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Cuomo Prime Time

Coronavirus Expected to Stay Longer Even with Vaccine; Health Experts Are Skeptical on Remdesivir Production; Mayor Steve Adler (D- TX), Austin and Mayor John Cranley (D-OH), Cincinnati Were Both Interviewed About Their Decision to Reopen Despite Coronavirus Cases Not Slowing Down; A Survivor's Journey from Near Death Back to Life; Coronavirus Likely to Stay for Two Years. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired May 01, 2020 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Top of the hour. It's Friday night. Where do you have to go? I'm Chris Cuomo. Thank you for being here with me. Welcome to a bonus hour of Prime Time.

So, let's talk about treatment. Big breakthrough, right? A drug that may shorten the recovery time for patients with severe COVID-19 who were in the hospital. It's just been approved for emergency use by the FDA that will make it more available.

The drugs name, altogether, Remdesivir. Faster. Remdesivir. Now you know. It's the first authorized therapy drug for this virus so far. It is our first tool in the box.

A new report from top health experts is predicting this virus could keep spreading for at least another 18 months. Maybe two years. Perhaps 70 percent of the population has been infected. And then there's the race for a vaccine.

An administration official says President Trump's goal with Operation Warp Speed is 300 million doses by January. Possible? Yes. Probable.

Let's discuss. Let's bring in Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard Global Health Institute, and Mr. Andy Slavitt, former acting administrator for Centers of Medicare and Medicaid. Gentlemen, thank you. Especially on a Friday night.

ANDY SLAVITT, FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES: Thanks for having us.

ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: Thanks, Chris.

CUOMO: So, Jha, are you feeling the Remdesivir? What is the level of enthusiasm we should have about this development and why?

JHA: So, I am feeling enthusiasm. Let's be very clear about what it is and what it isn't and what we know. It's not a miracle drug. You don't just pop it and feel all better. But for critically ill patients it seems to help.

And in, you know, with good quality studies, a large, randomized trial control shows that it helps people recover faster and probably reduces mortality. Though that part we're not sure. So, I don't see this as a miracle drug but it's a good step in the right direction.

CUOMO: All right. And it's better than nothing which is where we were before.

Andy Slavitt, 300 million doses that they are front loading in anticipation they have it right in terms of how to plan a vaccine for this virus. Plus, minus.

SLAVITT: So, there's a couple smart things here and a couple concerning things here. The smart thing is you have to start manufacturing even before you have a drug. You have to be ready. Because if you don't, what happens to the first 10, 20, or 30 million vaccines off the line. Where do we think they go?

It becomes a black market. People behind the garden gate community get them first. So, you have to be able to go at mass production. And I think the idea of a moonshot to get things done in January is something that we just say terrific.

But I think there's a hidden layer here, Chris. Which is that for a drug company to say I'm going to rush my process they are going to ask for one thing that we should be very wary of. They are going t ask for liability protection.

In other words, they are going to say if we inject this drug in 300 million Americans and 100 million of them die, we can't be sued because you rushed us. So, do we want to inject a drug in the 300 million people without enough safety knowledge. Or we would rather wait a few months and make sure that it's absolutely safe. That's the question we're going to wrestle with if we start to --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Hold on. That's a great question. Great question. I hadn't thought of that. Jha, you're shaking your head, what's the answer?

JHA: I'm with Andy on this one. We want to have a safety. I think we can get there. I don't know if we're going to get a vaccine in January. But cutting corners on safety is a bad idea. I don't it's going to delay us by that much. Maybe a little bit but it's worth it. Because we're going to give it to a lot of folks including a lot of vulnerable people. And if turns out not be safe we'll end up doing more harm than good.

So, I'm a big believer in the safety of vaccines. What we know, Chris, when we go to the regular process vaccines are very, very, very safe. So, if we do our job right, I think we're going to produce another safe vaccine.

CUOMO: And I think you have to take some risk here. And here's why I am saying it that way. I don't mean be reckless which is reopen when you don't know what the hell you're talking about. I'm saying the opposite. Take the risk to make it right. Which means, I don't get the moonshot mentality, Andy, on the vaccine.

[23:04:55]

But not going all in on getting people to make the testing stuff and PPE here. When you know it's a matter of national security and you know you'll have the same supply chain issues in the fall because it's going to go through all the different places on the same longitudinal plain and latitudinal plain. Why aren't we doing that if we're doing this?

