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FDA Meets on Pfizer's Vaccine as U.S. Reports Deadliest Day; Biden's Team Meets with Operation Warp Speed Today, Tomorrow; Team Biden Responds to News of Federal Investigation into Hunter Biden's China Deals; Stimulus Talks Falling Apart as Millions Desperate for Relief; Americans' Financial Struggles Grow Amid Pandemic & Food Banks See Greater Demand. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 10, 2020 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALIA MARTINEZ, CORONAVIRUS PATIENT: If I yell, he can hear me. He knows that I'm still alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rosalia and her husband were so sweet together. They smiled at each other the whole time they were sitting together. They were just happy that they could be together and recover together. They are expected to be released from the hospital as well.

I just want to mention one more thing, Brooke. The CEO and president of Renown Health, he says this place holds a special meaning. It's bittersweet.

The day it opened he got a phone call. It was that his father, who lived in New Jersey, had passed away. His father died from COVID-19 -- Brooke?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: So many of these stories, like, oh.

Thank him and thank the doctors and nurses and staff in that parking garage for doing everything they're doing.

Sara Sidner, thank you for bringing that story to us.

SIDNER: Sure.

BALDWIN: Staying on COVID, our breaking news coverage continues. The U.S. reports its deadliest day as the FDA meeting to consider a possibly life-saving vaccine. We'll talk about some concerns doctors have about who will not be able to receive the shots.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:35:16]

BALDWIN: Today a major day for possibly seeing an end to the pandemic. The critical FDA meeting that will decide if a COVID vaccine will get emergency authorization.

If granted, Pfizer's candidate would be the first in the United States to be administered to people outside of the clinical trial.

Let's go to CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, who is following the developments out of this historic meeting.

Elizabeth, what do you know this hour? And what are they exactly weighing?

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The committee, Brooke, is weighing whether the vaccine works, whether it really helps COVID-19, and whether it's safety.

But there's a really important point I want to talk to before I get to those important scientific issues.

This is not the FDA. This is an advisory committee to the FDA. These are outside, independent experts. They're not beholden to the FDA. They're not beholden to Pfizer. They are independent. Most of them are medical doctors who work at universities.

So not only they independent but the entire meeting is being streamed online, so we can all watch it and see what's happening.

So let's listen to what Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the FDA, had to say this morning on this topic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. STEPHEN HAHN, DIRECTOR, FDA: It is not just a formality. We take this very seriously in terms of having the transparency around our process. It's why we have outside experts, because medical issue, scientific issues could be raised that need to be addressed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, again, the two big themes they're trying to address today is does the vaccine work and is it safe.

So let's take a look at those numbers. So 90 -- this vaccine was found to be 95 percent effective, which was way beyond what most people thought it could ever do.

And the side effects were really quite mild. Frequently, people became fatigued or had achiness or fever, but it lasted about a day. There were no major severe side effects.

One of the things that this committee will discuss is who was not get in the clinical trials, who did get tested for this vaccine. Because maybe those people should not take the vaccine since there wasn't testing done on them.

Let's look at those groups of people. That would be children under 16. They were not involved in the clinical trials. Pregnant women, breastfeeding women. People who were immunocompromised. People with severe reactions to other vaccines in the past.

They maybe shouldn't get the vaccine because they weren't tested on this vaccine.

We're going to hear from the FDA more on this, I'm sure -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: We'll listen in for it.

Elizabeth, thank you so much.

Joining me now is emergency room doctor, Leana Wen. She's also a CNN medical analyst.

Dr. Wen, this virtual meeting that's happening right now, what will you specifically by listening out for coming out of it?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: First of all, I'm really glad this meeting is virtual and open to the entire public. This is something that we, in medicine and public health, have been calling for, this level of transparency.

It's great we have full access to all the data so we can see that the deliberation is heals in real time.

Back to what Elizabeth was saying, I'll be listening to the specific groups and what they'll be saying.

Let's take pregnant women as an example. They're not specifically tested. But you have to consider there are 3330,000 health care workers who are pregnant and postpartum.

At some point, you need to weigh the risks and benefits of giving the vaccine, even if it hasn't been fully tested.

If there's, let's say an ICU nurse, pregnant with high-level risk exposure, might there be an allowance for someone like that?

So I'll be listening to the nuances.

BALDWIN: We've already talked about folks already have severe allergic reactions. What about kids?

WEN: That's going to take some time. I would expect the committee is not going to be advising for children to get the vaccine at this time.

Children are not just little adults. You really have to do separate testing for children. Those tests are just beginning now for kids 12 and older for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. But not even at this point for younger children.

