Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Pfizer Submits for FDA Approval; Iowa Hospitals Overwhelmed. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 18, 2020 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hear about any of that with Pfizer. So we'll see what all this data sort of leads to. But if this happens, if they actually apply for Emergency Use Authorization, which they say they will, we could hear whether or not that's been granted within the next couple of weeks, after which another committee, in conjunction with the CDC, would basically determine the who, the what, the where in terms of how the vaccine is distributed and scheduling this vaccine.

So this is -- this is encouraging news, for sure, if it all goes as planned, and there's a lot of if's in there, it is possible that for the first time people outside a clinical trial will receive the coronavirus vaccine and that could happen before Christmas.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Rick, it's all so hopeful. But, as you know, this is where the problems crop up. You are helping Joe Biden's transition. You're on their COVID advisory board. It's the distribution that is going to present the problems.

And so what is -- I mean this will, obviously, be left to the Biden administration. What's the plan?

RICK BRIGHT, MEMBER, PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN'S COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: Well, we'd like to see the plan, actually, to understand the plan that the current administration has in place for the very complicated task of rolling out these vaccines. We know that vaccines don't deliver themselves. It takes a team of people. It takes an entire immunization program to be able to receive a vaccine from the manufacturer and to make sure that the vaccine is kept in the right storage conditions and that it gets into the hand of health care providers who would administer that vaccine.

It's also really important to note that the government so far has invested about $10 billion into the development of vaccines and there's a significant cost associated with the downstream administration and immunization program to make sure we have everything in place to administer those vaccines. And those costs have not been covered in the current legislation.

So there's a lot of work that we need to do very rapidly to make sure that our entire infrastructure is in place to receive these vaccines and do the right education so people can trust these vaccines and they will take these vaccines. That is what we're working on very carefully in the Biden transition team and we're hoping that we can sit down soon with the Trump administration so we can understand what plans are in place, so we can ensure a smooth transition to make sure that no American is left without a vaccine because of a lack of communication.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And 1,700 new deaths reported overnight, Rick Bright. So how much official contact has there been between your medical team and the government?

BRIGHT: We haven't had any official contact between the transition team coming in and the current administration. It is really setting us back. We are working really hard to ensure that we have the best plans in place for equitable distribution of the vaccine, to make sure everyone who needs it, needs it first, is prioritized and can get it. But we haven't been able to sit down with the Trump administration at all to be able to understand what plans are already in place, where the gaps are, where help is needed and how we can make sure there's a smooth handoff after January 20th where the bulk of these vaccines will be administered after that date. We don't want to have to step back, rewrite a plan, fix a communication gap or do anything. We want to keep running as quickly as -- as -- and efficiently as possible to make sure Americans can get the vaccines as they become available.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Rick, one more question, what if there is no plan? What if the Trump administration didn't plan for distribution? I mean you're -- you're assuming that they did, though you've not spoken to them. What if you have to start from scratch?

BRIGHT: Well, we're not starting from scratch, first, because we are working really hard on the Biden/Harris team to make sure that we are communicating with health care professionals and others around the country. We're getting a lot of expert advice. There is a transition plan and we're translating that plan into a blueprint for action so we will be ready on day one.

But you do bring up a good point from the Trump administration. We've waited ten months for a plan to be shared with the American public and health care experts on the vaccine program. We waited for a plan on national testing strategies. We waited for plans on ramp up of production of PPE and other critical medical supplies. We haven't yet seen any of those plans. I don't think those plans exist. So I hope that they have done some planning on how to distribute the vaccine beyond dropping it off at a warehouse by the military. It takes then delivery of that vaccine into the hands of health care providers who will be administering that vaccine. It takes communication within the community at the local level and the state and tribal and territorial levels to make sure that people can trust that vaccine.

[08:35:01]

The Trump administration, unfortunately, has politicized so much of this response, including the vaccine, and there are many Americans across our country who are hesitant on whether or not they can trust this vaccine because of the political pressure that we've seen from the Trump administration, therefore we need to do a lot with the new transition team to make sure that we can ensure confidence and rebuild trust and make sure that Americans will take the vaccine when this becomes available. And it's been certified by scientists to be safe and effective.

BERMAN: Sanjay, I need you to level with the American people about where we are this morning on November 18th. What's the current situation with the pandemic? What do they need to brace themselves for in the next several weeks?

GUPTA: Yes, well, as much as the news is good about vaccines, I mean the news about where we are is not. I mean, sadly, the numbers continue to increase. I mean, I think at a level that even people who are sort of projecting some of the worst projections are surprised by because we're really in periods of exponential growth in so many places around the country. The number of people who will likely be hospitalized will be higher than the number of cases in any given day that will be expected.

So, where are we? We can see what the numbers are. We know that the number of cases has continued to go up. But then a few weeks later, as has always been the case, hospitalizations also rising, some places, obviously, much harder hit than others, but really no place in the country really immune from this.

