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Expect Widespread Vaccine Distribution in Spring; President- elect Biden Names Economic Team; Janet Yellen Nominated as Treasury Secretary. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 30, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, is a Republican, so of course, you know, that is something that is similar to the state of Georgia, where the president has repeatedly railed on the governor there.

Now, this is something that, you know, for many weeks now, almost a month now after Election Day come tomorrow, you know, there have been recounts, there have been assessments, audits of these votes. But this is just one more state that is certifying a vote.

And this is normally part of the process, Brianna, this is how it works. Weeks after the election, after the numbers are tallied, states certify their results. So it's coming in Arizona, there's nothing unusual about this. The only thing unusual is the Trump campaign and Rudy Giuliani and other lawyers are still contesting this with zero evidence.

So officially now, Joe Biden, winning those 11 electoral votes in the state of Arizona, a red state, turning it blue for the first time in years. You know, so putting an end to complaints there of election fraud, which were never materialized at all in Arizona, so one more state officially now in the Biden column -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: You mentioned, Jeff, they're contesting these results without bringing any facts to the table, and they're doing this over and over again.

ZELENY: Right.

KEILAR: So they know what they're doing, they know why their strategy is failing and yet --

ZELENY: Sure.

KEILAR: -- they continue to do it. So what is the actual -- what outcome are they really looking for here?

ZELENY: Look, Brianna, the outcome obviously is President Trump's repeated attempt to delegitimize and raise questions unfoundedly about Joe Biden's election. It's that, part one. And part two, just keeping this Trump base of support and fundraising -- very much a key component of this, all these fundraising drives, more than 300, nearly 400 we have seen in e-mails since Election Day, trying to raise money.

So it's really a twofold effort. You know, certainly it is to delegitimize Joe Biden's presidency, but Brianna, we have seen state after state where Republicans also are stepping up. The Maricopa County Republican Board of Supervisors, he stepped up, you know, weeks ago and tried to calm down the tensions here, tried to calm down all these allegations of fraud which simply weren't true.

And the Republican governor of Arizona as well is also signing off on this certification, so yet another example of Republicans out in the states, out in state capitals, are being far more honest and courageous -- I guess, if you will -- than many Republicans in Washington, most of whom we've barely heard from -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, they are being courageous, they're going where the facts lead them. Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much for the great reporting out of Wilmington for us.

It is the top of the hour, I am Brianna Keilar. And there is new hope today that an effective vaccine is closer to being available. New data released by one of the hopefuls could get them authorization from the FDA with millions of doses just weeks away.

But this is why a successful vaccine is so critical. Sunday marked the 27th straight day of more than 100,000 new cases in the United States. November is the worst month of the pandemic so far with more than 4 million cases reported this month alone.

Hospitals are being stretched to the breaking point. More than 93,000 hospitalizations were reported on Sunday. Hospitalizations have risen nearly 10 percent just over the past week.

The rise in cases and hospitalizations has been followed -- of course -- by a rise in deaths. For the past 19 days, the United States has averaged at least a thousand deaths a day from COVID. It's a grim reality for too many families in this country and around the world.

There could be some relief, though, on the horizon as we are getting some of this good news on the vaccine front, Moderna planning to ask the FDA today for emergency authorization of its vaccine candidate as it shares new details about just how well it works.

And here is what the data is showing right now. It's proving to be around 94 percent effective against the coronavirus. But look at this, 100 percent effective against severe coronavirus infections. By the end of the year, Moderna hopes to have about 20 million doses available in the United States. Because it's a double dose, that would be enough for 10 million people.

Vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, also showing some promise. This morning, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar spoke about next steps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: General Perna has said from Operation Warp Speed that we'll ship within 24 hours of FDA authorization, so we could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people's arms before Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I want to bring in CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. And I think, Elizabeth, as we're getting closer to the reality of the vaccine, we're hearing so many questions from people because they want one, they want to know who's going to get it.

We just heard the secretary say first shots are coming by Christmas, but who gets them and when does the average person, when will they be able to get a vaccine?

[14:05:02]

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, so the first folks to get the vaccine are going to be high-risk people. It will likely be folks who are frontline health care workers, and also people who are residents of nursing homes, those are the first two groups that we think will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

KEILAR: OK, and then what about vulnerable people? Elderly who aren't in nursing homes, children who have pre-existing conditions, who may be, say, just out of a cancer battle. What about that group?

