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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Food Insecurity in America; Darkest Days of Pandemic Ahead?; Vaccine Rollout Going Slowly. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired December 29, 2020 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Back to our health lead now.

Twenty-seven days. COVID hospitalizations in this nation have been above 100,000 a day for 27 days, yesterday, breaking another record, 121,235 patients fighting COVID in the nation's hospitals. And those patients are getting sicker. They now take up to 40 percent of intensive care units.

Meantime, the rollout of the vaccines, it's not going well, falling way short of expectations, as CNN's Nick Watt now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: I'm ready.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's a reason the V.P.- elect just got vaccinated live on TV, to reassure black Americans, all Americans, that it's safe.

HARRIS: It's about saving your life, the life of your family members and the life of your community.

WATT: The outgoing V.P. did it. The president-elect did it. Lame-duck Donald Trump has not. His administration projected 20 million doses in arms before the end by New Year's. We're two days away, a little over two million shots logged. Not even close.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: Even if you undercount -- two million is an undercount, how much undercount could it be? So we are below where we want to be.

WATT: The federal government ships the doses, but leaves the logistics from there to others. Here's the optimistic take.

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, DEPARTMENT OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE CHAIRMAN, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Think of it like a locomotive getting started. Those first few wheel turns are slow and difficult, and then chun, chun, chun, things move faster.

WATT: Meantime, more than 2,000 Americans on average are killed by COVID-19 every day.

FAUCI: I think we just have to assume that it's going to get worse.

WATT: Within the past hour, the stay-home order for much of California was extended.

DR. BARBARA FERRER, DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: On average, nine to 10 people in L.A. County test positive for COVID-19 every minute.

WATT: And ICU capacity across the region is at zero percent.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: What's going to happen in California when you run out of capacity? Physicians and bioethicists in these hospitals will need to decide which patients are salvageable, potentially salvageable, and which patients aren't.

WATT: Nationwide, more Americans are hospitalized with this virus now than ever before. And December is already the deadliest month of the pandemic. Then came Christmas, the travel, the gatherings

FAUCI: In addition to the surge, we're going to have an increase superimposed upon that surge, which could make January even worse than December. I hope not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: So, after telling Angelenos and others here in California we're going to have to stay home a little longer, or maybe a lot longer, a state official also gave us a picture of what they think the next month is going to look like. And it's not good.

He said that ICU capacity is not improving, demand will continue to exceed capacity. And he was also really kind of preparing us for those difficult decisions hospitals might have to make, who gets care and who doesn't -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Nick Watt in Los Angeles, thank you so much.

And as you just heard from Nick, California is one of the hardest-hit states right now. A lockdown order remains in effect for much of the state. Cases are surging, ICU capacity down to zero percent in Southern California.

Joining me now from Los Angeles, senior medical analyst Dr. Jorge Rodriguez. He's also an internal medicine and viral specialist.

Dr. Rodriguez, thanks for joining us.

You're in Los Angeles. Tell us how bad it is there on the ground right now. What does it actually mean that some ICUs in Southern California are at zero percent capacity?

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, it's very bad.

And you don't even have to be in an ICU or in an E.R. to know that it's bad. You can just stand in any corner in Los Angeles, and I guarantee you that you will be hearing more ambulances, more sirens than you're used to.

And that's because people are being taken to the hospital for many reasons, for COVID, for other reasons, and they're having to wait. What it means is that we have long forgotten that both medical health professionals and the instruments that they use are essential.

So, there's going to come a point -- well, there's just no other choice. If you don't have the space, if you don't have the respirators to save people, we have to make those very tough decisions that physicians every once in a while have to make, which is who do you save.

It's sort of like Solomon's choice. And it's horrible. Hopefully, we won't get to that.

[16:35:02]

And people need to realize, Jake, that it's not just the decisions for some -- the people that have COVID. If the hospital is full, and you have a heart attack, if you have an abnormal pregnancy, if you have some other illness, you are going to be in that process of some perhaps having to decide whether they treat you or treat somebody else.

TAPPER: I guess one of the questions I have, as a non-Californian, you have in your state some of the most severe restrictions in the country, and you have lockdown orders, and restaurants are closed, and entertainment is shut down.

Why is California in such a bad place right now?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it?

The thing is, California, you have to remember, we -- our population is so diverse. Our population, first of all, is so huge. I take no solace and say we're not the highest per capita, because things are so bad here.

