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Southern California Regions Could Face Stay-At-Home Orders; COVID-19 Leading Cause Of Death In U.S. This Week; Lawmakers Strike Optimistic Tone About Stimulus Negotiations; Trump To Hold Rally In Georgia; States Warn First Shipments Of COVID-19 Vaccine Will Fall Short; Normal Side Effects To Expect With COVID-19 Vaccines; NBA Player Loses Seven Family Members To COVID-19. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired December 05, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:38]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with the U.S. facing an unprecedented and devastating crisis as the coronavirus pandemic reaches new heights. Hospitalizations, cases and deaths are all at levels not seen since this pandemic began.

More than 100,000 Americans suffering in a hospital right now. 227,000 were infected on Friday alone, with another 2,500 Americans losing their battle with the disease.

It's getting so bad the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says some parts of the U.S. could be forced to postpone elective surgeries as hospitals fill to capacity.

And vaccines, well, they're on the way, but a new CNN analysis shows most states will not have enough vaccines in the first shipment to protect health care workers and the most vulnerable of citizens.

In Georgia, where the pandemic is a focal point in two contentious U.S. Senate runoff races, coronavirus cases are surging. The state seeing a record high of new cases on Friday, more than 5,000.

But despite that, President Trump will hold a rally there tonight, encouraging supporters to vote for the Republican candidates in the upcoming election, a race that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

But first, this breaking news out of California. Much of the state is now on the brink of new stay-at-home orders. This, after ICU beds in two regions of the state have fallen below 15 percent availability.

CNN's Alison Kosik is here with more on this.

So Alison, this is nearly 23 million people. When could these stay-at- home orders go into effect? ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, those regional stay-at-

home orders could go into effect within 24 hours as those regions in California fall below that 15 percent mark of having the availability of ICU beds.

Right there you see San Joaquin Valley and southern California falling below 15 percent, which means they're on the verge of those stay-at- home orders being declared.

And these hospitalizations not just happening in California. They've been actually skyrocketing all over the country, actually setting a record, a new record on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK (voice over): As a brutal second wave strikes, coronavirus becomes the leading cause of death in America. 14,000 deaths have been reported since Thanksgiving.

In a CNN town hall Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said we are headed for a post-holiday surge.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The event usually is followed by two to three weeks later, you see the increase in cases, which puts it right at the cusp before the Christmas holiday, where you're going to have more travel and more congregating.

KOSIK: Numbers broke records around the country this week. Johns Hopkins reported almost 228,000 cases and more than 2,600 deaths Friday alone. And experts warn the worst is coming.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: What lies ahead for the next few months it's actually our worst-case scenario in terms of overwhelmed hospitals, in terms of the death count.

KOSIK: The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects over 260,000 more people could die by spring.

The CDC tweeted Friday hospitalization rates are at an all-time high, reiterating to the public, "Wear a mask, wash your hands, avoid crowds."

New CDC guidelines also urged postponing travel and in some circumstances wearing a mask at home.

In California, COVID cases shatter hospitalization and ICU records, hitting a single-day high of more than 22,000 cases, almost 10,000 hospitalized and over 2,200 in ICU.

Governor Gavin Newsom imposes emergency measures with a regional shutdown order of five Bay Area counties, covering more than 5.8 million people. The order will require bars, theatres and salons to close while retail must operate at 20 percent capacity. Masks will be mandatory.

[11:04:57]

GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA: The bottom line is if we don't act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed. If we don't act now we'll continue to see a death rate climb, more lives lost.

KOSIK: Orders go into effect this weekend; statewide orders are expected soon.

New hope is on the horizon with pharmaceutical companies working to obtain FDA approval and states making vaccine distribution plans. But the public is urged to take immediate action.

DR. FAUCI: If we as a country uniformly do the things that we know can mitigate against spread, those simple things alone, despite the enormity of the problem, can make a difference.

KOSIK: President-Elect Biden said this week he will push major mitigation efforts when taking office.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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)

KOSIK: And New York will now begin using hospitalizations as the metric to decide whether to keep areas of the state open or go ahead and close them.

The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo is blaming the rise of COVID cases in the state on what he calls living room spread, meaning small gatherings of family and friends, not mass gatherings that you would think. But that is why he thinks we're seeing rising cases in New York, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alison Kosik, thank you so much for that. We'll check back with you.