There are several states, and I hate to say it, but these are states that, you know, really did not have mask mandates, did not put in physical distancing sort of protocols in place, they are the states that are the hardest hit right now, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa. Some of these states are now thinking about protocols that they want to start abiding by, but in the meantime they're getting particularly hard hit, they have fewer resources as well in terms of beds and ICU beds, so it's going to be tough for some time.

You mentioned the number of people who are dying on a daily basis. Some, you know, 1,707 people who died within the last 24 hours, hard to believe, but we -- those numbers will go up. I mean there's just no question about it. You look back in March and April, when we were still grappling with this new pandemic, trying to understand what was going on. Numbers would hit 3,000 deaths per day. Sadly, I think we will hit those sort of same numbers again. And we're talking sort of end of January where you will see those peaks when it comes to hospitalizations and deaths.

CAMEROTA: Sanjay, when we do get the vaccine, do we know how long it will last, what the immunity will look like?

GUPTA: Yes. Well, this is a great question. And it is -- no, we don't know. And I -- you know, I want to be honest about that. I think that it's -- it's a little unclear the immunity sort of part of this puzzle. And that's true when it comes to the vaccine. But I think also true when it comes to people who become infected.

One thing I will say is that there's been all these varying reports about the durability of immunity. A new report came out, a new study came out, it's not been peer reviewed yet, but it basically suggests that, yes, OK, you measure antibodies, antibodies are a good thing to measure, you can measure them, but there are other components of the immune system, your t-cells, your b-cells. If you start to put that all together, might immunity last longer than we realize? Could it be six, eight months, even longer than that?

Here's the thing is that even if antibodies have been waning, and a lot of people know this, they get their antibodies tested, then the next time they get a test they said they've gone down or they're gone, it doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost immunity. I think that that's -- that's what the key thing coming out of this study.

And as we're, you know, nine months into this now, if immunity sort of went away after a few months, I think we would have seen much, much higher rates of reinfection by this point. We haven't. And we'll have to see what that means.

But I think what you're asking is, with the vaccine, even is it possible that people will need to have yearly or seasonal shots of this vaccine? It is quite possible. We just don't know the answer to that yet.

BERMAN: We can manage with that, if that's what it takes.

CAMEROTA: I'm fine with that.

BERMAN: Yes, if that's what it takes.

CAMEROTA: I don't have a problem with that.

Yes, my kids will get used to it.

BERMAN: Right.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, gentlemen, very much for all of the information.

GUPTA: You got it.

BERMAN: All right, we were just talking about states that had chosen not to address the challenge of coronavirus.

Well, Iowa's governor just changed course and issued a mask mandate with infections there and deaths hitting new records. We will have a live report as the hospitals there are just struggling to handle the surge in patients.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:50]

CAMEROTA: In Iowa, the number of people hospitalized from coronavirus has skyrocketed in the last two months. In one county the only hospital is stretched to its limit.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is live in Iowa with us with more.

What are you seeing, Miguel?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, this is the case across the entire state. Think of places like Cresco, Iowa, as a rivulet feeding this massive river of cases and now hospitalizations. If it keeps going at the way it's going, we will be in a situation where a broad swath of the country, the health care system, will be filled to the brim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice over): Butch Hansen, 84 years old, diagnosed with COVID-19 last week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to get a CAT scan of your chest. You've got some junk in your chest, so you probably have a little pneumonia, but I want to make sure you don't have a blood clot in your lung.

MARQUEZ: Today he's back in the emergency room.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Why did you come in today?

BUTCH HANSEN, DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19: That I had a rough time with that phlegm last night. That's all I did, cough up that phlegm. And I thought, well, it's either the COVID or something else.

[08:45:03]

Let's find out what it is.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Hansen, a retired farmer, says he's been careful, but may have picked it up from a family member.

Regional Health Services of Howard County in Cresco, Iowa, it's the hospital, the ambulance service, the public health department and hospice care for the entire county. The 19-bed facility moves most its sickest patients to larger hospitals. With Iowa, the Midwest and the country all seeing a sharp increase in cases and patients finding an available bed in a larger facility, not so easy these days.

JOHN KAMMERER, DOCTOR OF FAMILY MEDICINE, REGIONAL HEALTH SERVICES OF HOWARD COUNTY: The biggest concern in the last week is, when we call and ask for them to help take care of our patients who are maybe sicker than we're used to taking care of, they don't have beds for us. And so that's where the strain really comes on.

MARQUEZ: Over the last month, hospitalizations across Iowa have skyrocketed, under 500 COVID patients hospitalized in mid-October, now nearly 1,400 Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19.

And if there's a surge with nowhere to send critically ill patients --

MARQUEZ (on camera): So this is the in case of emergency open this?

