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At This Hour

Largest Beijing District Expands Closure, Orders More Mass Testing; Fears Of Violence In DC After Leaked Draft Overturning Roe V, Wade; Victims Of Israel Attack Buried Following Huge Funeral Procession. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 06, 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]

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: And really ever since then, I and other clinicians, many other clinicians have been recommending to our patients that if they're able to, that they should get one of the other vaccines, one of the mRNA vaccines Pfizer or Moderna that do not have this side effect. And the reason is that we have three very effective vaccines. But if one of the vaccines has this rare and serious side effect and the other two do not, then we're really fortunate, we're fortunate to have this choice and so people should be able to choose one of these other vaccines instead.

Now, of course, there may still be circumstances, it's extremely uncommon, but people could have severe reactions to Pfizer or Moderna, they should get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Also, there are some people who might just not get vaccinated because they really don't believe in the mRNA technology for whatever reason. In that case, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is still much better than nothing. But again, we're lucky in this country to have so many vaccines that are avail -- readily available to us.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And as we noted, the risk of blood clotting from the J&J shot appears to be extremely rare. Just to put into context, three cases for every million doses of the vaccine administered. But for those nearly 19 million Americans who have received the J&J vaccine, what kind of questions should they be asking their doctors right now?

WEN: They should be reassured that if they received the vaccine a while ago, as I did, that there is nothing to be concerned about. As in this rare blood clotting issue is seen usually within two weeks, but certainly within three weeks of getting the vaccine. There are no long-term or medium-term side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or any of the other COVID vaccines and so do not be concerned.

That said, one thing to keep in mind is that the J&J vaccine, if you only got one dose of the J&J vaccine and not a booster, you should really be getting that booster. Not a second J&J booster, but one of the mRNA vaccines as a booster dose.

GOLODRYGA: Let me ask you something else about the new information that the CNN health team is looking into and some of the data that they've been able to find among the 13 million children who have tested positive for COVID. Some studies are now suggesting up to 10 percent of those children could develop long COVID, some of these children are asymptomatic. Some have mild symptoms at first. So when parents hear that, what should they be looking out for and what does long COVID mean for kids?

WEN: Well, we know that long COVID certainly exists for children as it does for adults, although that 10 percent number is, I believe, a huge over-estimate and that's because there's no clear definition of what is long COVID. Many of these studies are asking parents if their children have congestion or coughing a month after they had COVID while maybe they had something else, another viral symptom.

Also, fatigue is something that's quite common. I think we really need to define what is long COVID and then also understand that, according to the CDC, 75 percent of children in this country have already had COVID, so if that's the case, what percentage actually have long COVID? It can't be 10 percent of the 75 percent are struggling with long COVID.

And so one of the key remaining questions we have too is, what is the incidence of long COVID with reinfection? So with a second infection, could you still get long COVID? Those are the key research questions to answer and I would say for parents, if something's out of the ordinary for your child, if they're still struggling with shortness of breath, severe fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, even months after a COVID diagnosis, that's when you should definitely bring it up to your physician.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And let's not forget millions of American children you know, ages five and under don't have access to a vaccine at this point either. Really important points you're making there. Dr. Leana Wen, as always, thank you. Happy Mother's Day to you.

Well, we turn now to China, where the government is expanding COVID lockdowns and ordering more mass testing in Beijing's largest district. Now, this comes despite growing concerns that the country's very strict zero-COVID policy could have ripple effects on the global economy. CNN's Selina Wang is in China with more. Selina?

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, China is still doubling down on its zero-COVID strategy, even shutting down entire cities over just one COVID-19 case. Across China, at least 30 cities are under some form of COVID lockdown impacting up to 198 million residents.

In Beijing the capital which is only reporting around 50 or 60 COVID- 19 cases a day, it is effectively shut down its largest district, closed many transportation lines, closed all non-essential businesses and schools, people are encouraged to work from home, and a negative PCR test is required to enter public areas. It's also continuing to mass test its more than 20 million residents in multiple rounds.

Meanwhile, many of Shanghai's 25 million residents have been sealed in their homes for more than a month, many of them struggling to access enough food and medical care. Protests and clashes with police have even broken out. These are rare sites and authorities area in China.

[11:35:00]

WANG: While the restrictions in Shanghai have started to relax for neighborhoods that have not reported any new COVID cases for at least two weeks, the moment even one new case is detected, the whole neighborhood goes back into lockdown. But despite the devastating economic and emotional toll that China's zero-COVID strategy has had, China's leader Xi Jinping said the country would "unswervingly adhere to zero-COVID" and warned against anyone who criticizes the policy. China's strict zero-COVID strategy involves these quarantines, lockdowns, and incredibly strict border control rules.

