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First Americans will Get Vaccinated Today; Soon: Electors Meet to Formally Choose Joe Biden as Next President. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired December 14, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Less than a year after the first case of coronavirus was identified in the United States, we have a viable vaccine.

[05:59:29]

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): The shipments of Pfizer's COVID vaccines will begin to arrive in all 50 states on Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a triumph of science, and I think we're going to look back on this moment as a major turning point in this pandemic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really is a remarkable scientific accomplishment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With COVID-19 on a rapid tear in the United States, states and hospitals around the country are reporting record high numbers of cases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Patients are coming out of the woodwork, and they are very, very sick.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to get through this tunnel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, December 14, 6 a.m. here in New York. And it's a big day.

Today, the first Americans will get vaccinated against coronavirus. Trucks and cargo planes packed with nearly three million doses fanning out across the country. This is just 11 months after the first reported case in the United States.

Of course, it's not a moment too soon. More than 109,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus this morning. The death toll in America will surpass 300,000 people today. More than 31,000 Americans have died in just the past two weeks.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, it is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, and you know what that means, kids?

CAMEROTA: Oh, it's Electoral College day?

BERMAN: It's Electoral College day.

CAMEROTA: What did you get me?

BERMAN: It's Electoral College day. I got you 538 electors meeting in capitals all around the country to cast their official votes for president. We will watch this distinct ceremonial and, frankly, bizarre process unfold all day right here on CNN.

Joe Biden will win, again, just as he did on election day, just as he did in the Supreme Court on Friday. So while in some ways, this is a formality when the electors actually cast their votes, it is a hugely important moment historically and constitutionally.

And it will provide senior Republicans, many of whom have stoked undemocratic, dangerous conspiracy theories, perhaps their best chance to acknowledge the reality of Joe Biden's victory. We'll see if they stop lying today.

The Michigan House and Senate offices are closed today because of credible threats of violence over all this.

Now, in the face of all of these developments, President-elect Joe Biden plans to address the nation tonight.

We begin, though, with this historic moment on vaccines. People will start getting shots today.

CNN's Martin Savidge live at Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus with that. Good morning, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John.

Yes, this news could not come at a much more needed time. As many hospitals in states across this country are reporting record new numbers of coronavirus cases, and of course, deaths.

This pandemic, in many states, is now at its worst point ever, but finally, hope.

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SAVIDGE (voice-over): Eleven months after the United States recorded its first coronavirus case, the long-awaited vaccine is on its way. This morning, shipments of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are making their way across the country after clearing the final hurdle from the CDC Saturday night; and vaccinations are expected in some parts of the U.S. as early as today.

MIKE MCDERMOTT, PRESIDENT, PFIZER GLOBAL SUPPLY: 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.

SAVIDGE: Workers in Michigan applauding as the first vaccines were loaded onto trucks. Nearly three million doses of the vaccine are to be packed into cargo planes and flown out of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

And UPS and FedEx will be delivering the vaccines to all 50 states. Hospitals racing to prepare for their arrival. And states will have to determine who will be vaccinated first.

FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn giving this warning and recommending Americans with allergies read product labeling.

STEPHEN HAHN, FDA COMMISSIONER: If you have an allergy to any component of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, you should not receive it.

We also said that those environments where -- the places where the vaccine is going to be given, there should be the tools available to administer medications and support, should someone have a severe reaction, allergic reaction.

SAVIDGE: This coming as the United States saw more than 100,000 coronavirus patients hospitalized for the 12th consecutive day. And so far this month, the U.S. has recorded more than 31,000 deaths from the virus.

WEN: There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to get through this tunnel. And we really would just implore everyone to hunker down in the meantime. Because otherwise, thousands of people are going to die every single day, on our way out of this very dark period.

