Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Biden Addresses U.N. Amid Afghanistan Fallout, France Tensions; 676,000-Plus Americans Have Died Of COVID-19, Surpassing Estimated U.S. Deaths From 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic; J&J Vaccine Booster Provides 94 Percent Protection Against COVID; Program Helps Migrant And Refugee Women Start Food Businesses. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired September 21, 2021 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You know, I think the U.S. allies and partners listening to this speech would have welcome it and embraced it if they hadn't just gone through the chaotic Afghan withdrawal.
And then seen the U.S. declare this August relationship between Australia, the U.S. and the UK in such a clumsy and haphazard fashion, that has left France, a major European ally upset and aggrieved.
And left other E.U. allies wondering how they are going to be dealt with in future by the U.S. Can they trust the U.S.? And they are also looking at what's left behind in Afghanistan.
Maybe President Biden thought it was time to go. But the manner of the U.S. departure left behind what many Europeans considered to be a vortex for rising Islamic extremist, extremist violence, and possibly refugees headed to their shores.
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: And, General, while he tried to focus forward, the president did take the time to defend the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Considering the chaos it a took place, including this U.S. drone strike in Kabul that we just learned over the weekend killed 10 civilians, including seven children, was it a missed opportunity to express a mea culpa?
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, he certainly could have done that.
But I think the key thing, and certainly Kim nailed it absolutely wonderfully, is that this military that we have seen in conflict over the course of the last 20 years has never been tactically better prepared. And we should all feel wonderful about that.
But at the same time, I think we've never been more strategically lost. And we've seen a number of those missteps beginning certainly with this very haphazard, incredibly chaotic -- and it didn't have to be that way -- withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not the fact that we departed. But as Kim described this rather slipshod way in which it was executed, the loss of 13 servicemembers. And then on the heels of that the strike that was acknowledged as inappropriate and wrong and a terrible mistake.
But America needs to acknowledge and get away from the self-loathing and acknowledge that we've made some mistakes and move forward.
And this was an opportunity for the president to really put some mark errs down but he missed a couple.
He failed to mention our ongoing competition in trying to identify areas of cooperation with China. That was kind of left to the side.
Certainly, adventurism by Russia left to the side. And he made no mention of competition in space and what are we going to do with nukes.
I mean, these are not old stories that need to be wrapped in new cloth. These are existing existential challenges that need a to be addressed and they weren't.
CABRERA: Kim, he focused on human rights and talked about America's role and being a leading defender of human rights around the world.
But how much tougher is it to make that argument when we see images like the treatment of the Haitian refugees and migrants trying to cross the border or the criticism that, after 20 years, the U.S. didn't do more to secure protection for women and girls in Afghanistan?
DOZIER: You know, it's going to make it very tough for the Biden administration to make this argument to some of its European allies with a straight face.
Especially when they are from the perspective of some of the U.S. troops that I'm talking to not making enough of a priority to get out some of the Afghan allies.
And they are also looking ahead to a shrinking picture in terms of shrinking troop numbers in Iraq, wondering what's going to happen to U.S. allies there.
And around the world, other nations are looking at this. China and Russia are making hay out of it in terms of rhetoric and propaganda saying, you know, why would you side with the U.S. when the U.S. is just going to leave you in a lurch? They are hypocrites.
CABRERA: General, President Biden did announce a willingness to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal if Iran agrees to full compliance. What's your reaction to that?
MARKS: Well, frankly, I think it needs to be done. Look, the United States runs the risk of having an almost century long relationship that doesn't exist with Iran, right? We had the revolution that took place 40-plus years ago. That crew is
going to disappear and the new crew is going to come in for another 40 or 50 years.
And the United States has no relationship with Tehran. The ball is in our court, right? Any relationship we have, the ball is in our court to make it right.
And we have to figure out where we can establish a relationship so we're not routinely going through a third nation to try to communicate, which could be a nuclear power in the Middle East.
And if Iran gets nukes, Saudi Arabia is going to get nukes. And that's the last thing that we need to have.
CABRERA: General "Spider" Marks, Kimberly Dozier, appreciate it. Thank you.
