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New Day

Pfizer Reports Vaccine 100 Percent Effective in Kids Aged 12 to 15; Soon, Derek Chauvin Trial Resumes after Dramatic Testimony; Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) Denies Relationship with 17-Year-Old, Claims Extortion Attempt. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 31, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: In the same final four, Dawn Staley joins Arizona's Adia Barnes in the sport's biggest state.

[07:00:06]

She says, sending a strong message to athletic directors all across the country.

JOHN AVLON, CNN NEW DAY: All right. We'll be watching, Coy Wire, thank you very much.

We have breaking news. New Day continues right now.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: Okay. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is New Day. John Berman is off. John Avlon is here with me.

And we do begin with breaking news because we just got the very first results from a coronavirus vaccine trial on children, Pfizer just releasing now findings of its phase three trial on adolescents 12 through 15 years old. And listen to this, Pfizer says their vaccine is 100 percent effective in that age bracket in preventing sickness. So this is obviously significant. We will have much more with our doctors on this in a moment.

AVLON: The other big stories, the Derek Chauvin murder trial resume this morning after a day of dramatic testimony from witnesses who watched George Floyd die, the former officer's knee pressed down on his neck. Four of the witnesses were under 18. An off-duty firefighter said she was desperate to help Floyd, but officers wouldn't let her. She'll be back on the stand today.

CAMEROTA: Okay. But let's begin with our breaking Pfizer vaccine news. Joining us now is Dr. Peter Hotez. He is the co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Hotez, tell us what you make of this announcement from Pfizer just now that between 12 and 15-year-olds -- I know it's a smaller sample than you probably would ideally like -- but it's 100 percent effective.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, CO-DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Yes, a few things, Alisyn. One, it was around 1,200, 1,300 individuals in the placebo group, similar numbers in the vaccinated group. And as you say, there were 18 cases in the placebo group, zero in the vaccinated group, 100 percent efficacy. It's a smaller study, but it's enough there to warrant moving forward.

Also the virus neutralizing antibody titers, which is probably the closest thing we have to surrogate for protection was super high in the vaccinated group. So I think it's likely a green light to move forward, to move down in terms of vaccinating adolescents 12 to 15.

I'm guessing it will go through the VERPAC committee. The reason is the VERPAC last time was a little bit skittish on the 16 and 17 year olds. If you'll remember back in December, it was not a unanimous vote. I think it was 17-4. So they want -- probably go back to the VERPAC committee. But I think it will likely move forward.

And the bottom line is that by the fall, I think there's a good possibility we'll be vaccinating teenagers 12 and up. And for middle schools, junior high schools, high schools, it's really good news in the United States for both teachers and staff. We'll have teachers and staff vaccinated. We will have students vaccinated in those middle schools and high schools.

AVLON: So what you're saying, and again, 100 percent efficacy is astounding even at this early stage. Are you saying -- people under 18 in America are 25 percent of the population. So to get these folks vaccinated is really necessary to achieve herd immunity. You're also saying that this means schools can be safely open come the fall across the board. Is that right?

HOTEZ: Well, certainly middle schools and high schools, I think, for a higher percentage. It depends on the uptake of the vaccine and that parents want their adolescents to get vaccinated, which I think most will. So I think there's a high likelihood that everybody could be vaccinated in the schools, and that's really good news.

And you're right, in terms of trying to stop virus transmission. We've got a pretty high bar now with this new B117 variant, which we know is more transmissible. What that means is it raises the bar in terms of the percentage of Americans we have to vaccinate. We're going to have to get to 80, 85 percent. The only way to get there, especially with all the hesitancy across the country still, is to vaccinate adolescents, and that's going to be absolutely key to this.

CAMEROTA: I have a child in that very age bracket, 12 to 15. When can my kid get vaccinated?

HOTEZ: Well, first of all, it will probably have to go through VERPAC. The other thing is I still don't know all the mechanics, whether now Pfizer will -- remember, these vaccines have not been approved yet in the United States. Everything has been done through emergency use authorization. So at some point, Pfizer has got to file what's called a BLA, a biologics license application, and they've got to decide are they going to include adolescents. Mostly likely, they will. So that may be the mechanism by which it happens.

I think there is some urgency to try to do this by the fall, and so I think over the summer, I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing adolescents get vaccinated.

AVLON: And we should say VERPAC is an FDA commission. That's a necessary hurdle for this to go to the public.

[07:05:00]

100 percent efficacy, in your experience, how common is that?

