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FDA Says No Safety Concerns with Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; Dr. Fauci Recommends Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Get Vaccinated ASAP; Vaccine Rollout in Full Swing as U.S. Tops 300,000 Deaths; Democrats Face Tough Choice on Stimulus Deal Without State and Local Aid; Futures Up Amid Vaccine Rollout and Stimulus Talks. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired December 15, 2020 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:22]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Very good Tuesday morning to you, I'm Jim Sciutto.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Poppy Harlow. Let's begin this hour with the breaking news.
One day after the first COVID-19 vaccinations in the U.S. began a new chapter in our fight against the virus, deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine are set to ramp up in a big way. Hundreds of sites across the country will receive thousands of doses for frontline health care workers.
CNN will be there live as those shipments arrive and we'll bring you the latest. Also just moments ago big news from the FDA, releasing its analysis of drug maker Moderna's COVID vaccine ahead of a meeting later this week to consider for it just like with Pfizer Emergency Use Authorization.
The big takeaway here, the FDA says indeed Moderna's vaccine is safe and effective. More on that in a minute.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it's good news. It means there'll be more than one option for you and me, for Americans around the country. These vaccinations so critical right now as the U.S., again, is shattering hospitalization records and tragically topping another milestone. It's sad to hear this, but it's a fact. Now more than 300,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
And following Monday's confirmation of his electoral college win, President-elect Joe Biden reached out to so many who have lost loved ones in this pandemic and using his strongest language yet for President Trump and his allies who are still speaking to overturn what was, by all accounts, a free and fair election.
More on that in just a moment, but first let's go to CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more on the Moderna vaccine news. So, Sanjay, Moderna, of course, developed in conjunction with the
National Institutes of Health, always very promising but nice to see this confirmation in the data.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, we primarily heard this data from the company itself so to get these FDA scientists release this report and have it all sort of fit and match with what we've heard, you know, obviously is comforting.
As you sort of pointed out, a very effective vaccine at preventing COVID-19. Overall the number is 94.5 percent. With this particular vaccine, very similar to what we heard with Pfizer, a couple of differences. This was people who were 18 and older. You remember with Pfizer it was 16 and older. The difference between the first shot and the second, four weeks here versus three weeks with the Pfizer, and it's 14 days after that second shot. That's when you get the maximum sort of protection. So total of six weeks. Right?
First shot, wait four weeks, and then two weeks after that, that's when you get that maximum sort of protection. It was interesting overall the protection seemed to be greatest for people under the age of 65, closer to 96 percent, around 86 percent for people over the age of 65. Slightly different dosing, you know, but these are going to feel very similar. We know, for example, the Moderna vaccine doesn't need to be stored at temperatures quite as cold as Pfizer.
That might mean that it can be distributed more widely into areas that are more rural, for example, as well that may not have that cold storage, but a pretty remarkable vaccine, you know, overall if this data holds up, and we'll hear about that from this FDA advisory committee meeting on Thursday, just like we heard last Thursday about Pfizer.
HARLOW: Sanjay, also some news from Dr. Fauci this morning in terms of when he thinks the president-elect and the vice president-elect should get vaccinated. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: For security reasons I really feel strongly that we should get them vaccinated as soon as we possibly can. You want him fully protected as he enters into the presidency in January.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: And he's also talked about the president-elect, that is, Sanjay, doing it, you know, publicly, right, so people can again have confidence in the safety.
GUPTA: Right. Yes. Doing it publicly and also doing it now because, you know, as again you have two shots, so if Dr. Fauci -- and I think this is what he's suggesting -- is saying by inauguration, end of January, third week of January, he wants the vice president and the president to be fully vaccinated, that would mean probably getting a shot sometime soon, getting that second shot and then, you know, typically at seven days for Pfizer, 14 days for Moderna after that where you have that protection.
So we'll see. It will be obviously of great interest and if he does it publicly I think that could go a long way towards addressing some of the vaccine hesitancy we hear as well.
SCIUTTO: Dr. Gupta, you mentioned vaccine hesitancy.
[09:05:03]
And I suppose the good news in the polling and certainly not to underestimate the percentage of people who are still hesitant, but that the number appears to be going up, that is, of folks who have confidence in taking this vaccine, up to 71 percent now from 63 percent in September, but there are groups that still stand out for remaining somewhat hesitant, Republicans more so than the general population as well as African-Americans.
Do you see concern in that? What's the best way to address that?
