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COVID-19 Relief Bill Negotiations Drag On; Moderna Vaccine Nears Approval. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 18, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Brianna, thank you so much.

Good to be with all of you on this Friday. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's get right to it. A second coronavirus vaccine could begin arriving in hospitals across the country as early as this weekend. And we all know that's not a moment too soon. The number of Americans sick with this terrible virus just keeps going up and up, more than 233,000 infections reported yesterday alone, adding to a toll this week that is shocking, more than a million-and-a-half new COVID cases reported over the last seven days.

That is one in every 216 Americans.

Here's another number for you. These -- it was more than 3,000 deaths reported yesterday, the third time this week we have suffered a daily loss of life surpassing the terror attacks on 9/11. Think about that.

Hospitals in almost every part of the country are being crushed by this virus. More than 114,000 people are sick with COVID in hospital beds as I speak. And specifically in Southern California, the situation there is dire. There are zero ICU beds available there right now, zero.

The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington is warning that 49 states will have high or extreme stress on ICU capacity for the rest of December all the way through April. They are now projecting 562,000 deaths here in the U.S. by April 1. That is up 60,000 from last week's forecast.

We are also learning today that president-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will receive their first COVID vaccine doses in Delaware on Monday. Vice President Mike Pence got his first COVID vaccine shot just this morning. Here he is. And the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was watching and urged every single American to do the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: We want virtually everyone eligible to get this vaccine, ultimately. And we all hope -- and I think this is doable -- that by the time we get to several months into this year, we will have enough people protected that we can start thinking seriously about the return to normality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And any moment now, the FDA could OK Moderna's COVID vaccine to join Pfizer's.

CNN's Sara Murray is following that and more for us today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. awaiting a green light from the Food and Drug Administration for Moderna's coronavirus vaccine.

NOUBAR AFEYAN, CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, MODERNA: We look forward to working with the FDA to take the necessary steps to be in a position to hopefully receive the emergency use authorization.

MURRAY: This as more Americans at long-term care facilities get access to lifesaving vaccines.

JEANNE PETERS, VACCINE RECIPIENT: I feel fine. I feel good. The shot was no problem. And I think everyone can and should get a shot of the virus (sic), definitely, no matter what age. I'm 95.

MURRAY: Both CVS and Walgreens are beginning to inoculate residents and staff at long-term care facilities in Ohio and Connecticut today.

DR. RICHARD FEIFER, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, GENESIS HEALTHCARE: Our residents have suffered greatly, and our staff have felt the strain and the stress in caring for residents. But these vials of hope have arrived. Today is a historic day.

MURRAY: While some nursing home residents and staff begin to get some protection, for others, it will still be a wait.

States across the country are complaining that the federal government has informed them they will get smaller shipments of the Pfizer vaccine next week than previously expected. Still, Vice President Mike Pence applauded the vaccine rollout today.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We expect, later today, we will be in a position to ship 5.9 million doses of vaccines all across the country next week. In fact, under Operation Warp Speed, we are poised to have vaccine for 20 million Americans before the end of December.

MURRAY: Pence rolling up his sleeve for his own first dose today, joined by Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, who's aiming to set an example for minority communities that may still be skeptical.

DR. JEROME ADAMS, SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: As the U.S. surgeon general and a black man, I am equally aware of the symbolic significance of my vaccination today.

MURRAY: Also lining up for a shot today, CNN's own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who is also a practicing neurosurgeon.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Is it in?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's done.

GUPTA: It's done. You are really good.

MURRAY: But the relief for some comes as the pandemic continues to take its toll in the U.S. The nation added more coronavirus cases in the past seven days than any single week since the pandemic began.

One in every 216 Americans became infected this week alone.

DR. CARL SCHULTZ, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, EMS DIRECTOR: The hospital system is still able to provide high-quality care, but it won't be able to do that forever.

MURRAY: California among the states in crisis after an unprecedented post-Thanksgiving surge.

ERIC GARCETTI (D), MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: One hospital administrator conveyed to me in a Zoom call that, if we see a similar spike after Christmas -- and these were his words -- "We will go under."

[15:05:07]

MURRAY: The state shattered its record high for daily coronavirus death Thursday, as the availability of ICU beds in Southern California falls to zero percent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now, these vaccines are, of course, rolling out not as quickly as many would like to see.

But we are beginning to see more government leaders go in front of the cameras, get their vaccines, share photos of that, try to inspire confidence. Today, we also saw House Speaker Nancy Pelosi get vaccinated with her first dose. Also, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, he got vaccinated as well.

