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The Lead with Jake Tapper

January Could Be Worse Than December?; COVID Patients Filling 49 Percent Of ICU Beds In Hospitals; Only 2.1 Million Vaccines Administered So Far, Well Below Target; GOP's Senators Now Support Trump's Push For $2000 Stimulus Checks; Trump Unhappy With Renovations At Mar-A-Lago; President-Elect Biden Speaks On COVID Response. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 29, 2020 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

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DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASES DIVISION, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: We clearly all anticipate all across the country a surge upon a surge upon a surge.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The rising case numbers driven by holiday gatherings, the TSA reporting 1.1 million people passed through airport security checkpoints Monday, the seventh day out of the last 11, with more than a million people screened. And health care providers are already being overwhelmed.

SCHAFFNER: At a certain point, you can't open up more beds because there are no personnel to work them.

JONES (voice-over): Nationwide the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized reaching the highest level of the pandemic Monday. And data from the Department of Health and Human Services show coronavirus cases accounted for 40 percent of ICU patients last week compared to just 16 percent in September.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: This is the nightmare scenario we worked so hard to prevent because we know that's when the mortality rates absolutely skyrocket.

JONES (voice-over): Eight states reporting record hospitalizations, including California where Los Angeles County has reported nearly 100,000 new cases in just the past week, about ten new cases a minute.

FRANKIE GALLAGHER, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, HAZEL HAWKINS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: We're hoping that people do understand that this is a crisis and that, you know, we're at a critical juncture here of maintaining our staff levels and maintaining bed capacity for our community.

JONES (voice-over): Meanwhile, America is missing the mark on vaccine distribution.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We certainly are not at the numbers that we wanted to be at the end of December.

JONES (voice-over): Just 2.1 million people have received the shot, according to the CDC, far below the 20 million people administration officials said would be inoculated by the end of the month. That's a problem, says an adviser to President-elect Joe Biden.

DR. CELINE GROUNDER, MEMBER, BIDEN-HARRIS TRANSITION CORONAVIRUS ADVISORY BOARD: That's a million people a week. At that pace it would take us over a decade to vaccinate all Americans.

JONES (voice-over): Among those receiving a shot today --

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: That was easy.

JONES (voice-over): -- Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

HARRIS: I urge everyone, when it is your turn, get vaccinated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (on camera): And to give people a better sense of why there is so much concern about this moment we're in, it's based on what we've already seen during this pandemic. One doctor put it this way. We saw spikes in coronavirus infections after Memorial Day, after the Fourth Of July, after Labor Day and after Thanksgiving, and those are all short holidays compared to the combined Christmas/New Year period where it's also harder to gather outdoors in many parts of the country. All of this means that the weeks ahead could be the worst period for the pandemic -- Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right, Athena Jones in New York, thank you so much.

Joining me now, William Haseltine, he's the chair and president of Access Health International as well as a former professor at Harvard Medical School. Thanks so much for joining us.

COVID hospitalizations are currently at a record high. This month has already been the deadliest of the pandemic so far. Do you accept that hospitals will be dealing with another major surge in roughly two or three weeks following the December highs? How bad do you expect it to get next month?

WILLIAM HASELTINE, CHAIR AND PRESIDENT OF ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL: We can't tell how bad, but we can tell it's going to be bad, and it will be worse. What we've experienced is maybe a hump and we're looking at a mountain.

A lot of people are traveling. I tell you of the good news is about half as many people are traveling. The rest are staying home. That's good but it's not enough.

Those that are traveling are exposing themselves to infection. I calculate there's about 10,000 people who were capable of spreading the virus on those planes, maybe 20,000 as you travel. That's a lot of people spreading the virus. And when you go to meet with your relatives, you may carry that virus with you, so it's a very serious situation. And hospitals are now at the brink of turning away patients.

TAPPER: Health experts warn, as you note there, that this record number of COVID hospitalizations could lead to more widespread rationing. As you know, people being turned away. There are only so many nurses and respirators and general medical care. What would this actually look like if this starts happening even more, and what would that mean for anyone needing care, not just COVID patients?

HASELTINE: Well, first of all, for COVID patients, we would move to something called crisis standards of care. That's basically a judgment of a panel to determine how many years of life you would have if we saved you. And if it's not many, like you're old, my age, perhaps, if you have some comorbidity, like you have serious diabetes, they're not going to consider you as a good prospect. And even if you need lifesaving treatment, they'll send you home without treatment. That's what crisis standards of care is.

We are, in California and some other places, very close to that. It's not because you can't build facilities, it's because there's not people to staff them. You can't bring them from other parts of the country because the whole country's got a problem. You can't bring them in from abroad because many other countries have problems.

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And so we have -- we're facing a really critical time, a time I don't think, in my memory we've never had, and perhaps you would have to go back maybe even to the great pandemic of 1918 or before. It's like a battlefield situation where too many soldiers are wounded to save all that could be saved.

