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New Day

Moderna Says, Coronavirus Vaccine 94.5 Percent Effective. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 16, 2020 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: New Day continues right now.

Okay. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day.

And we do begin with breaking news for you. Moderna has just released the first analysis of its coronavirus vaccine, and it is very promising. The company says the results of its phase three trial show that their vaccine is 94.5 percent effective. That's even higher than what we'd heard of with Pfizer's vaccine.

This is huge. Our experts are being scrambled into position so that we can break down all the details for you in just a moment.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: Let's break it down now. Let's not wait just a moment. This is a huge deal with record hospitalizations and more than 100,000 new cases for the last 13 days.

So, let's get right to Elizabeth Cohen for this truly stunning news, Elizabeth, 94 percent effective. Now we have a second vaccine providing so much hope. Tell us what you've learned.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, indeed, these numbers are stunning, Pfizer's vaccine showing very similar results. Let's get right to the details. As you said, let's break it down.

What this Moderna data shows is that they gave 15,000 people a placebo. That's a shot of saline that does nothing. 90 of those people became sick with COVID over the period of several months. They also gave the same number of people the actual vaccine. Only five of those people became sick with COVID. That is where you get that stunning 94.5 percent effectiveness.

Now, not only that, but the vaccine protected against severe illness. Those five people who took the vaccine and got sick, none of them became severely ill. But of the folks who got the placebo and got sick, 11 of them became severely ill.

Also, good news on the safety end of things. A small number of people had things like headaches or muscle aches after receiving their two doses of the vaccine. And it is a two-dose vaccine, but there was nothing severe, nothing terrible happened.

Now, this is news to us and, yesterday, it was news to Moderna. An independent panel called the Data and Safety Monitoring Board analyzed these numbers and they told Moderna about these results yesterday afternoon. Let's take a listen to the chief medical officer at Moderna, Dr. Tal Zaks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Tell me, how did it feel to hear that number, 94.5 percent?

DR. TAL ZAKS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, MODERNA: Elizabeth, it's one of the greatest moments of my life and my career. It is absolutely amazing to me to be able to develop this vaccine and see the ability to prevent symptomatic disease with such high efficacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, neither Pfizer nor Moderna has applied to the FDA for authorization on its vaccine. They can't do that quite yet. They need to accumulate some more safety data, but that is expected to happen very soon. I spoke yesterday with Dr. Anthony Fauci. He says that he thinks that vaccinations could begin in the United States in the second half of December. Alisyn, John?

BERMAN: Second half of December, which is really just a few weeks away at this point. But talk to me about the distribution pattern, Elizabeth. What is the plan, really, for both vaccines?

COHEN: Right. So, for both vaccines, it's the same, John. Not everybody will be able to get this vaccine at first, because we won't have enough. So there are high-priority groups, elderly people, health care workers, people with underlying medical conditions. They will be first in line. And that's who's expected to start getting it in December.

Dr. Fauci said other people, people who are not high risk, he doesn't think they'll be able to start getting the vaccine until he said the end of April. And he said it will take months. He said May, June, July, he said it will take months to vaccinate all of those people. John, Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Elizabeth, thank you very much for bringing us all of that great breaking news.

Let's bring in CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen. She is Baltimore's former health commissioner and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. Dr. Wen, what are your thoughts on hearing this Moderna news?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: This is amazing news. I mean, this is the news that we have been waiting to hear all of these months. And I think it's incredibly promising. We do need more data to come in to see if it holds over tens of thousands of people, but if it continues to hold up, this will be among the most effective vaccines and really the best that we could have hoped for. Now, of course, there are still many challenges involved in manufacturing, distributing millions of doses of this vaccine or hundreds of millions of doses of this vaccine, but I think this is another call to action to all of us that help is on the way, that there is hope on the horizon. But we have to make it through this winter.

BERMAN: 94 percent effective. And just so people understand, that is incredibly effective. It is way more than the flu vaccine, which hovers between 30 and 60, depending on the year. You're approaching measles range there, which effectively does away with it, if everyone takes it.

[07:05:02]

Talk to me about the science behind the Moderna vaccine. It's very similar to Pfizer, right? It's the RNA messenger vaccine. But this one has a little bit of an advantage, potentially, over Pfizer in that it may be easier to transport at temperatures not quite as low. Please explain this.

WEN: That's right. That is our understanding, that the Pfizer vaccine has to be kept at this extremely low temperature, that's 50 degrees colder than we've ever done for any other vaccine, whereas the Moderna vaccine appears to have a longer stable shelf life at a higher temperature, making it easier to distribute, to store.

And that distribution, again, I cannot underscore how complicated it is. I was talking with some state and local health officials last week, who are extremely concerned about how they're literally going to be able to do this, if it's the Pfizer vaccine, that they only have access to. And I think if we have two vaccines, one of which is easier to distribute, it just makes it more likely that we can get to that point of herd immunity, of having at least 60 to 80 percent of Americans vaccinated against COVID-19.

