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Texas in Crisis; President Biden Speaks at Pfizer Plant. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 19, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:28]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: All right, here we go on this Friday afternoon. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being here.

Just as this huge winter storm has delayed crucial shipments of the COVID vaccine, President Joe Biden is about to speak at this Pfizer plant there in Michigan on this very issue. He toured the vaccine manufacturer just a little while ago, but his challenges are not just about the weather impacting vaccine distribution.

You remember the National Association of Governors wrote him this letter, pleading with him to clarify all these confusing vaccine guidelines and to increase supply as much as possible. And that speech is set for a couple of minutes from now, and we will bring it to you live.

But first to Texas, where the electricity is back on for many in that snow covered state, but the frozen temperatures and the ice have created a new crisis. Nearly half the state is without clean drinking water. Look at this, people lining up to fill buckets from a public park spigot; 13 million people are either without water or under boil- water advisories.

Burst pipes and water mains are pushing the Texas water supply to the brink.

Let's start with Omar Jimenez. He is live in Austin.

And, Omar, I have been watching you all morning. These Texans cannot catch a break. What is being done just to get these folks clean water?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, right now that is the priority right now. The -- those that run the water system, at least here in the Austin area, say they're trying to prioritize hospitals at first just to make sure that they can get those operations continuing, because, remember, we are in the middle of a pandemic.

But, also, it's trying to get through the progress of what became an explosion of burst pipes across this entire part of the country, and really across Texas, as these cold temperatures really hit these systems with something they were clearly not accustomed to seeing.

Now, you touched on how widespread this is. It's more than 13 million people across the state of Texas having their water disrupted, on the other side of what was a week almost without power and having to resort to doing things people never thought they would have to do just to survive.

And don't just take my word for it. Listen to this one Austin resident we spoke to earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN STUDEBAKER, TEXAS RESIDENT: We started with some chairs, some really crappy Ikea chairs that we burned first and then some bookshelf inserts. And then we realized the power wasn't going to come on about seven or eight hours in.

So we went to go try to find wood but all the stores were closed. So, then we went and dragged some pallets from the back of a grocery store to pull apart. Then we went and scavenged wood from all of the creek beds and everything like that, which was frozen. So, we had to thaw it out and then take shifts with the fire.

But then we emptied out green bean cans to make warm water. Luckily, we had water through the really bad ones. Now we don't have water. So, we're melting snow in the bathtub.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, when you look at today, today has been warmer. And we have seen a lot of melting, which is good news. And those that run ERCOT, as they're known here in Texas, that run the state power grid, say that we're no longer in emergency operations.

Overall operations are back to normal. But moving forward, the hurdles that we're going to see is, tonight, we're expecting another night of freezing temperatures, where some of that snow that melted could very well turn into ice. And people are being told to expect and think in terms of days when it comes to getting their water repaired, as opposed to hours.

So we have come a long way. Things are looking better than what they were. But we are not quite out of this yet, Brooke.

B. BALDWIN: And it's crazy to think, Omar -- I was talking to our colleague Ed Lavandera earlier this week, who had heard from ERCOT that they said Texans were seconds away from catastrophic failure, as if this -- what they have been experiencing hasn't been that.

Are officials disclosing any more details but what went so wrong?

JIMENEZ: Yes, so, that, in particular, is extremely interesting.

Now, for starters, the CEO of ERCOT is not calling this a success story. But what he's saying is that this could have been so much worse, in that looking at a days-long blackout, like what we saw, could have very well been a months-long blackout or at least for an indeterminate amount of time.

So what he is saying is that they are going to have to go through and figure out what went wrong here and what can they do to prevent this from happening again in the future.

B. BALDWIN: Omar in Austin.

Omar Jimenez, thank you so, so much.

Let's go to Houston now.

With me now, two judges in Harris County, Texas, Judge Germaine Tanner, who works in the Texas District Court. And Judge Shannon Baldwin serves in the criminal court and is also the first openly LGBTQ African-American judge in all of Harris County.

[15:05:10]

And before I talk to you, you all watching may recognize them from this photo that went viral back in 2019, because Harris County voters elected these 19 black women to serve on the bench. They called themselves Black Girl Magic judges.

