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IHME Says, COVID-19 Leading Cause of Death in the U.S. This Week; Biden Responds to Pressure to Make Cabinet More Diverse; Economic Recovery Stalls as Pressure Builds to Pass New Stimulus Deal. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 04, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: A very good Friday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto. Poppy has the day off.

Coronavirus is now the leading cause of death in the U.S. this week. And let this number sink in, 538,000 people, that is the total number of American deaths, a key model now projects by April, about double of where we are now. And that model has been fairly accurate. Yesterday the U.S. shattered daily records across the boards with new infections, deaths and hospitalizations.

But experts also project that universal mask-wearing along with the upcoming vaccine would save 66,000 lives. And that's why President- elect Biden says that he is planning to ask this right after he takes office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask, just 100 days to mask. Not forever, 100 days. And I think we'll see a significant reduction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: It's not a lot to ask. We'll have more from the interview with Biden soon.

But, first, a critical day. State leaders must finalize their vaccine distribution plans in the coming hours.

Stephanie Elam is in Los Angeles on the big picture this morning. It's hard often, Stephanie, I think, for people to digest all these numbers, but, I mean, the consistent line this week are the graphs going like this on every measure of this outbreak.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's so true. And we say these numbers and, yes, they're numbers but what they are are people. And I really wish people would think about it that way, Jim. When you look at where we are, starting off with our deaths, we had a record number of deaths yesterday. That number, 2,879 people losing their lives to the coronavirus. You look at the number of new cases that came out in a day. Yesterday, that's a new record there as well, 217,664, hospitalizations, 100,667 Americans hospitalized, a new record there as well, this as we see the numbers across the country going in the wrong direction.

When you take a look at that here in California, you see the numbers are also going in the wrong direction. We see that we have a record number of new cases reported yesterday as well. According to Johns Hopkins data, which says more than 21,300 people tested positive in that data for the coronavirus. You look at our positivity rate at about 7 percent.

And just over the last week, according to Johns Hopkins, 115,000 Californians were testing positive for the coronavirus. That's added to the tally that we already have here of more than 1.2 million people who have tested positive just in this state alone. And that is why especially when you look at the hospitalizations here in the state, why we are seeing that we are going into a stay-at-home order that will be regional. And this will go into place when we see that the ICU bed capacity in a region, and the states can be broken down into five regions, will go below 15 percent.

Now, here is the thing. Of those five regions, four of them are expected to hit within the next week and then the fifth one is expected to hit just shortly thereafter. And that means that we will see many of the businesses shut back down and people really forced to stay home because we really have got to turn these numbers around here, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, all of us have to take part in this. Stephanie Elam, thanks so much.

Let's go to CNN's Kristen Holmes now for more on nationwide coronavirus vaccine distribution plans.

Kristen, this is, of course, key, right? I mean, great progress towards vaccine development and approval. Now, it's about getting it to people, tens of millions of them. Where do the states stand?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. And one thing I want to note before we get into that is that people need to understand that not everyone is going to be getting this vaccine on December 15th when it comes out. This is going to essential health care workers across the country. And in addition to that, it's not even going to cover in many states all essential health workers. This is a small amount of vaccines given the large amount of people we have here in the U.S.

And because we don't have a federal education plan in place right now, people still don't know that. And health experts I'm talking to are saying over and over again that they're receiving calls nonstop about when the general public can receive this vaccine.

So, let's talk about what the states are doing. Right now, this is the deadline today for them to request how many doses of the Pfizer vaccine they want and where they want those doses to go. Now, as for an overall rollout, many of the states we talked to say they just simply haven't finalized that because there are so many unknowns from the government, from the federal government here.

So let's look at the calendar of the critical dates that we do know. We have December 10th, that is when the FDA advisers meet to talk about the Pfizer vaccine. December 15th is when those first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine are delivered. Again, most of those will go to essential health care workers across the country.

