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California Facing One Of The Country's Worst Coronavirus Case Spikes; Gen. Perna: Moderna Vaccine Distribution Has Begun; U.S. First With Two COVID Vaccines After Moderna Authorization; Hospitals Nationwide Seeing Side Effects Of COVID-19 Vaccines; Doctors, Community Workers Struggle To Convince Black Americans To Get Vaccinated; Trump Campaign Told To Preserve All Documents Related To Sidney Powell & Dominion Voting Systems. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired December 19, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

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[13:00:53]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me on Fredricka Whitfield. The U.S. is fast approaching, the rollout of a second vaccine against COVID-19 approved by the FDA for emergency use. Right now, a CDC subcommittee is discussing the Moderna vaccine in these final steps before doses could be administered as early as Monday.

If the CDC director Robert Redfield gives the OK, the U.S. would be the first country in the world administering two vaccines and extraordinary accomplishment. But that hope is tempered by the persistent reality of this crisis. A key model now projects 562,000 Americans could die by April. We're consistently seeing record cases deaths and hospitalizations every metric every week. So, right now on a Saturday, Congress is working.

They're trying to finally deliver a COVID relief bill to an American public in desperate need. Congressional leaders say they have been closed for a while now. But sticking points remain and new ones keep emerging. So, as it pertains to the promise of a now second vaccine for the U.S. some 3000 locations are ready to receive the Moderna vaccine if the CDC gives the final green light.

Let's turn now to Pete Muntean. So, he is in Olive Branch, Mississippi where preparations are being made.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're waiting for shipments to begin here, Fredricka. We just heard from Operation Warp Speed. It says that trucks will begin leaving here starting tomorrow. The deliveries of the Moderna vaccine beginning on Monday. It all begins here. This is a McKesson facility. It is the company in charge of the distribution of the Moderna vaccine. And this is a significant spot.

We are not too far away from Memphis, which is the headquarters for FedEx. It is FedEx and UPS that will be handling these vaccine shipments to 3000 individual locations. Places like hospitals and pharmacies, this rollout a lot bigger than the initial Pfizer rollout about four times larger and Operation Warp Speed says it's learned a lot in the last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. GUSTAVE F. PERNA, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: We have already learned a lot of lessons from last week in the initial rollout. And we will continue to apply those lessons as we move forward. I know we'll learn more this week. But I'm also confident that we will have the agility to correct ourselves and get things right so that the next time it will go flawlessly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: 6 million Moderna doses will be leaving here. Operation Warp Speed says that in addition to the Pfizer dose is going out early next week means about eight million doses will be going to all 50 states and the U.S. territories. There is one advantage, the Moderna vaccine has over the Pfizer vaccine. It does not need to be as super cold as the Pfizer vaccine. It can be stored in a normal freezer.

That opens this up to a lot more rural areas without deep freezers. This is a significant expansion of Operation Warp Speed. It all begins right here in Mississippi. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Hmm. And so, when we talk about the volume, why there are so many more Moderna locations, is it largely because of that freezer versus, you know, below zero temp freezer storage bins necessary?

MUNTEAN: Well, you know, the Pfizer vaccine, needed a lot of dry ice to keep it cold. Each individual package was packed with pounds and pounds of dry ice. It's been UPS largely responsible for producing that dry ice to do that. This does not require that it has a refrigeration unit and each individual package and there doesn't need to be continual replenishments of dry ice.

You know, the packages for the Pfizer vaccine were actually what was being used in a lot of cases to store that vaccine. This is a little bit different and the Moderna can actually be stored at room temperature if push comes to shove and not spoiled for another 12 hours. So there is a big temperature advantage here, Fredricka.

