Return to Transcripts main page
New Day
CDC Director: 'Really Worried' about States Lifting Restrictions; Calls for NY Governor to Resign Grown as Third Accuser Emerges; Trump & Melania Quietly Got COVID Vaccine at White House in January. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired March 02, 2021 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden intensifying his efforts to push his signature COVID relief bill through Congress.
[05:59:27]
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine should change the landscape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll have 100 million by June.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This really eases the capacity to get the vaccine where it's needed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo trying to stem the fallout after a new sexual harassment allegation surfaced. Calls for an investigation coming from Cuomo's own party.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If these investigations bear out, it really starts to call into question the leadership that we currently have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and jo 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 Tuesday, March 2, 6 a.m. here in New York, and we begin with a new warning from the CDC director for every American.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Please hear me clearly. At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained. Now is not the time to relax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: OK. Here's why. After falling for weeks, new coronavirus cases are plateauing at a very high level. This could be caused by the highly contagious variants.
This, as a lot of states are easing their pandemic restrictions. They're reopening restaurants, theaters and more.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson's newly-approved single-dose vaccine could start getting into arms today, but the amount available is much lower than originally promised.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, Anna Ruch is speaking out, a 33-year-old woman with a name and a story. She is publicly accusing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of making an unwanted advance.
Ruch, who is seen here, says Cuomo touched her face and her back and asked to kiss her moments after they met at a wedding more than a year ago. She is now the third woman to come forward accusing Cuomo of inappropriate behavior. Now, she did not work for Cuomo, and CNN has not been able to reach her.
This morning a member of Congress from New York is calling for Cuomo's resignation. We have new reporting on this in just a moment.
First, CNN's Lucy Kafanov live in Houston at a mass vaccination site. And we're seeing, Lucy, the daily vaccination numbers at higher levels, really, than we ever have before.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. And those numbers are about to get even higher.
The third COVID vaccine is being delivered to states across the country today, including Texas. But as states across the U.S. continue to roll back restrictions, experts are warning now is not the time to let our guards down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAFANOV (voice-over): The U.S. coronavirus vaccine pool now has a third option, with Johnson & Johnson's shot possibly going into arms starting this morning. Their vaccine only requires one shot and does not need to be stored in a freezer.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: This is a big deal. It's a very effective vaccine. Just as effective in preventing death and hospitalization as the two mRNA vaccines, but it's a much more efficient vaccine to use, since it's, you know, one and done.
KAFANOV: About 3.9 million doses are already shipping out. And Johnson & Johnson says they will send about 60 million more by the end of the month. The company's vaccine was already tested against the new, highly-contagious variants seen in South Africa and Brazil.
ALEX GORSKY, CEO, JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Why we're encouraged and confident in the current vaccine that you have, you've always got to be preparing for the future and, frankly, for the unknown. So, we're doing that as we speak.
KAFANOV: About 10 percent of the U.S. adult population is already fully vaccinated. And now with Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines all receiving emergency use authorization, health experts are urging the public to get the first one available.
DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: I don't see any distinction among these vaccines. Get whatever you can.
KAFANOV: But for many, just getting an appointment is a difficult task.
JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Scheduling remains, for far too many people, too frustrating. And we need to make it better.
KAFANOV: Some states are continuing to roll back restrictions, like Massachusetts, removing indoor dining capacity limits at restaurants entirely. In Chicago, students starting to return to public schools for the first time in nearly a year.
But as restrictions ease, the CDC director sending this urgent warning.
WALENSKY: Please hear me clearly. At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained. Now is not the time to relax.
KAFANOV: Dr. Rochelle Walensky also noting that the new coronavirus cases and deaths are plateauing at a high level.
WALENSKY: We cannot be resigned to 70,000 cases a day, 2,000 daily deaths.
KAFANOV: And that's extremely concerning to health experts, even with more vaccine doses on the way.
DR. ZEKE EMANUEL, FORMER MEMBER OF BIDEN TRANSITION COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: If we ease up too early, those are going to reverse and go up. They've already begun to sneak up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAFANOV: And as for when those J&J shots will go into arms, that remains to be seen. The folks in charge of this FEMA location don't know if they're going to be allocated any. There's a lot of logistics to work through.
But one thing that's interesting, both the mayors of Houston and Texas have talked about allocating some of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to vulnerable populations like the homeless precisely, because it's protection in a single shots -- John.
BERMAN: All right. Lucy Kafanov, thanks so much. Please keep us posted.
This morning, 33-year-old Anna Ruch says she was the victim of an unwanted advance from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. She is the third woman to come forward, publicly accusing the governor of inappropriate activity.
