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AstraZeneca Faces Questions About Vaccine; Coronavirus Pandemic Update from Around the World; Powerful East Coast Storm Possible; Black Friday Shopping Begins; Sports Update in the "Bleacher Report". Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired November 27, 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. PAUL OFFIT, PEDIATRICS PROFESSOR, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: People, sort of, you know, putting forward just these kind of sub-set analysis. I mean you want to know -- you've only seen like 2,700 patients with this sort of 90 percent effective. No one was over 55 years of age. It's just hard to know what's going on. But it is disconcerting that -- that there was -- that this company and this program has many questions that remain unanswered, that they're going to have to answer for.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Are you concerned about the impact of that on the overall general public's feeling about vaccines and about this vaccine in particular?

OFFIT: Well, I mean, the first two vaccines that look to be rolling out, at least in the United States, are going to be Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines, which are not - don't use that particular strategy and have done trials in exactly the way you want them to do them. They did phase one trials that were dose ranging trials where they found out what was the best dose. They've only given that dose. They've given the same placebo to everybody, which wasn't true with AstraZeneca, which used one placebo, which was mogengacacal (ph) vaccine in the -- in the United Kingdom, then used sort of saltwater in Brazil. So I think that the data, at least appear to be much more solid, although, again, we'll be reviewing Pfizer's data on December 10th, we'll be reviewing Moderna's data on December 17th. So we'll get to see the whole picture, as the country will because those are meetings that are open to the public. So we'll all see all the data.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Offit, I have to say, you did such a phenomenal job explaining the technology and the science behind these vaccines and you explained the AstraZeneca situation better than any of the articles that I've been trying to read overnight and trying to get. I really appreciate you coming in and laying this out as clearly as you did. It's very helpful. Thank you.

OFFIT: My pleasure.

HILL: Germany is extending its coronavirus restrictions as the country sees a record increase in deaths. We have an update on the coronavirus surge in Europe, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:38]

BERMAN: Developing this morning, six American oil executives detained in Venezuela for three years on corruption charges have been found guilty there and sentenced to prison for eight to 13 years. Family members of the so-called Citgo Six insist the men were wrongly convicted and say they're being held in inhumane conditions. Their attorneys are vowing to appeal. The men were arrested on embezzlement charges in 2017 stemming from a never executed proposal to refinance $4 million in Citgo bonds.

HILL: The coronavirus pandemic is raging in Europe. Germany topping 1 million cases and recording its single highest day death toll. We have reporters covering the outbreak around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Melissa Bell in Paris.

France is on track to lift its current partial lockdown by December 15th since it should meet its target of no more than 5,000 new cases a day. That's according to the prime minister here in France.

Over in the United Kingdom, much of England will move from December 2nd into tier 2, including London, as the country heads out of its partial lockdown.

Elsewhere, figures continue to worsen in Finland, for instance. They're now looking at fresh restrictions being placed there.

Greece will be extending its own lockdown by a week.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, as Germany has surpassed a grim milestone, recording more than 1 million coronavirus infections since the beginning of the pandemic. Germany also recorded another single-day death toll record, as well. All this comes as the German government has acknowledged that the measures that have been put in place so far, fairly light lockdown, have managed to somewhat slow down the spread of the pandemic, but haven't managed to decrease the number of new daily coronavirus infections. The Germans have put new measures in place, extending that light lockdown, and also new restrictions in an effort to try and bring cases down, to be able to ease things up for Christmas.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in Seoul.

Health officials are calling on South Koreans to cancel all meetings and stay at home, pointing out that meetings with friends and relatives are particularly risky. Now, this isn't just because new cases are well over 500 for the second consecutive day. It's also because we are within a week of almost half a million students sitting a nationwide college entrance exam. Now, even those who have tested positive for coronavirus can sit this test in hospital, moderated by teachers in full PPE.

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Selina Wang in Tokyo.

