News team, dr. John torez and tom costello, stephanie gosk, Kerry Sanders and meghan fitzgerald. Dr. Torez, i want to start with you and what were watching across the line from where we are in d. C. At bethesda at the nih. Dr. Fauci getting the vaccine. Talk about why its so important for the public to see this, specifically when it comes to somebody like dr. Fauci who is widely viewed as a nonpartisan figure. Hallie, youre right. I think this is a huge important step to get that confidence, that trust up in the vaccine across the country, and we talked about this a couple months ago about how the trust level wasnt quite there. It seems to be building as time goes on. Getting a big shot in the arm for the trust is somebody like dr. Fauci getting it. He said earlier, this is a few months ago, that once the vaccine was cleared, he would more than happily get the vaccine because he believes in the safety and the effectiveness, and this is going a huge step forward in showing us he is essentially putting his money where his mouth is. Hes getting the shot because he believes in it and he believes its a safe shot, and hes going to go ahead and show the public this is something that the rest of you should get as well. Hes leading by example. Thats an important step for somebody like this who is a visible figure to get this in public to show the public that this is something they need to do as well. We should note, we expect this to happen any second. We had that live look in the room where its going to occur. It looks like that shot went down. Weve working to get it up. Tom, you also, its interesting here, were seeing the podium where were going to hear remarks, see the shots being given not just to the officials but Health Care Workers as well. Tom, this is the highest profile Moderna Vaccine or one of them weve seen given that distribution has really just begun over the last 48 hours or so. Yeah. Thats right. And we should point out that the nih where dr. Fauci works worked on this vaccine. Worked on the Moderna Vaccine in collaboration. So they have been waning, interestingly nih has been waiting to find out when they get their doses even though they collaborated on the vaccine, they hadnt learned when they would get them. Not only is the nih a Great Research institution, they have a hospital where they treat critically ill patience. They were anxious to get that vaccine as soon as possible. I think that dr. Fauci right now for Many Americans is the most trusted man in america. And he has tried to stay above the politics of this. Hes tried to provide accurate medical and scientific information all along, and so to see him following, of course, president elect biden, last week we had Vice President pence and others to see him now get this vaccination is critical. We should point out, he turns 80 years old on christmas eve. 80 years old, so and hes a remarkable specimen of health. But for him to not only be on the frontlines of the pandemic, but in that older age group, it is imperative that he and dr. Azar and dr. Collins of the nih all get vaccinated. And thats the plan this morning. And that is who you were seeing. The camera swas on the tighter shot of secretary azar and dr. Fauci. You see the podium and then the table to the left. Youll hear remarks and see the shots being administered to dr. Fauci, dr. Collins, secretary azar, and others. As this is happening, i want to go back to dr. John. Headline in the u. S. , trying to instill the top officials Public Confidence in the vaccine. In the uk, theres a mutated strain of the coronavirus and real questions on how that should be handled. Whether the u. S. Should, in fact, put in place a travel ban there. Hallie, thats a huge question theyre going to have to tackle here. But if you look at it, whats happened is weve been following the strain since september. Its popped up more now in that area in england. This is not something thats pervasive across england. Its isolated to one county and part of one county in england. And so even though in the headlines you hear about the mutated strain that seems to be affecting all of england. You hear about shutdowns from the uk flights, this is something they have to handle judiciously here. Dr. Fauci said he didnt think we should have shutdowns. He thinks we should have testing before people get on the plane to come here. Again, this is a strain that has mutated. Weve had many strain mutate throughout the time of the pandemic. That doesnt necessarily mean this is something thats going to take over the world, this is something thats going to occur throughout the corners of the earth, but it does mean that more than likely this strain since its been there since september has probably already left england and gong to other countries including the u. S. In essence, shutting it down might be putting the horse outside the barn and then shutting the door. Thats something that really isnt going to help us much. Yeah. There are others, steph, and you know this well including Governor Cuomo in new york, calling for a travel ban. Youve got now this new testing thats going to be done from people heading to the uk and to the u. S. Talk about what youre seeing in new york and hearing from Governor Cuomo. Well, the governor has no authority to actually impose a travel ban himself. But he is calling on the federal government in tough terms and calling them out on what he says is inaction in this regard, and as you know, new york city hit hard last spring by coronavirus. Theres a little bit of ptsd here to be sure, and there are numbers on the rise. Hospitalizations are going up. Positivity rate is going up. And then you add on top of that this talk of the variant of the coronavirus and how its more transmissable most likely than