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Heavily Mutated Coronavirus Variant Puts Scientists On Alert; Stocks, Oil Drop Sharply On Concerns Over New COVID-19 Variant; Rep. Lauren Boebert Suggested Rep. Ilhan Omar Was Terrorist In Anti-Muslim Remarks At Event. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 26, 2021 - 09:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I had a lovely time with you. Thank you so much.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: This has been so much fun. I have loved joining NEW DAY twice this week. And I keep with how quickly three hours goes by. I'm really excited to go meet my leftovers last night --

KEILAR: Yes.

COLLINS: -- but this has been really fun. So thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Of course. Kaitlin, thank you and CNN's coverage continues right now.

[09:00:30]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Jessica Jean and welcome to a special holiday edition of CNN NEWSROOM. And we begin with breaking news and new and alarming Coronavirus variant with an unusually high number of mutations, causing it to spread rapidly has sparked concerns among experts around the world.

This variant also showing the ability to evade immunity. Cases in South Africa where it was first detected on the rise. The fast spreading variant has also been spotted in other places like Israel and Hong Kong. And Dr. Fauci says this morning U.S. scientists will hold a meeting with South African scientists to discuss the situation.

In Europe, travel restrictions are being weighed against seven African countries, six of those already being added to the UK Red List. All flights from those locations suspended beginning today.

And all of this comes as fears over a new variant are slamming the global financial markets, with Dow futures plummeting overnight by at least 800 points.

Our reporters, correspondents and guests are all standing by to bring us the latest. We want to begin first with CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and CNN International Correspondent David McKenzie. Elizabeth to you first, what do we need to know about this new variant that's been detected in South Africa? ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So Jessica, to take a step back for a second variants and mutations have been found over and over again during this pandemic. The question is, which will sort of peter out and not really be important in which will literally take over the world, like the Delta variants. We just don't know at this point. But there are reasons to be concerned about this new variant, let's take a look at what we know.

First of all, it has not been officially called the variants of concern by the WHO. So it does not have one of those Greek letters, it's just called B.1.1.529. This is the concerning part, they found -- the South African researchers found more than 30 mutations in the spike protein.

The spike protein is how the virus gets into our cells. The vaccine is designed to fight it. If there are too many variations that do too many alterations in important places, that could be a problem for the vaccine.

Now, the World Health Organization currently already lists four variants of concern, and two variants of interest. We're hoping to hear from the World Health Organization later today on whether they've designated this one, either a concern or a variant of interest.

Now, we spoke -- CNN spoke earlier with Dr. Anthony Fauci, and he talked a bit about whether or not this variant could be a cause for concern for vaccine efficacy. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: When you look at a mutation, it can give you a hint or a prediction that it might evade the immune response. What you need to do is you need to get that particular sequence of the virus, put it in a form in the lab, where you can actually test the different antibodies. So you can have a prediction that it might evade, or you can actually prove it. Right now we're getting the material together with our South African colleagues to get a situation where you could actually directly test it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So there's a lot of work to be done to learn more about this variant. Keep in mind that back in January, there was a variant that was spotted in South Africa. It looked bad. It had a lot of mutations in all the wrong places. It did certainly do damage in South Africa and that region, but it never took to the worldwide stage like delta. Unclear what category this new variant will be in, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, good perspective there, Elizabeth. Thanks so much. David, turning to you now. We know there have already been restrictions implemented from some flights traveling to and from some countries in South Africa. What can you tell us more about that?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, just hours off to South African scientists came public very soon after noticing this variant in genomic studies and through PCR tests. The United Kingdom was first out the gate. They banned effectively through a red list through several countries in the southern Africa region from traveling to the United Kingdom, and citizens will have to be in mandatory quarantine. That was a very quickly enforce the ban which the South African government said what seemed quite premature.

But since then, other countries have followed suit, countries within the European Union, several countries in Asia have also effectively banned travelers from the southern Africa region to their shores.

[09:05:08]

And now the Africa CDC has come up quite strongly saying they don't recommend bans that it's in their words has had limited impact on the spread of variants and the virus. And in fact, it might inhibit future scientists from coming out quickly, like South Africa did in announcing this variant.