SLAVITT: Well, politically why not focus on the longer-term problem that will be judged in the long term rather than the ones that you're getting judge on every day. I think that's a political move.

And I would say another thing on the vaccine, Chris, I think we would all agree you've got to go bold. But part of going bold is taking a portfolio play and a portfolio approach.

So, the WHO is developing many, many vaccine candidates. The E.U. is pairing for them all. Asia is paying for them all. The U.S. as you know is not at the table. If one of those 20 or 30 vaccines proves to be successful and if one of our leading candidates is not, we don't have skin in that game.

So, there's a strategy here which we are choosing to go it alone at America first strategy. That is a potentially risky strategy. Bold, fine. But let's (INAUDIBLE) our badge as well by getting our hands on all the potential vaccine candidates.

CUOMO: I like it. I like it. Because, you know, you can print the money and of course you're going to have tons of issues with currency and economic fallout. But, to use the president's own logic, if you don't get this out of the way as soon as possible, you're not getting anywhere any time soon.

But I guess it's that scared money never wins mentality, Dr. Jha, that brings me back to the tracing and testing. One company in Maine? Look, all love and respect to this company in Maine. Thank you for being the only one who's been able to step up thus far and make a stick with polyester fiber at the end of it.

But I don't get why they're not all in the same way with pushing manufacturing of what you know you need when it's co much easier to achieve than a vaccine. What's your take, doc?

JHA: Absolutely. I mean, look, I don't understand the political calculus, and I'm not a political scientist. What I know as a doctor as a public health person is that we need to substantially ramp up testing. The federal government has largely not paid attention to this. They have come out and say we have enough tests when we know, everybody knows, governors and red state, blue state governors everybody knows we don't have enough test.

And you know, it's interesting, right? When the military decides they are going to really deal with something in a middle of a war, they have, you know, they have visibility to their entire supply chain. They don't -- they make sure that tanks show up at the battlefield. They don't say well, you know, the guys didn't show up with the parts. Not our problem.

That's sort of the approach the federal government is taking on this. And I have to say, I have been completely baffled because lack of testing is what has cause us to shut down. Lack of testing is what has caused our shut down to last as long as it has. Lack of testing is what's going to make it really hard to open up again. It's really simple.

CUOMO: Well, let me help you on the political side, the truth of the scale of the problem is bad for the president in his estimation. Now, the miscalculation he's making is all these governors left and right side of the aisle are popping in the polls like he can only dream about by telling the truth of the situation and the problems they have. So, I think his calculation has been off.

But Andy Slavitt, the idea that 100 senators are coming back on Monday and they were told there are not enough tests for all of them. I mean, do you need any stronger metaphor of the disconnect between the reality of where we are and this president telling people we're ready to reopen?

SLAVITT: You know, I think there's certain things that were acceptable in March, in April that are said no longer be acceptable in May. And by that, I mean we were in a crisis. We were scrambling. People were doing the best they could.

But to be here May 1st, when the Gates Foundation says that we could use much more common swabs than the ones that are specialized and come with the machines and only come from Italy or Maine. That we have companies saying they can't invest in testing machines because they don't want to be stuck with them a year and a half from now when people don't need them.

And if the governor said -- and have the president advice not do anything. That's fine. You know, that maybe in the middle of the crisis in March and April. But now we're in May. And in May when you can't give 100 senators a test to come back and people will contact with one another, that's a failure. That is a big failure. And we should have higher expectations now that we've moved away from the early stages.

CUOMO: Ashish Jha, doctor, thank you. Andy Slavitt, brother, thank you. I appreciate you both. I hope you have good weekends and hope your families are healthy and happy. All right.

SLAVITT: Thanks, Chris.

JHA: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. You want to check something out that's interesting. Take a look at this. See this map? There are all the states that are starting to reopen this week. All across the country. [23:09:51]

Question is, are some of these states reopening too quickly? How can that answer not be yes? None knows how many cases they actually have. They are all flying blind to different degrees. How is this OK? We're going to take this on.

And also coming up we have two big city mayors from two different states that are both reopening but with very different strategies. OK. Another window into taking a critical look at why are you doing this? Next.

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CUOMO: What happened when you fly blind? You don't know where you're going. Coronavirus deaths spiking in Texas as the state begins reopening. How do you deal with that? As anything but a complete contradiction. Texas saw its largest one day jump in deaths yesterday. And it's second highest number of new cases today.

