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First Moderna Shots To Be Given As World Reacts To New Variant; Attorney General Barr Contradicts Trump Several Times In News Conference; Congress To Vote On $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Bill. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 21, 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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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Bianna Golodryga in for Brianna Keilar. I want to welcome viewers here in the United States and around the world.

In just hours, President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden will be vaccinated against coronavirus and it's happening on the same day that the U.S. begins giving shots of the newly authorized Moderna vaccine.

But as we become the first in the world to offer two vaccines, we could be the last Western nation to respond to a new variant of coronavirus. So far, the U.S. has not joined more than 30 countries that are banning travel from the United Kingdom. The country just revealing the variant is much more infectious but likely not any deadlier.

The White House coronavirus task force is meeting today and will discuss the issue. One of its members, Admiral Brett Giroir, explained why we are not just seeing a reaction global when the variant has been known for several months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The variant that's being was first identified in September. So, it's not something that just arose in the last week. It has become of concern because it is becoming the dominant variant in the U.K.

The inference is that because it is the dominant variant, it may be more transmissible, and that may be true. It has not been proven, but it may be true.

Let me tell you what there is no evidence of, no reason to believe, it is not any more lethal or any more dangerous than the normal coronavirus, no evidence to suggest that, no reason to believe it. There is also no evidence to suggest, no reason to believe that it would evade our vaccines that we have right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GOLODRYGA: There's also more troubling confirmation, how much vaccines are needed. The U.S. now averaging more than 215,000 new infections per day. We are expected to reach 18 million total infections today, which means that it took the nation just four days, just four, to see another million cases.

Let me turn now to CNN's Miguel Marquez, who is in Houston. He is at a hospital that will be giving the first shots of the Moderna vaccine outside of the clinical trial.

Miguel, I saw you with a doctor there earlier saying that that vaccine for him was like holding a precious baby. Set the scene for us.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I want to give you a sense of where we are at United Memorial Medical Center. Behind those curtains over there, that's where the worst of the worst have been cared for for the last nine months. To go beyond those curtains, you have to get into several layers of PPE, wrap all of your gear, take extraordinary precautions to make sure you don't get coronavirus while covering it.

Down this hallway, this is where the cafeteria is. This is where they're going to start injecting that new vaccine into the arms of staff here. We saw within the last hour they received the box, FedEx, from Moderna. They opened it in front of us. It was a medium-sized box. It's the most really boring thing on the planet you can think of, but it was highly emotional because they have seen so much death, so much dying and a lot of people surviving at this particular facility. But it has been a very, very difficult time for the nurses and doctors that run this place.

Dr. Joseph Varrone, this is his 277th day straight, the guy who runs -- the chief medical officer here who runs this hospital. And for him to open that box, it's medium-sized box, it weight about 20 or 30 pounds, there is smaller box inside of that and then two small boxes of the actual vaccine. He has about 300 doses.

It comes super cold, almost frozen, if not frozen. They are now putting it into a refrigerator to bring it up to about 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, he said. That's probably 34, 35 degrees Fahrenheit. And then down this hallway in about an hour or so they're going to start injecting it into the first arms. He will get it, members of staff will get it and it will begin a long process that that light at the end of the tunnel, he said, of getting beyond this coronavirus pandemic. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Incredible. That box may look boring but it's anything but. It is a miracle. Miguel Marquez, thank you so much.

MARQUEZ: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, the CDC board has added two new lists of recipients for the COVID vaccine. After frontline medical workers, next in line are what's called frontline essential workers, like grocery clerks, teachers, meat plant employees. Anyone aged 75 or older is also in this category. The next level involves those who are essential to transportation and logistics. That category also includes people aged 65 to 74.

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Let's talk about all of this with the medical expert, E.R. Dr. Rob Davidson. He's also the Executive Director of The Committee to Protect Medicare. Doctor, thank you so much for joining us.

Do you agree with the new designations? Anyone you fear is being left out at this stage.

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, E.R. PHYSICIAN: Well, I wish we had enough vaccine to get everyone vaccinated in a very short time, but I do agree that essential workers and folks over 70 -- 75 and over should be in the next wave. We know people 75 and over have a significantly increased risk of getting severely ill, of getting hospitalized in the ICU and dying. We certainly need to prevent all of that.

