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Dr. Peter Hotez is Interviewed about Coronavirus Headlines; Massachusetts Senate Race; House Prepares to Subpoena Postmaster General; Flood Threat across Central U.S.; Coronavirus Update from Around the World; Coronavirus Six Months Later. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 01, 2020 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Late in the spring and into early summer to -- especially in the southern part of the United States, we could have prevented the resurgence and now we've got 183,000 deaths and we'll have probably 200,000 deaths by the end of this month, tragically.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has some reporting, Dr. Hotez, that one of the members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Scott Atlas, behind the scenes, has been promoting policies and strategies that would help the United States develop herd immunity. In other words, let people get it. Let people get sick and then there will be some herd immunity.

Though, I mean we've heard from so many doctors, we don't know how long the immunity lasts. We don't know if that's an effective strategy with Covid-19. He has said, quote, I've never advocated that strategy at a press conference. So when he was confronted directly, he says that, no, he's not interested in that.

We had Dr. Wen on, who said that the -- the idea of herd immunity is between 60 percent and 80 percent of America having gotten it. And her idea is that, if that were the case, 200 million-plus Americans would have gotten it with a fatality rate of 2 million Americans.

So what do you want to say about herd immunity for people who like that idea this morning?

HOTEZ: Well, herd immunity, for this brand-new virus, is still a bit of an ethereal concept in the sense that we don't really know what herd immunity is. Some say 60 percent to 70 percent, and that's based on the -- calculation based on the reproductive number of the virus. They're saying, no, it will be much less than that because of differences in susceptibility. Whatever that number is, it's a massive number of Americans who would die and perish because of this virus. So, just letting it rip and counting on herd immunity is a ridiculous strategy.

And whether the number is 2 million, 1 million Americans dead, it's unacceptable. And it's unacceptable to even voice that approach. We have to do everything we can to save American lives, and this is the great failing of this administration, allowing the greatest public health failure in the last 100 years and the 183,000 Americans dead because, essentially, we're almost pursuing that strategy right now.

There is no national strategy. There is no real attempt to contain this virus. We have this -- still have this very steep and profound amount of transmission in the southern United States, even if it's down a little bit, it's even starting to come back up a little bit in Houston now. So we've done nothing in the southern part of the United States. And now we have a brand-new focus in the Great Plains states. So, this is still out -- this is still an out-of-control epidemic.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Not to mention, with herd immunity, we don't know how long immunity lasts. It may very well be you can infect 100 million to 200 million people. They'll be immune for a few months, but not forever, and they can get it again. So that's a questionable strategy there.

You brought up the rising cases in the Midwest. There's also this rise in cases on college campuses. I was shocked to see it's now 20,000 cases around the country stemming from people at colleges.

What impact will this have on the rest of society, Dr. Hotez?

HOTEZ: Well, you know, because we never -- this all gets back to the lack of a national strategy and willing to contain the virus where there's a lot of transmission. What do you think's going to happen when you open up schools where there's high levels of transmission? What do you think's going to happen when you bring a bunch of 20- something-year-olds to -- 18 to 20-something-year-olds to a large college campus where there's lots of transmission? Of course there's -- of course it's going to fail. This was both predicted and predictable.

I mean there's just so much you can do with Plexiglas and six-foot social distancing. At the end of the day, if you don't control community transmission, it -- it -- I -- we predicted on this show that it would fail catastrophically, and it's failing catastrophically.

BERMAN: Don't worry, be happy.

Thank you, Dr. Hotez, appreciate your time this morning.

HOTEZ: Thanks so much.

BERMAN: Dr. Bobby Mcferrin.

CAMEROTA: I'm waiting for you to start whistling.

BERMAN: Oh, no.

CAMEROTA: That will happen before the show's over, I'm sure of it.

BERMAN: During the break.

CAMEROTA: I'm sure of it. All right, so the U.S. postmaster general is facing a possible subpoena over claims he is withholding important documents about the delays in the Postal Service. We have all the details for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:11]

BERMAN: This morning, the eyes of the nation are on the most important state in the nation, or commonwealth, actually. I'm talking about Massachusetts. A riveting Senate primary pitting veteran Democratic incumbent Ed Markey against Congressman Joe Kennedy of the Massachusetts Kennedys.

CNN's Manu Raju live with the latest on this race.

And the dynamics here, Manu, are fascinating.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. I mean Joe Kennedy was someone who was viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party. He was slated by Democratic leaders to give the rebuttal to President Trump's State of the Union Address two years ago. And he could be out of a job as soon as after tonight's primary. Then after, if he loses, then at the end of his term in Congress where he currently serves in the House.

And that's because of 39-year-old Kennedy is facing a stiff challenge. He's trying to mount to unseat a sitting United States senator, Ed Markey, who has been in Congress in the House and Senate for more than four decades. And something unusual has happened in that Ed Markey has galvanized the support of young and progressive voters. And polls show that Markey is actually the favorite heading into tonight's primary, and Kennedy could be the first person of any Kennedy to lose an election in Massachusetts. And that surprised a lot of people who are supporters of the son of -- grandson of Robert F. Kennedy.