And so, Your honor and Your Honor, welcome to both of you.

And the last time I saw both of you, were we were eating shrimp and grits at a very warm Houston restaurant. And, my goodness, how time has changed.

Judge Baldwin, first to you. I hear your power has been coming and going. How are you? How is your 3-year-old?

JUDGE SHANNON BALDWIN, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: At the moment, we're doing great, because we have power and we have had power through the night. So that's been a good thing. We were at 30-plus hours without any electricity.

But, thankfully, I always had water and I had gas, so I could cook and at least have water. Before, we had to boil the water, so--

B. BALDWIN: And your baby?

S. BALDWIN: She is fine. To her, it's all fun and games. And she never knew that anything was wrong to begin with.

And as soon as I got just a couple of hours of electricity on the first -- after the first two days, I took her outside and she was able to play in the snow, which he'd never done before. So that part was good.

B. BALDWIN: Judge Tanner, to you.

I know you -- I read you didn't have power for 40-plus hours. Tell me about your situation. And then, also, do you have water?

JUDGE GERMAINE TANNER, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: So, yes, we didn't have power for 40-plus hours.

And we didn't have water for about half of that. But, right now, the situation is good. We have got power. We have got water. We have got some heat. So we're doing a whole lot better than we were doing two days ago.

B. BALDWIN: How are you both able to do your jobs?

Judge Baldwin, to you. I mean, you both have some very important jobs. In the middle of all of this, you are working to get defendants charged with these nonviolent low-level offenses out of jail. How can you do that, given the situation you're in?

S. BALDWIN: Well, first of all, we have some great administrative staff that help us with -- our court staff, they are phenomenal.

I also happen to have 16 or 15 other co-workers, other judges who really pitched in, because I didn't have Internet. I only got Internet back maybe late yesterday. So, our judges, other judges pitched in and were able to cover our jail dockets, which were our priority, how to get, like you said, low-level nonviolent offense defendants out of jail, rather than languishing in it.

Our jails and some of our county buildings, our joint processing center lost both electricity and water. So they became fire hazards. It's -- it was really an unworkable situation, but we all are pitching in. We are pre-screening cases, such that we can see if they are entitled to bonds and we can just immediately release them, at the same time not compromising the safety of the community.

So, it is a full, everything in--

B. BALDWIN: All hands on deck. All hands on deck.

(CROSSTALK)

B. BALDWIN: I hear you. I hear you. Thank goodness for those other judges.

Judge Tanner, what about gas lines, where we heard the story of the woman who was burning her Ikea furniture for warmth? I was reading about people learning how to boil snow. How are you all getting essentials like food and water?

TANNER: Well, the grocery stores, you saw the lines. And the grocery stores are scarce in the food and the water department. And, as a matter of fact, they are rationing out water for those who are going in to get that.

I know that our community has come together in the most amazing way. Our mayor, several volunteer organizations, our city councilpersons. In particular, I know that Councilwoman Abbie Kamin in District C and Councilwoman Tiffany Thomas in District F and Councilwoman Martha Tatum in District K are all holding water distribution events right now as we speak, where they are giving out cases of water to individuals who are in need at this moment. So, we're coming together, and our city is resilient. We have seen

this before. And we are making it happen for our residents.

B. BALDWIN: Have you, though, seen this? Have you, Judge Tanner, seen this before? I mean, I'm looking at Judge Baldwin sort of shaking her head.

[15:10:04]

It's my understanding that this is an extraordinary moment in Texas history, like not in the good way. And I applaud the community spirit in Texas, like alive and well, and I hear you all loud and clear.

But are either of you angry, truly angry?

(CROSSTALK)

B. BALDWIN: I was angry, because -- and I would imagine like every other parent would be, angry that you're having to take the measures that we had to take to ensure the safety of our children.

That was -- that was difficult, especially the second night, where we were really cold and did not have options. What I will say and what sort of got me out of that mood, -- and maybe what Judge Tanner said is true, the resiliency of the city -- I had amazing neighbors who had a whole-house generator.