GUPTA: Well, you know, these numbers continued to go up. I think that is the big headline, it was closer to 50 percent you may remember over the summer, then in the 60s in September and now 70 percent. So we're starting to get to that number where you could start talking about herd immunity, you know, in a meaningful way, but I think there is concern. You know, among Republicans it was 42 percent vaccine hesitancy.
Among black Americans at 35 percent and for different reasons. Among -- you know, for black Americans a lot of it is concerns about the side effects of the vaccine. For Republicans it was more of this idea that this whole pandemic has been overblown or still -- people still think it's a hoax, whatever it may be. So I think really being very specific in terms of explaining and targeting the messaging around these particular issues I think goes a long way.
I think the hesitancy is going to go down. I mean, you know, these images that we've been showing, health care workers, people who cast a scientific eye towards these things, look at data and then still make the decision to go ahead and get vaccinated, I think is already making a difference. I mean, as you point out the hesitancy is going down.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
GUPTA: And as long as we don't have significant side effects which I don't think we will based on what we've seen so far I think we should be in pretty good shape.
HARLOW: Let's hope so. Sanjay, big day yesterday, big week ahead. Thank you so much.
As we're learning more about the Moderna COVID vaccine people across the country are beginning to get these doses as we said of Pfizer's vaccine.
SCIUTTO: Yes. It's so good to see. Think of the months that we've been through this as a country and of course months still to go, but this is a positive development.
Miguel Marquez is in New Jersey where moments ago the first vaccines given there.
Miguel, tell us what you're seeing, who is coming and how quickly is this moving?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they've just started to give those vaccines out here in New Jersey. The state is going to get 76,000 doses of the vaccine. It will have to be in two different tranches. The first vaccine and then 21 days later those individuals will have to get vaccinated the second time in order to make it official.
The governor was here. They had five individuals, doctors and frontline workers who got it publicly on camera so that people could see this. I am with one of them. This is Dr. Sambol.
DR. JUSTIN SAMBOL, SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR CLINICAL AFFAIRS AT RUTGERS, NJMS: Yes.
MARQUEZ: Who are -- what exactly do you do here?
SAMBOL: So I'm a thoracic surgeon at the University Hospital and I'm the senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs at New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers.
MARQUEZ: And you have been dealing with this since the beginning.
SAMBOL: Indeed.
MARQUEZ: The director of Health Services said on March 4th you had your first case in New Jersey.
SAMBOL: Correct.
MARQUEZ: You're up over 400,000. What is today? It must be bittersweet to have this vaccine rolling out and yet be staring down this -- this next wave of the pandemic.
SAMBOL: Indeed it's very bittersweet. I do believe we are finally at the beginning of the end here, but we definitely have a very long way to go. We are anticipating continued increase in COVID patients across the state and particularly in Newark and Essex County.
MARQUEZ: So I'm sure others will get the vaccine today as they're rolling it up. You were one of the first five to get it. You will get another dose in 21 days to be fully vaccinated, correct?
SAMBOL: Yes.
MARQUEZ: What is your level of confidence in getting this vaccine today?
SAMBOL: I'm very confident. All of the information that I've seen has shown that this is incredibly safe. There was an article published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" and being a scientist and a physician I reviewed that article and it shows the efficacy and safety of the vaccine is tremendous.
MARQUEZ: They will roll it out here, five other locations for now, and then it will go to other hospitals. The Moderna vaccine if and when that comes online, and then it will go down to many different locations across the state. How long before you think regular New Jersians are getting this vaccine in their arms?
SAMBOL: So hopefully within the next I would say month to six weeks we will be able to start seeing some people getting vaccinated across the state. I know that the counties and the state are setting up massive vaccination facilities to begin doing that as soon as we have vaccines available. So I'm hopeful very soon.
MARQUEZ: Doctor, thank you very much and very good luck to you. We really appreciate it.
SAMBOL: Thank you very much. Thank you.
MARQUEZ: So just as this pandemic is ramping up again the first signs of hope here in New Jersey. Back to you, guys.
[09:10:06]
HARLOW: Amen. It is great to have good news after so many bleak months.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HARLOW: Miguel Marquez, thank you very, very much.
Take a look at this. We want to show you this just into us. These pictures out of Concord, New Hampshire. You've got folks there also getting the vaccine. I think we've got it. There you go.
SCIUTTO: There we go.
HARLOW: This is Concord, New Hampshire. Meantime, let's go to our --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HARLOW: Omar Jimenez at Loretto Hospital in Chicago. First hospital in that city to give the vaccine and it serves also one of the communities hardest hit by this pandemic.
