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FDA Panel Reviews Emergency Authorization For Moderna Vaccine; Moderna Planning Futures Vaccine Trials For Children, Cancer Patients; U.S. Reports Deadliest Day Of Pandemic, Record Cases & Hospitalizations; Lawmakers Looking At Stimulus Deal To Close $900 Billion; Representative Ayanna Pressley Calls On California Governor To "Appoint A Black Woman" To Fill Kamala Harris' Senate Seat. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired December 17, 2020 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Hello, I am Dana Bash in Washington. And we begin this hour with U.S. shattering every single record in terms of Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths 3,656 Americans died yesterday alone that is on average one death every 25 seconds. More than in the Pearl Harbor attacks, more than on 9/11 but it was just another Wednesday. So, it's easy to see numbers and see just numbers.

It's easy to become numb to all of this at this point, which is why we will repeat over and over that each number represents a person, somebody who worked with, somebody you passed in a grocery store. Many of them probably had already purchased holiday gifts for loved ones; they were probably just like the rest of us impatiently awaiting a new year that they'll no longer see.

People like Philip Mina Belone; she was only 44 years old when she passed away on Friday after an intense battle with Coronavirus. She was a third-grade teacher who spent her last days conducting virtual classes, while wearing an oxygen mask, her brother had a message for health care workers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP BELONE, SISTER DIES OF CORONAVIRUS: I understand that many of you provide the same care you would for family, and are very tired, frustrated. You have to bear the burden of loss now and forever. There's nothing I can give you in honor of your commitment, courage and compassion. I can simply say, I appreciate you and I am thankful for all that you do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That hard, frustrating work is likely to grow even more taxing because there are no signs that the spread of COVID-19 is slowing. America added nearly 250,000 cases yesterday and we know nearly a year into the deaths lag behind cases, and that means more hospitalizations are coming. Now hope is on the horizon. An FDA advisory panel is reviewing Moderna's vaccine right now and

millions of doses are ready to be shipped as soon as it's authorized. And here in Washington, congressional leaders say a deal on COVID relief will happen soon. We're going to have much more on what the deal could include in a moment. But first, I want to get to that promise of a second vaccine, and I want to talk about it with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it and I want to ask first about what's happening right now. The FDA Advisory Committee, they recommended emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine. They are talking about doing that for Moderna. What issues are they discussing right now?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks very promising, first of all, Dana. I think that's the headline. I think it's looking very likely that this emergency use authorization will be given, which is terrific news.

There may be some caveats. We have been hearing a lot about these allergic reactions, for example. And I think there's a lot of discussion that's happening right now around those allergic reactions, and what exactly is driving them.

We understand that the people who've had allergic reactions have recovered just fine. The type of situation that they're in; making sure epinephrine is close by. And also trying to figure out is there something in particular about the vaccines that may be causing allergic reactions.

For example, the Moderna trial, during the trial they did not exclude people who had a previous history of allergic reactions. They had excluded them in the Pfizer trial. In the Moderna trial, there was a person in the placebo group and a person in the vaccine group that had allergic reactions, but it was not at all clear that it was related to the vaccine.

For example, the person in the vaccine group that the allergic reaction happened more than two months after the vaccine. So almost assuredly not related to that. But just to give you an idea of the granularity of the conversation, that's really what's happening now.

But very much like what we saw last week, lots of people weighing in, lots of discussion around this, and then probably a recommendation at some point maybe even tonight to the FDA about whether or not to authorize it and again, that looks promising.

BASH: So interesting, so there are obviously differences between the vaccines that we've been seeing go into people's arms all week and what they're talking about right now at the FDA. What are the big differences between Moderna and Pfizer?

DR. GUPTA: Yes, we put together this list of things just to give you some of the key sort of qualities of these vaccines. We can show you that they're very similar. They're both this Messenger RNA type platform. They both require two doses. They both have very similar efficacy or effectiveness. The Moderna one is four weeks apart for the two doses versus three weeks for the Pfizer.

