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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
First COVID Vaccinations in the U.S. Expected Today; Trump Reverses Plan for Early Vaccinations at the White House; Electors Meet in Every State to Formally Choose and Seal the Presidency. Aired 5- 5:30a ET
Aired December 14, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Great to see you back, Christine, I'm Laura Jarrett, it's Monday, December 14th, it's 5:00 a.m. in New York. So much to get to this morning. We start with the biggest vaccination effort in the U.S. history expected to finally start today. Just eleven months after the first documented case of COVID-19 in the U.S., Pfizer's vaccine will arrive today in all 50 states. The director of the CDC giving the final signoff Sunday on emergency authorization for people 16 and older. Almost 3 million doses will leave Pfizer's plant in the first round of shipments. The hope is between Pfizer's vaccine and the upcoming one for Moderna, a 100 million people will be vaccinated by the end of March.
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MIKE MCDERMOTT, PRESIDENT, PFIZER GLOBAL SHIPPING: I couldn't be more confident in the distribution of the vaccine. We've worked incredibly hard over many months doing test shipments, improving our shippers, making sure that they can maintain temperature during the entire journey, and we're very happy with the solution.
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ROMANS: Maintain temperature during the entire journey, that is the biggest issue here. Remember, this vaccine has to be stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit and stay that way. These vaccines arriving amid a staggering death toll, almost 300,000 Americans have lost their lives so far, 300,000. More than 30,000 just this month alone. Hospitalizations in the U.S. climbing to almost 110,000 people, meaning the human toll will continue to increase. The first 8 million cases took eight months, then just eight weeks to double.
JARRETT: California is seeing 30,000 cases a day for nearly a week now. The state has been averaging more cases per resident per day than the entire European Union. In neighboring Nevada, pandemic restrictions have been extended until January 15th there. That includes 25 percent capacity limits, in places that keep the economic engine running in Vegas. Places like restaurants, bars and casino floors. Indoor dining in New York City banned starting today. Outdoor dining and takeout will continue, but restaurant owners are left wondering if this is just the beginning of the inevitable end.
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MELBA WILSON, OWNER, MELBA'S: When a restaurant closes down, it's not just a physical location. The restaurant industry in this country is the second largest private employer. It is a layered effect, and it is devastating. I don't see a way for us to survive. And that's heart wrenching when you poured your life, your heart and your soul and my entire savings into opening something that I believe in.
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ROMANS: All right, so the vaccine rollout will be messy. It's clear there will not be enough doses for everyone who wants one right away. CDC guidance says health workers and people in long-term care should be vaccinated first. But it's ultimately up to each state to decide who will receive priority. CNN has the vaccine rollout covered coast to coast.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: I'm Pete Muntean at Pfizer's vaccine facility in Portage, Michigan. Trucks carrying the vaccine left out of here on Sunday morning. The deliveries start on Monday morning across the country. Six hundred individual locations, according to Operation Warp Speed. Places like pharmacies, hospitals, CVS and Walgreens. This is just the start of a massive logistical movement. More vaccine is on the way according to Operation Warp Speed.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paul Vercammen at the UCLA Medical Center, where they expect the arrival of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in the next couple of days. And they say they will be able to put shots in arms of the nurses and doctors here as soon as Wednesday. Top priority will be those nurses and doctors who are in close contact with COVID-19 patients or constantly around those patients in some way. So, they expect again to start those vaccines on Wednesday.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dianne Gallagher in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was just a cargo flight, but for so many, it is so much more than that. Vials of the Pfizer vaccine which was manufactured just 45 minutes down the road, loaded on to a plane here in Grand Rapids set for Memphis, Tennessee, another one headed to Louisville from Lansing, Michigan, where they're then going to break them up and send them across the country. UPS is handling the eastern half of the country, FedEx, the western half of the country. Pfizer says the 184,000 or so vials are roughly half of what we're expecting to go out on Monday.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Polo Sandoval at the site of New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital, one of many healthcare facilities across the country that have been preparing to receive, store, and eventually administer the shots of this groundbreaking vaccine. Had an opportunity to speak over the weekend to the -- with the director of pharmacy at another hospital, Lennox Hill, telling me that they will be staggering, the vaccinations of their staff over about three weeks. The concern is that if any of their staff were to experience, of course, minor side effects, then they could run into staffing issues, and that's certainly something they hope to avoid with hospitalizations on the rise across the country.
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JARRETT: Thanks to all of our correspondents for those updates on the rollout. Well, a late-night about face over vaccine distribution at the White House. After CNN and other news outlets reported high ranking White House officials were expected to receive some of the first vaccines in the U.S., President Trump tweeted that White House staffers should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program unless specifically necessary. An administration official says healthcare providers at the National Institutes of Health will begin receiving the vaccine in the near future. Doctors and nurses in the ICU at the NIH Clinical Center will be prioritized followed by other top officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci.
