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Soon, Dr. Fauci to Join White House Briefing Amid Omicron Concerns; Biden Administration Weighing Stricter COVID Testing for Travel to U.S.; Report: Trump Tested Positive 3 Days Before Debate with Biden; First Case of Omicron COVID Variant Found in U.S.; Dr. Fauci Speaks at White House Press Briefing Amid Omicron Concerns. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 01, 2021 - 13:30   ET

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

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ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Moments from now, Dr. Fauci will be speaking. We'll bring you his comments live. So stay right there.

The U.S., the world are all awaiting critical answers on Omicron. This new coronavirus variant has now been found in at least 26 countries and territories.

And the White House is now considering stricter travel measures when it comes to testing.

It's still too soon to know exactly how serious the threat that Omicron poses.

But more promising signs today. Israel's health minister says indications show current vaccines provide protection.

Another South African doctor tells CNN Omicron symptoms in younger patients have so far been mild. And that 90 percent of those needing hospital care are unvaccinated.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins joins us at the White House now.

Kaitlan, Dr. Fauci is speaking soon. President Biden, he just wrapped up some remarks a few minutes ago. Again, primarily focused on the economy, but it goes hand in hand with what's happening in COVID and the uncertainty around Omicron.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It does go hand in hand. But, of course, first and foremost, the president is trying to learn from scientists what their evaluation of this threat is.

Based on what the president said just now, it still seems like that's something that is unknown. But he's talking about how this is a variant they want to deal with based on science and not based on confusion. So that is the tone he's been trying to strike over the last several

days. And you can bet he'll do so tomorrow when he talks about their efforts this winter to try to combat COVID-19.

A speech we knew was planned even before they discovered this Omicron variant and became concerned about it on a global level. So this will obviously be what is looming over that speech tomorrow.

This comes when you're seeing these changes here inside the United States when it comes to travel, when it comes to testing requirements, when it comes to the CDC in trying to find out and see if this variant is in the United States yet.

It's not been formally announced by the CDC. Yes, they are all but poised to announce they are going to change those testing requirements for international travelers who are coming into the United States.

Ana, currently, you have about three days before your departure time to get tested for coronavirus and be able to provide a negative result when you go to board that flight.

They are going to shorten that window to 24 hours before your departure time, you must have a negative test.

One other thing they're also considering is that, even for fully vaccinated Americans, when you return to the United States, you may also have to retest several days after your return.

Of course, the idea they're going to have to monitor that, do that surveillance, how those tests will be conducted and turned in, that will be something they have to think about if they're putting something like this in place.

All those tougher measures are now under consideration because of this new variant.

So you are seeing how they're trying to maintain a sense of calm. They are trying to say, here's what we know, but here's, more importantly, what we still don't know.

But they are taking steps in the meantime to respond to this in case what science does reveal is that it poses a threat.

CABRERA: Kaitlan, before you go, we heard right at the end of the president's Q&A, after his remarks, mention of this new resolution today concerning former President Trump.

[13:35:08]

His former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, revealing in a new book that President Trump tested positive for COVID before a debate with Biden.

What more are we learning?

COLLINS: Yes, President Biden seemed to brush it off when he was asked if he thought the former president could have put him at risk by testing positive in the days before the debate.

Of course, not just going to several other events, but also going on that the debate stage with Biden at the time, who was then-Candidate Biden. Both of them not wearing a mask. And Chris Wallace, the host of that debate, also not wearing a mask.

And the rules were that you have to be tested in the hours leading up to that debate. But Mark Meadows revealing in his book that President Trump actually tested positive for coronavirus on November 26.

He claims in the book that the former president then tested negative and continued on with his daily activities. But there are still a lot of unknowns about that.

It was in the days after that debate, where not only the president but several people around him who helped him with debate prep, who had attended that Supreme Court hearing -- or Supreme Court celebration ceremony at the White House, all had tested positive for coronavirus.

Of course, President Biden is laughing off the idea that the former president could have put him at risk, but it is a real thing.

He could have put him at risk because that was when no one was vaccinated. That was when the treatment for coronavirus was still in very short supply or not even approved by the FDA.

So it is a serious issue, of course, that we should note former President Trump is denying he had coronavirus before that debate.

So it is a serious issue. Of course, we should note that President Trump is denying that he coronavirus before that debate.

CABRERA: Kaitlan Collins, at the White House for us, thank you.