[10:05:00]

December 17th is when the FDA meets about the Moderna vaccine and then December 22nd is when the first shipments of the Moderna vaccine are expected to be delivered here.

Now, this is still, again, a big problem here for many health officials who say that they need to be informing the public, the government needs to be informing the public of how exactly this is going to look. The state saying they simply don't know yet, they don't have all that information.

SCIUTTO: Listen, a lot of work to do there, good to hear they're on top of it though. Kristen Holmes, thanks so much.

Well, the makers of the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccine, two of the early ones likely to get approval, want Americans to know they did not cut corners in a speedy development process. The pharmaceutical companies insisting they followed the regulatory guidelines necessary despite the accelerated development process. This is important because they want you and I to be confident in this.

President-elect Joe Biden is vowing to take the vaccine himself publicly once Dr. Fauci says it's safe and effective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'd be happy to do that. When Dr. Fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that's the moment in which I will stand before the public and see that -- look, part of what has to happen, Jake, you know as well as I do, people have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. Already, the numbers are staggeringly low, and it matters what a president and vice president do. And so I think that my three predecessors have set the model as to what should be done, saying, once it's declared to be safe, and then I think Barack Obama said, once Fauci said it's clear, that's my measure, then, obviously we take it. And it's important to communicate to the American people it's safe, it's safe to do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is Dr. Colleen Kraft, an infectious diseases expert at the associate chief medical officer of Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Dr. Kraft, great to have you on.

COLLEEN KRAFT, ASSOCIATE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Good morning.

SCIUTTO: I don't think we can understate the contrast between those very definitive comments from the president-elect, Biden, saying I will follow the science and I will give a confident personal endorsement of the science by taking the vaccine compared to the president's constant attacks on science.

From a public health perspective, how important is that, particularly as we get to the point where the vaccine will be rolling out?

KRAFT: I think vaccine hesitancy is now our current biggest threat to controlling the pandemic. And so, while we've talked a lot about mask- wearing and individual, you know, what you already spoke about your previous guest with, individual responsibility to prevent this transmission. So not going places when you're symptomatic, wearing a mask all the time when you're around other people for your own source control and they're wearing it for their source control. I think now, we're going to have another wave of individuals that are hesitant to take the vaccine because it's been developed so quickly.

So I think it's important that we continue to follow the science. I think people know much more about randomized controlled trials than they ever have. So they understand the difference between phase one, phase two, phase three, and now we're moving into phase four. And so I think that people will hopefully be getting the right messaging and listening to the right messaging about this.

SCIUTTO: What more will the new administration have to do here then? Because, obviously, public pronouncements make a difference and you have three former presidents as well, Clinton, Bush and Obama, saying they will take it publicly to help get over this hesitancy. What else will the administration have to do? Because the fact is you still have sitting politicians still who question the science, who question the seriousness of the outbreak?

KRAFT: I think about this every day, Jim. I am not -- it's not -- it was not in my prediction that the American public would just mistrust scientists and public health guidance during a pandemic. That's not something I understood as an issue. And so I think about it every day. I think it has to come not just from the federal administration. We've been talking about it in our health care system about how we will message it, how we will have leadership take it, but we will also have leadership say that they're going to wait until the next round as well if they're not a frontline worker.

So I think we're trying to figure out all the messaging locally. The federal administration is going to have to do the best they can. But I think any sort of things (ph) about how we can regain trust and regain unity around public health messaging is really crucial right now.

SCIUTTO: Okay. I asked Dr. Celine Gounder, who is a member of the Biden transition's advisory board last hour. What else will the Biden administration do differently from the Trump administration in hard terms, beyond, for instance, calling for people to wear mask for 100 days. And she said, emphasis on testing, more broadly, wider, et cetera. [10:10:00]

An important step, in your view?

KRAFT: Absolutely an important step, but I'm also a clinical laboratorian who has been coordinating our system testing from a clinical perspective. And it's not -- we're still dealing with supply chain issues. We're still trying to get people in as fast as we can and get things turned around.

