to pre-order enough doses. good to have you with us. u.s. president-elect joe biden has laid out an ambitious plan to tackle america's worsening covid crisis. with more than 15 million cases now reported across the country, biden says he will focus on vaccinating the public to try and bring the numbers down. he is promising 100 million doses in the first 100 days of his administration as well as a mask mandate and a strategy to safely return kids to school. cnn's arlitt saenz has the details. >> reporter: as covid-19 rages across the country, president-elect joe biden laid out a blueprint for tackling the pandemic in his first 100 days in office. >> i'm absolutely convinced that in 100 days we can change the course of the disease and change life in america for the better. >> reporter: the president-elect's goals are developed with the help of dr. anthony fauci include widespread mask wearing, getting more kids back in classrooms and putting 100 million vaccine shots in american's arms. >> my first 100 days won't end the covid-19 virus. i can't promise that, but we did not get into this mess quickly, we won't get out of it quickly. >> reporter: from his home base, the pandemic's impact seen virtually. california attorney general xavier becerra will be the first latino hhs secretary. >> at hhs tackling pan dem mix, saving lives should be our calling card. >> reporter: one of the top advisers dr. vivek murthy set to have a role as a surgeon general. >> while this is a daunting task, we absolutely have as a country what we need to overcome this virus. >> reporter: and the incoming director of the cdc explaining the team's commitment to serve. >> every doctor knows that when a patient is coding, your plans don't matter. you answer the code and when the nation is coding, if you are called to serve, you serve. >> reporter: dr. fauci taking on an expanded role as chief medical advisor to the president. >> we have got a lot of hard and demanding work to do in the next year, but as we have done during previous crises, i also know we can get through this pandemic together as a nation. >> reporter: with his health team set, the president-elect is nominating retired army general lloyd austin as secretary of defense. he would be the first african-american to lead the pentagon. >> folks, you're led by one of the truly great generals in the united states military. >> reporter: and the president-elect will formally introduce lloyd austin as his choice in wilmington. the president-elect is expected to nominate tom vilsack to lead the department of agriculture, a position he held for both terms during the obama administration and the president-elect has also chosen ohio congresswoman marsha fudge to lead the department of housing and urban development. she is the third person of color that is expected to be nominated to a cabinet position this week. both of those announcements coming later in the week. arlitt saenz, cnn news, delaware. on tuesday the country counted more than 104,000 hospitalizations for the first time. for the past three days the u.s. has seen the highest hospitalization numbers since the pandemic began, and over the past week the vast majority of states have also reported higher infection rates. as cnn's erica hill reports, there are hopeful signs a vac se vaccine could soon be on the way. >> reporter: the first coronavirus vaccine in the u.k. >> such an exciting day. >> reporter: as the u.s. records the worst numbers yet. more than 15 million confirmed cases. more than 102,000 americans hospitalized. >> is there a limit? yes, there is a limit. >> reporter: 34 states reporting an average positivity rate in the last week above 10%. the goal is less than 5%. in pennsylvania it's 36%. >> we're seeing far more new cases now than we saw in the spring and we are seeing record rates of hospitalizations. >> reporter: it's not just pennsylvania. this field hospital in worcester, massachusetts, accepting patients to ease the strain. ohio may soon limit surgeries as the number of covid patients soars. >> heads of hospitals have told me it's unsustainable at this level. >> reporter: michigan extending its statewide pause. wyoming adding an indoor mask mandate for the first time and new limits for bars and restaurant. new york city facing restrictions of its own in a matter of days. >> no one is happy about it. i feel for the small businesses and their employees, but this health situation has to be addressed. >> reporter: the national restaurant association warning, another 10,000 restaurants could close in the next three months. >> 40 something employees, they're all essential to the people in their lives. >> reporter: what about that vaccine? an fda advisory panel will consider pfizer's, the first to apply nor emergency use authorization on thursday. >> we do feel preliminarily the success criteria have been met. >> reporter: states preparing for their shipments. >> the targets for results in january both for safety and efficacy. >> reporter: astrazeneca's efficacy at 70%. >> we're going to need four or five different vaccines to vaccinate most of the population of the united states. >> reporter: while we wait, mask, distance and patience. one other thing to consider, who's going to administer the vaccine. here at new york's mount sinai, they're hitting all the avenues. the nurses, pharmacists and those who currently administer a flu vaccine including interns, medical students and residents. we're told in all there are 15,000 high risk employees within the mount sinai district. let's bring in dr. jorge rodriguez in los angeles. thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure, rosemary. >> day one of the pfizer vaccine rollout went very well in the united kingdom as the world watched on very eagerly. here in the u.s. the fda is expected to give authorization for the pfizer vac seen on thursday and then 100 million americans will be vaccinated by the end of february. that is according to the admiral. how achievable is that with pfizer, moderna, johnson & johnson and maybe astrazeneca eventually? >> i think that's