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Retail Pharmacies Begin Vaccinations. CDC Guidance on School Reopening; White House Meets on Stimulus Relief; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is Interviewed about Impeachment. Aired 9:30-10a ET.

Aired February 12, 2021 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: For your vantage point in meeting Biden's ambitious goal of getting 300 million shots into arms by summertime.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, it really could make a big difference. As you said, we're used to getting our vaccines at pharmacies. We're used to getting our prescriptions at pharmacies. So it's all good to have these big events at football stadiums and whatnot, but it's even better if it can be in a place that we're used to going all the time anyhow. The problem is, is that we just don't have the supply.

So let's take a look at what the numbers look like right now.

So right now, as part of this federal distribution to pharmacies, we're getting a million doses a week into pharmacies. That's not nearly enough. This is a country of 330 million people. A million doses per week to all pharmacies is not going to be nearly enough.

But, looking -- thinking of the glass half full, 90 percent of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy. So there you get that -- that access point there. Pharmacies say that eventually, if there's enough supply, they should be able to administer 100 million doses in 30 days.

Look at that, 100 million doses in 30 days if there's enough supply. That would be huge. To be able to give about a third of Americans their first shot in one month, that would be amazing. So really, right now, with pharmacies sort of actively involved, if they can get the supply up, that's what's really key.

Jim. Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And, Elizabeth, I mean, if we can reach that goal of 300 million people fully vaccinated by July, that totally changes the game for schools opening fully come August and September. And on the school front, today we should get sort of the official word from the CDC on their guidance? COHEN: Yes, we're expecting to hear from the CDC today, what their

official guidance is for school reopening. And we don't know everything, but we know the basics.

First of all, most importantly, we know that the CDC is not going to mandate that all schools reopen in person. They probably couldn't even if they wanted to. But we're not going to hear from the CDC all schools must reopen.

What we expect to hear from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is, look, schools should open, but they need to open safely. And that each individual, you know, school district is going to make different decisions about that.

But she's going to -- we expect her to talk about how children and staff need to wear masks. We expect her to talk about how schools need to be properly cleaned and ventilated. But what we are not going to hear is that teachers need to be vaccinated because, of course, most teachers aren't vaccinated. So they are not going to put vaccination down as a condition of reopening.

HARLOW: OK.

SCIUTTO: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, both of us -- Poppy and I certainly will be watching that and I'm sure a lot of our viewers with interest.

HARLOW: Very closely. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Thanks very much.

Joining us now to discuss this and many other topics with COVID-19, Dr. Megan Ranney. She's an emergency physician at Brown University.

Dr. Ranney, always good to have you.

I want to get to the school guidelines, but before I do, because this goal -- well promise really of 300 million vaccine dose by summer time, it's actually not that out of the blue. And folks like Dr. Fauci have been talking about widely available by springtime and most of the country vaccinated perhaps by summer. Is this a realistic goal now? Do you see the infrastructure there to back this up?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: The infrastructure is still in the building phase. You know, as you know, the Biden administration took over a last mile logistics that was basically nonexistent. So we're currently not just building the airplane while we fly it, we're also flying it with a broken instrument panel and one engine out.

But I've seen a lot of steps over the last month that give me a lot of hope that the infrastructure will be in place. The last part of that is the public health messaging around it, getting trusted sources talking about vaccines being safe. It's wonderful to have vaccines. It's wonderful to have logistics, but we also have to have people trust them. And so the work that's being done with community groups to get people ready to line up, to get the vaccine in their arm is that last piece of the puzzle that I'm looking forward to seeing happen.

HARLOW: I also wonder if you think, you know, in the next few months we'll get clarity on what it means after you are fully vaccinated because right now they don't totally know, right? They think you still can spread COVID, even if you're vaccinated? So don't we need a little more clarity on those questions because it's all about, do you still have to wear a mask, do you still have to socially distance?

RANNEY: Yes, Poppy, there was actually a really exciting announcement from the CDC just a couple of days ago saying that you no longer have to quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19 if you've been fully vaccinated. So if you're more than 14 days after that second dose.

The reason they made that change was because of accumulating evidence that the vaccine not just protects the vaccinated person from getting really sick, but also reduces that risk of infection and reduces the risk of, if you do get infected, reduces the risk of you passing it on to others.

So the science is coming to back that up.

[09:35:01]

And what most of us expect is that once we get a critical mass of American adults vaccinated, we are going to be able to release or relax those mask requirements, which we're keeping in place right now just because 95 percent efficacy is amazing, but it's still only 95 percent. And with community spread so high, we don't want to take that small risk for right now until more people are vaccinated.

SCIUTTO: All right, Dr. Ranney, schools, because we are expecting shortly new CDC guidelines. And they're needed because there has been some confusion in terms of what the Biden administration is communicating, how many schools, how many days, when exactly, what will happen with teachers.