CAMEROTA: And so, Doctor, given what we've just heard, from what little we know and all the distribution challenges, when should regular people expect a vaccine to be available to them?

WEN: So there are still a lot of steps, Alisyn, that we have not yet confirmed, right? We don't yet know that this vaccine or the Pfizer vaccine will receive the emergency use authorization. I expect that they will, if these data continue to pan out. That will probably come in December of 2020, of this year.

By the time that there is approval for everyday Americans to get the vaccine, we're looking at early 2021, in which case we're looking at spring, maybe early or mid-spring for everyone to be able to have access to this vaccine.

Now, access does not necessarily mean that everyone is going to get it at the same time. Again, we're looking at all of these distribution challenges. Also, we have to gain the trust of the American people, because it's not enough for a vaccine to just be safe and effective, it also needs to be trusted. And by the time that all of that's done, we're probably looking at middle of 2021 for people to have access to this vaccine.

Now, I also want to point out that as far as I know, this vaccine has not yet been tested on children. And so by the time that kids have access, we're looking at maybe even later than that.

BERMAN: Obviously, again, still a lot to learn but very, very promising news. And if it bears out, this will be a notable success for Operation Warp Speed and notable success for the efforts of this administration to get a vaccine in a timely fashion, but it will be the next administration, Dr. Wen, largely responsible for getting the vaccine to people, which makes the transition we're in right now so absolutely crucial.

I want you to listen to the incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, who will be President-elect Biden, when he's President Biden's chief of staff, who ran the Ebola response for the Obama administration. He knows about getting these types of things that people need. And he talks about the challenges. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON KLAIN, CHIEF OF STAFF TO PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN: Vaccines don't save lives, vaccinations save lives. And that means you've got to get that vaccine into people's arms, all over this country. It's a giant logistical project.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So given how much of a logistical project it is, Dr. Wen, how important is it that the Trump administration get over itself and start coordinating with the Biden transition?

WEN: I mean, it's absolutely crucial. And I think it's common sense to anyone who has ever transitioned jobs, that if you're starting a new job, you don't want to start from scratch. You want your predecessor to have left materials for you, ideally for there to be time to discuss with the outgoing team about what it is that they're working on and how you can take over in a seamless way. That's never more important than in the middle of a pandemic right now.

And, I mean, the logistical challenges again are huge. They are surmountable, but they are things that need to be worked on now. There is already a competent team that's working on that kind of distribution, coordinating, for example, with local state officials, coordinating with private companies, but the incoming administration needs access to that team to find out what it is that they're doing so that they can hit the ground running on day one.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Wen, you wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post and it is so interesting and I can't believe we haven't spoken more about it and I want to get right to the most salient points right now about who you think should be on the Biden coronavirus advisory board, but are not currently on the board. So, here is what you say. Incorporate economists and business leaders. Of course, I mean, that's right, so that there's not this kind of mortal combat between the economy and public health. Number two, advisory board members should include prominent Republicans. You're so right.

[07:10:00]

Obviously, you need buy-in from the Republican side, because we know that Republicans feel differently about mask-wearing and all of this stuff.

And then, three, consider people of credibility with those that public health experts and politicians do not. I mean, you're suggesting even in enlisting the help of some of the doctors on conservative media, say, on Fox T.V., because that's the audiences that isn't hearing your message, for instance.

WEN: Right. I mean, look, I am thrilled that President-elect Biden has put together this exceptional team and has made it clear that he is listening to top scientists and public health experts. That's great. But we are months into this pandemic of misinformation and there is a need to reach millions of Americans who will not listen necessarily to President-elect Biden and to his public health experts. So you need economists to make it clear that it's not economy versus public health.

And we also need these trusted messengers who are able to reach the many millions of Americans who are, again, not listening to public health experts, and does that include religious leaders, pastors, Republicans. It's a matter of finding the most trusted messenger, not just about the right message. Because you can have the best policy in the world, but if millions of people are not following it, then it's not doing much good.

BERMAN: I want to go back to the major breaking news, Dr. Wen, if I can, which is that Moderna announcing this morning that its vaccine, 94 percent effective. Obviously, we need to learn more. They'll approve for emergency use approval soon, as soon as they can. This would be the second vaccine that has shown to be effective, along with Pfizer.

Again, these use the same technology. How important is it to have more than one vaccine available? What does that mean? I'm just not sure that people fully understand the ramifications or the implications of having multiple possible vaccines. Do you take both?

WEN: Well, it was always the hope that when we had this many shots on goal, this many vaccine candidates in the pipeline, that we're able to get at least one candidate, ideally, multiple candidates. And that's because there's so much that could go wrong in the drug development process. So the more candidates you have that are promising, the better it's going to be.