And they extended 100 foot electric cord to my house.

(CROSSTALK)

B. BALDWIN: No kidding?

TANNER: Wow.

S. BALDWIN: Yes.

And I was able then to run a space heater to at least heat the one room that we were sort of huddled up in. And that made all the difference. And it made me not feel so bad. And again, like, today, it's a better day the sun is shining. The worst I have to do is to continue to boil water.

So, we are pulling together.

B. BALDWIN: Understand. Understand. I appreciate that neighbors are helping neighbors. Southern hospitality is alive and well.

But the state needs to get to the bottom of how this happened and how it shall never happen again.

Judge Shannon Baldwin, Judge Germaine Tanner, it is a privilege and a pleasure to talk to both of you. Thank you so much.

S. BALDWIN: Thank you.

TANNER: Thank you.

B. BALDWIN: You got it.

Let's get back to our other top story this hour. President Biden is about to speak at this Pfizer plant in Portage, Michigan. This is the same facility where some of the very first Pfizer vaccines were rolled out in December, after they were given emergency use authorization.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is there.

And, Jeff, what specific issues, what specific problems does the president need to address today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden, Brooke, is going to talk about the need for increased production of this vaccine supply.

Of course, there have been issues with the storms across the country, slowing down the distribution of this. But there also are issues with the production. It's one of the reasons he signed the Defense Production Act, to speed up some of the mechanisms behind the scenes here on getting the vaccinations out quickly.

So, we are told he is going to talk about the need to speed this up somewhat, as well as he is making his case for that COVID economic relief bill as well here in Michigan.

Of course, his plan is $1.9 trillion. A lot of that money has to do with producing and distributing the vaccine, as well as economic relief, of course. So he's going to be just drawing attention here on the need to focus on this a vaccine.

But, Brooke, also interestingly, we saw just a few moments ago the president and the governor of Michigan going along inside, seeing how this vaccine is produced. And, interestingly, 120 boxes per hour, 700,000 doses per hour are made here, are rolling through.

So there is a lot of production. One of the issues is getting it out into the states. But next week, the White House believes, is a big week to set up new vaccination centers in Florida and Pennsylvania, as well as other parts across the country.

So, in just a few moments, we're going to hear from President Biden talking about the need to really get this rolling. And, Brooke, you will see the factory behind me here just outside of Kalamazoo, Michigan, in Southwest Michigan.

This was the very place the world was watching on December 13 as this vaccination rolled out here onto the highway onto -- via planes. It has been a big achievement since then. But there have been some bumps in the road as well.

Now, that is owned by the Biden administration. That's one of the reasons he is here with his top advisers on the coronavirus team, Jeff Zients, as well as some others here, so trying to get a firsthand look at this, really trying to speed this up, as winter turns into spring, spring into summer.

He said he wants 300 million doses available by the end of July. We will see if the U.S. reaches that goal -- Brooke.

B. BALDWIN: Hang with me, Jeff, because I think we got our two-minute warning before we see the president.

ZELENY: Sure.

B. BALDWIN: To that promise of the three million doses for July, there are so few, though Americans, when you look at the percentages of actually having been vaccinated, the double doses and how many--

ZELENY: Right.

B. BALDWIN: It's just the goalposts have been moving. I mean, he has some explaining to do.

ZELENY: Has some explaining to do and certainly owns this now.

I mean, he has -- went from praising the creation of this vaccine, which happened in record time during the Trump administration. And he has -- there's been some mixed messaging in terms of the Biden White House saying there wasn't a program left in place for them.

Well, the reality here is, this vaccine has been being produced behind the scenes. So there have been some improvements made. But states complain about mixed messages. Governors, Republicans and Democrats alike, are calling on the federal government to improve its communication.

[15:15:09]

And they say they have somewhat, but this is all very much a work in progress. But this is what the Biden administration is going to be judged on, no question about it. So, whether or not the full $1.9 trillion economic relief bill is passed next month, which the White House believes it will, how this vaccine rolls out throughout the next couple seasons is going to be critical to his presidency.

And, of course, Brooke, he realizes that.

