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New Day

Millions Of Doses Of The Coronavirus Vaccine Being Delivered This Morning; Russia's Cyber Campaign Goes Well Beyond Just Attacking Our Elections; Nearly 300,000 Americans Lost Their Lives To The Coronavirus, Most Recent Charlie Pride; Michigan And Pennsylvania Are Among Others To Close Indoor Dining Temporarily; Electoral College Will Meet Today As The Real Election; After 105 Years Of Using The Indian Name, Clevland Is Finally Set To Change it. An Economic Shackwave For Restuarants Across The Country Keep Continuing. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 14, 2020 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Trade craft and time. He has called them really hard to stop. Now of course Russia's cyber campaign we have to remember goes well beyond just attacking our elections. This is part of a year's long, ongoing, highly-complex cyber campaign against the United States, John.

JOHN BERMAN, NEW DAY HOST: Fascinating stuff, Alex. I know we're going to learn much more about this in the coming days. Alex Marquardt, thanks so much for your reporting. So millions of doses of the coronavirus vaccine being delivered this morning. People will start getting the shots today. Who will be first? How can you figure out your spot?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, NEW DAY HOST: 269 million.

BERMAN: Your vaccine questions answered next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: At some point in the next few hours, the first Americans will begin receiving the first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. I promise we will tell you the second it happens. It's such a huge moment. The people who will start getting it today are frontline medical workers and people who live in assisted living facilities. A question so many people have asked is when will the general public get it.

[07:35:00]

Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary Alex Azar, answered that question moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ALEX AZAR, HHS SECRETARY: If we get the Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca vaccine approved in January when their data comes in, we'll have significant additional supplies, and again late February in the March time period I think you'll start seeing much more like a flu vaccination campaign, people going into their Kroger, their CVS, their Walgreens, Walmart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The general population.

AZAR: Yes, yes.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BERMAN: Dr. Celine Gounder joins us. She's an Infectious Disease Specialist and a member of the Biden transition team's coronavirus advisory board. Dr. Gounder, thanks so much for being with us. That timeframe, late February-March for the general public to begin receiving it, maybe in their local CVS, that actually is more ambitious than perhaps a rosier view than I've heard recently. Your take on that.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASES SPECIALIST: Yes, I would agree with you, John. I think that is a fairly optimistic timeline. You know, as you will note, he did preface that by if the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines do bear fruit and are granted emergency use authorizations in a pretty fast timeline year. So you know, I think I would still caution against being overly optimistic. You know, I think we're probably still looking at April or May before we see - start to see the general population being vaccinated here.

CAMEROTA: I know we want to get to some viewer questions because they have so many about the vaccines, so here's one from Nona (ph) in Washington State. Is this a one time vaccine or will we need to get it every year like the flu shot?

GOUNDER: So with respect to the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines, those are two doses, so that's actually two shots right up front. Beyond that, we're still not sure how long the immunity from the vaccine lasts. We hope it will be at least a few years. It's important to understand that the coronavirus and the flu virus have very different biologies. The flu virus mutates actually quite a bit from year-to-year, which is why we need a yearly flu shot. That's not the case with the coronavirus. And so, the need to repeat vaccination after those initially two doses for COVID is really dependent on our immune system, not on the virus.

BERMAN: Taphon (ph) from New Mexico asks I think one of the key questions with this, which is even if I get the vaccine can I still get COVID-19 and give it to other people? In other words you may not get symptoms but can you be infectious?

GOUNDER: So this is a really, really important question. I can't emphasize that enough. We do not know the answer to that right now. So we know that the vaccine can prevent disease. We do not know that it can prevent infection completely, and therefore we do not know if it will prevent transmission. And so, this whole concept of vaccine- induced herd immunity is very much dependent on whether the vaccine can prevent transmission. So what you're going to hear is people like me and other public health officials saying, look, even if you've been vaccinated right now you still need to comply with those public health restrictions, especially including wearing a mask.

CAMEROTA: OK. This comes from Stephanie (ph). This is a really important question particularly after what we learned last week from the U.K. vaccinations. How are they planning to deal with adult with allergies? I am severely allergic to many foods and medications.

GOUNDER: So it depends a bit on how you define severe allergy. What we consider in the medical profession as severe allergy is anaphylaxis. So you know, did you end up in the hospital? Did somebody have to put a tube down your throat to keep your airway open? Were you given epinephrine in that context? So that's essentially what we consider to be a truly severe allergy. For the average person you'll be asked to stay about 15 minutes for observation after your vaccination just to make sure everything's going smoothly. For somebody who has a history of anaphylaxis, longer. So 30 minutes that you would be asked to stay for observation.