[13:05:03]

WHITFIELD: Wow. And then the efficacy is similar results but there are other factors that make these two vaccines. A little different. All right, thank you so much. Pete Muntean, appreciate it. All right. On to California now, one of the hardest hit states in the country right now. More than 15,000 people are currently hospitalized there. Things are particularly dire in Southern California and that's where Paul Vercammen is joining us from Los Angeles. Paul?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And Fred in the state 41,000 new cases at last count and 3500 people in intensive care units. And now a rare opportunity to talk to someone in an intensive care unit. Come on in here, Dr. Yadegar. He runs the ICU here. 17 beds here, a smaller hospital, but you jumped on your shift at 2:00 a.m. And what's it like in there right now?

DR. THOMAS YADEGAR, ICU DIRECTOR, PROVIDENCE CEDARS-SINAI TARZANA MEDICAL CENTER: It's been horrible, Paul, this is by far the worst that it's been in the past nine months, no matter how hard we try to get patients better to stabilize them. And hopefully we get patients home, it seems like there's another four patients who are sicker, waiting for that same bed.

VERCAMMEN: And have you lost any patients on this last shift?

YADEGAR: Unfortunately, we have. Our patients are coming in much sicker than the past four months. And a lot of them are getting intubated in the emergency room. And we don't really have the time to start there -- to start the therapy that we know will make a difference in their outcome.

VERCAMMEN: And why do you think they're coming in much sicker now here in Southern California?

YADEGAR: I think because they noticed that, you know, the hospitals are being overwhelmed. And they're just trying to wait. I had a patient this past week who waited too long. And I asked them, why are you not coming in earlier, and it broke my heart. But what he said was I, I didn't want to take someone else's bed. I didn't want to take someone else's better. I thought that someone is going to be sicker and needed it more.

VERCAMMEN: And so, all of you are working together with other hospitals scrambling because your emergency rooms are filling up, you're seeing who's got availability, explain that strategy to me.

YADEGAR: When the hospital especially the emergency room becomes overwhelmed when we run out of telemetry and ICU beds, patients that need ICU beds stay in the emergency room. That causes the E.R. to get diverted, and that causes the ambulances instead of going to their local nearest emergency room, they go to the first available. And that's what we've seen over the past 24 hours as our sister hospitals closed.

We started seeing patients come from other areas. And by the time they got here, they're sicker. And some we weren't able to help.

VERCAMMEN: It's so heartbreaking to be in there right now. Because you're seeing so many patients that you know are going to be intubated and therefore cannot talk to their loved ones. You've gone so far as to make phone calls yourself the loved ones, and you're handing patients iPads. Can you tell us about that?

YADEGAR: Yes. One of the worst part about the pandemic has been that unfortunately, people's loved ones can be here with them in the hospital, to get them through these terrible times. What we do is to try to get them connected to their family members, it's vitally important to have the family members involved in their care, the love that they receive from their friends and family. That's not something I can replicate with medications.

VERCAMMEN: So, you allow them to tap out a note on an iPad or whatever it is? We really commend you for that.

YADEGAR: However, we can. I think the most important thing that I'd like to say, right now this virus is waging an all-out war against us. We just got approved for a second vaccine. And the end of this pandemic is hopefully just a few months away.

In the first few days of the pandemic, we had the public cooperate and follow the recommendations of our public health officials. We saw the curve flatten and we use that time to make incredible amount of advancements to be able to save lives.

Right now, we need L.A. to turn into a ghost town again. That's what we need, so that we can try to save as many people and heal as many souls.

VERCAMMEN: We super appreciate your taking time out and all of your efforts and get some sleep. I know you've been working around the clock. Again, thank you so much, doctor. Well, you heard that Fred, they want L.A. to turn into a ghost town. That's the healthcare professionals by that they mean just stay at home, including for the upcoming holidays. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Wow, just underscore, it's going to take a lot of personal responsibility on everybody's part to play a part in getting some control over this pandemic. Paul Vercammen thank you so much. And thank you to the doctor there. I mean, clearly he's very fatigued doing an awesome job but even he cannot separate his own personal emotions from, you know, the job of trying to help so many people there. We can hear it in his voice. Thanks, Paul.