All right. The FDA could issue emergency use authorization for coronavirus vaccine as early as next week. But President-Elect Joe Biden says his transition team has not seen a detailed vaccine distribution plan thus far from the outgoing Trump administration.

CNN politics reporter Rebecca Buck joining me now from Washington. So Rebecca, you know, how is the White House responding to this, sharing the very least of details to the transition team?

REBECCA BUCK, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, that's right, Fred.

The president and the White House are defending their efforts that have been made so far to plan ahead for vaccine distribution. This, of course, is going to be the major question mark hanging over the next few months here in the United States, after a vaccine or multiple vaccines are approved by the FDA.

But President-Elect Joe Biden and his team, they of course have been planning as much as possible for their approach and their response to the coronavirus pandemic when Biden takes office next month. They are now expressing some serious concerns this week about the preparations that have or have not been made by the current administration.

I want you to take a listen to what Biden had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: There is no detailed plan that we've seen, anyway, as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an injection syringe into somebody's arm. And it's going to be very difficult for that to be done and it's a very expensive proposition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCK: Now, one person who will, of course, be aiding Biden and his administration in their efforts to combat the virus is Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and someone who Biden has asked to come on as his chief medical officer and his point man on the coronavirus pandemic.

Fauci this week taking a slightly different view than Biden on the issue of vaccine distribution, actually defending the work that the military specifically has done on this, but also making the point that a lot of this will be up to states and localities when it comes to the distribution process.

Take a listen to what he had to say as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTUE FOR Well, there clearly is an organized approach that's right from the military component of Operation Warp Speed, General Gus Perna, who is responsible for the actual transport.

Once it gets there, Anderson, it is up to the state and local authorities in their individual way to make the decisions about the distribution, as well as the logistics of it. So it really is going to be at the level of the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCK: Now, of course, that is just the vaccine distribution that is just going to be one piece of a very complex puzzle when it comes to combatting the coronavirus pandemic for President-Elect Joe Biden when he takes office.

One other element, as you can imagine, is going to be just preventing the spread of the coronavirus as that vaccine is distributed through the population as we work toward that herd immunity in the United States.

And Biden saying this week that he expects he is going to be urging Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency. If they're already wearing masks, asking them to continue. For those who are not, asking them to start.

And then of course there's the economic element here. Will congress be available to come together and pass a stimulus? Biden is urging them to do so, even before he takes office. But no doubt that with millions of Americans hurting, businesses hurting, he'll still have some work to do when he takes office as well, Fred.

[11:09:54]

WHITFIELD: All right. Rebecca Buck in Washington, thanks so much. We'll check back with you.

So unemployment benefits and eviction protections are set to expire for millions of Americans at the end of this month, but help could be on the way.

Lawmakers are now trying to strike an optimistic tone after unveiling a $908 billion framework that would provide funding for state and local aid, unemployment insurance, small business loans and vaccine distribution efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It's less money, but over a shorter period of time, and we need to do it to save lives and livelihood, with the hope that much more help is on the way.

SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Compromise is within reach. We know where we agree. We can do this. Let me say it again, we can do this. And we need to do this. So let's be about actually making a law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me now to discuss is Congressman Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from New York. He's also a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the vice chair of the Congressional Problem- Solvers Caucus. Good to see you, Congressman.

REP. TOM SUOZZI (D-NY): Thanks, Fredricka. Thanks for having me on.

WHITFIELD: All right. How optimistic are you? How close to a deal are you?

SUOZZI: You know, I've been optimistic for a long time now so I don't want to be Pollyannish about this but I feel that because of the desperate circumstances which have grown in desperation over the past couple of days, because of the fact that there's no longer a presidential election going on, and because of the fact that the Georgia races are so important to everybody, people are finally waking up to the reality that we must get something done now. Speed is what matters. We have to pass a package.

It's not as much money as I would have liked, but as part of compromise we came down dramatically in our number just because we have to get something done now before Christmas. WHITFIELD: I mean you had tweeted, you know, that a smaller relief

package for the winter is much more important than a larger package two months from now.