the regular coronavirus. And suddenly people are calling on possible travel bans. What the governor has done instead is ask airlines to test travelers coming from the uk to new york. And airlines, three of them, have agreed to what is really a voluntarily program. Three are asking all travelers to get this test to prove theyve had a negative test before they travel here. And this corridor between new york and london is one of the most important corridors in the world for travel for banking and business. Right now there are only six flights a day between london and new york which is really unfathomable when you think about how many flights were normally made during this period of time. So from a business perspective, people are unwilling to go as far as the travel ban, but the governor trying to keep the numbers down in the state. Yeah. Stephanie live for us in new york. Youre seeing dr. Francis collins speaking at the nih in bethesda. Sara, as we wait for dr. Fauci and secretary collin and others to get the vaccine, theres encouraging news from one of the vaccine makers here, one of the Big Questions is does the volcano that we have currently, both of the vaccines approved at least in the u. S. , protect against this new strain . Were getting new information on that. Reporter yeah. Exactly. The ceo of biontech says hes confidence this vaccine will work against the new strain thats emerging here in the uk. He said today further testing is needed, but hes confident that if necessary, the tweaks could be done in about six weeks. Now, thats the science side. It would still take potentially more regulatory approval, but its very good news for anyone who is concerned about this new strain, and hallie, this is happening at a time when the uk is isolated like never before. Some 40 countries are now banning arrivals from the uk, and as we speak, some 1500 trucks are sitting on a highway in kent because france has shut the borders. Supermarkets here are warning about a potential salad shortage, of fresh fruit and produce ahead of the new year if the travel between europe and the uk doesnt resume soon. Hallie . Sayre are harmon live for us there in london. Back in the u. S. , kerri is in clear water florida on the gulf coast. Frontline Health Care Workers there have been getting their vaccines this morning. I know theres live shots behind your live shot i think here. Reporter well, we have a Health Care System with almost 30,000 employees and today theyre getting the Moderna Vaccine. Im going to step out of the way. Theresa is getting hers. As she does this, understand that they didnt have the choice whether it would be pfizer or moderna. But nobody here seems to be concerned about that. As we see it go in theresa, i dont even see you flinching. Shes awesome. Okay. Well, there we go. As she gets there, there are some people a little concerned about getting this. Among them, one of the nurses i spoke to, vera crick. Listen to what she had to say. To all my African American friends out there, you have a choice. Coronavirus or corona vaccine. Its a nobrainer. The risk does not outweigh the benefits. You need to really step up and take it. Thats what i would tell them. Reporter and now we go back to you, because it looks like dr. Fauci is about to get his vaccination. Lets listen to his remarks. In the summer of 1968, i was introduced into the extraordinary place that we are in right now, the National Institutes of health. So much of the research that has gone into conquering many of the diseases that we know now have really been addressed in such a way as theyve had a major impact on the health of the nation. This is true of covid19. It is particularly meaningful to me as a member of the nih for so many years, to be receiving today with secretary azar, and dr. Collins and several other Health Care Providers a vaccine that had the fundamental Research Conducted here at nih by our scientists as well as by our grantees and contractors over the year. This, 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 described in january of this year to less than one year later to have vaccines that are going into the arms of so many people including myself. And so i consider it an honor to be part of this process. So thank you very much, and now it give me great pleasure to introduce to you the secretary of hhs, alex azar. Thank you, everyone, for joining us at the nih today on this proud and happy occasion. I want to express my deep gratitude to dr. Collins, dr. Fauci, and so many members of the nih team for their hard work throughout this pandemic. And especially on various elements of operation warp speed. I also want to recognize and thank the staff of the Nih Clinical Center in particular. You have continued to provide care for patients who badly need it during this difficult time, and your work is ho rowic. I myself am patient of the Nih Clinical Center. Im freezed to be pleased to be here for the vaccine developed by the nih Vaccine Center moderna, and other Research Partners and im pleased to be getting this vaccine myself. Weve all said it is nothing short of miraculous to have a safe and effective vaccine within one year of a novel virus becoming known to the world. But when we need a medical miracle, we know where to look, to the brilliant, dedicated scientists at the nih, and we look to passionate relentless researchers at americas innovative bye tech companies. As a member of the hhs family, it fills me with pride that the nih and other parts played a significant role in developing this vaccine which will save thousands and thousands of lives and help bring this dark chapter to an end. In the long and storied history of the nih, this is one of your finest accomplishments. I also want to recognize the years