COHEN: So the next batch will be basically that group. It will be essential workers like police officers, those kinds of folks. It will also be elderly who are not in nursing homes, and also folks who have underlying medical conditions. Those are huge groups. That won't happen all at one time, but it will be prioritized. But those are the high-risk groups. That's expected to happen sort of January, February, March.

People who are not in one of these high-risk groups, they likely won't be able to get a vaccine until starting at the end of April. So if you're not in one of these high-risk groups, you likely won't be able to get a vaccine until the end of April at the earliest, that's what we're being told now.

KEILAR: That's still not that far away, so that's the good news.

OK, tell us how the vaccine's going to be --

COHEN: Right, right.

KEILAR: -- distributed.

COHEN: So the vaccines will be distributed to states, and then states will distribute it to sites within their states. So the states decide, OK, it's going to go to this site or to that site.

So the initial vaccine that we think is going to come out is Pfizer. Pfizer's vaccine is unusual, it has to be kept at minus-103 degrees Fahrenheit, that is super-cold. Your freezer does not go that cold, pharmacists don't have freezers that go that cold, doctors don't have freezers that go that cold. Only research hospitals, pretty much, have those, only sort of the big research hospitals. So they will likely be sent to those places, and then given out from there.

KEILAR: OK. And then how many -- we're talking double doses on some of these vaccine candidates, so how many doses does each person need?

COHEN: Right, so the two vaccines that we think are going to get approval in December, those are both double-dose vaccines, Pfizer's and Moderna's. So you get a dose and then, three to four weeks later, you get a second dose. So yes, you need two doses to vaccinate one person.

KEILAR: And how much is it going to cost? I know that's a big concern for a lot of people.

COHEN: Right, so Americans should not have to pay anything for these vaccines, that's the way it's supposed to work. Because basically, we already paid for it. As taxpayers, we paid for the government to purchase these vaccines, so we're not going to have to pay for it twice. Your tax dollars went to purchase the vaccines, now you should be able to just show up and get a shot.

KEILAR: Wow, OK. So after getting the vaccine, I mean, does everything just go back to normal? Does this mean people still need to socially distance, do they still need to wear masks?

COHEN: It would be wonderful if the minute the vaccine came out, everything went back to normal. Unfortunately, that's not the case. As you can see, the vaccination will roll out pretty slowly, I mean, starting, we think, in December, but it's going to take months and months. So in the meantime, since not everyone will be vaccinated, you still have to wear a mask, you still have to practice social distancing.

As far as getting back to sort of so-called normal, where you can just throw away your mask and hug everybody you meet, that likely isn't going to be until the summer or the fall.

KEILAR: OK, summer or the fall for hugs. All right, so if you have, say, three vaccines or maybe even more that come online, and they're out there, which one do you get? Which one should you get?

COHEN: Well, so right -- so you might not have a choice. I mean, you might sort of get what you get. But in the beginning, there's going to be likely just Pfizer, and then maybe a week or two later we'll have Moderna. So in the beginning there's going to be just Pfizer and Moderna.

These vaccines are very, very similar, they are made pretty much the same way. So in that regard, you don't really need to worry about making a choice, they're pretty much the same. Other vaccines are not going to come online for months, so right now, don't worry about what you're going to get because right now there's only two choices, and essentially the kind of the same vaccine.

KEILAR: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, hugs in the summer, I'm writing it on my calendar. Thank you so much for answering all of our questions. There's so many, I mean, this is such --

COHEN: OK, thanks.

KEILAR: -- important stuff. Thank you, Elizabeth.

CVS and Walgreens say they are preparing to administer the vaccines if they get emergency approval from the FDA. The vaccinations wouldn't take place in their stores. The Mayo Clinic, also preparing for vaccine delivery, the Mayo Clinic saying their first shipments of the vaccine are going to arrive in early January.

Jason Craig is the regional chair for the Mayo Clinic Health Care System in northwest Wisconsin. Thank you so much for being with us to talk about this incredibly important topic. You say the vaccine is giving you hope; I know a lot of people are watching the news and feeling the same way. Walk us through how you are going to administer the doses you receive.

[14:10:03]

JASON CRAIG, REGIONAL CHAIR, ADMINISTRATION, MAYO CLINIC HEALTH SYSTEM: Sure, thank you for having me on, Brianna, appreciate the opportunity. Very much as described previously, the federal government will be determining the distribution -- excuse me, will be facilitating the distribution to the states, and then we of course are going to work very closely with state authorities to distribute and administer those vaccines throughout the state and throughout the regions that we serve.

it's likely -- and we are basing our assumptions and our planning on the fact that the initial prioritization will be health care workers -- those of course on the frontlines, working with COVID-positive patients. And then progressing thereon after to the general population.