What do these guidelines need to clear up quickly?

RANNEY: Yes, Jim, the first and biggest thing they need to clear up is that it is safe to reopen schools with some proper precautions in place. And the first and biggest one is universal masking. There's been study after study showing that if both kids and teachers are masked, the rate of transmission within schools is tremendously low.

You know, my own home state of Rhode Island made a big push to reopen. My little guy, my elementary school kid, has been in school five days a week since early October. There have been no episodes of transmission in school.

The second thing is, if schools can do it, to also have improved ventilation, even just opening windows, and then asymptomatic testing. Again, in my state, we've picked up a couple of pre-symptomatic cases of COVID by doing that asymptomatic testing in schools that has prevented any further transmission and has helped to keep people safe. So there's some basic things that can be done that do keep schools

safe, and we have lots of evidence from across the country that it's safe for teachers and for kids with those precautions in place.

HARLOW: Very quickly, sounds like your little guy, if he's in first grade or above, according to Dr. Fauci, might be able to get a vaccine by September. That's big news for kids.

RANNEY: It's so exciting. I cannot wait to get my kids vaccinated. I can't wait for my husband to get vaccinated, for my parents to get vaccinated. This is just a lovely light at the end of the tunnel. And I'll be awaiting the trial results with excitement. You know, until we get the results, I won't sign my kid up, but I'm looking forward to it.

HARLOW: OK.

SCIUTTO: Well, we're right there with you, Dr. Ranney, Poppy and I.

HARLOW: Right there.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Right there.

Thanks, Dr. Ranney. Have a good and safe weekend.

RANNEY: Thank you. You too.

HARLOW: Well, happening soon in Washington, two big meetings for the Biden administration focused on stimulus relief and the future of air travel. We'll give you the latest, next.

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[09:41:54]

SCIUTTO: All right, so where is President Biden's focus? Later this morning he will meet with a bipartisan group of governors and mayors to discuss his COVID relief package.

HARLOW: Let's go to the White House. Our correspondent, Jeremy Diamond, is there.

Good morning, Jeremy.

Democrats moving forward with this still without bipartisan support and also with this impeachment still happening. And also please tell everyone what's behind you on the White House lawn so they're not scratching their head this morning.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well we can -- we can start there, if you want, Poppy. These are some candy heart posters that were put up by the office of the first lady. The first lady actually helped design some of these and paint them. The president and the first lady actually came out here this morning to visit this. It's for Valentine's Day. They have a long tradition of surprising each other with things for this holiday.

HARLOW: Awe.

DIAMOND: And this was the first lady's move. Not just for the president, but also for the country. She told me this morning that she wanted to send a message of joy during these difficult times that we are facing.

And that is where President Biden is turning his attention today, to the coronavirus pandemic and the response that is needed. You mentioned the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday passing a key threshold to advance this coronavirus relief bill.

Today, President Biden turning once again to helping to drum up public pressure and stress the urgency of the need for this relief, meeting this afternoon -- sorry, not this afternoon, in about a couple hours with a bipartisan group, nine governors and mayors. Governors including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, just to show you the bipartisan range that will be happening here.

And he's expected to talk about the need. And some of these governors and mayors are also expected to talk about the need that they feel for this $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

Yesterday, we heard the president announce that he has secured additional -- $200 million additional vaccine doses that he expects will be delivered to the federal government by the end of July. I asked the president also this morning how quickly those would actually turn into shots in arms. Something that he made clear yesterday is that just because they have the vaccine supply doesn't mean it immediately gets into arms. But he told me that he hopes by the end of the summer nearly every adult American will have been able to get vaccinated.

SCIUTTO: Yes, 200 million additional doses is no small thing.

All right, the White House also meeting with a major airline executive today. What's the topic?

DIAMOND: That's right. Administration officials are expected to meet with airline executives from some of the top U.S.-based airlines. Of course, Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta, told Poppy just the other day that this question about testing every single passenger on domestic flights would be a huge blow to the industry and that is something that is top of mind for these airline executives, something that they're clearly very, very concerned about. But the administration is still considering that step. So you can expect that to be a topic of discussion.

Of course, federal payroll relief to those airlines is also expiring at the end of next month. I had asked the White House press secretary last week whether that's something the White House is willing to do to provide more aid for the airlines. For now, it's not in that $1.9 trillion package, but I'm sure that's something that will be a topic of discussion today. [09:45:03]

SCIUTTO: All right, a little research for next hour, Jeremy, you have to check if those giant hearts are actually giant sweetheart candies. Because if they are, we need to know.

DIAMOND: I'll take a little bite.