TAPPER: Yes, it's the old death panels that we were warned about with Obamacare except in reality not just fantasy.

So far about 2.1 million Americans have been vaccinated in the U.S. and we just learned 19 million doses have been allocated. The Trump administration had said that the goal was for 20 million Americans to be vaccinated by the end of the year, which is just in a few days. Was that ever a realistic number? And why do you think we're falling so short of that goal? What can be done to speed up the process?

HASELTINE: Well, first of all, it's really the gang that couldn't shoot straight that's running the show in Washington. At least out of the administration. We have very good agencies, but they've been hampered and hamstrung. And why would we expect them to do better than they did with testing?

Better than they did with rolling out various medications than they have with vaccination. What they've done is they basically punted and said, hey, it's not us. We're going to get it to the states and then it's up to the states to do everything.

Well without the money, without the training, without the preparation, how can that be? I was warning and other people were warning that this situation would arise. And it's even a little worse than that, Jake, because once the vaccines get there, it can really be up to the local community as to who gets the vaccine.

Yes, the government can say this is the group that should get it, but it's on the ground and there's some great inequities already being discovered in who's getting it, how they're getting it and where they're getting it?

TAPPER: Yes, speaking of inequities, members of Congress are getting it right now. William Haseltine, thank you so much for joining me, we appreciate it.

Why the fight over stimulus checks is now playing a starring role in the Georgia Senate runoffs.

Then all by himself who and what is missing from the President Trump's holiday at Mar-a-Lago? Stay with us.

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TAPPER: In our POLITICS LEAD now, all eyes on Georgia with two Senate runoff elections just a week away and the president's demand for bigger COVID relief checks now an issue in those races.

Just this morning, both Georgia Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler revealed their positions after weeks of refusing to take a position, now calling for $2,000 in direct relief checks over the $600 included in the stimulus bill currently.

It's also something their Democratic challengers had been pushing for long before, and President Trump threatened to hold up the entire stimulus deal because it didn't include.

But even though the Georgia Senators both support bigger checks now, it is unclear that legislation will get a straight up or down vote. CNN's Kyung Lah joins us now from Georgia, and Kyung, after weeks of ducking the question, Perdue and Loeffler are on board with the $2,000 check, so what changed?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two words, Donald Trump. You know, we are at an early vote location. This is where people are voting for those runoffs that Senator Loeffler and Perdue both are on the ballot for where the balance of the U.S. Senate control, the U.S. Senate is at hand. As soon as the president started to back these $2,000 stimulus payments, here's what we heard from Senator Loeffler.

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SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): I said I'd support it. I support it. Look, you have to provide relief to Americans because Democrats have locked our country down. They've played politics with this moment and refused to pass relief month after month after month.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: You know, I should point out that while she was speaking, just a short distance away, people were waving Trump flags, someone was chanting "four more years." So the president is a potent get out the vote force here for the Republicans, Jake. And I did ask one of those supporters, while the Democrats support this $2,000 payment, and that supporter said, that's fine because he thinks Donald Trump is honest -- Jake.

TAPPER: OK, also talk to us about Senator Perdue, his position on the stimulus checks, now he seems to be ducking questions from reporters on relief, explain this all to us.

LAH: Well, Senator Perdue as you know did also fall in line saying that he was going to support whatever the president supports, including these $2,000 payments. But when my colleague, D.J. Judd, tried to ask Senator Perdue to elaborate, was he going to go back to Washington to vote, was he going to ask the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring a vote to the floor, he just ducks. He didn't want to say anything further than he wanted to do what the president is suggesting -- Jake.

TAPPER: OK, Kyung Lah in Georgia, thanks so much.

Also in our POLITICS LEAD, President Trump has been acting out as he spends his last holiday of his presidency at the winter White House in Palm Beach, Florida. The mood of the President is being described as grumpy, upset with everything from Melania's new renovations at Mar-a- Lago to boredom with guests. The fact that no foreign leaders are there for him to host. No West Wing staff for him harangue.

Kate Bennett joins me with more. Kate, tell us more about what you're hearing.

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Jake, as we know, this has been somewhat of a tumultuous week for the President. He is back and forth on signing bills. We're seeing more on the golf course than we are behind a desk.

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But when he arrived down to Mar-a-Lago, some of the renovations that have been going for the last several weeks as the property is updated ostensibly for him and Melania Trump to live post White House were not exactly to his liking.

And this is a president who has a very particular aesthetic, a particular taste, and some of the work that was done both in their private quarters as well as other parts of the club were apparently not up to snuff, according to the president. And he was disappointed about that and sort of set the tone for a very different Christmas holiday, his last one at Mar-a-Lago as president.