Now, we caught up with Joe Kennedy over the weekend. We asked him about the dynamics on the ground. And he contended some concerns that he believes that Markey's record has not been fully examined over four decades in Congress, whether that's his support of NAFTA or his support from the crime bill from the '90s, his record on race relations over the years. And he said that the progressive movement should look closer at Markey's record.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOE KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS SENATE CANDIDATE: And if a progressive movement's willing to overlook those hurdles, then that's up to a progressive movement.

[06:40:00]

I think an awful lot of folks in many parts of Massachusetts have a different view of that record and what that means to our communities.

SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): Young people all across the commonwealth have rallied to my side, actually by the thousands. I also know simultaneously that there is no real record of Congressman Kennedy in his eight years leading on issues of generational change in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So what Ed Markey has been able to do is to lean into his support and authorship of the green new deal, as well as his support for Medicare for all. He points to his endorsement of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of course, the New York freshman who, herself, unseated a sitting incumbent, Republican -- a Democratic congressman, just two years ago.

But Joe Kennedy has the support of the Democratic establishment, the leader of the Democratic establishment, Nancy Pelosi, who came out on Kennedy's side. So this is different than the dynamics we've seen on the ground in other Democratic primaries where a newcomer, a progressive newcomer, unseating a longtime member of Congress. We've seen that in New York. We've seen that in Missouri. But it sort of turned on its head here, and now it looks like a Kennedy has got his back against the wall and could lose his job if he fails to unseat the sitting senator tonight.

BERMAN: Yes. It will be -- it really is very interesting to watch. And I will watch those votes come in this evening.

Manu, separately, the House Oversight Committee is preparing to subpoena the postmaster general for withholding documents. What's going on there?

RAJU: Yeah, Carolyn Maloney, who's the chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, threatened that by Wednesday she will issue a subpoena to the U.S. Postal Service if it does -- if they do not receive a range of documents that they have been demanding about the delays that are happening in the mail.

Of course, this is all coming amid the concerns about mail being delayed in the -- and as President Trump has questioned mail-in voting in the middle of this pandemic, Democrats have been demanding a range of documents that the postmaster general has not provided about the removal of a letter sorting machines that we've seen throughout the country, about cutting back on overtime hours. Those have not been turned over to Congress.

Now, the U.S. Postal Service has pushed back. They believe his testimony from last week, DeJoy's testimony, was sufficient in answering those questions. Of course, there's a very contentious hearing that occurred in the House. They said this on a Friday statement, I trust my August 24 testimony before the committee on oversight and reform clarified any outstanding issues you had.

Well, it did not do that. It said that they followed up on Monday with this threat of a subpoena, and then the Postal Service came back and said they're confused why there's this concern. But this fight is bound to continue here.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Manu Raju for us on Capitol Hill. Great to have you on the show, Manu, thank you very much.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, John, now to weather.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms across the central U.S. could trigger severe flooding.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has our forecast.

How's it looking, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Alisyn, very wet. Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, a lot of rain overnight and more flooding to come with more rain coming later on this afternoon.

This weather is brought to you by Zales, the diamond store.

So, where is the rain? Well, it's in Oklahoma. It's I-40. And it's still raining. We have flash flood emergencies going on right now in Oklahoma. And the most dangerous part of it, it's at night. You can't see the flooding if you're driving to work. You need to be very careful because more rainfall is certainly on the way.

Heavy rain all day long. This takes you all the way to 11:00. More than one wave of storms still to come. Many more areas here, between four and six additional inches on top of the four to six that they've already had.

Now, remember, we still have 300,000 people without power. Look at the heat index for Houston. Over 110 today. And that's going to stretch all the way into Louisiana, where those people still don't have power.

Something else we're watching, obviously, the tropics. A couple areas here. One coming off of Africa. But the one that we're concerned about, at least the most, closest one, maybe going toward Belsize, 70 percent chance of development. If it gets into the Bay of Capeche, maybe something could get into the Gulf. But for now, we're in good shape.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, Chad, I can't believe 110 degrees in Houston and people still don't have power.

MYERS: Right.

CAMEROTA: That's going to be dangerous today. Thank you very much for the report.

So, remember Russia's race for a coronavirus vaccine? Well, teachers were supposed to be the first to benefit there, but most reportedly deciding not to get it. Why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:48:34]

CAMEROTA: More than 850,000 people have died around the world from coronavirus, and the number of cases has now surpassed 25 million.

CNN has reporters covering all of the latest pandemic developments for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Will Ripley in Hong Kong.

It's day one of the city's mass testing drive. They're trying to test the entire population, more than 7 million people, over the next 14 days. But a lot of people are not turning out. Fewer than 1 million people have signed up so far. Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong (ph) says people's DNA could be sent to mainland China because Chinese experts helped set up testing centers like this one.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matthew Chance in Moscow.

And it's the first day of school here. The first day since March that Russian classrooms have reopened amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers are meant to be among the first to benefit from Russia's new coronavirus vaccine, but what we're learning is that few, if any, have so far taken up the offer to be vaccinated.