But when people look at these deadlines, unemployment or, you know, rent -- you know, moratoriums lifted by the end of the month. Is it feasible that people might see some relief checks in a matter of weeks, a couple -- two to three weeks?

SUOZZI: Unemployment checks, yes. Rent relief, yes. My concern, you know, that there's not going to be stimulus checks in this deal, which is unfortunate. But the bottom line is that people recognize that the effects of the pandemic are so uneven. Some people, you know, they're still working from home, they're working remotely, they're getting their paychecks, they're doing their jobs.

Some people are actually succeeding in this environment. You know, online retail is a great example.

But other people are so desperate. It's cruelly uneven, the effects of this pandemic. Some people have lost their entire livelihoods and their small business. Some people, as you said, can't pay their rent, can't pay their utility bills.

So people have got to wake up in Washington, D.C. They're living in some fantasy land on the Belt Way. That there are cries for help, that people need help and the Democrats, Republicans, the finger pointing -- we're sick of it. We have to just come together and get a deal done.

WHITFIELD: Right. Well, while you mentioned online retail may be doing better than, you know, expected, brick and mortar retail, not so much. Restaurants, I mean people who are accustomed to going to work can't. You know, the business is not there.

So can you express or give some sort of framework, an idea of what the framework for a bill might be and might any of these details be available, even publicized, perhaps, by Monday?

SUOZZI: Yes, I mean there are -- the framework that exists currently where there's money for it to increase unemployment insurance by $300, where there's money for rental assistance, where there's money for state and local governments.

Not nearly as much as I would have liked to have been in there, but we have to get something done because our schools are facing layoffs, our police officers are facing layoffs, our civil service workers, health care workers are facing layoffs, money for our small businesses, an extension of the PPP program, hundreds of billions of dollars for that program. Money for distribution of vaccines.

I mean, the whole initial segment was about the need to get these vaccines out to people. That takes money. So I think people are finally --

WHITFIELD: And coordination. Money and coordination. And what kind of role do you see, while it has been said, even Dr. Fauci reiterated last night on CNN, that it will be up to states and localities to come up with their own prescribed distribution approaches to any kind of vaccines.

But what role do you play on Capitol Hill to help offer some sort of guide post or perhaps even put in some restrictions as this vaccine rollout is on the horizon?

[11:14:53]

SUOZZI: I think our biggest role on Capitol Hill right now is to get the money. I mean, right now the military is preparing the distribution to the states; the states hopefully are all putting plans in place. We know that New York state is doing that effectively under Governor Cuomo.

But this is not going to happen overnight. There are going to be hundreds of thousands of distributions of vaccines available for health care workers and vulnerable populations to begin with, but it will take months and months before it's out to the general public.

In the meanwhile, everybody has got to do a better job wearing masks and washing their hands and watching where they're standing next to people. So we still have a long winter ahead of us. We have to continue to focus on stopping the spread.

There will be a great boost once we get the vaccines out there but that's not going to happen overnight and people can't get frustrated wishing for it to happen overnight. First, we have to continue to stop the spread.

WHITFIELD: You wrote an op-ed in the "New York Daily News" earlier in the week in which you said, "Even if the halls of Congress are so filled with toxic smoke that it sometimes becomes impossible for members of Congress to see their better selves, Biden has the skills to help get us through this. He will help the new Congress commit itself above all else to find common ground."

So you're optimistic on that, too, that what has become a huge bipartisan divide, you see that wedge perhaps potentially shrinking with the Biden administration.

What do you, you know -- what do you foresee in terms of if it continues to be a majority leader, Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate, do you see that he will have an open approach to working well with the Biden administration?

SUOZZI: Well, I think that he'll have a better relationship with Biden than people would expect. They knew each other in the senate for a long time. But most important, Biden knows what he's doing. He knows the policy. He knows the politics. He knows the people. He knows how to get things done.

Every Democrat and Republican fight with each other throughout the history of the United States of America. Some elected officials are effective politicians -- not a dirty word -- who know how to get things done.

We know that Newt Gingrich went after Bill Clinton. We know that the Democrats went after George Bush. We know that McConnell went after Obama. We know that the Democrats and Trump have had a hard time.

