Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report: US vaccinations begin | Trump delays plans for White House officials to receive vaccine | Electoral College meets | Officially casts votes | How it works | Livestream for every state’s meeting | Five things to watch | Enhanced security for electors | Congress’ hectic week | Where government funding, COVID-19 relief talks stand

LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

A round of shots, on the house!:

The first COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States were given this morning. https://bit.ly/3nh0mSg

This a.m. — I’ve never seen anything more beautiful:

Photo of vaccines arriving in Florida: https://bit.ly/3qVi6ov

THIS A.M. (!) — ANTHONY FAUCI WEIGHS IN ON WHEN AMERICANS WITHOUT UNDERLYING CONDITIONS CAN RECEIVE THE VACCINE:

Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, told NBC’s Hallie Jackson that healthy Americans with no underlying health conditions should be able to receive the vaccine by the end of March or early April. https://bit.ly/386Nh7X

And when we could hit herd immunity: Late spring or early summer, according to Fauci.

Watch Fauci’s full reasoning:

Watch: https://bit.ly/2LrETbc

TIMELINE — WHEN AMERICANS CAN RECEIVE THE VACCINE:

Via The Los Angeles Times: https://lat.ms/37ghxO9

IT LOOKS LIKE WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS WON’T IMMEDIATELY RECEIVE THE VACCINE:

Via The New York Times’s Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman, “President Trump said on Sunday night that he would delay a plan for senior White House staff members to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the coming days.” https://nyti.ms/2WdKSm9

Timing: “The shift came just hours after The New York Times reported that the administration was rapidly planning to distribute the vaccine to its staff at a time when the first doses are generally being reserved for high-risk health care workers.”

THE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 16,262,304

U.S. death toll: 299,246

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

It’s a dreary Monday in Washington, D.C. I’m Cate Martelwith a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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HAPPENING TODAY

It’s Electoral College time!:

Electors are meeting across the country today to cast their official votes for president, formalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s win over President Trump.

How many electors: 538

Who are the electors: Local party leaders and activists in each state

The projected spread: 306 votes for Biden and 232 for Trump

Can electors deviate from their state’s election results?: Yes, it’s possible, but it is not expected to be widespread enough to change the outcome. In 2016, eight electors voted faithlessly.

More about how today’s meetings will work from The Hill’s Tal Axelrod: https://bit.ly/2LrIC8I

WHAT TIME EACH STATE’S ELECTORAL COLLEGE MEETING IS HAPPENING:

Here’s a list: https://bit.ly/384CAT1

Ooooh, this is exciting!: The Washington Post has a link to every state’s livestream of the Electoral College meeting: https://wapo.st/3a979ty

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH:

Will there be faithless electors?
What will Trump do as the results roll in on Monday?
Will this process get more attention than normal?
Will the meetings look any different with the pandemic still raging?
Will the final vote end the post-election drama?

Answers to each from The Hill’s Max Greenwood and Julia Manchester: https://bit.ly/3nm969N

SOME STATES ARE TAKING EXTRA PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT ELECTORS:

Via The New York Times’s Lisa Lerer and Reid J. Epstein, “In Michigan, Democratic electors have been promised police escorts from their cars into the State Capitol ... In Arizona, state officials are holding the vote at an undisclosed location for safety reasons ... Even in Delaware, the tiny, deeply Democratic home state of the president-elect, officials relocated their ceremony to a college gymnasium, a site considered to have better security and public health controls.” https://nyti.ms/2Wdmlxz

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR TRUMP:

Well, President Trump says his challenges to overturn the election results are “not over.” https://bit.ly/3r5yF1g

THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS

*Starts singing* All I want for Christmas isssssss — a productive, quiet, efficient week with no shutdowns, vetoes, yelling, buzzer beaters, late night threats — *resumes a tune* and youuuu, baby!:

Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, “Congress is set for a chaotic week with end-of-year deadlines, a raging public health crisis and a burgeoning, long-shot effort to overturn the election all sharing the spotlight on Capitol Hill.” https://bit.ly/2WcqW3h

The deadline to fund the government: To avoid another shutdown, lawmakers have until Friday to pass a funding bill. They can either pass a funding bill through Oct. 1 or punt it again with another short-term bill.

Where the funding negotiations stand: “Appropriators signaled late last week that they were on the cusp of a $1.4 trillion government funding deal with progress being made on the last big sticking point: Whether $12.5 billion for a veterans healthcare program would have to be counted under the spending caps set by a two-year budget deal.”

But then complicating matters: “As of Sunday night two areas had cropped up: A push to get a surprise medical bills deal in the funding bill and a looming question of what, if any, coronavirus relief Congress will be able to pass before the end of the year.”

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING IN CONGRESS:

Election fight: “With the Electoral College set to certify President-elect Biden’s win on Monday, efforts to overturn the results of the election are shifting to Congress.”

Trump’s looming threat to veto the defense bill: “Trump’s veto threat of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is hanging over Congress’s efforts to wrap up its work for the year.”

And, of course, more nominations.

Context and details for each: https://bit.ly/2WcqW3h

IN OTHER NEWS

Cleveland’s MLB team drops its name:

Via The New York Times’s David Waldstein and Michael S. Schmidt, “After years of protests from fans and Native American groups, the Cleveland Indians have decided to change their team name, moving away from a moniker that has long been criticized as racist, three people familiar with the decision said Sunday.” https://nyti.ms/2WaIRqS

Timing: “Cleveland could announce its plans as soon as this week, according to the three people, who spoke on condition of anonymity … One of the people said Cleveland planned to keep the Indians name and uniforms for the 2021 season while working to shift as early as 2022.”

NOTABLE TWEETS:

Eight years ago today — hug your loved ones a little tighter today:

Remembering the victims: Here is a short tribute to each of the victims that day: https://bit.ly/2LrIC8I

ON TAP:

The Senate meets today. The House is out. President Trump and Vice President Pence are in Washington, D.C. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are in Wilmington, Del.

President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris separately receive the President’s Daily Brief.

12:30 p.m. EST: President Trump and Vice President Pence have lunch together.

2:30 p.m. EST: President Trump signs an executive order on “increasing economic and geographic mobility.

3 p.m. EST: The Senate meets.

4 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence leads a teleconference with governors to discuss the COVID-19 response.

5:30 p.m. EST: The Senate holds a cloture vote on a judicial nomination. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3qVLhrK

WHAT TO WATCH:

2:30 p.m. EST: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Surgeon General Jerome Adams hold a news conference. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3802aIV

8 p.m. EST: President-elect Biden delivers remarks on the Electoral College vote certification. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2ILPAEz

Wednesday morning: ABC’s “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts interviews Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...:

Today is National Bouillabaisse Day.

Lol: