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FDA: Pfizer Vaccine is 95 Percent Effective 7 Days after Second Dose; World Watches as UK Gives First Doses of Pfizer COVID Vaccine; Biden to Nominate Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as Defense Secretary. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired December 08, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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

[10:59:49]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan thank you so much for joining us this hour.

There is a flood of news on the vaccine front coming in this hour. The FDA just released new data on Pfizer's vaccine and confirming that it is surprisingly -- has a surprisingly good efficacy rate. This comes just days ahead of a critical meeting at the FDA to determine whether or not to clear that vaccine for emergency use.

[11:00:14]

And new this hour, another company, AstraZeneca, is releasing some of their vaccine trial data and it is more good news. We're going to get to that. We're going to bring that to you in just a second.

But this also comes amid new reports of a dispute between the White House and Pfizer. The White House denying that they turned down an offer from Pfizer to buy extra doses of their vaccine this summer.

I want to play for you how a former FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, who is also a Pfizer board member. How he described it today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: Pfizer did offer an additional allotment coming out of that plant basically the second quarter allotment to the United States government multiple times. I think they're betting that more than one vaccine is going to get authorized and there will be more vaccines on the market. And that perhaps could be why they didn't take up that additional 100 million option agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And all of this comes as the world finds itself at a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus. Patients in the United Kingdom receiving the very first shots of the Pfizer vaccine this morning. And in just one week, the first doses in the United States are expected to be delivered.

It can't come soon enough, of course. The country just broke yet another record number in COVID hospitalizations, 102,148. That is how many Americans are sick enough with COVID right now that they need hospital care. And on average, more than 2,000 people -- 2,000 people are now dying every day here from the virus with over 15,000 deaths in just the last seven days. The numbers are numbing, but they can't be. This has been the deadliest week for the coronavirus since April.

Let me bring in right now Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's got all of this detail coming in on the vaccine news this morning. Sanjay, what are you learning? What is your big take from this Pfizer data that the FDA just released?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I think there's a few things. First, this is the first time we're actually seeing the data. You know, we had heard from the company before we had no reason to not believe it. We saw, obviously, what happened in the UK with their - you know, approving their authorization. But now we're seeing it.

And it does match up, Kate, with what we've heard in terms of the overall efficacy, how well this works, some 95 percent you know effective in terms of preventing the disease, COVID-19. They also broke it down to some extent. There's a lot of data here. There broke it down by age. They broke it down by preexisting conditions, by background overall.

You can take a look, sort of at what they found but they found basically at that 95 percent effectiveness people over the age of 16 were included in this trial. We'll have to see if the FDA authorizes this for people as young as 16.

But also, that there was some effectiveness between the first and second dose. I think that that's going to be an important point, Kate, going forward. About 52 percent effective between the first and second dough dose.

It's hard to measure that because there's only a three-week time period in between those doses. But then they give you the idea of who is most likely to benefit and who not. Again, children under the age of 16, pregnant women and people with some sort of immune compromising condition. We'll see what the FDA does with all this information now.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. But I did - I found it promising, somewhat, I guess we'll take any kernel of promise where we can find that there is some protection that it's showing even after a first dose.

And now, Sanjay, you have this third company, AstraZeneca, releasing some of its trial data today. This is just coming in now. What are they - what are they telling you?

GUPTA: Yes. So, this is important. You know when we look at the AstraZeneca trial -- and keep in mind, this is a company that the United States has been very focused on. In fact, if we have the graphics showing the various doses that the United States has purchased up till now, you'll see -- let's look at this first. The 70.4 percent effectiveness is what they found. OK, we're bouncing around a little bit.

BOLDUAN: There we go.

GUPTA: I think this is a really important graphic here, Kate, because we talk about the fact that Pfizer, you know 100 million doses were purchased. But this gives you an idea of how the United States was sort of looking at these vaccine companies when they were making bets essentially going back to the summer.

And AstraZeneca was the big bet - the biggest, 300 million doses of the AZ virus that was purchased. 100 of Pfizer, 100 million Moderna. And now we're starting to see some of the AstraZeneca data. It doesn't look as effective, necessarily, as the Pfizer one which was over 95 percent effective. But 70 percent effective it appears. 90 percent if you gave a low dose, a sort of prime dose followed by a full dose.

[11:05:02]

And, you know, it's a pretty extensive trial. You know four trials across three continents.

