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New Day

Harris Casts Tie-Breaking Vote on Budget Resolution; Johnson & Johnson Asks for EUA; Countdown to the Super Bowl; Quarantine before the Australian Open. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 05, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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


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[06:31:56]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Moments ago, Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tiebreaking vote to pass a budget resolution that allows President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to go forward without Republican support.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live at the White House with more.

What do we know, Jeremy?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, after 15 hours of debates and votes on a slew of amendments, the Senate finally passing that budget resolution, with the vice president sitting in the chair there in the Senate to break the tie, her first and most significant tiebreaking move that she has had to make to date. You saw her there, breaking that tie and allowing this to move forward.

This allows Democrats to write Biden's package into law. And it really negates the need at this point for any Republicans to actually join onboard. As long as the White House can keep moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia onboard with this package, they can move forward without the need for Republicans.

Now, that being said, President Biden has still made clear that he wants to keep those channels of communication open with Republicans. And he is open to some compromises if it will help him get Republican votes. But it's also clearer now than ever before that President Biden doesn't need those Republican votes.

Now, later this morning, President Biden is expected to meet with House Democratic leaders and the chairs of several of the key committees involved in passing and writing this budget resolution and ultimately this $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. We will also hear from the president later today once the jobs report comes out. And that will be interesting because it will give us the clearest sign yet of the state of the economic recovery, whether that slowdown from the winter is continuing. And that could, obviously, help or complicate Biden's pitch for this very large relief package.

Alisyn. CAMEROTA: OK, Jeremy, thank you for bringing us that breaking news.

Now this, a third coronavirus vaccine is one step closer to being available. How soon could it be approved? That's next.

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[06:37:43]

CAMEROTA: Johnson & Johnson is asking the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization for their one-dose coronavirus vaccine. Researchers found that the J&J vaccine is 72 percent effective against moderate- to-severe cases and 85 percent effective in preventing the most serious illness. No one who got the vaccine died from COVID or needed hospitalization.

Joining us now is Dr. Paul Offit. He's the director of Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA's Vaccine Advisory Committee.

So, Dr. Offit, you're the perfect person to speak to.

We're, obviously, in a race against these variants that are cropping up. So how soon could this J&J vaccine be available to the general public?

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Well, if past is prologue, when we recommended -- the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee recommended Pfizer's vaccine on December the 10th, that vaccine then was available, was shipped out five days later. The same thing really happened when we recommended the Moderna vaccine, it was December 17th. That vaccine then rolled out five days later. So assuming that this vaccine is recommended by the advisory committee and the FDA and then it goes to the CDC, where it's reviewed by the advisory committee for immunization practices, one would assume roughly the middle of -- of the first week in March.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That's not that long from now. And they don't have as many doses as they would like, but you're talking about potentially 6 or 7 million doses of a single-dose vaccine that may be able to shipped really in four weeks.

What impact will that have, Doctor?

OFFIT: It will help. I mean right now we have a production problem. It's - you know, initially, it started out as an administration problem, where only 20 percent of distributed vaccine doses were administered, then it was 30 percent, then it was 40 percent, then it was 50 percent, now it's 60 percent. So we're learning how to mass vaccinate.

I think what now you have a lot of mass vaccination sites are just standing back and saying, we need more vaccine. We need to -- we need to produce more vaccine. CAMEROTA: Because this one has a different efficacy, basically it's 72

percent effective against moderate and severe, is there any talk or should there be of giving it to a different demographic, giving it to a different population rather than, you know, elderly people who are most vulnerable?

OFFIT: Well, again, I'd like to -- the FDA sort of warns us not to make comments about -- about what we think about whether we're going to recommend this vaccine or how it will play out.

[06:40:06]

So -- until we see all the data.

But I will say this, I mean it's -- what you want from a vaccine is you want it to protect you against severe disease. You want to keep yourself out of the hospital, out of the ICU, and out of the morgue. It is -- there are advantages to this vaccine in that it is, it's a single dose, it's shipped and stored at refrigerator temperatures. So that makes it much easier. So you could argue then, because the storage and handling characteristics are much easier, that it would do better, for example, in a rural community where there's not a retail pharmacy nearby and you're not asking as much in terms of shipping and restoring and handling. And also once it's in the refrigerator, it can last for months, where, you know, you have other vaccines who are going to be able to last five days. And once the rubber stopper is violated, it only lasts for five or six hours. So there's advantages here.

And I think you're right. I think, again, we need to look at the data and say -- and sometimes what will happen is the ACIP, the CDC will say, look, it seems to work better for one group than another. Let's really recommend it for that group. But, again, we need to drill down on the data.

BERMAN: I was interested to read overnight, Dr. Offit, that the FDA is working now to put a plan in place to deal with the new variants. Basically, as these variants become more dominant, and maybe vaccines not as effective against them, the FDA is trying to put a system in place to handle that.

