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FDA to Review Pfizer Vaccine in Coming Hours; U.K. Investigating Two Apparent Allergic Reactions to Vaccine; Hunter Biden Says His Tax Affairs are Being Investigated; Trump Backs Lawsuit to Invalidate Millions of Votes; Trump Faces Criticism for Handling of U.S. Outbreak; Biden Lays Out Plan to Tackle COVID-19 Crisis; Trump Lashes Out at Germany's Response. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 10, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to you, our viewers joining us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Just ahead, more than 3,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 in a single day even as the U.S. waits for Emergency Use Authorization for a vaccine.

And as the global vaccine rollout continues, U.K. health officials are investigating two allergic reactions there.

Plus, what we know about the newly announced federal investigation into the president-elect's son, Hunter Biden, and his business dealings in China.

All right. We begin with the deadliest day so far in the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. reported more than 3,000 COVID deaths on Wednesday. That's more than the number of Americans who died on 9/11, and it's only growing worse. New infections are averaging 200,000 people a day, and hospitalizations are at an all-time high.

Now the best most immediate hope may be Pfizer's promising new vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration will finally give had a hard look beginning in a few hours. And if it gets the green light, limited distribution could start almost immediately. We get the latest now from CNN's Nick Watt in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A green light for Pfizer's vaccine in the U.S. could be just a day away.

TOM MCCAFFERY, ASSISTANT U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR HEALTH AFFAIRS: Within 24 to 48 hours from that advisory committee decision we will actually have shots in arms.

WATT: The needles, syringes, wipes are ready to roll. GENERAL GUSTAVE PERNA, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: We will begin that today. It will be -- distribution will be completed by Friday.

WATT: But doses of the vaccine will be tight.

MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D) CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Between now and the end of the year, we are going to only be able to immunize a fraction of the frontline workers that are going to need it. Our timeline for widespread distribution, which I will say again is months away, remains very fluid.

WATT: There's another issue, vaccine hesitancy.

LT. GEN. PAUL OSTROWSKI (RET.), OPERATION WARP SPEED: We must build the trust in the American people. We must make them understand that the science that went into this, that the oversight that went into this is gold standard.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: When they then say that the vaccine is safe and effective, I will tell you all that I myself will be perfectly comfortable in taking the vaccine, and I would recommend it to my family.

WATT: The FDA now also analyzing allergic reactions to the vaccine in two British health workers who do have a history of allergic reaction.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: The expectation would be that subjects with known severe reaction, allergic reactions, should not take the vaccine, until we understand exactly what happened here.

WATT: The White House Task Force warns it could be late spring before vaccines slow the spread. And this country is now averaging more than 200,000 new COVID-19 cases every day -- that's near doubled in just a month. And averaging well over 2,000 deaths every day, that's more than doubled in just a month.

DR. BARBARA FERRER, DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: I would say this is the start of the Thanksgiving bump.

WATT: ICUs in many places are filling, and fast.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Well, I feel like we are at some level on a precipice. But, again, we're not helpless. Wear a mask. Social distance.

WATT: Many states are reintroducing restrictions. And --

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): We will do more if our trends do not improve.

WATT: But some citizens just will not toe the line, in Idaho, forcing a health board to abandon a meeting.

DIANA LACHIONDO, ADA COUNTY, IDAHO COMMISSIONER: My 12-year-old son is home by himself right now, and there are protesters banging outside the door, OK? I'm going to go home.

WATT: Midnight Thursday, one more region of California goes under a stay-at-home order because ICU capacity is just too low. That will be more than 36 million Californians once again being told to stay home as much as possible.

Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Across the Atlantic, British medical authorities are investigating allergic reactions in two health care workers who were given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Experts are now advising people who frequently have those sorts of reactions, not to get the shot. Pfizer says it excluded anyone with a medical history of severe allergic reactions from its trials.

[04:05:00]

Well, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is in London for us. Salma, so, you know, the U.K.'s vaccination programs rolls on but there has been a hiccup. Take us through this.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Kim, and as you said, vaccinations are still continuing in this country, including right behind me here, one of the 50 hospital hubs across England. This hospital right here also giving vaccinations today. But there was, as you said, a hiccup.

So two health care workers who had a history of allergic reactions -- presented rather with an anaphylactoid reaction. So what does that mean? It means not something life threating, not like an anaphylactic shock, but it does me shortness of breath, other respiratory issues, wheezing. They are doing well now and recovering according to authorities.