[12:05:00]

DR. GUPTA: The Moderna one can be kept at slightly warmer temperatures that may make it easier to distribute and it's for people 18 and older. You'll remember Dana, last week there is a lot of discussion around the right age to authorize the Pfizer one ended up getting authorized for people 16 and older.

Something else as well, with the Moderna vaccine, this has come up recently, it doesn't need to be diluted or mixed once you take it out, and it can be stable at room temperature for about 12 hours.

So that may offer some more ease of actually administering these vaccines. With the Pfizer vaccine, you may have heard there's supposed to be five doses in each file, you take out a dose, you dilute it with saline and then you inject it.

So there are a couple of extra steps with that Pfizer vaccine. So the relatively minor differences for the person actually receiving the vaccine, it shouldn't feel any different, or the process shouldn't seem any different.

BASH: And one of the big questions is, if in fact the FDA does approve the second vaccine from Moderna tonight or tomorrow, what does that going to mean for real people, what will the impact be in terms of availability?

DR. GUPTA: We have been working with these numbers based on projected manufacturing capabilities for some time. And you may remember Dana, what we have said and a lot of people have said is, 40 million doses by the end of the year that was always sort of counting on the idea that both Pfizer and Moderna would be authorized.

And I think that number still sort of holds. You had 6.4 or so million doses of Pfizer that were available, about half of that went out. With the Moderna vaccine, they are going to have a certain number of doses that go out and the manufacturing continues. So, it's sort of a rolling thing but when you add it all up, you get about 40 million doses, 20 million people potentially by the end of the year.

Alex Azar, the Health Secretary recently said that, he thinks that everyone in long-term care facilities for example, should be able to be immunized by the end of the year. And then you have to sort of like just project forward how many doses would be available from other vaccine makers, how likely will they be manufactured and all of that?

BASH: Well, again, it is really remarkable that we are sitting here before 2020 is even over and people are getting shots in the arm, and we could have a second vaccine available. Thank you so much for walking us through what it all means as always Sanjay.

DR. GUPTA: You got it Dana. Thank you.

BASH: And a second vaccine approval can't come soon enough. There are more than 113,000 people in hospitals right now being treated for Coronavirus that's the highest number of hospitalizations we've ever seen in this pandemic. Ten different states are hitting record highs so joining me to discuss that is, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Seema Yasmin, who is a Former CDC Disease Detective. Thank you so much Dr. Yasmin for joining me.

So alarming numbers of new infections, new deaths, hospitalizations, all at the same time that we have this hope I was just talking about with Sanjay. So, the question is will the shots be enough to stop the spread we're seeing now? I think I know the answer to that question.

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, FORMER CDC DISEASE DETECTIVE: It's going to take some time, unfortunately. For us, we are talking about a vaccine series that needs to be two doses spread out between three weeks. And even then, Dana, with the second dose, it takes about one to two weeks before your body really develops the kind of immunity that can protect you from infection.

But the other thing is, we're still learning about whether this vaccine and whether the Moderna vaccine, too, can stop people who are asymptomatic from shedding and therefore spreading the virus to others? That's why it's important that for those people that have received vaccines already; you must continue wearing your mask.

That is so important still follow those guidelines. We need herd immunity to be achieved safely through the vaccines in order first to really get out of this awful crisis that we are in and that will take many months. So we are not out of the woods yet and that is just really hard to hold those two things right, the hope offered by science but also these really grim numbers.

I mean, we talked about 3600 Americans dying just yesterday from COVID-19. More than the death toll from 9/11 and we're seeing this day-in and day-out. And so, we're going to have to still hunker down over Christmas and the holidays it will take a few more months.

BASH: And we are really trying to turn those numbers into human beings because it is hard when you have such huge numbers and it's just day- in and day-out. So, I want you and our viewers to listen to an ICU nurse from Iowa about what she's seeing on the ground at her hospital in Iowa City.

DR. YASMIN: OK.

[12:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLISON WYNES, ICU NURSE, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HOSPITAL: We are seeing people who are getting incredibly sick from this virus. It seems like the second wave has hit people harder than the first.

