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President-Elect Biden Gets Vaccinated For COVID-19; Congress Set to Finally Pass COVID-19 Relief Package; Moderna Vaccinations Begin. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired December 21, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: I'm Angus Watson in Sydney, Australia, where health authorities are cautiously optimistic that they might be starting to get on top of a new mystery cluster that's broken out here, ending a run of days with no transmission in the city.
[15:00:10]
Just 15 new cases announced on Monday from over 38,000 tests conducted on Sunday. This has not been easy to achieve, however. Around a quarter-million of Sydney's residents have been put on lockdown to try to get on top of the virus. And states' leaders from around Australia have blocked entrance from the greater Sydney region.
Contact tracers still remain nervous, because they're not sure who patient zero is in this new cluster. They believe that the variant of the virus might have come from the United States, but they're not sure who brought it in, although, all things considered, people in Australia will be feeling pretty lucky right now going into this holiday season, with no COVID-19 cases in ICU at this time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: And we continue on. You're watching CNN, hour two for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.
Christmas week is shaping up to provide major coronavirus relief for Americans in two ways, a second vaccine and an economic stimulus.
This hour, we are seeing the very first recipients of the Moderna vaccine. The goal right now, according to the nation's testing czar, is to inject 20 million doses by the first week in January, which is encouraging for a nation set to surpass 18 million positive cases by the end of the day today.
And, of course, there are those in hospitals. There are 113,000 Americans hospitalized right now. And, at any moment, we expect to see president-elect Joe Biden to receive his first dose of the vaccine, along with his wife, Jill Biden, and we will bring that to you live as soon as it happens. But I want to begin this hour in Houston, where we are seeing the
Moderna vaccine being administered.
Miguel Marquez is there in the room live.
Miguel, all you.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We saw the very first shot to the Moderna vaccine put into the arm of Dr. Joseph Barone (ph), who's sitting right here.
Doc, you have just had the vaccine. It was a big needle. It gave you a little start as we saw it go in, but otherwise fine?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm perfectly fine. I mean, I think I'm just going back to do my work in a few minutes. And I continue to tell the people that are watching us, please get the vaccine. Let's save some lives. Let's save the future of your kids and your grandkids and any other family members you have.
MARQUEZ: You received this box, this box right here actually, about two hours ago. It was too cold to put it into arms.
What's the process? You received it. It was nearly frozen or frozen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nearly frozen.
So, what you do is, you put it another refrigerator with us for a couple of hours. And then it's just reconstituted. And you just get it in place, and that's it. It's very simple.
MARQUEZ: And, as this is the Moderna vaccine, you did not get any of the Pfizer vaccine here. You were expecting 300 doses. You got less than that, yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct. We got -- today, we got the 200 doses, which is the equivalent of 100 employees. We're hoping that we're going to be getting other additional shipments.
And, hopefully, we will continue to receive a lot of vaccine, so we can help not only our employees, but the people in the community.
MARQUEZ: Because, with each of these vaccines, you need two doses. So, for the Moderna, it's 28 days later, you can get the next shot, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty-eight to 30 days, depending on the study. But, yes, it's about a month time that you have to wait with the Moderna, as compared to the Pfizer. Pfizer is 21 days.
MARQUEZ: Right.
And also good with Moderna, it doesn't have to be kept as cold and lasts longer, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct. It lasts longer, once you get it off the vial. You can actually keep it on that vial for up to 30 days, which is awesome, as compared to the Pfizer one.
MARQUEZ: So the issue of who gets the vaccine and when, you have a pretty strict rule about -- you have gotten it to -- as an example to everybody that it's safe.
But who's first in line at this hospital?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the hospital care has a whole committee that sat down and decided who was going to get it.
We decided to first give it to people that are on the front line of COVID treatment. So people that work in the COVID unit were the first ones to get it. Then the people in the emergency department were the second in line, and then the ancillary departments that were helping us, respiratory, therapy, pharmacy, people that continue to go in.
But even the people that go and clean the rooms in public units, they will be, all of them, vaccinated in this first round of inoculations.