of work and investment that went into delivering this vaccine. It took more than just one remarkable year, but years of dedication to develop the mrna Vaccine Technology that many once considered a long shot. Once we have defeated this pandemic, i believe that both the success of operation warp speed and the mrna Platform Technology pioneered by nih and bar da should reinvigorate our on michl about the frontiers of medical science and how we can bring the public and private sectors together to tackle our toughest challenges. When i look back on my time at hhs, putting together operation warp speed will be one of my proudest memories not only because ows vaccines will save lives but because they reminded americans to think big. When the government and industry charge together toward a really bold goal, we can achieve unbelievable things. I know that these kinds of efforts have been oh focus for dr. Collins. The active partnership he mentioned which highway has spearheaded under ows involved more than 20 pharmaceutical companies and other parts and the nih continued to expand the accelerating Medicines Partnership for other Serious Health challenges like alzheimers and schizophrenia. To close ill note as extraordinary as this Scientific Achievement is, getting this vaccine is more or less just like any other vaccine we receive. We have to follow the right mask wearing and social distancing precautions today, but otherwise, this is just like nih Health Care Workers or hhs Health Employees getting their annual flu shots. Americans should know this vaccine has been through the kind of searching and independent review that they expect for any drug or vaccine at the food and drug administration. I made it a personal priority to ensure that we were not cutting any corners in this development process. That the standards and data being used were fully transparent and that the final decisions made on these vaccines were made by the same career fda scientists who would make the decisions on any other vaccine. Im honored to receive this vaccine today, and americans can be confident in this vaccine and each vaccine the fda authorizes for covid19. Thank you all for having me here today. On behalf of a grateful country, thank you to everyone at the nih for your work this year. You heard from alex azar and prior to that dr. Fauci, of course, one of top Infectious Disease doctors in the country. Both are getting ready to receive their moderna vaccinations. The first of two shots in that series. Youre going to see several about half a dozen workers at nih, Health Care Workers get their vaccinations prior to the moment when well see the secretary, dr. Collins and dr. Fauci get their shots. I want to bring in tom costello and dr. Torez. Theyre preparing. Everything appears to be set. Whats interesting of what you heard from secretary azar was a reassurance. Hes trying to reassure people the science backs the vaccine and the process was not rushed because of the hesitancy weve heard. The process getting ready to begin. Tom, yet, in some instances President Trump often would undercut that same message by raising questions of whether or not the fda, for example, was moving quickly enough, whether the process was moving fast enough. Thats unfortunate. Its undermined confidence in institutions that have built up the confidence and trust over 50 and 60 years. And dr. Fauci, read his bio online, or dr. Collins. These men are geniuses and are credited with a host of medical breakthroughs over the last 40 years, not the least of which was dr. Fauci and getting to the bottom of the aids virus. But to the point about Public Confidence right now, that has been improving in terms of how what the public is thinking about getting the vaccine. We had seen it as low as 40 in the fall. Now were up to about 80 of people suggesting they will get a vaccine, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually when they see more people get it, theyre okay with getting a vaccine. About 20 are still no, i will not get the vaccine. But clearly, as we have seen the vaccines roll out as this pandemic has grown worse by the day, the death toll growing worse by the day, people are looking for a solution, and they now believe it appears they believe the science. They believe dr. Collins and dr. Fauci and dr. Azar and their personal doctors telling them this is the way to protect yourself and your family and the people you work with. That is why were seeing high profile events with doctors dr. Fauci and collins and president elect biden yesterday. This is a medical breakthrough for the country. And its important for people to see it and for people to witness it which is why youre seeing so many of these top officials as you mentioned, tom, not just president elect biden but Vice President pence last week, for example, do this publicly. Dr. John, we should note this is not one and done. I think people know that by now. Pfizer, a threeweek wait between the shots. Moderna, about a month. And the two vaccines are not interchangeable. Right . Once you start down the path of one shot, continue going down that path. Is that correct . Hallie, thats important to note. Once you start with the pfizer vaccine, you need to finish with the pfizer vaccine. Same for the Moderna Vaccine. And post vaccines are essentially identical. They have 94 plus effectiveness. 94. 