vaccine strategy is causing some alarm within the medical community. health officials there delaying the second dose of the pfizer vaccine in a bid to get as many people vaccinated as possible. in a new year's interview, president-elect biden talked about the need to step up vaccinations in the u.s. and thanked the first responders, guests in the times square last night. >> they have stepped up and we owe them. >> joining me is dr. william hazelti hazeltine, the president of assess health international. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. >> thank you. let's start with the fact as we begin 2012, there more than 20 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the u.s. what are your projections for first few months as which enter this new year? >> unfortunately the news isn't good for the first two months and that is we are expecting as people have talked about before a surge upon a surge throughout january and most of february. that's based on what we know is now happening the way people are traveling and also the occurrence of the new strain of the virus. after that, we hope that the vaccines will begin to take hold and the virus infection rate will drop. it's really a race against time right now. against what people can do, what states can do to control the infection and how fast we can get vaccinated. that of course presumes that the virus doesn't figure out how to get around our vaccine. >> yeah, let's talk about that new variant that you mentioned. we know that florida is now the third state to confirm a patient has this this more infectious strain of coronavirus and you write it's time to recalibrate. what do you mean by that, doctor? >> well, i think right now, we know we're in really serious trouble. there is an infection rate which we -- nobody really anticipated it would get as bad as it would. that means it can get out of control and we have to take that seriously. also, the fact that there's a new variant. that variant is here and we don't know how widespread it is. we know it's across the nation now, from east coast to west coast, we know it's across canada and we also know that the rate in which that will spread depends on how many people have it. because once one person has it, they'll give it to others and they will spread it more rapidly. i suggest that we take very strict measures to yol control the input of that virus to travel from the uk to the united states in order to reduce the total number of people. about 30,000 to 300,000 depending on the month and how much restrictions are there come in from the uk every year. i mean, every month. so that's really important to control, but more important is controlling it here. and really getting a handle on how transmissible it is. people don't focus on one aspect which i think is important. this virus can infect children much more than the previous variants could and those children some of them get sick and people have much higher virus loads. so this isn't just more transmissible, it has different characteristics that are troubling. >> president-elect biden said he's hopeful we'll beat the virus in 2021. here's more of what he said last night. >> i'm more optimistic about america's chances than i have ever been. we have the most productive workers in the world and the vaccines are available and they'll work, you have to get a better way of getting more out there and quicker. >> so the president-elect wants to use the defense production act to get 100 million vaccine shots administered in the first 100 days of his office, but doctor, we have seen making the promises, we saw the trump administration promise 20 million vaccinations by the end of the year which they didn't meet. the promises can be hard to keep. >> they can be hard to keep but i have confidence in the american government, in the american people. that when they really put their mind to something, when we have the leadership that we need that says this is the key problem we must focus on, we can get the job done. it isn't an easy job. it isn't an easy job in face of some of the doubts and questions that people have. but it is a doable job and with the right leadership, with the right organization, and with the american can do spirit which we have and the great science that we have investigated in for many, many years and it's paid off in a big way, we can i think really no matter what this virus does, we can control it. we know we can beat the virus, we just have to have our national will engaged to do so. >> doctor, you have been talking about if there's a case in one country that means it will eventually -- it will become a global problem. the world health organization listed the pfizer vaccine as the first one for emergency use, so what is the significance of this globally? >> well, let's take a country that's cleared itself of virus -- of the coronavirus and that's china. they did that way back in the early -- late spring. they don't have any cases except those that come in from the outside but it's still extremely dangerous for them. because every time a virus comes in on a frozen food package, on a container, with somebody who has a long, lingering disease, it's really expensive. they have to test millions of people, if they have to shut down whole cities and they have top vigilant. why? not because they have the virus in their country, it's it keeps coming in from outside. we're a connected world. we got this virus in the united states because most of it came in from europe. some of it came from