ROMANS: All right, ballots will be cast today in two critical races, one to certify what we do know, the other to decide what we don't. Across the country, electoral college ballots will be cast for president and vice president. The next step in finalizing Joe Biden's victory. And in Georgia, early voting begins for two Senate runoffs that could make or break the Biden agenda. Our political coverage begins with Boris Sanchez at the White House.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A big day for democracy, Laura and Christine as the electors of the electoral college will gather in their respective states. These electors that have been selected since earlier in the Summer and the Spring, they're going to gather and record their votes in writing on actual paper ballots, individually for president and vice president. Once they cast their ballots and count them, they're going to sign six copies of a certificate of the vote. But the most consequential certificates are going to be the ones that go to Capitol Hill because that's where they will be counted on January 6th.
Notably, an event that Vice President Pence will be presiding over, and there is a chance in that process for some drama, for Republican lawmakers who are supportive of the president, President Trump, to raise an objection ultimately, though, to sustain that objection for it to be consequential, they would need both chambers of Congress to sustain that objection, to agree to it, and because Democrats control the House of Representatives, that appears extremely unlikely.
Ultimately, the big thing to watch for as the electoral college certifies the results of the election, certifies that Joe Biden won the election, how many Republican lawmakers, how many Republican senators will finally come out and acknowledge the reality that Joe Biden won the election, that there was no widespread electoral fraud. That of course, is something President Trump is not ready to do. Laura, Christine.
JARRETT: Boris, thank you so much. Now to Georgia where the first votes in two Senate elections will be cast today. The success of Biden's agenda on healthcare, immigration and other critical issues depends on whether the Democrats can pull off or upset victories in the state that the president-elect flipped blue. And Mr. Biden is about to get personally involved. Kyung Lah is on the ground in Columbus, Georgia.
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, early voting for the two Senate runoff seats here in Georgia begins on Monday at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Many of the locations will be opening. Now, the start of early vote is being marked by a flurry of activities like this one. This is a get-out-the-vote event being organized by Black Voters Matter. There is a concert here, it is an organizing event, encouraging voters to bring their friends to the polls. It is also marked by them driving through the streets of Columbus on speakers blaring that early vote does begin on Monday.
Now, Republicans are also crisscrossing the state. Senator David Perdue is in the middle of a 100-plus stop bus tour. The senator has been emphasizing along this tour that what is at stake is control of the U.S. Senate, if Democrats win both seats. Plus, Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote, control of the White House and both chambers of Congress goes to the Democrats. Now, also marking the beginning of the early vote, the start of early vote is President-elect Joe Biden, he's scheduled to be in the state of Georgia on Tuesday. Christine, Laura.
ROMANS: All right, Kyung, thank you so much for that. More news ahead, plus "The Sesame Street" crew is back on CNN for a new family town hall about COVID-19 and staying safe this holiday season. "THE ABCs OF COVID-19" Saturday morning at 10:00 Eastern only on CNN.
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ROMANS: All right, millions of Americans need help, they have needed it for months, and now time is literally running out to keep them solvent. Here's what runs out between Christmas and new year's, expanded unemployment assistance and eviction moratorium, extra paid family leave and a pause in student-loan payments. Now, a bipartisan congressional group has split its $908 billion relief package into two proposals. Here's what it looks like, one bill would be a $748 billion proposal.
That includes money for small businesses, jobless benefits, and money for vaccine distribution. Now, that other package includes the two big sticking points, $160 billion for state and local aid and liable protection for businesses. Now, states aren't waiting for help by the way because they simply can't afford to. Maine is sending one-time payments to certain jobless residents, New Mexico is giving grants to small businesses, and Kentucky is helping its low income residents pay their utility bills, but states face big pain ahead.
[05:15:00] Most cannot run deficits like the federal government can, right?
They'll need more money to plug the pandemic holes in their budgets. That's how they're going to keep teachers, firefighters, police officers and other state workers on the job.
JARRETT: All right, jumping overseas now, Germany was going to relax some of its coronavirus restrictions for Christmas, but the reality of the pandemic is forcing a change of plans. Fred Pleitgen is live in Berlin. Fred, nice to see you this morning. Why the change? What happened?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Laura, yes, good to see you as well. Well, the Germans simply found out that the sort of laxed lock down measures that they've had so far simply weren't working. And you know, one of the things that we've been talking about is that Germany has been seen almost as a role model here for Europe for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. But now, it is in serious trouble. So, what they're going to do is come Wednesday, they're going to put in place what they call a hard lockdown here in Germany.