1 for moderna. Side effect profile almost identical. Most people complain of mild side effects. Same thing as a flu shot. Injection site soarness, maybe muscle aches. Those types of things. Interestingly, for these, those are usually cleared in a day and a half. Quickly. Going back to what we heard secretary azar talk about and dr. Fauci talk about. This is not a new vaccine that all the sudden we went from never knowing anything about mrna vaccines to getting one a year later. This is the type of vaccine thats been in the works for the last 20 years and theyve been experimenting on them. Theyve been testing them. And they finally got to the point where they could use one now. They developed this very quickly, but didnt take any shortcut like they mentioned. We should note on the left side of your screen, youre seeing some of the Nih Clinical Center frontline workers getting their vaccinationvaccinations. In the red shirt we believe is carline. We have about four more people to go before we see the shots for dr. Fauci and secretary azar and dr. Collins. This is happening as Many Americans are getting a financial shot in the arm. Help on the way in the form of checks for a lot of people now that congress has passed the pandemic relief bill. Direct payments of at least 600 to people making less than 75,000 a year. 300 in Unemployment Benefits. Point to distribute the vaccine. I want to bring in Garrett Haake live on capitol hill for us. Garrett, this is a big bill. This is the second biggest stimulus package ever passed and yet, when it comes to the Economic Impact of this crisis, many are saying this is still not enough. Its better than nothing, but its not where we need to be. Chuck schumer on the floor called it a survival bill, not a stimulus bill. A lot of the thinking is this is a bridge. That this is a bill that can get americans through the winter, through the sort of dark period of time were seeing with cases going up, deaths going up, until we get to a spring where more folks are getting the vaccines youre seeing in front of you. And that may be a trigger come spring to pass another round of relief. Theres also a couple provisions in this bill that will expire in the winter and spring that might also Push Congress to act. The eviction moratorium, for example, expires the end of january. Those plussed up Unemployment Benefits, the extra 30 0 a week the people get on top of their regular Unemployment Benefits expires in march. That may be a realistic timeline for a new congress and new administration to be looking to pass Something Else to help. That would be a backstop as weve learned the very hard way over the last week or so, congress functions best when they are on a tight deadline. Dr. Torez, can i go back to you for a second on the point that garrett made . Some of the benefits expiring in the middle of march or in the instance of the Paycheck Protection Program at the end of march. At that point, things will still not be back to normal. Right . Were not going to be in the before times. People will still be in many cases getting vax naxs and be in masks and doing social distancing. Small businesses like restaurants, for example, may not be back to where they were before this crisis began. Reporter and thats a good point to bring up. Even getting the vaccine this early and the people getting it so far the estimates are about half a Million People have gotten it so far. Thats a drop in the bucket compared to the population of the United States. Its going to take a while for everybody to get enough vaccinations and for herd immunity, that 70 we need to get the pandemic under control is going to take months to get to that point. If you talk to different experts, some are saying lit spri late spring, others early summer. Even if people get maskshots, t need to social distance and wear masks until we get the pandemic under control. Thats when things open up. Its not all the suden the flood gates open. Its a slow roll to get restaurants and bars open, people socializing where theyre going to other areas. Look at countries like new skiland. Theyve done a fantastic job of keeping things under control. Theyve closed their borders. Theyre able to go out without masks. But at the same time, its not the u. S. The u. S. Is diverse. Its huge. We cant do the same thing here, hallie. We are watching now another one of the Nih Clinical Center frontline workers getting his vaccine. The Moderna Vaccine. Hes number three in a series of six workers getting that shot before we see secretary azar. While were watching this live, i want to keep up this conversation on the economic health, not just the Scientific Health as it relates to the vaccine with the former top economic adviser to president obama. Professor at the university of chicago as well. Austin, good morning. Good morning. Lets talk about this aid package. Congress passed it overnight. Help the on the way in the form of vaccines and help on the way in the form of some money for people. Right . 600 for people who qualify. Is that enough in your view . Well, you know, i believe that oatmeal is better than no meal, but 600 is not going to last that long for the hardest hit people. Thats clear. And in a way this thing is both too small and too late. Weve been going months needing the relief. Im worried that the expiration of these things by march, if we dont have control of the spread of this virus, which right now we clearly have no control over the spread of the virus, that the economy will be in a very tough spot within several months. Weve got to hope we get control on the scientific side, because that has such a direct impact on the economic side. So what needs to be in the next relief bill assuming there is one . Garrett haakes reporting, something the president elect is looking good come the new year. Its president elect bidens first legislative test. It partly depends how the virus is going and the economy going. If this thing continues to spiral out of control, then the economy is at very high risk of going into a double dip recession. We would be in recession and then i think for sure you would need to expand the benefits to the people