They both shared photos of that. You can see these government leaders trying to set an example for folks across the country that this vaccine is safe, that they should get it when they have the opportunity to do so, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Love the 95-year-old woman saying, any age, any age. We all need it.

MURRAY: Very enthusiastic, yes.

BALDWIN: Sara Murray, thank you very much.

MURRAY: Thank you.

BALDWIN: My next guest is Dr. Amesh Adalja. He focuses on infectious diseases and pandemics. He is also a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. And he got the Pfizer shot just this morning.

So, Dr. Adalja, welcome. In fact, here's the video. We saw you in the T-shirt vaccinated. Digging the T-shirt.

How do you feel? How was it?

DR. AMESH ADALJA, INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF AMERICA: It was fine. It felt just like any other vaccine I have gotten. And, this time, I got a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup out of it. So it was a little bit better than normal.

BALDWIN: Nice. Any side effects? Any anything?

ADALJA: No, nothing. Everything seems fine so far. I'm monitoring. I signed up for the little CDC monitoring thing. So I get text messages to check in my symptoms. I just did that.

And I have no symptoms at all about five or so hours after vaccination.

BALDWIN: Fantastic.

Supplies of the Pfizer vaccine, obviously, though, are still limited. Moderna could start rolling out any day now with a much less complicated distribution, as you and I have discussed.

When do you think we will see case numbers go down because of these vaccines?

ADALJA: It's going to take some time, because, really, the initial rollout of the vaccine is protecting vulnerable populations and giving hospitals room to breathe.

So that's why we're focusing on long-term care facility residents. It's only going to be when we start going into the community and vaccinating community-dwelling high-risk individuals and other individuals that we see a decrease in the cases.

And the goal right now is to make sure that our hospitals don't go into crisis. And I think that's why the vaccine is being deployed the way it is.

BALDWIN: You know, there are so many numbers to throw at people. It's all a little overwhelming. But the one that really strikes me, it's the fact that one American is dying every 36 seconds.

And I was reading this huge Twitter thread from Andy Slavitt. He's a former Obama health official.

In just part of his tweet thread, he wrote: "The people are -- dying today got infected before Thanksgiving, before people infected their families. And Thanksgiving was a 'you-know-what' show by all accounts."

We are about to see people, Dr. Adalja, get (AUDIO GAP) Christmas. I mean, despite the vaccine rollouts, these numbers, what will all of this mean?

ADALJA: What it means is, we're going to have a very dark several weeks ahead of us. Lots of people have said this. We can't really emphasize it enough.

We haven't even seen the brunt of what happened during Thanksgiving, and then on top of that, with Christmas. Deaths lag cases, and you just have to look at the sheer number of cases that are occurring every day, and then translate that to a certain percentages that are going to need hospitalization and a certain percentage are going to die.

There's going to be a lot of people that will die between now and when the vaccine is available to the general public. So we have to keep sticking with the commonsense recommendations about face coverings, about washing your hands, avoiding crowded, congregated places. This is going to be tough going for all of us in the hospitals and around the world.

BALDWIN: But do you think -- yes, we need to be practicing all of that. But do you think -- we have talked about COVID fatigue is real.

Also, I'm wondering if you think people are getting a false sense of security because of all the exciting, hopeful videos they're seeing of folks getting vaccinated.

And what should we be doing now, between now, really, and when the vaccine hits peak distribution?

ADALJA: We should be doing what we should have been doing since the beginning, just really realizing that we're in a pandemic, that this virus is going to be with you anytime you socially interact. So you have to act as if we're in a pandemic, and many people don't.

They let their guards down. They think that this vaccine is going to be some miracle. And it is a light at the end of the tunnel. But, remember, there's still a tunnel that we have to go through before this vaccine is available. So we just have to really just reduce the harm that this virus is causing by just taking those commonsense precautions.

And it sounds simple, but it is the only thing we have really until this vaccine is rolled out.

BALDWIN: Quickly, when do you get your follow-up dose? Is it 21 days?

ADALJA: Yes, 21 days.

BALDWIN: OK. Good luck.

Thank you, Dr. Amesh Adalja. Appreciate it.

ADALJA: Thank you.

And let me remind all of you, please join Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Don Lemon tonight at 10:00 for a new town hall. We're calling it "The Color of COVID: The Vaccines," featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci and Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams.

Still no relief for millions of Americans and businesses getting crushed by this pandemic. Lawmakers now say they're stuck, and they have no idea what is going on.

[15:10:07]

Also ahead, California is at a breaking point, zero ICU beds available in Los Angeles, San Francisco now shutting down the entire Bay Area. We will get to a live update from California ahead.

