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CDC: Nearly 700 Variant Cases In 34 States As Cases And Hospitalizations Drop; Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Discusses Trump's Impeachment Trial; Hacker Tries To Poison Water Supply Of Florida Town. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 09, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Nearly 10 percent of Americans have received their first shot, but just under three percent of Americans are fully vaccinated.

Joining us now is Andy Slavitt. He's a White House senior adviser on coronavirus. Andy, great to see you this morning.

Can I just start with the most burning, pressing question, and that is -- let me pull up these graphs. You see the numbers of hospitalizations coming down markedly and it comforts us. You see the number of cases -- the daily case count coming down markedly in this country and we feel comforted. And then we hear from some of our experts that because of the variants we are only in the eye of the storm and we are about to be hit by another wave.

Do you think the peak of the pandemic has passed or do we need to brace for another peak?

ANDY SLAVITT, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER FOR COVID RESPONSE: Well, good morning, Alisyn.

Unfortunately, none of us can predict the future. All we can do is control what we can control. And that means those numbers you just cited -- nearly 10 percent of the public getting their first shot and three percent getting their second shot -- we need to just push on that and accelerate it as fast as possible. And we need to be -- we need to double down on wearing masks.

Now is not the time to look at those curves, in my view, and breathe a sigh of relief. We have a ways to go.

I think we know that this thing has been unpredictable for the last year. I think it's still going to be unpredictable. It's still going to have some surprises for us. We are going to get there but I wouldn't advise people to quit early.

CAMEROTA: But from the research that you are looking at every day, do you think the variants are outpacing the vaccination rate?

SLAVITT: Well, if you look at other countries, the variants tend to grow sort of invisibly, kind of like a wave under the surface. And the visibility that we have shows that these variants can grow quite quickly. It's going to depend in large part, as you know, on people's behavior.

But the thing about this virus that we've learned is it grows exponentially. The thing about vaccine shots is they tend to grow more linearly. So if this hits and we are not taking other protective measures like mask-wearing and social distancing, then the variants could be more powerful than our ability to get people vaccinated.

CAMEROTA: Are you personally bracing for another peak?

SLAVITT: Well, I'm a little bit unusual that I'm bracing for every scenario and probably more bracing for the more challenging ones because that's my job than I am for anything else. But as I said, none of us can predict the future but what we can do is we can control the things we can all control, and I think that should be comforting. And it also should be comforting to see that large numbers of seniors and people in nursing homes are getting protection.

And so, should we have a wave, our hope is that many, many more people will be protected, unlike the last wave we have -- had.

CAMEROTA: As far as we know there are something like 700 cases of the new variants already here in the U.S. But as you have pointed out and so many experts, we're not doing the genetic sequencing --genomic sequencing that we need. So how many times that numbers, 700, do you think of the variant cases are actually here?

SLAVITT: Well, we don't know. I think the good news is we have significantly ramped up sequencing ten-fold in the last several weeks since we've been here. And we -- in the American Rescue Plan, which you may hear us mention more than once because it's so vital to our ability to fight this virus, we have asked for all of the resources we need to significantly ramp this up because we need to be doing as much as anybody in the world.

What we should all assume for now is that what we're seeing is only a small sample. And I believe in the precautionary principle which means that if you're not sure, you should assume that you have a variant strain of the virus near you. And for those reasons alone, let alone all of the other reasons we know, it's not time to take our foot off the gas.

I think we're a few months away from being able to say that's something we should begin to look at. Right now, I think we're all systems go and focus on this. And in particular, because our visibility is not what we want it to be.

CAMEROTA: Andy, as far as we know, 42 million Americans have gotten their vaccination right now. What is your target date for when virtually all Americans, let's say over the age of 18, will be vaccinated?

SLAVITT: Well, the president has challenged us to get this done over the course of the summer. And what we've done since we've been here a few weeks ago is we've procured the additional supply necessary to do that.

That's even without counting for Johnson & Johnson potentially getting approval -- and we're all hoping for good news, but we all obviously want the FDA to do their jobs and if the -- and demonstrate that this is safe and effective. And if so, that will be even more good news.