that have lost their jobs. You would probably need more relief for housing as well as the medical side, and the things that are obviously not in this because they were controversial are money to states and cities who are getting crushed, and are likely going to have to start laying off hundreds of thousands if not millions of workers, and cutting police, firefighters, teachers, that sort of thing. And then if you look at the Small Business side, t in the at all clear that once you get past march, that millions of Small Business will be able to survive. So pull together the two threads that were talking about. The idea of potentially more relief in the new year or at the very least the Incoming Biden Administration taking office and the other piece of it, what were watching on screen. You have a vaccination, someone who works at the nih. With the vaccines rolling out, look ahead to the first quarter, Second Quarter of next year. What does it mean for the economic recovery . What does it mean for the markets . The economic recovery, who knows what it means for the market. I mean, it seems like the stock market doesnt pay that close of attention to whats happening in the real economy. But if you could get a large fraction of people in the United States to take the vaccine, even if its not 100 , a large fraction will likely get the rate of spread of the virus down enough that the virus is dying out. And if the virus dies out, as i was saying, the number one rule of virus economics is that if you want to restore the economy, youve got to get control of the spread of the virus. And so i think the more people embrace getting the vaccine, the better it will be for the economy. And the less need well have for more relief. Austin, thank you so much for being on the show and for your perspective. We appreciate it. Were probably about two minutes away from the start of the high profile vax naxs for some of the leaders on this Coronavirus Task force. Now the fifth of six Health Care Workers is up that will be vaccinated this morning before we get to the others. Tom, to you on this topic we were talking about. We had an opportunity to speak with people around the country who are waiting for this relief that congress is supposed to be delivering. One woman that we spoke with, dee robinson, visiting food pantries, trying to keep her and her son afloat. Says the 600 relief check might be enough to pay for a hotel room when shes evicted, she thinks. Thats the reality thats facing her and so many people across this country. Yeah. As evidenced by the incredibly long lines were seeing for people lining up for food banks and food pantries, and my goodness, were going into christmas, and families cant afford to pay the rent let alone be able to put toys under the tree. I talked to somebody i know who said that this person said they havent been able to pay the mortgage since april, because of the situation theyre in. And thank goodness there is rent forbearance and forimagibearanc right now. I believe the extension is part of the congressional plan. Imagine when youre in a desperate situation and you cant pay the mortgage or rent and youre putting that off indefinitely. And to pick up on his point about the economy and the stock market, you know, ive had a lot of conversations with experts over the last nine months and it seems the stock market is totally divorced from the reality of what most americans are living with right now. Intellectu intellectually, i understand why the stock market is doing what it is, but when youre at all time highs on the stock market and people are struggling to feed themselves across the country, that doesnt seem like a connection that makes sense to most americans. And the mrna vaccine were going to see them receive. The beauty of this technology is that it is it allows the scientists to tweak the code of the vaccine whenever they whenever the virus starts to mutate. So rather than have to go back and reinvent the wheel, come up with a new vaccine for a virus thats mutated, they can reprogram the code for the vaccine which means they should be able to really quickly plug the hole should we get another mutating virus that requires a new vaccine, or variation of the vaccine. So thats an incredible accomplishment. And beyond, of course, covid19, the thinking is this is probably the wave of the future. For other vaccines down the road, perhaps for other medicines down the road to be able to use this new technology and do im shorthanding it now. But do a computer code and tweak it and change it. Its just a phenomenal accomplishment. Thats an excellent point, tom. Dr. John, let me go to you. Were seeing the sixth nih worker to get ther vaccine. Well see secretary azar get his shot next. Is this about the pace you expect once the vaccine is more widely available, you walk into your doctors office, local pharmacy to get the shot. Does it move this quickly . Like were seeing it the way it would for a flu shot, for example . Hallie, im guessing this is moving a little more quickly than youre going to experience. We heard early on some anecdotal information it was taking 30 minutes a shot. Thats because of a lot of explanations to people getting shot about the shot, the side effects, why you should get it and what you need to do after. I think in this case, they have probably given that information before, and as time goes out, it will be faster and faster. I think what youre seeing is realtime what people will experience a few weeks from now. And what youre seeing is theyre giving them information, probably talking about allergies, and you notice theyre changing the chairs. Theyre being careful to make sure it goes on. Again, i think this will be about the time youll get as time goes on. Lets listen to secretary azar here. The integrity of the independence of the processes of the fda to approve the vaccines, that i have complete confidence in the safety and effa si of the vaccines, and i am grateful to moderna and the participants and operation warp speed for bringing us to the point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel from the dark period. So thank you. Thank you. Any questions or concerns . No. All right. A bandaid, just in case it bleeds. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you. And thank you to nih. Applause for that significant moment as we prepare to see dr. Fauci come up next for his vaccination. 79 years old. Were going to listen in to hear what he says. Secretary azar had a positive case in his family. His wife tested positive just recently. He was negative. Heres dr. Fauci. Lets listen in to this moment here. Many in our nation are saying if dr. Fauci gets the vaccine, im going to get the vaccine. Tell us a little bit why its important. Well, for me its important for two reasons. One, is that im an attending physician here on the staff at the National Institutes of Health Clinical center. I do see patients, but more important is as a symbol to the rest of the country that i feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine, and i want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so we can have a vail of protection over this country that would end this pandemic. Thank you, dr. Fauci, for coming today. Any last minute questions, concerns . No. All right. Before you let go, let me put a bandaid on. There we go. Okay. Thank you so much. [ applause ] next we have dr. Collins. Thats it, dr. Fauci getting his first dose of the Moderna Vaccine. And you heard them say it in the room there. A lot of americans around the country said hey, when dr. Fauci gets it, then im going to feel comfortable getting it and now there you have it. Up next is dr. Callens from the nih getting his shot. Dr. John torez, we hope to get a chance to catch up with dr. Fauci later in the day or week, but you have to imagine this is a significant moment for him personally as well as for a lot of people around the country who are watching this. Youre right. I think this is a significant moment for him, because he has put so much effort into helping with the vaccine, helping with the pandemic. And he has essentially become the face and the voice of reason behind the pandemic and what we need to do, and like they mentioned, many, many people ive talked to have said when dr. Fauci gets it, thats when ill get it. You saw right there, him getting it. It was a huge step forward. Hopefully it boosts confidence in people to get the vaccine. You need this confidence. You need to see the people step up and get the vaccine to show everybody else that yes, this is something you can do, leading by example is extremely important here, and hopefully that helps us get to the number were talking about, the 70 over the next few months. And are you encouraged, dr. John, by recent polling including one out today, the number of people who said they would take the vaccine in october was around one in four, 26 . Now its closer to half. 46 say they would get it right away. Thats just a couple days ago. I imagine as a medical professional and somebody who works in the Public Health sphere, thats the direction you want to see this move. Thats exactly the direction we want to see this move. And actually, i talked to an expert a couple weeks ago who brought up when the surveys came out in the spring, they were asking would you take a shot that hasnt been proven . Were not sure about the effectiveness or safety profile. People said no im not going to do that. Now we know its safe and we know its out there and available to a lot of people. People are saying yes, i will take it. And the more we see this, the more people are going to be starting to want to take it. The more of their friends, neighbors, coworkers take it without any issues, being protected in the virus, i think more and more people will want it as well. I think youll see the survey numbers slowly if not faster than that, start creeping up and people getting it because one, its showing to be safe, but two, its going to allow them to get back to the normal life we want to get back to. Tom, you have been covering this pandemic every single day since it started. Final thoughts to you here as we see these top professionals, top officials in the Trump Administration and on the Coronavirus Task force get their first dose of the vaccination. I do think this is a game changer. I think this is the image the people wanted to see. As i mentioned earlier, i think dr. Fauci is right now probably the most trusted man in america. And to see him roll up his sleeve and get that injection is so critical. But can i also make the point, i think we are so fortunate in this country that we have people like specifically dr. Fauci and dr. Collins who have dedicated their lives to Public Health and exceptional research. I mean, lets be clear. Dr. Fauci could have left nih, you know, 30, 40 years ago and made a fortune, but he hasnt. He has stayed in the game and dedicated his life to this, and as a result, were better for it. And i think dr. Collins who has a tremendous track record in cancer research, the exact same, were fortunate in this country to have these two gentlemen, and theyre just representing all the people inside the nih and cdc and nia who do this every day and dedicate their lives to trying to advance science and medicine. I think its a gamechanger. I think youre going to see a lot of more people hesitant, are going to say okay, if dr. Fauci gets it, im getting it. I think the numbers will start to go up pretty rapidly. Thank you both for being