Let's go now to CNN's Athena Jones at New York Liberty National Airport.

Athena, Kaitlan touched on these testing environments being updated. I understand part of what's happening where you are is an increase in testing as well.

We also know the CDC is going to direct airlines to share the names and contact information of passengers who have recently traveled to South Africa and seven neighboring countries.

Tell us more about all this.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. That's right. We already know there are several major airlines that are complying with the CDC's directive to provide this information so that they can provide it to state and local health departments all to try to keep track or detect the Omicron variant when it arrives.

We know Delta, United and American Airlines all say they are complying with this CDC directive. Yes, as you mentioned, Newark Airport where we are now, is one of four

airports. The others are JFK, San Francisco and Atlanta. Four big international airports are some of the busiest in America where they're providing enhanced screening for certain international travelers.

Now, it's important to note that this is not mandatory. This is entirely voluntary.

Let me show you what's behind me. This Express Check service is what is being offered to folks. They're now serving people from a flight from London and another flight from Germany.

They can stop by there and greet PCR test. They won't get immediate results but they can get a free PCR test. They'll send it off to the lab and those passengers can take home, also for free, another test they can take a few days from now.

You heard Kaitlan mention these new testing requirements, under these, it may become mandatory that anyone, whether they're a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or someone else, who comes into the U.S. be tested again after arrival.

So in this case, those free tests, they can take those home and turn them in.

As of right now, this is all part of an effort to really increase surveillance, not just coronavirus, not just Omicron, but certainly of Omicron, which has yet to be tested here in America.

But also Delta, which, as we know, is still spreading around the country. They just want to get a handle on it -- Ana?

CABRERA: Athena Jones, thank you.

With us now, Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician, former Baltimore health commissioner, and author of "Lifeline, A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health."

Dr. Wen, Athena just laid it out. The CDC will provide passenger lists from southern Africa countries to local health departments. We have stricter testing also being considered. But not being considered is a mandatory quarantine.

Is this the right plan?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I definitely think it's a much better plan than the one currently in place, which just leaves too many loopholes.

So the CDC is trying to close these loopholes, it sounds like, by shortening the time of the pre-departure testing and then also having an arrival testing.

I think they should make it mandatory. Why not have everyone who is arriving from these southern Africa countries to test on arrival? Then they can take a test home and in a few days' time take that.

They should also be instructed to quarantine in the meantime in case they're carrying Omicron and the tests aren't picking it up.

I am very concerned. There's a lot we don't know about Omicron. But I would much rather we play it safe and use an abundance of caution while we're finding out more information about this new variant.

[13:40:07]

CABRERA: Dr. Fauci is about to speak at this briefing in a moment. What do you want to hear from him?

WEN: I would want Dr. Fauci to continue to communicate this sense of urgency and what it is that the Biden administration is doing. But also what the American people should be doing.

So far, he's been great, of course, about doing that, which is to specifically say, if you're not vaccinated, including if you have children 5 to 11 who are newly eligible and they're not vaccinated, please get them vaccinated now.

If you're not boosted -- and we know there are many Americans who are eligible but have not yet gotten the booster -- this is now the time. Don't delay.

Really, you should get the booster today if you're six months out of Pfizer or Moderna or two months out from Johnson & Johnson.

But I would really hope the Biden administration would go further and really urge indoor masking because that is something that's important for not only preventing Omicron but also preventing the Delta surge.

I think also having all international travelers at this point go through enhanced screening to do pre-departure testing but also arrival testing and quarantine.

All of those things will be important at this point in time.

CABRERA: We've learned the U.S. is doing genomic testing on one in seven positive COVID tests to see if this new variant is here in the U.S. So far, at least, that last report, no Omicron cases detected in the U.S.

Do you think the U.S. surveillance strategy is sufficient?

WEN: We certainly have gotten a lot better than just a few months ago when we were sequencing far less. One in seven still is not enough.

And it really is a matter of time before we find Omicron in our country as well. More than 20 countries have already found it.

We have so much transit going back and forth between our country and southern Africa and European countries and others that have Omicron, so we need to ramp up our surveillance. Understand there are other tools we have at our disposal, including

rapid testing, which should be much more widely available. And that's something I wish the Biden administration would focus on, getting that test to every American.

CABRERA: Israel's health minister says there are indications that current COVID-19 vaccines do protect against the Omicron variant. We know is underway to know for sure.

What would the test have to show, what percentage of effectiveness would give you confidence that the coronavirus vaccines are good enough?