In fact, one Russian teachers union has started an online petition, calling on members to reject it outright on safety grounds. Well, the vaccine was fast-tracked to get it to frontline workers as soon as possible, but unfinished human trials and a lack of published clinical data means that many teachers, at least, see it as a risk they're unwilling to take.

[06:50:04]

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm David Culver in Beijing, where across the country here most students returned to the classroom on Tuesday for what is the official start of school here in China. In most major Chinese cities, students and staff will wear masks and they'll stagger schedules so as to allow for social distancing.

But, surprisingly, in Wuhan, more than seven months since the outbreak there, the measures are arguably the most relaxed in all of China. Students are encouraged to bring a mask, but they do not have to wear it. A sign that the city leaders apparently feel confident in their testing and contact tracing, though already on social media some parents expressing a bit of unease, hoping this does not lead to resurgence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Let me ask you this question.

BERMAN: Our thanks to our reporters all around the world. So, this morning, where are we in the battle against the virus and

what have we learned since it all began?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A disease we hadn't even imagined a year ago is now the third leading cause of death in the United States. And as much as we've learned about it, so many mysteries still remain.

Yes, we better understand the risk factors. And they are stark.

People 85 and older, 20 times more likely to die than people in their 50s, 60 times more likely to die than people in their 40s. Add in cancer, in the largest review to date, 13 percent of those with cancer and Covid-19 died within a month. Obesity increasing risk of death three to four times relative to those of normal weight. And those with diabetes were three times more likely to be hospitalized.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hospital's on lockdown.

GUPTA: And yet there are still too many stories like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, that was it. I never got to say "I love you," nothing.

GUPTA: Nicole Buchanan's husband, Conrad, was just 39 years old, healthy, in the prime of his life.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NIAID: You know, you've got so many people who do well, and then some people who just, bingo, they're on a respirator, they're on ecmo (ph) and they're dead.

GUPTA: Through it all, the virus has been pretty constant, but how we react to it has considerably changed.

MELISSA MCKINLAY, PALM BEACH COUNTY COMMISSIONER: We've just got a lot of young people that were ready to get back out, want to go to restaurants, want to go to bars.

GUPTA: Here is the part that makes little sense.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've made the decision --

GUPTA: When there were fewer than 5,000 confirmed cases back in March, we started to shut things down.

TRUMP: We'd much rather be ahead of the curve than behind it.

GUPTA: But now there are more than 6 million people who have been infected, and we are pushing to open things back up.

And even though we've been told nearly 70,000 Americans could possibly be saved by the end of the year if we just wore masks in public --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please wear your masks.

GUPTA: It seems too much to ask. And that's why models now estimate that 1,000 people will die every day for the rest of the year. That's an American losing their life to this disease every minute.

And sometimes, there are those truly stuck in the middle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been treated as Covid for 97 days.

GUPTA: They even have a name now, the long haulers. The most basic question is still unclear, if you get this disease, how likely are you to die? Researchers estimate that likelihood is about 0.6 percent. That's still six times more than the flu.

We have made incremental strides with therapeutics, the antiviral Remdesivir, the steroid, dexamethasone, most recently the FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization for convalescent plasma, that's donated antibodies from people who have been previously infected. And, of course, we all wait for a vaccine, which most say won't be available for the general public until next spring.

GUPTA (on camera): You made a list the other day -- and I'll just rattle them off for the audience. If we wore masks, if we kept physical distance, if we shut down bars, or at least indoor, closely crowded situations, large gatherings, and washed hands often.

FAUCI: And outdoor --

GUPTA: If we did those five things.

FAUCI: And outdoors is much better than indoors, always. That's the point.

GUPTA (voice over): If we did just that, within a few weeks, we could be looking at the back side of this curve. But, astonishingly, disturbingly, it doesn't look like we are going to lean into the basics.

I often wonder what the history books will tell our greatgrandchildren of this time. We didn't learn the lessons quickly 100 years ago during the flu pandemic, and 675,000 people died in the United States. We have to apply the lessons we've learned quickly so that we can do better this time around.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And I think it's worth making this point again, you know, as much as we talk about the vaccine -- and, obviously, so many people are wanting this vaccine -- these simple public health strategies have worked in many places around the world. There are countries around the world that don't have a vaccine -- nobody has a vaccine yet -- that are already returned to some sense of normalcy.

[06:55:06] We've just got to apply these basics, and we still have time to do it, because we're still very much in the middle of things.

BERMAN: All right, Sanjay, we appreciate that. We'll see you in a few minutes.

The president is headed to the Midwest today, where there is a rise in coronavirus cases. Is he going to talk about the pandemic there? No. He's going to talk about violence on the streets. He's also comparing the police shooting of black men to golfers who choke while putting. Really? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump is pushing ahead with plans to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It could increase love and respect for our country.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president is always welcome, but at this time it's just the wrong time.

[07:00:05]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: College campuses are becoming an example of just how quickly the virus can spread.