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Studies: Pfizer Booster Reduces Infections Tenfold; Pfizer CEO: I Think We Will Need a Fourth Booster; Sen. Johnson Dubiously Claims Mouthwash Can Kill Coronavirus; Awaiting Verdict in Jussie Smollett Trial; Family of Michigan Shooting Victims Sues School District & Employees; Travis Scott Denies Knowing about Crowd Injuries in New Interview. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 09, 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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[13:33:30]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: So 16 and 17-year-olds are one step closer to being eligible for a vaccine booster dose. The FDA has just authorized the Pfizer vaccine booster for those younger ages.

Up next, the CDC will decide whether to give its authorization.

And this comes as need for boosters is more apparent.

Two new studies out of Israel find that booster doses of Pfizer's vaccine reduced infections tenfold and reduced COVID-19 deaths by 90 percent.

So that reinforces what Pfizer reported from their preliminary lab studies, which showed three doses of their vaccine can neutralized Omicron variant.

Joining us now is Dr. William Schaffner, professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Doctor, the latest numbers show a quarter of vaccinated a have gotten a booster shot. Why do you think that number is so low right now?

We aren't talking about anti-vaxxers. These are people who are already fully vaccinated.

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: There's vaccine fatigue out there, Ana, I'm afraid.

But these new data that you've just referenced, I hope that they accelerate the acceptance of boosters.

And not only that, but I certainly hope they will persuade some people who haven't been vaccinated at all to get their first shot.

But the boosters really seem to work. These pieces of the puzzle are coming together. They're affirm affirmative, not only against Delta, but Omicron also.

So I'm guardedly optimistic.

[13:35:04]

CABRERA: I want you to listen to what the CEO of Pfizer said about additional boosters. Take a listen.

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ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: I think we will need those. With the previous, I was projecting that that would be in 12 months after the first dose.

With Omicron, we need to wait and see because we have very little information. We may need it faster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So now he's talking about a fourth dose.

What do you say to people who hear that and become even more hesitant to get vaccinated or to get a booster dose because we're just learning so much in real time, it's kind of a reminder of how little we know?

SCHAFFNER: Yes, well, we're not making vaccine policy through press release. I think we ought to take a deep breath. Do what we can now, which is very effective to prevent infection and serious illness due to Delta.

And increasingly, we're getting the data regarding preventing serious disease, due to Omicron.

Is it possible that down the road, is it possible that we might have to get an annual booster against COVID the way we do with influenza? That's possible.

In fact, the vaccine scientists are working to see if they could make a combined flu/COVID vaccine that would make it easier for all of us.

Let's not go down the road. Let's do what we should do right now to make these holidays so much safer and happier for everyone.

CABRERA: Sometimes you just have to focus on one day at a time, when we get a time. One month at a time.

I do think it's important to remind our viewers that, you know, it's not just the COVID vaccine. The majority of immunizations recommended by the CDC are multidose series.

I just wonder, do you see in the bigger picture here the COVID vaccine being like the polio vaccine where, for instance, it's four doses, you're done?

Or do you think we're leaning toward what you shared in terms of it being more like the flu vaccine where you need a shot every year? SCHAFFNER: You're asking me to look into my cloudy crystal ball. Well,

a lot depends on what the virus does.

If there are new variants that crop up, then the vaccine may have to be retooled on an annual basis. Heck, we do that with our influenza vaccine already. That's not a big deal.

So I think whatever the virus does, we can keep up with it, if we accept the vaccine and now importantly, the boosters.

CABRERA: Right. Misinformation, though, continues to be a big problem.

I want you to listen to Republican Senator Ron Johnson at a town hall just this week.

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SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI) (voice-over): Mouthwash gargle. Mouthwash has been proven to kill the coronavirus. You need to get it if you - you may reduce the viral replication. Why not try all of these things?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: He's talking about mouthwash.

We asked him about the comments, and Johnson said he was referencing an NIH study that mouthwash can help reduce viral replication. And has he says his comments were taken out of context.

What's your reaction?

SCHAFFNER: Well, let's think. There are an awful lot of bright people out there who have great ideas that are working in the laboratories to try to figure out ways we can better treat and prevent COVID.

And, yes, there's a study in the petri dish that shows that a certain kind of mouthwash can inhibit the replication of the virus. That doesn't mean we should all go out and gargle.

No. We have to see clinical trials to see whether they're safe. I would expect that to be the case. But that do they work? Do they really work?

Remember, mouthwash is in the mouth. The virus gets into the nose up high. Maybe the mouthwash cleans the mouth but doesn't really impair the infection with the virus that's up higher.

We need to do the clinical trials to see what works. We don't do it off the seat of your pants or off a petri dish study. You've got to do the trials in people.

CABRERA: Absolutely. We can't jump to too many conclusions too quickly.

Thank you, Dr. William Schaffner. Thank you for all of you do.

SCHAFFNER: Thank you.

[13:39:33]

CABRERA: We are on verdict watch for the Jussie Smollett trial.

Plus, the parents of two survivors of the mass shooting at a Michigan high school are now suing the school district. What they accuse officials of failing to do.

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CABRERA: Any minute, we could get a verdict in the trial against actor, Jussie Smollett.

The jury is considering six felony counts against the former "Empire" star. He's accused of staging a fake hate crime against himself for publicity in 2019.