MARQUEZ: And you have enough for 100. I take it you already have 100 people who have signed up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. I mean, as you can tell, there is a line around you of people that are ready. We have a lot of people that are still thinking as to whether or not they need to -- they want to get it or they just want to see what happens to us.
But it's -- it is what it is.
(LAUGHTER)
MARQUEZ: All right, Doctor, thank you very much, and very good luck to you.
We know 2020 has been very tough for you and your staff. We wish you the best.
[15:05:00]
Rooms like this, this is the beginning of the end, we hope, for the coronavirus -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Miguel, thank you.
Dr. Barone, thank you as well to everyone and everyone in line for that thing. It is just incredible to see.
I want to bring in CNN's Sara Murray from Washington, more on the vaccines.
Just a monumental day for the continued rollout.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a monumental day, Brooke.
We now have two coronavirus vaccines circulating. And, very importantly, Moderna is making it possible for these vaccines to go out to thousands of locations starting today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY (voice-over): The first shots of the Moderna vaccine are expected to go into Americans' arms today.
GEN. GUSTAVE PERNA, U.S. ARMY MATERIEL COMMAND: We're heading into a big week.
MURRAY: As Moderna's easier storage requirements allow more corners of the U.S. to begin accessing lifesaving coronavirus vaccines.
PERNA: Over 4,000 locations will be receiving vaccines between today and tomorrow.
MURRAY: But concerns are growing about a new variant of COVID-19 in the U.K. that reportedly spreads faster than others.
DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It does mean that we have to work a little bit harder about preventing this spread. But, again, these viruses mutate all the time.
MURRAY: As researchers across the globe scrambled to study the new variant, a growing number of countries have halted travel from the U.K.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: San Francisco and Santa Clara counties now require a 10-day quarantine upon arrival.
MURRAY: U.S. officials still debating similar restrictions.
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: I think everything needs to be on the table.
MURRAY: Dr. Anthony Fauci advises against travel restrictions, telling CNN: "The U.S. must keep an eye on it, but don't overreact to it."
Experts say coronavirus vaccines should still fend off the latest variant of the deadly disease.
GIROIR: There is also no evidence to suggest, nor reason to believe that it would evade our vaccines that we have right now. Remember, our vaccines develop antibodies against multiple parts of that spike protein, not just one that's the mutated one.
MURRAY: Those vaccines coming a bit more slowly than officials promised. Operation Warp Speed aimed to have 20 million shots and Americans arms by the end of the year. Now they're saying it may take until the first week of January to get those 20 million doses out to states.
ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: It's not as if there's a moment in time, where, all of a sudden, there 330 million doses available of vaccine. It just progressively rolls off the production lines each week. MURRAY: It will still be months before many Americans receive the vaccine, as CDC advisers voted over the weekend that the next group to get the vaccine should be adults over age 75 and front-line essential workers.
The hope for a more widely available vaccine coming as hospitals across the country warn they're already stretched and fear the numbers could look even worse after Christmas.
CHRISTINA GHALY, DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES: It's heartbreaking really to see where we're at, at this point in the pandemic. We're seeing those numbers continue to go up. And, every day, that puts more and more stress on the hospital system, on the nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY: Now, we have seen a number of folks step in front of a camera, roll up their sleeves to set an example to go out and get the vaccine.
But we're going to see another big name get vaccinated to get today to set an example, but also, importantly, for continuity of government, and that is president-elect Joe Biden. We expect him to get vaccinated anytime now, Brooke.
BALDWIN: We're watching for it.
Sara Murray, thank you very much.
And Sara mentioned this U.K. virus variant. I want to talk more about that, more on the fallout from the COVID variant emerging in the U.K., many nations restricting travel to prevent the spread now.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is in the coastal town of Dover, where, Salma, I understand you're seeing a backlog of delivery trucks? Tell me what you have there.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, night has fallen, Brooke, and absolutely no resolution has been made.
I want you to just take a look at the street I'm on. This is supposed to be a normal street where people can just drive through. It's right along the coast. Instead, it's basically turned into a parking lot. You can see truck after truck after truck lined up. They have nowhere to go. They don't know when they can get home. Their trucks are full of goods.