But Biden knows how to get things done working together with people, finding common ground. I'm the vice chairman of the Problem Solvers Caucus -- 25 Democrats, 25 Republicans. We work together all the time finding common ground, building trust.

Most people want to work together to get things done. You need effective politicians who know the policy and know the people to get things done. Joe Biden is that person.

WHITFIELD: Do you see Joe Biden as having a particular advantage particularly as it pertains to working with people on the Hill, given that he was a senator for so long and for a very long time also worked directly with Senator McConnell?

SUOZZI: Yes, he knows the system. I mean, you know, there's a lot of pooh-poohing of politicians, old politicians, politicians. He knows the politics. He knows the policy. He knows the people, as I said

He knows how to get things over the finish line. He's got the personality. And you know what, he's not running for another office after this in the future. This is it.

He has devoted his life to public service. He wants to get things done. He's going to work together to bridge that divide. I know he can do it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Congressman Tom Suozzi, thank you so much. All the best.

SUOZZI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, President Trump is campaigning in Georgia today for two Republican senators fighting to keep their seat, but could he do more harm than good, while still challenging the results of the election?

Plus, a coronavirus vaccine right around the corner, but mass vaccinations will be easier said than done. Why the governor of New Jersey is calling on the federal government to help.

[11:18:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In the next few hours President Trump will head to Georgia to hold a campaign rally for two Republican Senators facing runoff races one month from today. The contest will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

The president's trip has some Republicans worry that he could do more harm than good, this after sowing doubt about the integrity of Georgia's voting system with baseless claims of election fraud.

CNN's Sarah Westwood is at the White House for us.

So Sarah, the president's rally will be his first since he lost the election. He has railed against the voting system and the Republican governor in Georgia in recent weeks. So what do we expect from the president today?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes Fred, today is a significant moment for President Trump. Like you just said, it is his first rally since losing the race and we haven't really seen much of him in the month since that happened.

But we have heard from him and he's spent some of that time attacking the same Georgia officials who will be administering this runoff race in January. And he's been undermining confidence in the Georgia election results.

That's got a lot of Republican officials increasingly nervous. They're afraid that the president's debunked claims of election fraud could ultimately depress turnout in January.

They need these Republican voters to show up again at the polls in January and they're afraid that the president will persuade those voters that they might as well not bother, because their election votes will not be handled securely. So a lot of concerns among the party.

But the president is showing no signs of backing off these claims that the election was rigged against him. Even as others around him are starting to acknowledge the results of this election.

Vice President Mike Pence was campaigning yesterday in Georgia and he described Senators Perdue and Loeffler as the last line of defense for Republicans, which many interpreted as a potential acknowledgment that there could soon be a Democrat in the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm here on the president's behalf because we need Georgia to send two great senators back to Republican majority in Washington. We need to send them back because the Republican senate majority could be the last line of defense preserving all that we've done to defend this nation, revive our economy, and preserve the God-given liberties we hold dear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:25:00]

WESTWOOD: Now, we've otherwise heard very little from many of Trump's allies and his top aides about the future of the party once he leaves office just a little over a month from now.

But Republicans are painfully aware of the significance of this Georgia runoff and that's part of why top Republicans, including the senators themselves, personally lobbied the president to come down and campaign on their behalf because despite narrowly losing Georgia to President-Elect Biden, he remains very popular in the Peach state, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sarah Westwood, thank you so much.

Let's talk further about all of this. Bill Nigut, he is the senior executive producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting media. He's with us now.

He is the host of "Political Rewind", a radio and television show that focuses on Georgia politics. Bill, no one can tackle this better than you so I can't wait to hear all of your, you know, thoughts on what in the world is going on right now.

So how can --

BILL NIGUT, SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GEORGIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING: Good to be with you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Great that you could be with me. So Bill, you know, how concerned are Republicans in Georgia that President Trump, you know, could do more harm than good when he campaigns here later on today? I mean what is the thought process here?

NIGUT: Well, there's a great deal of concern among Republicans about just what will happen on the Trump visit. Clearly, he has been tweeting for a couple of weeks now that the Georgia election was rigged, that Joe Biden, in fact, did not win.

And he's been attacking Governor Brian Kemp, of course, a Republican governor. He has called the Republican secretary of state -- literally called him an enemy of the people because Raffensperger certified the election results in favor of Joe Biden, as did the governor, by the way.

