Sunday shows - Focus shifts to vaccine rollout

Discussions on the Sunday morning political talk shows focused on the rollout of the first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.

The first shipments left a Pfizer facility in Michigan earlier in the day.

Guests also discussed the Electoral College meeting on Monday, and the failed effort by Texas to overturn the presidential election results in four battleground states.

Read The Hill's complete coverage below.

Operation Warp Speed head says 40M doses of vaccine will be distributed by end of the month By ZACK BUDRYK   “We plan to have about 40 million doses of the vaccine available to us and distributed in the US by the end of this year,” Moncef Slaoui said on “Fox News Sunday,” adding that the U.S. would distribute up to 80 million doses through January. Read the full story here

FDA commissioner: First vaccines could be administered in US Monday By JOHN BOWDEN    Dr. Stephen HahnStephen HahnStephen Hahn joining venture capital firm behind Moderna Redfield says Azar pressured him to revise COVID-19 data reports The Hill's 12:30 Report - Biden's first official trip as president MORE told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that the federal government was "hopefully" planning to begin administration of the vaccine within hours. Read the full story here

FDA chief: Americans' hesitancy to get vaccine a 'significant problem' By KYLE BALLUCK   “That is a significant problem,” Dr. Stephen Hahn said. “I mean, if you think about how we get out of this pandemic, we have to continue our mitigation efforts right now. That is so important, mask wearing, et cetera. But the way we see light at the end of the tunnel, the way we get through this is to achieve herd immunity. And that means we need to vaccinate a significant number of people in this country, including those who are hesitant." Read the full story here

NIH director: People need to 'hit the reset button' on whatever made them skeptical about vaccine By JOSEPH CHOI   “This is a source of great concern for all of us and I would like to plead just to people who are listening to this this morning to really hit the reset button on whatever they think they knew about this vaccine that might cause them to be so skeptical,” said Dr. Francis Collins. Read the full story here

Azar: Nursing homes residents could receive COVID-19 vaccine by Christmas By JOHN BOWDEN   Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday that nursing home residents across the U.S. would be receiving the coronavirus vaccine in the days ahead, and added that the Trump administration aimed to have most of the population of care home residents vaccinated by Christmas. Read the full story here

NJ governor: Next few weeks are 'going to be hell' By JOSEPH CHOI   New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) expressed optimism regarding the rollout of the first round of COVID-19 vaccines on Sunday, but cautioned that the next few weeks are “going to be hell.” Read the full story here

Bill Gates: Presidential transition 'complicating' rollout of COVID-19 vaccine By JOHN BOWDEN   Philanthropist Bill Gates warned Sunday that the failure of President TrumpDonald TrumpWhite House denies pausing military aid package to Ukraine Poll: 30 percent of GOP voters believe Trump will 'likely' be reinstated this year Black Secret Service agent told Trump it was offensive to hold rally in Tulsa on Juneteenth: report MORE to formally recognize his defeat to President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenObama: Ensuring democracy 'continues to work effectively' keeps me 'up at night' New Jersey landlords prohibited from asking potential tenants about criminal records Overnight Defense: Pentagon pulling some air defense assets from Middle East | Dems introduce resolution apologizing to LGBT community for discrimination | White House denies pausing military aid package to Ukraine MORE and begin a White House transition process is "complicating" efforts to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine to the general public. Read the full story here

Alexander: I hope Trump 'puts the country first' after Electoral College vote By ZACK BUDRYK   “The states have counted, certified their votes. The courts have resolved the disputes. It looks very much like the electors will vote for Joe Biden. And when they do, I hope that [President Trump] puts the country first,” Sen. Lamar AlexanderLamar AlexanderAuthorities link ex-Tennessee governor to killing of Jimmy Hoffa associate The Republicans' deep dive into nativism Senate GOP faces retirement brain drain MORE (R-Tenn.)  said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Read the full story here

Wallace grills Scalise on Texas lawsuit: 'You were talking about disenfranchising 10 million Biden voters' By ZACK BUDRYK    Fox News host Chris WallaceChristopher (Chris) WallaceSunday shows - Biden foreign policy in focus Pompeo defends Trump on Russia in Chris Wallace interview Lewandowski says Trump has not spoken to him about being reinstated MORE confronted House Minority Whip Steve ScaliseStephen (Steve) Joseph ScaliseHillicon Valley: Senate unanimously confirms Chris Inglis as first White House cyber czar | Scrutiny mounts on Microsoft's surveillance technology | Senators unveil bill to crack down on cyber criminals Five takeaways on the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision FCC votes to advance proposed ban on Chinese telecom equipment MORE (R-La.) on his and other congressional Republicans’ support for a Texas lawsuit that would have thrown out the results of the presidential election in four key battleground states. Read the full story here

Chris Christie calls Trump's legal team's legal theory an 'absurdity' By JOSEPH CHOI   "The reason why the Supreme Court didn’t take it is because it’s an absurd idea to think that any state, or any number of states, no matter how good they are, can challenge another state’s right to run the election as they see fit. And also there’s no evidence.” Read the full story here

Dershowitz: Supreme Court ruling shows 'you can't count on the judiciary' if you're Team Trump By JORDAN WILLIAMS   Attorney Alan DershowitzAlan Morton DershowitzMandated vaccinations have historic — and legal — precedent Dershowitz files multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Netflix over portrayal in Epstein series Why does the hard left glorify the Palestinians? MORE said the Supreme Court turning down Texas’s election lawsuit sent a message that President Trump and his allies "can’t count on the judiciary" to help overturn the results of the election. Read the full story here

Coons says Biden won't interfere in son's investigation By ZACK BUDRYK   Sen. Chris CoonsChris Andrew CoonsCentrists gain leverage over progressives in Senate infrastructure battle The Hill's Morning Report - After high-stakes Biden-Putin summit, what now? Tensions grow between liberals and centrists on infrastructure MORE (D-Del.) expressed confidence on Sunday that President-elect Joe Biden would not interfere with a federal investigation of his son Hunter Biden’s tax affairs. Read the full story here