china, but most eventually from europe into the united states. it spread all over the world and no matter what we do to control it here, we've got to be aware that it will continue to come in and it will continually change. you know, people know about the flu, it goes back and forth, you have to have a new shot every year. that's when we are relatively free of the flu in the northern hemisphere it's incubating another one in the south and we get it and we incubate it and it goes back and forth again. the world is connected and we have to understand that and be willing to help other countries control their infection as we work to control our own. >> dr. william hazeltine, the author of "my life long fight against disease." we wish you all the best in 2021. joining me from connecticut, shaquille brewster and from london, molly hunter. good morning to both of you. shaq, you're at bradley international airport. new testing is in place as people return from holiday celebrations. you have that beautiful sunrise behind you. what can you tell us about this new program? >> reporter: good morning, lindsey, happy new year to you. we know that despite the coronavirus surge that we have been seeing and despite those recommendations from the cdc, it is very clear that people have still been traveling and engaging in those holiday celebrations. we'll have new numbers later this morning, but the tsa has been reporting that since the day after christmas, more than 1 million passengers have been screened at their check points at airports across the country. while that's about half of what we normally see around this period, that is still -- we have not seen numbers since the start of the pandemic. the opportunities for spread. situations where people are mingling with their family, engaging in the holiday gatherings. part of that initial line of defense coming back from that is testing at airports like the one behind me. like bradley international airport. here in connecticut, there's a travel order in place so when people are returning and passengers are landing here if they're not coming from a regional area, they are required to self-quarantine or get a test and show that negative test within the past 72 hours. because of that, bradley international airport like many others are offering that testing opportunity for passengers once they return. this is just one of those lines of defenses as people start coming back from their holiday travel and one of things we're thinking about especially as we approach this new year and we have entered this new year are the vaccines that you and the doctor were just talking about. here in connecticut, this is one of the states that is actually leading the way in the administration of those vaccines. it has vaccinated more people than many other states but to put that in context, connecticut has vaccinated about 1.5% of its population. you listen to doctors and listen to the medical experts, you need to hit about 70, 80% for it to have a significant impact so the message you're hearing from doctors this new year is despite the vaccination nations on the horizon, despite those gatherings that you're doing, still keep up your guard, still be safe. practice the common sense guidelines they have been preaching since the start of this pandemic. >> shaq, our thanks to you. now to molly in london. there's a big shift in the vaccine strategy and it's causing some concern among the medical professionals. talk us to about the changes. >> reporter: hey, that's right. so the uk has totally shifted at the moment. they're doubling down on the first dose. so the medical regulators approved the oxford astrazeneca vaccine and it's approved as a two-dose shot just like the pfizer, just like the moderna vaccines. it is cheaper to create, lindsey. it doesn't have to be stored at minus negative 70. it comes though at a time when the uk variant is running rampant here. the uk hit its highest death toll since april and they want to hit as many people as possible with the first dose. because lindsey, the data for the oxford vaccine suggests a 70% immunity after the first dose. brings you up to about 80% about the first dose that is lower than the 95% we have seen with pfizer and with moderna but take a listen to professor andrew pollard, the director of the oxford vaccine group and he explains the thinking behind doubling down on the first dose. take a listen. >> if you have to give the second doses a few weeks later, you can't give the first doses to so many people. you have a huge deployment problem and if you extend the window, that's -- that allows us to get it under control more quickly. i think it makes huge sense what they have recommended and it's really supported by the data. we the data showing that we have got protection within an extended window. >> reporter: so the pfizer vaccine is given after the second dose after about a month. what they're going to do with the oxford vaccine is give it to people after three months, 12 weeks. that's a really big window. now a lot of questions about whether pfizer, about whether that window could be extended and we have a statement from pfizer. take a look right here. it was given to cnbc. the safety and efficacy of the vaccine has been evaluated on different dosing schedules as the majority received the second dose within the window specified in the study design. now the effectiveness numbers that we're talking about are for maximum effectiveness. so the vaccine after the second dose, but it actually there's a limited -- the pretty decent immunity after first dose and right now for the situation that the uk is in that is worth it. the other thing i thought was interesting that was talked about here in the uk is whether you can get a first dosage of -- the pfizer and get a second dosage of a different one. united kingdom regulators said there's no data about that but they're planning trials to see if that's an option in the future. >> yeah. there's some talk of doing that in the u.s., but the uk is much further like in that. thank you. in wisconsin, a pharmacist is under arrest after investigators say he intentionally destroyed more than 500 doses of the moderna vaccine. the hospital worker is accused of leaving the vials out to spoil overnight, knowing that the patients who received the vaccines would not be protected. investigators have not released a motive. it happened at the aurora medical center in grafton, north of milwaukee. we should note the hospital says the patients who received the ineffective vaccine are not in danger and have been notified. still ahead, campaigning in quarantine. we're just days way from the georgia senate runoff elections. the contests of course that will determine the balance of power in washington, but one of the candidates now has to hunker down because of a close contact with covid. what that means for the race, next. r the race, next ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing 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and the cdc, taking him off the trail during this critical final stretch. meanwhile, president trump and president-elect biden are set for dueling campaign stops on monday. and vice president-elect kamala harris prepares to head to georgia sunday. nbc's presill what johnson is in atlanta. what are you hearing about the implications of perdue being off the trail? >> reporter: good morning, yeah, this is certainly not the position that senator perdue would like to find himself in the final days of campaigning. and we've got that statement from his campaign yesterday during an event that he was supposed to be at alongside senator kelly loeffler at a get out the vote concert. he was not there because of that close contact. and the senator has said that he has been tested regularly and will continue to be but right now he is quarantining. we're not going to see him on the trail today and it remains to be seen whether he will still be quarantining on monday, when the president is here or if he'll be able to campaign alongside him. but all of that is happening as yesterday was the final day of early voting here in georgia in those key runoff races. already more than 2.8 million georgians have cast their ballots early in this race and we're awaiting the numbers from yesterday to find out what the view is like. we saw very long lines and in other parts of the state. this is crunch time for the candidates, not a time when senator perdue would like to be at home and in quarantine. it will be interesting to see how he'll work to reach voters while doing that. meanwhile, most of the other candidates will be out on the trail, speaking with voters and working to turn out and drive up that turnout on election day. also, reminding folks to turn in those absentee ballots. of course, we are going to see those big names coming into this state later into the weekend with vice president-elect kamala harris in savannah, georgia, on sunday and biden and trump here on election eve. >> yeah. perdue made his 100th stop there, and appears he's sidelined for the time being. let's bring in greg bluestein from the "atlanta journal constitution." happy new year. starting your new year bright and early with us so we thank you. so perdue's campaign hasn't said exactly when he was exposed. like we mentioned he'll follow the cdc guidelines so the cdc guidelines says one needs to stay home for 14 days after that last known contact. it could be shortened though with some negative tests. will he be off the trail through election day? >> yeah, we're still not sure about that. his campaign is basically just told me that that statement that he released yesterday is all they're saying for now. he did tweet later on he'll be virtual campaigning but we're not sure how long that will last. as priscilla mentioned, democrats have built what appears to be an early and formidable edge on early voting as republicans were hoping to make that up gap with election day turnout. and one of the ways you do that is by going in person and appealing to voters to go out and support you in droves. >> and greg, you have a new piece out previewing president trump's stop there on monday and you write about how president trump's attacks on georgia's elections have led a lot of republican voters to believe that the election system can't be trusted. what are they telling you and how will it play out on election day? >> look, it's not hard to find the republicans who have the doubts about the election system based on president trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud. now, most of these republicans we have talked to still plan on voting, but there's a few republicans -- just anecdotal evidence who say that they're concerned. they're either concerned about republican leaders not showing support for president trump in the way they hoped they would or they're concern about the integry of the ballot. they're going into this, historically they have an edge, but with the president continuing to stoke internal feuds within the georgia gop that could