And it's like someone coming into your home, stealing your most sensitive possessions over and over again. This suspected Russia cyberattack is even bigger than anyone imagined. We will discuss with the former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. We will be right back.

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BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

[15:15:00]

No relief in sight, as millions of Americans suffer. We are still waiting to see if there is a deal on Capitol Hill. A $900 coronavirus relief package is on the line. It is tied to a $1.4 trillion federal funding package.

If nothing comes of these negotiations, so desperately needed stimulus money will not happen. The federal government could even shut down at midnight.

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

And, Manu, I was checking your Twitter. You had tweeted that a lot of, like, rank-and-file members don't even know what's going on.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very -- nobody really knows what's going on, except for four people. That's Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, who is the House Republican leader, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader.

And the rest of the members of Congress are mostly in the dark here. Some are getting briefed in the leadership. But, for the most part, no one really has a clear sense about, one, whether a deal will, in fact, come together, and, two, whether or not Congress can come together and avoid a government shutdown by midnight. Now, why these two issues are tied together is because the leadership

wants to cut a big deal, a $900 billion COVID relief deal after months of bickering and stalemate, and add that to must-pass bill to keep the government open past midnight tonight, the deadline tonight.

Now, the problem is that they don't have a deal yet on that COVID relief package. And one of the biggest sticking points right now is whether or not there should be language added to pull back the authority of the Federal Reserve in its emergency lending program.

Republicans believe that that program, the emergency lending program, has run its course, and that the law was designed for it essentially wind down. Democrats believe that's a way to constrain the incoming Biden administration.

So, that point is still being negotiated behind closed doors. That is the biggest sticking point, according to both sides. And, at the moment, Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell, their staffs are engaged in a furious round of horse-trading to try to see if they get any agreement in the next few hours.

Pelosi and McConnell spoke in the last hour to see whether they can come around to something. But I can tell you, Brooke, there is a lot of pessimism and frustration and pessimism that they can get a deal.

The number two Senate Republican, John Thune, just told her colleague Ted Barrett that the likely conclusion is that they're probably headed to a shutdown tonight, because there is not a deal yet. And there are a lot of people who are going to object to quickly passing a measure to keep the government open for a few more days.

One of those Republicans was -- is Josh Hawley, who told me earlier he is frustrated with this process. He said it's reached the point of absurdity. And he said that he would not allow this bill to pass quickly to keep the government open, unless he has a real sense of what is happening with the COVID relief talks.

And he's not the only one. Other members feel the same way. And John Thune also was skeptical about a deal being reached today, saying, "In my experience," he said, "that would be a triumph of hope over experience" to suggest a deal could come together today.

So, a lot of pessimism that they can get something done today, even though both sides think a deal can eventually come together, just uncertain when and uncertain if that will lead to a government shutdown if these talks drag out, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Hate hearing that the pessimism is pervasive. Here's hoping they can pull it through for America.

Manu, thank you for the latest there from you and also from Ted Barrett.

California in crisis. Every single ICU bed in Los Angeles is taken. All of San Francisco is shutting down. We will take you there live. And the former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will

join me live to just talk about this massive hacking of the United States government that is still ongoing.

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[15:23:37]

BALDWIN: Hospitals right now on the brink of capacity in California, that state now the nation's newest hot spot, recording more than 270,000 new COVID cases just the past week.

In fact, let me show you something. So, you see this graphic. This is showing the seven-day moving average of new infections. And that orange line that tracks up, that is California. And if California were a country, it would be among the world leaders right now when it comes to new cases.

Hospitalizations of COVID patients is at this all-time high, with ICU capacity dropping to zero yesterday in Southern California.

CNN's Dan Simon is live in San Francisco for us, where the story there is that the Bay Area is about to be under this stay-at-home order. What does that entail. And what are officials saying about it?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, first of all, California, no question about it, is facing this unprecedented surge.

Yesterday, you had 52,000 cases. You have had more than 100,000 cases in the past 48 hours alone. And, of course, the hospitals are feeling the strain.

As you alluded to, ICU bed capacity is alarmingly low. Statewide, it is at 3 percent in Southern California. As you said, it is at zero percent. Now, the state has activated some of these alternative health care sites. There are 11 of them. And five of them now have patients.

Now, in terms of what San Francisco is doing, remember, San Francisco was the first city in the country to issue a stay-at-home order. Now it is saying that, if you are coming into the city from outside of the Bay Area, you need to quarantine for 10 days.

