Its a lot easier said than done , but they are close, because they are coupling this with some sort of measure that will stop the government from Shutting Down late sunday night. That was pushed back 48 hours, thanks to a vote and a signing by no less than President Trump, to make sure that they continue moving on this so that they can avoid a shutdown of the United States government. This does seem to happen every year doesnt it . But were on top of that with first taking a very close look at whats in the measure, where the divisions are. Leland, the more i look at this , they had a lot of common ground, but its some of the more thorny issues that are keeping them apart, right . Leland so close, yet so far away, neil, and behind me on capitol hill, negotiators are burning the weekend oil. Congress is working on a weekend , you know, theres something happening. They are trying to find a deal to spend somewhere around a trillion more dollars on covid relief, fund the government through september, and avoid a shutdown which would come sunday at 11 59 p. M. It was supposed to run outlast night as you mentioned but the white house and congress agreed to a two day extension a couple of the issues trying to deal with this issue of Covid Liability for businesses and then also bailing out some of the blue states and big cities that are so far in the red, because of tax deficits. Not necessarily breaking along tradition republican democrat lines here is senator ron johnson who made his stand yesterday against a fellow republican who wanted round two of 1,200 checks. This is all borrowed against our childrens future and wed have more money left over to target people who really need it right now. Look at all of the Small Businesses that didnt get loans , didnt get relief and look at the people that didnt do that so congress, its easy to shovel money out, its just easy to just pick a number and say lets spend that, and its a little more difficult to actually look at the numbers, figure out the best way to target this and thats what doesnt happen very often in congress. Leland they arent going to have a lot of time to talk about this because of the issue of simply hours on the clock. In order for a bill to come forward there needs to be a deal that members have to have a little bit of time to read it and discuss it. The earliest we could have a deal be some time this afternoon the earliest we would have a vote is sometime tomorrow afternoon, so there isnt a deal yet on the Spending Package right now. Youd say both republicans and democrats on capitol hill agree that they want a deal, and the government is open right now what makes this different, neil is you mentioned we seem to do this every year and you might remember a couple of years ago when there was a real appetite by some republicans especially the president to shut the government down and that is definitely not the case here. Neil so when i hear Mitch Mcconnell speaking, again, no one leaves until we have a deal, well work through the weekend if necessary, he means it, right is there anything that could all of a sudden get a lot of these senators to the point where they say well it isnt happening. Any remote possibility of that . Leland well this is 2020 neil and this is washington so theres a possibility for everything. Neil thats true. Got it. Got it my friend. Looking forward to seeing you at noon thank you very much, leland im lelands like opening act like zz top when he comes on you have an opening act and leland comes on but the Great Gusto Starts right now , and right through leland at noon. Weve got steve danes joining us the montana senator, the Senate Finance committee honcho here as well senator always great to have you. Im wondering what you make of the odds, the deal scored by presumably tomorrow the latest it can be scored unless theres another extension keeping the government open. Yeah, i think somethings going to get done. Mitch mcconnell was very clear nobody is going home for the holidays until we get this deal done but you got to step back and think about how crazy things are. Were talking about here is passing a budget that were already three months into the current fiscal year. Last time i checked the federal fiscal year ends on september 3. Its not like a surprise to anybody, every year september 3 occurs on the same day. Neil right, right. Its truly insane, in many ways, neil. People describe d. C. As a work free drug zone and i think this confirms it. Neil i like that analogy. You know, senator a couple things im curious about. Republicans seem to have found an issue that really is giving the Federal Reserve the broad powers its enjoyed to do everything from buying bonds and mortgages, and all of the rest and their message is weve got to slow this down, were getting the power of the fed to do way too much, giving away too much money to do even more and we want to stop that and that has gotten to be a real Sticking Point. How big a Sticking Point . Well its an important issue remember where we were back in march. Equity markets were plunging. The bond markets were very unstable. We had negative oil prices for a period of time, so thats why they invoked this very powerful provision with the Federal Reserve to ensure there was a Liquidity Backstop for the economy. We cannot use that as a piggy bank Going Forward now for the whims of what the democrats might want to do to spend more money, so thats why weve got to fight on that, so i agree we need a targeted covid19 Relief Package. It just cant be a wild Spending Package. Remember all these packages are using borrowed. These are taxpayer dollars with nearly a 30 trillion debt we face with the federal government so weve got to be smart about it and targeted. Thats why the vaccine, the news about moderna and pfizer, thats the Christmas Gift the American People. Thats how we end the pandemic. Its a remarkable achievement thanks to President Trump, Vice President pence, Operation Warp speed, because literally, weve had over 1 million americans vaccinated by the Pfizer Vaccine already since released a few days ago. Neil you mentioned President Trump id be remiss before we go , senator, do you recognize donald trump now as having lost the election and that joe biden with the Electoral College meeting this past week is the President Elect of the United States . Well here is whats going to happen is every member will be doing their own due diligence, because there will be a very important moment there on january 6 to ratify first what the Electoral College has done and so until all of the evidence is presented, the legal challenges are completed im going to wait and see what happens here on january 6. Neil so youre not on board with joe biden being definitely the next president of the United States . You think he could still miss out on that . Well ill tell you what theres still challenges that they are existing right now. Whether youre a democrat or a republican, what weve got to have is integrity in our elections, and i think thats a really important point Going Forward, we want to learn what happened where the irregularit ies were, get those revealed and bring them into the light and resolve it. Thats very important for the Long Term Health of our democracy in our country. Neil do you think any of those irregularities, just yourself, senator, were of the magnitude to have actually switched the outcome of the election . I guess thats what the core of this discussion is about. Yeah it is and i recognize that the very sober moment, a very important moment but i think each member will have to take a look at the data between now and january 6 and come to his or her own conclusions. Neil got it. All right, senator, i know youll be working the midnight oil here with the threat of these deals best of luck to you on that front, steve danes, the montana senator, and lets go to ben cardin, very good to have you back, senator. Whats the likelihood were going to see a Deal By Late Sunday Night . Well neil first of all its good to be with you happy holidays to you, i hope youre safe. Neil you as well. I think its probable were going to get a deal done im very optimistic that well have an agreement reached as early as today, and voted on by tomorrow. Its very possible, i can tell you in regards to the package that ive been working on small business, we have completed our work, so i am optimistic. We have one or two issues that were bucked up to the top leadership. Theyre going to have to make decisions on that i expect as were speaking now, and put this together for action in the house tomorrow. I do want to agree with congressman, senator danes in regards to the process. This process is just horrible. We should be able to take the budget up, the appropriation bills up, these issues up, in a more deliberate way but this is an urgent situation. Weve got to get this done, the American People desperately need this covid relief. Neil all right, so assuming a deal is done, i could be as naive or overly optimistic but to your point that a deal is scored do you think another deal will be necessary that once joe biden takes over, hes hinted the need for still more relief. Are you in that camp as well, senator . Yes, i do believe were going to need another covid package. This is basically a Transition Aid Package to get us through the next three months. We know that the impact of covid19 will be beyond three months from now, the impact it has on American Families and on our economy, on state and local government, on our healthcare system, and were going to still need to do some extra work to make sure that we recover from this covid19 and the strongest possible way. Neil you know, i guess theres been some division on the 1,200 relief checks that we saw back in the early part of the pandemic. I guess right now, senator, might be more like 600 and available tofuer fewer people and i think the phaseout would start at 75,000 and eventually run out altogether when you hit 99,000 in