DOZIER: Thanks, Ana.
[13:34:58]
CABRERA: Up next, it was supposed to be the one-and-done version of the COVID vaccine but now comes word that anyone who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is going to want a second shot. That's next, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:40:03]
CABRERA: Today promising vaccine news for some 14.8 million Americans given the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. A new study finds adding a second shot raises a person's protection against COVID to 94 percent.
The company now saying a two-dose regimen of J&J is comparable to a two-dose regimen of Moderna or Pfizer.
That protection is critical as deaths here in the U.S. surpass the estimated death toll of the 1918 flu pandemic.
More than 676,000 Americans have now died of COVID-19. The U.S. right now averaging nearly 2,000 deaths a day. Nearly all unvaccinated.
Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, joins us now.
Doctor, it's hard to believe that we've surpassed deaths from the 1918 flu. How much higher could the death toll go?
DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Remember, Ana, 100,000 of deaths have come after April and May and after safe and effective vaccines are available.
So most of those 100,000 deaths are among the unvaccinated. They are needless deaths. All of them could have been prevented.
And now the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is saying we'll have another 100,000 additional deaths, also entirely unnecessary, before the end of the year.
So 200,000 deaths by anti-science, as I call it.
CABRERA: Wow.
And -- and new warnings now that this year's flu season, which is quickly upon us, could be worse as COVID patients, you know, are already filling hospitals. We've been reporting on health care worker shortages. So that makes vaccines even more important.
Is it safe to get a flu vaccine and a COVID shot at the same time?
HOTEZ: Yes, it looks that way. And what we're seeing is pharmacists are giving one shot in either arm, so your left arm COVID and right arm flu and that seems to be OK.
And by the way, it's really important to get your flu vaccine. Flu is still a killer, not as much as COVID-19 but between 12,000 and 50,000 Americans lose their lives every year from flu.
So get your flu vaccine now as well.
CABRERA: Let's talk about this new data from Johnson & Johnson suggesting a double dose of the J&J vaccine provides 94 percent against symptomatic protection and 100 percent against severe disease.
So where does this go from here?
HOTEZ: Well, you know, Ana, we've actually been talking all year about this. I've said, since the beginning, this looks like a real good vaccine as a two-dose vaccine.
When you looked at the phase one, phase two trials, really high levels of neutralizing antibodies are really as good as the mRNA vaccines.
We don't really have many single-dose vaccines that we give to people, yellow fever, experimental Ebola vaccine, maybe hepatitis "A." But almost all of our vaccines are a double dose so this is not too surprising.
Another piece of this is, even a single dose of the J&J vaccine seems to be holding up in terms of level of protection though it's augmented by giving the second dose.
CABRERA: If you were to advise somebody on which vaccine to get now that we have more data for all three vaccines that are currently authorized here in the U.S. for emergency use or full approval like the Pfizer vaccine, which one would you recommend?
HOTEZ: You know, they all look really strong, Ana. So in terms of protective efficacy, I feel pretty good about all of them. They all have a good safety profile. You might argue that if you're a young woman, you're at slightly
greater risk of cerebral thrombosis from the J&J vaccine. So that might not be the one that you want. But it's a soft call.
And say, with the mRNA vaccine. If you're a young male, you may want the J&J vaccine because of the risk of myocarditis.
It's important to stress these are extremely rare events. So all of the vaccines are highly efficacious and safe.
CABRERA: Dr. Peter Hotez, you always have such good information. Really appreciate it. Thanks for being here.
HOTEZ: Thank you.
[13:44:03]
CABRERA: Up next, I'll take you to my hometown and introduce you to my champion for change.
You know, at a time when images of immigrants and refugees desperately searching for their share of the American dream are dominating our screens, get ready for this very different type of story that I'm proud to share with you next, live, from the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: The committee investigating the January 6th insurrection could start issuing subpoenas within a week.
Committee chairman, Democrat Bennie Thompson, says to expect subpoenas for witnesses or organizations that have failed to cooperate with records requests.
Thompson also says the committee is scheduled -- has scheduled its first closed-door hearings.