I don't know if that's just because the numbers are so much bigger this time around, so we are seeing more and more ill people, but people are getting incredibly sick, and it's infecting not just their lungs, but their hearts, their brains, their kidneys, it affects every aspect of their life. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Dr. Yasmin, why is that? Do we know scientifically why it seems so much worse now during the second wave?

DR. YASMIN: I think we're just seeing much larger numbers, but we're also starting to understand more and more that this virus doesn't just cause pneumonia, doesn't just cause a chest infection, it can latch on to these receptors that are on the kidneys, the heart and other parts of the body as well.

So it's really hard to hear that especially from Iowa, where we're seeing from a new report from the White House task force shows that Iowa out of the whole of the U.S. has the highest death rate from COVID-19 per population, so really hard hit.

And I think it's important that we think about these human stories and also look at individual states, because when we talk about the national numbers, yes, they're awful, an average of 209,000 Americans newly infected every day last week, but you can see again with hope, that's 1.8 percent increase from the week before.

So, you could think OK, maybe it's starting to level out, not so much skyrocketing, but then look here to California where I am speaking to you from. We've seen a 40 percent increase in the number of new infections from this week compared to last week, so we are so not out of the woods yet. And while national numbers might be starting to level out, that's not the case here and about nine other states.

BASH: Here we're going to talk later in the program to an official in Los Angeles County. I was reaching down to reach from my mask just to emphasize what you said. Yes, hope is on the way, help is on the way, but wear a mask, wear a mask, wear a mask. Can't say it enough. Dr. Seema Yasmin, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it.

DR. YASMIN: Thank you.

BASH: And coming up, congressional leaders are trying to reach a deal on Coronavirus relief the sticking points and looming deadlines next.

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[12:15:00]

BASH: Congressional leaders are promising to reach a deal on a second round of COVID relief at least before the end of the year, but hopefully they say sooner. CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is live for us on Capitol Hill. Manu, you have been chasing down every lawmaker that you see. I know you know what is going on behind closed doors. Give us the scoop.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the things are moving along, but slowly. And it appears that a deal when it gets reached, and there is still expectation that a deal will get reached, it could be still a matter of days before you see something or a matter of days before congress will actually pass something. And now there's talk among the Republican leaders and the Democratic

leaders of extending a key deadline tomorrow to essentially another few days in order to give more time for these talks to play out that deadline, if they don't extend the deadline, the government will shut down.

So they're trying to tie both the COVID relief issue to a must pass funding bill in order to get this all done, and they're trying to sort out some key issues at the end. One of the big sticking points at the moment is how to structure checks, direct payments to individuals?

About $600 is what they're talking about right now, onetime payment for individuals under a certain income threshold. Number two Republican John Thune told me that they're talking about trying to restrict that even further to ensure that in his view people who get the money, need the money, and there are still discussions back and forth on that point.

But this proposal also would include $300 per week for jobless benefits. So many people are affected by expiring jobless benefits. We're also talking about adding roughly $330 billion for businesses, small businesses that are hit hard by this pandemic. What will not be in this proposal is state and local aid that Democrats have been pushing for?

There's some debate about using a FEMA to dole out money to states and localities on an emergency basis that continues to play out. So, Dana, some key sticking points still remain. Optimism their deal can be reached, but expectation now that this could be a few more days to that, anything could happen. So as people eagerly await action from congress, Dana.

BASH: And as we know, this is much; much, much delayed negotiating that has happened, months, months, and months in the making. Before November's election, it seemed as though Republican leaders felt comfortable just waiting because their party was so divided on this.

But I know you have some new reporting about how the outstanding Georgia Senate races are factoring into the sudden burst of negotiations.

RAJU: Yes, that's right. Mitch McConnell behind closed doors told his conference yesterday actually on a conference call, he said that David and Kelly are getting hammered on this issue, referring to David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, and talking specifically about the issue of direct payments has become a big issue in the race.

The Democratic candidates have been hammering the Republican incumbents on that issue. And McConnell watches all those ads very closely, recognizes it. Perhaps one reason why that's driving a possible deal on that issue of direct payments which will almost certainly get into this final package, Dana.