[06:05:08]
CNN's Athena Jones live in Albany with the latest. And Athena, now a sitting Democratic member of Congress is calling on Cuomo to resign.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
That's right. Growing calls from New York Democrats, calling on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after a third woman came forward to "The New York Times" with new allegations, accusing the governor of an unwanted advance at a wedding reception a few years ago.
This on the heels of two former aides accusing him of sexual harassment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONES (voice-over): Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo silent Monday as a third woman came forward, accusing him of an unwanted advance. Thirty-three-year-old Anna Ruch recalling to "The New York Times" a wedding reception in September 2019, where Cuomo approached her, put his hands on her face, and asked if he could kiss her, loudly enough for a friend nearby to hear.
The moment seemingly captured in this picture from the event, obtained by "The Times." "The Times" says they corroborated Ruch's story through contemporaneous text messages and photos.
Ruch, who worked in the Obama administration and for President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, was bewildered, "The Times" reports, and pulled away as the governor drew closer, telling the paper she was "so confused and shocked and embarrassed" she turned her head away and "didn't have words in that moment."
Cuomo did not directly respond to Ruch's allegations. His spokesperson referred "The Times" to his previous statement on Sunday, where he wrote, "I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that."
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: The governor issued a total non-apology earlier and -- and, in effect, treated sexual harassment as some kind of laughing matter. It's not a laughing matter. It's not a joke. It's very, very serious stuff. And we need a full investigation. If it proves that these allegations are true, how -- how can someone lead a state if they've done these kind of things?
JONES: Ruch never worked for the governor, but her allegation comes after two of Cuomo's former aides in the last week have accused him of sexual harassment.
Charlotte Bennett, who recounted her alleged incidents to "The Times" this weekend, responding to the governor's statement, writing, "It took the governor 24 hours and significant backlash to allow for a truly independent investigation. These are not the actions of someone who simply feels misunderstood. They are the actions of an individual who wields his power to avoid justice."
On Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she'd received the referral for an independent investigation with subpoena power from the governor.
JESSE MCKINLEY, ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": That investigation could have some teeth, you know. With a subpoena power you can draw down documents. You can compel testimony. You can get recordings if there's any recordings. Charlotte did speak to a lawyer inside of the Cuomo administration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Now, Ruch has not responded to CNN's request for comment, and CNN has not able to corroborate her story -- John.
BERMAN: All right, Athena. Thank you very much for being with us. Obviously much more on this coming up.
So, overnight, we learned that the former president of the United States got vaccinated in private, never told us about getting vaccinated. And for months after he lost the election, he didn't say anything encouraging people to go get vaccinated. What's going on here? How many lives could have been saved if the former president --
CAMEROTA: And first lady.
BERMAN: And first lady actually promoted the idea of vaccinations? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[06:13:00]
WALENSKY: Please hear me clearly. At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained. Now is not the time to relax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: That's CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, warning Americans that now is not the time to ease restrictions. But many states are ignoring that warning and moving forward with reopening things like restaurants.
This morning, new cases are plateauing at about 67,000. In other words, the steep decline that we'd seen in January could be over.
So joining us now is Dr. Peter Hotez. He's the codirector of the center for Vaccine Development at Children's -- Texas Children's Hospital and the author of the new book, "Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science."
Dr. Hotez, great to see you. Can you help me understand Dr. Walensky's warning? How can we
completely lose the progress we've made if, as you see on the side of your screen, 77 million Americans, virtually, have been vaccinated. They -- they are protected. So even if the variants are coming in, how would we completely lose all the progress we've made thus far?
DR. PETER HOTEZ, CO-DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Well, thanks, Alisyn. And the simple answer is only about 15 percent of eligible Americans have been vaccinated with a single dose. So we're still -- this is still moving much slower than -- than we really need to go. We need to accelerate our vaccination program to 3 million Americans a day, and unfortunately, we don't have the vaccine supply yet in order to do that. So that's problem No. 1.
Problem two is the fact that you might say, OK, well, it's been going down now. It's plateauing a bit. It's still plateauing at a pretty high level.
But the thing that's really scaring everyone, including myself, is the fact that we have this B-117 variant, and we've seen how that variant behaves, that variant of concern. It popped up in England in September and by December, it had swept across England. And now we know it's more transmissible than the other parent strains of COVID -- the COVID-19 virus.
[06:15:05]
And the U.K. government has put up numbers which have not been peer- reviewed, but they're looking pretty compelling, that there's higher mortality rates.