OK, all this week, this is our special series, "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE," and we are spotlighting everyday people who don't make headlines, necessarily, but they are smashing barriers. They are lifting up humanity.
Sylvia Hernandez is changing lives through food in my hometown of Denver, Colorado, where she helped create the Comal Heritage Food Incubator, a special restaurant where immigrant and refugee women are celebrating their culture and cooking up new careers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[13:50:19]
SILVIA HERNANDEZ, CO-FOUNDER, COMAL HERITAGE FOOD INCUBATOR: I can hire you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, gosh.
CABRERA: Sylvia is somebody who's larger than life. She just radiates a spirit that you want to be part of.
Tell me your secret ingredient.
HERNANDEZ: Secret ingredient is love.
CABRERA: Love.
HERNANDEZ: Love and a little bit of passion.
CABRERA: A sprinkle of passion in there.
This is a woman who works incredibly hard.
When do you ever sleep?
HERNANDEZ: When I have the time.
(CROSSTALK)
CABRERA: Silvia came from Mexico to Denver. She saw more opportunity here in the U.S., so she planted her two feet on the ground and started to try to figure out how she was going to make ends meet.
She found Focus Points, a family resource center.
HERNANDEZ: And that is when I meet the other ladies, and we start talking about, what would you like to do here? What do you do here? And everybody spreads, oh, I would like to have a business, and sell food. And that idea started getting into my head.
CABRERA: A lot of them have some entrepreneurial background, but they just needed a few more steps in order to put those skills together and really understand what was needed to have a culinary business.
So, you helped create this place.
HERNANDEZ: I think all the ladies, including me, created it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comal is a paid training program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we focus on helping low-income immigrant and refugee women who want to start their own food businesses.
CABRERA: What level of skills do they enter the program?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as knowing the food they cook, they're all experts in their heritage cuisines. They've been cooking longer than I've been alive.
So the question is, hey, how can we turn this talent, this interest into something more substantial?
And that's what we use to help train them in how to work in a professional kitchen, first and foremost. And then how to turn that knowledge, plus the knowledge that they already have, into a business.
CABRERA: Comal gives them, really, a training ground and that hands-on experience that Silvia realized they didn't have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the ladies feel like they can -- they are nothing.
But when they come here, and with them talent, create, for example, a dish or something, then impact some other persons, then they say, OK, I am something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are unique in the sense that we are focusing on helping immigrant and refugee women to give people who already have momentum the avenue to go through it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beef or the onion?
CABRERA: Olivia came to the U.S. from Venezuela. She and her family are refugees. She wanted to be an entrepreneur here in Colorado, so that's how she ended up linking up with Comal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me, this is a blessing.
CABRERA: This is a blessing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Making me love the opportunity to do something I like.
CABRERA: When you look at the people that Comal is serving, what I see in them is part of my own family's story.
There's great-grandpa, Isidro, in the kitchen with all the pots and pans.
My great-grandparents came from Mexico shortly after the Mexican revolution, fleeing poverty, seeking more opportunity. In fact, my great-grandfather started his own eatery.
When I look at Silvia, she is a champion for immigrants. She's the champion for Latinas. He's a champion for the community of Denver.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Silvia is one of many versions of success. She does a lot for herself, but by doing that, she's helping other people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Without Comal and my idea, my dream, I don't think I would be where I am now. Comal is my second home. Opportunities. And success.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: She's such a cool lady.
And a lot of these women, because they're women, just aren't afforded the same opportunities in the countries they're from. So in a lot of ways, Silvia is just like a beacon. She's helping to chart the course.
And she now has her own separate business, while continuing to help Comal and its participants, who have come from nine different countries. Not just from Latin America but also Syria, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.
So, you know, when you look at the current crisis there, Afghan refugees might find a landing spot at Comal in the near future.
[13:54:54]
We'll continue to share these inspirational stories all this week. And be sure to tune in on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for the "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE," a one-hour special.
That does it for us today. Thank you for being with me. I'll see you tomorrow at 1:00 Eastern. In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.
The news continues next with Alisyn and Victor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:00:02]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Alisyn Camerota. Welcome to "NEWSROOM."
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.
We are just a few hours away from the start of a congressional showdown.