Japan reports its second highest daily increase of COVID cases since the pandemic began while Tokyo reports a record-high increase. The prime minister has urged people to take further precautions and avoid crowded places. The government has warned of a possible state of emergency in coming weeks if COVID cases continue to rise. The government has urged restaurants and bars to shorten hours in hard-hit places, though the government has no legal means to enforce those restrictions. Japan has now reached more than 140,000 reported infections, while total deaths are over 2,000.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: So much of the world dealing with coronavirus at levels they've never seen it before.

So, Thanksgiving did bring warm and sunny weather to much of the country, but that's about to change.

CNN's Allison Chinchar with the forecast.

Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Good morning, John.

Yes, we take a look, especially across the southeast. That's where this cold front is going to be pretty much stalling out over some places, dumping a tremendous amount of rain.

Now, that particular forecast brought to you by Ninja Foodi, be proud of what you make.

Now, we're talking about that front. And, again, the thing is, it's very slow moving, which means it's got a lot of time to produce a tremendous amount of rain, particularly for portions of Louisiana and especially across Texas. We're not just talking about rain, but also the potential for some strong to even severe thunderstorms. The main threat for this area is likely going to be damaging winds, large hail, and also the potential for some frequent lightning. So do keep that in mind.

But, overall, the main story is the amount of rain that we're anticipating. Take Houston, for example, they average about 3.5 inches of rain for the month of November. They may end up getting that alone in just the next few days.

But they're not the only place. Again, notice, you've got this line that extends from Texas all the way through the Carolinas. So all of these areas are likely to get some heavy downpours at times, scattered showers throughout the next few days, but, again, that heaviest area is going to be across portions of southwestern Louisiana, portions of Texas, and even areas of western Mississippi, too, may end up likely getting widespread amounts, 2 to 4 inches, but there will be some isolated spots, John, that end up picking up to 6 inches of rain total.

[06:40:18]

BERMAN: All right, yikes. Thanks so much, Allison Chinchar, appreciate it.

So Black Friday known for huge crowds and door buster deals, but today it's expected to look vastly different. We'll tell you how retailers are changing. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So the holiday shopping season officially underway, but Black Friday this year will look very different amid the worsening pandemic.

CNN's Alison Kosik live at the Palisade Center, the second largest shopping mall in the New York area.

I'm dying to know what's going to happen there today, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So are we. You know, a lot here rides on whether or not people feel comfortable coming into the mall.

[06:45:04]

As you said, I'm in the Palisades Center Mall here in Rockland County. Not seeing much in the way of crowds, but retailers definitely are prepared for it considering we are in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. They've got safety protocols set into place. As you can see here, the stickers on the floor, trying to keep customers six feet away. Inside, if you don't have a mask, you're going to be given one. And there's a limit on how many customers can enter the store. This one here at Abercrombie & Fitch is limited to 65 customers.

Look, there's a lot to adapt to. We're in the middle of a pandemic. And usually with Black Friday, you see that crush of crowds. I am not seeing that this year. Part of the reason is retailers that I've talked to in this mall tell me that they're not offering those usual door busters. And this is a real balancing act that retailers have. They want to bring in traffic because they need the revenue, especially since many of these stores are struggling to survive. But they also want to keep their employees and customers safe. So there's a lot of a balancing act going on here.

But Black Friday really has been changing over the years. It hasn't been as crowded and Black Friday has been sort of spread out over a week's time. Well, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated that transition and this year we've seen Black Friday deep discounts, not just in November, but it's been Black Friday October, Black Friday November, and Black Friday December.

And despite the impact of the coronavirus on millions of Americans and on retailers, the National Retail Federation is optimistic about what holiday -- this holiday shopping season is going to look like. It predicts that in November and December it expects that shopping will do pretty well. It sees an increase in spending from 3.6 percent to 5.5 percent, an increase over last year. So a lot of optimism. And it looks like, John and Erica, that maybe people didn't spend on entertainment or travel and they're going to kind of blow their money on holiday shopping this year.

HILL: Maybe they will. We see some shoppers there behind you, Alison.

Thank you.

KOSIK: Yes.

HILL: Well, joining me now is Simeon Siegel, managing director and senior retail analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

Good to see you this morning.