As Elizabeth said, there was the beta variant earlier this year. We were inside the lab, as they worked very, very fast to try and figure out how that variant could evade immunity or impact of vaccines. There will be scientists in this country and around the world right now trying to figure out what this means. But it could take several days, if not weeks to see whether these travel bans have really been put in too quickly or they are warranted. Jessica.

DEAN: Right. Time will tell. All right, Elizabeth Cohen and David McKenzie, thanks so much to both of you.

Here to discuss more about this Dr. Paul Sax, Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sax, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate your time this morning.

So we are hearing now from experts. They're concerned about the mutations. They're concerned that it could evade immunity, that it could also be more transmissible. What are your concerns as you're getting this information? And how should we be thinking about this?

DR. PAUL SAX, CLINICAL DIRECTOR, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Well, Jessica, you outlined two of the most important things that whether it's more transmissible, which delta certainly was, and whether it Amin evades the immune system, which will have implications for how effective our vaccines are, but not just our vaccines, they also has implications for monoclonal antibody treatments.

There's a third issue, which is whether it causes more severe disease, and that one is actually very, very hard to determine that just at this point, but in general, so far, the variants have not conclusively shown that the disease becomes more severe.

One thing I do want to mention is that many of the cases that have been identified so far have actually been identified in people who are without symptoms. And that is encouraging and means that maybe the vaccines are still providing protection against severe disease, even if they have allowed people to have a breakthrough case. So a lot to be learned a lot of uncertainty at this point. But I'm really glad and very excited that the scientists have reported this, and that we can get to work on it quickly.

DEAN: Right. And we heard Dr. Fauci saying that now they're going to be meeting with their South African counterparts. It sounds like based on what we're hearing, it's going to take a couple of weeks to really get some of this information that you're talking about, it's going to be important about how to kind of attack this variant?

SAX: Well, a couple of weeks would be on the longer end, I wouldn't surprise me if we hear a lot of information over the next week in experiments that are done, for example, in taking people who've been vaccinated, and checking their blood against whether it neutralizes the virus and other experiments that can be done in the lab.

One thing that has been encouraging, as I've alluded to, is that people have been collaborating a lot internationally to try to get the latest information and the most accurate information out to people as fast as possible.

DEAN: And so what do you think about these travel bans that are being in place? We just heard from David talking about how there is some concern that maybe this these were put in too quickly, or perhaps they were put in at just the right time? How do you think that those travel bans play into the spread of this? And do you feel like that's the right action to take right now.

SAX: So travel bans so far have had a very limited effect on spread of the virus globally, except in certain isolated countries, island countries were such as New Zealand. In general, what has happened is that the virus has already spread at the time that it's been discovered. So whether this has any impact or not, is really -- it's really too soon to say.

DEAN: And do you think, I mean, is there a chance that it is here in America at this point? I guess we may not know right now, but it's certainly possible.

SAX: We don't know it is possible. One thing that is potentially going to give us information relatively soon is that unlike the more complete sequencing which can take a while, some of the signatures of this particular virus might have clues on the PCR tests that are done by certain PCR machines.

And I know that the people I've communicated with virologists say that we should be able to tell relatively soon, whether it's circulating widely here. I suspect it isn't because the only place it circulating widely so far has been in southern Africa, but at least we'll be able to find out is there a signal of early cases.

DEAN: Right, more information is always good in this situation.

SAX: Good point.

DEAN: In terms of the vaccine before I let you go, obviously boosters right now open to all adults. It would seem to me this just underscores go get the booster, is that the correct medical advice at this time?

SAX: Yes, absolutely. I can't stress that enough. One of the things that's been really encouraging about looking at the booster data is that we're seeing that people who've received a third dose of the vaccines have very high antibody titers, higher even then people who've had COVID-19 and recovered.

[09:10:05]

And so this is clearly the best way to be protected. It is conceivable despite all the mutations that have been mentioned, that people who have received their booster are still protected from this virus. And I'm hopeful that that's the case. And even if it does escape the immune system, to a certain extent, it's very likely that the vaccines will still prevent severe disease, because remember, our immune system is much more complicated than antibodies that also include cellular immunity.

DEAN: Right. All right, Dr. Paul Sax, thanks so much for your insight. We certainly appreciate it.

SAX: Thanks Jessica.