WEN: I think there are two types of studies underway right now. One is laboratory tests. So looking at the vaccine-induced antibodies and will they still be able to neutralize the Omicron variant as they do with previous variants?

It's not only looking at people who got the vaccine but also people who got the booster.

If you got boosted, you have a very high level of antibodies. And hopefully, that should be able to protect you even if the effectiveness level of the variant is slightly decreased.

There's another type of testing that's done now, too, which is critical observational data. And that's looking at the individuals who are getting infected with Omicron and are hospitalized because of it.

Are these individuals vaccinated? Because if nearly all these people who are getting hospitalized are unvaccinated, that's data that would point to the impact of vaccination and protecting against Omicron.

CABRERA: We did hear from that South African doctor just today that about 90 percent of the people who were being hospitalized were unvaccinated.

So that provides additional information when it comes to the effectiveness of the vaccines, we hope.

Let's turn to this new revelation that President Trump tested positive, then negative, apparently, then positive again.

He went ahead to hold meetings with all states, including Gold Star families. And then he went into a debate with President Biden.

It was two days after that debate where he announced publicly that he had tested positive for COVID. And you'll recall he was hospitalized the very next day.

What's your reaction to this news?

WEN: I'm not surprised at all, Ana. The reason is that I and many other physicians at the time said that the time course did not make sense. Because it takes time between when you first contract COVID and then

test positive to the time that you get severely ill and note that you are hospitalized.

It took no amount of time that the president said he was positive and then almost immediately became ill and needed to be in the hospital.

This is the reason why I, and so many people at the time, were asking, when was his last test.

Because a lot of us suspected that he probably tested positive well before that initial test was announced.

I also want to put it out there that if anyone tests positive and you also have symptoms, you should not be looking around for another test to see if you're negative.

[13:45:00]

I mean, if you test positive and have symptoms, you are presumed to have COVID. So please do not go out in public. Do not go out to events with other people because you are endangering others.

CABRERA: Dr. Leana Wen, thank you very much.

I want to go back to CNN chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, live for us at the White House.

I understand you have some breaking news for us, Kaitlan?

COLLINS: This news briefing has been delayed. We're looking for Dr. Fauci to come out and talk to us.

CNN can now report the CDC has identified its first case of the Omicron variant in the United States. This is something they've been searching for, for days. That was something they were expecting.

And now the CDC has found it in California. That's where the first case of the Omicron variant is in the United States.

Of course, this is something they were preparing for. That's why you saw all those travel restrictions going into place on Monday.

The CDC is poised to announce these new restrictions when it comes to testing for international travelers.

And now this development, which we will likely hear from Dr. Fauci when he comes out to the briefing shortly.

And what this means for daily American life and what needs to change in light of this.

We know this is a variant that is still a lot of unknown about it. And, of course, the big questions. Does it cause more severe disease? Does it evade vaccines? Those are big questions scientists are still trying to answer. And now, they'll try to answer it, given it is here in the United States, in California, and it will likely be in other places as well.

We should note we heard the CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, announce yesterday that they ramped up surveillance trying to find this, including the four airports in the United States, JFK, San Francisco, Newark, New Jersey, Atlanta as well. All of those trying to find these cases.

Part that of that is getting contact information from the travelers who are coming from these nations where we note this is spreading, where those restrictions have gone into place, which don't apply to American citizens, don't apply to permanent residents.

That presents a problem for them to try to contact trace as well. So that is something they'll be dealing with now that it has been identified here in the United States.

CABRERA: Kaitlan, stand by.

I want to bring back Dr. Leana Wen to react to this new information you just shared, which is we now have our first identified case of Omicron, this variant of COVID here in the U.S., now detected in California.

We were just discussing this idea that it is likely already in the U.S. and just hadn't been picked up yet. So I don't think this information is a huge surprise to anyone.

But I do believe viewers at home are going to hear this and are going to start to worry, maybe start to panic.

What's your message to America right now, learning this new information?

WEN: I definitely understand why this would be concerning to people hearing the news. But let's remember that this was something that we expected all along.

In fact, just minutes ago, you and I, Ana, were talking about how this was only a matter of time because Omicron has been found in so many other countries already.

And we have ramped up our surveillance and it should be a good thing that we're now able to pick up on cases of Omicron here.

There's a lot we don't know about this case. We don't know if this is a traveler who just went to visit southern Africa or whether there could be community transmission. We do not know this.