B. BALDWIN: Jeff Zeleny, thank you. We're going to wait and watch there in Michigan for the president.

ZELENY: Sure.

B. BALDWIN: We're going to take a quick break first, though.

Senator Ted Cruz finally apologizing for fleeing to Mexico in the middle of a crisis in his home state, but not until after he issued this misleading statement blaming his kids and attacking other politicians for doing the same thing. We will talk about that.

And President Biden today declaring a major departure from former President Trump's get-it-alone foreign policy strategy, leading British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to say America is back as the leader of the free world.

And a new study shows that some COVID patients are still dealing with symptoms up to nine months after first testing positive. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DR. ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: Hello, everyone.

Mr. President, it is a great honor to welcome you and your team to Pfizer's Kalamazoo, Michigan, site.

Established in 1948, our Kalamazoo site is one of three manufacturing plants in the U.S. that are engaged in the manufacturing of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Our colleagues here have been working around the clock throughout the pandemic to ensure a continued supply of critical hospital medicines, as well, of course, as to produce and ship Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.

From hour one of his presidency and, to be honest, well before the elections, President Biden has demonstrated an understanding of the urgency of this pandemic, a deep compassion for those whose lives have been impacted, and an unwavering belief in the ability of both science and American ingenuity to help us bring an end to this public health crisis.

I'm happy to say that the manufacturing and shipping of the vaccine has gone very well so far. As of February 17, we have supplied 40 million doses to the U.S. government, and our shipment accuracy is 99.9 percent.

Of course, recognizing the urgency of vaccinating as many Americans as quickly as possible, we are taking steps to further accelerate our production.

To this end, we have found a great ally in the Biden administration, which has significantly aided our efforts in a number of areas, including support for rated orders through the Defense Production Act, help in securing both critical materials and equipment needed here in Kalamazoo to expand our manufacturing capacity and to fulfill the U.S. orders.

In addition, Pfizer has been working to expand and enhance our manufacturing capabilities to increase the number of doses we're able to produce globally by the end of 2021.

As part of this expansion, we're adding a new formulation suite here in Kalamazoo, lipid production facilities in both Kalamazoo and at our site in Groton, Connecticut, and finish lines at our site in McPherson, Kansas.

In addition, we have engaged through U.S. contract manufacturers and we're also increasing the supply of raw materials from existing suppliers and bringing on new suppliers.

[15:20:04]

We have improved our processes to double the batch size and increase yield, and we have deployed more efficient lab test methods to reduce release times.

All of these efforts have allowed us to reduce our timelines from approximately 110 days from start to vial-ready and we are now approaching an average of 60 days, which is an almost 50 percent improvement.

Thanks to all these actions, but, more importantly, thanks to the support of the Biden administration, over the coming few weeks, we expect to increase the number of doses being shipped from the U.S. -- for the U.S. from an average of five million doses per week, which is the average until now, to more than double of that number, starting from the next couple of weeks.

We are on track to provide the U.S. government a total of 120 million doses by the end of March and to reach 200 million doses released by the end of May, two months ahead of the original schedule of that milestone.

Of course, today, during this meeting, the president challenged us to identify additional ways in which his administration could help us, potentially accelerate even further the delivery of the full 300 million doses earlier than July.

Mr. President, the challenge is accepted. And we will try to do our best.

We are also very pleased to say that we're continuing looking for ways to improve accessibility to the vaccine. Just this morning, we announced new data demonstrating the stability of our COVID-19 vaccine when stored for a total of two weeks at minus-20 degrees Celsius, a temperature more commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers.

This is in addition to the five days of stability at the standard refrigerated temperature between two and eight degrees of Celsius. If, based on this data, the FDA grants us an update or a license, this new storage option would offer pharmacy vaccination centers greater flexibility.

Of course, all of this work to increase supply and distribution will mean nothing if people are not willing to show up and roll up their sleeves to be vaccinated. That is why we applaud the Biden administration's unwavering focus and strong efforts to vaccine confidence, equitable distribution of the vaccine, and overall health equity.

Looking ahead, I'm confident the collaboration we are establishing with the vaccine partnership will grow even deeper over the next four years, as we work to achieve more public health breakthroughs.