HARLOW: What do you expect, he's going to lick them, Jim?

SCIUTTO: Whatever the reporting takes.

Jeremy Diamond, thanks very much.

Well, President Trump's legal team is set to make its case before the Senate soon. Juror and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will join me next.

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SCIUTTO: Well, former President Trump's legal team is set to make its case against conviction.

[09:50:00]

This after listening and watching to two days of stunning video evidence from the day of the Capitol attack and the days leading up. Trump's team is expected to paint the Democrat's presentation as one that they say glorified violence. They also intend to argue that Trump's speech at that January 6th rally was figurative and therefore protected by free speech.

Joining me now, Democratic Senator from Rhode Island and impeachment trial juror, as all senators are, Sheldon Whitehouse.

Senator, thanks for taking the time this morning.

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): Good to be with you. Thanks for having me on.

SCIUTTO: So it's our expectation from reporting that a point that the president's defenders will make is that there's no difference between the president's alleged incitement of January 6th, the claims about the stolen election and the comments of Democratic leaders and others during violence following George Floyd's death last year.

What's your response to that equivalency?

WHITEHOUSE: Well, it's false and the obvious differentiation is the events of January 6th. We actually had a mob that was, in fact, incited and that came up to the Capitol and that looted and ransacked the place with the intention of disrupting the constitutional process of transfer of power and did so at the behest of and at the direction of Donald Trump.

So you can -- that was a one-timer. And it's really impossible to compare that to anything else. There's a lot of, you know, political rhetoric out there. This was different and the prosecution showed it.

SCIUTTO: In CNN's reporting that the president's lawyers will only take a fraction of their allotted time to defend the president. Do you believe that's because they think they have a strong case, or because they believe they already have most Republicans in the bag?

WHITEHOUSE: Yes, no, I think it's the opposite. They had an absolutely terrible opening day. They got mocked and panned across the country and most particularly down at Mar-a-Lago. And then the masterful presentation by the House managers, which just was a brutal clobbering for the defense. It was really powerfully presented.

So what they're now down to is basically having Republican senators who are politically predetermined not to convict. So their best case right now is hang on to those senators. Don't blow it. Stick to, you know, your brief talking points and get out before you do anything wrong.

So I think that they're just trying to hang on for dear life to the politically predetermined senators and they don't want to waste any extra time or risk putting on another bad performance that actually drives people away from their political predetermination. They could still blow this.

SCIUTTO: Senator McConnell, the minority leader, is clearly, deliberately allowing it to go out there that he hasn't made up his mind. That he may still vote to convict. And I wonder, do you believe that? Do you believe he's still on the fence?

WHITEHOUSE: Whether or not he truly is on the fence, I think it's significant that he's allowing that to get out there. And I think it expresses some real hesitation that he has about the position into which everybody was put by this president when he sent that mob up to this building and put Mitch's own colleagues and himself and his staff and our vice president all in very considerable danger.

So this is very real. You know, when we saw that footage, that the House members presented, those are hallways that we know. You know, you take a shot at a corner or at a ramp or where Chuck was running or where Mitt Romney was turned around or where our colleagues were fleeing, we know those places. This is intimate and familiar. So I think it's pretty real to Mitch. And while I doubt he'll end up voting to convict, I think he's sending an important signal that he is deeply disturbed by all of this.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

We should note, if folks forget, that his wife, Elaine Chao, resigned from her position following January 6th citing the president's comments.

I wonder, though, politics, as you note, are predictable here, probably. I don't want to, you know, eliminate the possibility we're surprised, but that the president will not be convicted. We know that after his acquittal in the first impeachment trial that he was emboldened, that he interfered more in the political process not less after that acquittal.

If he is acquitted, is he emboldened and, more key perhaps, are his supporters emboldened, including those who are willing to carry out acts of violence?

WHITEHOUSE: Well, I think the acquittal will likely embolden the fringe of hard core extremists who consider January 6th not a day of infamy but a day of victory.

[09:55:00]

And that small group is dangerous and I hope law enforcement will address them very effectively starting with the investigation into January 6th.

But that is, you know, that's out there. And I think that is a legitimate concern.

I do think as far as the House case went, even if they don't win in the Senate, they had multiple audiences. They had the American public. They had history. They had their own conscience. And I have no doubt that they wanted all three of those forums. And if they can't get, for political reasons, senators to convict, I think the power of their case will be a lasting testament that will do damage to President Trump, perhaps has done already significant damage to President Trump.

SCIUTTO: Well, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, we know you've got a busy day today and perhaps a vote as soon as tomorrow yourself on this. Thanks for taking the time.

WHITEHOUSE: Good to be with you. Thanks.

SCIUTTO: And we will have more of our special coverage on the second impeachment trial of former President Trump just ahead.

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