So he's kicked off a civil war in this state among Republicans. And here's the question. When he takes to the stage down in south Georgia, in Valdosta, Georgia tonight, does he use that platform to air the grievances that his Twitter feed has been filled with now for weeks.

Or does he become the teleprompter Trump who is capable of sticking with the script, the script being we need Republicans to turn out to vote for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to preserve the senate Republican majority. And no one knows which Trump will show up tonight.

WHITFIELD: And another question there is, is Trump, when he shows up in Valdosta this evening, is he there for himself and his aspirations politically after he leaves office right now, or is he, indeed, there to help promote the Republicans running for senate, Perdue and Loeffler?

NIGUT: Yes, I mean that's exactly right. You framed it exactly as we're all wondering about tonight. And Republicans, of course, are especially nervous. The other question is, who will be on the stage sitting behind him? Given that he has been attacking Governor Kemp regularly on Twitter, does Brian Kemp show up tonight? Loeffler and Perdue, presumably, are going to be there. Kelly Loeffler has dealt with a terrible tragedy in her own campaign that kept her out of the picture when Vice President Pence was here yesterday. She lost a 20-year-old staff member in an auto accident. But presumably she's going to be there tonight.

So the real concern here in Georgia is that the longer that Republicans like the president, like some of his enablers here continue to call the November 3rd election a fraud, the more possibility there is that some Republican voters who would normally go to the polls on January 5th are going to stay home.

In fact, there have been calls for Republicans to boycott the election because the fix is in.

WHITFIELD: Right. In fact, let me stop you right there because here's an example of what was heard this week in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNEY POWELL, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: I think I would encourage all Georgians to make it known that you will not vote at all until your vote is secure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have not earned your vote. Don't you give it to them. Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election, for God's sakes?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Huh? I mean that's so perplexing, or is that, saying that in anticipation that the Republicans are not going to win in those runoff elections and so it's kind of preemptively justifying why they don't win? I mean help me out here.

NIGUT: Well, ok. Well, remember that that was Sidney Powell, of course, who has been dismissed from the president's legal team because some of her conspiracy theories apparently were outlandish, even for the Rudolph Giuliani team in the White House. And Lynn Wood, a local attorney who is an adamant Trump supporter, they don't reflect the Republican Party position in the larger world, but they are having an influence on some voters here who are being encouraged to stay away from the polls.

[11:30:01]

NIGUT: But you now have the former Republican governor of the state, two former Republican United States senators, and even Newt Gingrich saying to Georgians this conspiracy theory is destroying our potential to win on January 5th and they're urging Georgia Republicans to vote.

WHITFIELD: And then, Bill, before you go, so tomorrow we know the big night, debate it will be aired right here on CNN with Loeffler, Warnock, Ossoff, all there but there will be an empty seat from the Republican incumbent Perdue. I mean what is the logic there on, you know, why miss this opportunity to perhaps cement some votes, support?

NIGUT: Well, I mean obviously we can't get inside David Perdue's head or the heads of his campaign people.

But I do think it's worth pointing out that David Perdue participated in two general election debates against Jon Ossoff and I think it was generally conceded that Ossoff really hurt Perdue in those debates.

I mean he was a tougher debater, stronger debater than Perdue was, and perhaps the Perdue people don't see any great advantage to having a confrontation that Ossoff seems prepared to be able to win.

They also have this going for them. Perdue beat Ossoff by almost 100,000 votes on November 3rd and I think they are hopeful that they can continue to build upon that lead and it will propel them to victory on January 5th without regard to whether they debate or not.

But I think you're right, this is an opportunity for the Ossoff people to continue to claim that Perdue is afraid to speak to the people of Georgia.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Bill Nigut, see -- no one is better than you. Thank you so much.

NIGUT: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: A fascinating race made even more intriguing with more details like that. Thank you.

All right. And like I just mentioned, Senator Kelly Loeffler, Reverend Raphael Warnock will debate each other live on CNN tomorrow night at 7:00 Eastern and we'll be right back. Ossoff will be debating himself or just responding to questions.

We'll be right back.

[11:32:14]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Operation Warp Speed helped develop COVID-19 vaccines at a record pace, but now states are facing a big challenge, getting those vaccines to the people who need it most.