And this is because President Biden understands the importance of moving at the speed of science. Pfizer's participation, for example, in the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Moonshot initiative is just one example of our shared commitment to accelerating the discovery of medical breakthroughs.

Pfizer's chief scientific officer, the head of our research organizations, Dr. Mikael Dolsten, is a founding member of Cancer Moonshot. And we all know of the president's deep personal involvement, his advocacy for accelerated cancer research, in the wake of his son Beau's passing, has made a real impact, the same type of impact our colleagues hope to make every day in pursuit of our purpose, which is breakthroughs that change patients' lives.

Once again, Mr. President, I want to thank you for visiting our Kalamazoo, Michigan site, and for all your support.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce the president of the United States.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.

Thank you not only for what you do for the -- the credit that you have given me that I really don't deserve. This is -- this is a case of life and death.

[15:25:12]

We're talking about people's lives. I want you to know that once we beat COVID, we're going to do everything we can to end cancer as we know it.

I have asked Dr. Eric Lander, a renowned Harvard/MIT scientist to co- lead Presidential Council of Advisers on Science and Technology and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. These are White House offices that bring together the country's top scientists and address our most pressing needs.

They will be part of the administration's work to develop a DARPA-like advanced research effort on cancer and other diseases, just like there is DARPA in the Defense Department that develops the breakthroughs to protect our country.

This administration is going to be guided by science to save lives and to make lives better. That's why I wanted to come here, Albert, to thank you, and thank all the workers here in Kalamazoo.

I'm here to thank my good friend Governor Whitmer, and she has become a good and close friend. The governor has been on the front lines of this pandemic as well for a long time. And I think she's doing an incredible job under very difficult circumstances.

And Michigan is also fortunate to have my buddy Gary Peters as United States senator and Debbie Stabenow. Gary is here. Gary has been a workhorse in making sure that we move through this funding to get things done, because he understands better than anyone it's about urgency, the urgency of the moment.

So, Gary, thank you, Senator. Thank you for all you're doing.

Last week, I toured the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. I met world-class doctors, scientists and researchers who were critical for discovering the vaccines in record time.

I remember when we first started talking about this, asking Dr. Fauci and others, said, well, it could take up to several years, maybe as many as six or eight years, to find -- find a vaccine. It's a miracle of science and of brilliant minds that we have around us.

And now it's a second miracle, a miracle of manufacturing, to produce hundreds of millions of doses. Let me say it again, hundreds of millions of doses. I came here because I wanted the American people to understand the extraordinary, extraordinary work that's being done to undertake the most difficult operational challenges this nation has ever faced.

And let me say, parenthetically, that it's not enough that we find cures for Americans. There needs to be a cure that the world is able to take part of, because you can't build a wall or a fence high enough to keep a pandemic out.

On our tour, I met a few of your nearly 3,000 workers, Albert, experts managing ingredients that come in from different cities and states, experts handling 3-D modeling and artificial intelligence to ensure that every dose is properly crafted, experts ensuring a sterile environment, so that each vial, each and every one, is safe and free of contaminants.

All of this is followed by extensive safety and quality control inspection, then careful packaging and labeling. We walked by a freezer farm that then keeps those doses viable, so they can be shipped. This is an incredibly complex process, and at every stop, safety is the utmost priority.

The whole process takes teamwork, precision and round-the-clock focus, machinists operating some of the most advanced equipment in the world, working side by side with chemists, biologists, pioneering technologies that less than a year ago were little more than theories and aspirations.

And it takes a partnership, in our view, between the federal government and all the companies and universities contributing to the vaccine effort. Just over four weeks ago, America had no real plan to vaccinate most of the country.

My predecessor, as my brother would say, God loved him, failed to order enough vaccines, failed to mobilize the effort to administer the shots, failed to set up vaccine centers.

That changed the moment we took office. I directed Jeff Zients, my COVID-19 response coordinator, to lead my administration's work with the vaccine manufacturers to buy more vaccines and to speed up delivery. Albert referenced it earlier, and I want to thank him for making it

happen, because we worked together. We're now on track to have enough vaccine supply for all Americans.