But we have people that are going all over the place. They're going to other states for a few days. They're coming back. There are counties south of here. Orange County does not have those restrictions. And, in an hour, you're there to eat at a restaurant. We have a very mixed population.

My people, the Hispanic people, usually live in larger homes with their family. Multiple jobs are brought in. So we're at higher risk. The African-American population doesn't necessarily believe that you have to wear masks and things.

So, it's so diverse that, unfortunately, I think we were walking at the edge of the cliff, and we just tipped over.

TAPPER: Well, you just painted a stark picture two questions ago about how bad it could get in a couple of weeks, with ICUs and hospitals at zero percent capacity. I assume that you expect that, after the Christmas break and December holidays, you're going to see potentially a surge like that, because of all the people that travel. Who makes the decisions about who lives or dies? Who says, I'm sorry?

I mean, is that just a receptionist? Is there a -- for want of a better term, a death panel? I mean, how does that...

RODRIGUEZ: No.

TAPPER: Who even makes the decision?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

Yes, there is no such thing as this death panel. I mean, the only time that I have ever known of panels is that they decide who's going to get an organ or something because it's limited.

What's going to happen, I think, is most decisions are going to be made at that moment, probably by the attending physician in an emergency room. I don't think it's by a receptionist. Usually, what happens in an E.R. is, they will call back and say, we have somebody here with chest pain, we have somebody here with this.

And, again, it's something horrible to talk about. And I don't even want to speculate. But, in those moments, for example, when you're running -- you have two or three codes running at once, you have to make a decision. And the physician may say, well, this person is X- years old, and they're healthier.

And it's a horrible thing to think of, but it's probably going to have to be made by the physicians or the physician equivalents at that very moment.

TAPPER: Yes, we saw it in Italy during this pandemic crisis. And, obviously, it's the kind of triage that happens in a war setting, where a medic can only save one life, and he has to make a choice. It's a horrible situation.

The governor of Colorado, I understand, has just tweeted that, I guess -- I believe it's the variant of the virus, the mutation that they found in England that is more contagious, not necessarily deadlier, but more contagious than other coronavirus elements, has been discovered in Colorado.

And I'm just wondering, you, as a front-line physician, what that might mean to you.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, what that means to me, I think even Tony Fauci said he'd be surprised if it wasn't here. I would be surprised if it wasn't here.

What that's going to mean for all of us is the fact that there are going to be a greater number of sicker people, because more people are going to be acquiring it, not necessarily dying. But those people are still going to be needing services. They're going to be going to hospitals. They're going to be calling doctors.

So, again, it is never too late to stem this tide. And we really need to take this seriously. So, what it's going to mean, sicker people, and more of them.

TAPPER: Horrible.

Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, good luck on the front line out there. We're all thinking about the people of California. Thank you so much for joining us today. I appreciate it.

While the future of $2,000 stimulus checks remains unclear right now, this is a reminder of what is at stake for millions of Americans, waiting hours and hours for food donations.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:30]

TAPPER: We're back with our money lead.

There remains no clear answer on whether the Senate will vote on increasing COVID relief checks for millions of Americans from $600 to $2,000.

And while politicians are debating this all in Washington, these are just some of the massive lines we have seen across the United States in recent days, Americans lining up, waiting hours so that they can get food for their families.

Joining me now is Hannah Randall. She's the chief executive officer of MANNA FoodBank, which serves the western area of North Carolina, Asheville, I believe.

Thanks so much for joining us.

Right now, do you have enough food and supplies to help everyone in your community who needs that help?

HANNAH RANDALL, CEO, MANNA FOODBANK: Well, thank you so much for having me.

This is a really concerning time in Western North Carolina and in our country, as millions of Americans, 50 million, we estimate, will be food-insecure at the end of this pandemic.

And so we're really working hard to work with our community and our state and our country to figure out sustainable ways to serve folks that are in need.

TAPPER: But do you -- do you have -- so, is that a no, you don't have enough food, you're still -- you still need help?

RANDALL: We still do you need help. When we have been looking at these new COVID stimulus packages that have been coming out, we were hopeful and pleased to see the increase in SNAP, as well as TEFAP, come out for federal commodities.

But the truth is that the math really isn't working out. At our food bank, we have seen a 68 percent increase in demand since before the pandemic. And our food donations have been down by 20 percent.

[16:45:00]

So, that math leaves a real gap where we're having to purchase food in record amounts to feed people in need.