And for frontline essential workers, I would have been fine as a health care if they were included in our wave or before me, in fact, because I think they're critical to keep all of our lives going. And I'm glad that they will get the vaccine. They are in a high risk occupations, of course, because they're just facing the public so often and can't do their jobs from home like a lot of people can.

GOLODRYGA: Of course, we knew this was going to be a complicated issue, but it's great to see that these lists are expanding at least.

For people at home seeing these two different vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna, does it matter which one you get?

DAVIDSON: We don't think so. Listen, in my house, my wife is a physician as well as myself. My wife just got the Pfizer vaccine, I'm getting the Moderna vaccine next weekend. So we'll have a little experiment between two of us in one household. And, really, looking at the technology, the mRNA technology developed in parallel but really the same exact technology, I think we're going to see the same response.

The studies have shown about 95 percent efficacy for both. So I don't feel like people should worry about which one they get. I think they should get the one they can when they can get it.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, keep us posted on the reactions and the experiment there you have at home.

Let's talk about this new variant of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. What do we know about it and does it worry you at this point?

ROBINSON: Well, I think we should all certainly be a bit concerned and we should pay close attention to studies that they're doing. What we know is it's a variant that contains, I believe, a dozen individual mutations, a few mutations here and there is pretty common for any type of virus, particularly these RNA viruses. They do this all the time. I think this may have occurred in someone who had it for a very long time with a chronic carrier, so to speak, and it just gave the virus time to have many little events happen that changed it. The virus doesn't know it's having mutations, they just happen naturally. Some mutations have zero impact on the virus' ability to transmit. There is some suggestion because so many cases contain this set of mutations that perhaps this is more transmissible.

It's also possible it just happened to be in the circulation at a number of super-spreader events and it just happens to be the predominant strain. That remains to be seen. But in the interim, I think we have to be vigilant in watching out for the effects of the virus.

GOLODRYGA: Well, we see other countries reacting more aggressively than the United States is, at least right now. And Admiral Giroir and Dr. Anthony Fauci also said that the U.S. doesn't need to ban travel or suspend travel from the U.K. into the U.S. at this point. Though Governor Cuomo here in New York says action does need to be taken. So what is your view?

ROBINSON: Boy, my view would be to be as cautious as possible. We're trying to tell everybody to do everybody they can to stop the spread. I certainly -- I trust the folks in charge, but I would love to have a little bit more explanation why they wouldn't slow things down a bit.

I know Governor Cuomo had said people on British airways are going to have a test before they leave. They have to prove that. They're asking other carriers. I think, at minimum, that would be a good way to go. But we'll just have to collect as much data as possible so we can get the final answers.

GOLODRYGA: Of course, it's happening in the busiest travel season of the year as well. Dr. Rob Davidson, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Good to see you.

ROBINSON: Thanks, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Well, Attorney General William Barr had plenty to say today as he prepares to leave the Department of Justice this week. In a press conference, the outgoing attorney general contradicted his boss on a series of subjects, including allegations of voter fraud, the Hunter Biden investigation and President Trump's insistence that Russia is not responsible for a massive cyberattack on U.S. government agencies. The attorney general disagrees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: From the information I have, you know, I agree with Secretary Pompeo's assessment. It certainly appears to be the Russians.

REPORTER: The president has continued to make the case that there was fraud in the election. You've already made your statement on that in an interview. Do you believe there is enough evidence to warrant appointing a special counsel to look into it? BARR: If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and was appropriate, I would do -- I would name one, but I haven't and I'm not going to.

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REPORTER: Do you believe there should be a special counsel appointed to investigate the allegations against Hunter Biden?

BARR: To this point, I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel and I have no plan to do so before I leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez was in the room and asked the question about election fraud claims. Evan, this was extraordinary. We have not yet heard from the president, though we probably should anticipate a tweet of outrage, perhaps, given his history.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right.

GOLODRYGA: What struck you about what you heard from the outgoing attorney general?

PEREZ: Well, Bianna, you know, the attorney general has taken pains in the past to try to tow the line that the president was -- had been taking, whether it came to -- whether it comes from vote fraud to his accusations about the Mueller investigation.

So, to me, the fact that here he is just a couple days before he leaves this building for the last time as attorney general, he's leaving here on Wednesday, he is willing to say plainly that the president is wrong on a number of fronts.

He says that he hasn't seen any evidence to appoint a special counsel to look into these allegations of vote fraud that the president has been making, claiming that it was enough vote fraud to cost him the election, the attorney general saying not so.