KEILAR: OK, Jason, I know a lot of people have been having some experience with the consumer behavior that we've seen of the pandemic, and they probably wonder how isn't this going to be just the way toilet paper and paper towels have been operating, right? Or sanitizing wipes. I want to get it at the store, I make an order or I go to pick it up and it's not there. Is that going to happen with the vaccine?

CRAIG: Certainly we're hopeful that that will not be the case. I think it's reasonable to assume, however, that the vaccination supply at its earliest availability will be somewhat constrained. We know that those manufacturers of the vaccine are working diligently to provide as much supply as is required to vaccinate those who want to be vaccinated.

But our assumption in the early planning and in the early operations is that the supply will be somewhat limited, therefore generating the need to prioritize.

KEILAR: OK, that important need to prioritize. There are 19 states right now that are reporting a record number of

hospitalizations over this past weekend. How are the rising numbers being felt there in your facilities?

CRAIG: So our facilities have been very, very constrained for a number of weeks, and we have been reporting full beds, in fact in excess of our bed capacity for the last several weeks. Our health care system is very, very strained here in northwest Wisconsin.

And within our five-hospital system here in northwest Wisconsin, we have been in a continual state of 100 percent occupancy with roughly 45 to 50 percent of our total inpatient bed capacity occupied by COVID-positive inpatients. So our system's being very, very severely strained right now.

KEILAR: Very severely strained right now.

Right now, caring for COVID patients is -- it's not the same as treating any other patient, especially because COVID patients are alone, they don't have family members who are able to be there with them. We've heard about the fears of burnout. I think it's admirable, it's amazing work, what health care workers are doing, but it's really hard to imagine at this point in time without them really getting a break, that this isn't taking an incredible toll on them.

CRAIG: Yes. Our staff have been unbelievably resilient. Their commitment has never been on fuller display than it has been over the course of the pandemic. They certainly are strained, they certainly are feeling the full effects of the emotional effects of caring for COVID-positive patients here within our walls.

But then of course, our employees have their own personal lives, and those employees, because they are members of our communities, are also being affected by COVID within their personal lives, within their families. And they're having to address the COVID challenges here at work and then, in many instances, having to address similar if not more complicated factors when they return home.

KEILAR: Yes, I'm sure it is unrelenting so they certainly have our thoughts, it is hard work they are doing, that you are doing as well, Jason Craig, with the Mayo Clinic Health Care System. Thank you.

CRAIG: Thank you.

KEILAR: President-elect Joe Biden, getting his first presidential intelligence briefing today as CNN learns who's on the shortlist to be his defense secretary, who's on the list to be his CIA director.

Plus, Biden unveils his new economic team and there's already one name that could face a tough confirmation fight.

[14:14:23]

And later, dramatic new details about the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist: It may have been carried out with a remote- controlled machine gun. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet is taking shape. He promised his picks would look like America -- more diverse, more women. Biden's named his secretary of State, Tony Blinken; his Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen; and his head of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. Biden has also selected his chief of staff, Ron Klain, and his budget director, Neera Tanden.

But there are a lot more big decisions outstanding -- who's going to be his attorney general, for instance; what about secretary of Labor? And who will take the reins of Health and Human Services in the midst of a historic pandemic.

Another critical pick is Defense secretary, but we are learning more about who is at the top of Biden's list. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has been working this and more for us from Wilmington, Delaware. We're seeing a lot of you today, Jeff. What can you tell us about this story that you've been working on?

ZELENY: Hey, Brianna. We do know that President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris really are going through these cabinet secretaries one by one. They've had a lot of this transition work, you know, happening behind the scenes, even while they were campaigning.

But now of course, over the last month, they have been working this and I'm told that the president-elect has been having conversations with some finalists for these positions.

[14:20:03]

Now, while they named their economic team today, there are still some key openings. And as you said, defense secretary is at the front of that list. Of course, it was not announced last week, when the national security team was announced, so that is raising some questions as to what is going on in the Defense Department.

So we are told that there are three final contenders here for the defense secretary. All of them would be history-making picks in their own right. One is Michele Flournoy, she is a veteran of the Pentagon, a veteran of the Obama administration. She was widely seen as one of the top picks, but now she has some competition in this front, we're told.