income. Are you okay with those provisions as long as stimulus checks of any magnitude whether its 600 or 700 go out . Remember this is a compromise proposal in order to get it done and signed by the president so that we can provide relief now. It is not as large as i would like to see the package. It does not include direct relief to state and local governments we desperately, the state and local governments need that additional assistance. Theres not enough resources here to deal with those who are unemployed beyond next few months, so were going to have to come back to that. The direct Payment Check is one half the size as we did it under the cares act but its for a shorter period of time as far as its impact as to when we expect to get the next package under the Biden Administration, so yes, im satisfied with the package. Its not the way i would have put it together. I would have done things differently, but this is what we can get done and represents the views of both the democrats and republicans, the administration, and congress. Neil can you use this delay because from a capital, senator, to tell your loved ones look, i would have normally gotten you holiday gifts, but ive been too busy in washington so is it a good excuse for you in case your loved ones are waiting for gifts from you, that theyre not going to get it because youve been too busy working . Neil, im very fortunate, first of all, i live in baltimore so i go home every night and i had to get gifts because we celebrate hanukkah, so yes weve been busy in our Family Taking Care of our needs but im one of those fortunate members whoever are night can spend it in my home. Neil thats pretty nice. Thats pretty nice so that process is going on, a couple more nights, so on the home front, right . Theyre all done. Right. Hanukkah is over, it ended yesterday, so were now in the posthanukkah period and your point is welltaken. We should have gotten this done a long time ago. Its desperate that we get this out here. We dont want the holiday to bring the end of relief to those who are unemployed and not provide the resources we need to get with people who are in desperate situations, so we should have done this earlier, but lets get it done in the holiday spirit and lets get this cop pleated but as senator danes said the real gift is the vaccine, lets get this pandemic under control and please stay safe, everyone. We have a few more months we have to deal with this deadly virus and its ability to spread very quickly. We all have to stay very vigilant in dealing with this virus. Neil senator thank you very much, just showing off getting your hanukkah gifts out and not a bump in the process here and now im really feeling the pressure for christmas so well see what happens. Senator, be well, have have a very safe Holiday Season. Senator ben cardin, were following these developments and as the good senator pointed out we do have a second vaccine out so thats promising news and again the likelihood you heard it from a republican and democrat that were going to get relief just a matter of time so that should be the wind at our economy and markets back, right . After this. This holiday at tmobile, get an iphone 12 with 5g, on us, on every plan and if youre 55 and up, switch to our essentials 55 plan and save 50 on your bill vs. The other guys. Thats right, iphone 12 on us holiday on with tmobile. 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. When i was diagnosed with dupuytrens contracture, i waited to get treated. Thought surgery was my only option. But then i found out about nonsurgical treatments. It was a total game changer. Learn more about the condition at factsonhand. Com neil you seen the Fox Christmas tree . I think its the best one in manhattan, the Rock Center Tree . But ours is great. I mean, there is not a spare inch of space on that tree, so, mr. Hoffman, we get a chance we should show that tree, in fact we should show that tree the entire show. Just knock me off and show the tree. I bet its a ratings bonanza. Welcome back, everybody, im neil cavuto and this is cavuto live were taking a look at a couple of developments on capitol hill where you heard from the republican senator, democratic senator, very optimistic that theyll be able to get a deal done, not only to keep the government functioning, and preventing it from Shutting Down, but also get a little bit more than a 900 billion covid19 relief deal. Now, a part of that deal be some stimulus though that could maybe put some in your little hands as much as 600 a week for Unemployment Benefits and thats ratcheted down since to 300, but then theres a stimulus check, a separate issue , for which Many Americans would qualify that be down from 1,200, but still probably maybe in the 600 range. Now a lot of people, like a tax refund, theyre betting on spend that money and keep their finger s crossed that theyll get it later. Is that a wise strategy on this . Lets go to jonathan max ferris, dan geltrude, and Francis Newton stacey and a lot of people say wait i hear a stinks stimulus is coming my way, good idea . I dont know that that be my strategist i guess it depends on what kind of a dire situation anyone is in, and this is very good news that were going to get this through, unfortunately, its going to be too late for christmas shopping, those that are worried that theyre not going to be able to eat or get evicted probably will miss christmas even if the benefits get extended or they get this money in their pockets after the new year, but definitely, anybody out there who can save is probably a good idea, unfortunately, moneys not really moving in circulation. Were going to have to kind of deal with that at some point in time, but for right now, you know, probably blowing it on Christmas Presents isnt the best plan. Neil what about on processed meats and cheeses . Is that a good plan . Well talk later about that. Dan geltruge, let me ask you because the markets have turned around from thinking well never get lame duck relief during that session, because it never happens. Now it looks like they are and now theyre counting on it, so what happens if it doesnt materialize . What are the markets going to do well i think the markets will definitely react, neil, but i think the markets are taking the right bet right now, that we are going to be able to get stimulus and remember, you know, as far as the economy and the market, its two separate things. Right now, the market is roaring and i think thats going to continue because were just going to see more and more spending and aid from a Biden Administration but on the other side of this , when youre looking at Small Businesses, the outlook isnt so rosey. Theres a survey that says more than onethird of the Small Businesses believe that they are going to be out of business by the end of the year, and 41 of black or latino Small Businesses will be out of business in the next few months without some financial help. Those are dire ideas that are out there, neil. Neil youre right about that and jonas, one of the things ive seen and both parties agree on so this is not a thorny debate when it comes to this feature of providing relief for Small Businesses. The latest figure has been around 330 billion, about 257 billion to 260 billion of that would really be aimed at the Paycheck Protection Program, the socalled ppp. A lot of them benefit from that. Will a lot of them benefit from it now . Well for some of them is it too little too late . Well for some that are actually hurting directly from covid it is too little too late and for probably 80 or 90 of businesses it was a very Generous Program where the benefits are taxfree which is unbelievable because that means if your revenues are higher than last year you get a Revenue Boost and you get to deduct the payroll that you are paying with the government money and the rent. A lot of businesses are doing better than last year although theres several doing worse. It wasnt targeted and were still not targeting these programs this far into stimulus and the bailout, thats why checks going out to anybody whether youre on Social Security with no Income Interruption from covid so my beef is theres no targeting going on to the actual people really hurt by it, it just goes out theres money out the door and in a leafblower fashion and does that Help Retail Sales yeah a lot of the checks go into Playstation 5 and maybe not to their rent because in some cases they dont have to pay that but it doesnt mean its not going to juice and a lot of that money flows up to the profits of Corporate America which boosts the stocks of all of the Tech Companies so is it targeted are we going to have to pay for it long run yeah but its short run good for stocks and the economy and sales but its a very sloppy program and still is. Neil yeah, well watch it closely guys thank you. Ill see you next hour in the meantime Operation Warp speed, how its going now with two vaccines approved the way there is still others down the pike. More after this. If you have moderate to severe psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, Little Things can become your big moment. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats differently. For psoriasis, 75 clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. For psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. And the otezla Prescribing Information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. Neil well, is there enough there there regarding the hunter biden emails and Business Relationship with china to warrant something a little bit more involved than finger pointing back and forth, maybe a Special Counsel to look into it all, republicans eager to do that. Democrats not so much, and then theres the issue of what happens to that Special Counsel once the new Administration Takes over. Matt whitaker the former acting u. S. Attorney general. Matt, very good to see you and thanks for coming in on a saturday. What are the odds of whatever your views on the subject, and we will see a Special Counsel handling this. Well, neil, good to be with you and happy holidays. I think that actually, a Special Counsel, you know, is a very technical question, in the Department Of Justice has regulations that say when a Special Counsel should be appointed and obviously, famous ly, the Mueller Investigation was one of those instances where it was determined that because of the conflicts at the Department Of Justice, no one could handle it and i think based on those regulations an investigation into the son of a president would qualify for appointment of a Special Counsel, so i think that is necessary. I think its very interesting oftentimes the Special Counsel is required by those regulations to come from outside of the Department Of Justice and right now, obviously, a u. S. Attorney is heading up that investigation, so its going to be very interesting to see how that is interpreted bias of this coming wednesday, the acting Attorney General, jeff rosen. Neil so, ill ask you a series of very simple questions, but because i dont know it nearly as well as you do. Lets say this administration or someone at the Justice Department appoints a Special Counsel in the interim, that would carry technically over into the Biden Administration. Can whoever in the Biden Administration, his Attorney General opt to have that person dismissed or is that person on automatic at that point . Right. The whole purpose of the Special Counsel regulations, neil, is to protect that individual and that team from interference, because what it causes is a heightened standard for removal and it is a for cause standard and only under certain circumstances that a Special Counsel can be removed obviously, without that protection of the Special Counsel regulation, you could have a president or ultimately an Attorney General remove or replace anyone investigating someone that isnt a Special Counsel, and so i think once it is in place, if it is put in place, it be very hard to undo. Neil where would it go though . Sometimes, these individuals go way beyond what was the original focus of the investigation and i know investigations lead into other areas, but if you look at the mueller thing that turned out to be almost a freak show, was going into areas that were not at all part of the original edict. So, how far would this go and how far would lets say a Biden Administration go in allowing it yeah, the challenge with the Special Counsel is it is an unguidedmissile that sometimes when not properly supervised does go far afield. I think the Mueller Investigation was actually more narrow than the media led us to believe in what their inquiry was was fairly precise in what they were charged to do under their appointment memorandums, but that being said, i think Special Counsels tend to be free from serious supervision and management by the political structure, by the political appointees at the Department Of Justice, and so i think caution should always be used when appointing a Special Counsel and only in the most conflicted situations where no one can be viewed as independent and above approach should they be appointed. Neil matt its just interested in getting your thoughts on bill barr resigning. I think hes going to be out in a matter of days, apparently the lynch pin for this and the trigger was his arguing that whatever fraud was going on in the election it was not of the magnitude to have changed the outcome. Do you agree with that . Well bill barr has served his country several times admirably. He is obviously a twotime Attorney General, which is unusual, because hes the only one thats done it twice. I think hes been a very important figure not only in his handling and landing the plane that was the Mueller Investigation but i think he handled other issues very well. Obviously, all he can do as an attorney and Attorney General is report the facts at what as he knows them and he made a statement that based on what he had seen todate, there hadnt been enough that would overturn an election, that is the fraud and the irregularities. That doesnt mean that investigation doesnt continue and that doesnt mean that we wont ultimately know how widespread that was in our country, but ultimately, bill barr, i think, saw that he be out of a job in the coming weeks and months so i think he decided that as he said, he would rather spend Christmas Holiday with his family. Neil all right, matt, thank you very much. Good seeing you again hope you have a Merry Christmas, Matt Whitaker the former acting u. S. Attorney general. I like about matt he takes any and all questions, he doesnt dodge them but whether you agree or disagree hes one of the few out there who takes them on. We are watching Operation Warp speed, this is a presser that a lot of people have been keeping an eye on because not only is the Pfizer Vaccine out, moderna was approved for its vaccine, so we could see another 6 million doses of that one, maybe as soon as monday, so its going to be a busy time well be monitoring that amid talks that there is still other potential remedies from Johnson Johnson and astrazeneca, and a host of others. Its getting crowded isnt it . After this. tis the season to save a bundle. Bundle auto and home, and save up to 25 with allstate. Bundling just feels good this time of year. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. Neil all right, i want to dip into general gustaf perna, the chief Operations Officer for Operation Warp speed, detailing how not one, but two vacancies are already or vaccines i should say, are out to deal with covid19 and more could be coming, hes explaining the rollout how some states will get their hand on this some before others but there is a method to it, listen to him. We have allocated 7. 9 million doses of vaccine and we are ready for that distribution. First dose distribution. We will ship simultaneously to all 64 jurisdictions and five federal entities. Jurisdictions have already ordered the vaccine and we know it is going to 3,700plus locations, with more requests coming in every day based on allocations. Shipments will gina iveing on monday, and continue through the week. Moving forward, this will become our regular cadence of providing allocations receiving orders, and shipping to the American People. We have already learned a lot of lessons from last week in the initial rollout, and we will continue to apply those lessons as we move forward. I know well learn more this week, but im also confident that we will have the agility to correct ourselves and get things right, so that the next time, it will go flawlessly. Now, this week, many have heard concerns about allegations of vaccine doses being cut. I want to assure everybody, and i want to take personal responsibility for the miscommunication. I know thats not done much these days, but i am responsible and i take responsibility for the miscommunication. Here is the bottom line. I want to make sure that we are 100 committed to fair and equitable distribution to everybody in the United States of america, and i give you my personal word that is what im driving to. Jurisdictions have asked me for planning numbers, and rightly so. We want to be open and transparent with them at all times. I have to work on the estimates that we know and we provide them forecasts accordingly, but Vaccine Manufacturing is a very arduous Technical Capability and we work hard in collaboration with them to know the process, to understand where were at with the process, and then to make our best forecasts accordingly, but at the end of the day, what should really give you great confidence, everybody in america should have great confidence. The fda is the gold standard, not just in america but around the world, and they require the highest levels of review at the highest standards before doses of vaccine are released to the American People. I, personally, personally appreciate that. At the end of the day the number of doses available to us to allocate ended up being lower, and so as we gave forecast to the jurisdictions and neil all right were going to continue to monitor Army General Perna here talking about the distribution of the Moderna Vaccine. Theyre looking at about 5. 9 almost 6 million doses to be out in the next couple of days as it works its way through the system that be very similar to the Pfizer Vaccine thats already out, and about 6 million doses have become available across the country. The moderna one is a little bit different here. Doesnt have to be kept quite as cold so theres a little bit more ease and logistics wise getting it out but the fact of the matter is close to 200,000 americans have received that vaccine. This might have a faster rollout , about 1. 1 Million Worldwide have gotten the Pfizer Vaccine and remember, it started first in Great Britain and then bahrain and some of these other countries that had it before we formally approved it, canada for example, that accounts for the huge difference between those americans who have it and those worldwide who have it, but the pace is picking up pretty markedly. Mark meredith who has been following it very very closely because mark, he seemed to indicate more is on the way and theyre speeding the process up, right . Absolutely, neil and the fda s emergency authorization of this vaccine was expected but really is still cause for celebration here at the white house, and nationwide. As you were talking about there are some differences, but the similarities also with this vaccine requiring two doses will be required for modernas vaccine and its close to be 95 effective, it could be stored though at warmer temperatures compared to pfizers vaccine, so this will be also a Staggard Rollout but easier logistically. As you know the first Pfizer Vaccine started their injections this past week. Many are hoping this will mark the beginning of the end of this pandemic. The white house says this week alone 2. 