A CNN analysis of the expected size of the first shipment of the vaccines shows at least 45 states falling short of what is needed to fully vaccinate health care workers and long-term care residents.

Here with me now is Dr. Esther Choo. She's an emergency medicine professor at Oregon Health and Science University and a CNN medical analyst. Always good to see you, Dr. Choo.

DR. ESTHER CHOO, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. So just as an example, California will have to vaccinate 2.4 million health care workers, but Governor Gavin Newsom says his state is only receiving 327,000 vaccines in the first batch. Most other states are facing similar issues.

So how do you even begin to choose who gets the vaccine first and who doesn't?

DR. CHOO: Yes, it's tough. And this echoes, of course, the shortages that we've seen since the very beginning of the pandemic. It starts to feel familiar, doesn't it? We never have enough of these critical resources, whether it's tests or in-hospital supplies, ventilators, things like that.

And so once again, we're here with a really critical resource that we need to address the pandemic and we have to make decisions about who gets it first.

So among health care workers it's clear that we'll have to make some sub-categories. We'll select out people who probably have the highest surface area contact with patients, people working in emergency rooms and intensive care units and in the operating rooms and people who have to work under really high risk and uncertain conditions like trauma surgeons and anesthesiologists in that cases with them. I hope respiratory therapists are up there, too.

But we also need to consider things like what about people of high risk factors who are health care workers who have chronic diseases?

And I think a lot of these decisions will have to be made on the ground in, you know, individual systems and hospitals.

WHITFIELD: Well, it sounds like a lot of these health care workers are going to have to impart a lot of personal information in order, you know, to be, you know, I guess, placed in order or in line for certain vaccines and for the availability of it. So it's not just the logistics of getting it done.

Speaking with CNN on Friday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says states need federal help just to be able to afford to distribute the vaccines. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PHIL MURPHY, (D-NJ): The development of these vaccines has been nothing short of a miracle, if you believe everything we hear. It's really impressive.

But the complexity of the distribution that's still ahead of us cannot be underestimated. And as you rightfully point out, the expense associated with it can't be underestimated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So does the federal government need a more robust plan to distribute these vaccines as they become available?

DR. CHOO: It really does, and the funding part is so key. I mean right now we have public health systems that are already stretched beyond capacity. They've been working so hard during this pandemic, really 24/7 trying to figure out things like testing and contact tracing and public health information, creation and dissemination.

[11:39:52]

DR. CHOO: And now we're asking them on top of that to develop an entire vaccine distribution strategy and educate all of the health care workers on how to administer the vaccine.

And also spending a lot of time making the critical decisions that we've just talked about. Who gets it first? And how do we reach communities that need it the most that are very vulnerable and yet have the least chance of getting it?

And then there's this whole cold chain issue, of course, simply the refrigeration of some of the vaccine, particularly the Pfizer vaccine, which requires those ultra cold freezers to keep them active and effective.

Simply that is a huge logistical challenge. So we need a big infusion of funds more than anything so that they can sustain a workforce needed to do all of this in the upcoming year and to do it well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Esther Choo, lots of hope on the horizon, but still lots of complicated factors here. Thank you so much.

DR. CHOO: That's right. Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, what is it like to get the coronavirus vaccine, and what about potential side effects? A trial participant reveals all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YASIR BATALVI, VACCINE TRIAL PARTICIPANT: It doesn't last long and the potential of folks not getting this vaccine and actually infecting people with COVID, those effects last a lot longer and they can be life or death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:41:14]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So far only the volunteers who have signed up for clinical trials knows what it's like to get a COVID vaccine. Well, now with the FDA potentially authorizing the country's first vaccine next week, that's about to change.

As doses start going out, experts want to emphasize two things, experiencing side effects is totally normal and they indicate the vaccine is working.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BATALVI: That evening was rough. I mean, I developed a low-grade fever and fatigue and chills.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yasir Batalvi is describing the side effects that he experienced during Moderna's COVID vaccine trial.

BATALVI: 30 minutes later I had a little bit of stiffness, muscle soreness in my left arm. It's like you're punched in the arm basically.