All right. CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Leana Wen is with us now from Baltimore. So Dr. Wen, you know, give me your thoughts. I mean, just listening to the doctor's final words there and just really asking people, you know, except that there needs to be a ghost town, you know, in a town near you, even though there is the hope of this now second, even vaccine. Anything you want to add to his thoughts?

[13:10:05]

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, I completely agree with him, Fred, that we have this great news with vaccines. But we also have to look at where we are, which is that our hospitalizations are nearly double from where they were a month ago. We have a person dying from coronavirus, basically every 30 seconds here in the U.S. And for anyone who is still thinking about getting together with extended family and friends over the holidays, I would just plead with you please do not get together indoors.

You can get together safely outdoors household space at least six feet apart, but don't gather indoors. Right now there's so much virus around the country that if you have a gathering of 10 people, there is a one in four chance that somebody in that 10 people will have coronavirus and not know it and be transmitting it to others. That's just too high level. And so, please know that hospitals are the last line of defense. The first line of defense is everyone in the community to protect themselves.

WHITFIELD: Well said. We also heard from Dr. Fauci today that clinical trials, you know, could start for children as early as next month. What is that process all about? How will that happen?

WEN: So, it does make sense when you first have clinical trials for a new medication or vaccine that you first tested on adults. And then you also do have to test the safety and efficacy in children because children are not just little adults, they have a different physiology. So, first, you test it on older children on teenagers, and then you move to a to younger kids and toddlers and babies. And so, we are going to see that gradual roll out of testing.

And then ideally, we'll be able to get our kids vaccinated over the summer so that they can go back to school in the fall.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's so how does that happen because how do you get these candidates? Because obviously they're minors, so it means parental consent? And what is it that parents are considering when they volunteer their children to be a part of the test trial?

WEN: So, I think the consideration is similar to adults who are -- who are volunteering and clinical trials, as well. But again, I think this is a matter of rolling out over the course of phases. So, the Pfizer vaccine, as an example is already tested in 16, 17-year-olds. And so, then they'll move it down to a slightly lower age group. And then when safety and efficacy is proven, they'll move it to a lower age group after that.

WHITFIELD: Uh-hmm. OK. So, we've seen these records being set every day and just about every category. What is your message to people as they are trying to finalize, you know, their plans for the holiday and even their after? I mean, yes, you say, all right, you know, get together responsibly outdoors. But what can you add to how people need to approach the next few weeks?

WEN: know that there is just so much virus all around the country, the entire U.S. is a coronavirus hotspot. And if anyone is still thinking about traveling, please consider to postpone the travel. Definitely do not travel if you're symptomatic, if you've been diagnosed with coronavirus, if you -- if you've been exposed to someone, and you should be quarantined, you should definitely not travel under those circumstances.

For everyone else, I'm actually less worried about the travel itself than what people choose to do after they travel and really worried about these indoor crowded gatherings. And know that one negative test is not enough. Because you could well have been exposed from the time that you got the test to -- when you got together or right before that test, maybe you have not met the incubation period yet.

And so, it's really important. If you really want to see people indoors, you should already be in quarantine for at least seven days and then going to negative test. But if you did not do that, do not get together indoors. I am certain that none of us want to inadvertently infect our loved ones.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much. Good points taken Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much and happy holidays to you. Be safe.

WEN: You too.

WHITFIELD: And this just in, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is getting his coronavirus vaccine on live television along with his health minister. Israel is expecting million -- a million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the year. You see him there and that wide shot now with a sleeve rolled up. We saw this taking place in America yesterday with the Vice President Mike Pence getting his vaccine of coronavirus.

The first of what will be a two-dose dosage. Reporter Elliott Gotkine is in Tel Aviv for us. So, Elliot, tell us what people are bracing for as they watch the Prime Minister Netanyahu receive his vaccine on live television.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Frederika, yes, this is taking place just a few meters away from where I'm standing at what is Israel's biggest hospital. You can see, you know, is right sleeve rolled up and ready to have that vaccine. And the backdrop for this and what he's really bracing for is that the number of cases on a 24- hour period is creeping back up towards the 3000 mark.