They come from all over the world, from Spain, from Poland, from Romania. I know these drivers I was speaking to just earlier today, they have just pulled their curtains. They're going to be sleeping in their trucks tonight. They have nowhere to go, no access to bathrooms, no access to foods, no idea when this is going to be resolved.
Just down the way about an hour ago, I saw a group of Romanian drivers that were literally cooking in the back of their van. That's the only way that they could get food for the evening. It's cold, it's rainy, it's wet. The French authorities say they want to resolve this quickly. The U.K. authorities say it will be fixed in a matter of hours.
But this is how it translates, Brooke, real lives stranded, stuck, people here wondering if they're even going to make it home for Christmas.
BALDWIN: Wow. What a difference two weeks, make, right, when you looked at the elderly English men and women getting those first vaccines, and the jubilation is now juxtaposed with precisely the scenes you just showed us.
Salma, great to see you. Thank you so much.
Back here in the U.S., all eyes are on Capitol Hill. Congress is expected to pass a long awaited COVID stimulus package after months of negotiations. The deal, $900 billion in all, including $600 checks for most Americans. And it will also extend benefits run employment, as well as protections against evictions.
[15:10:02]
CNN's Phil Mattingly is watching this one very closely for us.
And so, Phil, what are Republican leaders saying with this deal?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're on board. And I think that goes from the president down to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy.
All say that they're in support of this. All have been in the room -- well, the congressional leaders at least have been in the room negotiating this. And, obviously, Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was a key negotiator throughout this very long, far-too-long process to actually clinch a deal, he is involved as well.
And his agency, the Treasury Department, will once again play a huge role on how people actually get to take advantage of these programs. Take a listen to what he said about those $600 direct payments, Brooke.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: People are going to see this money the beginning of next week. So it's very fast. It's money that gets recirculated in the economy.
So, people go out and spend this money. And that helps small business and that helps getting more people back to work.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: So, Brooke, I think this is a key point here. Look, the votes are there. This is going to pass. It will likely pass the House probably around maybe 8:00, 9:00 p.m., depending. It's going to take a little bit.
And then the Senate is going to do with the Senate does, and it's going to take a little bit of time to pass the Senate as well. And Majority Leader McConnell said they are going to continue until it is passed. So expect probably an early morning vote.
But I want to focus more on what's actually in this for people. You and I have talked a lot about what people need, the cliffs that were coming the day after Christmas on the unemployment side of things, the direct payments.
So direct payments, not $1,200 per individual. It's $600. However, there's an additional $600 per dependent as well. So that's up from $500. As Steven Mnuchin said, those checks will go out very quickly. The Treasury Department has the information already from those first checks. So expect the checks to move as early as next week early in the week.
When it comes to unemployment insurance, obviously, an extension of the federal addition to the unemployment benefits. Say you have run out of your state-based benefits. There are now another 11 weeks added on to those starting December 26 on the federal side.
There's also the federal plus-up of unemployment insurance, another $300. That's down from the $600 from the original CARES Act, the original stimulus passed in March in April. But it is $300. That will kick into gear in the next couple of weeks too.
So people will start seeing these checks, they will start seeing the unemployment benefits very quickly. You also mentioned the eviction moratorium will kick into gear as well. That was another thing that was about to lapse.
Now, is this everything? Is this what everybody needs at this exact moment? No, it's not. It's far short, given how much some people are hurting. However, it is assistance, it is coming, and it should be coming fast, Brooke.
BALDWIN: That $600 check, as you point out, not quite the $1,200, but still not a minute too, too soon for these American families.
Phil Mattingly, thank you so much.
Coming up here on CNN: Attorney General Bill Barr is breaking ranks with the White House -- the new comments he made about the election and Hunter Biden that may have President Trump disappointed.
Plus: Who will get to roll up their sleeves next? A member of the CDC advisory panel joins me live to discuss when the second round of vaccinations will begin. There it goes.
And California Governor Gavin Newsom back in quarantine, as the state reports a startling number of cases and hospitalizations.
You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:17:36]
BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
A second coronavirus vaccine, this one made by Moderna, is now being administered at hospitals across the country, Boston among the first cities to administer the Moderna shots.
But as the number of COVID cases continue to surge, the big question is, who should get the vaccine after health care workers and nursing home residents?