very achievable. i think the one bottleneck is the american public and whether they are going to step up and take the vaccines. yes, we know pfizer does not have as many vaccines as we thought they were going to be bringing up. they have a very large number. moderna is on their heels and so are other vaccines. it's highly achievable. like we saw in the u.k., there are going to be a lot of hiccups until that happens. i have full confidence that we can achieve the goal of mass vaccinationness this country. >> doctor, i wanted to ask you this because pfizer board member dr. scott gottleib has revealed the trump administration declined additional doses of the vaccine and now pfizer has committed to other nations. what did you make of trump's signed executive order proclaiming americans will get pfizer vaccines first -- >> i don't think the quote unquote executive order has much teeth behind it. i don't think you can get them to individuals. i think it is what it is to quote the president. i think other companies like moderna are going to be stepping up. i think it was supposed to be 100 million from pfizer, 100 million maybe from moderna and then perhaps johnson & johnson and others are going to fill up the vacuum. i don't think it's going to make a big difference, the fact that pfizer does not have all that is promised. who could have predicted in july that, a, the vaccine is vowing 100 million doses for the first 100 days in office. you see that as a very realistic goal there? >> i think it is a realistic goal. i think it all has to do obviously with planning. and the best part of president-elect biden's plan is the fact that there is a plan. it isn't just wishful thinking. it isn't just pie in the sky. if nothing else, there is a leader saying this is what we're going to do. this is how we're going to do it. it's going to be implemented. is it achievable? absolutely. meantime, president trump is challenging what he called a vaccine summit at the white house but vaccine makers and some top health officials did not attend tuesday's event. one administration official described the summit as nothing more than a publicity stunt for mr. trump. here's cnn's jim acosta. >> reporter: showering himself with praise for the development of the coronavirus vaccine, president trump declared the government's effort a miracle in the making. >> they say it's somewhat of a miracle and i think that's true. people that aren't necessarily big fans of donald trump are saying whether you like him or not, this is one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern day medicine. >> reporter: the president signed an executive order he says that will guarantee there are enough doses to go around for every american. they said the vaccine summit was another publicity stunt. one official said he didn't know what the executive order would do. >> i don't know. >> you don't know? you're the executive director. >> we have plans to deliver the vaccine as needed. i don't know exactly what this order is about. >> reporter: there are other looming questions about the vaccine rollout. cnn confirmed the administration passed on the plan to purchase more. they said the government shouldn't have closed the door on buying more doses. white house officials denied that. >> according to people involved in the negotiation, it simply was not true. this president contracted it. >> i hear we're close to 15%. i'm hearing that and that is terrific. >> the vaccine shots can't come soon enough in trump world as another ally has contracted the coronavirus. >> just like you, they don't want to know the truth. >> reporter: this time it's trump legal team member jena ellis who was sitting before ju judy -- >> if you can move businesses, burn down buildings, engage in protests, you can also go to a christmas party. >> asked why he didn't invite members of the incoming biden administration to today's summit at the white house, president trump insisted he would be. >> we're going to have to see who the next administration is. we won in the swing states. let's see whether or not somebody had the experience. or a number of them. >> reporter: the latest, pennsylvania's republican house speaker. pennsylvania senator pat toomey slammed president trump telling the philadelphia inquiry it's completely unacceptable, not going to work and the president should give up trying to overturn the election in their respective states. mr. trump's defenders are leading on state leaders in georgia too. >> if you are not fighting for trump now when he needs you the most as a republican leader in georgia, people are not going to fight for you when you ask them to get re-elected. there's a civil war brewing in forge ga for no good reason. >> reporter: the u.s. supreme court has delivered another big blow. the high dourt has denied blocking that debate. caroline helman joins us from l.a. thank you so much for being here. >> good to be with you, rosemary. >> so donald trump and his team received a crushing defeat from the u.s. supreme court when it dismissed their pennsylvania case. this may be the end of donald trump's legal efforts to return a free and fair election. could he try to fight this on the house floor? >> he certainly can. he's trying to put pressure on election officials. that didn't work. he put pressure on legislatures. that hasn't been effective. as you know, he has filed almost 50 lawsuits or his camp has and they now got a really big blow with the supreme court dismissing the case not ruling in the trump camp's favor. beyond that, there's no dissent, right? none of his appointees spoke up. gorsuch, amy coney barrett, brett kavanaugh, none of the people he appointed which i think trump thinks they can get a free and fair election and saying it was something else. they can continue to do that. they'll definitely try to stop this on the floor of the house as they're counting the elector votes. >> right. of course, most republicans in congress have shown their true col lorsz going along with president trump's false claims of election fraud. only a few have actually dared to