And each charge carries a possible sentence of up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

In closing arguments, prosecutors accused Smollett of lying under oath. Defense attorneys countered that, accusing the Osundairo brothers, his alleged attacks, of going after Smollett's money and trying to garner their own fame.

[13:45:08]

The Osundairo brothers claim Smollett hired them to carry out the attack.

Meanwhile, the parents of two sisters who survived a school shooting in Oxford, Michigan, last week have filed a lawsuit seeking $100 million for each sister. The suit claims the school did not do enough to protect students.

The school previously confirmed that just hours before the shooting, a teacher caught the accused gunman sketching a very disturbing scene of a gun, a bullet, a bloody person with some additional words.

And despite this, he was allowed to go back to class. A short time later, he would allegedly go on to kill four classmates and injure more.

Joining us to discuss this is criminal defense attorney, Sara Azari.

Sara, defendants in these new lawsuits include two teachers, and two counselors.

What's the likelihood this lawsuit is successful?

SARA AZARI, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Ana, you know, we have seen in past school shootings that schools and school administrators, and school districts are libel. And here we have a set of facts that point to liability. The questions is not liability as it is damages and recovery, right,

because here we have two sisters whose parents are asking for $100 million.

One, of course, is injured. Not clear what her injuries are. But they both survived this tragedy, right?

And we have to remember that there's limited resources here. We have the school, the school district, which would potentially cover the teachers as well.

And then we have the Crumbleys, who presumably have limited resources, limited insurance coverage.

And I think the priority is going to be to pay the survivors of the victims, the four who lost their lives, and then those actually injured before you get to payoffs for bystanders.

And I think, you know, we can ask -- the sky is the limit in terms of what we ask for in a lawsuit. But what we recover is based on valuation and proof in a court of law.

CABRERA: I also want to ask you about the Jussie Smollett trial as we await a verdict. Jury began deliberations yesterday. No verdict yet.

What does that tell you?

AZARI: You know, in every case, we're on pins and needles. I expected a swift verdict in this case. And pretty soon, swift is no longer going to be swift.

But it's hard to tell. We don't know if there's stragglers that could lead to a hung jury. We don't know if they're stuck on a particular issue.

But to me, the law and the facts, Ana are very clear here. The law - I mean, we have the same set of instructions for six counts. They're identical counts, disorderly conduct.

We don't have convoluted elements. We don't have lesser crimes.

And the facts are simple. Do we believe the farfetched and plausible accounts and things he didn't explain that Smollett testified to?

Or do we believe the prosecution's case, which is not just the brothers' testimony but their accounts explaining the D.M.s, the text messages, the surveillance footage?

And to me, that issue has always been very clear. But of course, strange things can happen.

CABRERA: We'll watch. We'll wait. You're there for us if it happens during the rest of this hour.

AZARI: Right.

CABRERA: Thank you as always, Sara Azari.

AZARI: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Rapper Travis Scott sitting down for his first interview since 10 people died at his Houston festival. He describes in his own words what he could heard from the stage.

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[13:53:20]

CABRERA: Rapper Travis Scott is now speaking out in his first interview after ten people died during a crowd surge at his Astroworld Music Festival back in November.

The rapper, who has denied legal liability, sat down with Charlemagne Tha God where he denied initially knowing concertgoers had been hurt.

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CHARLEMAGNE THA GOD, PODCAST HOST: People said collectively -- they collectively heard folks screaming "help" every time you stopped a song to get your attention. Did you hear any of those screams?

TRAVIS SCOTT, RAPPER: No, man. And you know, it's so crazy because I'm that artist, too, like any time you can hear something like that, you want to stop the show.

I stopped just a couple times to make sure everybody was OK.

And I just really just go off the fans' energy as a collective. Call and response. And I just -- I just didn't hear that.

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CABRERA: CNN's Rosa Flores is following this in Houston for us.

Rosa, what else are we hearing from Scott?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Charlemagne Tha God asked Travis Scott if his music was to blame. Travis Scott said no.

Charlemagne pushed back and said, but some of your music encourages violence. Isn't that what raging is all about? Travis Scott said, no, raging is about letting go and having fun.

He was also asked about his conversation with the Houston police chief. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the chief said it was a brief encounter about public safety.

Here's what Travis Scott said about that meeting. Take a listen.

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SCOTT: He knew that our crowd was the type of crowd that comes in, a heavy crowd, so to communicate with him if we were doing anything outside of the week's itinerary.

That week, we were doing a lot of charity stuff prior to the festival so the security at most of the events.

[13:55:06]

But he was just letting us -- I guess, in that statement, he was just saying if we do anything outside of what we had on our itinerary, let him know. But we didn't even get to that point.

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FLORES: And Travis Scott also went on to say that no one asked him to stop the concert.

Now, we're starting to hear from the attorneys who represent some of the victims here.

Here's from the attorney that represents Axle Acosta. He said, "every time Travis Scott opens his mouth in an effort to avoid responsibility and accountability, he further exacerbates the pain of those that lost loved ones."

Ana, more than 140 lawsuits have been filed. And as you mentioned, Travis Scott denies legal liability.

CABRERA: Rosa Flores, in Houston, thank you so much.

That does it for us today. Thanks for being here. We're back tomorrow at 1:00 Eastern. And you can always join me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.

The news continues next with Alisyn and Victor.

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