TAPPER: When you talk to the people who are coming for the donations, we've been -- we've been interviewing people from food banks now for several weeks and one thing we keep hearing, whether Philadelphia or any other part of the country is, it's a lot of people who never thought that they would ever be at a food bank. Not to stigmatize those who sometimes depend upon that help regularly, but these are people who -- because of the pandemic and the economic catastrophe, lost their jobs and they never thought they would end up there.

RANDALL: Absolutely. So, four in 10 people that we have been seeing are new to the charitable food system and we've talked to folks throughout our network and the number one thing that we hear is because of job loss and cuts to working hours that people are needing food now for the very first time.

TAPPER: I know you've had --

RANDALL: Many people are waiting in really long lines for this food.

TAPPER: Yeah, we're looking at images right now on the other side of the screen. I know you had to lease an entire separate warehouse to help keep up with demand because of all the need. What other changes have you had to make?

RANDALL: Well, we've had really drastic changes to our operations, including having to expand our help line, so that people can get access to food if they don't know where it is. We've had to do really drastic operational changes to make sure that the volunteers in our community feel really comfortable coming in and know that they're safe and that we've enacted all of the safety protocols that we can to keep this real volunteer engine that is food banking moving.

TAPPER: All right, and for those watching, if they can afford to help, it's MANNAfoodbank.org and you are part of the larger FeedingAmerica.org system.

Hannah Randall, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for all you do on your community. I will go on Twitter at the commercial break and post websites where people can make a donation if they can afford to. Thank you -- thank you for what you do.

RANDALL: Thank you. TAPPER: First Lady Melania Trump is making some changes at Mar-a-

Lago. The president is already trying to undo those changes. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:57]

TAPPER: Back with our politics lead. President Trump, who once promised he would be so busy he would not have any time to golf while being president, is golfing every day in Florida, but CNN is learning he's not actually very happy. Some describe him as grumpy and upset.

Part of the reason for the president's bad mood? Not just that he lost re-election. New renovations at Mar-a-Lago that he does not like, ones that were approved by the outgoing first lady.

Let's go to CNN's Kate Bennett with more.

So, what's going on here? He's upset about the decor?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It sounds that way, Jake. There were a number of renovations that happened at Mar-a-Lago for the past few weeks and they were led by the first lady, who really enjoys design and aesthetics, but apparently might not have been on the same page as the president when he arrived to Mar-a-Lago this week.

He was not pleased with some of the renovations he saw, some of the decor. Kicked off the holiday trip in sort of a bad, grumpy way as someone described to me, it's been a weird vibe, once source at the club told me. So, certainly there is disagreement over what the future of Mar-a-Lago looks like from a decor perspective.

And the president, as we know, has been spending his time doing anything that's not particularly engaging in Washington. So, fixing this decoration is part of it.

TAPPER: Are people around him, I mean, he was just resoundingly rejected by the American people, he's -- he's found one situation that he cannot B.S. his way out of. Are people worried about his state of mind?

BENNETT: You know, I would say that senior staff have not been around him as much. You know, typically, he goes to Mar-a-Lago and he has staff members from the West Wing, he sometimes has a VIP, you know, leader to host, he's got other people he can engage. But this trip and these days in particular, no one really knows what he's thinking. Nobody knows, is he going to sign this, is he going to golf, is he going to dinner?

It is a very confusing time for those who know him best. And I think, you know, that has led some people, as we've reported before, to question just how stable he is in terms of mood and thought process and how he is spending his time. And as you said, the one thing that remains consistent is this golfing habit.

TAPPER: Yeah. Very erratic behavior. Kate Bennett, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Can Senate Democrats do anything to convince the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to vote on the $2,000 stimulus checks in a clean up or down vote? The number two Democrat, Dick Durbin, will weigh in. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:03]

TAPPER: Finally, we would like to remember an amazing woman who is just one of the more than 337,000 Americans to lose her life to the coronavirus.

Louise Kemp of Seymore, Tennessee, she was 71 years old. According to her family, to know her was to love her. She was a wife, a mother of four, she worked as a police dispatcher for 24 years in Wellsville, New York. Officers she worked with described her as a second mother of sorts, because of all the loving care she bestowed upon them.

She was also an avid quilter. She enjoyed making quilts for veterans and for those in hospices. She also sewed and donated hats for babies in the NICU and cancer patients who were going through chemo, an incredibly selfless individual. During the pandemic, in fact, she sewed masks to help protect people from COVID-19.

May her memory and the memories of all those we've lost way too early in this pandemic, may they be a blessing.

You can follow on me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @TheLeadCNN. Our coverage on CNN continues right now. I'll see you tomorrow.

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