That means all non-essential shops are going to be closing and also schools are going to be closed as well. And then for the next couple of weeks, even over Christmas, only five people are allowed to meet at a single time, and they're all only allowed to be from two households. So, Germany really trying to get those contacts between people down. That's one of the things that Angela Merkel has said was always a real problem when it comes to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
And you know, the Germans, I mean, real trouble getting that under control. I was looking at the numbers this morning for infections in Germany, it's about 16,300. That's about 4,000 more than Monday of last week. And one of the things that really shocked Germany was on Friday. They had a record death toll of 600 people in one day, it's about the equivalent of 2,400 people dying in a single day in the U.S. Now, one of the things that's also going on is they're putting in these hard lockdown measures, but the Germans are also starting to get quite critical of the European Medicine's Agency.
They said, look, the U.S. has given an authorization for the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine. That vaccine was developed in Germany, and still here in Germany and in Europe, it can't be used because there's no authorization. The Germans are saying that needs to happen as fast as possible also because of the dire coronavirus situation here, Laura.
JARRETT: All right, Fred Pleitgen in Berlin for us, thank you so much, appreciate it.
ROMANS: All right, just about 17 minutes past the hour, so long Chief Wahoo, after 105 years, the Cleveland baseball team making a big change.
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[05:20:00] JARRETT: Cleveland's baseball team is about to make a major change, a name change as soon as this week. Andy Scholes has this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT". So, Andy, I guess after 100 years, they finally --
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Yes --
JARRETT: Got the message.
SCHOLES: Yes, more than that, Laura. After 105 years, Cleveland is now finally going to change the Indian's name. That's according to the "New York Times". You know, the Indians name had long been criticized for being offensive to native Americans. Now, the team did not comment on these reports, but they did not dispute "The New York Times" report which cites sources familiar with the decision. Now, starting in 2019, Cleveland began to move away from using the Chief Wahoo logo after Washington's football team decided to change their name back in July, Cleveland said it was open to the idea of changing its name and it will conduct a review, consulting with the native American community.
Now, President Trump took to Twitter to criticize the team's decision, tweeting, "this is not good news, even for Indians. Cancel culture at work." Now, "The Times" reports the announcement could come as early as this week. The Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Black Hawks meanwhile have all said they are not considering changing their names. All right, the Bills hosting the Steelers on Sunday night football, Steelers had the lead right before the half, but Ben Roethlisberger, going to get picked off by Taron Johnson, and he's going to take it the other way for the touchdown.
Bills who scored 23 unanswered to go on to win this one 26-15. Buffalo now one step closer to claiming its first division title in 25 years. The win also marks the end of a dynasty and the AFC east. The Patriots who had won the division for 11 years in a row are now mathematically eliminated from contention for that division crown. All right, the Chiefs meanwhile returning to Hard Rock Stadium the first time since winning the Super Bowl on February, facing off against the Dolphins. Patrick Mahomes had two interceptions on the season coming into this game. He threw three against the Dolphins, including that amazing one- handed grab by Xavien Howard right there.
Mahomes though still coming up with the big plays, Chiefs would go on to win this one 33-27. And with the Steelers loss, the Chiefs now take over that one seed in the AFC, and that's especially important with the expanded post-season this year because only one team in each conference gets that first round bye. All right, there's a shake-up at the top the NFC standings as well. The Packers now hold the top seed in the conference after beating the Lions, and with the Saints losing to the Eagles. Green Bay clinched the NFC North with the win, and they hold that tie-breaker with its victory over New Orleans back in week three.
All right, and finally, Stanford will not be playing in a college football bowl game this season. The school announcing yesterday it's opting out after its season ends Saturday against UCLA. Stanford being forced to practice and play off campus due to Santa Clara County's ban on contact sports. The Cardinal joins Boston College, Pitt and Virginia right now, in saying they will not be accepting a bowl invitations because of the pandemic, Christine. And so, I can imagine this bowl season like much of 2020 is just going to look much different --
ROMANS: Yes --
SCHOLES: When it begins in a couple of weeks.
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ROMANS: All right, thank you so much, Andy, nice to see you this Monday morning. So, help is finally underway. The first Americans are expected to get a coronavirus vaccine today. How fast it rolls out, who gets it first, and what's next in the fight against this pandemic.
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JARRETT: Good morning, this is EARLY START, I'm Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: Nice to see you, back after a week off, I am -- and it's a busy news week, I'm Christine Romans, 29 minutes past the hour. This morning, the biggest mass vaccination effort in U.S. history is expected to finally begin just 11 months after the first documented case of COVID-19 in the U.S.