[23:15:01]

More than 800 Texans have been lost to coronavirus. Retail stores, malls, restaurants, theaters, reopening today. Albeit with limited capacity. But still, every one of those moves increases the risk at the worst time.

Now, contrast with Ohio. The Republican governor there is taking a slower approach to reopening as deaths in his state surpass 1,000 today.

Joining us now mayors from both states. Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler. Cincinnati, Ohio Mayor John Cranley. Mayors, thank you.

MAYOR STEVE ADLER (D-TX), AUSTIN: Good to be here.

MAYOR JOHN CRANLEY (D-OH), CINCINNATI: Good to be here.

CUOMO: First, let's be very clear. I wish you both uneventful re- openings. I hope that everything goes way better than any basis for suspicion of disdain. I have and nobody should have any interest in seeing bad outcomes to make a point. OK? Believe me about that. We should be coming from a good place.

Now let's talk about the decisions. Cincinnati first. Yes, I've talked to the governor many times. You guys are being more methodical than Texas. All due respect. You can defend yourself in a second.

But you are still nowhere near declining numbers of cases as the CDC gave guideline. How do you balance caving to the pressure of wanting to reopen with flying blind because you can't even test and trace in any big percentage way where you are going to reopen? Mayor?

CRANLEY: Well, thanks for having me. Ohio has taken a different approach. We worked in a bipartisan manner. We've generally followed the advice of doctors and experts, and the governor and the mayors of the seven biggest cities we talk every day. And by and large, I think we're doing it about right.

I wish we would have had a stronger emphasis on masks. And the opening today was fairly modest. And lots of bars and restaurants are still closed. And I believe the way that we worked together Democratic and Republican in an open transparent way is about right. And we want people to work, but only if they can do so safely. And work differently than we did in the past. At least for the next, you know, 12 to 18 months.

CUOMO: Now, Mr. Mayor, first of all, let me be very clear. I get the pressure. OK? I've got one of you guys at home in my brother. I understand that people are hurting. OK. This is not about a burger and a beer. This isn't about vanity for people. They are suffering. I get it.

But it is a weird reality that you are faced to deal with, Mayor Cranley, then I'm coming to you, Mayor Adler. Which is, you do not know with even 50 percent certainty how many cases you have in your city. You can't know. Because I know the testing metrics. You're flying blind. So how do you justify a decision like that? Go ahead, Mr. Mayor.

CRANLEY: Well, first of all, the governor we are ramping up tests. We'll have 20,000 a day in couple of weeks. But hospitalization number which I think is the most important statistic to follow have plateaued.

And remember, the reopening is very slow. We're not, you know, as you pointed out in your opening, we're not opening bars and restaurants yet. We're just doing general office, construction.

There are 50 percent capacity, mask requirements for employees. I wish we were doing a little bit more on masks. But it's a fairly modest opening. And I think it's a decent balance.

And look, we want people to work and we'll continue to monitor the numbers as we go forward.

CUOMO: Understood. So, Mayor Adler, you owe Cranley a drink for taking all that fire and letting you go to school on his answers. But now, obviously, it's more -- it's more aggressive in Texas.

And I inject some levity again because I'm not beating up on you guys. I wish you all blessings and making your decisions and I know that your hearts are in the right places. I've studied the situations. There's no reason for me to come at you guys for playing fast and those with the facts. I would if that were the situation. I don't see the basis for it in fairness.

But, Mayor, Austin, Texas we've spoken before. It's a big and important city. It's, you know, it's a thriving population. The testing in Texas is even less than it is Ohio. How worried are you about trying to do the right thing but going wrong?

[23:19:57] ADLER: You know, I'm really nervous. You know, this was not a choice we got to make in the city. If it was, we would have waited a little bit longer to execute. We don't know the testing is one thing. But even more important than that we don't know what these behaviors are going to do to transfer the virus. That's what we don't know.

We've been able to flatten this thing out because we've decreased physical interaction by 90 percent.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Well, you can't make the virus go down. It can't make the virus go down. Right? There's zero chance. What we're doing is going to make less cases. So, we know that much.

ADLER: It's going to make -- it's going to make more cases. But what people don't know and where we're flying blind is how far can we go down and still avoid a surge. Because at some point we're going to cross that line and we're going to be facing another surge.