So I think what we'll see is this undersupply situation that we're in today, that won't be lasting all the way until that time. I think we are probably going to shift. And we are already starting to see shifts in some communities from a situation where we are undersupply to where we're in situations where we also have to be worried about demand and vaccine hesitancy and having those conversations. Because supply will increase and we have to make sure that the American public sees the data and has reliable sources to go to so they increase their comfort in being able to take the vaccine.

[07:35:22]

CAMEROTA: But in your head are you thinking June 21st most Americans will be vaccinated or September first?

SLAVITT: I smile because I think the country has lived through a long period of overpromises, false deadlines, dates that have no basis in science, and I don't think you're going to hear that from this White House. I think you're going to hear the White House saying let scientists do their jobs. There's only so much of this that's controllable.

We're going to do our best and hopefully, under-promise and over- deliver, but also be prepared for unexpected events. There will be unexpected events like variants, like other things. And so, we don't want to try to forecast the future.

What we want to do is do a competent emergency management-like job treating this like the war that it is and demonstrate to the public that we are on top of all of these things, but not promise anything into the future that we won't be able to deliver on because we want the public to be able to trust that we're leveling with them and that we're getting this done.

CAMEROTA: How about getting all kids back in public schools? Do you believe that teachers -- public school teachers need to be vaccinated before that can happen?

SLAVITT: Well, we are awaiting guidance from the CDC and the Department of Education who are really looking at this factually and on the ground scientifically. So we all know what we want to be true and certainly, having kids back in school is one of the president's top commitments. But having them back in school safely is what's important.

So, since I'm not the scientist, I'm going to refrain from having people like me opine on what the science should say, would say, et cetera, other than to say it's obviously a goal we need to work towards. We need to help schools and we need to help state and local governments help make that happen. It doesn't happen by itself. CAMEROTA: Andy Slavitt, we really appreciate your time today. Thanks

so much for being on NEW DAY.

SLAVITT: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We want to remember some of the nearly 465,000 Americans lost to coronavirus.

Republican Congressman Ron Wright, the first sitting member of Congress to die after getting the virus. President Biden described the bow tie-wearing congressman from the Dallas-Fort Worth area as a fighter who battled bravely, not only against coronavirus but cancer as well. He was 67 years old.

Holly Warren was a beloved attendance clerk at Hillcrest High School in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Her family believes she was infected at a small family gathering around New Years. The entire family came down with the virus. Everyone recovered except Holly. She was just 65 years old.

Charlie Correll was just 10 years old. Born with a rare brain disorder, he wasn't expected to live more than a few hours after birth but he defied the odds.

He brought joy to everyone who knew him. The little boy from Staten Island was loved. He loved being with people, racing in his wheelchair, cuddling with his parents. And they also say he loved SpongeBob SquarePants.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:47]

BERMAN: Just a few hours away now from history -- the impeachment trial of the former president for his role in the invasion of the U.S. Capitol.

Joining me now is Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono. She is one of many lawmakers who were evacuated from the Senate chamber as the mob stormed the Capitol. Senator, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI) (via Skype): Good morning, John.

BERMAN: We're just a few hours away, as I said, from history. This will be the second time you've been a participant in such history.

What questions do you have this morning?

HIRONO: Well, frankly, all of us were witnesses to the horrific events of January sixth so I don't have very many questions, frankly. We were all witnesses, unlike the last impeachment trial. And I think the House managers will bring all of the information and evidence to remind us of the kind of chaos and harm that happened on January sixth.

BERMAN: So given that you lived through it and as you said, you saw it, you are a witness, I'm curious --

HIRONO: All of us.

BERMAN: -- who you will be watching then. Will you be watching the House manager and the lawyers or are you going to be watching your colleagues? Are you going to be watching, particularly, the Republican senators?

HIRONO: Well, what I understand is that most of my Republican colleagues will vote to not convict him and hiding behind this argument, which is not adhered to by most constitutional scholars, that impeaching a president who has already left office is unconstitutional. That is not the case.