An advisory panel for the CDC is recommending folks 75 and older and front-line essential workers to be next in line.
And I want to bring in Dr. Kevin Ault. He is a member of that CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
So, Dr. Ault, welcome, sir. And thank you so much for all that you do.
DR. KEVIN AULT, CDC ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES: Thank you for having me.
BALDWIN: So, you and your panel say the vaccine next goes to folks 75 and older. When is the soonest they can roll up their sleeves?
AULT: Well, we have been talking about this for several months.
So, the weekend meetings were just a culmination of 10 meetings that lasted over six months. Based on the data we were given over the weekend, there will be enough vaccine to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of this month. And that's most of the very first people that we recommended.
Then there will be 30 million people -- enough doses to vaccinate 30 million people by the end of January and then 50 million people by the end of February. So, early next year is what we're looking at for most of these groups that we discussed over the weekend.
BALDWIN: So, early -- just spelling it out for people watching hanging on your every word.
So, if you're 75 and older, probably early January 2021?
AULT: Right, that's about -- I took some notes. That's about 21 million Americans in that group. That's about 7 percent of the American population in that 75-and-over group.
BALDWIN: OK.
The Moderna vaccine doesn't require the like South Pole-level temperatures to administer. Do you think it will -- that -- in terms of distribution, that's a game-changer for this vaccine?
AULT: That certainly was discussed quite a bit over the weekend. And it certainly helps. Not everybody has access to the minus-70 freezer that you mentioned previously.
BALDWIN: Oh, hang on one second, Doc.
Forgive me. Let's go to the president-elect, Joe Biden, about to roll up his sleeve.
Let's listen in.
(LAUGHTER)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE) Left or your right?
BIDEN: Left is good. That works.
[15:20:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
BIDEN: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Right behind (OFF-MIKE). Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
BIDEN: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
BIDEN: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you ready?
BIDEN: Yes, I'm ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: I'm ready.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: You have been awful busy, haven't you, Sandra (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we have been. (OFF-MIKE)
BIDEN: God love you. We owe you big.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. I know.
BIDEN: The whole staff has been incredible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE) So, that's good.
BIDEN: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
BIDEN: I guess you need everybody watching, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. But that's OK. That's (OFF-MIKE)
You ready?
BIDEN: I'm ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
BIDEN: Up higher?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)
BIDEN: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go.
Would you like me to count to three?
BIDEN: No, no, you just go ahead any time you're ready.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) vaccine (OFF-MIKE) Do you think that will move up the timetable (OFF-MIKE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like a Band-Aid?
BIDEN: If you think it matters. If you think (OFF-MIKE) put it on.
OK.
Well, look, what I want to say is, we owe these folks an awful lot. The scientists and the people who put this together, the front-line workers, the people who were the ones who actually did the clinical work, it's just amazing.
And I wish we had time to take you through the whole hospital to see how busy and incredible you all are. And we owe you big. We really do.
And one of the things is that I think that the administration deserves some credit getting this off the ground with Operation Warp Speed.
I also think that it's worth saying that this is -- there's great hope. I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the vaccine. There is nothing to worry about.
I'm looking forward to the second shot. So is Jill. She's had her shot earlier today. She loves shots, I know.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: But I have had so many that -- but, at any rate, is that for me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE) your next visit.
BIDEN: My next visit.
And -- but the important thing is that it's worth stating that, you know, this is just the beginning. It's one thing to get the vaccine out. And now Moderna is going to be on the road as well.
But it's going to take time. It's going to take time. In the meantime, I know I don't want to sound like a sour note here, but I hope people listen to all the experts, from the Dr. Faucis on, talking about the need to wear masks during this Christmas and New Year's holidays, wear masks, socially distance.
And if you don't have to travel, don't travel. Don't travel. It's really important, because we're still in the thick of this. It's one thing to have the vaccine show up at a hospital. It's another thing to get the vaccine from that vial into a needle, into an arm.
And there's millions of people out there that are going to need this, front-line workers first.
[15:25:00]
But I just want to thank everyone for all that they have done. They're some real heroes, some real heroes. And you're among them.
Thank you.
BALDWIN: There you have it.