That's what we don't know. And that's why everybody here is really nervous. And I'm nervous because of the messaging. I think it sends -- right now people in my city are confused. They don't know whether this thing is over or not over. And I keep telling them, you know, the stay-at- home order are still in place. The governors giving us a few more exceptions. But people need to stay at home.

But they are confused by what's happening at the state level. I hope the governor is right too. We're going to do everything we can to make it as successful as we can. But we just don't know. Which is why we are going to have to monitor the numbers and watch it every day. So that if we dip too low, we are going to -- we are going to have to act.

CUOMO: Now, another situation that actually joins you guys in purpose is you're broke. You know, the revenue is drying up. The budget is already tight. Both of your cities are victims of a fiction. Which is, this is the best economy in the history of the world but then why are big city budgets so tight all over the country?

Why did it take just a few weeks for big powerful states like Ohio and Texas and New York to go broke basically and have to condense their budgets? Because the economic reality is a little harsher than we've been hearing.

So, Mr. Mayor, on that fiscal level, Cincinnati Mayor Cranley, what is the thought behind having mayors get together and say to the federal government, please have this stuff that we need made here. Please give us the money to have the manpower to do the tracing.

Make the stuff here so we can get it faster. Our PPE, our testing. Make it here. Have the desperation of America's efforts reflect the desperation of the circumstances. What would that mean to you, Mr. Cranley, Mayor Cranley, if you didn't have to bid against Adler in Austin to find PPE. And that you didn't have to beg for testing from different places if you can get it? CRANLEY: Yes, it's outrageous that we don't have a national unity. I

mean, the only person leading this nation through this candidly is your brother, Chris. And we're not getting what we need at --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: A sad commentary if ever there were one.

CRANLEY: But we're not getting the PPE and the unified purchasing out of the president. And then we have Mitch McConnell who is just south of Ohio lecturing us about bankruptcy when he spent more money than anybody.

We have to balance our budget. He gets to print money. Cops and firefighters will be laid off all over this country all over the state of Ohio if they don't give us the help. And I will say the bipartisan support of our governor, our senators, have called for as Pelosi has said rightly.

Our heroes be at bill for police and firefighters and our public health department which is doing contact tracing and supervising these businesses that are slowly opening to make sure that they meet the mask requirements for employees and the requirement of reduced capacity.

We have the infrastructure but we don't have the money. The Brookings Institution said that Cincinnati is the second most at risk for income loss. Ninety-million-dollar deficit we're looking at because we're relying on income tax.

CUOMO: Right. All right. I'm out of time. But I'll make a point for Mayor Adler that I already know from looking at his own budget figures in that city. The Democrats are not in power in the Senate. They in the house. They did not fight to give states and cities the money that Adler needs in Austin. That frankly, the state of Texas needs, that Cranley needs in Cincinnati and that DeWine needs in Ohio.

They didn't fight for the money for the local governments. So, they can't have the money for the manpower to trace. And that's a big need. That's on Democrats too in the House. You have to be fair about this.

Mayor Adler, the best of luck to you. I'll give you break because it's Friday night. I won't come at you again. Mayor Cranley, thanks to both of you. I wish you good luck going forward. We're always a call away.

CRANLEY: Thank you so much.

ADLER: Thank you so much, Chris.

[23:24:56]

CUOMO: All right. You put responsibility on these cities to do things that they can't pay for and then you don't give them the money. I mean, come on. In these troubling times we've got to be real but we also need hope. There's a lot of good things coming out of this. Ameri-cans. OK? One of my guests spent nine days in a coma. Was on a ventilator. He

battled through COVID-19. Why? Because of doctors like Amy Compton- Phillips. So, you remember her? This is a good world with good people doing good things. A story that will give you the Friday feels. Next.

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[23:30:00]

CUOMO: Everything that every state wants to do is going to cause more cases. That's the reality. It is inevitable. The question is, whether we can prevent a second deadlier wave from happening.

Now, our next guest knows firsthand just how bad things can get. He was practically right there. Right? Right when it was going to be no going home. Nine days in a coma. Hooked up to a ventilator. Well over 70 percent of people on ventilators don't come off.

Darrin Godin is here. Along with Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips. As you know I'm a big fan. We speak to her often about this. Oversaw a clinical care at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California where Darrin was treated. They both join us now. Can you guys hear me and see me?