speak out. how dangerous is this for u.s. democracy? and how much longer can these republicans keep supporting trump's lie? >> well, i think they're very afraid of him, right? he uses social media as a bully pulpit. i have some sympathy for represents to go. in any other country we would call that a democratic cow. i choose to call that what we would in the u.s. while donald trump is raking in this money and putting out these false claims, he's inciting a lot of violent rhetoric and actions. you saw armed protestors gathered outside of the secretary of state's house in michigan while she's watching the grinch and decorating a tree with her is. the question is whether republicans will step up and put an end to this before joe biden is sworn in. the u.k. pushes ahead with the biggest vaccination program in its history. we'll be live from london on the latest on the rollout. can you tell me the story again? every family has their own unique story. give your family the chance to discover theirs this holiday season, with ancestry. robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. so far so good. the u.k. is pushing forward with day two of the vaccination rollout. the country began to administer the first doses of pfizer's vaccine tuesday. it will be given to the most vulnerable including health care workers and people over the age of 80. cyril vanier joins us. the world watched on with much excitement as the first jabs were handed out yesterday. how did that first day go? what's the plan going forward? >> reporter: good morning, rosemary. this is day two of the u.k.'s biggest and most complex immunization program. yesterday went well. i think people, whether it's the government, other people who have pre-ordered this pfizer vaccine were looking at this keenly. it went well. we saw so many faces yesterday, so many human stories of people who got the very first jabs and who felt privileged that they had. we had one such story here in central london just outside a guy's hospital, one of the 50 vaccination hubs in england where we plet a 91-year-old grandfather, martin kenyon, who had by sheer determination managed to get himself into one of the early vaccination appointments. we met him as he was walking out, had just gotten the first january of his vaccine. we asked him how he felt. >> i hope i'm not going to have the bloody bug now. i have granddaughters. i want to live a long time to enjoy their lives. >> reporter: have you been able to see them much this year, this past year? >> i've not hugged them and i want to hug them. i don't plan to die anyway. >> reporter: rosemary, there are human stories like that that just touch your heart across the u.k. yesterday, today, going forward. now really it's just a race of how many people can be vaccinated. you know, there is talk here of a third wave of coronavirus perhaps in january after increased human activity and human interactions around christmas and the new year, and that could be curtailed provided priority patients, the most vulnerable in society, martin kenyan, 80, 90-year-olds, provided they can be immunized before then. it's going to be difficult because of the scale of this program because it had to be put together in so little time, rosemary. the u.k. is expecting up to 4 million doses of the pfizer vaccine between now and the end of the year. that in theory would be enough for 2 million priority patients, rosemary. >> absolutely. so important that those people who are getting that first jab come back in three weeks to get the second one. just critical. cyril vanier, great to chat with you there in london. many thanks. just ahead on cnn, my conversation with a california business owner who fears she may be forced to layoff her staff due to a fear of covid cases. back in a minute. es powerful relief. new dayquil cough and congestion. the maxcoat daytime power through your cough medicine. i'm a talking dog. the other issue. oh...i'm scratching like crazy. you've got some allergic itch with skin inflammation. apoquel can work on that itch in as little as 4 hours, whether it's a new or chronic problem. and apoquel's treated over 8 million dogs. nice. and...the talking dog thing? is it bothering you? no...itching like a dog is bothering me. until dogs can speak for themselves, you have to. when allergic itch is a problem, ask for apoquel. apoquel is for the control of itch associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs. do not use apoquel in dogs less than 12 months old or those with serious infections. apoquel may 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is something that is clearer than some of the different approaches where we're looking at sector to sector and giving out guidance that some call arbitrary, some feel overwhelmed and frustrated by. >> sandy duvall is a small business owner and landlord. she joins me now from sierra madre in california. thank you so much for being with us and for sharing your story. >> thank you for having me. >> so you have felt the impact of this pandemic from both sides as a tenant paying leases for multiple businesses and as a landlord collecting rent from multiple properties. what has been the hardest part about this stay-at-home order and what are your biggest fears going forward? >> well, you know, i'm in the fitness business for over 25 years and i also have pet businesses. we've been impacted quite a bit, but also i'm from a town which is small, which is about 13,000 people, and, you know, we owned several properties, which is probably 10, 11, 12 different units, so in saying that, not only am i owner occupied with my businesses but also we have several small businesses that rent from us that have gone through several shutdowns also. in saying that it's -- you know, i'm here to help small businesses. obviously i'm an advocate for that, and we've done everything we can, waiving rents. you know, i don't know what's going to happen with the third shutdown. >> so how are you surviving at this point? how do you think you and your employees and your tenants will survive right through till