BASH: Right, reporting as always Manu Raju, thank you so much. And joining me now is, Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California, former Chair of both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus. Thank you so much for joining me. First, your reaction to the outlines of the emerging Coronavirus relief bill?

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): Sure. First, Dana, let me thank you for inviting me to be with you. I think we're getting close. This really basically is what some of us are calling a survival package. We have been working on this for months.

[12:20:00]

LEE: But an enhanced $300 a week in unemployment compensation, $600 survival payment, making sure that our small businesses don't go under any more than what has happened in terms of them going out of business. It is so important but believe you me; we are going to stay here until it is done.

But it really is something that the American people need desperately, and I know our speaker is negotiating day and night to try to make this the best package that we could provide given the bipartisan nature of the provisions of it.

BASH: You are part of a group of progressive lawmakers who wrote congressional leaders this week. And you said that a relief package should include direct payments of at least $2,000 for all working individuals and families.

You just heard Manu report that they're talking about, at least Republicans, John Thune in particular, second ranking Republican said a cap of $600 for individuals and maybe even targeted to a certain income group. Would you vote for that?

LEE: Well, let me say this - we haven't seen a bill yet quite frankly, but we know that this is a survival package until the Biden/Harris Administration comes in, and then we're going to have to do a heck of a lot more. But some of us believe that not only do we need a direct assistance survival payment, but this should extend toward the end of the pandemic.

We don't know when this is going to end. People need money, they need money in their pockets, they need to be able to take care of their families, they need to be able to make sure that they're safe and healthy and businesses need some surety as to the economic impacts and down sides of what's taking place.

So, we've got to see this I think in the longer term and we need more but we are trying to do what we can do right now so that people living on the edge can survive just for the next month. I mean, this is a matter of survival right now for everybody in this country.

BASH: And real quick, the other deadline is tomorrow, which is funding the government, a basic function of congress that congress has not done the way that it is supposed to for many, many years. Do you feel confident that congress will avert a shutdown?

LEE: Nobody wants a shutdown, Dana. And I think that we're going to make sure that there is no shutdown. I think we have to keep working and we're going to work hard until this is done. When you look at the fact that 8 million more people have fallen into the ranks of the poor, I chair the task force on poverty and opportunity.

We're trying to lift people out of poverty. We have food lines; we have people who have never had to seek help. Our government needs to step up and help. And so, we're going to work, and we're not going to shut this government down, but we're going to work until we take care of those who are desperate right now who need our help that's what government should be about.

BASH: Before I let you go I want to ask about the Senate seat from California. You are from California. It is soon going to be open when Kamala Harris is sworn in as Vice President.

Your colleague Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley tweeted the following this week. She tweeted we absolutely cannot go backwards with the election of Kamala Harris to VP-Elect. California Governor, Gavin Newsom must prioritize this leadership perspective and representation in the vacated U.S. Senate seat and appoint a Black woman, Barbara Lee, that's you, Karen Bass, our seasoned policy makers.

Number one, do you agree that her successor should be a black woman representing California and number two, do you want the job?

LEE: Well, let me say, there are several wonderful people, including Congresswoman Karen Bass on the list as I understand it, and I'd be honored to serve my state, to serve my country. There are perspectives and experiences which black women bring to our public policy, to our legislative agenda.

And our country would be strengthened by those perspectives and there will not be one African American woman in the Senate, there have been only been a total of ten years since 1789 that two African American women have served. So, I'd be honored but of course, I respect the decision of the governor.

BASH: But it sounds like you're saying yes, it should be a black woman?

LEE: I'm saying I would respect the decision of the Governor and I believe that that void that is going to be left by Kamala Harris needs to be filled, because it is a void that will be necessary to move our country forward and to solve the country's problems.

BASH: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining me.

LEE: My pleasure. Thank you, Dan.

[12:25:00]

BASH: Thank you. And up next, the dire economic impact of COVID-19 as unemployment climbs and lawmakers as we were just talking about are still squabbling about relief efforts.

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BASH: Sticking points remain as leaders on Capitol Hill try to finalize a Coronavirus relief deal before tomorrow's government shutdown deadline and before the deadline of people losing even more benefits.