DARRIN GODIN, CORONAVIRUS SURVIVOR: Thanks for having me, Chris.

AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We do, Chris.

GODIN: Hi, Amy.

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Hi, Darrin.

CUOMO: I've got to tell you. You know the expression a bucket a sunshine? I mean, other than Cuomo bringing home that baby boy, Darrin, I got to tell you, when I read into your story, one, there was the selfish reaction of it. There but for the grace. There before the grace. Darrin is young and strong, you know. That could have been me.

For you to make it through when you were in there and things were bad before you went into the coma, tell me where you had your heart were. And how you were dealing with what you were looking at.

GODIN: Yes. Well, Chris, for me, I actually from the time I was admitted on March 17 in the emergency department, once the doctor read the chest x-ray and said that there's a distinct pattern to the coronavirus and he said it's there on the x-ray, I'm pretty sure you have it. We'll confirm with a nasal swab.

At that point I think I just went into shock. I called my wife crying. I called a friend. And from that point forward I actually don't remember much. My wife tells me I was pretty depressed because I was isolated and alone. I was scared.

The doctor told me you're likely to get a lot worse before you get better. But one thing I did not want to be is end up on a ventilator. But I just continued to get worse and worse that week. And by Saturday -- I was admitted on a Tuesday -- by Saturday I was having more and more oxygen. I couldn't breathe.

And the doctors decided that that's would be best for me. And so, I was intubated, sedated. And like you said, I was on a ventilator eight nights and nine days. Eight agonizing nights for my wife. And yes, it was, it was scary. I'll tell you I don't remember much about it but from the time I was told I just couldn't believe that I actually gotten coronavirus.

CUOMO: And you're in the hospital. She couldn't be there with you. Right?

GODIN: No. No. I had actually --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: So, you're on grief.

GODIN: I was just driving down to find a -- yes, I was driving down to find a testing location in Orange, California. And decided to also call at the same time to get a virtual visit with a doctor through Providence express care actually.

And I got connected with a provider right away and I pulled off the freeway and went through my symptoms with her. Had multiple days of a really high fever, the cough. Different things that I was explaining to her.

And she said you need to go right away to the emergency -- to the emergency room. And I was like no, no, I just want a test. And she said no, you need to go now. She said what hospital are you near. I said St. Joseph in Orange, and she said we'll going to call them and let you them know you're on the way. And it was all of that within about an hours' the time from the time I was on that phone call to the time I got the news that I had coronavirus.

CUOMO: Any underlying health conditions?

GODIN: No. I'm 44, no underlying health conditions. I have no idea who I came in contact with it. I can think back to the two weeks prior, different things I did. You know, from picking up coffee to stuffing at the store, going to a lane --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: It's hard to know.

GODIN: But I have no clue. I have no clue.

CUOMO: It's hard to know. It's hard to know.

GODIN: Yes.

CUOMO: So, then you're in there, they put you on the ventilator. You're kind of out of it. Hopefully you didn't know how dire it is once you're on a ventilator.

GODIN: No.

CUOMO: But, thank God --

(CROSSTALK)

GODIN: The question I get quite a bit is like, do you remember this? But when you're on the ventilator they sedate you. They gave you paralytic medication.

CUOMO: Yes.

GODIN: I mean, you're in a coma. And hopefully you don't remember anything. By the grace of God and great nurses they, and great respiratory therapist, they took good care of me. I don't remember have any memory of that thing. Thank God.

CUOMO: Do you remember coming out of the coma and realizing that you were going to be OK?

GODIN: I do. I don't remember when they first extubated me and took the ventilator off. But after about, I don't know, maybe 12 hours or something like that I started to understand that people were looking in on me and I was in a room where there was a window and all the nurses and the staff would walk by and look at me.

[23:34:59]

And first I kind of felt like I was in a fishbowl. People would wave at me and they looked happy. And I couldn't quite understand it. But I was gracious and would wave back as much as I possibly could.

Everything didn't work quite well after being on the ventilator. It was the very next day that one of my nurses explained to me when I was really frustrated why is my body not working. Why can't I, you know, lift my hand up. That sort of thing.

She explained to me that I'd been on the ventilator for eight night, nine days, whatever, and she told me that the toll that takes on your body and that I had coronavirus. And so, it was at that point I was realizing I was really lucky to be alive.

CUOMO: You remember talked to your wife? There it is.