9 million doses of pfizers vaccine went out and 2 million more are expected to be distributed next week. As for President Trump he has not spoken on camera about the Moderna Decision which is a little surprising but he did tweet about it last night, a Pretty Simple tweet. He wrote congratulations, the Moderna Vaccine is available , now available. On friday though Vice President mike pence and his wife and Surgeon General all received their Pfizer Vaccine shots. The Vice President said he didnt feel a thing after his injection. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also received a vaccine on friday and more lawmakers are expected to get their shots in the days and weeks ahead. As for when President Trump is going to get his vaccine that is the big question at this point, there was talk it was going to happen this week and he said he wanted to wait, white house officials insist he will eventually get the vaccine but no time on that one, so neil, well continue to watch for that. As for the president s schedule nothing on it this weekend but well let you know if Anything Changes and neil, Merry Christmas to your team up in new york. And to you as well, my friend. Thank you very much, Mark Meredith at the white house on that. Now there were some bumps along the way the general alluded to them there, he took the blame. I dont possibly see how that could be his fault but having said that, in chicago, some hospitals were looking at a temporarily freezing the issuance of these vaccines until they had a better handle on some more stubborn side effects and nothing serious, but enough that they wanted to pause a little bit. I want to explore that issue with dr. Craig spencer, vaccinated for covid19 himself on wednesday, Global Health emergency medicine doctor, director of new York Presbyterian Columbia University medical center, thats what were talking about smarty pants , doctor very good to have you. Thanks for having me, neil. Neil do you know of some of the side effects that are popping up or at least giving some hospitals pause . Did you have any problem like any of these . Its a good question and we need to be honest and transparent, because these vaccines do have some side effects. I had some pain in my right arm where i was vaccinated for about 36 hours. That is quite common. We know some people are having headaches, other people are having muscle pain or fatigue. Were seeing that quite commonly maybe even more commonly than with other vaccines but the other thing that were see ing is that this rollout is being more closely observed than any other Vaccine Rollout ever. Were learning about any Adverse Reactions in realtime, and the fact is that theyve been incredibly rare, and this has been proven over and over to be safe and im quite happy to have been vaccinated myself a few days ago and looking forward to my next dose in just under three weeks. Neil so what would prompt the hospital to say all right, were going to pause here a little bit. Were going to check this out a little bit, and i agree with you , these bumps that you would expect along the way, but are these serious bumps or are these just things that they want to double check and make sure theres nothing more serious going on . Obviously its a very good question. We want to be really safe and theres already many people in the public who are hesitant, who are worried about the speed these vaccines have come out and so we want to be really safe. The reality is weve seen a couple reactions to this , and people that ultimately needed treatment. Everyone has been okay. Everyone has been observed. Its been a very small number of people, but the reality is i would much rather treat an allergic reaction from maybe a One In A Million dose of the vaccine than treat a really severe covid patient coming into my emergency department. Thats much harder and much likely to be, much less likely to be successful. Neil thats an excellent point. You know, doctor, i am curious though, what ive been seeing where they televise people getting the vaccine shot and all , is it my imagination or is the needle unusually long, and does it go in unusually deep . Maybe its just the wimp in me but im noticing it. Thats a big needle, or is it me . I will be honest with you. I was so excited to get vaccinated that i didnt even feel it. It sounds silly to say i was euphoric about getting a Needle Jabbed into my arm but honestly, neil ive been watching this since march. I saw every single day back to back to back for hours, people coming in, unable to breathe, needing life support, dying, calling family on face time videos to tell them their loves one has passed, i was excited knowing that this is the beginning of the end of this getting vaccinated for me will protect me and my colleagues and i may not have to worry about treating one of my colleagues again like i did in march and in april. Neil you got the priorities right and if someone is just complaining about the size of the needle, i did notice the size of the needle, doctor, i should just shut up so i wont say another word. Doctor thank you very very much and for all your hard work and sacrifice for so many people. We appreciate it. Dr. Craig spencer. Thank you, neil. Neil we are following a couple of other developments, other news is going on including this massive cyberattack on the u. S. Here, on russia behind it, thats what the Secretary Of State says, but this isnt just your normal run of the mill attack. This was sweeping and incorporated everybody, and every institution including defense. Lets get the latest from Lucas Tomlinson following it very closely in washington. Hey, lucas. Neil thats right the Secretary Of State is the highestranking official in the trump adminitration to put the blame squarely on russia for this massive cyberattack on the u. S. Government and private sector. This was a very significant effort and i think its the case now, we can say pretty clearly that it was the russians that engaged in this activity. President trump has not spoken publicly about the attack nor tweeted about it. Officials say he was briefed late this week. Its still unknown how extensive the damage is, not clear if any secrets have been stolen and Officials Say the intrusion goes back to at least march the Top Republican and democrat on the Senate Arms Services Committee Says the attack is still ongoing and other lawmakers are calling this an act of war. The attack blamed on the Russian Intelligence Service which succeeded the kgb, and the attack targeted the state department, treasury, homeland security, commerce and energy departments, National Institutes of health was also hit and the scale appears unprecedented and the russians deny any involvement and microsoft is one of the First Companies to Sound The Alarm and dozens of its customers were also attacked including some overseas. Officials say the russians use the texasbased Company Solar winds to get inside u. S. Government computers. There was a significant effort to use a piece of third party software, to essentially embed a code inside of u. S. Government systems and now appears systems of private Companies Companies and governments across the world as well. Reporter keep in mind about 70 of the department of energys budget is from nuclear weapons, neil. Neil lucas, thank you very much Lucas Tomlinson following all of that. Were getting a little bit more updates here of the distribution of this second vaccine, the Moderna Vaccine, that between the two and pfizer maybe 20 million such vaccines by the end of the year, and million s more, and remember the goal was for next year, between the two companies, to get better than a billion doses out to the public by the end of the year. They are well en route to doing that. Stay with us. Reentering data that employees could enter themselves . Thats why i get up in the morning i have a secret method for remembering all my hr passwords. My boss doesnt remember approving my time off. Lets just. Find that email. The old way of doing business slows everyone down. With paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in one easytouse software. Visit paycom. Com for a free demo. Next question is from karen stacey, your line is open. Neil all right, we are still following Army General Perna, in charge of the logistics in getting these vaccines out, Moderna Which was approved yesterday, millions of doses of that vaccine will be out to the american public, or close to 6 million in the days ahead. He has an aggressive timetable here but were going to step back and look at the political impact of this as well, and there are a lot of folks that say we got wind of these vaccine s before the election, and might have different results and theres no way of knowing that the so were going to move to the future and think of what the impact be on the Georgia Runoff Senate race, and now given the fact that two vaccines are out and more could be on the way, Amanda Mackey joins us gop strategist also attorney. You know, it is interesting that well never know, had we gotten this kind of news before the election, whether it would have altered the results, so best we could do is sort of gauge how all this vaccine news could affect the georgia runoff races. What do you think . Well, i think its just nothing short of Nobel Peace Prize winning what we were able to do in record time, and the kudos really goes to all the companies, you know, hhs and President Trump putting his ceo skills to the test here, and getting multiple vaccines to market, but he had promised this before and you know, no one seemed to believe him. He said by the election, or around the time of the elections, were going to have a vaccine and surely enough , before the end of the year, weve had multiple vaccines that have come to market and so its very unfortunate that they didnt believe the president but i think it could have had a dramatically different impact on the president and the race on november 3. Neil let me get a gauge from you though where this goes, because