I recently traveled from Japan into China and I'm currently on day 14 of a 21-day quarantine. I cannot open my door except for. To pick up food, to get my twice-daily temperature checks, and regular COVID tests. Now, all of this may sound extreme, but in zero-COVID China, this is the reality, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Selina Wang, thank you. Well, coming up. Barriers going up around the Supreme Court, and security risks law enforcement officials are warning about. That's next.

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[11:40:00]

GOLODRYGA: This morning, law enforcement officials in Washington DC are bracing for potential violence after the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Capitol Police are warning about far-right calls for violence against a group planning to protest in support of abortion rights. Whitney Wild is live outside of the Supreme Court. Whitney, what are you seeing there now?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we see physical proof that law enforcement officials in Washington are concerned about the possibility that some of these First Amendment activities could erupt that protesters could clash and there could be possibly violence. So here on my left, you'll see that there's the Supreme Court is basically at the front, encased in this fence.

I'm about 5'6'' -- so swing back to me. I'm about 5'6''. This is a couple of feet taller than me, so it's a non-scalable fence. This is just like the fence that went up around the Capitol following the January 6 riot. It basically becomes muscle memory here in Washington whenever law enforcement is concerned that first amendment activity could again erupt into the possibility of violence. Then, here on my right, we see that there's law enforcement here outside of the Supreme Court as well as concrete barriers.

It's not just here in Washington, Bianna, law enforcement officials held a call with about 150 participants all across the country alerting state and local agencies about demonstrations that have resulted in confrontations, the possibility of future demonstrations, as well as an uptick in social media chatter. The concern here is that there are members of law enforcement who are tracking some concerning and threatening language that suggests that violence is possible against abortion providers, abortion clinics, members of the judiciary, including the justices.

Senator John Cornyn, joined by Senator Chris Coons have now introduced a bill that would expand the Supreme Court police authority to offer security for the justices' families. The point here right now, Bianna is that law enforcement in Washington is taking this possibility that this opinion in Roe v Wade could result in very passionate -- you know passionate feelings on both sides. And there's a concern that could erupt into violence so now, taking the most aggressive posture that's warranted at this point, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, law enforcement clearly, on high alert. Whitney Wild, thank you. Well, let's turn now to what could be the next battle in the fight over reproductive rights, the use of mail-order abortion pills. CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): For those who intend on ending abortions in parts of the United States, the biggest barrier may now not be politics but pills, which researchers say are effective, available, and now used for more than half of all abortions.

SUE SWAYZE LIEBEL, STATE POLICY DIRECTOR, SUSAN B. ANTHONY LIST: Abortion activists have been quietly building a whole new business model to target young women on their phones to click get information and receive abortion drugs by mail.

FOREMAN: The Food and Drug Administration approved mail order supplies of the so-called abortion pills with a prescription this past December for women in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Advocates insist it is less invasive, more discreet, and just as safe as surgical abortion.

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS: And oftentimes people choose this for various reasons. They want to be able to manage their abortion in their home, with their family, and you know, around -- in a surrounding that they're comfortable with.

DR. REBECCA GOMPERTS, WOMEN ON WAVES: We have seen an incredible increase in requests for help. People are really, really scared of what's going to happen.

FOREMAN: That's why some Abortion rights supporters such as Women On Waves based in the Netherlands, say they are already facilitating shipments of the drugs to women in far-flung corners of the U.S. and they're promising to step up the effort no matter where those women are, or what state laws say.

GOMPERTS: What I'm doing is legal under the laws where I work from, and actually I have a medical oath to do this. I'm a doctor. My oath is that I help people that are in need, and that is what I am doing.

[11:45:00]

FOREMAN: In many states where lawmakers are trying to stamp out abortion rights, the simple truth is they have written a lot of special lines in their laws to keep outside providers of these pills from accessing their population. But abortion rights defenders say it's only five little pills, and they believe there is a way to get them to the women they see in need. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: And coming up, powerful storms bringing tornadoes, floods, and hail to several states, this drone video showing just some of the tornado damage in Oklahoma. We'll show you where the severe weather is headed up next.