What exactly does that mean? What would they do or change going forward?

OFFIT: Right. So here's when a line gets crossed. A line gets crossed when you see people who have received two doses of the vaccine, either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine, nonetheless are hospitalized with disease caused by one of these variants. That's when you know that we need that second generation of vaccine.

So the question is, how are you going to work on that second generation of vaccine in terms of allowing it to be used, say, through EUA. And I think the more likely model will be sort of the influenza model, where the vaccine would have to be tested to make sure that at least it's safe in a few hundred people and it induces the immune response you think it should induce to protect you, so-called imunoriching (ph) size (ph), but you're not going to ask for another efficacy trial like the Moderna trial of 30,000 people or the Pfizer trial of 44,000 people. That's impractical. So I think that's what they're looking at.

And they work with the companies now to figure out, how can we best have the second generation vaccine if we need it. I mean hopefully we won't need it. Hopefully these vaccines can still protect against severe disease, which it looked like from topline data, the J&J vaccine did in South Africa. So we'll see how it plays out.

BERMAN: Is that -- is that the difference between weeks and months in terms of getting approval?

OFFIT: Yes, absolutely. The -- you can't -- if -- actually, if you're expecting an efficacy trial, it would be many months. So -- so, yes, it would be a matter of a few weeks, absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Offit, I just want to pull up for people where we are in this country right now because I think that we, obviously, get conflicting information, whether or not things are getting much, much better or things are about to get much worse with the variant. And I know it's hard to know the answer to that.

But here's where we are in terms of positivity rates. The light blue, the close to white, are places that the positivity rate has just come down. I mean that's between 2 percent and 8 percent. That's where you want it, you know, under 5 percent. But then there's these patches of dark blue, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, South Dakota, they're above 20 percent.

I don't know if you have a theory on this, but, I mean, are these places that never got their arms around what was happening a month ago or is this the new variant or what's happening in those dark blue places?

OFFIT: I don't think it's the variants. I think it's sort of the degree to which we're willing to participate in this kind of cult of denialism. We're less likely to wear a mask and physical distance.

But I think overall things are definitely getting better. I mean you have two vaccines that work well. You have probably three more vaccines, with Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and the -- and the AstraZeneca vaccine that are right around the corner. And you have, you know, you have -- we say on -- your say on your site that 26 million people in the United States have been infected, but that's probably off by a factor of three when you look at antibody surveillance data. So it's more like 75 million people have been infected. Those people are essentially immune. That's 20 plus percent of the population. And we've got, what, 30 million plus doses out there. First doses, which are not going to provide long-lasting protection or complete protection, but it's a start. Probably 7 million people have already had two doses of vaccine. You have an administration that cares, that's modeling correct behavior in terms of masking and social distancing. And the weather's going to get warmer. And when that happens, it makes it less easy for this virus to be transmitted. I really do think that we will get on top of this by summer or late

summer because I think everything is now moving in the right direction.

BERMAN: I hope you're right. It's nice to hear you say it.

Dr. Paul Offit, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

OFFIT: Thank you.

BERMAN: You know, one way to get there is to not have a giant Super Bowl party, right? But the Super Bowl --

CAMEROTA: What are you going to do?

BERMAN: I always watch the games alone. I don't want people bothering me. I want to be alone with him.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my.

BERMAN: Who wouldn't want to be alone with him?

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

BERMAN: Right. So who -- so Tom Brady --

CAMEROTA: Why do I ask?

BERMAN: Takes the field in search of his seventh Super Bowl win. "Bleacher Report," next.

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[06:48:56]

BERMAN: So what does the number 55 mean to you? That is the Super Bowl we're on. And it's also Tom Brady's age, 55.

Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report."

We're like a couple days away from the game, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, not quite 55, but he's getting there, right? Who knows how long he's going to play.

But I'm so excited for this matchup and Super Bowl 55. You know, 43- year-old Tom Brady taking on 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes. Brady looking for that seventh Super Bowl. Mahomes trying to be the youngest ever to win back-to-back.

And check this out. You know, when Brady won his first Super Bowl back in 2002, he was 24 years old. Mahomes was just six. A first grader. And 19 years later, they're set to face off in the Super Bowl. And Brady says if he wins a seventh title, the thing he's looking forward to the most is celebrating with his family.

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TOM BRADY, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUARTERBACK: That's the best part about winning is having the people that have helped you get there and supported you there with you to enjoy it. So some of the best memories I've had in my life were being with my kids right after the Super Bowl and celebrating with them.

[06:50:01]

So I hope we have that experience on Sunday. It's going to be really tough games.

PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: I'm focused on this game right now, trying to win this second Super Bowl and be able to hold that Lombardi Trophy and have that second ring. But if I'm at the end of my career and I have a lot of Super Bowl rings in my hand, I'll be happy.