the action of course is crucial to democrats and they need to win both of those seats to take control of the senate, but its at a time where whatever progress the president and kudos to him with dick durbin, the democratic illinois senator gets high praise Operation Warp speed for making this possible. Does the president stop on his own message by questioning georgia voting, certainly in the president ial election, and that it might, you know, dissuad e a lot of voters from participating. Well look, the Vice President was just there last week, ivanka trump will be there on monday so certainly, you know, the trump team and the trump family has been doing everything in their power to ensure that these senate seats remains in republican hands. Most importantly, for President Trumps legacy, you want to make sure that the Senate Remains in republican control because all the great things that President Trump was able to do in his four years, i think, a United States senate that remains in republican hands, is going to be very important to that legacy. Its really the only stopgap we have in making sure that theres a check and balance on government after january, so i think its very important to President Trumps legacy. Neil all right were watching closely because you do have that and the question about the voting and whether its rigged or fraudulent and then its very good news on now two vaccines out to the public, a lot sooner than virtually anyone thought possible, so we will follow it closely right now, as we head into our second hour, growing questions about whether we could get some relief from washington for covid19. Republicans and democrats say we cant. Mitch mcconnell in fact has ordered all senators to stay for the weekend, that no one leaves until they do, so we wait after this. Before you go over the river and through the woods this Holiday Season. Remember, safe drivers save 40 with allstate. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. All right. Were not the only ones working this weekend. So, too, on capitol hill, all the key players, all the players in the house and the senate where theyre trying to scramble to get some covid19 relief out and pair it with the measure that keeps the Government Spending mechanism in place at least for another few months and they hope a little longer than that. Theyre close. Were going to be hearing from Mitch Mcconnell potential will i in a few minutes to outline what the plans are and how close they might or might not be on covid19. They agree on the big issues, its the thorny ones, oddly the role of the Federal Reserve, arcane as it may seem to you, has become a stumbling block. Hey, chad, where do we stand . The christmas crisis its a ritual on capitol hill. The covid19 Relief Package stalled, and we dont expect a vote until tomorrow afternoon and even that could be optimistic. Announce this afternoon or tonight according to whip steve scalise. I think we are going to have it completed by today. The final details were almost worked out last night. Today i think well see it come together and tomorrow we could vote on that package and im hopeful well get it voted on by the end of this weekend. Lawmakers and top aides worked on finalizing the language helping to attach it to a Spending Bill and they ran out of time. Thats why they approved a temporary bill and steny hoyer says the scope of this bill just takes time. Even if an agreement were reached late tonight, the administrative work necessary to put that agreement to memorialize it in a bill would take at least 18 hours or thereabouts. The plan faces opposition from parties, conservatives think the 900 billion package is too expensive. Liberals, too small. Its more than zero so we need to like really make sure that we hold the Republican Party accountable for cutting peoples stimulus checks in half. The race is on to finish and if they dont have it settled. They will have to approve another stop gap Spending Bill to avoid a shutdown as they try to approve a bill before the holidays. Neil thank you very much, chad. Following that. And the republican from oklahoma, senator, you said this would be a tough hill to climb. Thats proving right, senator, but youre optimistic you guys can climb it. Im optimistic well get to a deal. The challenge is twofold, to so what is negotiated in the quote, unquote room with it happens and all of us to look at it and see what the final negotiation will look like and to be able to make a decision whether we need to go back and renegotiate some areas or to be able to pass it. Were still in the phase of going through it and optimistic well at least have something we can all look at in the next 24 hours. Neil now, theres something in there, i guess, for both sides to dislike, i guess. Democrats arent too keep on the thought of limited Liability Protection for businesses that you and your republican colleagues are a little leery of some of these figures, going out of control, help for cities and the like. I dont know where that stands. Is there one drop dead issue for you, senator, that would make you a no on this . No, its usually a whole series of issues on it. I would tell you that most of the issues that are really important to me ive seen are in the proposal, that is Vaccine Distribution, testing supplies, help for Small Businesses and the Paycheck Protection Program, a second round on that, dealing with forgiveness on the Paycheck Protection Program from the initial round thats so important, assistance for nonprofits. Those are key areas that have got to be there. Or were really not providing help where they need help the most. And as you mentioned before, dealing with the Federal Reserve. We extended a lot of additional capacity for the Federal Reserve to do lending and backstop to the economy back in march. Not knowing what would happen. And a fraction was used thankfully and we want that expire and democratic colleagues say wed like the ability to have the flexibility to be able to use the Federal Reserve more deep into next year. We said no president should have this kind of ability to be able to extend that kind of credit from the Federal Reserve in a time when were not in a crisis mode and were quickly moving out of the crisis with the vaccines on board by the time we get to march and april of next year, were in a very different place than in march of last year. Neil got it, senator, thank you very much. I hate to interrupt, but Mitch Mcconnell is on the floor of the senate. Were face ago fivealarm crisis, the virus is surging across the country. Two days ago my home state of kentucky set another bleak new record, in those kentuckians lost in a single day of this pandemic so far. Nationwide, since the start of december, weve lost around 3,000 of our fellow americans to this disease every single day. Meanwhile, although the American People have built our economic recovery from more speed and resilience than anyone anticipated weve known all along that recovering prosperity would come hand in hand with defeating the virus, thus Working Families across the nation are still under terrible strain. Last week, economists thought wed see a slight downward tick in new unemployment claims, instead, the number shot up, logging 885,000 new claims in just one week. Almost 900,000 newly laid off americans in one week alone. Senators on both sides know what we need to do. And in the springtime when the country needed a bridge. We passed the largest in American History on unanimous bipartisan basis, now what americans need is another bridge. Fortunately, this time we do not need a bridge over an unknown and frightening future, but a bridge through the next several months while the life saving vaccines can flow throughout our country. Frontline Health Care Workers are receiving the vaccine as we speak. Yesterday vicepresident pence, Speaker Pelosi and i all received first doses of vaccines pursue to preexisting plans for the continuity of our government. These vaccines are safe. They are effective. They are our nations path out of this hellish chapter. So the first lines of the cavalry are already arriving. We just need to help American Families hold on while reenforcements continue to pour in. For Paycheck Protection Loans for hardhit business, more direct aid for assistance for families. A lot more funding for k through 12 schools to reopen and get our kids educations back on track. And perhaps most important of all, a huge amount of funding for Vaccine Distribution so that we arent just helping americans endure this battle, but were helping them win the battle as fast as possible. Last night we extended Government Funding for two additional days. The senate and the house need to finalize another Rescue Package containing all the policies i just named and many more. We need to finalize Government Funding legislation for next year and we need to pass these measures with a big bipartisan vote and get them signed into law without further delay. We need cooperation and focus from all sides. There is a kind of gravitational pull here in congress where unless were careful, any major negotiation can easily slide into an unending catalog of disagreements. Lets guard against that. The American People have already waited for more assistance longer than they could afford. In my judgment theyve waited far too long for a Relief Package of the same general size and scope that Senate Republicans have been proposing literally since last summer. Every one of us in the senate and the house represent American Families who simply cannot wait any longer for congress to conclude these discussions. Every day that we delay may very well cost more Small Businesses their survival, cost more American Workers their jobs and, yes, cost more americans their very lives. Weve had productive discussions this week. I appreciate the good faith spirit thats characterized my talks with democratic leaders, Speaker Pelosi, leader mccarthy, secretary mnuchin, but the American