HOTEZ: Well, as a pediatric scientist, I've always thought of the best vaccine that we have is measles, which, two doses, gives you 97 percent protection. So it's pretty impressive.

Now, on the other hand, it's 1,200 individuals and undoubtedly as you get to larger groups, we're talking about millions of individuals, probably the 100 percent won't hold up. But given the level of virus neutralizing antibodies that we're seeing in adolescents, it's going to be a pretty damn good vaccine.

CAMEROTA: And so if it works this well for adolescents, there's a standard reason that it would for kids under 12?

HOTEZ: I think so, and that will take a little longer because safety studies always take a bit longer in the younger kids, although we'll start doing clinical trials. What may hold up the pace of the clinical trials in the younger kids is that we've been seeing this syndrome caused by COVID called MISC, multisystem inflammatory syndrome of children, which may have partly autoimmune basis, in other words, it's a delayed reaction to the virus that causes it and probably due to the host immune response maybe due to antibodies.

So I think that fact will probably slow people down in terms of how quickly we go to vaccinating little kids and watching for them.

AVLON: How much of a game-changer is this? There's a race right now between vaccinations surging and also these new variants. How of a game changer is this for the Biden administration's attempt to hit those benchmarks and get schools open?

HOTEZ: Yes. I mean, it's going to be absolutely critical for opening schools safely. I think we can still open schools ahead of vaccinating the kids, but it will both make things a lot smoother starting in the fall. And we still -- you're right, we still have this big acceleration in the number of cases up in the northeast, up in New York and New Jersey, in Michigan. And so they're in this race to vaccinate in terms of who wins out, the B117 variant or vaccinations.

We still only have about a third of adults vaccinated across the U.S., so we're still at the early stages of this. So we have to move as quickly as possible.

CAMEROTA: Let's look at where the cases are highest right now, the hot spots in the U.S. Here's the map. You see all sorts of red and orange on the map, which we hadn't seen for a while. There had been a lot more green.

Now, 26 states are seeing spikes. The highest case increases in the U.S. right now, Wisconsin is up 61 percent, Michigan, 52 percent, Connecticut, Doctor, which had been doing so well. I mean, Connecticut had been something like 2.5 percent positively rate. Now it's up 42 percent. And, again, they had been out front with vaccinating, and that had been a success story. So I don't know if you have any thoughts on what's gone wrong.

HOTEZ: Well, what's gone wrong is we were not mindful enough of the B117 variant. The scientific community have been warning for a couple of months now that this is a bad actor, more transmissible, greater morbidity, mortality, and we're starting to see younger people now going into hospitals. And despite that, governors in multiple states still went ahead and lifted mask restrictions.

So, eventually, by the summer, we're going to be in good shape as we fully vaccinate the American people, but the governors have made this road as difficult as possible over the next few months.

And the other thing we're seeing that really alarms -- we don't have hard data but it's more anecdotal, lots of younger adults now going into the hospitals. So while we've vaccinated 50, 60 percent of the older population, we're seeing a lot of young people. I'm guessing with that B117 variant, that really gives me pause for concern.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Peter Hotez, thank you very much for being with us to navigate through this significant breaking news that we've just had this morning. Talk to you soon.

HOTEZ: Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: We want to take a moment now to remember some of the nearly 551,000 Americans lost to coronavirus.

Damien Jackson was a teacher and coach at Dreher High School in Columbia, South Carolina. The school says Coach Jack was a popular teacher on campus, beloved by his colleagues and students. The principal says his positive attitude and love for the school will be sorely missed.

Herman Brown was a Michigan State Police Trooper known for his contagious smile, which you see right there, an unmistakable voice. He was in his 27th year on the force and he planned to work for five more years before retiring to Florida. The police department says Brown was extremely kind, courteous and respectful to everyone. He was 57 years old.

Michael Gordy was an educator for 28 years and community activist in Tucson, Arizona. His friends and family remember him as being passionate, kind and spontaneous.

[07:10:03]

He's survived by his wife, three daughters, his son, his daughter, and two soon-to-be three grandchildren. He was 70 years old.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AVLON: Testimony resumes this morning in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. It comes after a dramatic day in court as six eyewitnesses told the jury what it was like to watch George Floyd die in police custody.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is live at the courthouse in Minneapolis. Omar?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, in this first week of testimony, we're on the other side of what was without a doubt the most emotional and contentious day of the trial yet, the story of what happened, May 25th, 2020, was told through the lens by eyewitnesses, people who were literal steps from George Floyd as he was pinned under the knee of Derek Chauvin. And in some cases, these people who are still haunted by what they saw.