You know, I -- as Alison pointed out, Black Friday certainly started earlier, at least if I'm judging on my inbox, in October.

How is that -- right, if you're starting all those deals early, though, is that good or bad for retailers if they're stretching it out?

SIMEON SIEGEL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BMO CAPITAL MARKETS: Yes, good morning. Thanks for having me.

And I agree with everything Alison said. I think that, at the end of the day, there's an interplay here where good and bad depends on who you are.

What's happened over the last nine months is that we've had a whole stoppage in the inventory system and there's just not that much product out there. So you have this duality of, you can't have a lot of people, you don't have a lot of product, and, unfortunately for the shoppers, what it means is you're not going to have a lot of discounts. And I think a lot of people are going to be walking out of this holiday week thinking, wait, where's my 70 percent off. And the answer is, there's just not enough product to justify that.

What that means from the retailer side is it's actually going to be -- I understand the National Retail Federation's projection because if I can sell less but charge more, I can actually earn a lot more money. And I think that's a really interesting dynamic that we're seeing this season.

HILL: There's also -- there are two other points I really want to hit with you. There's the large retailers, right, which initially there was a lot of concern -- we had already started to see some restriction, obviously, within large retailers, right? More stores closing, more people moving to online shopping. They're kind of figuring out a way to make that work for themselves right now, but it seems, too, that that -- this has really been at the detriment to smaller retailers, especially -- I mean tomorrow's, what, Small Business Saturday and those seem to be the businesses that are really going to be hurt the most moving forward in the retail sector.

SIEGEL: Yes, it's a really interesting point because the size here really does matter. And I think we keep hearing about "the big get bigger." The reality is, if you're small and nimble, you're also in an interesting spot. It's those that are somewhere in that middle ground that are probably in the most trouble. I mean, listen, ironically, we hear about the companies that you and I know with the largest store fleets, the big box, the off-price retailers, the grocers, they're still opening up stores. They're still getting traffic. If the ones -- it's the mall-based companies that you actually have to drive out to, those are the ones that are in the most trouble. But when we think about the smallest of businesses, I think it also depends on what you are selling and where you are.

I think that the reality is, a lot of the companies that are selling athleisure, if they're smaller, are doing really well. A lot of companies that are selling what people don't want, unfortunately, are not. And that's probably the sad part, but it's also a little bit of the reality here. We had this huge adjustment in terms of what people bought. I mean how many -- how many extra pair of sweatpants did we all buy this year? How many -- how many people became gardeners over the summer? So I think that there was this shift in terms of what people want. What we found was, it wasn't a 2008 scenario where everyone in all stores saw their businesses fell off. It became very bifurcated in terms of what people were looking to pick up.

HILL: You know, we look at these sort of rosy estimates for a rise in consumer spending that Alison was just talking about, but you juxtapose that with what we're seeing.

[06:50:04]

I mean JP Morgan Chase warning and not the only one to warn about what is coming down the pike for the economy. That's troubling.

SIEGEL: Yes. I mean, listen, it is. And the interest thing with the NRF, the National Retail Federation's projection, I wonder if we have strong sales versus if we have perhaps lighter sales but stronger profits. And, obviously, that's not a great thing for the vast majority of the economy. That just means they charge more.

So I think that the reality, obviously, even with the vaccine, remains what next year looks like. And I've given up trying to predict a new normal and I'm just going with the current normal. Every day it changes.

So I think you're absolutely right. But the question is going to be, which of these companies, how do they emerge and what are people looking to spend? And I do think we all heard "pandemic" and thought 2008 initially. And this is shaping up incredibly different than we saw in the Great Recession from the lasting impacts.

HILL: Well, if we learned anything from 2020, it's like nothing we have faced before. So there you go on that one.

Simeon Siegel, good to have you with us this morning. Thank you. SIEGEL: Thank you.

HILL: The reigning NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson, reportedly testing positive for coronavirus and he's not the only one on the Ravens' team. Details in the "Bleacher Report," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:35]

BERMAN: The NFL's reigning MVP reportedly tests positive for coronavirus as the outbreak continues to spread among the Baltimore Ravens.