So they'll hide behind that. Why, John? Because what is happening with my Republican colleagues -- most of them -- is their extreme fear of Donald Trump and the Trump base. So what's motivating them is extreme fear rather than doing their constitutional responsibility to listen to the evidence and make a vote for conviction.

BERMAN: It sounds like in a way, you actually agree with what Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said. He says, "I don't know of anyone that their mind is not made up ahead of the impeachment trial."

Do you think he's right with that?

[07:45:00]

HIRONO: Well, the other thing I heard is that if the Republicans could vote by secret ballot that most of them would vote to convict. So again, it shows that they are hiding behind an unconstitutional claim. That is not the case because how can it be that a president can commit impeachable acts in the last month or days of his term and get away with it scot-free.

And so, you know, I think it is a sad thing. And the lack of conviction is on the Republicans and the Republican Party as far as I'm concerned, and I would say that a lot of Americans would feel the same way.

BERMAN: Well, how do you get them over the hump if you think it's fear that's keeping them from voting to convict? If you think that in a secret ballot they would vote to convict, what do you think you or the House managers could do in the next few days to change their minds?

HIRONO: Not much from what I can see because fear has been motivating the Republicans for the entire four years of the Trump presidency. And he has brought to the floor all of these kinds of -- the white supremacists and the Proud Boys and all of that. They feel quite emboldened by this president to behave in violent acts. And so, I don't particularly expect too many of my Senate colleagues, except for the handful perhaps, who will look at the evidence and who will look to their own experience and the fear that we all had that if this mob caught any of us that we would have been badly hurt.

And especially, the House managers. They were right there. Many of them were right there when the mob had already gone into the House chambers and they had to put on their masks and all of that. And it was a very, very frightening situation, to say the least, resulting in five deaths, one person crushed, another officer beaten to death, and dozens of them badly, badly hurt.

And so, the Republicans are going to listen to all that evidence and say well, we're not going to hold the president accountable for two months, the president lying about the elections and basically invoking and provoking the kind of insurrection that we all witnessed on January sixth.

BERMAN: What's your feeling this morning on whether or not there should be witnesses in this trial?

HIRONO: If the House managers want to call witnesses, I will vote to have those witnesses called. BERMAN: I just want to remind our viewers we had you on quite a bit

one year ago and you thought witnesses -- that without a trial -- without witnesses, it wasn't even a real trial. This is just what you said a year ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HIRONO: Well, in that case, we need a fair trial that includes witnesses and documents -- relevant witnesses and documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So you wanted witnesses there, period.

HIRONO: Well, no. The fact is all of us were witnesses this time. The evidence in this trial is very different from the first impeachment trial. The evidence is that we were all witnesses. As I say, we can look to our own experiences and the fact that we all experienced fear. I know I did.

When I saw the video of what was going on in the Capitol and the -- this mob -- this angry mob shouting hang Pence and find Nancy Pelosi and all of that, I had no -- there was no question in my mind that if these rioters found me or any of us we would have been badly hurt. And that is definitely borne out by what happened on January sixth.

BERMAN: Sen. Mazie Hirono --

HIRONO: We are the witnesses.

BERMAN: Well, do you think they should call a U.S. senator, then, if you're a witness? Do you want to -- do you want to go testify under oath? HIRONO: I don't think that's even necessary. We're talking about relevant witnesses. And I would say the witnesses that we haven't heard from might be Capitol Police.

So truly, John, we know -- when I say we were witnesses, we all experienced it. There may be other witnesses that we have not heard from and if the House managers deem that to be important evidence for us to see or hear, then I would support it.

BERMAN: Sen. Mazie Hirono, we appreciate your time this morning. As I said --

HIRONO: Thank you.

BERMAN: -- you're going to be one of a group of people who's been through something no one else has ever before -- two trials -- two impeachment trials of a president. Thanks so much.

HIRONO: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK, John.

One of the nearly-200 people charged with storming the U.S. Capitol says he held a top-secret security clearance for decades and previously worked for the FBI. Thomas Caldwell's attorney says he worked as an FBI section chief from 2009 to 2010 and he has had top- secret clearance since 1979.