SAVIDGE: With the rollout underway, health officials are hoping Americans can embrace the vaccine to get back to normal, while cautioning that it may take time.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: Unfortunately, there's so much politics around in the context of developing these vaccines that there's been a confusion between how thorough and scientific and factual the work that has been done is, and the perception that people are taking, that we cut corners or anything like that. I can guarantee you that no such things have happened.

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[06:05:16]

SAVIDGE: The first doses of this vaccine are expected here at the Ohio State University Medical Center, arriving shortly after 9 a.m. this morning.

And they hope, within an hour to an hour and a half of that arrival, to begin the first vaccines of 20 to 30 already selected frontline healthcare workers.

Yesterday, I talked to some other healthcare workers about the vaccine. And they actually broke down and choked up as they spoke. This pandemic has been so bad, and this vaccine means so much. You cannot overstate that, John.

BERMAN: It is pushing so many people to the brink, Martin. That is why I think it is so emotional for these frontline workers.

Today is a turning point, right? It's the beginning of the end. Just the beginning. The fight's not over, but it is such a key moment. Thanks so much for being with us.

SAVIDGE: Yes.

BERMAN: So these vaccines will arrive in all 50 states today. CNN's Pete Muntean live at the Pfizer plant in Michigan, where they were all shipped from. And Pete, I've got to say, you've had this incredible vantage point over the last few days.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What a moment here, John, especially considering the fact that we first learned about this virus only about a year ago. And now the vaccine is leaving from here.

UPS and FedEx trucks carrying the Pfizer vaccine rolled out of here 8:30 yesterday morning. Onboard 189 boxes of the vaccine, about a thousand vials to each box. That means about a million doses are now going to all 50 states.

Operation Warp Speed says 600 individual locations, places like hospitals and pharmacies, CVS and Walgreens. We know that the deliveries start this morning. The bulk of the deliveries, really, tomorrow morning.

Pfizer says months of planning, months of dry runs and preparation went into this major achievement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seeing these trucks go by, it just gave you a thrill to know that we are helping the world. Friday night, when I got the news over our phones, I actually got a tear in my eye, because this is so, so exciting. This is history being made, and right here in call Kalamazoo County.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally. It's going to take some time, because you can't fix it overnight. But it's certainly a step in the right direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN: The trucks that were leaving here were escorted by U.S. marshals as they went to airports.

You know, those vaccine flights, which are arriving in many states today, are getting priority clearance from air traffic controllers to move them more quickly through the air traffic control system. You now, this is a massive movement, Alisyn, and it all begins right here in Michigan.

CAMEROTA: It sure does, Pete. Wow! I mean, it's just incredible to watch the enthusiasm and how happy people are that they are going to pull this off. Thank you very much.

OK. Joining us now, CNN medical analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine at George Washington University; and CNN political commentator Dr. Abdul El-Sayyed. He's an epidemiologist and Detroit's former health director.

Dr. Reiner, tell us what you're thinking as you watch the doses of this vaccine fan out across the country?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I'm a little emotional, actually.

I was thinking yesterday, as I was driving in to do rounds, about a patient I took care a couple of months ago who had been in the hospital trying to recover from COVID for four months. And he was finally discharged.

So, you know, he's emblematic of resilience. And seeing us now finally start to go on the offensive shows me how resilient this country is.

You think about how magnificent this achievement is. This is akin to John F. Kennedy in 1962 saying that the U.S. will go to the moon. And instead of it happening in seven years, it happens in 11 months.

So I'm thrilled. We have a lot of work to do. The next few months are going to be very painful for this country, but now I know with certainty that we're going to get through this. There's a lot of work to do, but the skies are finally looking bright on the -- on the horizon.

CAMEROTA: It's really poignant.

BERMAN: It's an overwhelming achievement in the face of overwhelming loss. We've lost so much over the last year but overcome so much, as well.

And Dr. El-Sayed, it's just amazing to see. It's just amazing to see what science had been able to accomplish. And to think about what this will change over the next eight months.

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's right, John. This really is a medical marvel. I mean, I can't imagine.