But of course, Britain's regulator quickly reacted to this news. They flagged up these two incidents to Pfizer and BioNTech -- the creators of this vaccine. They said they're going to launch an investigation into why this occurred. And in the meanwhile as a precautionary measure, they have called on anyone who has an allergic reaction or a history of allergic reactions, or caring an adrenaline shot, to not take the vaccine. And again, they have described this as a precautionary measure.

We've heard from Pfizer and BioNTech who say they are supporting the investigation by the British regulator and they also support this, again, precautionary measure. But it's important here to look at the bigger picture. Two health care workers, yes, a hiccup. Yes, not life threatening though, of course, important to remember. But clinical trials, Kim, are not going to reveal everything. Right? Pfizer and BioNTech clinical trials included 40,000 people. So you have large in scope, but once you start rolling out to the larger population, you're talking about millions. So where occurrences will finally come up once you start rolling this out. But this is all part of the U.K. being the very first Western country

to approve this vaccine. That means it will be the very first to find these issues. And it will be under scrutiny for it. But again, let's look at the larger picture here. First western country to approve the vaccine, again lots of hope around a vaccine that is 95 percent effective.

Right now, they are vaccinated their most vulnerable, that is people over 80, health care workers, nursing home staff, so there's still so much optimism here. We were talking about this vaccine as a matter of hope, clinging on to that. Now it is a reality -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much for putting that all in perspective for us. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in London.

Well despite those two people who had allergic reactions in the U.K., experts say the Pfizer vaccine is still safe. A top health adviser to president-elect Joe Biden says those kinds of things are to be expected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK BRIGHT, BIDEN COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: I'm not too concerned about the allergic reactions that we saw on day one. It is concerning that something that we should watch very closely. Whenever we introduce a new vaccine into the population, we usually find out there are some extra adverse events or allergic reactions in some people.

What I think is really remarkable is how quickly those were identified on day one, how quickly they were reported and investigated. So that tells me the system is working, that when we start vaccinating people, we will get those early signals and we can react to those so we can change our behavior or change the subgroup getting vaccinated if needed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: In the U.S., we're now learning federal authorities are actively investigating the business dealings of Hunter Biden, the son of the president-elect. Our Evan Perez has the latest details from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hunter Biden, son of president-elect Joe Biden says that federal prosecutors in Delaware have notified him that he's under investigation for his taxes. Sources tell us that this is an investigation that began in 2018. The IRS criminal investigation division and the FBI have been examining whether Hunter Biden violated tax and money laundering laws in his business dealings overseas, principally in China.

Now we were told by sources that president-elect Joe Biden is not under investigation. Hunter Biden issued a statement through the Biden transition, saying he was officially notified Tuesday about the investigation.

Quote, I take this matter very seriously. But I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers.

Activity in the investigation had been going on quietly behind the scenes in recent months due to the Justice Department guidelines that prohibit overt actions that could affect an election. Now with the election over, investigators are now able to take overt steps such as issuing subpoenas and conducting interviews.

The existence of the probe will present an immediate test for Joe Biden's promise to maintain independence of the Justice Department. Biden is expected to announce his pick for Attorney General in the coming days, and we can expect that Republicans are going to push for a promise not to interfere with this investigation.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: U.S. president-elect Joe Biden is defending his choice for defense secretary. If confirmed, retired Army General Lloyd Austin would be the first black man to hold the post.

[04:10:00]

But because he retired from the military just four years ago, Congress has to waive a law which requires the defense secretary to have left the armed forces for least seven years. Now that's designed to keep civilian control of the military. Some fellow Democrats oppose a waiver, but the president-elect says it's justified.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: I want to thank you, general. You're a friend, but I want to thank you, General Austin, for once more stepping forward to serve your nation. This is not a post he sought, but I sought him. Lloyd Austin retired from the military service more than four years ago. But the law states that an officer must have left the service seven years before becoming secretary of defense. There's a good reason for this law that I fully understand and respect, and I would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment in our history didn't call for it. It does call for it. And if I didn't have the faith I had in Lloyd Austin to ask for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And as Biden pushes forward with building his cabinet, President Trump is backing another long shot ploy to challenge the election results. We'll have the details next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:00] BRUNHUBER: COVID economic relief talks are inching forward in the U.S. capital, but are far from a done deal. They're stuck on two issues, liability waivers for businesses open during the pandemic, something Republicans want and funds for state and local governments, a Democratic priority. Democrat Katie Porter pointed the finger squarely at one Republican leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KATIE PORTER (D-CA): It's not even Republicans. It's coming down to one person, Mitch McConnell, who wants to get his big donors, give aways, and kowtow to them instead of helping hungry kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is backing a slimmer deal, basically ignoring the sticky subjects of local aid and liability.