On the question of whether of there should be a special counsel looking into Hunter Biden, the son of Vice President Biden, the incoming president, same thing. He says, I haven't seen anything yet.

And also on the question of whether the Russian were behind as the president raised the idea over the weekend that maybe, just maybe it was the Chinese.

So just the idea that the attorney general is walking out the door is making this clear demarcation of separation from the president, which is, by the way, the reason why he's leaving a little bit early, because he realized that the president has been talking behind the scenes about firing him, so he decided to make an exit on his own terms.

By the way, today, that press conference was being held on the anniversary of the Lockerby Bombing, which was -- the attorney general was an acting attorney general in 1991 when there was indictment against two Libyan intelligence officers. Today, there were charges brought against a third, and that's very, very important case that was close to his heart. he wanted to do that press conference today, Bianna, before he made his exit.

GOLODRYGA: Look, he split with the president on just about every big issue the president cares about right now, and this, of course, coming after his dear leader thank you resignation letter, just bizarre. Evan Perez, thank you for being there for us. We appreciate it.

PEREZ: Sure.

GOLODRYGA: Well, still ahead, I'll speak to Congressman Mike Quigley about the Russian cyberattack and the COVID relief bill that's expected to pass today. The treasury secretary says, you could see money in your hands as early as next week. We'll break down what's in the $900 billion bill.

Plus, we're live in London as a list of countries shutting their borders to the U.K. grows by the hour. Hear what the prime minister has to say about that.

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GOLODRYGA: After months of negotiations and partisan fighting, Congress is expected to vote on a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill today and finally send help to millions of struggling Americans. The final text has yet to be released, but here is what we know so far.

$600 in stimulus checks will be sent to those below a certain income. Eligible parents will get an additional $600 per child. The $300 jobless benefits that were set to expire will be extended for another 11 weeks. And the Paycheck Protection Program will get another $284 billion for small businesses. Another $13 billion will be used for food stamp increases, food pantries and nutrition programs. And there is $25 billion set aside for rental assistance. The eviction moratorium will also be extended until the end of January.

Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill. Manu, you have been working night and day, following the back and forth, there is a lot in this bill. I know we haven't seen the text yet. But some big items didn't make the final cut. What were those?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Those two big items actually that led to this deal, because Democrats have been pushing for hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments to get aid, cities and states that have been hit hard. Republicans pushed back. They have contended a lot of this, in their view, was a waste, that essentially Democrats had to drop that.

Republicans, on the other hand, had to drop their own push, that was to include liability protections for businesses and other entities. That was dropped from this final overall $900 billion package. Now, you mentioned it, we have not yet seen the text yet. And what's pretty remarkable, we are now learning one reason why the text has not been released is because of computer problems. Printing and actually uploading this giant file is leading to a delay of getting this bill to be considered. That's what Senator John Thune, the majority whip, just told our colleague, Ted Barrett, on the Senate floor just moments ago.

So it's unclear how much of a setback that will be to ultimately getting this bill through today. Because, first, it has to get through the House Rules Committee, to the House floor, and then, eventually, the Senate, and we're expecting a pretty late night as we rush up to a midnight deadline as we avert a government shutdown. So we have not seen the details but we have some general outlines of the plan.

There are a number of key provisions that would help individuals, help schools and colleges, and, namely, $82 billion for schools and colleges, another $10 billion for childcare facilities and also $20 billion for the purchase of vaccines and $8 billion for vaccine distribution among a number of other issues, like including a $13 billion increase in food stamps and child nutrition benefits.

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So, this proposal, Bianna, is so significant. It impacts so many sectors of the economy, one of the largest rescue packages in American history. It will be tied to $1.4 trillion bill to keep the government open past tonight through September. But lawmakers have not seen the details.

There is plenty of frustration from senators who have not seen anything yet because the leadership is the one on both of sides of aisle that cut the deal here. Ultimately, it will be dropped. There will be a push to get it through the House, push to get through the Senate. It will be a take it or leave it proposition. And Congress, ultimately, will take it, send it to the president's desk, will sign it in the coming days here, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Second largest U.S. stimulus in history and it's being held up by computer problems. I mean, that doesn't tell you what the problem is there. I don't know what is. Manu, thank you so much, we appreciate it. You can't make this up, indeed.