Good morning, Omar.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. Good morning, Jim. That's right, so the vaccine is in Chicago, but we're still waiting on the first vaccination to actually happen. That's set to happen a little later this morning at Loretto Hospital behind me here. To give context, it's located within the city's Austin neighborhood on the west side. It's predominantly black neighborhood within a zip code that has been hit -- that has among the highest mortality rates from COVID-19 that we have seen in this city. Now, as we understand it was chosen for this mainly because of the
greatly impacted community they serve. It was also one of the -- it was also the, excuse me, first community COVID-19 testing site that opened back in April. It was yesterday, though, that the vaccine supply began to arrive, not just here in the city but in the state of Illinois, about 43,000 doses arrived to the Illinois Strategic National Stockpile, and Governor J.B. Pritzker tells us that they are expecting more to come in throughout the week to various county health departments and other spots throughout this state to get to their initial 100,000 doses that they are expecting to receive.
Here in Chicago they expected to get upward of 20,000 and the mayor here at this moment is not lost on her who realizes what this chapter is about to bring who tweeted out last night that -- tomorrow, as she tweeted out last night, we are in the beginning of a moment of hope here for the city, as we are in so many other places across this country -- Poppy, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Listen, and it came quickly. It came with a lot of hard work from a lot of people. It came quickly. It is a start of a very special and happy moment for this country.
Omar Jimenez, thanks very much.
Well, as vaccines are shipped and administered all across the country today we're going to speak to someone who has already received one of the first doses. What is her message to those who remain apprehensive about getting vaccinated?
HARLOW: Also on top of the health crisis remains the economic crisis for so many. Are we going to finally see it happen? Will lawmakers reach a stimulus deal before they leave for the holidays? We'll speak to a key member involved that is Senator Joe Manchin. He's with us ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Well, the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, it's in full swing. Yesterday, healthcare workers in several states received their first doses. Well, one of them is the Nursing Director of Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Shawn Hendricks. Shawn Hendricks, great to have you on this morning.
SHAWN HENDRICKS, NURSING DIRECTOR OF MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER: Good morning, Jim and Poppy. How are you?
SCIUTTO: So, simplest terms, you were the first employee in your medical system to get vaccinated. Tell us how you feel, and did they prepare you for any after-effects of this?
HENDRICKS: I actually feel good this morning. And, you know, after I received the vaccination, yes, they -- you know, observed me for a period of time to make sure I didn't have any side effects or adverse effects. I didn't have any at that time, no, you know, pain or anything.
SCIUTTO: You have witnessed the effects of this pandemic firsthand in your work, but also in your family. Your mother, your brother, your brother-in-law, they all contracted the virus. Tell us what this moment means for you as a healthcare provider, to see these vaccines approved and start to roll out to the country.
HENDRICKS: Because it hit home personally, as well as seeing the effects, you know -- you know, working on the frontlines of caring for COVID patients, I knew the impact that the vaccine would have because we need it. I always have felt very strongly that if we don't -- do not widely vaccinate, this pandemic is going to get worse, the numbers are going to continue to increase and so, again, I was always on board. I've seen enough death and dying -- death and dying --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HENDRICKS: Within the hospital.
SCIUTTO: I'm sure you have, sadly. Now, confidence in this vaccine, the good news is, it's coming up. At the worst point, some of the public polling showed only about a half of the population was willing to take it, those numbers have come up significantly.
But one group that remains somewhat vaccine-hesitant is Black- Americans, about 35 percent or so say that they're hesitant to take this vaccine. Given that you, yourself, have taken this at this point, what is your message to Americans who say they don't trust it?
HENDRICKS: I understand their concern, however, dedicating my life to the medical field and science, I trust it, and because I trusted it, I was willing to roll my sleeve up and become vaccinated and get vaccinated. And that's what I did.
And at this point, it is what I thought. I have not had any, you know, side effects. I believe in the science. I did my -- you know, research, I did my reading, and I still believe in it. And so I urge, you know, members of our black community to become vaccinated. We are three times more likely to be affected with COVID than any other ethnic group.
[09:20:00]
So, it would only behoove us --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HENDRICKS: To be smart about it, and do what we need to do because otherwise we will continue to be infected with COVID. And unfortunately, if it hasn't hit your doorstep yet, it's like a game of Russian roulette --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HENDRICKS: You're just --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HENDRICKS: Waiting for your turn.