with us this morning as we watched this moment unfold live on this broadcast. Dr. Fauci, dr. Collins, secretary azar receiving their first dose of the Covid Vaccination created by moderna. When we come back, well bring you our exclusive new reporting, breaking overnight. With nbc news learning the feds want to look at Rudy Giulianis emails. What it means for one of the president s closer confidants when we come back. E come back. Lift and push and push there. Its up there. Hey joshie. Wrinkles send the wrong message. Help prevent them before they start with downy wrinkleguard. We are bringing you exclusive new reporting this morning as our team learns federal prosecutors in the Southern District of new york have talked about making a request for giuliani roilks emails. Its part of what one source calls a very active investigation. We still dont know the scope of the investigation, and giulianis own Attorney Says there is, quote, no reason to believe theres any truth of the allegations. Theres renewed interest in his client. But it would be an extraordinary step taken with respect to President Trumps personal lawyer who spent a lot of his time lately working with the president to try to overturn the election President Trump lost. And the legal team is showing cracks with giuliani interestingly now distancing himself and the president from attorney and conspiracy theorist st sydney powell, even though shes been coming for meetings with the president over the last few days. I want to bring in jegeoff de bennett. Geoff, let me go to you. Bring us up to speed on an interesting last 24 hour for people in the president s orbit as we see a theme emerging. Reporter theres been a lot of plotting and posturing happening behind closed doors here at the white house. Weve not seen President Trump in public in recent days. But based on our reporting we know hes been entertaining ways to really unleash the full force of the federal government. As to void joe bidens election victory. We should be clear, nothing based on what we know so far would prove to be successful, but we know that hes been entertaining objectively crack pot theories like imposing martial law and potentially trying to seize election machines, and in his ear have been the french figures like sydney powell, the discredited conspiracy theorist attorney and michael flynn, the disgraced National Security adviser. What weve seen fall into public view is the real rift between powell on the one side and Rudy Giuliani and his associate jenna ellis on the other side. To get a better sense of it, here is what giuliani and ellis have had to say about powell in public in recent days. Take a look. Let me say sydney powell is not part of our legal team. She hasnt been for five weeks. Shes not a special counsel for the president. She does not speak for the president. Nor does she speak for the administration. But when you get into things like the insurrection act, thats asking the president to take the military and seize assets in state sovereignties. There are reasons i dont think theres a constitutional solution. Reporter giuliani can say powell isnt part of the legal team, but sydney powell has been at the white house three of the last four days. And its not just that group of folks. Its also a small group of President Trumps republican allies who were in the oval Office Yesterday plotting ways to disrupt the process on january 6th when Congress Reviews the Electoral College vote tally. Again, not expected to work. Its not expected to overturn the Election Results but the fear is it could do a lot of lasting damage to our democracy. Geoff bennett live for us at the white house. Geoff, thank you. Frank, lets talk about the request coming from prosecutors. Potential requests in the Southern District of new york for giulianis emails, quote unquote, electric communications. Giuliani is somebody who has communications subject to Attorney Client privilege with the president. Hes the president s personal attorney. This would likely have to be approved by the doj in washington. How likely is that to happen . I think that a search warrant or a grand jury subpoena for a subject of an investigation is extremely common, and, of course, we wouldnt be talking about this unless this was the president s attorney, and thats why were talking about it. Even searching the offices or communications of an attorney is a fairly common occurrence at the department of justice. Sadly, attorneys get wrapped up in things like drug money and corruption. And it happens with doj approval. But heres the thing with regard to the reporting. In real estate they say its all about location, location, location. In the case of seizing the communications of the president s attorney, its timing, timing, timing. Im sure that a large part of this discussion had to resolve around timing. Do we execute a warrant or a subpoena right before an election . And get accused of all kinds of political motivations . And then if they were ready to go after the election, what happens . Legal challenge after legal challenge, the election is not quote, unquote, over yet. So i could see more delay occurring, and who is leading all the challenges . Giuliani. The subject of your investigation. So i could see more delay occurring. Whats next up for us . January 6th, Congress Needs to approve the Electoral College a Electoral College results. I can see happening very soon, particularly with the departure of attorney general barr that some flashpoint will occur. Theyre in a race between a president ial pardon and the need to grab this evidence i think if its going to happen, its going to happen right after january 6th. Theyre going to have to move before the president does. Its essentially a game of chicken in the legal