Well, Congressman Mike Quigley joins me now from Washington. Congressman, this has been a long road. Are you happy with the final product and will it be enough?

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Look, I'm going to vote for it. I'm not happy with it. It's obviously tardy and insufficient. But given the need out there that's so dramatic and pervasive, you simply have to support it and hope that under a new administration we can do better.

GOLODRYGA: Hopefully, you can work on fixing those printer problems as well. But, as you know, this bill is far from the $1.8 trillion offer that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin made this fall. What happened? Did Democrats miss an opportunity there? QUIGLEY: You know, I've heard that, but we passed a bill in May, we passed a bill in October, the HEROES Act, over 3 trillion, then 2 trillion. Respectfully, my response to Mr. Mnuchin is talk is cheap. The Senate has not passed a measure towards this end since CARES, right, almost ten months ago. So they can say that they offered this or that but nothing happened. You know, civics, House passes something, the Senate passes a bill, they meet in conference and they compromise. They simply never did that.

GOLODRYGA: Well, this has taken a long time. I don't have to tell you how many millions of desperate Americans have been waiting for this aid. But I do want to move onto the hack of U.S. federal agencies, another crisis. Attorney General Bill Barr just told reporters that he agrees with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Russia was, in fact, behind the attack. Russia, no surprise, denies it, also no surprise, unfortunately, that the president of the United States refuses to say that it was Russia.

You sit on the House Intel Committee. By not acknowledging reality, at this point even with just 30 days left, does the president pose a threat to national security?

QUIGLEY: He does, and he has four years by denying Russia's involvement in anything, including a bounty on U.S. troops. This is dangerous. This is unprecedented. It's pervasive. It is a threat to our national security. It's a threat to our economy, our way of life. One of the more scary things about it is that, to an extent, we are flying blind. It will be at least few months, perhaps years that we fully grasp just what we're facing here, much less addressing the extraction of this from our system.

So, for the president to say all is well and to not attribute it to those who did this makes it far more difficult to force Russia to comply and not deal with these things. It's going to take a Biden administration steeped in the ways of the Kremlin playbook to forcefully respond and disable the ability the Russians to do this again.

GOLODRYGA: What do you make of the president who has yet to sign the authorization bill? Obviously, you've got people from both sides of the aisle and security experts as well saying that there is cybersecurity funding in that bill that is necessary to retaliate and to respond to Russia's aggressions. The president has yet to sign it. What do you say to that?

QUIGLEY: It's part of a larger picture that the president is more -- frankly, more worried about himself than he is with our country's security. It's been borne out time and time again, that threatens veto of this bill, which was supported on a very broad bipartisan basis, again, threatens that national security effort.

When Mr. McCarthy says he won't vote to override, it concerns me that we've become so polarized that the leader on the Republican side of the House can't stand up to the president when something like this passes to defend our country and it passes in such an overwhelming manner, he can't stand up to the president even now. GOLODRYGA: I want to get your reaction, finally, to this crazy, bizarre, heated battle in the Oval Office reportedly between the president and Michael Flynn and one of his attorneys, Sidney Powell, who is a conspiracy theorist, and the president initially fired her.

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Now, she seems to be back in his good graces as they discuss retaliation, martial law, perhaps, taking voting machines.

What is your response to this bizarre and scary language coming out of this reporting?

QUIGLEY: You know, I heard a few of my Republican colleagues step up and call it nuts. It is nuts. It's crazy. It's dangerous. It's also the definition of talking about a coup, right?

So my reaction beyond that was I don't think the vice president should travel. He is planning on leaving after the House and Senate announced the Electoral College votes on January 6th, the very time when his country is probably going to need him the most. He needs to be in the United States.

I know it sounds extreme, but when the president of the United States is talking about martial law and overturning millions of votes and the democratic process, it's an unprecedented time for the vice president to act and stand up against this president.

GOLODRYGA: Senator Romney said over the weekend, it's embarrassing for the nation as well.

Congressman Quigley, thank you so much for joining us. We really do appreciate it.

QUIGLEY: Have a good holiday. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: You too.

Well, more than a dozen countries have cut off flights to and from the United Kingdom after a new variant of the coronavirus was discovered there. Leaders there are now holding emergency meetings to discuss their next move.

Plus, does President Trump's downplaying of that huge Russian hack only embolden Putin? I'll speak with Fiona Hill, the former top Russia adviser to President Trump.

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