Now, officially, the president-elect -- and, also, we saw his wife staying there. She already had her shot from earlier today.
Got the shot. He said, hey, nothing to worry about and, of course, took the moment to just thank, of course, all the front care workers, the folks in all these hospitals who we are so, so grateful for, during this pandemic, and also took that took the opportunity to say, listen to the experts.
Just because these two shots now rolling out, make sure you're social distancing, make sure you're -- if you don't have to travel, don't travel. But there you have it. He now officially has dose number one of the two.
Dr. Ault is still with me.
And Jeff Zeleny is covering the president-elect.
So, Dr. Ault, just first to you.
As you watch the president-elect rolling up the sleeves, semi-fist bumping the doctor or the nurse, giving the shot, what was going through your mind?
AULT: Well, I think that's certainly wonderful news and a wonderful example to set that Dr. Biden and the president-elect set for all of us. I think your news outlet and many other news outlets a few weeks ago mentioned Elvis Presley 65 years ago this year when he was vaccinated, and most of that over-75 group that we discussed previously can remember where they were when Elvis Presley was on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the polio vaccine trial was going on 65 years ago, and what good news that was.
And I think that's probably, in American history, the most similar moment we're having in the past to what we're having now.
BALDWIN: Agree, sharing it together, sharing it with everyone watching live.
Jeff Zeleny, over to you. Also, this nation right now is in need of leadership. And, case in point, that is a leader.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, president- elect Joe Biden, as you saw, getting the shot.
But, really, this is coming on the heels of Vice President Mike Pence and the second lady, Karen Pence, receiving their shot on Friday. And one of the reasons you didn't see Jill Biden receiving her shot there, Brooke, we're told that she actually received her vaccination earlier today.
So, this was designed to be a photo-op with a purpose for the president-elect. And we also heard him say something that we have not heard him say a lot. He said he believes that this administration deserves a lot of credit for the rollout of this vaccine.
And he also was giving some words of wisdom and advice and guidance to people across the country not to travel if they do not have to, and, of course, social distance and wear masks. He was wearing two masks, we could see, right there.
But one of the reasons -- you can see this here again, and this is just outside of Wilmington in New York, Delaware, at the Christiana Hospital.
And this is something that he has been planning for a long time. It's done today, largely so he can have that second vaccine and he can be fully inoculated by the time he is sworn in on January 20. We're only one month away from that, Brooke. So he didn't even wince there as you saw him getting the shot in his arm. He said he's gotten several shots over the years. And he made a little
joke that Jill Biden, he said, does not like needles. But, clearly, this is the first shot. And next week, we are told that vice president-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug, are also going to be receiving a shot in a very public way like this, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Yes, we will be looking for that. And I'm glad you pointed out, as we talked about last week, Mike Pence, the vice president, and also his wife getting that shot last week.
Dr. Ault, back over to you, because I saw the -- I don't know if she was a doctor or a nurse, handing the card to the president-elect. I remember this from watching all the vaccinations in the U.K. I imagine it's sort of like, here's the card. This is your -- you have gotten your first dose. Hold on to this card, because you need this to get your second dose.
How does that work, just for everyone watching eagerly waiting their own vaccine? How does dose two work?
AULT: Most of the vaccine right now, of course, has been given out to health care workers and residents at long-term health facilities.
And so when I got my vaccine on Friday, we had a very organized system. I waited for 15 minutes. I filled out my card while I was waiting those 15 minutes and got an appointment date early in January to have my second dose.
So -- and I think we have been anticipating the availability of vaccine for a long time in the health care community. And so it's been pretty organized. So, I think the president-elect alluded to that at his own site where he got vaccinated.
BALDWIN: And since you got the vaccine Friday, how are you feeling? Any side effects?
AULT: I'm -- just a sore arm on Friday and Saturday. I think I rolled over in the middle of the night on Friday and it reminded me I had a vaccine.
(LAUGHTER)
AULT: But above and beyond that, not much.
BALDWIN: OK. OK.
Just, again, watching this over and over, as is -- you all pointed out, just so -- it's amazing how quick, how quick the vaccine, this first dose, actually is.
And, Jeff, back over to you.