DEAN: And right now -- right now, Dow futures are down more than 800 points, oil has dropped more than 5 percent. And global markets are rattled over fears of this new COVID-19 variant.

I want to bring in CNN chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, who's been following this. Christine, what should we expect today ahead of the opening bell?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, you're going to get a big sell off here. Markets don't like uncertainty and the conventional wisdom was the U.S. economy was roaring ahead heading into the end of the year, and that COVID -- countries were dealing with COVID. And we were working ahead on vaccination rates.

And now we have this new variant with a lot of uncertainties. We don't know if it evades immunity. We don't know if it's easily transmissible. And there's alarm among scientists, and that is triggering alarm among global markets.

You can see that European stocks down sharply. Asian shares closed down sharply as well. And stock index futures are leaning lower here. A 2 percent move is a pretty big move for the opening. So we'll see if it holds.

I will tell you this, Jessica. There are a few people this morning telling me that they feel like it might be a bit of an overreaction in a quiet holiday markets, at least in the United States. There's just so much that we don't know here. You got a rush out of the stock market into the bond market out of oil futures, oil prices are falling. The idea being that if you have this new variants, you could have travel shutdowns in the future and that could dampen demand for oil and oil products. So that could mean in the near term, maybe a lid on gasoline prices here in the US. But just an awful lot of uncertainty and reminder that COVID is still a big driver in market psychology here.

DEAN: Yes, no question about that. All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

DEAN: For coming this morning, this is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year, but inflation and supply chain issues are putting a damper on that. Will we see a return to normal or live.

Plus, bigotry in the GOP, a Republican congresswoman implies one of her Democratic colleagues could be a suicide bomber, because she's Muslim. Well, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert be held accountable.

And Ukraine's president is now alleging that Russia is plotting a coup against him as the U.S. warns a Russian invasion of the country is possible. CNN's new reporting is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:07]

DEAN: It is Black Friday, but shoppers are facing supply chain issues labor shortages and higher prices. So are they hitting the stores in person this year? CNN Business Correspondent Alison Kosik is outside Macy's in New York City. Alison, what are you seeing?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Jessica. It's feeling pretty festive already here at Macy's in Herald Square. The holiday lights are up. The windows are adorned with holiday themes. And despite the fact that we are spending, paying more for items than we have in almost 30 years, people are spending money and they're spending a lot.

The National Retail Federation expects that holiday spending this year will actually break records with consumers shelling out anywhere from $843 billion to $859 billion by the end of the holiday season.

Now today is Black Friday is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Just today 108 million people are expected to shop and 60 percent of them are actually expected to shop in store. This is a divergence from previous years even before the pandemic. Most people like to shop online more. This year, it's different. They want to go in and make sure they buy their items because of all these supply chain problems.

People are concerned that what they've ordered may not come in in time because retailers haven't been able to really stock up on inventories like in previous years because of these disruptions.

Now as far as retailers go, there are sort of winners and losers. A lot of the big box retailers like Walmart, Costco and Target. They've been able to weather the supply chain disruptions. Macy's has also been able to sidestep some of the issues, even hiring its own private cargo ships to ferry its merchandise around the globe to get where it needs to go so that they can build up their inventory. I spoke with Macy's CEO earlier today. Let's see what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY GENNETTE, CEO, MACY'S: We're in really good shape. So as we discussed on the third quarter earnings call, we're about 20 percent ahead of 2020 and inventory for demand that we expect to be up in the mid-20s for the fourth quarter sales. So we're in really good shape this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: The downside to higher demand and less supply, Jessica, fewer deals and doorbusters. Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Alison Kosik for us in New York City. Thanks so much. And joining me now to discuss is Hitha Herzog, the Chief Research Officer for H Squared Research. He's also a consumer spending analyst and retail experts so perfect to talk to you about all of this, Hitha.

Thanks so much for joining us this morning. I want to first ask you about the fact that the National Retail Federation says they expect this to be the largest holiday shopping season on record despite inflation, despite concerns about supply chain issues. Is it the consumers that are that are going to win out here who's the winners in this scenario because it sounds like people are going to be shopping.

HITHA HERZOG, CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER, H SQUARED RESEARCH: People are definitely going to be shopping.