And the most important thing for people to know is we have a plan that there are scientists around the world, including many here in the U.S., who are actively trying to find more information about Omicron.

We also know what it takes to prevent Omicron, which are the same things it takes to prevent Delta. Vaccination will probably be effective, especially getting a booster dose for those if you haven't already.

And also, if you're going to indoor crowded settings, please wear a mask. This is a respiratory virus that spreads through aerosols and direct contact.

So we have a surge in the country right now. So wearing a mask when indoors around people with unknown vaccination status that will protect you against Delta.

But also if there happens to be Omicron around you, that will protect you against this new variant as well.

CABRERA: That's such important information.

Let's ping-pong a little bit and go back to Kaitlan because she's continuing to gather more information.

What more can you share with us, Kaitlan?

COLLINS: We need to look at what the CDC has done the last several days to pinpoint this. What officials are describing is saying, Ana, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack trying to find this.

You heard Dr. Fauci saying the CDC could find this variant. That's what they've been trying to do.

But also do this tracing, not just done through the CDC, but it's the CDC working, basically, on a daily basis with the state labs because it would be the state labs that would find this first.

Now we know the first case of Omicron has been found in California. That's likely in conjunction with the state labs and the CDC working together on this to find this.

I think also, of course, the question is, how many more cases did they find after this? You heard officials say, starting last Friday, when we were talking about this Omicron variant, it's likely already here in the United States. If it's not here yet, it will likely be here soon.

[13:50:05]

Because while there's not much known about it, one thing they do know is it spreads very quickly. So that has been, of course, a concern that is happening in South Africa and the neighboring nations they've been looking at when they've been doing case studies there.

So that will be the question here, how fast does it spread?

Because, as of yesterday, they still had not found this. And the CDC director says, yes, Delta variant that swept over the United States in the summer. That's still the dominant strain here in the United States.

Now the questions are, what will it look like this year and in the future? Of course, those will be questions that we'll be asking Dr. Fauci in a moment.

CABRERA: We've been asking questions of all of our experts, our doctors.

Dr. Wen, as Kaitlan points out, you have to do the testing to identify the variant. Specifically in this case, it's Omicron.

But people at home might not know that they have one variant over the other because of how they feel if they do have COVID-19.

Do we have a better sense of the symptoms people might have because of this particular variant and how it would compare to the Delta variant?

WEN: We have anecdotal reports out of South Africa. The physicians there have said the initial patients they're seeing, who, by the way, tend to be younger because the initial clusters were in younger students, for example.

What they have seen are mild symptoms that are atypical. They are fatigued, feeling run down, maybe having a scratchy throat. But those could also indicate another variant as well.

So my takeaway with all of this is we should have a high index of suspicious. Meaning, that if you are feeling a headache, a runny nose, a sore throat, something out of the ordinary, or fatigue, call your doctor. Get tested for COVID-19.

It doesn't really matter actually as to which variant you have when it comes to your symptoms and what you -- how you should treat yourself and how you should be monitored.

But for public health purposes, it's important for us to know based on sequencing. And for individuals who have traveled internationally recently, really good idea to get retested.

And if you live at home with vulnerable family members or are planning to visit someone in a nursing home, consider getting a negative test prior to doing that if you've traveled internationally.

CABRERA: At this point, Dr. Wen, should people be changing any holiday plans? Christmas is just a few weeks away now.

WEN: Well, right now, if people have not gotten the booster dose -- I know this sounds like a broken record. If you get a booster dose now, you will be well protected when it comes to the holidays.

Children who have not completed their two doses of the vaccine should get theirs second dose so they'll be fully vaccinated by the time of Christmas and New Year's as well.

I think for individuals planning international travel, they should remain flexible because things are changing so quickly as to what the requirements are both here in the U.S. and other destinations.

And you may not want to travel somewhere if you have to be in mandatory quarantine for a while, for example, so be flexible with those travel plans.

But I cannot keep emphasizing the importance of vaccinations to protect us and also having widespread availability of home tests. I, in my family, and I encourage my patients, to stock up on these rapid tests.

If you're getting together with others over the holidays, taking a rapid test in advance can help you have a level of reassurance.

CABRERA: How much do those rapid tests cost? I think a lot of people worry about health care costs, which is an ongoing issue.

We know the vaccines are free. And again, that's our best protection. But in terms of the testing, trying to find those tests.