I'm hoping those studies will be done quickly. It's so important to get kids back in school.

And I hope they'll be done in time for kids to at least be vaccinated by the summer in case we need to be doing catch-up schooling over the summer. But certainly for the fall, it needs to be done.

BALDWIN: Catch-up schooling over the summer. That could be happening.

[14:40:02]

Last quick question. What about all of the Americans who still say no way to this vaccine?

We have a new poll out that show 53 percent of Americans are willing to take this first-generation vaccine as soon as it's available. It's up from 38 percent of Americans willing back in October.

But, Dr. Wen, 53 percent. Will that be enough to reach herd immunity from vaccinations? If not, what should the messaging be?

WEN: It's not enough. We need to get to about 70 percent, we estimate, in order for there to be herd immunity through vaccinations. So there needs to be concerted public outreach and education.

We also have to recognize that some people may be hesitant for good reason. Maybe they don't know yet about the vaccine. Maybe they're historical reasons. Maybe they're a community that's been experimented on unethically and illegally performed.

And we really need to gain their trust because it's not just about having a faith in an effective vaccine. We also have to make sure that the vaccine is trusted by the American people, too.

BALDWIN: Dr. Leana Wen, thank you very much.

As the FDA hearing on the Pfizer vaccine continues, members of President-Elect Joe Biden's transition team are meeting with officials from President Trump's Operation Warp Speed. What to expect out of those conversations, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:46]

BALDWIN: Right now, an FDA advisory panel is meeting to consider authorizing this Pfizer vaccine.

And President-Elect Joe Biden's transition team is set to meet today and tomorrow with members of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed to talk about the plans to deliver, distribute these vaccines.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Wilmington, Delaware.

Arlette, what kind of information do we think Team Biden will get?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, there's so much information that President-Elect Biden and his transition team would like to have about Operation Warp Speed, as their plans will directly impact how the Biden team handles the coronavirus pandemic when they take office.

You'll remember last week I asked if the president-elect was satisfied with the plans he had seen so far, and he said he had not seen a detailed plan about how this vaccine will actually be distributed.

We know the transition team will meet over the course of two days to talk about things like this as they're trying to get a handle on what they will inherit when Biden takes office.

BALDWIN: Tell me, separately from all of that -- I remember the exchange with the president-elect last week. It was a great question.

How is Biden's team responding to news of a federal criminal investigation into his son Hunter Biden's business dealings in China? What are they saying?

SAENZ: We haven't heard directly from the president-elect about this. In fact, his wife, Jill Biden, was in Washington, D.C., and some reporters tried to ask her about this investigation, but she did not comment on it.

But the transition team did release a statement, saying the president- elect is proud of their son, and acknowledged the attacks he's faced over the course of the past two years.

That's a reference to the attacks from President Trump and his allies as they try to make issue of Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and China.

Hunter Biden's business dealings in China are part of this investigation, as the great reporting from our colleagues, Evan Perez and Pamela Brown, noted.

But for the most part, you aren't hearing much of a response beyond the statement the transition team provided.

But one thing that will be interesting to watch play out over the course of this investigation is how the president-elect will respond to it if the investigation does continue into his presidency.

The president-elect has said that his Department of Justice will maintain independence, no matter what.

But this will certainly be an issue that people will be keeping their eyes on in the coming months.

BALDWIN: We will. We will.

Arlette, thank you.

Right now on Capitol Hill, it appears stimulus talks are falling apart as millions of Americans are struggling to survive. The real-life economic impact of coronavirus, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:13]

BALDWIN: Millions of Americans are struggling to pay bills, keep their businesses open amid this pandemic. And a critical much-needed stimulus bill that can help appears stalled on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers are racing to agree on a plan for some kind of relief before Christmas. Time is running out, though, and fears over the nation's economy are worsening.

Manu Raju is our CNN senior congressional correspondent live on Capitol Hill.

Manu, what are lawmakers telling you today?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's still at a point of deep uncertainty and questions about whether this can get done and what exactly this will eventually look like.

Even though both sides say there absolutely needs to be something passed before the 116th Congress finishes its work by the end of this year.

Now, what is still bogging down the negotiations are two key issues. One, liability protections for businesses and others that opened during the pandemic. Republicans and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, have demanded that be part of the agreement.

Democrats are demanding $160 billion for state and local funding. Republicans have pushed back on that idea as well.

A bipartisan group of Senators are trying to hash out the disagreements, particularly over that liability piece.

But McConnell is concerned that, even if there's a deal, that the bipartisan group works out, that it would not pass with Senate Republicans on those two thorny issues.