And so I think there's been tons of development in the front but I also think there's going to still be prioritization of testing. But I do think testing, in and of itself, will become much a part of our normal lives for going places and doing things.

SCIUTTO: And just the value, right, of not having the sitting president attack the value of testing and make false claims that cases are only going up because of testing. Dr. Colleen Kraft, always good to have you on.

KRAFT: Likewise, thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, ahead, we'll have much more of CNN's exclusive interview with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Hear the president's response to pressure to appoint more minority to top positions in his cabinet.

Plus, the latest jobs report showing that the economic recovery is running out of steam. Will this put pressure on lawmakers to finally come to a compromise on a stimulus plan?

SCIUTTO: Riley Behrens described himself as a healthy and athletic 23-year-old. That was until he suffered a mini stroke caused by COVID- 19. His warning to others, this virus is no joke even for young people.

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[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

President-elect Joe Biden says that he will uphold his promise to nominate a cabinet that reflects America's diversity. He repeats that vow as he faces increasing pressure to appoint black and Latino members to high-level positions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: This is going to be an incredibly diverse -- I'm going to keep my commitment that the administration both in the White House and outside in the cabinet is going to look like the country. I'm going to be meeting with the NAACP board. I guess they told me --

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Tuesday.

BIDEN: Tuesday.

HARRIS: Yes.

BIDEN: And so, look, my job -- their job is to push me. Every special interest, and I don't say that in a negative way. Every advocacy group out there is pushing for more and more and more of that they want. That's their job. My job is to keep my commitment, to make the decisions, and when it's all over, people will take a look and say, I promise you, you'll see the most diverse cabinet representative of all folks, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ, across the board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Some news in there, he's going to meet with the NAACP next week. We had asked that of a senior member yesterday.

Joining me now is CNN Political Correspondent Abby Phillip. Abby, great to have you on.

Vice President-elect Harris, she pointed out that the Biden transition isn't halfway there, basically saying they still have work to do. What are you learning in your reporting about what other positions might be filled by people of color?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Jim. I think that one of the problems for the Biden/Harris transition right now is that it's not just about who is filling positions but also some of these groups want some input in some names that have been floated. They are vehemently opposed to certain individuals like, for example, the former Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who some of the groups, including the NAACP, have objected to. So, there's a desire to see not only the senior cabinet positions being filled with people of color but on the agenda items.

In terms of senior advisers and policy advisers within the White House and within these agencies, what you're hearing from these organizations, whether it's the NAACP or the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is wanting to know that there are going to be people of color, diverse individuals at the table who have real input in some of these issues.

So, yes, there is probably quite a lot -- quite a long ways to go, but you can see why they're frustrated. Some of the biggest positions have already been filled but there are some big ones left over, for example, Health and Human Services, attorney general, those are two of the biggest ones that I think there's still a lot of jockeying over.

SCIUTTO: Well, of course, one of the biggest ones, right, the vice president is Kamala Harris, of course, a woman of color here. And they were asked about how that relationship will work at the highest level last night. Let's have a listen, and I want to get your thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We are full partners in this process. And I will tell you that the president-elect has been, since the first day he asked me to join him on the ticket, been very clear with me that he wants me to be the first and the last in the room. And so, on every issue that impacts the American people, I will be a full partner to the president-elect and the president, and whatever our priorities are, I will be there to support him.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you have a portfolio that you see yourself taking? Like he was in charge of the recovery act during the great recession. Is there -- will you head up the COVID task force? Is there an issue that you really want to focus on?

BIDEN: Jake -- let me take this.

HARRIS: Sure.

TAPPER: Sure.

BIDEN: I headed the recovery act not because I said that's what I wanted to do. The deal the president and I made is the same thing I'm asking the vice president to do, and that is that there's so many things are going to land on this president's desk, me in this case, everything I said about Barack, everything but locust is going to land on this.