I remember sitting down, not that long ago, and reading about mRNA and the idea that it could be used for a vaccine and now watching as we've created a vaccination, safe and effective, in less than a year since we even knew that a virus -- a new virus existed.

[06:10:04]

But it is poignant today that we will cross 300,000 deaths on the same day that people will get their first vaccinations. And it is a reminder of all that has come before and all the work that we need to do to get to the end. And I'm also thinking about all of the folks on the ground, in all 50 states, in these 145 different centers who are doing the work of scrambling to make sure that we can get this safe and effective vaccine into people's arms.

And I'm thinking about the fact that, though we have spent about $10 billion to develop this vaccine, we've really spent about $240 million to be able to do the -- all of the work of outreach and all of the work of logistics within states and cities to get this vaccine out.

So we need a lot more effort there, but the end is near. This is the beginning of the end. And it really is a moment to reflect and pause and to appreciate that we are nearing the end of this. But we've still got a lot more work to do.

CAMEROTA: We do. And people, obviously, need to get the vaccine; and we'll see, starting today, how that goes, if -- if it can actually be distributed and, you know, injected into people's arms successfully. And if people show up to get it.

And here's what Dr. Frances Collins of the -- the NIH director said in terms of the level that we need to get to to really be able to, as a country, heave a sigh of relief. Here he is yesterday.

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DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: We need 70 to 80 percent of Americans to be immune before this virus will basically give up, and it will be gone. And we think we can get there by June or so, for almost all of the 330 million Americans who are interested in getting this vaccine. But if only half of them do so, this could go on and on and on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Dr. Reiner, do you think June is realistic?

REINER: I think it's ambitious. And so we're ambitious people. It's going to take a lot of education. There's a lot of vaccine resistance. There's a lot of concern about safety, I think unnecessary concern about -- about safety.

You know, I've spoken to, you know, some docs who have maybe not wanted to be amongst the first to be vaccinated. I want to be vaccinated. I'll -- I'm going to wait my turn, and I'll get vaccinated as soon as -- as possible.

But we need to educate people that this really is a safe vaccine; that although, you know, the manufacturers and the FDA and the clinical trialists moved quickly, that they did not rush. This is not a rushed vaccine.

And we need a massive public health campaign, public education campaign to -- to show folks just that. I understand the HHS is about to roll that out. We'll see where that goes. But it starts in doctor's offices. Every single time I see a patient

in a clinic, I ask them if they're going to take the COVID vaccine when it's available, and we talk about safety. We talk about their concerns. This has to happen on the grassroots level.

Our goal should be not vaccinating 70 to 80 percent of this country. Our goal should be vaccinating 100 percent of this country. It will -- it's an ambitious goal to do this by June, but I think we can do it.

BERMAN: Look, I don't think there's anything wrong with asking the questions, but people should be very reassured by the answers about vaccine safety, particularly the safety around this vaccine and what the data has shown so far.

To that end, Dr. El-Sayyed, there was a mini-controversy overnight where it was reported that White House staffers, senior White House staffers would be among the first to be vaccinated this weekend -- or this week, I should say.

President Trump has since backed off and said now they won't be first. We'll figure out exactly when they go.

I'm not so sure it's the controversy people think it is. I know there's probably a lot of people who were pointing fingers about the irony of this, noting that people around the president had been the ones not to wear masks. And why should they get the vaccines when they've been sort of tempting fate for so long by not wearing masks and not believing the science here?

But, A, you want continuity of government. You want to make sure that things can go on and that we can fight this vaccine or virus with all the senior people we have.

And No. 2, I think that Americans should see or need to see as many people in power as possible endorsing the safety of this vaccine. Your view?

EL-SAYYED: Yes, well, I will say this. It is important that -- that we get folks at the very top of government vaccinated. Because at the end of the day, you're right. The multiple outbreaks that have occurred in the White House have been very disruptive to the work there.

