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Biden: Putin Will "Pay A Price" For Ukraine Invasion; Desperate Efforts To Treat Kids With Cancer In War-Torn Ukraine; White House Unveils Plan For Less Disruptive Phase Of Pandemic. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired March 02, 2022 - 11:30   ET

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


[11:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: So where this is headed?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think completely. I think there's a lot of questions about how it ends and how to read Putin, and what America's role is. It was pretty disturbing to hear him say if Putin keeps going west that the United States would defend territory that's part of NATO.

I think that has a lot of people in alarm because a lot of Americans are fairly asking why is this our fight? And the president referred to something else that Putin thought he could get away with it. Well, that's because he has gotten away with it before now, his invasion of Georgia at the end of the Bush administration in 08, the Eastern -- the Crimea in 2014. So there was a precedent for him to feel like the West would not be as united as it now is.

BOLDUAN: He also leaned on that kind of unifying message that he had to speak to, during the State of the Union. He also leaned on that unity to bring the message home to more domestic issues like the pandemic. I want to play for everyone, one moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's use this moment to reset. So stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line, see it for what it is, a god-awful disease. Let's stop sending me -- seeing each other as enemies and start seeing each other for who we are fellow Americans. Look --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Looking for a reset is maybe something a lot of people want. I'm just wondering if he painted a clear picture of kind of what the unified response to COVID should look like now.

GREGORY: I liked the message. I liked the tone of it. I think he could have done more. I think the president has to acknowledge that a lot of people are struggling with how hypersensitive a lot of institutions are in the face of COVID that is not being led by science. You know, we were told by the scientific community everything's got to be driven by science and yet we see schools that are still requiring masks indoors, policies that are not driven by science.

We see workplaces doing the same thing. We see municipalities doing the same thing. We see a kind of patchwork of response. The president has to you know, speak to parents out there who don't want to send their kids to health care or to childcare because they don't want their kids around somebody wearing a mask all day long when there's already concerns about delayed speech or an older kids anxiety and depression around COVID. I think the president has to speak to that and not just make it a political divide.

BOLDUAN: Certainly interesting tickets. Great to see you, David. It's been a bit. Thanks for coming in.

GREGORY: Thanks. Yes.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, children battling cancer in the midst of a war. Is it more dangerous for them to stay and hide in a hospital basement with bombs overhead or more dangerous to try and get them out of the country to safety? The devastating impact of this war in Ukraine is having on the most vulnerable. Next.

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[11:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The truth is that this war was one man's choice and one man alone, President Putin. It was his choice to force hundreds of thousands of people to stuff their lives into backpacks and flee the country, to send newborn babies into makeshift bomb shelters, to make children and -- with cancer huddle in hospital-based basements interrupting their treatment, essentially, sentencing them to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Those young children that the U.N. ambassador is talking about are some of these patients, these patients at Ukraine's largest children's hospital in Kyiv battling cancer and other diseases now hiding in their hospital basement. Their doctors and nurses are there with them performing life-saving treatments, even as missiles are falling around them in Kyiv.

Imagine an entire Children's Cancer department having to move to the basement, turn it into a bomb shelter. That's what's happening right now. Joining me right now is Dr. Lesia Lysytsia, one of the doctors treating and caring for these most vulnerable victims of Putin's war and also with us as Yuliya Nogovitsyna, the program director of Ukraine's largest children's cancer charity. Thank you both so much. Doctor, how are the children doing? And what is it been like down there for six days?

DR. LESIA LYSYTSIA, PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGIST, OHMATDYT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: It's awful and but they're brave, they still receive all treatments. We performed them before. But it's really a big issue and challenge for doctors and for our patients also.

BOLDUAN: Of course. I mean, as a parent, my brain immediately goes to how is their care suffering now because of you? I mean, only because of what you've all been forced into. I mean, having to treat these children in a basement while a war is raging over your heads.

LYSYTSIA: No, no, no. So it depends. Some patients who are not -- who are stable, they stay in the ward and go to the shelter and only when we have an alert. If patients like for example, after BMP, or patients who have 24 transfusions, it's very harmful to them going up and down so they stay in the shelter for their safety all the time.

BOLDUAN: Doctor, what are you hearing from the children? I mean, do they obviously depend on their age, but what are they saying? Do they understand what's happening?

