel ban that Governor Cuomo has suggested, what say you to that . Is that something thats necessary for flights from the n united king dochl . If we work on the assumption that its already here and testing people before they get on is reasonable, i guess my feelings on travel bans is they can help. I78 not opposed to it. If the u. S. Government did that, it would make sense. It would slow things down in terms of that strain arriving in the u. S. Or having more of it here, but i dont think its something well completely prevent with travel ban alone. Let me get your thoughts on dr. Fauci and alex azar getting vaccines last hour. This is dr. Fauci just before he got that needle in the arm. What were seeing now is the culmination of years of research which have led to a phenomenon that has truly been unprecedented, and that is to go from the realization that were dealing with a new pathogen, a virus that was described in january of this year to less than one year later to have vk seens going into the arms of so many people including myself. Dr. Jha, here is the thing. A year ago this time no one even knew what coronavirus was, and now we have not one, but two vaccines that have been rolled out. What might this mean, the speed with which we were able to develop a vaccine . What might this mean moving forward for the development of other vaccines . So two things, craig. First is that we have made years of investments into new technologies like the mrna technology that we were able to use. So it just goes to the power of investing in science. We often dont know how its going going to pay off. On this specific vaccine, we had other experience with other coronaviruses, sars the 2003 sars outbreak. We got lucky that we knew a lot about this virus when we first discovered it. We had a close cousin that we knew well. It seems for the future we have to keep investing in science and in studying viruses. When the next outbreak hits, we want to be as prepared as we ended up being for this one. A million passengers went through tsa every day for the past three days. It would seem as if there are a slew of folks watching and listening who have all but said to hell with the cdcs recommendations about not traveling, theyve decided they will be traveling for christmas. What would your message be for those folks, dr. Jha . My message is, were so close to where people can get vaccines, you want to be careful. If you can avoid travel, please, please, please avoid travel. If youre going to travel, keep it small, wear a mask. Protect each other. This is about your family and your community. We want people around and alive next year so they can get vaccinated and get back with their lives. Thats what im asking people to do, keep it small and please be careful. Dr. Ashish jha, thanks as always. Do appreciate you. Thank you. Still ahead this hour, will the incoming the incoming Biden Administration, will they boost vaccine production using a wartime production law . Its paerchltly something thats being considered. First though, congress, finally, sending a covid aid package to the president s desk. Negotiations were going nowhere until they got a kick start from a Bipartisan Group called the Problem Solvers Caucus. Two of those problem solvers, theyre going to join me next. [ engines revving ] its amazing to see them in the wild like th shhh. [ engine revs ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. [ engine revs ] just between us, you know whats better than mopping . Anything at the end of a long day, its the last thing i want to do. Well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. Its an allinone so its ready to go when i am. The cleaning solution actually breaks down dirt and grime. And the pad absorbs it deep inside. So, it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. Plus, its safe to use on all my floors, even wood. Glad i got that off my chest and the day off my floor. Try wet jet with a moneyback guarantee maybe not yet, but if we stopped the noise. It could come even now. Godaddy. Start now. Congress finally passed a covid relief bill overnight with the treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin saying payments to americans could start to go out adds early as next week. The 2. 3 trillion package is one of the largest stimulus bills in the history of the United States and it also includes money to fund the federal government. The covid relief portion totals about 900 billion. Thats about half the size of the last relief bill. This bill includes direct payments of 600 to many americans, 300 in weekly unemployment aid and 28 billion for vaccine distribution. A that bill will be sent to President Trump this week, and he is expected to sign it. Im joined by two members of congress who were quite instrumental in that relief bill as cochairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus. Democratic congressman Josh Gottheimer and republican congressman tom reed. Thanks for your time. Gentlemen, i understand that both of you got the Covid Vaccine as well. Congratulations. Any side effects so far . How do you feel . Feeling great. Thanks forcing asking. All good here. Congressman reed, ill start with you. It took months to