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SCHOLES: All right, we'll have much more on the Chiefs and the Bucs tomorrow on our CNN "Bleacher Report" special "Kickoff in Tampa Bay." Coy Wire and myself gets you ready for the big game. We'll be joined by two-time Super Bowl champion Malcolm Jenkins, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and many more. That's going to be tomorrow at 2:30 Eastern right here on CNN, John.

And, you know, I keep saying we really need to appreciate this Super Bowl. It's like if the NBA finals we got Jordan versus LeBron. Mahomes and the Chiefs favored by three. Hard to bet against either one of these guys.

BERMAN: It's more like Bob Cousy versus LeBron. I mean that's the age difference we're dealing with here. You're like six eras separated. You know, Tom Brady was playing during the merger.

SCHOLES: Yes, I meant Jordan versus LeBron.

BERMAN: No, it's amazing. It's going to be an incredible game. Very exciting. Very excited for the special tomorrow, Andy. Great to have you.

SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: So an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the House chose not to punish Marjorie Taylor Greene for the violent things she has made, the threats she has endorsed. So, what next?

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[06:55:36]

CAMEROTA: The Australian Open is set to begin on Monday after a major coronavirus scare threatened to derail the tennis tournament. More than 500 players, officials, and staff had to quarantine after a single case at their hotel. CNN's Will Ripley joins us now with more.

So what happened, Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the headline, Alisyn, one case in Melbourne, Australia, led to 22,000 COVID tests. They checked the sewage water. They suspended the warm-up matches. And then when all of those tests came back negative, only one person had the virus, they allowed the tournament to continue, but to continue in a way that we can only dream of in most other places around the world, no mask, no problem.

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RIPLEY (voice over): At this year's Australian Open, huge crowds, unimaginable in places like the U.S., nearly 400,000 fans will pack Melbourne's Tennis Center over the next two weeks.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC, MEN'S WORLD NUMBER ONE: I had goose bumps coming into the court, playing in front of the fans again.

RIPLEY: Australia won't even begin vaccinations until later this month. How are they packing stadiums in the middle of a pandemic? Every player arriving in Melbourne had to quarantine for two weeks in a state-monitored hotel. If anyone on their plane tested positive, the rules got even tougher. Possible exposure meant 14 days stuck in a room. No fresh air, no outdoor practice for dozens of players.

CRAIG TILEY, CEO, TENNIS AUSTRALIA: Yes, we're in a pandemic. This is not going away tomorrow. In fact, I think we're going to be doing this again next year and potentially the year after. And we're going to have to manage through it. We've got to find ways to do it. But we have to get going. And this was -- this was a way to show you can do it.

RIPLEY: The uncertainty of the pandemic is forcing organizers to be nimble. A new case connected to a hotel hosting athletes suspended play on Thursday. More than 500 people had to get tested.

Melbourne is a city that knows how to handle an outbreak. As huge American crowds celebrated the Fourth of July, Melbourne endured one of the world's toughest and longest lockdowns, 111 days, masks, mandatory for everyone. In phase one, a strict curfew at night. By day, only essential travel within three miles of home. Breaking the rules meant hefty fines. The harsh lockdown worked. Cases dropped from more than 700 per day to zero.

PROF. SHARON LEWIN, DIRECTOR, DOHERTY INSTITUTE FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY: I think we got to eradication by default. We always talked about aggressive suppression. But we actually got to eradication. And I can tell you, leaving with eradication, it's pretty nice.

RIPLEY: Pretty nice may be an understatement for many around the world, wondering when they can hug their families again, let alone pack a stadium. Australian experts say other nations can do it, too, with the right

mix of restrictions and now vaccines. A possible test run for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July.

TILEY: You can take the small sample we have here, which will probably be about 12, 15 percent of what it is over there, and you can just replicate it. And I believe if you do, it will be a success.

RIPLEY: Success in Melbourne meant short-term pain for long-term gain, giving hope to others around the world, waiting for life to get back to normal.

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RIPLEY: So to underscore this, Alisyn, not a single person in Australia, in Melbourne, anywhere, has been vaccinated yet. They haven't even arrived yet. But everything is open. Life is back to normal. You don't have to wear a mask. They had to go through 111 days of pain in that city but look at what they are doing now.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, it's fascinating, Will, to see the different approaches, obviously, that countries have taken and the different results.

Thank you very much.

And NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No member ought to be permitted to engage in the kind of behavior and face zero consequences.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number of Republicans who voted to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene from the committee was only 11.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These were words of the past and these things do not represent me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She talked about things the way you talk about something you've done wrong when you get caught. It didn't have a lot of conviction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump's spokesman is saying, no, the former president will not be testifying.

[07:00:01]

House impeachment managers wanted the former president to testify.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this whole effort seems to be an appeal to the president's ego.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that Jamie Raskin will make.