Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

White House COVID Response Team Holds Briefing; Biden Meets with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Democratic Committee Chairs on Relief Bill; Departure Ceremony for U.S. Capitol Officer Killed in January 6 Riot. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired February 03, 2021 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:02]

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: And I believe that if we do, we will be adequately addressing the transmissibility of these particular mutants.

Now, the question keeps coming up, and I'll give you my opinion of this, which I believe will be in accordance with Dr. Walensky, but I'd give her the opportunity also. We get asked all the time, should we will be double-masking.

The CDC makes recommendations based on data that they accumulate because it's a science-based organization. Right now, they are looking at these different options of mask wearing.

In the meantime, as I often get asked, should you be wearing two masks or one mask, and I say there's no recommendation. However, there are many people who take the common sense approach. If you're talking about a physical barrier, and as the CDC recommends, you want at least two layers within the mask as a physical barrier, and you feel maybe more of a physical barrier would be better, there's nothing wrong with people wearing two masks. I often myself wear two masks.

Can we make a general recommendation that doesn't have scientific basis yet? No. But when the science comes along and tells us that it is better or not, then you'll see a recommendation being made by the CDC.

I'll hand it over to Dr. Walensky for any further comment.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Thank you, Dr. Fauci. I don't have a lot to add there except to say that the CDC is actively looking at this question. And has been -- what some of the data that have been emerging is as we found some of these variants in the contact tracing of them, we are finding that people were not taking the primary measures of any masking or any distancing. So I think that is really our best barrier against these variants, is to do the masking and the distancing. And more data will be forthcoming from the CDC with regard to the value of double masking.

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: I'll remind everybody that on his first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order requiring mask-wearing in all federal buildings, all federal places and in public transportation, interstate travel. And that is all part of a nationwide 100-day mask challenge. The president is asking everybody to mask up for the next 100 days. And the estimates are that that will save over 50,000 lives.

So masking up is something all Americans should be doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. We have time for one more question. Last, we'll go to Bricio Segovia with MVS Radio.

BRICIO SEGOVIA, REPORTER, MVS RADIO: Thank you for doing this and taking my question. I have two questions, if I may. The first one is, with the new Brazilian COVID variant and many countries in the Latin American region not having severe travel restrictions in place, do you consider that the U.S. should take further action in this region including travel restrictions and have any travel requirements been defined for individuals from Mexico into the United States at land ports of entry in the southern border?

ZIENTS: So, yes, the president has put in strict travel restrictions. If you're traveling from an international country, it requires a test, a negative test three days in advance, and then quarantining once you land in the U.S. The travel restrictions on certain countries, including Brazil are even stricter in terms of who is allowed to travel to the U.S. So travel restrictions internationally have been tightened quite a bit during this period of the pandemic.

I don't know if you had a second question too.

SEGOVIA: I do have a second question and actually a quick follow-up. You mentioned quarantining after landing in the U.S. Is that quarantine going to be enforced? And my second question is, as countries ramp up vaccination efforts and people get vaccinated in other parts of the world, do you see the need to request a negative test to travelers who have been inoculated? And what are your thoughts on the universal travel document for the vaccinated or vaccination passport, which is being discussed internationally? Thank you.

ZIENTS: Let me hand it over to Dr. Walensky in terms of the CDC guidelines on quarantine and how they're working with state and local officials to make sure that the quarantines are enforced. Dr. Walensky?

WALENSKY: Thank you very much for that question. We are working hard with state and local officials to work towards increased compliance and work towards facilitating compliance to ensure that those people who are landing here from international settings can comply with the quarantine measures. Again, seven days of quarantine, as well as a test day three to five after landing.

[11:35:00]

ZIENTS: Good. Well, I want to thank everybody for joining today's briefing. The next briefing will be on Friday. Thank you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We've been listening to Jeffrey Zients, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, key members of the White House COVID response team, their update on the very latest in the fight against the pandemic.

For more on this, let me bring Dr. Celine Gounder, she is an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist at Bellevue Hospital here in New York City.

Dr. Gounder, it's good to see you. What did you take away from today's briefing?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST, BELLEVUE HOSPITAL: Well, I do think that there is clearly concern about the emergence of these new variants and what to do about it. I think we are still gathering information about these variants. We still are not sure how worried to be in terms of the vaccine effectiveness against the variants.

But I think the message that came across loud and clear, both Dr. Fauci and Dr. Walensky noted, that we need to be doing a better job with the public health guidance that's been given for months now, which is the masking, the social distancing. These are some of the best tools we have to prevent the spread of the virus, and it's going to take time to get everyone vaccinated.

So, in the meantime, we really need to be doing those things because the more you allow the virus to spread, the more it will mutate and the more these variants will emerge.

BOLDUAN: Because there was some good news and some good warning of what could be around the corner as well during this briefing. Dr. Walensky talking about -- Walensky is saying the trends are going in the right way. Cases are now -- case levels are now back to the level that they were before Thanksgiving, which is -- that made me really happy. It was really comforting to hear that, quite honestly, Dr. Gounder.