So we worry that -- you know, I've used the term "eye of the hurricane." The big wall is coming and trying to warn Americans that this is not a time to relax our restrictions, especially the governors, who are all high-fiving themselves, saying we're out of this. We're not. We're not going to be out of this until we get much further along in our vaccination program.
There is good news ahead as we head into the summer months, in terms of fully vaccinating the American people. And now we know vaccination, in many cases, is halting asymptomatic transmission. So a lot to look forward to, but right now, we're in a dire time, potentially.
BERMAN: Yes, look -- look at Massachusetts where I think you're from, Dr. Hotez. Charlie Baker, the governor there, just ended restrictions at restaurants completely. I mean, they still have to be socially distanced, but there's, you know, no limits on how many people can be inside or percentage requirements there.
Even if it -- even if the variant doesn't take over, with the case rate at 70 percent -- at 70,000 right now, I mean, it just doesn't seem the time to open up restaurants willy-nilly.
HOTEZ: Yes, you're absolutely right. Especially when we have vaccines coming. So just hold off another couple of months, and that's going to be such a game changer. We could save so many lives right now if we were to just adhere to this for -- for a bit longer until we can fully vaccinate.
And -- and then we can have a -- I don't want to say it's completely normal, but something very close to a normal quality of life again in a few months.
CAMEROTA: The J&J vaccine could start to be administered this morning, but you say this is not a good news story. Why not?
HOTEZ: That's right. You know, first of all, I think it's a great vaccine. And -- and I would take it if -- if it were offered to me. I think it's as good as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. No issue there.
The issue is, you know, with Operation Warp Speed, the whole point of it was we've been telling everybody last year, or at least I did, that the whole point of manufacturing at risk and the warp speed component was that the vaccine would be ready to roll out as soon as we had emergency use authorization. We were doing that in parallel.
And now we learn only 3 to 4 million doses, maybe 20, 30 million by the end of the month. So it's coming in in trickles. And this is not the time for a trickle with the B-117 variant now. If we didn't have that and the cases were continuing to plummet, OK, maybe we could -- it wouldn't be so catastrophic.
But now, I'm worried thousands of Americans are going to lose their lives, because we don't have an adequate supply of vaccine. And the motherload is not coming until June or July, and that's also true of the mRNA vaccines and it will be true of the Novavax vaccines.
So we've got to figure some things out in order to get more vaccine now into the arms of people. We have to -- now is going to be one of the most difficult times in our epidemic.
BERMAN: So Dr. Hotez, you have a book out about anti-science, and it's interesting to me that we only learned overnight that the former president and former first lady received a dose of a coronavirus vaccine in January. Right?
The former president bragged all the time about accelerating the research and development and approval of the vaccine, but then once it was approved, he went silent. I mean, the vice president was the one front and center, getting vaccinated on television.
And the former president really, in his final months in office, did nothing to tell people to go get vaccinated. There is plenty of reason to believe it was because he was trying to favor favor with the anti- vac political movement.
But how much of a difference would it have made if the former president went out there every day to tell people to get shots?
HOTEZ: John, I think it would have made a big difference. Here's why.
I'm a vaccine scientist, not a social scientist, but we collaborated with a group of social scientists at Texas A&M University, led by a guy named Tim Callahan. And the survey we did came out pretty -- very similar to what the Kaiser Family Foundation found, which is one of the No. 1 groups of hesitant vaccine individuals, about a third of the country, is refusing vaccines. One of the No. 1 groups is what we call Trump voters, what the Kaiser family foundation called Republicans.
So not only being defiant of masks and social distancing, but being defiant of vaccines became one of the hallmark of political extremism on the right. And we saw that as COVID-19 raced through the southern states last summer and then up into the northern Midwest in the fall.
So if the president had been out there, touting the -- the impact of vaccines, we would have milted away a lot of that big chunk of vaccine hesitancy and vaccine refusal, I believe.
CAMEROTA: Right. They had a chance. He and Melania Trump had a chance to do something for humanity, to be role models. And they chose to keep it a secret. There's no other way to interpret that. They kept it a secret. The president, who loves a show, who loves to put everything on camera, kept it a secret.
BERMAN: Is that "Be Best"? You think that's --
CAMEROTA: Be best, John.
BERMAN: In private.
CAMEROTA: In private. Only in private. Dr. Hotez, thank you very much.
HOTEZ: Thank you.
[06:20:04]
CAMEROTA: Calls for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign are building after a third woman is accusing the governor of an unwanted advance. The latest developments next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Developing overnight, 33-year-old Anna Ruch is accusing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of making an unwanted advance at a wedding. She details her allegations in a new interview with "The New York Times." She is the third woman to come forward to say the governor engaged in inappropriate behavior.