[07:15:01]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (voice over): Six eyewitnesses took the stand Tuesday, all recounting their feelings at the scene of George Floyd's death. Donald Williams, first on the stand, stood just feet away from Floyd in May. He was so disturbed from what he saw, that he called 911 to report Derek Chauvin. Prosecutors played the audio from the call in court.

DONALD WILLIAMS, WITNESS: Murders bro. You all murderers --

I did call the police on the police.

MATTHEW FRANK, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: And why did you do that?

WILLIAMS: Because I believe I witnessed a murder.

JIMENEZ: As part of the contentious exchange, the defense argued that Williams and the rest of the crowd grew threatened, which they argued, distracted the officers.

ERIC NELSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You called him a tough guy.

WILLIAMS: I did.

NELSON: Those terms grew more and more angry. Would you agree with that?

WILLIAMS: They grew and more and more pleading for life.

JIMENEZ: Other young witnesses echoed Williams' feelings, highlighting what they saw haunted them since May.

DARNELLA FRAZIER, WITNESS: I stayed up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more.

I have a black father, I have a black brother, I have black friends. And I look at that and I look at how that could have been one of them.

JIMENEZ: That was then 17-year-old Darnella Frazier. She recorded the now infamous video showing some of the final moments of Floyd's life. She testified along with her nine-year-old cousin, who was also at the scene. They both appeared via audio only given their ages at the time of the incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was it about the scene that caused you to come back?

FRAZIER: It wasn't right. He was suffering. He was in pain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the officer put a knee on George Floyd's neck. I was sad and kind of mad.

JIMENEZ: She testified that even after paramedics arrived and tried to check Floyd's pulse, Chauvin's knee remained on Floyd's neck.

FRAIZER: The paramedic did like did a motion, like get up, telling him -- basically telling him to remove his knee. His knee was still there, even when they came, even at the end, even unresponsive.

JIMENEZ: Off-duty firefighter and trained EMT Genevieve Hansen took the stand last, telling the court she tried to intervene to provide medical assistance to George Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you really a firefighter?

GENEVIEVE HANSEN, EYEWITNESS, OFF DUTY FIREFIGHTER AND EMT: Yes, I am.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Then get off the sidewalk.

HANSEN: I would have provided attention to the best of my medical abilities and this human was denied that right.

FRANK: When you couldn't do that, how did that make you feel?

HANSEN: Totally distressed.

RANK: Were you frustrated?

HANSEN: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (on camera): Emotions were running high throughout the day. On the other end of the spectrum, the judge even scolded that witness for arguing with the defense attorney, as he had to do to an earlier witness that was called as well.

Now, we ended the day with testimony from that firefighter and trained EMT. We ended it in the middle of her testimony, I should say. So that's where we'll pick things up when court gets back into session later this morning. John?

AVLON: Thank you, Omar. We'll be talking to you soon.

Joining us now is CNN Legal Analyst Areva Martin, she's a civil rights attorney, and CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Charles Ramsey, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner.

Commissioner Ramsey, let me start with you. We heard just there testimony from multiple witnesses who called the police on the police. We heard testimony from a dispatcher who did the same, an off-duty firefighter and EMT who tried to intervene. What does that tell you about the defense's argument that Ramsey was following his training? And have you seen anything like that in your years in law enforcement?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I haven't seen anything quite like this, but I have had occasion where people have called a supervisor to respond to the scene if they're not getting any kind of action, appropriate action anyway from a police officer. But it is unusual.

But, clearly, with what was going on, the officers were not responsive to the pleas of the crowd to get off his neck and to stop the pressure, they had no choice other than to get someone there who would intervene.

CAMEROTA: Areva, how about what Derek Chauvin's defense seems to be trying to do, which is, Derek Chauvin wasn't angry, the crowd was angry? The angry crowd was what was making him sort of disconcerted. Here is a moment of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELSON: Do you recall saying, I dare you to touch me like that, I swear I'll slap the (BLEEP) out of both of you?

[07:20:01]

WILLIAMS: Yes, I did. I didn't mean to.

NELSON: So, again, sir, it's fair to say you grew angrier and angrier?

WILLIAMS: No. I grew professional and professional. I stayed in my body. You can't paint me out to be angry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: How about that argument, Areva?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. I don't think, Alisyn, that that resonated with jurors. That defense attorney thought he was going to have some kind of Perry Mason moment where those witnesses were going to just admit that they were angry. We know with respect to that whole angry black man trove, Mr. Williams was definitely resisting, capitulating or agreeing to that. In fact, he said, I wasn't angry. I remained professional.