BERMAN: It's so interesting. The questions themselves, Dr. Gounder, are so interesting because I think it shows people have been paying really close attention because they hone in on the crucial issues, and this question comes from California. Is it safe to take the vaccination if you already had a COVID-19 infection say in September? If you've had it is it safe for you to get vaccinated?

GOUNDER: This is another great question, and there's been some debate about whether people who have had COVID should be vaccinated. So remember most of the people who've had COVID had asymptomatic or mild infection, so you know minimal or no symptoms, so they may not even realize that they had it, and frankly the logistics of trying to figure out who all had it to decide who should be vaccinated would just make what is already a gargantuan problem even more difficult.

[07:40:00]

So from a safety perspective it is absolutely safe for you to get vaccinated even if you've had COVID, and frankly I think it is a good idea because we don't know how long that natural immunity lasts anyway.

BERMAN: A lot that we don't know is here, but we're going to find out with the help, Dr. Gounder, of people like you. We're all in this together for the next several months. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

GOUNDER: My pleasure.

BERMAN: We want to remember some of the nearly 300,000 Americans lost to coronavirus. Charlie Pride, the first black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. What a loss. His rich baritone featured on more than 50 top 10 country hits. Pride was born a sharecropper's son in the 1930s in Mississippi, and before country stardom he was an all- start in the Negro baseball leagues. A great player by all accounts. He was 86-years-old. Actress Carol Sutton was practically the queen of New Orleans theater according to her friend, Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Audiences around the world might know her better from roles in TV shows like Treme and Lovecraft Country or movies like Steel Magnolias.

Rich Martin led a team of comfort dog handlers for Lutheran Charities in Illinois. They and their golden retrievers deployed to disasters including the Boston Marathon bombing, Sandy Oak shootings providing emotional support. He was 68 and leaves behind a wife and daughter. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:00]

BERMAN: We wait every four years for just this moment the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. You know what that means. It's Electoral College Day.

That bizarre constitutional (inaudible) that let's 538 people officially choose the president. It's important this year because it gives many Republicans a chance to stop lying about the election results. John Avlon here with a reality check.

JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR: You probably thought Election Day was six weeks ago when Joe Biden won an unprecedented 81 million votes giving him an electoral college victory of 306 to 232.

But it turns out today is the real election as far as the constitution is concerned when 538 members of the Electoral College meet in their respective states to ratify their state's vote. Confused? You're not alone. So let's break it down.

You got to go all the way back to 1787 when the founders intended those electors to be independent minded citizens who could stop an unqualified demagog from ever becoming president, didn't quite work out that way.

The constitution doesn't mention political parties but as they emerged even James Madison the father of the constitution called for an amendment to end the Electoral College. In fact, the Electoral College has been targeted for reform or abolition sum 700 times according to Jesse Wegman author of "Let the People Pick the President."

As recently as 1969 a constitutional amendment to end the Electoral College passed overwhelmingly in the House before being filibustered by segregationists in the Senate. And because there's a tweet for everything even Trump once blasted the Electoral College as a disaster for democracy.

But Trump's current attempt to overturn the will of the people represents something more cynical and sinister than just situational ethics.

After the Supreme Court unanimously rejected not one but two of his fact free arguments even Republicans who have resisted recognizing Biden as President Elect have said the Electoral College vote would be decisive. Here's Mitch McConnell.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Want to particularly congratulate President Elect Trump.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

AVLON: Wait, I'm sorry that's him congratulating Donald Trump the day after the 2016 election. Here's McConnell today.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MCCONNELL: At some point here we'll find out finally who was certified in each of these states and the Electoral College will determine the winner.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

AVLON: Yes but some counterfeit constitutional Conservatives plan to take it further plotting to block the confirmation of the Electoral College vote when it comes before Congress on January 6. Just imagine what they'd say if Democrats tried this stunt.

Wait, they have with a handful of protest votes after George W. Bush and Trump lost the popular vote but won the presidency. But here's the thing, not a single Democratic Senator would sign on to it. And then Democratic Vice Presidents including Al Gore presiding over his own defeat and Joe Biden saw to the peaceful (inaudible) power.

Unfortunately we can't take the sense of civic responsibility for granted. All this is just more evidence why we need to strengthen democracy's guardrails going forward.

That's one initiative known as the national popular vote interstate compact have been gaining steam with 15 states in the District of Columbia backing a plan to grant their electors to the winner of the popular vote. Trump's war on democracy and now the Electoral College reflects too many Republican's discomfort with majority rule.

We need to reassert this fundamental principle with laws not just norms that reflect the founders' best intents because as Alexander Hamilton once wrote the fundamental maxim of Republican government require the sense of the majority should prevail. And that's your reality check.

CAMEROTA: John, I love when you get into the way back machine to 2016.