SCIUTTO: Yes, those words mean a lot. I appreciate you sharing them. Before we go, because sadly the pandemic of course is not over, we all still have a lot of work to do, we all have to follow the simple mitigation steps like wearing a mask, but you remain on the front lines and hospitalization rates, they're off the charts. Tell us what it looks like there now, even as vaccines begin to roll out.
HENDRICKS: So, we've always -- you know, been in the planning stages, and we want to ensure that we're always able to still care for COVID patients as well as any other patients that come to our hospital. And to that effort, we've actually just built a new modular care unit to assist with being able to take care of patients with COVID.
SCIUTTO: Well, Shawn Hendricks, we appreciate the work you've been doing these last few months. We're glad to hear you are at the forefront of getting this vaccine, and we really do wish you the best of luck in the weeks coming ahead.
HENDRICKS: And I thank you for having me. I just want to urge the public, the holidays are coming, so please, continue to social distance and mask.
SCIUTTO: Listen to her. She knows what she's talking about.
HENDRICKS: Thank you.
HARLOW: Yes, she does indeed. Our thanks to her very much. All right, a stimulus deal seems potentially within reach. Can leaders finally strike it? We'll discuss with one of the lawmakers at the center of the negotiations next. We're also moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Take a look at futures, they are pointing higher this morning, investors are feeling pretty optimistic that finally we're going to see a stimulus deal. We'll keep a close eye on the markets when they open.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:25:00]
HARLOW: Welcome back. Right now, America is facing an impending eviction crisis, and if Congress does not act right after Christmas, 12 million Americans could lose their unemployment benefits. Hope is now pinned on this bipartisan bicameral effort led by Senators Joe Manchin and Susan Collins, the pair essentially took one large bill, split it into two, and they're crossing their fingers. The first bill provides $748 billion to fund small business loans, unemployment assistance, food assistance and vaccine distribution.
The second bill of $160 billion gives liability protection to business owners, and it gives that much needed state and local aid. The question this morning is, will they make it across the finish line? Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia certainly hopes so. He joins me. Good morning senator. SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): Good morning, Poppy, how are you?
HARLOW: I'm well, and thank you for being here --
MANCHIN: Right --
HARLOW: Can you --
MANCHIN: Sure thing --
HARLOW: Tell us definitively this morning that you have the support of leader McConnell and Speaker Pelosi on both of these?
MANCHIN: Well, I can't speak for them, but I can tell you it's been very positive messages coming from both of them, both Speaker Pelosi and both Majority leader McConnell. They've been very positive about this. Now, I will say this, we're not going home until it's done.
This -- the emergency relief package is strictly an emergency relief. It's not for long-term. We have this package that gets us through the most difficult challenging times, the first quarter of 2021. And that's going to be the most difficult time because the vaccines won't be completely distributed at that time, not until the second quarter, and it's rampant.
In my state, we have close to 1,200 deaths right now, we have over a 1,000 positive cases a day in my local state, beautiful state of West Virginia. So, we're really struggling. All of us are. So, we've got to get people with a life line, they're going to have food, they have shelter, the basic necessities, having an unemployment check, getting them through the difficult times. This emergency bill, and it will pass 748 --
HARLOW: So --
MANCHIN: It will pass, we'd like for both of them --
HARLOW: OK --
MANCHIN: To pass.
HARLOW: Right, so let's talk about the second one.
MANCHIN: Sure.
HARLOW: Hundred and sixty --
MANCHIN: Sure --
HARLOW: Billion where Speaker Pelosi said last night there were main obstacles when it comes to agreeing to something on liability protection. We heard from Dr. Richard Besser for example on the air last night saying states like New Jersey, where he's helping lead the effort there in distribution are in desperate need of that state and local aid, which is in the second bill you have just to distribute the vaccine. You're not going to go home until the first bill passes. Will you go home --
MANCHIN: Right --
HARLOW: Before the $160 billion second bill passes?
MANCHIN: Well, I can't speak to that because I have voted for both of them, so I'm the one Democrat on both. All Democrats and Republicans are on the first. It is totally truly a bipartisan effort and bill that is supported by everybody.
The second one because it has some language in there that makes it pretty hard and they're concerned, are we taking away workers' rights and workers' safety and things of that sort. I don't think -- I think we can overcome that, massage some language, but the bottom line is --
HARLOW: OK --
MANCHIN: The Republicans have come down from five years, five years down to 18 months. So, I think that's a tremendous movement. And for 18 months basically, I think that we can get through this, and it gives people the protection that's needed.
HARLOW: Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican Senator Josh Holly are insisting on direct stimulus checks to folks. This does not have that.