[13:15:11]

GOTKINE: Which means that Israelis are kind of bracing themselves for what could be a third lockdown. And I think there are two main reasons why Netanyahu is doing this live on television. The first in a similar vein to Vice President Mike Pence is to lead by example, to show Israelis that this vaccine is safe and effective. And that as many of them as possible, should get it as soon as it becomes available and as soon as they are eligible to do so.

Now, there was a poll in one Israeli newspaper this week, which showed that just two-thirds of Israelis or just under two-thirds are planning on getting vaccinated. So, Netanyahu will be hoping that by leading by example, he will encourage more Israelis to take that vaccine and get the virus under control. And I think the second reason that he's doing this is political. You know, he made himself the face of the country's fight against coronavirus.

And when Israel seemed to be winning that battle early on after the first lockdown, that was great for his popularity. But the Israeli economy then opened up and cases surged. And so, Israel went from having one of the lowest caseloads per capita to one of the highest in the world.

And that obviously hasn't been very good for his popularity. So, I think that by being the face of what he hopes will be a successful rollout of the vaccination campaign, Netanyahu hopes to undo some of that damage, boost his popularity ahead of what could be a fourth election in the New Year.

(CROSSTALK)

GOTKINE: Netanyahu must be just a heading back here now.

WHITFIELD: Yes. He just had it. Let's see. And here real quick, if he's has anything to say.

So, Elliott, I don't know if you were able to hear that or interpret that in Hebrew there, as the Prime Minister received his inoculation there. He did say a few words. So, we'll have to translate for me later what he may have said or if he has --

(CROSSTALK)

GOTIKINE: He said a few words --

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

GOTKINE: He said a few words before actually going in, he said that this was a big night for Israel and that he believes in this vaccine. So, again, just trying to reiterate to Israelis to perhaps any who are wavering in their plans for getting vaccinated, that this is a safe and effective vaccine and that they should go ahead and do it for the good of the country and to try to get the virus under control so the economy and Israelis as a whole can return to normal.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. And he's got a happy face there. So certainly, sending a very affirmative message and also allowing everyone to see live him receiving the first of what would be a two-dose vaccine against COVID-19. Thank you so much, Elliott Gotkine, appreciate it. And we'll be right back.

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[13:21:56]

WHITFIELD: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to work toward a deal on a $900 billion aid package this weekend. You're looking at live pictures right now inside the Senate chamber as lawmakers hash out any kind of fine tuning and print. Late last night, Congress approved a last minute 48-hour stopgap spending bill avoiding a U.S. government shutdown, at least for now. But lawmakers remain divided over the details for a COVID economic relief package.

It's expected to include money for vaccine distribution in schools, as well as federal jobless benefits and small business loans. Discussions are also underway for a possible new round of $600 stimulus checks. Well, for the very latest now let's bring in Suzanne Malveaux, on Capitol Hill. What is the latest?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, they really want to try to make that deadline for tomorrow midnight and they want to strike that deal. There are some sticking points but it looks like there's a little bit of wiggle room here perhaps even some optimism for this afternoon. We do understand that Lisa, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to have an ambitious schedule potentially a deal today and at the house rules. We've got a tee it up for the House vote, the floor vote tomorrow. And of course, that would be followed by a Senate vote. But the main sticking point here is the Federal Reserve's authority to lend money in emergency situations, the Republicans are trying to restrict a provision regarding that. The Democrats say that this ties to Biden's bite administration's hands for a tool, a tool that the Biden administration might need in the future for loosening up that money and dealing with this crisis.

Now, I've had a chance to talk to Senator Chris Coons this morning who's very, very frustrated at Democrat part of the bipartisan group that came up with the COVID relief bill, at least the contours of that, and really don't see a place for this particular provision in the negotiations. But I also had a chance to talk to Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma and he thinks he's pushing back hard here.