come back to haunt the two incumbents. >> and being so much more focused on january 6th rather than the day before the rememberoffs will take place. we have the obamas out with the obamas out and michelle obama's call and ad for raphael warnock talks about how he'll help out biden's agenda. how big of an impact is this for the democrats? >> yeah, the obamas continue to be among the most popular democratic politicians in georgia. and it's part of a -- kind of a full-scale get out the vote effort because as priscilla mentioned you have kamala harris, you have president-elect joe biden and you have the obamas on the airwaves now as well. they're all appealing to the core democratic constituencies and in obama's case it's going to be urging african-american voters who are the backbone of the democratic coalition here in georgia to turn out in droves for the two democrats. historically, african-american voters turn out in statewide runoff elections in much lower rates than they do in general elections so that's key for the democrats here. >> before we let you go, open up your pantry for me and tell me how much coffee is in there. do you think we'll know the outcome of both races by tuesday night? >> i don't think so. i wish we would. but i fear and a lot of georgians -- georgia election experts fear the weeks of fighting and the dubious lawsuits and the false election claims are only a glimpse of what we're about to see. let's hope i'm wrong, but it's something we're preparing for. >> all right. greg bluestein, thank you so much and happy new year to you. >> you too. the vice president responds to the lawsuit fighting to give him the power to reject electoral college votes. in essence, overturning the election. more on his reaction to this last-ditch legal effort, next. . when you're through with powering through, it's time for theraflu hot liquid medicine. powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu 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help me keep up with mom? you got this. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise. ...prove. don't miss our new year's special the queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is only $899. plus, no interest until january 2024 on all smart beds.ends monday. late last night, vice president mike pence asked a federal judge to reject a lawsuit that would give him the power to overturn the election results. the lawsuit brought by republican congressman louie gohmert would give pence the right to reject electoral college votes that were cast for joe biden last month. nancy pelosi says it has zero legal merit and is yet another sabotage of our democracy. this move comes five days before congress will gather to certify biden's win. something republican senator josh hawley has said he'll fight. joining me is kelly o'donnell at the white house and mike memoli covering biden in delaware. gohmert's suit has been called a walking contradiction. what do we know from the new court filing and any reaction from the president? >> well, the president has not reacted and he's eager to have any tool box through legal challenges or the work of his supporters in congress to try to avert what is coming next week which would be the certification of the electoral college, giving the election finally after all this time to joe biden. so what this is doing is louie gohmert, who is a texas lawmaker and a close ally of the president, he and 11 arizonians who would have been the electors for president trump, he should have the right to throw out states that he does not believe properly carried out their elections. typically, this is a ceremonial function that is not even getting much attention in normal presidential years. this time it is getting a lot of attention and we will see what will be awkward and it has been awkward before when al gore as vice president had to certify george w. bush as president after their contentious fight on the campaign trail and for weeks after. here too, it will be mike pence, the losing vice president, who has to certify joe biden and kamala harris as the next team to take over in the white house. this is awkward certainly, but it is expected to go forward. not as normal, but to still result with biden getting the finalization that the country fully expects. what it will do is we expect that these objections from senator hawley of missouri, from a number of house members, what happens there is state by state as they announce the number of electors and whether they are for trump or biden, there will be an objection. they'll have debate and then they'll member by member have to vote on the outcome. so it will extend the process. it will bring the debate about election fraud as alleged by the president into the forefront. but we have seen courts have rejected it. states have verified their own tallies state by state so this is a way to gum up the works. it has essentially no chance of working as it stands right now because there are more democrats in the house and there are plenty in the senate who will refuse to go along with this. but it will be a spectacle and that's part of what is coming here and for president trump, he's looking for any way to undo what has been decided at the ballot box and this is another step in that process, one that legally is dubious. but we'll take a few more back and forth rounds before next week. >> and vice president pence will be hopping on a plane after that, on an international trip. has there been any reaction from team biden on this lawsuit