[15:25:10]

This is if you're traveling here, if you're moving here, or even if you live here. And they're saying that it is a misdemeanor. How it might ultimately get enforced, that isn't clear. Of course, what they're looking for is voluntary compliance.

In the meantime, Brooke, several Bay Area hospitals are now administering vaccines. And want to show you one tweet that came from UCSF. Hopefully, you can see this on your screen. You see the image there.

And the hospital tweeted: "Senior custodian William Wyatt was the first front line health care hero at UCSF to receive a COVID-19 vaccine yesterday. William has been cleaning dirty linens in hospital rooms during the pandemic. #UCSFHeroes."

Now, that was followed up by a tweet by the by the chair of the department of medicine, who wrote: "How awesome that William received his vaccine before I did? The vaccine rollout is a window into the culture and priorities of an organization."

Great image, great message to wrap up the week -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Totally. And it's -- I'm so glad they sent that out, because we think so much about the doctors and the nurses and the staff. But you think about the janitors, folks moving beds, feeding people. All of those people come in close contact with COVID and need the shot.

Dan Simon, thank you.

Joining me now is emergency room physician Dr. Rob Davidson.

Dr. Davidson, good to see you again.

Just first on what Dan was talking about in Southern California. When you hear ICU capacity falling to zero percent, what do you do when you run out of ICU beds?

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT MEDICARE: Well, I know around here, we try to find other places we can transfer people.

When it's an entire region like that, that is -- that is the nightmare scenario. So, I frankly don't know what you do. I know they had early in New York worked on ways to split ventilators and use them on more than one patient.

I'm sure they will be converting non-ICU beds and units into places that could handle more critically ill people. But then it's staffing those with nurses who are trained in critical care and doctors who are trained in critical care.

It's -- frankly, this is what we have been trying to prevent all along. And the fact that they're doing this before Christmas, I know that we are full or nearly full, and I'm worried about what Christmas could bring. If they're already at that point, it's a crisis.

BALDWIN: Exactly. We haven't even gotten to the peak post- Thanksgiving, and we're rolling into another holiday. I know.

You, sir, were supposed to get the Pfizer vaccine this morning. Now I have been told you may have to wait until the Moderna vaccine rolls out. What happened?

DAVIDSON: Well, I wasn't supposed to get it this morning. There was hopes early on that I could get the Pfizer vaccine in a different facility.

Our hospital doesn't have the deep freeze freezers that are required for the Pfizer vaccine. We're going to be getting the Moderna as soon as it is authorized, it starts rolling off, expecting a shipment next week.

So I'm hoping for next week. Could be the week after. There's a lot of people in our entire system that are getting vaccinated now. And so this is kind of getting the tier one folks, getting folks in environmental services, like you said, the custodian at UCSF. We have folks in our hospital, they're going in and out of ICU rooms, cleaning them on a regular basis. They need to be protected maybe more than I do.

Their ability to miss work, to miss a paycheck, if they were to get sick, is definitely less than mine would be. So I'm happy to just wait my turn. Excited to get it. I will let you know when I do.

BALDWIN: OK. Vaccine day TBD.

I thought you and I were talking last week, and you had a date. But we will -- it's moving -- it's a moving target, I get it, especially with various vaccines rolling out.

I was listening to an E.R. doctor in Los Angeles, Dr. Davidson, talking about how overwhelmed she was just with the sheer number of patients she had on her shift last weekend. And she said it was actually the first time in her entire career when she was not sure that she could give every patient the best possible care.

So many patients. You have been talking about how the numbers are going to go up. She said it was really quite frightening for her. And you, as an E.R. doctor, I was just curious if you could relate to that sentiment. And how is it possible to give all of these patients at the moment the best care?

DAVIDSON: I'll tell you what. And I know that sentiment. And we have all been there in our careers on a shift here or there.

The problem is, with patients this sick coming in at the pace that they're coming in, it's being at that level for extended periods of time for an entire shift, for multiple shifts, for an entire weekend.

I think that's where the human toll of trying to maintain takes you. So, yes, I know that my colleagues are there for me, I'm there for them. We have a great team. I'm sure that the doctor with whom you spoke in California has that same kind of backup system.

Again, we're just trying to tell people to wear masks, to stay home, to please not celebrate Christmas with multiple households. Do it over Zoom again. Let's help us help you, so we can make sure everyone gets the care they need.

BALDWIN: Thank you for that. Thank you for that over and over and over again.

Dr. Rob Davidson, have a good weekend. Thank you, sir.

DAVIDSON: Same to you.

BALDWIN: Every hour, it gets bigger.