BRADY NORMAN, DIRECTOR, AMBULANCE SERVICES AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, HOWARD COUNTY: Pretty much. Pretty much.

MARQUEZ: How many more people could you surge up to with everything in here?

NORMAN: We have the capability of adding up to 50 beds. My hope is to never have to open this trailer.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Today, the entire health care system here pushed to its limits.

MARQUEZ (on camera): What is COVID doing to places like Howard County and Cresco right now?

CHAD RASMUSSEN, NURSE PRACTITIONER, REGIONAL HEALTH SERVICES OF HOWARD COUNTY: You know, it's starting to stress us out. We, you know, have limited resources.

MARQUEZ (voice over): In the first month of the pandemic here, Howard County saw 13 coronavirus cases. Over the last month, there were 411. Holidays around the corner, the fear, it's going to get a lot worse.

MARQUEZ (on camera): With Thanksgiving coming up, how concerned are you with what you're going to see around Christmas?

RASMUSSEN: I have a feeling it's going to be out of control. I really worry about health care in general around Christmas because if everybody gets together on Thanksgiving, has all their big gatherings, within two weeks then we'll start to see the outbreaks start.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Miguel Marquez back with us.

Miguel, you have literally chased this pandemic from here in New York to Texas to Arizona and now to Iowa and you've been in so many facilities like this and hospitals in these crisis situations. And I'm just wondering, compare it, I mean, what's it like to be inside a hospital in Iowa in November, compare it to New York in March and April. I mean have they learned anything? Is it the same thing over and over again?

MARQUEZ: Yes, what's really impressive is they have learned tons about this virus, not just about treating it, which is much better and people are surviving at much higher rates, still a lot are dying, but even just the way that they physically manage their hospitals, to move patients in, how you segregate them, how you treat them, how -- which ones actually get treated and which ones need to be shipped out. All of those things are much better. But, right now, they are planning for a surge that they don't know where the crest is and the fear, the real fear here, is that the hospital system across a broad swath of this area will get so full that people will die in their homes, as we saw in New York early on, and they'll die in cars waiting in parking lots to get into hospitals because there's just no room for them. That's what they are afraid of right now.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, it's just such a grizzly scenario to imagine.

And the idea that they've gotten so much better at treating it is obviously very heartening, but it's cold comfort to the people like Butch Hansen there who has to come back because he's coughing all night. I mean we -- you know, I just think that -- I feel for him. That's a horrifying situation to be in. MARQUEZ: Yes. Now, he's 84, and amazingly enough, he is -- he is tough

as nails because he -- they actually -- they -- they -- they let him go home. He's going to come back and be checked out. But they think he is going to be OK. He may have a little bit of a pneumonia on top of the COVID-19 as well. So they're going to watch him very carefully. But he's somebody who, you know, in previous months would not have had a very good chance of surviving and now he's doing quite well and they think that he's going to be OK. But, boy, they make them tough in Iowa. That's one thing they have going for them.

BERMAN: Yes. I will say, it is unfortunate, though, you have to keep going to these states where the outbreaks keep on happening, maybe because people haven't been listening to the extent that they should be.

Miguel Marquez, just terrific reporting that continues, sadly. And we do want to note, our hearts go out to Chuck Grassley. We're thinking of Chuck Grassley, Iowa's senior senator, who we know is battling COVID as well, 87 years old. We wish him the best this morning.

We also want to remember some of the nearly 249,000 Americans lost to coronavirus.

Sixty-year-old Officer Alex Arango (ph) served with the Evermand (ph) Texas Police Department for 27 years.

[08:50:04]

His 81-year-old mother, Carmen Arango (ph), also got the virus and died three days after her son. Alex and Carmen were laid to rest together last week.

Melissa Bowman (ph) worked for the Union County School District in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, for nearly 20 years. Eleven of those years were as a data manager and crossing guard at Poplin (ph) Elementary School. The school nominated her for America's Favorite Crossing Guard in 2018.

Dr. Juan Fitz (ph) lived and breathed emergency medicine. That's according to a colleague at Covenant Health Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, where Fitz worked for nearly 20 years. His dedication earned him an Hero of Emergency Medicine Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians. He was just 67 years old.

May their memories be a blessing.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:05]

CAMEROTA: Time now for "The Good Stuff."

A man in South Carolina reunited with a lost ring from World War II that was passed down from his uncle and father. Tim Whalen (ph) lost the ring nearly a decade ago while helping his friend Brian (ph) with some yard work. And then a group of metal detecting searchers on Brian's property found the ring and then Brian went in search of its owner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was talking to Tim later that day and said they found this ring, a Marina's ring. And Tim described it to a tee. You could hear it in his voice when he said, that's my dad's ring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Awe.

Tim says the ring symbolizes his uncle and dad's dedication and years of service to their country.

BERMAN: So glad he has it back.

CAMEROTA: OK, encouraging news in the fight against coronavirus.

CNN's coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)