What I've heard in our own reporting now, Kate, is that by middle to end of January we're likely to hear of AstraZeneca also applying for an emergency use authorization. We're likely to hear about Janssen which is a division of Johnson & Johnson also applying.

Let's start to add this all in together, Kate, you could have potentially four vaccines authorized by you know February of next year. And that's when you start to get into the real numbers of possibly being able to vaccinate the country.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And that's why this rollout, this massive effort is so important to get right when you see that all of these vaccines could be coming online really quickly in quick succession.

Thank you so much, Sanjay. It's great to see you.

GUPTA: You got it.

BOLDUAN: I want to turn now - I want to turn now to the White House where there is now a dispute with the vaccine maker Pfizer. The White House flat out denying reporting that last summer, the White House turned down offers from Pfizer to buy additional doses of their vaccine. You saw that graphic that Sanjay was just showing about how many doses were purchased.

CNN's John Harwood has this news, joining us right now.

John, this couldn't come at a worst time I would think. I mean, we played Scott Gottlieb talking about it just now. But I'm also told by a source that Pfizer did offer multiple times for the administration to buy into more doses and the White House declined. So, what is the White House saying about this? JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House, as you said, is denying that they passed up the chance to buy these additional doses. But not only does Scott Gottlieb publicly confirm that they did offer them. You have your source as well but Moncef Slaoui this morning indicated that he defended the decision not to buy and he said it wouldn't have been reasonable given how many vaccine candidates we were looking at to -- it wouldn't have been reasonable to take that option that early in the process.

Here's a pro tip for viewers. If the Trump White House is telling you one thing, Scott Gottlieb and Moncef Slaoui are telling you another thing, believe Gottlieb and Slaoui based on their track records.

So, we know that it was turned down. What we don't know is whether that was a mistake. For the very reason you were just talking about wit Sanjay. It's possible that if you get AstraZeneca and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine also approved for emergency use within a few weeks, we may have among all those candidates enough to vaccinate everyone. So, we don't know if it was a mistake, but we do know that they turned down the opportunity.

BOLDUAN: Can you also inject some truth into reality into what situation is with the president expecting to sign an executive order today relating to a vaccine rollout. The little that I understand from it, it doesn't make sense.

HARWOOD: Well, look, President Trump is going to sign a piece of paper. But we don't know whether the piece of paper will do anything. He has a penchant for signing executive orders declaring things that don't actually have any actual effect. Journalists aren't the only ones who don't know the answer to this question neither does Moncef Slaoui. Here's what he told George Stephanopoulos on ABC this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEW ANCHOR: Can you explain this executive order the president is going to be putting out? I don't quite understand. He's saying that foreign countries aren't going to be able to get the vaccine until everybody in the United States. I guess, as it sounds like the problem is the opposite right now. Pfizer has made deals with other countries that are going to limit the supply here.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, OPERATION WARP SPEED CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR: Frankly, I don't know. And frankly, I'm staying out of this. I can't comment.

STEPHANOPOULOS You don't know?

SLAOUI: I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARWOOD: So again, we will see when the president signs this executive order early this afternoon whether he invokes any particular executive authority to make something happen that wouldn't otherwise happen or it could simply be an empty gesture which is what President Trump often goes for.

BOLDUAN: Political theatre in the form of signing a piece of paper. Good to see you, John. Thank you.

HARWOOD: You bet.

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Dr. Eric Topol. He's the director and founder of Scripps Research Translational Institute. And also, CNN medical analyst and viral specialist, Dr. Jorge Rodriguez.

As we can see from the top of the show, Doctors, there's so much to discuss. But Dr. Rodriguez, if I could just start where I kind of left off with John Harwood. How significant do you think this dispute between the White House and Pfizer is overturning down the opportunity to purchase more doses of their vaccine? Does it make any sense?

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, it makes no sense. So much coming out of this administration makes no sense. But quite honestly, right now, it is a moot point. To paraphrase the president. It is what it is. We have so many vaccines to work with.

And the truth is, it seems like the rollout may be slow enough and so cumbersome that other vaccines are going to come into play. Again, I think it was shortsighted, but nobody could have predicted how many we really needed, and you know how many companies are going to be able to provide them. So right now, we have to work with what we have. And it is what it is right now.

BOLDUAN: It is what it is. I feel myself using that more and more often, Dr. Rodriguez.