Meanwhile, we're seeing more scenes like this, a seemingly endless line of cars at a holiday food give away. This economic pain is for many the result of the health crisis that has killed more than 289,000 Americans and left millions without work.

Well, President Trump isn't talking about stimulus talks or even the raging pandemic. Instead, he's taking another legal step in his relentless campaign to overturn his election lose. He's supporting a Texas lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to invalidate millions of votes in four battleground states. Kaitlan Collins has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of public sight, but still in denial, President Trump pushed his false claims of a rigged election again today, while tightening his grip on the GOP.

After the Supreme Court rejected a Republican attempt to overturn the results in Pennsylvania, Trump distanced himself from the setback claiming on Twitter this case had nothing to do with me even though his legal team had touted it.

RUDY GIULIANI, TRUMP ATTORNEY: I think it's a very good case.

COLLINS: Trump has moved on and is now cheering a long-shot lawsuit filed in Supreme Court by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, asking to extend the deadline for certifying the election, claiming that Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin engaged in, quote, election irregularities.

Trump tweeted: This is the big one -- as Michigan's attorney general dismissed it as a publicity stunt.

DANA NESSEL, MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: I go back where the taxpayers in Texas that have to finance this ridiculous and frivolous lawsuit. COLLINS: But Trump's GOP allies are trying to validate it. Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson emailed Republicans today asking them to sign on to an amicus brief for the case saying Trump, quote, specifically asked me to contact all Republican members of the House and Senate today and request that all join on to our brief.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We won in those swing states.

COLLINS: As Trump and his allies deny reality, some of his cabinet secretaries are preparing to accept it.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar became the first to confirm he's met with president-elect Joe Biden's transition team.

ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I've already met with the Biden transition team. We want to make sure they get everything that they need.

COLLINS: And CNN has now learned that the President personally asked Texas Senator Ted Cruz to personally argue that case that was filed by the Attorney General if it makes it to the Supreme Court. But I stress there is an if there because many legal experts have said it's a long shot case. They do not think is going to rise to that, but it remains to be seen.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Dr. James Philips made headlines when he was openly critical of President Trump's behavior during his coronavirus treatment at Walter Reed Hospital. You'll remember this moment on October 4th when the U.S. President left the hospital to take a joyride past crowds of supporters while he was still positive for COVID-19 while in the car with Secret Service members.

Well, Dr. Phillips joins me now. Doctor, thank you so much for being with us. At the time you call that drive-by with the Secret Service political theater, and insanity and CBS News is reporting that you have been removed from Walter Reed's Hospitals schedule beginning in January. Well, we are looking into those details ourselves. Can you confirm that? And do you think there is a connection?

DR. JAMES PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, it's a sensitive topic for sure and I know it is of public interest. You know, I am -- primarily I am a physician and an assistant professor at George Washington University Hospital. And through that -- through our hospital we have a number of contracts around the city with other hospitals where we supply emergency physicians, and my position at Walter Reed was for something like that.

Now, there's been changes to my scheduling. It's not something that I am able to speak to as a representative of Walter Reed, or as a representative of G.W. But there are other opportunities in my future where I will be exploring teaching with, you know, more at the bedside with my medical students, with my fellows and new disaster medicine opportunities there as well.

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: All right, well, I have sought clarification from Walter Reed, and we are waiting for that. We do want to follow up on the story if there was a link between your comments and you not being there anymore. I think that that is an important story.

But let's move on more generally then, what do you think of the President's handling of the pandemic, and how the president-elect might change course on the response?

PHILLIPS: Yes, I think we are heading in the right direction now. And I have been openly critical of the President's job here in the United States. And it is not a political issue. What it is, it is an issue of crisis leadership. And as a subject matter expert in disaster medicine, and emergency management, you know, we look to the crisis leaders in situation like this to set the tone, and to provide the best example possible. And it's clear that since the very beginning of this, Donald Trump has done the polar opposite of what any textbook, class course or expert would tell you to do.

Fortunately, the American people have elected a new president. And Donald Trump waning days, we are now starting to see what the Biden administration has put together. And it is clear from the appointments they have made so far, and the finalist for the other positions, that had been narrowed down, that they are resuming a merit based, expertise based, experience based, policy by which they choose their leaders, their policy makers and their appointees.