I'm told we have the White House briefing has just begun. Let's listen in.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- who will give a brief statement and then answer some questions. He does have to head out after 2:00 so we'll get to as many questions as we possibly can.

With that, I'll turn it over to Dr. Fauci.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Thank you very much, Jen.

So as some you may have heard, the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health and the CDC have confirmed that a recent case of COVID-19 among an individual in California was caused by the Omicron variant.

Genomic sequencing was conducted at the University of California at San Francisco and the sequence was confirmed at the CDC as consistent with the Omicron variant.

I know there are a lot of questions but here's what we know right now.

The individual was a traveler who returned from South Africa on November the 22nd and tested positive on November the 29th.

The individual is self-quarantining and all close contacts have been contacted. And all close contacts, thus far, have tested negative.

The individual was fully vaccinated and experienced mild symptoms, which are improving at this point.

[13:55:06]

So this is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant detected in the United States.

And as all of you know, because we've been discussing this, we knew that it was just a matter of time before the first case of Omicron would be detected in the United States. And as you know, I've been saying it and my colleagues on the medical team have been saying it, we know what we need to do to protect people.

Get vaccinated if you're not already vaccinated. Get boostered if you've been vaccinated for more than six months with an mRNA or two months with J&J, and all the things we've been talking about with getting your children vaccinated, masking in indoor settings, et cetera.

Yes.

PSAKI: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: At this point, should Americans be changing anything they do in their day-to-day lives? Are you changing what you do?

FAUCI No. That's a good question and obvious question. But if you look at the things that we have been recommending, they're just the same. We want to keep doing that and make sure we pay close attention to that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are there other cases the CDC is investigating as potential Omicron variants in the U.S. right now?

FAUCI To my knowledge, at this point, no.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What should we take away from the fact that this person's symptoms are mild and have the other travelers on the plane been contacted?

FAUCI This is what we call in medicine and N equals one. Which means you really can't take anything away from a single patient.

We feel good that this patient not only had mild symptoms, but actually the symptoms appear to be improving.

But as we've said, there's a lot of information that is now evolving out of countries like South Africa that have a much larger number of individuals, not only who are confirmed, but individuals who are probables.

Which means they are going to have a lot of experience, which we will benefit from here as the weeks go by.

Some of you heard me say that in a matter of two weeks or two and a half, three weeks, we'll know a lot about transmissibility, about whether or not it essentially alluded some of the protection from things like monoclonal antibodies.

Whether or not the disease, in general, is going to be severe. And what is the difference in an individual who's been vaccinated versus unvaccinated, boostered versus unboostered? We're going to get that information.

So again, I appreciate your question about one individual, but we're going to get a lot more information.

COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE). One, you said this person had been fully vaccinated. Had they had a booster yet?

FAUCI: Not to my knowledge, no, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: OK.

And the CDC is considering having stricter testing requirements to get into the United States, but is also considering re-testing once they get back to the United States.

Would that have helped in this case if that was already in place?

FAUCI I'm not so sure because this person did what we hoped others would do. They got off and as soon as they were symptomatic, they got tested and then it was positive.

COLLINS: And those new requirements to be implemented, given, clearly, this is something that's already affecting the United States?

FAUCI That's obvious, all things that are being considered. I don't think I can make a real statement about when and if that's going to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you.

Dr. Fauci, in addition to any new testing requirements, what about new requirements for self-quarantining for travelers returning to the U.S., which in this case, might have made a difference if he was quarantining for seven to 14 days.

FAUCI The recommendation is that people would self-quarantine if they were not vaccinated and would get tested within a period of three days. That's a recommendation right now.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you help us understand why the travel ban is effective right now for those particular eight countries, especially when Omicron's been detected in other countries, including here in the U.S.

FAUCI If you go back and look at when we first found out about the cases that were emerging in South Africa, no one feels -- I certainly don't -- that a travel ban is going to prevent people who are infected from coming to the United States.

But we needed to buy some time to be able to prepare, understand what's going on, what is the nature of this infection, the nature of the transmissibility.

And we wanted to make sure it's like anything else to worry about then something unfolds in front of you that you're not prepared for. So we look at this as a temporary measure.

[13:59:52]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you.

Dr. Fauci, do you support a vaccine requirement for domestic flights? (INAUDIBLE). Do you think that's something the country should adopt?

FAUCI You know, I'm not so sure we should say that should be a requirement.