[11:10:02]

Dr. Topol, Dr. Megan Ranney out of Brown, she was on - she was on the show with me yesterday. And she said that she - it kind of stuck with me. That she's really quite worried about the vaccine rollout plans or she thinks lack thereof. And here's why. The way she puts it, she said the Trump administration, from her perspective, could not get us enough PPE. And so, she's not confident that they can get them, these vaccines especially given the conditions in which these vaccines need to be handled and administered. Are you concerned?

DR. ERIC TOPOL, DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER, SCRIPPS RESEARCH TRANSLATIONAL INSTITUTE: Kate, good to be with you. As far as my colleague, Dr. Ranney, I totally agree with her. You know, when we first heard about Operation Warp Speed's plan with hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines before the end of the year, that was great.

And now, we've learned that's only 10 to 15 percent of those doses are going to be available. So, it's a big disappointment. It's not even going to cover all the healthcare workforce no less the other high- risk individuals. So, yet another disappointment from the administration.

BOLDUAN: And Doctor, just real quick, I mean, how do you begin to prioritize that? How do you begin to prioritize which healthcare worker gets it and which healthcare worker waits?

TOPOL: Well, it's not too complex because age is a big factor and also working in intensive care unit and having a lot of contact with COVID patients. Those are a couple. Then you get down to things like coexisting medical conditions.

But essentially, all healthcare workforce needs to be vaccinated and that likely can get achieved, a good part of it, before the end of the year. We'll see these vaccines getting started, at least the first one, by Friday this week.

So, it won't take long to get this near 20 million work force of people to be vaccinated. Of course, it's going to get into the new year because of a shortage from what was promised.

BOLDUAN: And Dr. Rodriguez, now when we look at after healthcare workers and people in long-term care facilities, we're also looking at frontline workers, essential workers, other frontline workers who'll be likely to then need to get the vaccine or have it offered.

The union president for the New York City Fire Department released a poll of firefighters and the result of it is a blinking red light. The poll of firefighters shows that nearly 55 percent of them said that they would not get a COVID-19 vaccine if it was offered by the department. If that's happening among the FDNY, does this signal some major problems ahead with convincing people to get these shots?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, it does signal a major problem. And we've known that for a while. We know that the general population almost mimics those percentages. So now is the time for people who have some sort of influence with the general public, the people that are trusted to try to counteract the misinformation that is out there from groups that are either antivaxxers or you know just don't want to see this. Because we have very little chance of succeeding with a population as a whole unless we get a much larger percentage of people that get vaccinated.

So, is it an issue? Yes. We knew that and now we need to counteract it with truth and information to get people to realize that this is the way we're going to get both our families and our economy back to normal.

BOLDUAN: And Dr. Topol, I know this kind of aspect is something that you're focused on as well. How big of a problem do you think this is going to be? I mean convincing -- there's been so much focus on getting the vaccine approved and getting the vaccine out there, but actually convincing people to get the shot.

TOPOL: Right, Kate. Well, that's what's beautiful about this FDA release of the data today. This remarkable transparency. We didn't see that with the UK review. And these extra days are giving the public all the data, and the science and medical community, and it looks terrific. You know having reviewed those documents this morning. The efficacy is so high.

I do see already the polls are showing surveys that more and more people are embracing the idea of having a vaccine. I think as it gets vetted and this remarkable data for both Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines, it's going to help propel that high level that Dr. Rodriguez is talking about.

BOLDUAN: Dr. Rodriguez, just kind of your thought as the FDA is releasing this information. Thank goodness for the transparency before this big meeting of a 95 percent efficacy rate and some protection even after one dose.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, I think Dr. Topol hit on a word that we need to use often in order to stimulate people and it is the truth. And that is that the information and results are remarkable. And we have a chance that we can't blow.

My one concern is that if there's a shortage of vaccine, we can't rest on the fact that just one vaccination is sufficient. The data is based on two vaccinations and we must go to that goal line.

[11:15:02]

Again, remarkable information, remarkable opportunity, America should not pass up the chance to be vaccinated.

BOLDUAN: Thank you both so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. A double dose of some really expertise this morning. Thank you.

Coming up for us, President-elect Joe Biden could soon make history again. This time by nominating the first black man, a retired general, to run the Pentagon.