get this bill passed. What can struggling americans and Small Businesses specifically what can they expect to see over the next few weeks . Relief is on its way. Thanks for Problem Solvers Caucus members, equally divided democrats and republicans, putting people first. People will see the 600 checks immediately go out, unemployment relief extended to the 300 enhanced benefit. But Small Businesses, youll see about 324 billion of payroll protection money to really target relief for those Industries Like our restaurants, like our Small Businesses in particular that were struggling and hit by covid19, to get them to the finish line because with vaccines being distributed, thats a key component of this bill. Thats the ultimate solution to covid19 and getting it in the history books is getting the vaccine distributed so these businesses can get back to normal and individuals can get back to their normal way of life. Congressman gottheimer, i have to ask you, could you live on 600 a month or 1200 or 1800 . I like to see this as a down payment to get us through the next couple months. Its been nine months since congress has been able to get together and passed the last bipartisan package. Tom and i and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus along with a group of senators finally said enough is enough. We put out our own proposal, to try to get us through these toughest months of winter to help our families get food, those in food lines for the very first time, to help with unemployment and rental sits stance and really to get us through the height of this emergency its meant to be a shortterm focus relief package. Along with the direct payments you mentioned and to help out our Small Businesses, but as you just said, which i think is right, weve got more work to do in the new year. Well be back at it. Weve got to help our local governments struggling to pay cops and firefighters and teachers. Weve got a lot of people hurting right now. I tell you this, we could not have gone home christmas time with nothing for our families. We sat down in a bipartisan way and got it done. Congressman reed, there tends to be i wont say consensus, but a lot of folks around this country are pretty confident that theres going to be a third relief bill thats needed to help struggling americans in businesses and municipalities. Are republicans prepared to pass a third relief bill . I think there are some outstanding issues. Liability reform is something thats not going, needs to be addressed. It doesnt just deal with big business, but small business. It also deals with our colleges and universities, our hospitals and frontline workers. But it also deals with the Small Businesses that are going to be facing these lawsuits that are going to lose their coverage potentially because defense obligations under Liability Insurance carriers could disclaim because this was an act of god, a natural disaster. Theres a crisis developing on the horizon. Local and State Government is going to have to be taken care of. Josh and i got together working together with the Problem Solvers Caucus, bipartisan senators, weve moved the ball forward. The good news is, with the vaccine being distributed, were getting closer to getting covid19 into history books and that is the ultimate solution we need to focus on in my opinion going forward. Congressman jim clyburn of South Carolina is running a special committee to investigate the government response to covid. Hes issued subpoenas to compel hhs secretary alex azar, cdc director Robert Redfield to produce documents. The congressman is alleging Trump Administration political appointees tried to alter or block at least 13 scientific reports related to the virus. Dr. Anthony fauci talked about it on pbs last night. Here is what he said. The morbidity and mortality report, there was a person in hhs who was actually trying to influence what was said in there. That person is no longer there. The person has been removed and that now is not a problem. Congressman gottheimer, how confident are you that youre going to be able to get to the bottom of this in the Biden Administration . Ill tell you, in new jersey weve lost one out of 500 people, not to mention 30 of Small Businesses going out. This has been a very tough time for our community on the health and economic fronts. Weve got to get to the bottom of all these issues. I think congress is obviously doing that right now. As you said, representative clyburn was chairing an effort on this, will get the facts, and i think given what the country has been through, we need to know so were prepared for any other future crisis. But for right now, as we get through these things, as tom just said, weve got to get the vaccine out. Weve got to make sure those get distributed, make sure people have the support they need to get through this tough time. And thats why what we did yesterday is so important and i hope will be a model for how we can govern going forward. In these days, this was a christmas miracle in washington, getting both sides together. But it cant be a oneoff thin. We have to make sure we move forward and get more done in the new year. A good spot to end it. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, congressman tom reed. It would be nice if this is a caucus that grew. Merry christmas to you. Exactly two weeks until those georgia runoffs. But today one of the democratic candidates, jon ossoff, casting his ballot. Hes going to join us live next. Also, if you need a little pickmeup this morning, we sure do have a story for you. How a preschool director is working through the weekends to buy gifts for students who have had to go without this season. Hey, i just got a text from my sister. You remember rick, her neighbor . Sure, hes the 76yearold guy who still runs marathons, right . Sadly, not anymore. Wow. So sudden. Um. Were not about to have the we need Life Insurance conversation again, are we . woman no. Were having the were getting coverage so we dont have to worry about it conversation. So youre calling about the 9. 95 a month plan from Colonial Penn . I am. We put it off long enough. Were getting that 9. 95 plan today. jonathan is it time for you to call about the 9. 95 plan . Im jonathan from Colonial PennLife Insurance company. Sometimes, we just need a reminder not to take today for granted. 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As of this morning, the georgia secretary of state is reporting that more than 1. 6 Million People have already voted in the zmat runoffs including one of the candidates himself. Democratic candidate jon ossoff this morning casting his ballot early and in person with just two weeks to go until election day on january 5th. Two weeks from today, we should note. Im joined by nbcs Priscilla Thompson in atlanta. Shes with the aforementioned candidate as well. Priscilla. Reporter thats right, craig. We saw him cast that ballot here and remind voter to get out and vote. Hes joining us. Thank you very much for taking the time. 900 billion in covid relief passed last night. This is something that took months to pass. As recently as october, the white house had proposed a 1. 8 trillion bill. Now were getting a bill worth half of that. Did democrats take too long to strike on this deal . I would have voted for the bill because people need help now. The bottom line is that 600 is a joke. Its a joke. People have been waiting eight months for the United States senate to act. Lets be very clear. The house passed substantial covid relief back in the summer. Its mitch mckonld and republicans in the senate and david purdue, my opponent, who opposed even the first round of 1200 checks, who have been holding this up for months and who cut the direct stimulus payments in half as we enter the Holiday Season with so many families having difficulty making rent, the car payment, affording prescriptions and putting food on the tachblt we need addict, substantial covid relief. The only way well get it is by winning these two races in georgia. I do want to talk specifically about your race. Republican groups are outspending democrats in the ads. Weve seen more than 100 million negative add spending directed specifically at you. Thats more than double than what were seeing against david perdue. How do you think that will impact the dynamics of this race and the results were see in january . Theyre outspending us badly on the air, but were outhustling them. The attacks theyre running are the paint by numbers, garden variety partisan nonsense. Reverend warnock and i are focused on delivering health, jobs and justice for the people, to pass a new Civil Rights Act that will secure equal justice for all, to get direct Economic Relief for folks, rebuild and reopen our hospitals that have closed. Thank you, mr. Ossoff. Thank you. Reporter craig, there you have it. The work on the ground continuing even as we head into the holidays this week ahead of those january 5th runoffs. Craig. Priscilla, i think he can still hear me. Do i have time for just a quick question. Ive got you senate candidate. Excuse me. Mr. Ossoff, the civil rights bill youre talking about, can you tell us a little more about what that would look like . Yes. This Civil Rights Act, a new Civil Rights Act will empower the Civil Rights Division at the department of justice to hold law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, facilities of incarceration accountable where theres racial profiling, where theres brutality where theres race or class bias. We need to establish National Standards for the use of force. We also need to reform our nations drug laws, legalize cannabis, stop locking people up for nonviolent drugrelated offenses. The 14th amendment already guarantees equal protection under the law. When Ahmaud Arbery is shot in broad daylight in georgia, that makes a mockery of that. We can get it done if we win these two senate races in georgia. Otherwise theyll stop criminal Justice Reform in its tracks. Jon ossoff, well have to leave it there, candidate for the senate there in georgia. Thank you, mr. Ossoff. Priscilla thompson, solid work in atlanta which appears to have become your second home. Thank you as well. Lets turn now to Michael Starr hopkins Founding Partner of northern starr strategies, served on the president campaigns of barack obama and Hillary Clinton as well. Michael, lets start with what priscilla asked