GODIN: Yes.

CUOMO: That's the part.

(CROSSTALK)

GODIN: There was a lot of tears and you know, she told me that literally thousands of people were praying for me around the world. I have friends that harnessed a great army of people that were praying.

I've since heard stories from nurses and respiratory therapists that work there at St. Joseph Hospital, that told me they prayed and they talked to me and they told me to fight. And what incredible people. I'm just so thankful for the care I received there, and I'm thankful

that in those times my family couldn't be present because nobody is allowed in the hospitals right now, that there were men and women who were not just providing me care but they were caring for my whole person. They were caring about me as an individual. They cared about my family. They prayed for me. They told me to fight for my two little boys and for my wife. And here I am today and I'm so grateful for that.

CUOMO: Boy, Amy, you know how lucky he is to have been in that circumstance. And wind up being like a -- right now on TV. When you look at the case and what you're seeing, what are the realities when somebody is in that and how impressive is it that he is strong and on with us tonight?

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Well, the reality is that Darrin was really close to death. And thank heavens he is young. He is otherwise healthy. And so that really increases his odds. That it's not that young people don't get this germ, they do get this germ. But when they get sick, they are more likely to live through it.

And so, fortunately, through luck and great medical care and unbelievably kind people that work with Darrin and his family and support of him, he was able to make it through. And fortunately, younger people do have better odds of making it through than somebody who gets this later in life.

CUOMO: You know, Darrin, you know, I've been hearing about you for a while. You became a symbol of hope for people whose families had loved ones who were in a hard way. And now the hard part for you to figure out is going to be what do you do with this chance that not everybody gets and so many don't.

GODIN: Yes.

CUOMO: And what it means about just how special you're being on this earth is. What does that mean to you at this early stage?

GODIN: Yes, somebody asked me did you think why me. And my answer to that is I haven't thought that. But I do realize I've been given this opportunity to share the story. I've had many families reach out to me already and tell me that they have family members on ventilators and so forth and luckily most all of them have been coming off the ventilator.

Still one young man we're praying for. His name is Austin in Reno, California. Twenty-four years old. He's a nurse there in Reno. Fighting 15 days on the ventilator right now. We believe he's going to come off.

But I really just feel like that's what God has given me. He's given me a story to be able to share and encourage other folks and give them hope. I'm just, like I said, Chris, so grateful and thankful for all those who cared for me and prayed for me.

Amy, you know, I worked for Providence St. Joseph Health for almost six and a half years. The entire Providence family was praying for me as well. My current employer in City of Hope, Orange County gave me such grace and compassion during this time. And showed that to my family and took care of my family.

So, my wife Katie and I just feel like we have been given this chance and this opportunity and our job now is to pay it forward. So, everybody that's reached out to me so far, I've gotten a hold of them and just encourage them. And let them know that we're not just praying but I've shared different things that the doctors and the staff did for me. If those might be helpful.

I know that St. Joseph Health was part of a larger health system and it have me comfort to know that Providence who treated that first patient in Everett way back in, I think it's February or January.

CUOMO: Right.

GODIN: I was hoping that behind the scenes they were sharing information and they were saying hey, this worked here. Try this on Darrin. I'm not sure if all of that actually happened. Amy can probably speak to that better.

But I'm certainly thankful for that. That I was where I needed to be and even though it was early in Orange County, I was the first COVID positive patient at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange. I got the very best care. I'm just so thankful. And so, pay it forward that's my message.

[23:40:03]

CUOMO: Amy Compton-Phillips has become synonymous with the best care. She was on this from the beginning. She was getting the country rallied around making masks and getting the word out. We're big fans because of hers here. Because the reality of her actions.

But here are two things for you that you are going to have to deal with. One, you being in a coma was much tougher on your wife because you were out of it. So, you didn't have to deal with the reality. But you are going to have to be doing some work there because you owe her.

And you have two sons who know something that every kid dream is true. Their dad is one of the toughest people that they'll ever meet.

GODIN: Thank you.

CUOMO: You beat something that most almost nobody beats the way you did. So, take God's blessing, take the grace. Pay it forward. But know that you have done something and you've given a gift to your kids of letting them see what it is to fight to the finish even when the odds are against.

I hope your blessings continue.

GODIN: Thank you.