[10:20:04]

We have significant problems. Whatever the most urgent need is that I'm not able to attend to, I have confidence turning it to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Tell us how you see the relationship developing and how folks you've spoken to in the transition see it.

PHILLIP: Well, it is going to be interesting and perhaps a little bit complicated partly because Joe Biden has been a vice president before. And he has himself a very clear view of what the vice presidential role should be, and it's based largely on his experience with President Obama.

Now, that is actually a pretty active role. It's a role that in -- you know, when you hear Kamala Harris saying, the first one in the room, the last one out, that is something that comes directly from Joe Biden. But at the same time, Kamala Harris is unlike any other vice president that this country has ever seen. She has to figure out what is her role, and beyond that, she's widely viewed, I think, especially outside of the White House, but among her allies, as someone who needs to position herself for her own next political step.

And so I do think that there's -- behind the scenes, what you hear quietly from people around her, people allied with her is a desire to thread that line between knowing that she is not the president but needing to create a portfolio that is clear enough that it sets her up for her next step.

SCIUTTO: Yes, that's the thing. You don't want to do that too early, right, because then that gets to trust issues between the two.

It's interesting for the president-elect, the situation as he comes into office quite similar to Obama/Biden coming in 2008, 2009 in that you have an economic crisis in the country. I mean, in this case beyond the economic crisis, you have a health crisis in this country. It's going to be a very difficult first several months of this administration.

What -- is the team ready for that, right? I mean, it's not going to be easy.

PHILLIP: No, it is really not going to be easy. But look at the -- if you look at the roster of people that Joe Biden has pulled into this effort, they're pretty much all familiar names. They are almost to the person, people who have served in government in very similar positions in the past, even specifically positions in the previous Obama/Biden administration dealing with the financial crisis, dealing with the Ebola crisis, another public health crisis.

So Biden hasn't really broken the mold all that much. He has gone back to the names and the faces that he is familiar with, people like Janet Yellen, people like Jeffrey Zients, people, you know -- people like Jared Bernstein, his economic adviser. These are folks who have experience in government but they have experience with Biden. He's not taking chances and understanding that this is not time to experiment. And it's a very different tact, I think, than what we saw over the last four years where you saw a lot of people new to government, coming into government, trying to run government and basically learning it on the fly.

SCIUTTO: Yes, I mean, loyalty over experience, right. That was the standard. Abby Phillip, thanks so much, good to have you on.

PHILLIP: Good to see you.

SCIUTTO: Well, U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic is slowing. So will that encourage Congress to finally get a new stimulus bill passed? A senator who is working on that bill, he joins us, next.

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[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

New this morning, job numbers show that the economic recovery is stalling. The U.S. added 245,000 jobs in November. That's good news but it's half of what economists had expected. Things could get worse if there is no stimulus deal.

On the table right now, $900 billion in aid for Americans. President- elect Joe Biden said this last night about the latest proposal.

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BIDEN: That would be a good start. It's not enough. And they should focus on the things that are immediately needed, and what's immediately needed is relief for people in their unemployment checks, relief for people who are going to get thrown out of their apartments after Christmas because they can't afford to pay the rent anymore, relief on mortgage payments, relief on all the things that are in the original bill the House passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is working on that bipartisan plan for stimulus. He joins us now to speak about it. Senator, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Hey, Jim, thank you.

SCIUTTO: So, you're part of the team. You heard some of the things that the president-elect ticked off there, extra unemployment benefits, eviction protection, some of which are in this proposal. Simplest question, you're part of this team, will Congress make a deal?

CASSIDY: I think we will. The only thing that can pass is something, which is bipartisan. This is bipartisan in both the Senate and the House. The chamber of commerce have endorsed, Pelosi and Schumer have endorsed, President Trump says he would sign it if it comes to his desk, Biden has endorsed. So, we're kind of lining up everything we need to get this relief package through. I think we can.

[10:30:00]

SCIUTTO: So, the figure is about $900 billion here. And that involves Republicans coming up, Democrats coming down on the desired figure.