He thinks it's not fair, that this is a discussion that has become and taken on a certain political circus atmosphere, if you will, that it is a legitimate point that was made, even before the election. I want you to take a listen to what he said moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): We don't need to have large amounts of money sitting in the Federal Reserve with very little restrictions on it, just in a normal time period on it. The next several months, we'll have the vaccine coming out across the country.

That's the most important thing as we start to recover from the economy and to be able to get back to a sense of normalcy, but a normal Federal Reserve would not have this kind of authority and we're not going to try to play politics with people's health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Fred, the question becomes whether or not they can finagle this language, they can finance it so that it works for both sides here so that they can break this impasse because it does look like. That is the main sticking point.

If they can work that language out potentially, they could have something on the table for lawmakers to take a look at. We are told, however that the earliest that the House would be called to vote would be 1:00 tomorrow that the lawmakers would have two hours of lead time to get here to cast those votes or either by proxy and then it would go to the Senate. Fred?

[13:25:08]

WHITFIELD: All right. We shall see some of them. Thank you so much. All right, following days of silence from the U.S. President on the massive cyberattack on American federal agencies, suspected to have been launched by Russia. President Trump today is downplaying the hack and casting doubt that Russia could be involved. He is insinuating without evidence that China could be behind the cyberattack. That contradicts what his own U.S. Secretary of State says about the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: There was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of U.S. government systems and now peer systems of private companies and companies and governments across the world as well. This was a very significant effort. And I think it's the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in now Cedric Leighton to talk about this. Good to see you.

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you too, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Great. I just want to make sure we can hear you. OK. So, does this kind of response, you know, and denial of Russia's participation open the door in your view for something else from adversaries?

LEIGHTON: Oh, it definitely does. And I think the President hasn't done anybody any favors by tweeting that Russia may not be responsible in this case. You know, at the moment, you know, based on our knowledge, based on our understanding of the forensics involved here, it's pretty clear that Russia did this. So, Secretary of State Pompeo is right about this. The President is wrong.

WHITFIELD: So, what does that say to you that the President would tweet out a message like this? Almost like protecting Russia, it couldn't be. And then being critical of the media as though it is responsible for, you know, spreading half truths about who could be responsible from this hack.

LEIGHTON: Right. So, the media is really basing its assessment on experts. So, you know, people like me and others who speak about cybersecurity issues are the ones that are leading the media to the conclusion that the Russians were in fact behind this. And we have a lot of forensic evidence that says that that is the case and when you look at the totality of the evidence, yes, China has, of course, a major cyber attacker, they do a lot of different things.

But in this case, based on the forensics, based on the style that we have, that we've looked at, and, you know, the types of attacks that were conducted, I -- it's pretty clear that the Russians are the ones that are that are doing this.

WHITFIELD: And reportedly, this has been going on for months. So, in your view, what kind of damage has already been done?

LEIGHTON: Oh, if the damage could be very considerable. We don't know yet what the exact extent of the damage is, Fredricka. But what we do have is an understanding that they at least looked into several different major networks. We know that, you know, they look to the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institutes of Health, just to name a few.

And of course, the nuclear security apparatus that guards the nuclear weapons. So, we know that they were interested in several different things. We also know that about 18,000 firms downloaded the software in question that was the big, big vulnerability, the solar winds, software that updated their update server. And that very fact means that they have a lot of potential places that they could have gone.

And with that, it's pretty clear that, you know, probably more than what we've seen right now, more Institutes, more departments of the government, more private sector companies were the ones that were actually victims of this and actually had data that was compromised.

WHITFIELD: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always good to see you. Thank you so much and have a safe holiday season.

LEIGHTON: You too, Fredricka. Thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. All right. Still ahead. As the U.S. prepares to administer the second coronavirus vaccine questions are now resurfacing over who will be allowed to get the vaccine first. Plus, fears over the vaccine dissuading communities of color from getting the vaccine what's being done to rebuild trust.