CUOMO: And I thank you for sharing your story with my audience. And Dr. Compton-Phillips, as always, seems like you're always attached to good news. So, thank you for being with us --

(CROSSTALK)

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: I like it that way.

CUOMO: Yes. Me too. All right. Have a great weekend and as always, Dr. Compton-Phillips, when you need something, we're a call away. And Darrin, you're now added to that invitation.

GODIN: Thanks, Chris. I appreciate it. Bye, Amy.

CUOMO: Thank you.

CUOMO: I told you. Can you imagine being in that position? And can you imagine what you'd do with that new lease on life? Sobering new report predicting coronavirus could last up to two more years. Why? Why is this thing so hard? Let's get answers from one of the studies' authors. Next.

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CUOMO: A new study warns the pandemic could last as long as two years until more than two-thirds of the population is infected. Why? It goes to the idea of herd immunity.

Now it was co-authored by John Barry who also wrote the "Great Influenza" which deals the 1918 outbreak which the president keeps calling the 1917 outbreak and I'm not sure why. Welcome back to Prime Time. It's good to have you, John.

JOHN BARRY, AUTHOR, "GREAT INFLUENZA": Thanks. Good to be back.

CUOMO: Is there anybody who calls it the 1917? I mean, is that when it started and we're just -- why?

BARRY: You know, it's a strange -- I think it encapsulates too many things about him. You know, he does, if he makes a mistake instead of admitting it, he just wraps his arms around it and he think he insists he can get away with it. So, it's unfortunate.

CUOMO: So, the idea of it taking that long. Barry, you're a pessimist. No way, we've never dealt with anything that went on that long in this country, on this country like this. Not since 1918 and even then. We're much better off now. Why should we believe this?

BARRY: Well, I mean, 1918 did take that long. So, there was a pandemic in 1889 that lasted three years. You know, pandemics take a while to work their way through. Even in '57 and '68 when we had vaccines, they still took a while.

You know, if we get a vaccine, then what we said in the study is short circuited. Fortunately. The point really of the study is to remind people and everyone who does it wants a vaccine. I mean, every author of the study. There are four of us. I'm over 70. I certainly want a vaccine sooner rather than later. But it may not work. You know?

There are many pitfalls between here and getting a vaccine. So, a little bit of reality checking and recognizing what could happen if we do not deliver a vaccine and prepare for that. So that we're not don't get the rug pulled out from under us again.

CUOMO: What is the key thing in terms of how we structure the strategy that determines how long this takes?

BARRY: Well, you know, the irony is the more effective we are in terms of social distancing so that we don't get a huge spike, the longer the process will take. By the same token the more effective we are the fewer people are going to die.

If you go back a few weeks, seems like years. But it's really only a few weeks ago to the early studies that were predicting deaths in the United States of one to two million. If we did nothing, as this disease has persisted and as people have died, those numbers look more and more accurate if we had done nothing.

Now we did do something, we intervened. Those interventions have been successful. But we're getting over confident. There's not a single state that has met the White House's criteria. Forget about the criteria for skeptical public health people. And yet they are reopening.

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You know, they are -- I'm afraid, and I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid we're going to get some major upticks. You know, we can control that, we can prevent that if we do things right.

CUOMO: And doing right, means doing less. And we are in a climate right now where people want to do more.

John Barry, you did the right thing putting the piece out. People have to have the perspective of more than just the immediate appetite. So, thank you for doing it. I hope you stay healthy and I look forward to seeing you again. Best for the weekend for you and the family.

BARRY: You, too. Thanks very much.

CUOMO: All right. Great story for you on a Friday night. You got to keep -- you got to keep it positive when we can. High school principal. Boy, did he go as big as the state of Texas that he's in. And that's why he's tonight, Ameri-can.

[23:55:00]

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CUOMO: Ordinary people doing the extraordinary during the pandemic makes them an Ameri-can. Texas high school principal making sure that graduation ceremonies -- of course, they're going to be cancelled -- but he wants to make sure that seniors feel special and get their diplomas, get this, in person. Virdie Montgomery is his name. He gets in his car, and he drives to

all 612 students' homes or jobs to meet up. It took him 12 days. Eight hundred miles of road. He gave every single -- single graduation a snickers bar. Why? Because he's joked with all of them, one day, they'll look back on all of this and snicker.

What a memory. What a moment. What a man. Thank you for watching. Stay tuned. The news always continues here on CNN.

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