Caldwell, who authorities believe holds a leadership role in the far- right Oath Keepers, denies being part of the extremist group and claims there is no proof he was in the Capitol on January sixth.

[07:50:02]

BERMAN: As early as today, the Justice Department is expected to ask most of the federal prosecutors appointed by the former president to resign. It appears two of them will remain on the job.

Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss is overseeing the tax probe of Hunter Biden. And attorney John Durham was appointed as special counsel by former attorney general Bill Barr to look into the origins of the Russia investigation.

President Biden's attorney general nominee Merrick Garland is still awaiting his confirmation hearing, which is going to wait until after the impeachment trial.

CAMEROTA: Up next, a terrifying story. Investigators are looking into how a hacker or hackers tried to poison the water supply in one Florida city. Now, federal officials are looking into this as well. We have all the details for you in a live report, next.

BERMAN: But first --

CAMEROTA: But first -- thank you -- a CNN original series examines the legacy of the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln's struggles and compromises to save the Union and free the slaves. "LINCOLN: DIVIDED WE STAND" premieres Sunday night at 10:00 on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIP FROM "LINCOLN: DIVIDED WE STAND."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:56:19]

BERMAN: Developing this morning, officials in Florida say a hacker tried to poison the water supply of a town near Tampa. Now, federal investigators are looking into this national security threat. Quite a story.

CNN's Alex Marquardt joins us live with the latest on this -- Alex.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this is worrying on a number of different levels. This is a small city and it shows how vulnerable they are -- 15,000 people. It's called Oldsmar. It's just outside Tampa.

And at its core, John, this was a hack that was designed to hurt people. What the hacker did was get inside the water treatment system and crank up the level of sodium hydroxide or lye, which is typically drain cleaner, to 100 times higher than it's supposed to be from 100 parts per million to over 11,000 parts per million. That's according to the sheriff.

Listen to a little bit more of what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BOB GUALTIERI, PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA: Somebody hacked into the system not just once but twice and controlled the system -- took control of the mouse, moved it around, opened the program, and changed the levels from 100 to 11,100 parts per million with a caustic substance.

This type of hacking of critical infrastructure is not necessarily limited to just water supply systems. It could be anything. It can be sewer systems. It could be a whole variety of things that could really be problematic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: The sheriff is absolutely right. That is exactly what cybersecurity officials and experts feared that with increasingly available and sophisticated tools that critical infrastructure could be vulnerable.

Now, luckily, the hacker was noticed by an operator who then reduced the levels of sodium hydroxide back down.

But we should note that the sheriff said that at no point was anybody really in danger. It would have taken around 24 to 36 hours for this water to work its way through the system before it got to anyone's faucets.

But that certainly doesn't reduce the level of concern. The FBI and the Secret Service are helping out with the investigation, in addition to the county, of course, investigating it.

We have heard from the senator -- one of the senators from Florida, Marco Rubio, who said that he's asking that the FBI provide all of the resources that are required. And he goes on to call this a matter of national security -- John.

CAMEROTA: I'll take it.

BERMAN: Everything about this -- everything -- I'll take it.

CAMEROTA: Oh, yes, you will.

BERMAN: Everything about this Alex, I have to say, is of serious concern. Thank you so much for reporting on this. Please keep us posted.

CAMEROTA: Sad news overnight. Mary Wilson, the co-founder of the legendary Motown group The Supremes has died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

The Supremes singing "Stop in the Name of Love."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: The hit-making trio of Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Florence Ballard achieved unprecedented success in the 1960s. They had a dozen number-one songs.

Diana Ross just posted about Wilson's death on Twitter, saying quote, "My condolences to Mary's family. I am reminded that each day is a gift. I have so many wonderful memories of our time together. The Supremes will live on in our hearts."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

The Supremes singing "Baby Love."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Wilson's longtime publicist says she died suddenly at her home in Nevada yesterday.

In a statement, Motown founder Berry Gordy says Wilson was quote "a trailblazer, a diva, and will be deeply missed."

Mary Wilson was 76 years old.

Let's just listen to more music -- OK, John?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

The Supremes singing a medley of hits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)