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[13:33:59]

WHITFIELD: All right. Now that the FDA has issued emergency authorization for the Moderna vaccine, this will be the second in the United States, a hospital in a suburb of Chicago paused its COVID-19 vaccination program after four workers experienced reactions such as tingling and elevated heart rate shortly after receiving the vaccine.

Also, in Alaska, a clinician who received a coronavirus vaccine Thursday experienced what appeared to be an anaphylactic reaction. That's to the Pfizer vaccine.

For more on this, we go to CNN's Jacqueline Howard who is monitoring a meeting of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices as they discuss whether to indeed recommend Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

Jacqueline, good to see you.

What are you hearing so far?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: What we're hearing so far, Fredricka, we have heard mention of these allergic reactions to the vaccine. However, they are being monitored.

But they're not going to change the FDA's emergency use authorization for Moderna or for Pfizer.

[13:35:02]

We have to put it in context. For instance, in Illinois in that suburb outside of Chicago, the hospital noted that the four health care workers who did experience allergic reaction represent fewer than 0.15 percent of the approximately 3,000 health care workers who have received the vaccine so far within their health care system.

So those are just, you know, an example of the small numbers that we are seeing when it comes to these reactions.

However, during the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization practices meeting that's happening right now, FDA official, Dr. Doren Fink, did say this is something they're watching closely, and if there's anything that could change emergency use authorization, the FDA will let the public know.

Here's what he said. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DOREN FINK, DEPUTY DIRECTOR-CLINICAL, DIVISION OF VACCINES & RELATED PRODUCTS APPLICATIONS, FDA (voice-over): Some of these reactions have been confirmed to be serious or anaphylactic reactions, and we are working closely with the manufacturer to identify what the cause of these reactions fight be.

We will update the public in a timely manner if we find anything that would cause us to change the conditions of the emergency use authorization or if we need to provide any additional information to inform the public about the benefits and risks of the vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: So you see there, he said this is something that's being looked at.

But right now, again, these are small numbers out of the thousands of health care workers who have been vaccinated already so far. So these numbers are something that are not out of the ordinary. They are rare occurrences.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

HOWARD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

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[13:41:01]

WHITFIELD: Given a long history of mistreatments and negligence in medical research, it's no wonder there remains reluctance and mistrust of COVID vaccines among black Americans.

Black people are nearly three times more likely that white people to die of COVID-19 because of health care disparities, pre-existing conditions, and increased exposure at jobs deemed essential. And yet, fewer than half of black Americans say they would get a

coronavirus vaccine, according to a December report from the Pew Research Center.

Joining me right now to discuss is Dr. Reed Tuckson, founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID-19, and Reverend Liz Walker, a pastor at the Roxbury Presbyterian Church in Boston.

Dr. Reed, people who didn't understand the reluctance and heard it over the past couple of weeks why there's this longstanding mistrust of medicine and new research involving black Americans.

But help convey to people now, what will be the answer to some of that reluctance? What is it that those who are reluctant about these new vaccinations need to hear and see to feel like it will indeed be beneficial to them?

DR. REED TUCKSON, FOUNDER, BLACK COALITION AGAINST COVID-19: What we have learned is that people need to hear from trusted sources that they can rely upon.

And so we pulled together the four historically black medical schools along with the National Medical Association and the National Black Nurses Association, all together speaking regularly and consistently to our community.

And what we have learned is that when the message is delivered by people who, number one, love our community, care deeply about our people, and who are trusted to provide evidence-based and science information, it makes a difference.

We've been polling since April. When we started polling, 60 percent of black adults were saying they did not want to take the vaccine. That number is now in our polling, down to 40 percent.

And key to those numbers are that 30 percent are saying we want more information. We're eager for the information you're giving us, because we like what we're hearing.

And the second data point that we're hearing is that 27 percent of the people are saying, I now feel better about it.