arena. Thats interesting. Talk about how this ties into this idea of a potential preemptive pardon for Rudy Giuliani. The New York Times has reported that juliangiuliani de these talks took place. I dont view the active nature of this investigation and giulia giulianis role, as you point out, defending the president. What kind of impact would a potential pardon have here . Ive got to tell you this. If im sitting at fbi or doj headquarters or the Southern District of new york, im ready to press the send button on my case and send it to local and state authorities in the appropriate jurisdiction because i need to be prepared for a pardon and a full some pardon of rudy and possibly made faster of this reporting of plans to search his communication. This is a real game of legal chicken. I think its going to happen. I think theyre going to need to do it before trump moves to pardon. I think its going to happen in the next couple weeks. Frank figliuzzi, thank you for being with us and for your perspective. Turning now to the u. S. Military academy, west point, facing its biggest academic cheating scandal in nearly five decades. One law professor at the academy as to go it, quote, a National Security issue. 73 cadets were id ed as cheating on a math exam. 55 admitted they did it. So many of o our future and military leaders. I want to bring in barry mccaffrey, msnbc military analyst, a west point grad and taught at the academy for several years. General, thank you for being back on the show this morning. Good to be with you. You had one of the professors call this, in his view, a National Security incident, a potential National Security issue. Youre talking men and women who will be future leaders in the army, possibly government, with an honor code lechd in stone at the economy that a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do. How does this affect their credibility and the credibility of the institution . Clearly its a painful and disappointing incident. We have a great superintendent there, darrell williams. I think hes going to shake it out, why did we have the problem. Theyve got to get to the bottom of it. These kids 15,000 qualified applicants. We pick a thousand. Theyre elite students. Theyre athletes. Theyre president s of their class. They come in and that honor card from the start is instilled in them as central to the ethic of the institution. Every 40 years or so, we have a cheating scandal. Youve got to get back in there and determine what went wrong. But i do think that part of the challenge is, tolerate those who do. Its a real change for these kids who come in out of civilian high schools where, to be blunt in america, cheating is commonplace at high school and in universities. Suddenly theyre in an area where were saying, not only can you not cheat, but you have to turn your friends if you observe them lying, cheating or stealing its a very demanding environment. Were going to be okay. 218 years of honorable service, weve got to get to the bottom of the problem. I have to ask you, a west point spokesperson says most of the cadets involved will do this rehabilitation program, saying the honors process is working as expected, no kpechexceptions to policy. Do the consequences fit what happened here . Until 20 years ago, when i was a cadet. Any violation in the honor code resulted in expulsion. Did you shine your shoes . Did you finish your project . Now we have a much more sensible way of understanding were dealing with teenagers. We have to shape their understanding of this new ethics environment. I they theyve got a pretty good procedure to go about that. Some of these kids were e peld. Those who selfreport end up on probation with an ethics immersion training effort to make sure they come up to standar standards. I support that approach. General barry mccaffrey, thank you for being on the show. Im sure its personal for you as swuomeone who is a graduate d a former instructor. Thank you for watching this hour of msnbc live. A very busy one as we watched that moment unfold, the vaccination of dr. Anthony fauci, secretary alex azar. Well have how much more coverage of that right here on msnbc. You can find us on twitter. Were there hallieonmsnbc. That does it for us. Well see you right back here tomorrow. Keep it posted as well to nbc nightly news. For now well hit a break. After that, more news with craig melvin. Izes Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Isnt that what you just did . Service stand back, im gonna show ya how doug and limu roll, ya you know you got to live it if you wanna wi. [ music stops ] time out only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Get their dishes as clean as possible. Olks ask me how to i tell them, try cascade Platinum Plus the power of oxi. It breaks down food soils to clean up to 99 of visible and invisible food residue for a hygienic clean you can see and feel. Cascade the power of oxi. A good Tuesday Morning to you. Craig melvin here. This is what happened just a short time ago. Thank you so much. [ applause ] just two days before his 80th birthday, dr. Anthony fauci joining front line Health Care Workers at the nih to get that moderna covid19 vaccine shot, that coming as the number of infections in this country continues to accelerate. Now more than 18 million cases. There were just 17 million cases four days ago. On top of that, calls this morning getting louder for a u. S. Ban on travel from the united kingdom. Thats because of that mutated and extra contagious strain of covid in that country and concerns that it may already be here. Breaking overnight, finally, help on the way for millions of americans after Congress Passes a 900 billion relief package. We have more on when you can expect those checks to hit your