At the same time, I can understand why people are upset. You have a White House that has, at every turn, pushed and peddled misinformation about this virus. And to watch them now get vaccinated against something they called a hoax, against something that they said would just go away, is ironic.

Now, that said, I do think you're right. I think we need everybody doing what they can to make sure that they are protecting themselves and their families. And that means getting a vaccine when it's available.

We've got to make sure, though, right, that the attention right now is being paid, as Dr. Reiner said, and as you spoke to, being paid to building a culture around what is very clear safety data. [06:15:10]

I spent several hours poring over the safety and efficacy data of this vaccine. It is remarkably safe. And aside from, you know, some pain at the injection site or maybe the malaise that you'll get with your immune system kicking up to learn the code of this coronavirus, so that it can fight it, aside from that, it is extremely safe and very effective.

And so we need everyone and anyone getting vaccinated when they can. And I think you're right. Having that example from the White House is important.

BERMAN: Dr. El-Sayyed, Dr. Reiner, thank you both so much for being with us this morning. Thanks for everything you've done over the last several months. And I'm glad you get to watch this today along with the rest of us.

REINER: Thank you.

EL-SAYYED: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Coming up in our next hour, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will interview Pfizer's CEO live about this historic moment in the pandemic and what's next.

So the Electoral College will make it official today. Joe Biden is the next president. Let me be the first to tell you. Will Republicans now accept the results? That's next.

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[06:20:18]

BERMAN: Today is a critical day in the constitutional process of elections. It is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, which by law -- by law -- means that 538 electors spanning 50 states and Washington, D.C., will meet in their respective states; and they will formally vote on Joe Biden to become the next president of the United States.

Joining us now, Anna Palmer, senior Washington correspondent for "Politico" and author of "The Politico Playbook." Also with us, CNN political analyst Toluse Olorunnipa. He's a White House reporter for "The Washington Post."

So this is the day when the electors meet. By this bizarre quirk of the U.S. Constitution, these 538 people, they're the ones who officially get to choose the president of the United States. News flash: It's going to be Joe Biden, Anna.

But it's significant. Even though it's a formality, it's significant this year, because it gives these Republicans, who have been lying about the process so far, a chance -- it gives them an off-ramp. It gives them a chance to say, Joe Biden won, he's the president-elect. What do you expect to see today? ANNA PALMER, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "POLITICO": I don't

think a lot will change. Although you're right, it is another opportunity for Republicans to get onboard with Joe Biden being the president-elect.

So far, they have really remained in support of President Donald Trump. I think you're actually going to see some potential shenanigans in January when they actually go and vote on it on the Senate and House floor.

So look for not much to change. I don't think that this is going to do much for anyone who wants to stay in President Donald Trump's good graces. And that includes the vast majority of House Republicans and even many Senate Republicans.

CAMEROTA: Toluse, to that point, I mean, we have heard people like Senator Ron Johnson, people like Congressman Steve Scalise signaling that it's not over for them today. And that they do plan to somehow -- well, they are open to gumming up the works, somehow, on January 6.

But some others, like Senator Lamar Alexander, are saying out loud that President-elect Joe Biden won. So here is Senator Alexander yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN): I mean, the states have counted, certified their votes. The courts resolved the disputes. It looks very much like the electors will vote for Joe Biden. And when they do, I hope that he puts the country first. I mean, the president, that he takes pride in his considerable accomplishments, that he congratulates the president-elect, and he helps him get off to a good start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, so is this over, Toluse? Or is it not over, because some of the Republicans are saying they're going to do something in January?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's over in terms of the reality that Joe Biden is going to be the next president. And all the theatrics that we're seeing from the Republican Party, it's not going to change that.

The only thing that we're likely to see is that they are going to continue those theatrics. They're going to continue to sort of performatively try to support the president's cause, essentially go out, make press statements saying that they believe the president still has a chance, that he should still fight his battles in the courts, while privately realizing that Joe Biden is going to be the next president and preparing for that.