We're told that Jeh Johnson, the former Homeland Security secretary in the Obama administration, who also served as General Counsel in the Pentagon during the Obama years, is also being considered; as well as Lloyd Austin. He is a retired four-star Army general who was in charge of CENTCOM, that's the Central Command during the Obama years. He retired in 2016, but we're told that he is on the list as well.

So as you can see, one woman, two African-American men, neither of whom -- none of whom have ever led the Pentagon, so that would be a history-making pick in that front. We'll see when that comes, I'm told it could come later this week or perhaps next week, but certainly early in the month of December. We're also learning some finalists for the CIA director, a central

post of course. And some of the final names of contenders are Vince Stewart, he is one of the former Defense officials, a former Marine Corps general actually; as well as Sue Gordon, she was a Defense and intelligence expert in the Trump administration; and again, Jeh Johnson, you're seeing his name on a lot of these potential lists of finalists. Of course, he was the former Homeland Security director in the Obama administration.

We're also learning of more names. Mike Morell of course, a longtime CIA director, acting director, he is also in the mix for CIA we're told.

So a lot of names here, Brianna. But we also have our eye on the attorney general. That is something that the Biden transition team is also hoping to work out in the next week or so we're told. So for all these cabinet options out there, they're coming to a head on some of them but still really many more to go here, as now we're 51 days before Joe Biden becomes president of the United States -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Jeff Zeleny, live for us from Wilmington, Delaware, thank you.

And now to the names and faces on Joe Biden's economic team. It is diverse, there are four women tapped for top spots. This team has a huge challenge ahead though: get Americans back to work, put money in their pockets, keep their roofs over their heads.

I want to bring in CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar. Rana, former Fed chair Janet Yellen needs confirmation for Treasury secretary, but she's already getting some support from top Republicans. You have a new piece out today in "Financial Times" that says she's the perfect person at this moment in time. Tell us why she is the woman for the moment.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well for starters, Brianna, she's a labor economist, she's all about getting people to work. You know, she has always been about Main Street rather than Wall Street, but she's also somebody that is middle-of-the-road. She cares about debt, she cares about some of the things that more fiscal conservatives would be concerned about.

So she's a completely safe pair of hands, she's in the middle and she's also been in charge of the Fed. If you remember, she was very successful as the chair of the Federal Reserve. And at this point in time, Treasury and the Fed are going to have to work together very closely to make sure that the economy can get back on track.

KEILAR: Yes, she has a lot of institutional knowledge. Right now, Americans have the knowledge of the difficulties of the pandemic right now. There's millions who don't have jobs, they're facing eviction, their unemployment benefits are running out. And Congress is still no closer to a deal on helping them. So what is this team going to focus on for stimulus?

FOROOHAR: Well, it's going to be interesting. You know, there are a lot of levers, particularly that Janet Yellen can push, that really don't involve going to Congress.

For starters, she's the head of the Financial Stability Oversight Committee, she will be able to roll back certain Trump-era deregulation moves, she's going to be able to get the Fed, probably push them a little bit to focus more on Main Street as opposed to Wall Street.

I think that you're going to see her really setting a tonal shift, that this is not going to be about unleashing animal spirits, bolstering the stock market, you know, all the things that President Trump really cared a lot about. It's going to be about jobs, it's going to be about income.

I think that she's also going to be the sort of person that will be able to articulate the economic side of Build Back Better. What does this really mean, how are we going to connect jobs up with educators, how are we going to bring money off of the coasts where it's really concentrated right now in America, and into those regional hubs? These are the sorts of things she's been thinking about for a long time.

[14:25:06]

KEILAR: And you know, perhaps the person who has inspired the most controversy is actually the budget director pick, Neera Tanden. Tell us why.

FOROOHAR: Yes, Neera's an interesting person. She's a real Democratic political operator, she was an adviser to Hillary Clinton in 2016, she has been inside -- deep inside -- the Democratic Party for a long time.

She's more associated with the sort of corporatist Clinton wing of the party, so ironically she may face a little bit of grilling from some of the more progressive Democrats who supported Bernie Sanders. She may also face some grilling from Republicans because she's been a very outspoken critic of President Trump. So in a funny way, she's going to be sandwiched on both sides, both the right and the left may have some questions.

KEILAR: All right, that will be interesting. Rana, we know you will be watching and that's not too far off. Rana Foroohar, thank you so much.

The president --

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

KEILAR: -- escalating absurd claims about the election and introducing new conspiracy theories, but only a handful of Republican lawmakers are calling him out. One of them -- who says he's sick of the lies -- will join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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