jon ossoff about there, this idea that hes up against tens of millions of dollars in negative ads. What else are democrats up against there in georgia . I think the big thing right now is republicans efforts to suppress the vote. I think its smart for democrats to spend more money on get out the vote efforts than it is on ads at this point in the election cycle. Voters know which party theyre aligned with. The real effort now needs to be to turn out voters. Its smart to hear ossoff talk about the stimulus payments and whats going on in georgians homes in terms of finance and stimulus funds. Thats whats going to leave its mark here especially given the outstanding questions with senator perdue and senator laugh h leffler about Insider Trading. A new piece on kelly loeffler. They write that she in many ways appears to be a traditional businessoriented republican whose hard right turn is a stark reflection of the ideological gymnastics many politicians in her party have performed in the populist culturewarring trump era, as senator leffloeffler is facing criticism for her attacks on reverend warnocks views. Do you see those attacks as part of the trump style that shes really leaning into . Everything right now with republicans is tuned toward conservative media, right wing media, this Reality Tv Show kind of narrative. I think its whats really hurting republicans nationally. There are some that will argue republicans did better than they were expected in the house. I would argue in the longterm, what were seeing is a Republican Party struggling to find its conscience and struggling to find its purpose at this point. Youve got, on one hand, republicans talking about law and order. But on the other hand, you have republicans attempting to overturn the will of voters and effect have a due data. Youre having republicans, rather than helping the voters and citizens they represent in georgia engage in Insider Trading and failing to give them information that would help them. Its laughable right now. I think youre starting to see republicans really distance themselves, not just from trump but from the brand itself. My colleague joy reid caught up with Vice President elect Kamala Harris after she campaigned in georgia yesterday. This was ms. Harris pitch on the importance of winning the Senate Majority thats on the line there. On some issues we just know and have to believe that, if we have the majority in the senate, it may be easier to do things like get the john lewis Voting Rights act passed. Thats just the reality of it. Michael, an issue like that, Voting Rights, how galvanizing can that be for georgia voters in particular . I think its everything. John lewis was a hero and someone who i admired which is why i founded the john lewis bridge project n. Georgia specifically, i think youll see people turn out, not just because of the ancestry and what it representing, but because of the future and where we can go forward. Youre seeing brain drain in Southern States all across the country, and youre seeing them go to places like georgia, and exactly for that reason, because georgia is moving the south forward. I think its going to be interesting to see not only how this race plays out, but how georgia and Southern States like it move forward in 2021. Michael starr hopkins, well leave it there. Merry christmas. Appreciate you. Thank you. Take care. Could the incoming Biden Administration ramp up vaccine production using a defense production act. Some new details on those potential plans. Also, the preschool director who is playing santa for her kids, by driving an uber on the weekends. Folks, its the perfect story for this holiday week. Dr. Anthony fauci and other officials received the coronavirus earlier this morning. The daunting task of distributing the vaccine to the bulk of the American People will fall to the incoming Biden Administration. Nbc news has learned that the biden team is determining if the new administration should invoke the defense production act to help drugmakers produce and distribute that vaccine or those vaccines more quickly once mr. Biden is in office. Nbcs Heidi Przybilla shares the byline. What are you learning . The Trump Administration is promising widespread vaccination by spring or summer. The problem is right now we dont have the supply to do that. Senior biden advisers tell nbc theyre looking at ways they can possibly help early on right when they take office. Theyre looking specifically at the defense production act, a wartime production acted that compels manufacturers to produce things in the national interest. This is a critical decision because it coincides with biden taking office, his inauguration. Well find out new data about whether these other vaccines are going to be effective. At that time the Biden Administration has a number of options. One is the defense production act. The problem, craig, is how do they do this in an equitable way that doesnt favor one company over another, so they cannot really pull the leaver on this until they have that data in hand. But, if we want to get all vaccinated widespread by spring or summer, theyre going to have to do something to help these manufacturers scale, craig. Had