or senator hawley's plans to challenge the result for that matter? >> reporter: well, you're right about that, lindsey. tomorrow will be eight weeks since the networks news organizations projected joe biden as the president-elect and it's been very interesting throughout those eight weeks since to see when they choose to escalate and when they choose to try to lower the political tell temperature. so we heard from the incoming white house press secretary this week about this planned challenge, jen psaki saying these are just antics and she offered some his tore cal perspective as kelly did, al gore presided over the counting of those electoral votes in the congress. vice president joe biden four years ago presided over the tallying of donald trump as the president-elect of the united states as well. so she's saying this is a mere formality and should be treated as such. let's remember what we saw on december 14th, the day when the electors met in state capitols across the country and then when joe biden was tallied as the winner according to those electoral vote counts and we heard from the president-elect with a rebuke on the president. something to watch for, once all of the legal challenges are finally behind us. >> kelly, president trump is doing some last-minute rule making. he has extended bans on green cars and visas. can you walk us through this? >> this is a last minute push that any president is doing in terms of trying to solidify their policies before there's a transfer of power. that would be somewhat typical. in this case, it's president trump trying to lock in policies that he knows joe biden and his administration object to. this is something that started in the spring time related to the covid virus and trying to limit certain migration based on different types of visas and so forth because the argument was limiting the influx of immigrants to the country for health and safety reasons and then also for economic reasons when the country's going through job losses to not have incoming migrants competing for jobs with americans. at the same time, we know that this president has had a very tough stance on immigration and this fills out part of that so by extending it another three months, it will mean his policies will be in effect when president-elect biden takes office. he'll be able to undo that, but it will take work on the part of the biden administration to create a new order to rescind president trump's order. so in some ways, it's the typical end of a administration work. in other ways, it looms much larger because of the president's history when it comes to immigration and the ongoing concerns related to covid and on a side note, mike pence is not going on an overseas trip. that's not going forward, just another change of plans as we get to the final weeks of this administration. >> okay, kelly, thank you so much for correcting me on that. mike, there's also a fight playing out between the biden transition team and the office of management and budget. what can you tell us about that? >> well, we have heard from the biden team once we got past that dreaded ascertainment issue, i hate using that word since it's a new year and the quota begins again that they have been generally getting good cooperation from across the federal agencies and departments with two big exceptions. we have talked earlier this week about the pentagon, biden team raising the national security team not getting the briefings they feel they need. it's important nonetheless, the biden team has to prepare a budget as all presidents do in february. and to do that, they need the work of -- and the assistance of the career officials who work at the office of management and budget. and the biden team is saying this week they weren't getting that cooperation. now, the current omb director put a letter out to biden's transition director yesterday saying that these were misrepresenting the kind of cooperation they're getting, but they say that their employees will not help the next administration, basically trying to dismantle the policies of the trump administration. the biden team in a statement yesterday pointing out that very contradiction in the very letter, seeming saying that they're only confirming the objections. they're saying it is indefensible for the trump team to hamstring them and this is an overtly political move on the part of the trump administration. we'll see if there's any resolution here with just now less than three weeks until the inaugurate day. >> the omb leader said we don't have to allocate resources toward the next administration next. happy new year. >> happy new year. joining me now to discussion, ned foley, from the ohio state university and an msnbc news election law analyst. ned, happy to see the tree is still up. mine is as well. walk us through what happens next wednesday. kelly o'donnell was talking about normally we wouldn't bat an eye about this. why is this -- why does this final vote from congress exist? >> well, the constitution calls for it. congress has to receive the electoral votes from the state and confirm the results. december 14th is when the electoral college met, you know, they voted for joe biden. so he's president-elect and congress will accept that and formally declare that result. >> multiple house republicans, one republican senator, josh hawley, plan to object to the results. what kind of an impact could that have? >> it won't have an impact in the sense that president-elect biden will still get inaugurated on