What he has proposed is to drop those two issues, drop liability protections for businesses, drop state and local aid, agree on what they can agree on, and try to pass that narrow passage through Congress.

But the Democratic leaders, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, have said no to that approach. They do not think that goes far enough. And they're pushing this bipartisan group to still come up with a deal.

So, Brooke, the question remains: Even if the deal comes together, can that pass the Senate? Mitch McConnell certainly does not think so. He even sent word to top leadership staff that two provisions, even if a deal comes together, will not get the support of his conference.

[14:55:07]

But Nancy Pelosi wants to get a bigger deal. She has suggested, Brooke, perhaps they can stay even later than the new deadline of next week to get a deal that could potentially push this closer to Christmas. So we'll see if that's where this ends up.

But for the moment, both sides want a deal but both sides don't know how that's going to happen yet -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Manu, thank you. Sounds like everyone may be pushed up against Christmas to find an answer.

And as Congress continues to argue, another 853,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits just last week. That is the largest number since mid-September.

And we've seen long lines for food banks stretching across the country.

Mohammad Razvi is the executive director of a New York food pantry called the Council of People's Organization, or COPO.

Mohammad, thank you for being with me. Welcome.

MOHAMMAD RAZVI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S ORGANIZATION: Thank you. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure.

BALDWIN: The pleasure is all mine.

I just want to jump in because just a little bit on your backstory that I was reading about. You yourself grew up on food stamps. You know firsthand what food insecurity means.

That said, given the pandemic and the joblessness, how many more people are coming to you in need of food?

RAZVI: Well, I mean, like I said before, when we started the food pantry a couple years ago, it was only for 60 families and we were just helping them.

And ever since the pandemic, it's jumped up to almost 15,000 families a week. And --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: From 60 to 15,000 a week?

RAZVI: A week. Family members come to us.

And we're working with almost 60 other organizations and we distribute through them. We give them food so they can help, like the churches, the mosques and coming to base organizations.

I mean, the amount of -- I just did the total today, and it's right in front of me. We distributed 16 million pounds of food just since March.

And it is -- it's not getting -- it's not getting -- it's not slowing down. It's coming more and more needs. BALDWIN: People need to hear this. People at home who are tuned in

need to hear how bad it's getting and how many people are just needing a little bit of assistance.

Will you just tell me some stories about, you know, who the families are, who are coming to you? Many of whom I imagine are new to you. People who have lost jobs at hotels or nursing homes or restaurants that have closed.

RAZVI: You can name it, from individuals who are driving Uber or Lyft car service personnel, people working at the hotels or the restaurants.

And also people who are honestly working in health care industries also. Like some of these, you know, nurses and some of these other home health aides, they're the ones who are coming.

They're being laid off, they don't have jobs, and they need that help. They never -- I think they never thought in their life they would actually go to a food pantry.

We're just fortunate we're also actually helping them to apply for food stamps right away.

Anyone who does come to us on the food pantry line, we also tell them, please come here and we're going to help you to get food stamps also.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I was sitting here doing this job on Thanksgiving day, and I talked to the mayor of Houston. And this will forever stick with me.

He was saying to me, Brooke, I helped give out 20,000 meals on Thanksgiving. But so many families were having to be turn away the free turkey because they didn't have a kitchen or an oven to cook it in. So many people were evicted.

Are you experiencing anything like that?

RAZVI: We're seeing that. That is what's being issued to these families who are in distress and who really have no income, are being given letters by landlords to, you know, vacate the premises.

And it's unfortunate, even at these times where, you know, in New York, the governor and mayor have suggested that no one is to be evicted.

But that doesn't stop these individuals or the landlords. They're just sending these letters.

And many of the members who are immigrants, they're scared. And they're trying to figure out what to do.

BALDWIN: Lastly, just what about you, Mohammad? I know a lot of smaller food pantries are closed because a lot of elderly folks volunteer, and elderly folks can't be outside because of COVID. How are you able to stay up and running? And how can people help you?

(CROSSTALK)

RAZVI: Well, I would love for anyone who wants to help go to copo.org and help to volunteer, if you can just come by.

We are fortunate, we have over 50 volunteers who come to us every week just to help out. If I didn't have these volunteers, I would not be able to do it.

The most important thing is, we are New Yorkers and we're going to stick together. And that's the key.

This is what's happening here in New York, in Brooklyn. People are coming together. They're volunteers. They're going to make sure.

[14:59:59]

I mean, I have this wonderful, wonderful 5-year-old volunteer. He comes. His name is Steven Gonzalez (ph). He's here every week. And I was just like, that's what New York is about.