So this is, unfortunately, dangerous to the democratic process. But for several of these Republicans, they see it as more of a, you know, kind of a public/private thing, where in public, they are pretending that President Trump still has a chance to be president, while in private, they're preparing for President Joe Biden.

So I do -- I don't expect that dynamic to change until Joe Biden is actually sworn in and is in the Oval Office. I think that as long as President Trump is tweeting, you know, We have only just begun the fight, he's going to keep his party in line; and all of these Republicans who don't want to get on his bad side and receive nasty tweets are going to continue to deny reality. And they're going to continue to pretend as if he has a chance to have a second term.

BERMAN: They sound like John Belushi in "Animal House." I mean, this is them saying, Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? I mean, that's literally --

CAMEROTA: Who's with me?

BERMAN: That's literally as ridiculous as the claims they're making right now.

It's been over. It will be over when the electors cast their votes today. And the performance art you speak of on January 6 is really just that. Yes, they can object. They can object on January 6, which will delay things by several hours and make America, in some ways -- it's unfortunate, because it will -- people will look at it and say, Oh, my gosh, there's objections here. Does that draw questions to the process? But it doesn't.

Both houses of Congress would need to vote to sustain those objections in order for them to count. They won't do that. This election is completely over, Anna.

I will say, it's having an impact, though, on people. You can see this violence that we've watched over the last few days around the country. In Michigan, they have to close the legislature today, because of threats that have been made there. It's unfortunate.

[06:25:02]

PALMER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, the temperature is just getting turned up by the president over and over again, almost you know, calling for -- inciting violence, in some ways, by a lot of his supporters.

We looked at the protests over the weekend here in Washington, D.C., where I live. They definitely turned violent.

It's unfortunate because, I think, as we can all agree, that this country has been through a really divisive period of time, and President Donald Trump isn't putting the country forward, isn't trying to have a healing part of kind of moving the country forward into the next phase.

I think you're going to hear today from Joe Biden, who continues to try to make the case that it's time to come together, that cooler heads need to prevail. But, unfortunately, you really have this split screen in political theatrics at this point, which is not helpful. CAMEROTA: No, it's ugly. It's ugly, what's happening. I mean, it's

horrible. There is violence, and it's just getting ugly. And somebody needs to step up right now and try to, as you say, quell it.

BERMAN: On the Republican side. Somebody --

CAMEROTA: Well, sure. I mean, the president --

BERMAN: It's got to be -- it's got to be a supporter of the president, right?

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: -- to be honest, because that's who would get people's attention, I think.

Toluse, obviously, we talk about this all the time. So many Americans are struggling. Some are about to be evicted. There are food lines that stretch for miles. What's happening this week with stimulus?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, so this moderate group of senators say they are going to put out their bill later today. We'll have to wait and see, as to whether or not that's able to get traction.

It does appear that President Trump has largely checked out of the negotiations, but he may still try to reengage as we get closer to the deadline.

I do think that the deadline with all of these millions of Americans that will lose these benefits that are really keeping them in their homes and keeping them, you know, safe and being able to put food on the table, the fact that those are going to expire in just a matter of days may galvanize some level of bipartisanship. And we may see some sort of a deal in which maybe some of the more controversial parts of these negotiations fall by the wayside, and they're able to pass something in the interim, before Joe Biden takes office, that most people agree on.

I think, for the large majority of the members of Congress, they agree on the basic components of this. And if they're able to just put -- put aside some of the things that they don't agree on, then maybe they can provide some relief for the American people before Christmas.

BERMAN: All right. Toluse, Anna, thank you so much for being with us on this Electoral College day.

I should note, CNN is going to be following this all day long. It's really interesting to watch, and you'll see it play out in granular detail. It will be an education for all of us. Thank you both.

A significant data breach targeting the U.S. government, and all signs point to Russian hackers. We have new details, next.

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