christmas? >> well, i'm not really sure. obviously -- here in california our outdoor gyms we built, you know, back in our last shutdown. we built a huge outdoor shutdown which was financially a lot for us. right now we're okay with our outdoor gym. i'm not sure how that's going to play out in the next week or two because obviously we need to stay healthy and fit and, you know, the psychology of all of this stress with everyone. we've followed every protocol there is but i don't know what's going to happen next. now as far as our tenants, we're doing everything we can. as far as the government, you know, there is no more government money. we've done our ppp. we did everything we did. but i don't know about this third round because we brought back all of my employees, which is probably over, you know, 30 employees now. i'm not sure if we're going to have to lay them off or furlough them again. and is there ppp or is the sba out there again for us because we are a substantial business. we're, you know, needed in this town. so everything is up in the air. i feel so bad for all of these small businesses. a lot of them -- a lot of my friends have just given up and walked away. >> it is a tough situation, isn't it? because covid hospitalizations, cases and deaths across california are at record levels and surging. so clearly something needs to be done or health care professionals there are going to be completely overwhelmed. so what do you think the state's governor and other leaders should be doing to deal with this pandemic? what other options do you see apart from these stay-at-home orders? >> well, believe me, i'm very -- i'm in the health business so, yes, i feel for all of these health care workers. you know, i think the mandate on, you know, masks at all times, it's a hard thing to navigate. at our facility, it is -- you come in with a mask or you don't work out. we've really stuck to that because i do believe the science that's been out there from the beginning, from march. now as far as the states, they're trying to subsidize and give funds but i think there are so many businesses out there that i don't know if this is going to work this time. they need money right now. and we don't have access to any of that right now. and then, you know, you have landlords that are knocking on their door and it's a tough thing. >> indeed it is. you do wonder if everyone had worn a mask from the beginning right through to this day how differently things would be right now. sandy duvall, thank you very much for talking with us. >> thank you so much. a data scientist in florida has been tracking and publishing the state's fight against the coronavirus. at times criticizing the governor for his response to the pandemic. on monday police raided the home of rebecca jones seizing her phone and computers. jones says she was fired after refusing to cook the books to make the state's covid numbers look better. now she and some legal experts say they are concerned the raid could expose her sources and leave them open to possible retaliation. florida officials tell a very different story. cnn's drew griffin has the details. >> open the door. >> they have a gun out. they have a gun out. >> reporter: they came with guns drawn. a camera in the hallway showing the moment florida department of law enforcement officers raided rebecca jones tallahassee home. >> police, come down now. >> search warrant. >> reporter: all this over an unauthorized text message allegedly set during an internal system at the florida department of health. >> you just pointed a gun at my children. >> reporter: the officers say jones refused to open the door for 20 minutes. she said she was getting dressed. they did not make an arrest but seized computers, phones, thumb drives that jones says contain evidence of corruption at the state level. >> on my phone is every communication i've ever had with someone who works at the state who has come to me in confidence and told me things that could get them fired. >> reporter: a search warrant affidavit says someone access the a state emergency planning system and sent a group text to more than 1700 recipients urging state workers to speak out before it's too late. the system using an app called ready up and everyone uses the same user name and password. according to the warrants, they traced the ip address of the message to jones' house. >> did you send that text on that sis snem. >> no. i haven't had access to any systems at doh for over six months. i'm not a hacker. >> reporter: on cnn jones claims the raid, the investigation is nothing more than governor ron desantis using police to shut her up. >> this is a very thinly veiled attempt of a governor to attempt to silence scientists. >> reporter: spokesman for the governor says the governor's office had no involvement, no knowledge, no nothing of this investigation. jones who helped build florida's online coronavirus data dashboard was fired in may in what she argued was retaliation for her refusal to fudge the numbers and minimize the scale of the outbreak. emails obtained by cnn show jones pushed back against instructions to limit access to raw data on the state's dashboard. i'm not pulling our primary resource for coronavirus data because he wants to stick it to journalists, she wrote, referring to another official. state officials say she was fired back in may for insubordination and making changes without input or approval. florida governor ron desantis said this. >> she was putting data on the portal which the scientists didn't believe was valid data. >> reporter: jones filed a whistle-blower complaint and launched her own dashboard, a website which was operated from one of the computers officers seized monday. >> desantis needs to worry less about what i'm writing about and more about the people that are sick and dieing in their state. doing this to me will not stop me from reporting the data ever. >> reporter: governor ron desantis has faced stiff criticism for his handling of the virus. some say downplaying the number of floridians who became sick. as president trump continues