LYSYTSIA: You know it's true. It's really -- it thoroughly, really depends on the age of the children so if it's three, four, five, six age, we explained them, but they really don't understand clearly what happens. They think it's something like a game. If we're talking about a teenager is really very harmful to them. It's like -- we haven't even found patients who have a panic attack after the alert. And it -- you know, it's very hard to compare because they fight every day with their present illness and it's really very hard. And now they have a very huge attack again so they're really brave.

[11:40:00]

BOLDUAN: So brave and so resilient. The UN ambassador said that what is happening is essentially maybe for some sentencing these children to death, Doctor. Is -- does that -- is that your biggest fear?

LYSYTSIA: I'm sorry, I don't hear you clearly.

BOLDUAN: I said one thing that the UN Ambassador just said today, is that what Putin has done forcing these children into basements is essentially for some possibly sentencing them to death. Is that your biggest fear?

LYSYTSIA: Yes, sure. It is. You know, we continue to treat as it was before, but we realized that our supplies, they finished in one day, and we all see what happened with Kharkiv yesterday, we're really afraid that the same thing can happen and Kyiv. And the -- it's one of the biggest fear so we try to evacuate as much patients as possible to a different hospital in western Ukraine, or to Poland. And now I know that Italy also takea our patients but unfortunately, no patients can be transferred to another country or to another hospital. BOLDUAN: And that's the horrible choice, Yuliya, that ever -- that you're facing. I mean, this is not just in Kyiv, but all across the country. I mean, you're trying to save children all across Ukraine. I mean, what are the stories that you're hearing from other parts, other children, other families?

YULIYA NOGOVITSYNA, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, TABLETOCHKI: Yes, it's now the biggest challenge to take all these children with cancer out of Ukraine. So that's our primary mission. In parallel, we arrange supplies of all essential like medicines and food to accommodate National Children's Cancer -- Children's Hospital and some other hospitals.

But like evacuation is our goal number one because we understand that it's very unsafe to stay here on the shooting missiles, bombing in these basements which are not fit, not appropriate for children with cancer to stay in. They are not heated, they are humid, there is mildew, so these children, they are (INAUDIBLE) immunocompromised so they can get worse or even die while staying in such conditions.

And so our efforts are focused on taking them out of Ukraine and it's extremely difficult to do this because it's very difficult to travel across Ukraine, it's unsafe, it's not possible to find bosses and police escorts which will -- could accompany them to Western Ukraine. And then there are huge queues and waiting for lines at the border, the cross points to Poland, people stay there for 30 hours. And we can get our children across the border only with police escort. This is the only way to -- for them to travel without interruption.

We are happy to have our partners, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which established a coordination team in Poland, who helped us to handle this. They distribute these children among Polish hospitals so that they were admitted immediately upon arrival to Poland. But it's all very overwhelming because I think that Poland is not able to admit all of them and we need more countries to join this initiative and admit our children, fulfill the treatment.

BOLDUAN: And you need the help now. It's not something you need in a week. The children -- some of these children can't probably -- can't even wait a week. Thank you, Yuliya. Doctor, thank you so much for your work, and I know that you and your family are also there as well just adding to what -- this isn't just a -- this isn't just a job that you're doing this is impacting your entire world and your entire life. Thank you both very much.

LYSYTSIA: Yes, thank you.

NOGOVITSYNA: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: So for more information on how you can help the people of Ukraine go to cnn.com/impact you can see resources there. Coming up for us still AT THIS HOUR, the White House just unveiled a new Coronavirus plan aimed at less disruptive -- a less disruptive phase of this pandemic. What does that mean? What is the roadmap ahead? I'm going to speak to the Health Secretary of the United States. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

BOLDUAN: Developing right now, moments ago, the White House just announced a new plan aiming to move the pandemic from the crisis phase to a new phase, one that does not disrupt the daily lives of Americans. The details laid out in 96 pages calls for, among other things, additional funding from Congress for treatments, testing, and also more resources to help fight the virus abroad. Let's learn more about this.

Joining me right now from the White House is the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. Secretary, thank you for being here.

XAVIER BECERRA, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Of Course, Kate.

BOLDUAN: What is the COVID roadmap going forward?

BECERRA: Well, the president made the announcement last night that we were ready to move into this new phase where we're trying to not just attack the virus, put down COVID, but we're also trying to make sure Americans can go back to a more normal life.

[11:50:00]

BECERRA: And so it takes a team effort not just in the federal government but entire country so the more Americans participate, act responsibly, the quicker we're going to get back to what we believe should be America.