And that starts with the doctors, nurses, and other scientists who surrounded himself with on his task force about COVID-19. And we're seeing that more with the appointments that are being made at the various organizations and departments.

BRUNHUBER: Now, it could not come at a more important time. I mean, you and many other experts predicted that after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. we would see a spike in cases, which would put more stress on the health care system, and that might lead to even more restrictions. So, what we are seeing now, ICU beds at capacity across the country. The U.S. setting a record number of deaths yesterday. Is this about what you expected, or even worse?

PHILLIPS: It is unfortunately exactly as we predicted. I was talking to my wife this evening. The first lecture I gave about COVID-19 was actually before the virus was even named as far as COVI-2, back in February, and just looking at the simple statistics that had come out of Wuhan, my worst nightmare on of my slides was 280,000 dead Americans. And we passed that last week. And so we are unfortunately where we thought we would be.

BRUNHUBER: I mean, looking beyond the numbers, I mean you deal with many of these patients. What goes through your minds when you hear that they are in your care because they ignored the warnings?

PHILLIPS: It is a challenge. You know, it's our job as physicians to love our patience and to not judge them for the choices that they make. We would burn out and leave our jobs very early if we asked physicians, in a particular emergency and trauma physicians. If we judged our patients and treated them differently based on their decisions that they've made.

BRUNHUBER: That was Dr. James Phillips, the chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital.

Well, Donald Trump has lashed out at Germany's handling of the pandemic, even though the relative U.S. death rate has been four times higher. Responding to someone on Twitter, the U.S. President said --

Germany has consistently been used by my obnoxious critics of the country that we should follow on the way to handle the China virus. So much for that argument. I love Germany -- vaccines on the way.

All right, well, Fred Pleitgen is in Mainz, Germany. Fred, Chancellor Angela Merkel was quite emotional, pleading for Germans to change their behavior, and it's no wonder looking at the new and worrying numbers.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right. Chancellor Angela Merkel, lot of people here in Germany, Kim, were saying that it's probably the most emotional speech that Angela Merkel has given in her almost 16 years in office, and that certainly is saying a lot, considering some of the crises she has dealt with.

And of course, the numbers are extremely troubling to a lot of Germans. In fact, one of the things that they had yesterday was the highest ever single day death toll with 590, that's equivalent of about 2,300 people dying in a single day in the United States. And you look at the numbers today, and again, it's a record number of new infections. And also today, Germany for the first time exceeded 20,000 dead from the coronavirus. Now of course, those numbers are still far behind countries like, for instance, the U.S., and some other European countries as well.

But one of the things that Angela Merkel has acknowledged and that many German politicians and quite generally people in this country have acknowledged, is that the light lockdown measures that have been in place during this second wave of the coronavirus simply are not managing to get the numbers of new infections down. And of course that's had a knock-on fact as a couple of weeks later, the death tolls go up as well.

[04:25:00]

Now what Angela Merkel is saying, and a lot of other politicians are saying as well, is they want a crisis meeting as fast as possible, and they want to move to tougher lock down measures. Some German states are going to do that on their own. However, there is also going to be a full meeting of Angela Merkel and state governors to then put tougher measures in place possibly after Christmas to give people sort of that Christmas fest at least. And then move after that closing stores, you know, longer school

holidays over Christmas, and other measures as well to just try and get those numbers down. Because of course until a vaccine becomes widely available, that's still going to take some time.

And to Donald Trump's tweeting, obviously him saying vaccines are on the way. That vaccine that he's talking about was actually developed in the labs that you see right behind me at BioNTech here in Germany and is actually on the way to the U.S. via a plant in Belgium, and that's being moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. So, vaccines most likely on the way to the U.S. but they're actually coming from Europe and were developed in Germany.

In fact, the folks at BioNTech -- where I'm standing right now -- they're obviously on the edge of their seats right now as there's that experts meeting here to determine whether or not they are going to get an Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. That's happening later today in the U.S. -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. Thanks for pointing out that irony for us. Fred Pleitgen in Mainz, Germany, appreciate it.

Well, it's already a race against the clock to deliver coronavirus vaccines. But when you add long distances to the mix, it's that much more difficult. How rural parts of the U.S. are getting ready. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Here in the U.S., a health advisory committee later today is expected to recommend an Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine.

[04:30:00]