to push false election claims, some election officials are facing threats and intimidation. more details after the break. instantly clear every day congestion with vicks sinex saline nasal mist. for drug free relief that works fast. vicks sinex. instantly clear everyday congestion. save for being a new customer. save more for adding drivewise. save even more 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fraud. >> that guy is a class a moron. he should be drawn and quartered, taken out at dawn and shot. >> he said he was being sarcastic and that the comments were meant in jest and he meant no harm. >> i think it's ultimately corrosive. i think we're going to have a hard time recruiting election workers going forward. i feel like election workers are going to have a hard time handling elections. >> reporter: they're concerned about president trump continuing his baseless claims of fraud and doing nothing to tamp down the threats to election officials. >> the president is continuing to dispute the election results and, again, his supporters are getting more and more riled up. not all of them, but many of them are, and some of those folks could very well act out something. >> reporter: it's not just president trump and his base supporters generating uneasiness, there's concern about republicans in congress not accepting trump's loss. the washington post recently contacted all 249 republican senators and house members and asked them all one simple question, who won the election? 220 of them, 88%, didn't take a position on it including senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. brian todd, cnn, washington. cynthia johnson who was mentioned in that report received appalling and deeply distressing racist messages after she criticized rudy giuliani's claims and she spoke to cnn about how she's feeling. >> i'm not afraid of those threats. what i have found is that many of these cowards are just that, cowards. they speak behind the computer or they'll call me and if i ask them to pick up, most of them will hang up. so to ask me if i'm afraid? i thank you for that question. i appreciate that. and for all the well wishers, i am fine. >> inspiring words there in the face of such vile abuse. china says imported frozen food is a source of covid-19. we'll have a live report from beijing after the break. zzzquil night pain. th new because pain should never get in the way of a 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weeks, months and continues right now with this most recent cluster outbreak that's playing out in chung do. seven cases don't seem like a lot compared to the rest of the world however for china it is concerning since they had gotten this under control. they're looking at the most recent source of the cluster outbreaks. they're thinking it's the imported cases that you mentioned. that says the perceived threat now going forward is external. health officials in china blaming imported cases of covid-19 for recent cluster outbreaks. they warn it's been carried in not only by some human travelers but also perhaps more alarming on goods imported from other countries. cnn saw firsthand, it has sparked immediate changes in the handling of international cargo that entered china. you'll notice the crew members behind me are in full ppe from he head to toe. we've been told not to go near them or touch the cargo. there is growing concern that the imports from other countries might be carrying the virus, particularly frozen food. and so those who are handling that cargo as it's coming in or going out now have to undergo these new measures. while both the world health organization and the u.s.cdc insist there is no evidence that people can contract covid-19 from food or food packaging, chinese media is airing images of the strict precautions now being taken. food transport trucks sprayed down with disinfectant. frozen seafood like shrimp and salmon along with the surfaces of all packaging, all frequently tested for covid-19. this is one of the cold chambers in a cargo wing. the concern with the frozen foods has gotten so sensitive. if i were to walk in like this, i'd have to do two weeks of quarantine as soon as i walked out. full body suits required for people working in these facilities. china's ministry of transport warning before and after transporting the cold chain products, one should disinfect the used transportation means and body parts that may have touched the containers. they believe recent coronavirus cases might have been caused by contaminated imported goods. last month two handlers tested positive for covid-19. in september two dock workers handling imported seafood contracted the virus. a massive beijing market shut down. more than 300 people tested positive. some have suggested that cluster outbreak might have been linked to imported salmon. health experts say covid-19 is tough enough to last on surfaces but they warn -- >> this is not the most common way by which covid-19 spreads. in most situations covid-19 spreads from person to person directly by articles in which the virus is present through the air. >> reporter: still, chinese state media are using the imported case fears to lee peat tedly put in place the fears of the virus stressing wuhan was the place where the virus was identified but not where it was originated. they will investigate the orange begins of covid-19 as china works to keep it from seeping into its borders. chinese officials have been careful not to say that the direct link of these most recent cluster outbreaks is the imported foods. they're saying, rosemary, let's wait until science takes over but the w.h.o. visit is going to be very telling. it will happen in the next few weeks. we anticipate they will go to wuhan where the outbreak was first detected. it will be interesting to see how this narrative that's now surfacing will play into the ultimate findings. >> timing of this all very significant. david culver joining us live from beijing. many thanks. thank you for your company. i'm rosemary church. 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