DR. GUPTA: Right. When you're going through this whole process, Yasir -- a 22-page consent form, hearing about all the potential side effects, knowing that you're trialing something that, you know, we don't have a lot of data on at the time, did you have any second thoughts before taking it?

BATALVI: Honestly, Sanjay, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's claiming an efficacy of --

DR. GUPTA: Every decision we make is risk versus reward, and when the company announced early data showing over 94 percent efficacy, Yasir was confident it had been worth it.

BATALVI: It doesn't last long and the potential of folks not getting this vaccine and actually infecting people with COVID, those effects last a lot longer and they can be life or death.

DR. GUPTA: These are early days. And the two vaccine front runners in this country, Pfizer and Moderna, use a type of genetic sequence called mRNA. It's a technology that has never before been used in humans outside of a clinical trial.

mRNA stands for messenger RNA. It carries the instruction for making whatever protein you want. In this case the spike protein the virus uses to enter our cells.

These vaccines require two doses -- one to prime, one to boost. A few weeks apart, so the body mounts what we hope will be a lasting immune response. One of the biggest concerns now is that the side effects that Yasir is describing -- fatigue, muscle pain, fever and chills, will deter people from getting that second dose.

MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: Maybe 10 percent, 15 percent of the subjects immunized have quite noticeable side effects that usually last no more than 24, 36 hours.

DR. GUPTA: Do you worry about the impact of this vaccine on you long- term?

M1: I gave it a lot of thought and the only thing that gave me some calm was trying to research the actual vaccine, trying to understand how mRNA vaccines work.

DR. GUPTA: We understand this for sure, you can't get infected from this vaccine because the vaccine doesn't actually contain the virus. And even though these are genetic-based vaccines, they don't alter our DNA.

And as far as those side effects go, that may even be a good sign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That means your immune response is working for you. You should feel good about that and it shouldn't really be any difficulty coming back for that second shot knowing that you're now in a much better position to fight off this awful virus.

DR. GUPTA: For now, Yasir is looking forward to his next appointment, which is on December 10th, the exact day the FDA might authorize the first vaccine for COVID-19.

BATALVI: So I put my name down because I just -- I felt so helpless. It's public service. I have to do it because I think mass scale vaccination is really the only realistic way out of the pandemic that we're in.

DR. GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Dr. Gupta.

Straight ahead, NBA player Karl Anthony -- Karl Anthony Towns, rather overcome by grief and coping with the loss of seven family members to coronavirus, including his mother.

[11:49:07]

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WHITFIELD: Seven. That's the total number of family members NBA player Karl-Anthony Towns says he has lost to COVID-19, including his mother. The 25-year-old player for the Minnesota Timberwolves told reporters Friday that he feels a responsibility to keep his family safe from the virus.

He said he feels as if he's been, quote, "hardened by life and a little humbled" after burying so many people in his family. Here's CNN's Coy Wire.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred.

Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is a two-time all-star and here he is heading into his sixth NBA season with a heavy heart. Back in April, he revealed his mother Jacqueline Cruz Towns died due to complications from coronavirus.

But Towns says that six other family members have passed away because of COVID-19 as well, including his uncle just this past Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL ANTHONY TOWNS, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: I've seen a lot of coffins in the last seven months, eight months, but, you know, I have a lot of people who have in my family -- in my mom's family who have died from COVID who are looking for answers still, trying to find how to keep them healthy.

So, you know, it's just a lot of responsibility. A lot of responsibility on me to keep my family well informed and to make all the moves necessary to keep them alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:54:52]

WIRE: Now, nearly a month before his mom died, Townes announced he was donating $100,000 to the Mayor Clinic to help by increasing COVID-19 testing. He says that he's been humbled by all of this and he doesn't want anyone else to feel the way he feels inside.

All right. Let's move to college football now where today's matchup between Number Eight Georgia and Vanderbilt officially postponed because Vanderbilt doesn't have enough players available due to coronavirus issues.

That means Sarah Fuller's encore will have to wait. She made history just last weekend as the first female to appear in a power five college football game when she kicked for Vandy. The game is now set to be played in two weeks. This makes a third straight week of college football where the number of games to be impacted and called off is in the double digits, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Coy Wire, thank you so much for that.

And we'll be right back.

[11:55:39]

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