difficult przybilla, solid reporting as always. Thank you so much. This is going to be a tough christmas for so many folks across this country, people hardpressed by a faltering economy, fear of the pandemic or struggling to bring the holiday spirit home to their families, a lot of them. But there are some people who are trying to make sure families in need can have some joy this christmas. One of those people is renee dixon, the preschool director at lynd Hurst Baptist Church in indianapolis. So good to see you. Hi. Hello. You spend your weekends driving an uber to earn extra money to buy gifts for your students who otherwise might not get a gift because of hard times at home. What moved you to do this . The children. This is something they need. Their life has been turned upside down because of the coronavirus, no fault of their own. They need just a little bit of happiness, even if its just for one day, a little bit of happiness in their life. And when you drive, i understand its after you finish your regular job, you spend a few more hours driving. Is that right . Yes. When i get off work at 6 00 on fridays, i drive friday, saturday, sunday, all day, all night sometimes. If i really, really need something, ill drive the weekdays when i get off, also. Tell us about the school. Tell us about the kids there. Its a preschool. We serve kids 1 to 12 years of age. Our parents have had such a rough time. Weve lost over half of our students. However, were one of the ones who is lucky enough to still be open and help these families. I have parents tell me they werent going to get their kids anything for christmas. I know how that feels. I said no, your child will have something for christmas. If you have two kids, both will have something for christmas. A family of four kids, they got something for christmas its not only during christmas, but winter is coming up. Now ive got to work on getting boots, coats, hats, gloves. Ive been working on getting coats and snow boots. But i told my kids, and i promised i always keep my promise, they are going to have their snow boots before march. I love it. I understand, ms. Dixon, its not just the kids. Youve also helped out some of the teachers there as well. Is that right . Yes. I earned a little money and able to give my teachers 50 cash. I said, its not a lot theyre like, no, no they wanted me to spend all the money on the kids and i needed to spend money on them, too. I gave them out of my pocket, 50 each. They were really grateful for it. Its just something youre supposed to do, even after christmas. Its something youre supposed to do, help people. Renee, youre such a giver. Whats on your christmas list if you dont mind me asking . Well, i told santa, and santa told me im not getting anything for christmas. I told him i want a teacup yorkie and a nissan amada. We cant all fit in my car. My two darts and three granddaughters, we cant fit in my car together. I have to take somewhere me and some have to stay at home. Santa told me im not getting anything for christmas, im not good with that. As long as the kids have something, ill be fine. Youll be getting something for christmas, im sure, ms. Dixon. Youre undoubtedly on the nice list. Youre doing gods work. A onewoman ministry youre running there. When we came across the story, we had to meet and talk with you. Thank you for all that youre doing and thank you for making christmas a bit merrier. Thank you, renee. Youre welcome. Renee dixon, my favorite person today. Tonight, the nba is coming back t. League launching its regular season, this time outside the bubble and with road games. The legal was so successful in keeping players healthy in the bubble earlier this year, how do they plan to do it now . I spent time talking to nba commissioner adam silver about that and more. Our conversation next. Some things are good to know. Like where to find the cheapest gas in town and which supermarket gives you the most bang for your buck. Something else thats good to know . If you have medicare and medicaid you may be able to get more Healthcare Benefits through a humana Medicare Advantage plan. Call the number on your screen now and speak to a licensed humana sales agent to see if you qualify. 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So if you want more from medicare, call the number on your screen now to speak with a licensed humana sales agent. Learn about humana plans that could give you more Healthcare Benefits. Including coverage for Prescription Drugs, dental care, eye exams and glasses, hearing aids and more. A licensed humana sales agent will walk you through your options, answer any questions you have and, if youre eligible, help you enroll over the phone. Call today and well also send this free guide. Humana, a more human way to healthcare. Open. Remember having that feeling for the first time . The first day you opened. The first day you had a customer, the first day you taught a class, had a client, a patient, a session. Open. Remember the night before you opened . Who could ever sleep . Open. But theres a different question we are being asked now. Are you going to remain open . Even when your doors are closed . Open. Thats how we show who we are. And