Joining us now, Jesse McKinley, the Albany bureau chief for "The New York Times," who broke this story. Also with us, CNN political commentator Errol Louis. He's a political anchor for Spectrum News.
And Jesse, in addition to this new reporting about Anna Ruch, you also got a new statement from Charlotte Bennett, reacting to how the governor has handled this over the last day. What did she say, and why is it important?
[06:25:04]
JESSE MCKINLEY, ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, it was a pretty strong-worded statement and lengthy, you know, seven -- six, seven paragraphs. In particular, she accused the governor of predatory behavior and basically said that his apology didn't go anywhere far enough.
She basically lumped him in with the, you know, other sorts of sexual harassers who basically try to explain away their behavior rather than taking responsibility.
And perhaps most critically, she asked other women who have similar stories to step forward and be brave and that she'll be there for them.
So, that all, in toto, kind of basically sets the stage for potentially other women to come forward and certainly kind of deepening political problems for Mr. Cuomo.
CAMEROTA: Now to Anna Ruch. Let's talk about this. Let's talk about what she told you and "The New York Times," because CNN has been not able to talk to her or corroborate this. But here's the story that she shared.
She said that she was at a wedding, September 2019, didn't know the governor. He approached her. And within, like, a few moments of their being introduced, he asked if he could kiss her and moved -- grabbed her -- first put her hands on the small of her back, grabbed her face, and moved in to kiss her.
Here's what she says. "It's the act of impunity that strikes me. I didn't have a choice in the matter. I didn't have a choice in his physical dominance over me at that moment. And that's what infuriates me. And even with what I could do, removing his hand from my lower back, even doing that was not clear enough."
Now, as to that photo right there, what does she tell you about that? I mean, it looks to me -- I don't want to read too much into it, but it looks like she's uncomfortable, and it looks like that moment. Is that what she says this photo is capturing?
MCKINLEY: Yes, indeed, that was, in fact, taken with her phone by a friend.
And keep in mind, this was a very kind of brief encounter but one that certainly unsettled Ms. Ruch, considering the power dynamic there. Keep in mind, it is the governor of the state of New York. He had been at this wedding. She did not know him. He approached her. She approached him. And then they had this brief discussion.
And then he puts his hands on her face, ask if he can kiss her. And all of that, once again, led to this -- this kind of imbalance between a very powerful man and a young woman in -- in an uncomfortable position.
BERMAN: We should note that, unlike Charlotte Bennett and Lindsey Boylan, you know, she didn't work in any capacity for the governor. But this establishes, if true, a pattern of his behavior toward women, particularly younger women like this, of unwanted advances. Errol, you cover New York politics. The political reaction? Kathleen Rice, congresswoman from New York, calling now for Cuomo's resignation. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio using any opportunity he can to go on TV and bash the governor for this.
Where does he stand this morning, Governor Cuomo, politically?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, he stands pretty much where you're suggesting, which is that the people who don't like Governor Cuomo, who have had, in some cases, long-standing feuds with him, are coming out of the woodwork and they're calling for him to step down.
And that would very much include the mayor, as well as a number of state legislators, apparently Congresswoman Rice has a long-standing dispute with him that goes back to 2010, where they had some political differences over her campaign for attorney general.
And so, you know, we're still on this knife's edge. We're still dealing with this question of is loutish behavior crossing the line into unlawful behavior? Is, you know, being handsy, if you want to use that word, or being inappropriate with women in a social setting like this wedding, is it the same as breaking the law and committing sexual harassment? That question is still out there.
Now, all of the governor's opponents are saying it's gone too far. He should simply step down. I don't think we're at the point where that's going to be a serious consideration by the governor and his folks, but we're still at the beginning stages of this, John.
CAMEROTA: Errol, I'm curious. Is there anything that Governor Cuomo could do? Does history have any lesson of what he could do today to turn what feels like this growing tide around?
I mean, obviously, in New York's recent past, another governor has been embroiled in scandal and quickly had to resign. Is there a way to do something different today?
LOUIS: Well, you know, all that depends on the actual facts, Alisyn. You're talking about Governor Spitzer, who had a number of different accusations levelled at him. And they all turned out to be true, or enough of them turned out to be true that he resigned within a number of days.
We'll -- we'll know pretty soon whether or not that's the case, here because we really don't know kind of what's lurking behind there.
You know, what has been happening in the Cuomo administration -- and I think everybody would agree to this -- is that there's been a lot of pretty rough treatment of other people in politics, other people in public life, members of the media and so forth, and people didn't like that. And they -- they really didn't like it. And those resentments have been building for over a decade now. And a lot of it is starting to come out.