And later, a new report shows more kids are falling behind in school because of remote learning and also offers a plan for how they can catch up, but it'll cost them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: President-elect Joe Biden is filling out his cabinet and making more history in the process.

[11:20:00]

Sources familiar with the decisions say that Biden has tapped retired Army General Lloyd Austin to be his Defense secretary. If approved by the Senate, Austin would be the first African American to lead the Pentagon.

CNN's Jessica Dean joins me now with much more on this. Jessica, Biden has been facing a lot of pressure privately and publicly to bring more diversity to his cabinet. What more are you learning about this pick?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you said it. Sources are telling us that Biden has tapped retired Army General Lloyd Austin to be his Secretary of Defense. And to that end, Kate, we do know that Biden is really excited about the historic nature of this pick. If Austin is confirmed by the Senate, he will be the first black man to hold that position. He, of course, has a very lengthy military history.

Now what is interesting about this, this extra layer in this nomination is that Austin recently retired from the military. He's been out for four years. That means he's going to need a congressional waiver in order to serve in this post.

Federal law mandates you need seven years out to serve in this role so that has to make its way through Congress, which could be another interesting layer as they work through the Senate confirmations and nominating process on the Biden team.

We know that Biden reached out to Austin over the weekend, Austin accepted the job. And we're told by sources that it really came down to Biden's comfort level with Austin. He knows him. They've worked together before. And that's something we've seen time and time and time again with the picks that he's made so far. The president-elect has made so far.

It really comes down to relationships for President-elect Biden and this one seems to be no different. In terms of his team we're also going to be introduced to key members of his health team later today. We talked a little bit about those yesterday.

Xavier Becerra, the California attorney general being tapped to lead Health and Human Services. Dr. Vivek Murthy to reprise his role as surgeon general. And a host of other familiar faces including Dr. Anthony Fauci who will come on as chief medical adviser.

Again, we are expecting to hear from Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on those picks later this afternoon. Kate?

BOLDUAN: And Jessica, the president-elect is also meeting with the NAACP today. We spoke with the organization's president last week and he's really pushing hard on this very issue of diversity and -- diversity in the cabinet. What are you hearing about the meeting?

DEAN: Right. So, we do know this meeting with civil rights leaders is taking place after the announcement I was talking about of the health team. So, this is coming later this afternoon. Biden and his team going to meet with these civil rights leaders to talk about diversity in the cabinet, to talk about social justice.

We are expected to hear from some of those stakeholders, as some of those civil rights leaders after the meeting to hear what exactly they heard and what they are looking forward to or what they think they need to push back on. But Kaye, this has certainly there's been pressure - there's been pressure on Biden and his team from the outside really putting pressure on him to live up to his promise to put together a cabinet that looks like America. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Good to see you, Jessica. Thank you.

Up next, President Trump has called Pennsylvania's top Republican state lawmaker multiple times about the presidential election results in the commonwealth. Are these calls part of a pressure campaign? Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor joins us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:28:16]

BOLDUAN: It is safe harbor day here in the United States. And if you don't know what that is, you are not alone. This is normally not a thing that people are really focused on or paying attention about to or talking about. The safe harbor provision is part of federal law that allows states to lock in their electoral votes that will be cast by Congress which is happening next week.

Today is that deadline for states to lock that in by finishing up their certification of the presidential election results. Put another way this is yet another confirmation that Joe Biden is the president- elect despite what President Trump is saying. And he is not giving up.

CNN learned in the last week, Trump called the top Republican in the Pennsylvania legislature multiple times asking about the commonwealth's electoral process. A spokesman for the Republican House Speaker Brian Cutler confirms that the president called but said the president, quote - this is according to the spokesman, never directly pressured cutler to overturn the results or seat rival electors.

OK, but what was he then indirectly trying to do with those calls?

Joining me right now is the Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, John Fetterman. Lieutenant Governor, the House speaker - I mean he says that he doesn't feel he was directly pressured to do anything. What do you think I is going on here?

LT. GOV. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Well, I mean that's clearly what's going on. Whether it's explicitly or implicitly but the message is clear, is that you need to do what I'm saying or you' going to pay a significant price politically because it's my way or the highway.

And that the treat is real. And I want to be clear. Speaker Cutler or president pro temp Corman of the Senate have not made any good faith attempts to reverse the election results. That needs to be said and folks do need to understand that it is necessary in some cases like this to pander to the lunatic fringe.