theres another way to be open, to pull together or push, depending on the door. And we are making it work and we will continue to make it work together. Because open we stand. The National BasketballAssociation Tips off its new season tonight. This time theres no bubble. And players will travel for games. So how does the league plan to safely play in a pandemic . I talked to nba commissioner adam silver ahead of a shortened 72game season. Back to the hard court. Tonight the nba launches its 75th season at a time when the country is still grappling with the surge in coronavirus cases and a struggling economy. Commissioner, theres been a great deal of debate about restarting the nba season. Why now . In a way its almost why not. At the end of the day, like so many other industries where we want to work. By following the protocols we know have been effective, we can do things in a safe and responsible way. Im not ashamed to say were balancing economic factors as well, and not just for the players in this league but for the literally tens of thousands of jobs that are dependent on the nba continuing. The league was lauded, perhaps justifiably so, for maintaining a covidfree environment for several months. And now theres no bubble. I mean, are you pretty much resigned to the fact that you are going to have players who test positive and youre going to have to make adjustments to the schedule as a result . I accept that we had zero incidents of covid when we were in the bubble. I think it had a real impact in many of the participants in terms of their families, their mental wellness. Its not easy being cooped up for months. The league has extensive safety plans that include testing players, coaches, and staff once, even twice a day. What happens when theres an outbreak . It depends on how you define an outbreak. If we have a singular player on a team who tests positive, isolate that player, that player will go into quarantine of some sort and obviously be treated if thats necessary as well. If outbreak means we have a spread to a full team, we may have to pause the season again. Back in march the nba and its players were criticized as some for getting covid tests before they were available to modifist the public. The vaccine protocols are controlled 100 by the government. Theres no way we would ever jump the line. Weve already been approached by a few different governmental agencies, and that is, Public Service messages about the benefits of getting vaccinated. To that point, commissioner, there are large swaths of folks in this country that are very skeptical about this vaccine, especially in the africanamerican community. Do you think that nba players should get that vaccination publicly in an attempt to put folks at easy . I do. We are well aware that within the africanamerican community, there is a group who are skeptical, you know, who are hesitant to get the vaccine. And i think that to the extent that they see people like them, you know, who are out getting the vaccine, i think that creates just. As the league grapples with the publics perception of its players getting the Covid Vaccine, other changes are happening too. When it comes to the nbas policy on marijuana, the nba announced earlier this month it would stop random testing for marijuana this season. Why . We decided that given all the things that were happening in society, given all the pressures and stress that players were under, that we didnt need to act as big brother right now. I think societys views around marijuana has changed to a certain extent. It doesnt mean we wont be talking to players who maybe arent using marijuana casually abo but feel more of a dependency on it. Who do you like this year . I like the refs. Thank you, commissioner. Safe answer there from the commissioner. We asked about the leagues commitment to social justice issues following all the unrest and activism during last season. Commissioner silver telling me that the nba has partnered with players to identify and support public policy. Thats important to players, anner the an er t effort to make change, and theyll continue to do that this season and beyond. Ill see you tomorrow morning on today. My colleague Chris Jansing will pick things up after a break. Hello, im Chris Jansing, continuing msnbcs coverage of a very busy tuesday. Lets run through some of the big headlines. Americas most famous doctor, anthony fauci, with what well call a picture is worth a thousand words moment, getting the vaccine along with other top health officials. Ill speak to them in a moment. Congress passed a 900 billion relief covid bill. 18 million covid infections in the u. S. Now, another million in less than a week. And 320,000 deaths in this country alone. Three airlines are now requiring covid tests before flying into new york from the uk as the world is increasingly walling itself off from that country after the discovery of a more infectious strain of covid that dr. Fauci now believes is already here in the u. S. And we have new reporting that joe bidens team is looking at invoking the defense production act when they take office to ramp up vaccine production. The president , however, remains publicly and privately focused