That's 8.3 million black adults who are now the ones we have to work with to help make sure that they can navigate the process and get the vaccine.

And the combination of all of that will organically grow us to the direction we need to be in.

WHITFIELD: Not only what's being said but by whom. Listen to the surgeon general, Jerome Adams, with his messaging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: We have to acknowledge this has happened to people and that mistrust comes from an historical place.

But we also have to explain to people that, hey, we put protections in place to make sure this could never happen again. We now have many people looking to make sure these vaccines are safe.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: They have a double whammy because once they do get infected, they have a degree and a relative incidents and prevalence of the underlying co-morbidities, which make it much more likely for them to have a serious outcome once they are infected.

Which, as Jerome said, is an extra special reason of why we have to get the minority community vaccinated. Not only for their own health, the health of their families, but the health of their community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Dr. Tuckson, there was something else that's reinforced a reluctance, particularly because, in large part, because of this administration.

And many black people who feel this reluctance to accept this, you know, the efficacy of these current vaccines because it comes under an administration that many black communities, black people have felt has not necessarily been its advocate.

[13:45:04]

So how do you work with that?

TUCKSON: What we do is, first of all, acknowledge the reality of it. And it is a tragedy that this administration has so politicized this effort to -- at the peril of our nation and of people of color.

We're emphasizing also some important facts. For example, the head of the National Heart and Lung and Blood Institute at NIH, the second- largest institute there, is an African-American physician and scientist.

The woman who is developing so much of the work on the vaccine is a woman named Dr. Corbyn, a black woman scientist.

On that committee that approved the vaccine yesterday for the Moderna one and also for the Pfizer is the president of Meharry Medical College on our coalition.

The head of science, the chief science officer for the FDA, a black woman.

So the more we're able to help our community understand that we -- with our eyes and our ears, our integrity and legitimacy, watching what's going on and transparently reporting it back, that's what we are doing now.

And it's important that that story is told much more often. WHITFIELD: Reverend Liz Walker, for a long time you've been a

masterful communicator as a journalist and now a pastor as well. And you know how important it is, the message and the messenger.

You actually invited Dr. Fauci and succeeded in that invitation to get him to talk directly to your congregation about the importance of the vaccine, about the importance of all the protections in place.

How did you do that? Why did you do that? And how successful do you believe it was?

REV. LIZ WALKER, PASTOR, ROXBURY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: Well, thanks for having me, Fredricka.

And I'm just enthralled listening to the doctor talk about all the things that are going on.

What we wanted to do was, we work with people who are traumatized. That's one of the main ministries of our church. And that involves a lot of black people traumatized by society, by the justice system, the criminal justice system and by health care.

Inviting Dr. Fauci was just a step of faith for me that maybe he could come because he has value. He has credibility. And that would make a difference in our community.

He said yes. I was shocked when he said yes, but we had 28 people who got on that Zoom call because people want to know. And I think it worked to the extent that people felt this credible, trusted man has given the time to talk to us.

We are important as well. I think that was one of the messages sent.

But all I want to add to this is, this is not a one-shot deal. You can't just have Dr. Fauci one time and think you've changed the world.

It's got to go on and on. It's got to go with national people. It has to go with local people. We have to really emphasize the value of our community.

I love my community, and I will do anything I can for my community because I value it.

So we're trying to get other churches involved, other national leaders.

The NAACP did an incredible Zoom recently with Dr. Corbett. That was very impactful.

And I'm -- to send it all over Boston so that people will know. We have basketball players, a good friend of mine, Cedric Maxwell, is starting a campaign about take the shot. That's exciting. That's wonderful.

So there's all kinds of things we can do. It's like all-hands-on-deck to let people know they have value and to give them the accurate information.

WHITFIELD: Doctor, thank you -- Liz, for that, because -- or thank you, Reverend Walker.