TAPPER: And, Kate, in the middle of soaring COVID cases and hospitalizations in the U.S., the president, you say, is planning to hold a New Year's Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago? Tell us about that. BENNETT: So as goes the White House holiday party, so goes the Mar-a-

Lago holiday parties. There have been approximately, a source tells me, about 500 reservations already for the annual Mar-a-Lago Black Tie New Year's Eve party.

This is, of course, an event that the president, and the first lady and his family have attended. Club members go as well. So, you know, certainly, we've seen in recent weeks the flouting of mask rules there. There was an election night event. There was another Turning Point USA Conference gala there. So it appears that New Year's Eve may follow the same suit as many of the holiday parties we saw at the White House where it's not exactly a well-spaced mask-wearing crowd who attends, and that's how it's going at Mar-a-Lago.

TAPPER: Well, he's going to need a new place to host his super- spreader events once he moves out of the White House. He certainly held a number there. You know, the president, we see him, he's spending a lot of time golfing -- actually, President-elect Biden is -- is he walking out right now? President-elect Biden is walking out. We're going to take his remarks right now. Thank you.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... by our team of experts. As we end one of the most difficult years as a nation, I remain optimistic about our future. Vaccines have been discovered and developed. There's more to come, we believe. Give us enormous hope.

Our economy is poised to come back and come alive. And I can see a return to normalcy in the next year. I also see incredible opportunities for our nation in the years ahead. In job creation, clean energy, racial equality and much more.

But we need to be honest. The next few weeks and months are going to be very tough, a very tough period for our nation, maybe the toughest during this entire pandemic. I know it's hard to hear, but it's the truth. As Roosevelt said, I think the American people can take whatever we tell them if we tell them straight to the shoulder.

We need to steel our spines for what's ahead. We need to follow even more closely the recommendations to slow the spread of the virus. And each of us needs to do what we can to protect ourselves, our families and our fellow Americans.

We're going to get through this. Brighter days are coming. But it's going to take all the grit and determination we have as Americans to get it done. So today I want to be clear about five things every American should know about our efforts to contain COVID-19 and where the vaccine stands today.

First, things are going to get worse before they get better. In September, we passed a grim milestone, 200,000 deaths. At that time in this very room many remember I warned that we would hit 400,000 deaths before the end of the Trump administration in January. Critics said I was being too alarmist and negative.

But as I've said all along, I will tell you like it is when it comes to COVID. And the reality is, it looks like that we're going to hit that grim milestone. We've just crossed 330,000 deaths in America. We're averaging daily death rates of nearly 2,200 people which means we'll lose tens of thousands of more lives in the months to come.

Hospitals are being stretched beyond capacity. And that's data before we see the impact of the cases coming from the recent holidays and this upcoming holiday of New Year's Eve.

People getting infected today don't show up in cases for weeks. And those who persist -- excuse me, those who perish from the disease die weeks after initial exposure. So we have to anticipate that the infections over the holidays will produce soaring cases, counts in January, and soaring death tolls into February.

You know, turning this around is going to take time. We might not see improvement until we're well into March as it will take time for our COVID response plan to begin to produce visible progress.

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The second thing to know, the Trump administration's plan to distribute vaccines is falling behind, far behind. We're grateful to the companies, the doctors, the scientists, the researchers, the clinical trial participants and Operation Warp Speed for developing the vaccines quickly. But as I long feared and warned, the effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should.

A few weeks ago, Trump administration suggested that 20 million Americans could be vaccinated by the end of December. With only a few days left in December, we've only vaccinated a few million so far. And the pace of the vaccination program is moving now, if it continues to move as it is now, it's going to take years, not months, to vaccinate the American people.

Which brings me to the third thing every American should know. A Biden/Harris administration will spare no effort to make sure people get vaccinated. I've laid out three challenges in our first 100 days.

One of them is ensuring that 100 million shots have been administered by the end of the first 100 days. If Congress provides the funding, we'd be able to meet this incredible goal. It would take ramping up five to six times the current pace to 1 million shots a day. But even with that improvement, even if we boost the speed of vaccinations to 1 million shots a day, it will still take months to have the majority of the United States population vaccinated.

I've directed my team to prepare a much more aggressive effort with more federal involvement and leadership to get things back on track. We'll find ways to boost the pace of the vaccinations.

But as Dr. Fauci and others have stated, these past few days, this will take more time than anyone would like and more time than the promises from the Trump administration have suggested. This is going to be the greatest operational challenge we've ever faced as a nation, but we're going to get it done. It's going to take a vast new effort that's not yet under way. And to get things, you know, and that gets me to the fourth thing that

we should know. I'm going to move heaven and earth to get us going in the right direction. I'm going to use my power under the Defense Production Act when I'm sworn in and order private industry to accelerate the making of the materials needed for the vaccines as well as protective gear.