BOLDUAN: So what does it look like, though? What are the priorities? How do you do it?

BECERRA: Well, the priorities are to build on what we know. The science has given us some great information and the data shows that the vaccines work, that testing helps, that using masks helped -- has helped protect a lot of folks. And then if we continue to do all those things that work well, we'll have fewer people in the hospital because of COVID and we'll be able to go back to a more normal lifestyle. And so the sooner every American comes off because we're not going to leave anyone behind, we'll get there.

BOLDUAN: I'm going to ask about some elements that might not be covered directly in this roadmap going forward but people have a lot of questions about, especially when you talk about getting back to a more normal life. I mean, does this road map include in going into this next phase, does it mean, the mask requirement for transportation like air travel will be going away after March 18, which is when it's set to expire?

BECERRA: Well, we aspire to those things. We know what it takes to make them a reality. And so the more that we are vaccinating, the more that we are continuing to follow those safety protocols, the quicker we can get back to the point where we say things like no mask in public, as you heard the president announced, and perhaps get to the point soon, hopefully, where we can say in public transportation when you fly when you're on a train, perhaps you won't need a mask.

But we still have work to do. There's still people in America who haven't been able to vaccinate our children. There are people who are immunocompromised. And so we have work to do because we're not going to leave anyone behind. And we have a responsibility not just to ourselves, but to our family and our communities to be safe.

BOLDUAN: The expiration date is just weeks away. So with more work to do, does that mean that you -- everyone should fully anticipate that expiration -- that mandate being extended again?

BECERRA: Well, they should anticipate that we're going to do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe and we will --

BOLDUAN: I know. But talking about the roadmap going forward, Secretary, people want to know details of what is -- what is -- what does more -- getting back to more normal life mean for a lot of folks that might include not wearing a mask when they're on the train, not wearing a mask when they're on a plane. And I know that you know, there's a lot of elements that go into making that decision and announcement but when you roll out a 96-page roadmap ahead, that's one question that's left unanswer, why?

BECERRA: Well, actually it is answered, Kate. If you take a close look at the guidance that was offered by CDC last week, it's become clear that today we're in a better place if you're in a location where the risks are lower, and their hospitalization rates are down, you can go without a mask.

But at the same time, we have to think of the millions of Americans, tens of millions of Americans who don't have the same immunity levels that you or I might have, who are always in danger, who have to be taken care of protected, we have children under the age of five who haven't yet received one shot of the vaccine. And so we've outlined what we need to do. And we made it clear what the roadmap looks like. It's just a matter of all of us working together to get there.

BOLDUAN: So what are you waiting to see then to finally -- I'm just going to stick on this as this is a perfect example, what are you waiting then to see to decide that you've -- the work has been done, and you can lift the requirement for masks on planes?

BECERRA: Well, they're still several thousand Americans who were in hospitals today because of COVID. We still have some 2000 Americans who are dying every day from COVID. We still have more than 60-70,000 cases of COVID on a daily basis. When we see those numbers begin to drop to levels that show that safety can be had everywhere, when we see that Americans continue to vaccinate, we've had more than 250 million Americans who have at least one shot of the vaccine.

More than 215 million Americans who have the two-shot vaccine, we have millions -- tens of millions more who boosted but still we have Americans who are in hospitals, we still see Americans contracting COVID, we still have to be careful. And so we're giving people the guidance. We're putting out there the roadmap, that we all have to get there working together.

BOLDUAN: Secretary, thanks for coming on. Really appreciate it.

BECERRA: You got it. Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. All right, I want to move now to the sports world and how it is responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia's top women's tennis star now speaking out against Putin's war. She spoke to CNN this morning about why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA, RUSSIA'S TOP-RANKED WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER: I think it's not about sport or tennis right now as Andre Rublev said earlier during the tournament here in Dubai, which he won and it's true I think we don't have to be or I'm not going to be selfish and talking about sport and my career, which is very important to me, but I think right now, it's more about our future and our life. Really it's more than a sport right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:55:00]

BOLDUAN: Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina has also refused to play any matches against Russian or Belarusian players unless they compete under a neutral flag. So when her Russian counterpart agreed, the Ukrainian won the match, pledged to donate her winnings to the Ukrainian army.

Thanks so much for being here everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. INSIDE POLITICS with John King starts after the break.

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