[09:20:00]

I think people, consumers are really experiencing two things, pent up demand and frugal fatigue. So basically, in the last two years, no one really was able to go out and really experience what the magic of holidays. People want to go out and see the lights and see people shopping. And they have also been saving a lot. You know, there really -- there wasn't much to spend on. I don't know about your family, but we didn't really give gifts last year. So people really want to give gifts and gifting is going to be something that, you know, people are going to be doing not just in this season, but year round. This is according to TOBE Doneger Group.

So the, you know, this people are going out and wanting to spend this. But to your point, Oracle came out with a study and 77 percent of consumers are worried that supply chain is going to those issues are going to have an impact on whether or not they're going to get the gifts. So, you are going to see a rise of people going into the stores, but also that concern about whether or not they're going to get the gifts if they do end up shopping online.

DEAN: And so let's talk through some of the supply chain issues. You've talked about how there's -- people are going to feel this differently, or corporations and businesses are going to feel this differently. If you're a big box store, like we just heard Alison talking about. If you're a Macy's, you can hire, you know, a ship to get your merchandise around the world, that's harder for a mom and pop store or a local business. So how will the supply chain issue be affecting different types of businesses?

HERZOG: Right, the supply chain issue is certainly bifurcated. And those big box stores are going to fair well, simply because they have the capital to hire private barges to ship that stuff in on time and hire private trucking companies, the small mom and pop stores.

And I always think about the store that is in this beach town I go to every summer that sells Christmas items, they -- those stores are going to be the ones that are most affected, because to try to get the merchandise out from the cargo, the cargo ships in that are docked in Los Angeles and in Long Beach is very, very expensive.

And in addition to the fact, ports are charging these stores and retailers to store this merchandise, so they can't get the merchandise out. But they're also getting charged. This is a lot of overhead costs and could potentially decimate some of these small businesses that take this time because three months leading up to holiday to really make a lot of the revenues.

DEAN: Right. And so for people at home, who maybe want to go out shopping, you know, a lot of people to your point do want to do big this year. They want to buy the presents. They want to go out and experience everything. What should they be keeping in mind? Because we're talking about supply chain issues and inflation. What are they really going to see when they're out there? And how might this be affecting them?

HERZOG: I think the sooner you go out and shop, especially for those bigger items and those items with electronics, as you know, there's a supply chain issue having an impact on the microchips. So anything that has a microchip, which is basically everything, and on the electronic side, you want to go out and get that sooner versus later.

As we get closer to the holiday, those products are going to be in short supply. But also the older models too. You don't necessarily need the newer stuff that goes by that gets bought up quickly and gets sold quickly. So if you want to get the older models of those electronics, that is actually more effective too.

But one thing I wanted to mention is that, you know, while people are maybe going out and hitting the malls this weekend, there's also a lot of live streaming events. This is another tactic retailers are using to get people to shop online. Facebook and Instagram really have this on lockdown. And they keep having events where people are showcasing their stuff and making it really easy for people to shop.

Walmart is also doing the same thing and attaching celebrities to it. So, be on the lookout of that. I think it's just another model of this omni-channel retailing that -- that retailers are becoming taking part in.

DEAN: Right, so many options for shopping this year. All right, Hitha Herzog, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

HERZOG: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Coming up, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar responding this morning after her Republican colleague Lauren Boebert told a bigoted story colored with offensive anti-Muslim rhetoric.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:48]

DEAN: This morning a growing number of Democratic lawmakers are calling out Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert after she was caught on video saying this about one of the few Muslim members of Congress, Representative Ilhan Omar. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOEBERT: I was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers and he and I are leaving the Capitol. We're going back to my office and we're getting in the elevator and I see a Capitol Police Officer running currently to the elevator. I see fret all over his face. I look to my left. And there she is, Ilhan Omar, and I said, well, she doesn't have a backpack. We should be fine.

So we only had one floor to go and I say, do I say it or do I not? And I look over and I say, Look, the jihad squad decided to show up for work today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona joining me live now. And Melanie, Congresswoman Omar has responded what she's saying about this.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Ilhan Omar is essentially calling BS. Here's what she tweeted about what Lauren Boebert had to say. She said, fact, this buffoon looks down when she sees me at the Capitol, this whole story is made up. Sad she thinks bigotry gets her clout.