Vice President Harris and I have been speaking to -- with county officials, mayors, governors, of both parties to speed up the distribution of the vaccines across the nation. We're planning a whole of government effort and we're going to work to set up vaccination sites and send mobile units to hard reached communities -- to hard to reach communities.

And we also know, there's a vaccination hesitancy in many communities, especially black, Latino, Native American communities who have not always been treated with the dignity and honesty they deserve by the federal government and the scientific community throughout our history.

That's why we will launch a massive public education campaign to increase vaccine acceptance. We'll do everything we can to show the vaccines are safe. And critically important for one's own health and that of their families and the community.

That means we're also going to make sure vaccines are distributed equitably, so every person who wants the vaccine can get it, no matter the color of their skin or where they live. And we're going to ensure vaccinations are free of charge.

Fifth, while the pandemic rages on and as we increase the supply, distribution and administration of the vaccine, we have to remain vigilant. As part of the 100-day challenge, I'm going to be asking the American people to wear a mask for the first 100 days of my administration. It's not a political statement. It's a patriotic duty.

Our administration is going to require mask wearing where I have the power to do so, for federal workers and federal facilities, on interstate travel like planes and trains.

And we've been working directly with county officials, mayors, governors, to implement mask mandates in their cities and their towns and their states. Masking has been a divisive issue in this country, but COVID is a killer in red states and blue states alike. So, I encourage you all to wear a mask. Encourage your family and friends to do the same. It's one of the easiest things we can do that will make a huge difference and to save lives.

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Another 100-day challenge is opening most of our K through 8 schools by the end of the first 100 days in the spring. Look, we can only do that if Congress provides the necessary funding, so we get schools, districts, communities and states the resources they need for those so many things that aren't already there in a tight budget. They need funding for testing to help reopen schools. More funding for transportation so students can maintain social distances on buses.

They need it for school buildings, for additional cleaning service, protective equipment, ventilation systems. This is going to require an additional tens of billions of dollars to get this done. And Congress also needs to fund and provide more protective equipment for frontline health workers who are still reusing masks and gowns.

We need to scale up testing so anyone who needs one can get a test. After ten months of the pandemic, we still don't have enough testing. It's a travesty. All this, vaccinations, testing, protective gear is going to require more funding from Congress, more than was just approved.

That's why I'll propose a COVID action package early next year and challenge Congress to act on it quickly. Look, my ability to change the direction of this pandemic starts in three weeks. With thousands dying every day between now and then, let me conclude by discussing what needs to happen now.

I congratulate the bipartisan majority on passing the president's -- and then the president on signing the COVID relief bill. It's still even though it's a step, an important step, still moves in the right direction. And it will help people in need. And it will pay for some, but not all of what we need to fix the COVID response. It's a down payment. But now, with that done, I hope the president will also clearly, unambiguously promote mask wearing.

I give former Governor Chris Christie credit. He and I have disagreed on a number of things, but I'm thankful he's now encouraging people to do the right thing and wear a mask for themselves, their loved ones and their country. I hope that President Trump will listen to him. He can do it, too. It would make a huge difference for President Trump to say, wear masks.

I hope the president will clearly and unambiguously urge all Americans to take the vaccine once it's available. I took it to instill public confidence in the vaccine. Vice President-elect Harris took hers today for the same reason. And when the president's doctors recommend it, President Trump should take it and instill the same degree of confidence.

Let me also say this to the American people. We can save, all the experts tell us, between 60 and 100,000 lives in the weeks and months ahead if we just step up together. Wear a mask, socially distance, wash our hands, avoid large indoor gatherings.

I know all these are not easy to ask. But I'm asking you to make a sacrifice. You're already making tremendous sacrifices every single day. It's hard on your lives and your livelihoods and your kids and your families. It's not small what we're asking of you. But we're in this together and actions we take now are going to help us contain the pandemic and get us back to our lives and to our loved ones.

So the American people, to all of you, I know there's a lot that we have to do but I want you to know, there's also much we can do. We're the United States of America. We've been through hard times before as a nation. And we'll come through this, as well. I promise you we will. So, please, I wish you a Happy New Year. May God bless you and may God protect our troops. Wear a mask.

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD, I'm Jake Tapper. You have been watching President-elect Joe Biden speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, about the coronavirus pandemic.

He called out the Trump administration for falling behind on the distribution and administering of the vaccine. President-elect Biden saying he wants to raise the number to 1 million shots given per day. It's an effort Biden called the greatest operational challenge that the nation has ever faced.

He promised to use the Defense Production Act even more so to ramp up production of the vaccines. He said the fact that the U.S. is still ten months into this, that there isn't enough testing is a travesty.

Let's go straight to CNN's Joe Johns, he's live for us in Wilmington. And Joe, how does the president-elect plan to get all of this done?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the question. And a lot of people have been asking.