Now, both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine work in similar ways. And so it's not likely that you'll have to take both of these vaccines, but it is possible that other vaccine candidates that use a different mechanism of action might be approved in the future as well, in which case, I think there will need to be some conversations about, maybe one vaccine alone is very effective, but maybe taking two is even more effective, maybe not. I mean, we just don't know the answers to that yet. But I think it's really promising that we have multiple vaccines that are already proven, at least early on, to be effective.

Ramping up production is such a big task. And if we have two vaccines, then we're able to ramp up production of these two vaccines even more with the hope that we can get it to people all across America and, ideally, the world soon so that we're able to really eradicate coronavirus.

Now, that's still months, maybe years into the future, but we know that there is hope on the horizon, but we have to hang in there until then. And so wear masks, do not gather indoors, I know that Thanksgiving is coming, we want to see our loved ones, but we have to get through this time.

CAMEROTA: Yes. But knowing that there's a finish line, that there could be a finish line, I mean, this morning, this promising news might help people hang in there longer. So, Dr. Wen, thank you very much for all of your advice and expertise on this.

Of course, the coronavirus pandemic is also devastating people financially. Thousands of people lined up at this Dallas food bank over the weekend. Just look at your screen, at how long these lines stretch. So what is President-elect Biden going to say today about the economy? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

BERMAN: All right, major breaking news this morning, you heard it just moments ago. Moderna now reporting the results from the phase three trials of its vaccine, it shows to have a 94.5 percent effective rate. Their vaccine is 94.5 percent effective. That's very high, very good news.

And it comes as President-elect Biden's transition team is warning that vaccine distribution could be delayed if the Trump administration continues to block the transition efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KLAIN: Joe Biden is going to become president of the United States in the midst of an ongoing crisis. That has to be a seamless transition. We now have the possibility, we need to see if it gets approved, of a vaccine, starting perhaps in December, January. There are people at HHS making plans to implement that vaccine. Our experts need to talk to those people as soon as possible so nothing drops in this change in power we're going to have on January 20th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Obviously, Ron Klain has vast experience given his role in the Obama administration leading the Ebola response. Joining us now, CNN Political Analyst David Gregory. David, the breaking news about Moderna is terrific. 94.5 percent effective rate, really high. And it is at that level in which people actually take the vaccine and we get it to people, you can push this sickness almost all the way out of society, if people take it, if it becomes available, and it makes the transition all the more important.

So overlay these two things, this fantastic Moderna news with the fact that the Biden transition is being iced out right now, is being blocked from information about vaccine distribution or anything having to do with the pandemic.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's so serious, because, as Ron Klain said, you're in the middle of a crisis where you've got to have really close coordination. That will be true in any presidential transition.

Look, the president is a figurehead right now and he is one who is extremely counterproductive. But there are lots of people at the agency level at HHS and, of course, in other federal agencies who can be doing this coordination. And I thought that was the Biden campaigns and now transition attempt to really fire a shot across the bow towards congressional leaders to say, this has to stop, we have to have coordination.

[07:20:10]

If you want to have all of the coordination with regard to the vaccine news, which is actually, you know, important and huge.

So I think this week is going to be important in that regard, and I think you really want to watch these health teams start to coordinate. You said it before, there's two important points. This is a real accomplishment of the Trump administration's efforts to very quickly, with historic speed, get a vaccine. They deserve credit for that.

There's a psychological piece for Americans who hear this and can truly see light at the end of the tunnel. Everybody has a stake and a reason to want to cooperate on this.

CAMEROTA: I hope so, David. I hope so. I hear your optimism. I hope this week is a game changer, but there's only so much backchanneling they can do, the incoming administration. And 65 days until inauguration is a long time in this pandemic's life.

Do you know that South Dakota is at 60 percent positivity rate today? I mean, John read this lost list of states that are having record hospitalizations and deaths. We can't wait 65 days.

GREGORY: Right. And there are obviously states that have to do what they have to do. You're seeing it in Michigan. This is part of the difficulty that a Biden administration is going to face, because one of the things that the Trump administration did is move away from kind of the federal control with the task force and say, well, the states are going to have to handle it. And he ceded that ground, which is so important, which I don't think President Biden will do. But, yes, in that interim, states have to do what is necessary to keep people safe, and we're seeing that in states. We're seeing it where I live here close by in Maryland. So I think that's going to continue. It's not like no one will be at the helm.

But I hear what you're saying too. And this is why you've got this short amount of time to really accelerate all coordination. And don't we all want to be able to be able to have access, not that we'll all get it, but to the vaccine starting in the middle of December? We can really start to impact the trajectory of this virus by that level of cooperation.

So I think all I can do is be optimistic and treat the president, our current president, as someone who is someone to largely be ignored with the ranting, because none of that is relevant. What's relevant and what we keep our eye on is the health people, the health teams that are coordinating.