People cannot feed their families or pay their bills with Congress Good faith discussions, they need us to act. We need to conclude our talks, draft legislation, and land this plane. Under the previous vote the leadership time is reserved. Neil all right, were going to continue monitoring this on capitol hill where they are making progress and to hear Mitch Mcconnell tell it, theyre getting closer and closer to something that seemed inconceivable in a lame duck session. Lets go to adam smith, the Washington Democratic congressman and house Arms Services committee and chairman as well. Chairman, thank you for taking the time and theres a lot thats in your bailey wick baliwick and particularly foreign affairs, and the covid relief, where are you . Im in favor of getting something done. Look, i support the larger package that the house passed. We passed a large package the end of september. I think the problem is great and its not going away in three or four months. If all goes well with the vaccine, we can begin to get the pandemic under control. There are people losing their places to leave, massive food insecurity, massive unemployment, ill take what they can negotiate. Theyre talking 900 billion at this point. Ill take that and whatever we can get the Senate Republicans and the white house to agree to is a step forward and i hope we can take that because the need is great across my district and across the country. Neil what does your gut tell you, sir . Do you think a deal can be scored in the next couple of days . Yeah, you know, ive been talking with the leadership quite a bit in the midst of this, mainly because of our efforts to pass the defense bill, but ive also talked about these issues and my gut tells me that the problem is youve got too many parties here. I think that Mitch Mcconnell, nancy pelosi and Steve Mnuchin could have cut a deal a while ago. The problem is they have that conversation and then it goes back to the white house and the Chief Of Staff and they change it a little bit and what are the changes . Theres a lot of multiple pieces here and used to be when we negotiated the deals, they cut a deal and everybody agreed it was good. Mitch mcconnell and stepped up and has been more assertive and mark meadows has been more assertive. Its made it more difficult. Weve been hearing it 10 days, two weeks, were close. Ive negotiated deals like this before if youre close for that long, thats a little bit of a problem. So, i hope we can get through this because we need to get it done. Neil chairman, if i of great interest to me is the Armed Services committee. As you know, the president promised to veto 740 billion defense Spending Bill because it doesnt include a provision in there to slap social media and the protection via 230 from lawsuits and the like. But it seems to me that there are plenty of votes to override that veto if it were to come to pass. Your thoughts . Yes, no, we have the votes, no question. The president is sitting on it. Ive been doing this for a long time, working on a lot of legislation, seen a lot of things. Everyone as Mitch Mcconnell says, if you get into this, theres a lot of differences and a lot of this is from a legislative standpoint the reason for the president vetoing this bill is pretty much insane if youre looking at it legislatively. This is an issue that has nothing to do with the defense bill. Senator inhofe and i negotiated this along with Senators Reed and Congressman Thornberry over the course of months and literally at the last minute mark meadows calls me up by the way you have to repeal section 230. First of all, what is section 230 and i had to figure that out. I was like, wow, okay, i see some agreement here, but its a huge issue. You cant stick it into the defense bill the absolute last minute. Yeah, we have the votes, but in addition to that, the president has its complicated, the president has 10 days, hes not vetoing it. He keeps sending out, im threatening to veto it. Neil so you dont think hell follow through with it . You dont think hell follow through with it . Oh, no, no, no, i think he will follow through with it. Im not sure, lord knows how he makes his decisions, but hes got until december 23rd. Okay . Hes got 10 days. If he hasnt signed it then, it becomes law without his signature, but you know, he could do it right now. Hes waiting and that doesnt make a lot of sense either. Neil chairman, thank you very much. Very good having you. I know ive hit you with a lot of concurrent developments here. Well see what the president does on the defense measure. As adam smith was telling you there, the president threatened to veto that on provision 230. And some say its not too much. A bridge too far, well override you and see if he does, and well see if he does. Stay with us. An air force veteran made of doing whats right, not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa from Operation Warp speed to two vaccines out to now operation maybe lawsuit, steve . Because right now a lot of offices are considering since vaccines are out maybe requiring their workers to take it not only for the safety of their workers, but so everyone can get to work. And a legal analyst and great legal mind in general, can they do that . Can they force the issue, mercedes and demand you take the vaccine . Yes, i mean, they have the lawyers have a huge safety net under the new laws and regulations. They can mandate vaccinations for then tire work force and why is that . Because were in the midst of a pandemic and keeping the work force safe. Theres lots of safety nets there for the employees themselves. They can say, it would be too dangerous for them to take the vaccine. They have some medical issue, they cant take it. A religious exemption to taking vaccines, theres lots of pitfalls for employers. But they need to get everyone safe and back to work. Neil so the people that argue on religious or other grounds, it would be a wasted effort . Not, no, not necessarily because they do have significant protections under the laws. There are antiDiscrimination Laws that will give them that protection. I mean, if its a religious exemption, they can trigger the title 7 and many of the local laws that are antidiscrimination. If its a medical condition, they can say that theyre protected by the americans with disabilities act. So theres definitely established laws out there that will protect the employees, but its going to be a balancing test. Its great to hear about 63 of employees in the country wish to take the vaccine. Thats a very healthy number of individuals that want to come forward and take the vraciu. But you still have 37 and in the recent study that says theyre not intending to take the vaccine. Its going to be a test for employers, employers dont want to issue like this and end up in court because somehow theyve made missteps in trying to enforce that mandate. Neil mercedes, could this extend then to schools, even colleges, lets say . Before you come back, just as we require vaccines and vaccinations for a whole host of things, were going to require the same for covid . Oh, its absolutely a possibility. I mean, even the government can mandate it. I mean, theres actual case law in the early 1900s where a mandate to take a small pox vaccination was upheld by the United States supreme court. So we have legislation and with this in place in terms of Discrimination Laws afords protections to employees, but you have legal precedence that have the government and employers to mandate the vaccination. Its going to be interesting to see what will ultimately happen, especially if students raise objections. Even the employees, if they have any sort of reaction to the vaccination, they can bring a personal injury case through workers compensation. So, all of these pitfalls that can be executed by the employees who fear the vaccine or they feel some comorbidity could put them at risk. Most employers, frankly, neil are looking forward to bringing employees back and making their work more safe. Neil got it. Thats part of what this is all about. Mercedes, great things of all things legal and meantime, a great read on the economy. Lets say the republicans continue to hold the senate. Youre not free yet. Have you checked what your state is doing . After this. Cosentyx works on all of this. Cosentyx can help you look and feel better by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your Inflammatory Bowel Disease Symptoms develop or worsen, or if youve had a vaccine, or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Watch me get real relief with cosentyx. Xfiniwith the new hbo max app on xfinity. Watch the greatest collection of shows, movies and new max originals. Enjoy hbo favorites you know and love like Game Of Thrones and the undoing. With Exclusive Max originals like the flight attendant. And blockbuster movies like dolittle. Just say hbo max into your voice remote to sign into your hbo account or sign up. Tv made simple, easy, awesome. All right, the thinking goes as we look at our Fox Christmas tree, phenomenal by the way, so much better than rockefeller center, but i digress. A lot of people are getting early Christmas Present moneywise if the republicans in the senate, make it possible for them to pass along tax increases that joe biden wants. But that isnt happening in states, new york, new jersey, california that are looking at raising taxes, certainly on the wealthy. So what you gain federally you lose at the local level. The impact on the economy then with jonas max ferris, weve got dan and francis. Dan, what do you think everybody thinks theyve dodged the tax hike bullet, but in states like new york and new jersey, maybe not. Theyve got to raise revenue and right now the governors are looking at going after guys like you to do it. I dont know about guys like me, neil, but what i will say this whole topic of tax the rich, theyre not paying their fair share is just simply not true. They vilify successful people and