But I've also -- you have also said very recently, maybe as recently as yesterday, that you are more concerned about where we are right now than at any point in the pandemic, even since the beginning. Explain that.

GOUNDER: So not only have we seen these new variants emerge out of the U.K., out of South Africa, out of Brazil, that are more contagious, so they spread more easily from person-to-person. That means you're going to have more infections, more hospitalizations, moth deaths.

The CDC has predicted that the U.K. variant, which is more contagious, will likely be the dominant strain here in the United States by March. And so what is happening in the U.K. with their overwhelmed hospitals right now is a preview of what's to come.

And so while things have slowed down here since the holidays, which clearly the holidays and people getting together had a huge impact on transmission, things have slowed down a little bit. But we're getting a breather. And if this U.K. variant continues to spread as predicted here in the U.S., we are in for some very tough months ahead.

BOLDUAN: Yes. One thing that gets right to that is the new research out about who has been driving the spread of the virus that people need to pay attention to. It's not kids. It's adults. The three- quarters of the virus that spread in the U.S. were from adults ages 20 to 49. And the people behind the study say that the efforts to control the spread, including vaccination efforts, should really start taking this into account. What do you think?

GOUNDER: Yes. I think it's young adults. That's clearly what the data shows. Young adults who, unfortunately, might think that they're invulnerable, that they won't be the ones to end up in the hospital sick with COVID. And they are at lower risk, let's be realistic about it. They are at lower risk, so they might be taking risks. But that means that they are also spreading the virus in the community and getting others sick.

I think this speaks to the idea of needing an all-of-government response, where you recognize what are the needs of these younger adults. For them, it might be economic issues, putting food on the table or making rent, and so they're taking risks in the community that might be driving transmission.

So we need to address their needs so that they can comply with the public health guidance.

BOLDUAN: Yes. While the vaccine effort continues to try to ramp up, but it's not nearly where it needs to be, that's for sure. Doctor, it's great to see you. Thank you for coming in.

So, President Biden, he is meeting with Senate Democrats right now at the White House. The focus of this meeting is the emergency relief -- is his emergency COVID relief package.

Is this a moment for bipartisanship or do they need to go big and go it alone? We'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:00]

BOLDUAN: Right now, President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package is front and center. He is meeting with Democratic senators at the White House as we speak. And we should be getting some video from the Oval Office shortly. We will watch that play out together when it does come in.

But this meeting comes just after the president met with Republican senators in the Oval two days ago. Are they any closer to a bipartisan deal or are Democrats going to be moving ahead on their own? CNN's Jeremy Diamond, he's going to join us right now. He is live from the White House.

Jeremy, what are you hearing about this?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, the words that we're hearing from President Biden and from the White House right now are big, bold, urgent. These are not the kinds of words that are conducive, necessarily, to a bipartisan approach here.

What we are clearly starting to see from the White House, and it is evident in the optics today, is that they are beginning to move forward with this $1.9 trillion package and they are going to do it with Republicans or without Republicans.

[11:45:00]

But it does appear that that will be the framework for what is going to move in Congress in the coming weeks.

Look, President Biden today, just two days after sitting down with those ten Republicans inside the Oval Office, today, he is sitting down with Democrats. We know that he phoned in earlier this morning to the weekly house Democratic caucus call. He spoke with them about the coronavirus relief bill. Yesterday, he was talking with Senate Democrats on their weekly call.

And today, we'll see President Biden, as he is right now sitting in the Oval Office with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other leading Democrats involved in the key committees required to pass this bill using that budget reconciliation process.

So, look, President Biden and his allies are making very clear that they would like to see Republicans come on board and support this plan, but they're also making clear that they're not willing to give up on many of the fundamentals inside this $1.9 trillion bill and that $600 billion proposal put forward by those ten Republicans just isn't going to cut it for the president or his team. And so, eventually, those two ideas are going to come into conflict and we're starting to see that now.

The president earlier today was also meeting with Senator Chris Coons and Senator Tom Carper. And I asked Senator Carper after his meeting, is there one Republican senator who you can name right now who would vote for a package anywhere approaching $1.9 trillion. He said it's early in the process, we will see. But, again, none of those Republicans so far have indicated they're willing to stomach a package of that size. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also not clear how early in the process it is at this point with how much of an emergency to get that funding the White House is laying it out to be. We just heard that from the coronavirus briefing with Jeffrey Zients on that very issue.

Good to see you, Jeremy, thank you so much.

We are standing by to bring you the video of the senators in the Oval Office with the president. We'll bring it to you when it does come in.

In the meantime, House Republicans, they also face a key moment today, having nothing to do with policy but everything to do with the future direction of the party. Will they side with conscience or conspiracy theory? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

BOLDUAN: We're going to take you to the Capitol right now with the remains of Officer Brian Sicknick.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:00]