BERMAN: Well, he has abdicated responsibility. That is one thing. There's an abdication of sorts, which is ironic given that he won't concede defeat, you can abdicate and concede at the same time.

But, David, his health team, his health adviser, his COVID Rasputin, Dr. Scott Atlas, isn't only not abdicating, he's actively campaigning against solutions being offered by states now. Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who I know you know last hour, said he's calling for insurrection.

Dr. Scott Atlas, after Michigan, announced it was going to announce some new restrictions to try to get over the record numbers they're seeing, this awful spell that they're in. What did Dr. Scott Atlas do? He tweeted last night, the only way this stops is if people rise up. He's calling for people to rise up against this state, which is trying to fight the virus. So, if it was only abdication, that would one thing, but this is a whole different that we're seeing right now, David.

GREGORY: No. And Scott Atlas, who doesn't have credibility as an infectious disease specialist, is doing something that's beyond the pale and over the line. And I hope most Americans see it for what it is. But he's also underlying a problem when you spoke to that a few minutes ago, which is a Biden administration has to try to pull together these disparate voices to say, this is how we move forward together.

Now, look, a successful vaccine can do a lot to smooth that over, because it's just a matter of time. But we have to, as a country, work together. And part of what happens in South Dakota affects us here in Washington, D.C., because of travel and because of the way the virus spreads. And that's what we've been seeing for these months.

So, Dr. Atlas should be ignored. He is not a serious person who is contributing to the health of the American people. Listen to the people who deserve trust in this regard and, you know, to be working across purposes with other states. Even if you have disagreements with lockdowns, it's fair, because not everybody is going to see it the same way. You've got to pull this together in a way that's coherent to pull these voices together.

CAMEROTA: I don't think he's being ignored by the tens of thousands of people who showed up in Washington, D.C. this weekend, who --

GREGORY: But that's always going to be the case. I mean, we can't live our lives with the extremes on both sides who are going to have their own agenda. They're not the ones who decided this election. So, I mean, there are going to be people who make lots of noise and do lots of bad things and they're not going to be in control of the country.

[07:36:02]

CAMEROTA: Yes, except, David, it's dangerous what he's done, saying rise up. I mean, that's -- I can't be more explicit what he's talking about. He then tried to backtrack and said, I meant, that people need to vote. People need to have a voice. When's the last time you told your kids, I'm going to go down to the polls and rise up? You can't use those. You can't substitute one for the other. That has an actual code of violence.

GREGORY: Well, not only that, to direct that toward Michigan and to whose governor has already been the subject of a kidnapping plot, I mean, it's so irresponsible.

BERMAN: It's not an accident. I mean, it's not an accident. He knows when he's doing. I mean, this is a guy who knows what he's doing. Obviously, he made that statement and he stands behind it, even though he tried to weirdly backtrack it later on.

David, the Biden transition, how do you assess what they're doing, the pace of their public announcements and the public face they are putting on? What do you think it is they're trying to do? How are they doing it?

GREGORY: Well, I think they're trying to take it easy here, right, to not overreact to what they're seeing here. It's an unprecedented situation with President Trump. I think Biden got it exactly right when he said very calmly, look, it's an embarrassment. It's going to affect Trump's legacy. They're working to show the public what their priorities are, right, which is combating the coronavirus and dealing with the economic devastation as a result.

And they're doing that very publicly announcing people for key positions. I think that's what you want. I think there's a lot of people starting with the former vice president, the president-elect, who has immense experience in the government. He can bring that to bear and he can then try to calm people who are saying, yes, we're not getting cooperation, that's not what matters. Ron Klain, I think, is instrumental in that. Because not only does Ron have the experience with Biden and on Ebola, but he's got extensive experience on Capitol Hill as well, so all of that matters.

So I think they're in good shape and showing some necessary patience here, understanding the game that's being played by at least congressional Republicans who don't want to take on Trump in part because they want his energy and his influence on the Georgia runoff.

BERMAN: David Gregory, thank you very much for being with us this morning, trying to inject some sanity into what we're seeing here.

GREGORY: I don't know if I can do it.

BERMAN: I appreciate it. you can try. Try.

CAMEROTA: We're now going to David Gregory for sanity. Oh, my goodness.

BERMAN: That's what we've got to.

Hey, listen, what was that South Dakota stat you just said?

CAMEROTA: Almost 60 percent positivity rate today.

BERMAN: 60 percent.

CAMEROTA: 60. It's 59.5. It's the highest in the country, 60 percent positivity rate. I mean, we're supposed to be under 5 percent.

BERMAN: So that's why I asked again, because I almost can't believe it. I almost can't believe it. And I know in our next segment, you need to stick around, because Alisyn will speak with a nurse who is on the frontlines saying what she's seeing is like a horror movie there. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]