AVLON: I prefer the hot tub time machine but that works as well.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: You're right. That's better. But it is so revealing, so thank you very much for all of that.

AVLON: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Cleveland's baseball team will reportedly change its name. Andy Scholes has more in the Bleacher Report. Hi, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Alisyn. So after 105 years of using the Indian's name Cleveland is set to finally change it. That's according to a report by the New York Times. And the Indian's name has long been criticized for being offensive to Native Americans.

Now the team has not commented on this situation yet but it did not dispute the Times report when CNN asked them about it and the Time's report cites sources familiar with this decision. Starting back in 2019 Cleveland began to move away from using that Chief Wahoo logo.

Then after Washington's football team decided to change their name in July Cleveland said it was open to the idea of changing its name and it would conduct a review consulting with the Native American community. Times reports the announcement could come this week, not clear yet if Cleveland plans keep the Indians name for one season or just drop it immediately.

President Trump he took to Twitter to criticize the team's decision tweeting this is not good new even for Indians. Cancel culture at work. The Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Back Hawks meanwhile they've all said recently they are not considering changing their names.

And Indian's manager Terry Francona, Alisyn, he said in the summer it was time to move on and really consider making a move to change that name. And Francona he's going to speak with the media later this afternoon, so that's when we should learn more about this Indian's name change.

CAMEROTA: Andy Scholes, thank you very much for that braking news.

SCHOLES: All right.

CAMEROTA: All right. New York City shutting down indoor dining and the economic shockwaves for restaurants across the country keep continuing, more on this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:25]

BERMAN: Happening now, New York City halts indoor dining today after a month-long surge in coronavirus cases. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELBA WILSON, OWNER OF MELBA'S RESTAURANT: I'm born bread and butter right here in the Village of Harlem. BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As a native New Yorker and restaurant owner, Melba Wilson has seen changes in her hometown.

WILSON: Just on this block that one closed, that one closed, that one closed.

GINGRAS: But nothing like this.

WILSON: What a lot of people don't realize when a restaurant closes down it's not just a physical location. The restaurant industry in this country in the second-largest private employer. It is a layered effect, and it is devastating.

GINGRAS: The devastation on the food industry stretches from coast- to-coast. Since the pandemic started, one in six restaurants in the U.S. permanently closed. As coronavirus cases climb, local governments are again flirting with shutdown orders. Los Angeles County in California recently closed outdoor dining after banning indoor seating in the spring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The entire industry is collapsing.

GINGRAS: Michigan and Pennsylvania are among the states to close indoor dining temporarily, and in New York City where infection rates are going up but still remain among the lowest in the country, indoor dining is now off the table.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), N.Y.: You put the CDC caution on indoor dining together with the rate of transmission and the density and the crowding, that is a bad situation.

GINGRAS: Restaurants here are back to where they were in the spring. This time the news comes ahead of the coldest months of the year.

WILSON: 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 it believed in.

GINGRAS: The industry has pushed for relief since March. PPP money helped keep some employees on payroll, but without more relief from Congress, more layoffs.

WILSON: To have to call the 19 employees that we have left two weeks before Christmas and to have to let them go is - I don't know that I could do it.

GINGRAS: And more closures are inevitable. There is real frustration aimed at elected officials who are stalling.

SAM BARBIERI, OWNER, WATERFRONT ALE HOUSE: To hear that these people will - can say that, OK, we should close the whole city down, OK. That's great. You're still going to get your paycheck, but we're not. My staff is not. Their families are going to suffer.

GINGRAS: After 25 years in business, Sam Barbieri was poised to retire next year. That's now on hold and he could lose his business. BARBIERI: I think the new administration, everybody's going to get along a little bit better, and that's all we can hope for.

GINGRAS: For Wilson, her weekly walks in Harlem now lead her here to a statue of Frederick Douglas, a place for reflection and where she keeps hope.

WILSON: I look at him and I say he got through it, and if he got through it, so can I. So can we.

GINGRAS: Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Impact on so many lives, which is why today is such a momentous occasion. The first coronavirus vaccinations. People will start getting the shots within hours. We are standing by to bring it to you live. New Day continues right now.

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First 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 woodworks, and they are very, very sick.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to get through this tunnel.

ANNOUNCER: This is New Day with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

CAMEROTA: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day, and we have breaking news because we are moments away from the first Americans being vaccinated against the coronavirus. It's a historic morning here. Overnight vaccines began arriving at airports across the country. This is, of course, wildly welcome news, but it does not mean the end of the pandemic yet, and the death toll at the same time continues to rise. Today the United States will pass 300,000 deaths. When will that end? Well the head of the government's Operation Warp Speed vaccine program.

[08:00:00]