january 20th, but it's going to create some political theater. there's going to be some drama to the meeting on the january 6th, in terms of delaying the process. some debate in the two houses of congress. they have to separate the senate and the house of representatives and discussion these allegations of fraud which as we have been saying are baseless, they have no merit. now, there's a limit of two hours of debate on each objection that's raised. so, you know, it can extend the time for a certain period but not indefinitely. >> is wednesday the last last chance to fight the results of this election? >> yes. i mean, the proceeding that starts on wednesday, again, it can go into the early hours of the 7th, but it's the final step before inauguration day. >> you wrote an op-ed in "the washington post" last month saying this unnerving election does not bode well for the next one and you retweeted it a few days ago saying this still holds. can you talk us through some of what we have experienced right now in 2020 and what that mean for 2024. >> sure. that's what most worries me about the kind of objection that senator hawley is raising because, you know, this playbook could be repeated in four years. noun, there's talk of him even wanting to be a presidential candidate in four years. what if the tables are turned and this kind of thing is done to him? you know, suppose he's the one who might look like he's the winner in the electoral college and then the democrats try to undo his victory just the way that the republicans are trying to undo the legitimate victory of president-elect biden. i mean, democracy is competition. both sides get to fight to win, but ultimately the voters have to control and what we're seeing now is an attempt by the losing side to subvert the process. that's not good for this year, but it's certainly bad if it extends and becomes the new normal as it were. >> ned, i'm noticing a lot of musical themes in your background. i'm guessing live music is one of the things you're looking most forward to in the new year? >> indeed, yes. we need to find pleasure wherever we can. >> good to see you. new laws are going into effect and what you need to know for 2021. ng into effect and what you need to know for 2021 ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for every trip you've been dreaming of, expedia has millions of flexible booking options. because the best trip is wherever we go together. ♪ welcome back. happy 2021. a new year means new laws and several are taking effect today across the country. let's go live to nbc's catie beck in atlanta with more. what are some of the biggest new laws going into effect today? >> reporter: yeah, good morning. i'd say the one thing that people need to be aware of moving into 2021 is about airline travel. starting in october you will be required to have a real i.d. compliant driver's license, a passport or a military i.d. in order to board a commercial flight. now, this is a law that has been tossed around since 9/11, and it's going into effect in october. basically, that new license is going to have stars in the corner to indicate that you have been through a deeper security check. this is a security measure. and will be going into place as we said later this year. so if you have plans to travel for the holiday in 2021, this is not something you're doing to want to wait until the last minute to do. another item we're seeing pop up in states across the country, a very popular law, one against distracted driving. texting while driving. in virginia and in arizona, you can be pulled over and ticketed if you have your cell phone in your hand and you're driving. you can still make phone calls but it has to be hands free. so those infractions come with some steep penalties anywhere from $150 to $250 the first time you are caught. so be aware of what the law is in your state. those states are immediately going in to effect today. additionally, we are seeing states taking some environmental actions. the state of delaware is banning the use of single-use plastic carryout bags. that is something they're doing to reduce litter and to reduce trash in landfills. another interesting law dealing with the environment is hawaii. they are actually the first state to ever ban the use or distribution of sunscreen which seems kind of counterintuitive being that it's hawaii. but the state says there are chemicals in some popular brands of sunscreen that are very damaging to the marine life there to the coral reefs a and they're saying these are fragile ecosystems so to be -- you know, to preserve that, they're going to ban the sale and distribution of sunscreens in hawaii. >> there's a new law taking effect today in illinois. this is going to give kids a head start in saving for college. what is that about? >> if you're born in 2021 or adopted, the state will put $50 into the investment fund for you. while the state says this is not a large sum of money what they're hoping it will do is to incentivize parents to continue to contribute to the fund and get parents thinking about that well in advance of their children going to school. >> we can all use a little help. thank you, catie beck. up next, we'll start with a tribute to the heroes of 2021, frontline health care workers. but first, we asked some of the familiar faces here on daytime to reflect on the year that was and what they are most looking forward to in 2021. here's katy tur. >> i learned 2020 has been a big mess and i hope that in 2021 i'll be able to turn the