Carolyn Manno with more in the "Bleacher Report."

Good morning.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

Well, Sunday's game is very much in question now after already being pushed from Thanksgiving night. And this could ultimately force the NFL to have to add another week to the regular season, with both of these teams already having their buy and the Ravens set to host Dallas in theory next Thursday.

This is a widespread outbreak. One of the largest that the NFL has had. And now you have the highest profile player to date reportedly testing positive for the virus. This is Ravens' quarterback, Lamar Jackson, testing positive on Thanksgiving. Baltimore supposed to play the undefeated Steelers in prime-time last night. Game was pushed. Around a dozen players sidelined by the virus. And with Jackson's status for Sunday's game between the AFC North rivals in question now, Robert Griffin III would get the start if the game is a go. But a lot of question marks here. Only two Thanksgiving day games instead of the usual three. And in his first start on the holiday, Texas quarterbacks Deshaun Watson putting on a show against the Lions.

Check this out. Up by 17 in the fourth quarter, the Texans putting the game away in style. Watson handing off to Duke Johnson, throws it back to Watson and then the quarterback airing it out to a wild-open Will Fuller streaking down the sideline for the touchdown, making it look too easy. Watson finishing with four touchdown passes in the 16-point win over Detroit.

In the later game, Washington rookie Antonio Gibson made the most out of playing in front of a national audience. Gibson carving up the Cowboys to the tune of three rushing touchdowns. He is the first rookie to have three TDs on Thanksgiving since Hall of Famer Randy Moss back in 1998. Washington moving into first place in the NFC East with a 25-point blowout.

And all eyes will be on Charles Barkley's swing this holiday weekend. Today to be specific at the match 3, which looks somewhat improved, by the way. Barkley teaming up with Phil Mickelson, taking on Peyton Manning and Seth Curry. Very entertaining quartet there. You can watch it today at 3:00 Eastern on our sister channel, TNT. The proceeds benefiting historically black colleges and universities.

So here's the question, John, do you go with the five-time major winner and Charles Barkley, whose the x-factor, or do you go with a couple of non-pros in Seth and Peyton, who are pretty good.

BERMAN: I would go with Phil. I mean I'd go with the guy whose, you know, got the green jackets. That seems to be a better bet. But it's not the golf, it's not the game that matters, it's what they actually say.

MANNO: You're right.

BERMAN: You can watch this about -- it's one of these rare sports you can watch without the pictures and just the volume and it will be fantastic entertainment.

MANNO: It's going to be fun. It's going to be really fun.

BERMAN: All right, Carolyn, nice to see you. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

MANNO: You too.

BERMAN: NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's grim, 90,000 Americans in hospital beds right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our hospitals are already at the breaking point. Many of us are already talking about opening field hospitals next week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very concerned. This is our holiday season. And every day from now on can add to the toll.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Donald Trump's impromptu news conference. He made outlandish and incorrect claims about election fraud.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was a massive fraud. It should never take place in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wouldn't say whether or not he's going to attend Biden's inauguration, as, of course, is the precedent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is a special post-holiday edition of NEW DAY. Alisyn is off and Erica Hill, who's very special, joins me this morning.

HILL: Well, thanks, John Berman. Appreciate that.

BERMAN: Very special. Thanks for being here. It's special having you here.

Look, I know this is a tough day for a lot of Americans dealing with coronavirus. More than 90,000 Americans are hospitalized this morning. And that number, you can just see this graphic, or the one that just left there. The graph of hospitalizations just stunning, rising every day. We've hit 16 records in hospitalizations in a row.

In terms of cases, we're averaging about 165,000 new cases a day over the last week. President-elect Joe Biden spoke with health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic on Thanksgiving. His national security briefings begin on Monday.

As for the defeated president, he took questions from reporters for the first time since losing the election. And this was just a bizarre session. It was filled with lies, attacks, and statements completely untethered from reality.

[07:00:03]

HILL: The president, in those moments, though, did insist he will leave the White House in January, but, and this probably does not come.