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[11:50:00]

GOLODRYGA: We turn now to Israel where three victims of a gun and ax attack in the city of Elad were buried today following a huge funeral procession. We're now learning more about them as well as the names of the two suspects in the attack. CNN Correspondent Hadas Gold is live in Jerusalem. And, Hadas, these attacks are happening as the country celebrates its independence day.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna, the three people who were buried today, three men in their 40s, the victims of this attack, all of them fathers between them 16 children left behind. The attack took place on Israel Independence Day at 8:30 p.m., in a very quiet, mainly religious town called Elad. It's not far from the West Bank, but it's a quiet town that's not known to be a place of this sort of violence.

From 8:30 p.m., police say two suspects began seemingly randomly attacking people on the street in this town using potentially a rifle and an axe, and or a knife, three dead four were injured. Three of those people are still fighting for their lives, the hospitals say. The suspects then fled in a vehicle and there has been a massive manhunt underway for them.

There have been roadblocks in the West Bank and in Israel, helicopters have been hovering, drones had been used to try to find these two suspects. Israeli authorities have named them as two Palestinians from the West Bank, not far from Jenin, a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old. This is, Bianna, the sixth attack targeting Israelis since late March 18.

People have been killed as a result of these attacks. And it's been a violent intense month and a half or so. The Israeli military has upped its raids on what they say our counterterrorism operations in the West Bank as a result, and at least two dozen Palestinians have been killed, mostly as a result of clashes with Israeli security forces.

We've also seen an increase in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. This is the place also known as temple mount to the Jews, a place so holy to both Jews and Muslims. And while there was a hope that the end of Ramadan would bring some calm to the situation, would bring some calm across Israel, and the Palestinian territories, Israeli officials told me that they still expected a few more days of tension and potentially, violence because of days, like Israeli Independence Day.

And also, Bianna, keep in mind that next week is the one-year anniversary of that 11-day war between Hamas and militants in Gaza and the Israeli army that was sparked in part by clashes like those we've been seeing at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Hadas Gold, thank you. Also developing at this hour, a man on a flight from California to Chicago is facing a reckless conduct charge according to police. The man opens the emergency exit door as a United Flight was taxiing to the gate, then climbed onto the wing and slid down onto the tarmac. The incident occurred on a United Airlines flight from San Diego. United Airlines says the ground crew stopped the individual outside of the aircraft. When the plane arrived at the gate, all passengers deplane safely.

We turn now to the weather. Severe weather threatening parts of the country -- much of the country today, powerful storms have already brought tornadoes, floods, and hail to several states, this drone video capturing widespread tornado damage in Oklahoma. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers is live with an update on what to expect today and throughout Mother's Day weekend. A rainy weekend here in the Northeast for us, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, especially a cold one for Mother's Day as well up there across the Northeast. So we have this severe weather that was in the Midwest all week. Now, it has moved to the east. Now, that isn't as severe and we're not expecting the large tornadoes that they saw out there but there are just more people in the way of even smaller events.

That's the real key here and why we've been watching this from Virginia Beach all the way down to the Gulf Coast. That's the area of concern as the day heats up. Not much going on right now, there are some showers across the Gulf Coast but other than that really nothing yet popping up. We are going to watch this storm though.

Watch the circulation of these cells when I put this into motion. They begin to come up to the north, so we do get storms in D.C. today, all the way down to Hampton Roads, and as far south really is the Florida Gulf Coast. But behind this is what is going to really ruin Mother's Day for the northeastern cities. From D.C. all the way down to Charlotte later on tonight, and then it continues to spin, here's your Saturday afternoon and evening, and that is bringing that cold air down. So you never truly warm up until Monday or Tuesday. Boston, New York, and DC will all be cold, Philadelphia for sure.

Where the middle part of the country is going to have something the exact opposite and temperatures there will rise to nearly 100 degrees in some cities. We're watching for some very heavy rain across parts of the Poconos and the Alleghenies could be two to four inches of rain here. Watch out for that flash flooding potential there. So here's the weather across the Northeast over the next few. And I'm sorry moms because I just can't get things to warm up here.

[11:55:00] MYERS: And back out to the West, it's the -- really the truly the exact opposite. The cold air, much colder air than normal here in the Northeast, that like all goes away by Monday and Tuesday and that's not much of a help for you. But down here to the south and the Deep South, temperatures are going to make a run at 100 and even over in some spots, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Bad weather ever the reason to now call your mom and wish them a Happy Mother's Day if you were not planning on doing that. Happy Mother's Day to everyone at home. Chad Myers, thank you so much.

MYERS: You bet.

GOLODRYGA: And thank you all for watching. INSIDE POLITICS starts right after a quick break.

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