Dr. Tuckson, that's really important that word "value" because, you know, people -- black people in particular, want to feel valued by government. They want to be valued by the medical system. And all that is wrapped into trusting this vaccine.

And so if they didn't feel value during this administration for a host of things and are now trying to embrace these two vaccines, what is going to be your messaging to the next administration?

How to convey black people feel valued by government, by the institution of medicine, of the judicial system, all of those things, that litany that Reverend Walker just spelled out?

TUCKSON: I think, first of all, we're glad to see people like Tony Fauci will be part of the next administration.

We did a program the other day with our partners, blackdoctor.org and with Tony Fauci. And we have 280,000 African-Americans on that call. And they stayed on that for an hour and a half with Dr. Fauci. So we know there's a hunger.

But we still be pleased that Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith has now been appointed by the Biden/Harris administration to take a leadership role in health equity across the board and in this vaccine.

[13:50:07]

So we're going to urge that we need more people of color in senior positions who not only the message but bring not only the message but bring the needs that are felt from the community itself.

It has to be a two-way street. We don't just need public officials talking to us. We need public officials who are listening to us.

And I think people like Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith will be key in the era of not only the president but also we celebrate that we have a vice president named Kamala Harris who is going to be particularly important in that role.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely.

All right, Dr. Reed Tuckson, Reverend -- I want to call you Liz because of your many days as an anchor. I got to get used to that. It's been a long time.

But Reverend Walker, thank you so much.

Appreciate you both.

WALKER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:24]

All right, this breaking news into the NEWSROOM. President Trump's campaign legal team sent a memo to its staff today telling them to save all documents related to Dominion Voting Systems and pro-Trump attorney, Sidney Powell.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins joining us on the phone with us -- Kaitlan?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): This is so notable given that Sidney Powell is this pro-Trump attorney that the campaign has tried to distance themselves from but the president has embraced her.

And now, a few hours ago, campaign staff got this legal memo from the attorney to work for the president's campaign instructing them to preserve all documents that have to do with Sidney Powell and Dominion Voting System in anticipation that the company could potentially sue Sidney Powell.

We reached out to the company to ask if they do plan to sue her. They have no responded. Not sure if that's imminent legal action.

But this is this company has come under fire by Sidney Powell since lost the election because they have alleged that these voting systems, these voting machines that people use, made by Dominion, used in probably 30 states or so, that they altered votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. And of course, those are baseless accusations.

The company sent Sidney Powell a letter earlier this week asking that she publicly retract her statement because they said she didn't make it in a court of law yet, so asking them to publicly apologize for the things that she said about the company, these accusations she was pushing without any evidence.

And now, this is a clear sign that the campaign thinks that legal action could be happening with Dominion Voting Systems and Sidney Powell.

We should note, Matt Morgan, the Trump campaign's general counsel, does say in the memo, the campaign doesn't reasonably anticipate litigation against the campaign at this time.

But they are telling staff, do not destroy any records that have to do with Dominion Voting Systems, with Sidney Powell, with Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, the other attorney.

And Lin Wood, of course, who was the Trump attorney in Georgia who was making the claims about Brian Kemp, talking about going to his house.

This just gives you a sense of, you know, how this is being viewed by the attorneys and how the president is viewing this.

Because as CNN has now confirmed, which "The New York Times" reported, the president had Sidney Powell in the Oval Office just last night.

And was talking about making her a special counsel to investigate these allegations of voter fraud that his own officials have said are not widespread and they do not exist.

And it's just incredibly notable.

WHITFIELD: And just so people can follow the bouncing ball here and who Sidney Powell is, I mean, she is responsible for filing a number of the unsuccessful lawsuits to try to help this president overturn the elections. Again, notable word, "unsuccessful."

And Dominion has already said that they accuse her of, and I'm quoting now, "a dangerous and reckless disinformation campaign aimed at sowing doubt and confusion."

Kaitlan, thank you. We'll see if this is a prelude to what legal action Dominion Voting System may have against this attorney.

Thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

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