But we also saw that attorney tried to do that with the EMT, Ms. Hansen, try to force her into acknowledging that she was angry. She responded she wasn't angry. She was desperate, desperate for help, desperate for an opportunity to provide help to Mr. Floyd. So I don't think this effort on the part of the defense attorney to paint this picture of bystanders as being out of control is going to work.

And as a lawyer, I think he would have been far more effective just getting now factually (ph) that some of the bystanders were using profanity and that they were raising their voices. And then in the argument, the closing arguments, he can then make the conclusion that they were angry. But trying to force witnesses to admit that they were angry when, really, what they were, they were emotionally upset because they were witnessing a man half of life literally squeezed out of his body, not effective at all.

AVLON: And then that also goes to the question of the law enforcement of this all and while the crowd and off-duty firefighter were pleading for restraint. You saw the EMTs actually arrive. And, Chief Ramsey, they told Derek Chauvin to get off Mr. Floyd's neck. They said he wasn't responsive, he was in handcuffs, it wasn't necessary anymore. And he didn't do it right away. What does that tell you about the training and his state of mind of Derek Chauvin?

RAMSEY: Well, I don't think it says a lot about the training because that's not part of the training. I mean, you can only use force just necessary to affect an arrest, nothing more than that. He was already under control. He was handcuff, he's lying in a prone position, which by itself is problematic because of positional asphyxia. There was no need for him to continue to apply that kind of pressure.

And he's so nonchalant. I mean, his sunglasses on top of his head, he's got an arm on his hip. I mean, he clearly he was not dealing with somebody who was actively resisting. And so that's going to work against the defense. It's going to be very hard to overcome that.

And, John, if I could just real quickly just throw something else in there, after listening to the testimony of those four minors, I hope they have access to mental health services at some point in time and maybe one of your reporters can find that out, because that is so traumatic, and you could hear it in the voices of those children. That is something that's going to scar them for a very long time and they need some professional help.

CAMEROTA: And I'm so glad you brought that up, Mr. Ramsey, because I was struck by that too. Areva, the ever expanding circles of trauma, you just heard it on full display. The teenager, the teenage witness is still traumatized. She begs forgiveness at night. The nine-year-old witness is still traumatized. She's mad and sad, she says. The off- duty EMT firefighter is still traumatized, as you could. Like how one man's actions -- I don't know if we're going to see evidence that acquits Derek Chauvin or convicts him, but one man's action, the ripple effect of trauma that it has, I thought, was just on full display yesterday.

MARTIN: No doubt, Alisyn. We even saw Mr. Williams, who is a mixed martial artists, who is a wrestler, who is a security guard, he also got emotional on the stand and had to wipe tears away from his eyes. I'm a mother. I can't even imagine my nine-year-old or even teenage daughter having to witness what they witnessed and then having to go and testify in court, you know, before millions and millions of people.

But the trauma that African-Americans experience because of police violence is on trial in this trial. This is talked about. It's been recorded on for decades, but I don't think we've ever witnessed it to the degree that we saw yesterday. Because we saw four African-American minors have to come forward and talk about witnessing George Floyd lose his life before their very eyes and feel so helpless.

Darnella, the young woman whose video went viral, the lawyer made a huge error by making -- asking her that question about how had her life changed. And he opened the door, as we say, legalese, for her to then talk about how haunting this experience has been for her.

CAMEROTA: Areva Martin, Commissioner Ramsey, thank you both very much. We really appreciate talking to you.

[07:25:00]

MARTIN: Thanks, Alisyn. Thanks, John.

CAMEROTA: Now to this developing story. Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz is responding to allegations of sex trafficking. He's apparently the subject of an investigation. We'll speak to one of The New York Times reporters who broke this story last night. All of that is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): It is a horrible allegation and it is a lie. The New York Times is running a story that I traveled with a 17-year- old woman, and that is verifiably false. People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case. What is happening is an extortion of me and my family involving a former Department of Justice official.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I think it's more than just traveling, Congressman. That was Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz denying allegations that he had an illegal of some kind with a 17-year-old girl. The New York Times reports that the Justice Department opened an investigation into Gaetz last summer to see whether federal sex trafficking laws were violated. This was in the final months of the Trump administration.

[07:30:00]

Joining us now is one of The Times reporters who broke this story, Justice Department Reporter Katie Benner. Katie, thanks so much for being here.