vacuum on so we can clean it up. ♪ 2020's done a new era has begun so keep pushing forward... because this is twenty twenty won make a different future start different at godaddy.com for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how 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irreversible joint damage and clear skin in many adults. humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your rheumatologist about humira. ♪ go to humira.com to see proof in action. for health care workers on the front lines, 2020 brought unimaginable challenges. we saw them make enormous sacrifices, fighting each and every day to save lives while risking getting the virus themselves or bringing it home to their families. as we enter the new year, we will continue to recognize their heroic efforts and bring you their stories, including today, with their reflections on 2020 and their hopes for the new year. >> one thing i would change about 2020 is to take back the entire pandemic. >> with a snap of the fingers to just covid go away. >> there would never have been this terrible pandemic. >> without having that same incredible loss that we experienced. >> that the government was more proactive. >> masking at a much earlier sage. >> to understand the importance of public health. >> and listen to science and we could have prevented some of the tragedies. >> to make our battles easier. >> one of those emts that passed away was my original partner. his name was greg hodge. born and raised in harlem, worked in harlem, served the people of his community, the nicest guy on the planet. >> of all the people who love someone special, i wish that they could be back with us. >> that no one else would lose their life to this virus. >> that covid-19 no longer exists. >> that the pandemic is declared over. i think that's the same wish as everybody else. >> i really hope that we are able to just give each other a big hug. that's my one wish this year. >> to hug my family, hug my mom. >> i'm proud that i was able to work during this pandemic. >> i'm incredibly proud of the people i work with. >> the nurses that i work with, they're absolutely fearless. they come to work and put on their brave faces to take care of sick patients. >> i'm really hopeful this vaccine will work. >> my wish is for anyone who starts the year january 1st, ends the year december 31st, healthy and happy. >> pretty sobering reminder there. and we share that wish and our gratitude to everyone working on the front lines. thank you for watching this hour of msnbc live. our new year's day coverage continues next. don't go away. ♪ sofi made it so easy to pay off my student loan debt. 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(chime) i got my mortgage through sofi and the whole process was so easy. choosing sofi was literally one of the best decisions i could have ever made because it gave me peace of mind. 2020's done i could have ever made a new era has begun so keep pushing forward... because this is twenty twenty won make a different future start different at godaddy.com with the kids at home and less money coming in, there'd be no way we could afford health insurance. my kids think i'm a superhero. but even superheroes need help sometimes. we found help at covered california. and not just us. 9 out of 10 people who enrolled got financial help. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll now at coveredca.com good morning. i'm lindsay risor back with you on this new year's day. we begin 2021 with new coronavirus concerns and a grim reminder. the number of infections in the u.s. has now crossed the 20 million milestone. more than 346,000 people have died. that mutating more infectious form of the virus is spreading in the u.s. florida is now the third state to report a patient with this strain first detected in the uk. despite the troubling developments, president-elect joe biden struck an optimistic tone in some new year's eve remarks last night. >> we're going to come back and come back even stronger than we were before. >> joining me now from new york, nbc news correspondent ron allen, from los angeles steve patterson and also with me is dr. irwin redleder, an msnbc contributor and public health analyst. happy new year to all of you, good morning. ron, let's start with you and some of these headlines we're following this morning as the u.s. hits that 20 million mark in infections. >> reporter: well, yeah, that's quite a daunting figure and the death toll over 345,000 or so is also daunting. the other concern of course is that the vaccine rollout has been plagued by so many bottlenecks. a lot of vaccines getting out there but not getting distributed. the states and local authorities are having all kinds of problems. they're saying they need more resources from washington to get the job done. it's unclear whether that's going to happen. the new administration is saying they're going to do a better job of it. here's president-elect joe biden talking about that last night. >> i'm more optimistic about america's chances than i've ever been, and i've been around this for a while. we have the most productive workers in the world, we've now found vaccines that are available and are going to work. we have to get a better way of getting more out there quicker. >> reporter: the good news is that there seems to be a lot of demand for the vaccine. places like florida, we've seen long lines of seniors over 65 who are the second category of people allowed to get vaccines there, waiting in line up to