say, those are the people that weve got to get our money from. But, here is the truth. Those people can move. Wealth is mobile, and given the technology that we have right now, people are moving because they can go to states like florida or texas and some of the others that are either no tax or low tax, and have substantial savings. How much savings . Lets say more than 10 . These numbers are significant. So blaming the rich is not the way to go, and let me make one more point related specifically to new york city. 80 of new york citys income taxes are collected from 17 of the residents and those are the ones that make over 100,000. If 5 of those people leave new york city, which many of them are, it costs new york city almost a billion dollars. Thats the fact into thats interesting. Frances, im wondering, if states look to do this. 44 states in this country have a constitutional mandate to have their books in balance by the end of the year. And its the only way they can do it, isnt that going to cast a pall over the markets and economy, and so many states, could contribute to the pace of the recovery or reverse it . Whats interesting is this tale of sort of unintended consequences. By not coming to an agreement on the state and local funding, and some of the states dont have a choice they have to have the balanced budgetsment they cant increase industry while the pandemic is going on and many of the states in the most dire of situations have the strictest lockdowns, new york and california. So, the thing is they dont have a choice, but to raise taxes, but the thing is, why do people pay more to live in new york city . Because you have Massive Industries there and you have more Job Opportunity and you have higher salaries. If those companies and wealthier people leave as employers, youre going to lower the ability for new york to come out of the pandemic because less people are going to be willing to pay those prices and deal with traffic and subways and the other things they deal with to live in new york city if they can get a commensurate salary elsewhere. You know, real estate and construction is about half of new york citys revenue, and thats down substantially. And i think that state and local Government Funding has to fill that void. Otherwise you risk longer term consequences that make it much harder and take much longer to come out of this, neil. So, jonas, what would it be for the markets in the meantime . Well, you know, neil, i wasnt actually i mean, morally, yeah, i think its half of the taxes in new york, the top 2 if you want to narrow it down. California and new york pulled this game after the last crash they went to super tax rates and everyone predicted doom. And it basically worked, plugged the budget holes from 08, 09 crash. There wasnt a covid situation there, the workers were still there and the jobs were still there and the Tech Companies, for example, arent going to leave california. They doesnt want to be there, theyd like to be in country with low taxes and route through ireland or whatever. And without the worker base or the job base, that you can go to double digit tax on over a million dollars, like new jersey, its not going to work well. And not going to work because youre seeing a lot moving to texas and Goldman Sachs is looking at moving to florida. Its going to become a detroit situation where you lose your tax base. I dont think its going to work. States and cities could collapse and other states could do well and its not going to be good for the economy or market because those are key important states for the economy and with the whole picture, without the federal government coming in, theyre basically going to collapse without a Functioning Tax Increase which isnt going to work because people are going to leave. So its a very dire situation. They dont have their own central bank and they cant buy their own debt so its going to require something thats not as easy as the last solution, so to say. Quickly, guys, im going to ask you about 2021 and the markets versus 2020. And the upside on the nasdaq, dow up 6 , and i guess s p 15 . Will the markets do better in 2021, frances . Yes, the fiscal stimulus, the money has to have someplace to go. And whats unique happening right now the money is going into asset prices and its not really moving around in society. The Velocity Of Money is not moving. Neil it can go higher . It can go higher. Neil all right, im sorry to be rude, dan, can it go higher than we are this year . Yes, it will go higher, neil. Why . Because theres going to be stimulus, number one. Number two, if the republicans hold out on the Georgia Senate race, were not going to have an increase in taxes and third, Interest Rates are going to stay low and therefore, money on the side line is going to come back into the market. Neil all right, up we go. Jonas, final, final vote. I think the tech boom is going to collapse hard, but the low negative rates will support foreign stocks and value stocks more or less, but this whole Nasdaq Bubble is out of control. Neil arent you debby downer . Guys, really, very good readable things. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, youve been a huge help us to here trying to figure out the crazy markets and this economy in a quite unusual year. Stay with us, the latest on what the f. D. A. Is considering now, as still more drugs line up at the runway to get approval. Looking to save money this Holiday Season . Look at allstate. Drivers who switched saved, averaged 718 dollars. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. A Livcustomizeper Iquickbooks for me. Okay, youre all set up. Thanks that was my business gi, this ones casual. Get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. There is a new vaccine in town and weve been monitoring how many doses are going to get out. I guess theyre talking 5. 9 million doses in the next 48 hours on top of roughly 6 million of pfizer doses out. You normally cut that number in half with both of them because these are both twodose regimens for individuals, whether theyre 21 days or fewer apart. And lets go to Christina Coleman following the significance of this. Great news. We just got an update from Operation Warp speed. Vaccinations have begun with syringe and needle kits starting on monday and this couldnt come sooner, many hospitals reaching their breaking points. Nursing home residents and workers to get the vaccine, for emergency use. More than 1. 1 Million People worldwide have got the vaccine already. Modernas vaccine will be given to people 18 years and older in two doses and four weeks apart. The company says its vaccine is 94. 1 effective at preventing symptomatic covid19 cases and early data indicates it might protect vaccinated people from asymptomatic symptoms as well and pfizers highly effective go against covid, modernas doesnt need to be in kept at the temps. The officials are warning people against putting their guard down. While the second vaccine by moderna along with pfizer allows america to be on the offense were a long way from being finished. I join our Health Professionals in urging americans to stay diligent in their defense. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and stay socially distanced. And up to 20 Million People could get one of the two vaccines by the end of the year, neil. Neil all right. Christina, thank you very, very much. By the way, as christina was wrapping up. Were learning in Great Britain theyre imposing new restrictions what they call tier four restrictions to deal with a spike in cases there. Namely around the london area. We dont know how sweeping they will be, but they are pretty substantial and the british Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was spelling out what the brits are in store for. Theyre not liking all of this because its happening all over again. Weve seen similar clamp downs in the likes of germany and italy. Lets get the read on this with dr. Tom freiedman, the former c. D. C. Director. Director, thank you for taking the time and im giving you sort of the headline whats happening in britain and echoing what we have pea seen in other European Countries and ours included where spikes are pretty pronounced. Whats going on here . Two things are happening. One good news, very effective vaccines beginning to get rolled out, but were months away from having most people vaccinated and in the meantime, in the u. S. , were seeing the highest case numbers, the highest hospitalization numbers, and the highest Death Numbers weve had in the entire pandemic. So its far from over. Neil, i think of it this way, imagine that were on a really dangerous sea voyage and many people have died, but we can see land that we can get to. The and we need to make sure that people get vaccinated. Neil doctor, i had a congressman yesterday on on fox business talking about his leeriness to take the Pfizer Vaccine, moderna had not been approved yet. I want you to respond to this. This was the congressman yesterday. Its my choice, i am in america and i can decide whether to take the vaccine or not. In this case im not going to take the vaccine. Neil can i ask you why . Yeah, im more concerned about the vaccine than the side effects. Disease, im a healthy person and i think that most americans are healthy. I think we should focus on the atrisk populations in america and make sure they get them first and the Health Care Workers who want the vaccine get the vaccine as soon as possible, but i am not going to take a vaccine. Neil director, he has since clarified or his office has that it is a remarkable development, this vaccine and that for atrisk individuals would be a good thing to do, but im not sure hes not alone. There are people talking about the speed at which it became available and the risk. What do you tell the population very leery of this . First off, its true that this vaccine was developed very fast, but it didnt develop in a rushed way. Corners were not cut on safety. Let me tell you, neil, for myself, the moment its my turn to get a vaccine, i will get a vaccine. This is a vaccine thats very highly effective and we cant say that when a million or 10 Million People get it we might not find some very rare adverse event. But with Tens Of Thousands of people in the trials, there were no serious adverse events. So, the vaccines appear to be very effective and quite safe, but we have to look with time to see what happens. Right now, were not talking about forcing anyone to get a vaccine. Were talking about making Vaccines Available first and foremost to People Living or working in Nursing Homes because that accounts for 40 of all of the deaths. Right now, neil, were seeing a big increase in deaths in Nursing Homes. There was this concept going around earlier that we could let the virus spread in young, Healthy People and somehow shield the elderly and the vulnerable and that is just fundamentally wrong. Were connected. People work in Nursing Homes. People visit Nursing Homes. People deliver food to Nursing Homes. One way or another, the virus gets in and people die so we have to prioritize first and foremost, nursing home residents and staff, and Health Care Workers. As more vaccine becomes available, more people will be able to get vaccinated, including essential workers. That bus driver who is risking his or her life every day, may have diabetes and risks dying from covid or people who are working day and night to keep the economy going. Essential workers, very important, the elderly, very important so thats going to get rolled out in the coming months, but its not here yet. Thats why its so important to double down on protection protocols. Especially with the Christmas Holidays coming, neil, because what we saw after thanksgiving, it was coming down and thanksgiving came and a big bump. Some dodged that bullet and we need to do that with the december holidays coming. We need to enjoy our families, celebrate, meet by zoom or skype or other means, but avoid lots of people indoors. When you travel, the virus travels. When people share air, the virus spreads. Neil got it. Doctor, every time my extended family complains im not getting together with them, i said dr. Friedman says i cant. Always appreciate it, and youre giving us good advice and staying calm. And days running the c. D. C. And covering that for a lot of people who are scared. Doctor, thank you, very very much. Thank you, neil. Neil well have after this. L idaho potato farmer. Genuine idaho potatoes not just a side dish anymore. Always look for the Grown In Idaho seal. All right. I want to take you to london right now. Were watching a Live Press Conference led by Boris Johnson, of course, the british Prime Minister with Top Health Officials outlining some more fairly sweeping measures in britain to get a hand on what has been a serious spike in cases there. The Prime Minister surging among other things, very small gatherings among brits at their homes, and trying to keep it very, very small and dont be breathing on each other, and advising, i think, one of them talked about the wisdom of masks, even in homes. Of course, the Prime Minister himself was infected and had a very dangerous bout of covid19. Theres a heightened sense of urgency, its a problem and they said were revisiting lockdowns and things we didnt think wed have to do were doing. And people want to find out if they have the virus itself, up until now, you had to go to various stations and hospitals and points. And you take your car and drive up and give you a swab and you may have to wait a while. He is a leading figure in getting those tests at home. You do it, you get the results in minutes and the company and founder and ceo, dr. Shaun parsons. Thank you. Timing is everything, as they say, doctor. Now with the spikes in cases abroad and of course, here, many more are curious about taking these tests. What are you noticing . Yeah, thanks so much for having me, neil. Now is the time. We need to test as many people as we possibly can. We need to reduce the transmission within our communities and get to that distant shore as we previously discussed. We need to stop as few people as getting the disease and dying between now and the vaccination of the community. Neil for a lot of people that arent familiar im glad to have you back, doctor, can you explain how your athome test works, you know, and steer me through the process . Sure thing. So, the way the test works, is you download, so its much pr the test quit from stores or online. You go through the app and walks you through how to do the test step by step. And a video that shows its simple to use and people can get it right even when theyre feeling sick with covid. You take a swab of your nose and screw is into a small vial that comes with the kit. So all of the science and analysis and testing and measurements happen in the analyzer right here and the results are bluetoothed from here to your phone. Theres no misinterpretation, is that a line or not a line . All of this is here and this is to your phone with a whole lot of information what you should do next. Neil so the reaction youve gotten from this, i guess with the spike in cases, it dovetails with the interest in getting tested, right . Yes, weve been inundated with interest in the product. Which is very pleasing. Weve been working on this product for many years for other purposes, flu in particular and so its been very pleasing to see the interest. Obviously because a lot of people need this right now and were rapidly scaling up our manufacturing to be able to deliver as many tests to as many people as we can. And again, how much is the test . Yeah, the target retail price is around 30. It will probably start a little higher. The goal is to get it down under that 30 point so, but the 30 is the approximate target price point. Neil very interesting. Now, dr. Parsons, timing is everything and i hope you stay well, stay healthy. Dr. Parsons, the ellume ceo. And as the doctor was talking, were getting details from Boris Johnson about the Lockdown Provisions in britain. And that the virus has 70 more transmissible cases than thought. He says its a heavy heart that we cannot continue with christmas as planned. Hes not canceling christmas, just telling people to dial it back. Keep an eye on that and what dialing it back means. There was some good news this week. Besides promising vaccines, there was a big snowstorm along the east coast and there was a marvellous good deed done in West Virginia, the County School in West Virginia. And Bonnie Gibson who had an idea for kids buffeted by this and wanted a snow day, in the Virtual Learning environment, they dont do that anymore, but thought it was very, very important to do and he did it. Kids were very happy. She was very happy, i should say. And the reaction was incredible, over the top. People saying, hey, thanks for thinking of our kids. Thanks for thinking of parents. Bonnie shea gibson, West Virginia superintendent. Thank you very much. What made you do that . In the metropolitan area they werent giving kids a school day. Well, in our estimation, children have lost a lot, we all have. I think youre just speaking about some of the restrictions on christmas. There are a lot of really sacred rituals and family things, things that bring us altogether, that we havent had a lot of control over and this is one thing that we could do to help families regain normalcy, to see some light at the end of the tunnel and we wanted to do that. I love the way your letter ended, bondy, where you said please enjoy sledding and Hot Chocolate and cozy fires, and snow hats they will outgrow by next year, and read books you wanted to lose yourself in, but havent had the time. Are you sure youre a superintendent . Are you sure youre an administrator . Because that was marvellous. I just thought it was magic. , the administrator who has a head for the job and the heart for kids. So those things go together. And if you get into the business you get into it because you just get your joy from bringing these kids on their way in the world and sometimes thats about usually, thats about a lot more than academics, its about helping them build relationships and enjoy life and find some happiness and connection, with each other. It was astonishing how many people came to me who didnt even have children. People who just, the number of adults who remembered the days when they were kids and just how excited they were. It was wonderful. Neil you know, i think that the timing was everything, bondy and other superintendents might feel that way. Thats not always the case, they lose some of the heart and passion that you havent Lost One Speck of. Im wondering, given the pandemic and craziness of this year, its like it hit a chord. It was like a santa claus for kids. And theyve responded in droves. This has gone viral. Your letter has been played again and again, the world is reading it. Did you ever anticipate that . Oh, please. There is no way to anticipate that. Its been unbelievable. But i do you make a really good point. The pandemic has been all about restrictions and about taking things away and like snow days are all about freedom, you know . Youre free from school, youre free from teachers. Youre free from rules, dont roll around on the ground and do snow angels and i think it just struck this chord of im so tired of my life being restricted except on snow days. Youre telling me try to have some fun and try to get my life back and it resonated with people and i deeply appreciate all the joy and the love that theyve sent back to say thank you and sent me beautiful pictures of their families. So, thank you for that. Neil no, thank you. We needed that, bondy shea gibson, superintendent. We dont have superintendents like that in my neck of the woods, just saying. But we have a beautiful Christmas Tree outside, i think so the most beautiful ever. 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