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Parents of Accused Michigan School Shooter Appeared in Court; Study Shows Pfizer Shot Just 33 Percent Effective Against Omicron; Minnesota Doctors Place Full-Page Ad Pleading People to Get Vaccinated; Ages of Victims from the Tornadoes Range from Two Months to 98 Years Old. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 14, 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: Protection against infection from the new Omicron variant.

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CABRERA: I want to take you to Michigan right now. The parents of the suspected shooter at Oxford High School just appeared in court.

[13:35:04]

Moments ago it wrapped up as they were facing involuntary manslaughter charges. So it was a hearing in this case. Officials accuse the couple of contributing to this tragedy by giving their son access to a semiautomatic handgun and ignoring the signs that he needed help.

CNN crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz is joining us.

And Shimon, talk to us about what just happened in court.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Right. So this was set for a probable cause hearing, and it's kind of a, sort of the first step before the next process which is the preliminary hearing, so the judge was asking prosecutors if they've turned over all of the evidence, the discovery that the defense is entitled to, and what they are telling the prosecutor there, Karen McDonald, appearing herself on behalf of the town, of the state, saying that they are not ready to proceed here, that they just have so much evidence, so much more, many more interviews to conduct.

And given the unprecedented case, given the amount of evidence that they have collected so far, they need more time to proceed for that preliminary hearing. They said they have already turned over 500 pages of documents. They have tons of film that they need to gather and also they need to interview more of the students. They've been having a hard time interviewing some of these students because of just the trauma that they've been under so they need some more time to interview some of the students.

And then they will be ready to proceed with a preliminary hearing which is now scheduled for February 8th. It was initially scheduled for next week. The judge now agreeing to move it to February.

The other thing it seems that the defense attorney there for the parents is indicating that she is going to ask the court to release them on bond. Remember, the judge is holding them on a $500,000 bond but it seems that the defense attorneys want to make another motion to get them released so they're going to be filing that. Of course, as we know, one the reasons why they're being held on such high bond is because they were on the run.

Police said that they were not -- did not appear when they were supposed to be, to be arrested and there was that manhunt, so now the defense attorneys said that they need some information, to gather some information, so that they can file the motion.

Just briefly, Ana, yesterday their son appeared in court, same situation. It was a probable cause hearing. Interestingly enough, it now appears that the parents have nothing to do with their son. The court granting a guardian to the alleged shooter so that she, this attorney, this guardian will now be overseeing the next steps in his life obviously, and what the next steps will be in that case -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK. Thank you for that update. Shimon Prokupecz, appreciate it.

And we have new information today about the Omicron variant of COVID- 19. A study finds the Pfizer vaccine is only effective at preventing Omicron infection about one-third of the time, but there's also positive news about the reduced risk of hospitalization.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us.

And Elizabeth, walk us through the findings and what this means in the fight against COVID.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Ana, this study is from a very large insurance company in South Africa. It's with more than 200,000 patients. And what's good about it is that it very much resonates, it very much is the same thing that was found by Pfizer and that was found by another lab in South Africa as well as a lab in the U.K.

So let's get right to the findings for this group in South Africa. What they found is that folks who got two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, they were only 33 percent protected against infection. That's not great. That's a very low number. Only 33 percent protected against infection. But they found that Pfizer was -- two dozes of Pfizer was 70 percent effective against hospitalization, so that is the good news there.

Now, when -- so then when we hear, and this will happen in the U.S. because Omicron is here and it's spreading, you will hear about people who got Omicron after getting two doses of Pfizer or two doses probably of Moderna or a dose of Johnson & Johnson, but what you really want to think about is how sick did those people get, and that's really the question there, and, again, when Pfizer, it's interesting, because when Pfizer then tested the booster, they saw, well, huh, if two dose didn't do great, what happened with the booster? They found that the booster really did help improve the efficacy of the vaccine -- Ana.

CABRERA: So that's good news. Another reason for people to get their boosters as soon as they are eligible, six months after that second dose.

COHEN: Yes.

CABRERA: There's also encouraging news about Pfizer's COVID pill, right? What have we learned?

COHEN: That's right. Now, one thing I want to say before I talk about this is this is a pill to treat people who have COVID. Vaccination is always better. You don't have to be a genius to know that prevention is better than treatment. It is better to prevent COVID which is what the vaccine does than to treat it because while this pill worked for some, it didn't work for many. It didn't work for everybody, so let's take a look at this.

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It's an antiviral that needs to be taken within days of symptom onset, and that's tough, and I'll talk about that in a second. So folks who took this antiviral called Paxlovid within five days of symptom onset, when they -- well, first of all, when they got a placebo, when they got a pill that did nothing, 66 of them were hospitalized and 12 people died. However, the folks in the study who got the drug, eight of them were hospitalized and none of them died.

So that is really pretty stunning. Twelve people died when they didn't get the drug and zero people died when they did get the drug, but here's the part that's sort of a caveat here and sort of curbs your enthusiasm a little bit for this drug, which is that it has to be taken so early. That means you have to know -- you're having symptoms, you have to go get tested, you have to call your doctor, your doctor has to prescribe it.

Those things take time, especially the testing. We know the testing is not where it should be in the United States so this pill looks very promising. They are applying to the FDA for authorization, but there are some shortcomings here. It does need to be taken very quickly -- Ana.

CABRERA: Thank you for the context. Thank you for the data. Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen.

Hard to believe it, but today marks exactly one year since the first COVID vaccines were administered here in the U.S. outside of clinical trials. One year later the new Omicron variant is spreading. Deaths in the U.S. from COVID could surpass 800,000 in just the next day or so. One year later California is reinstating an indoor mask mandate. The U.S. Military now dismissing personnel for not getting vaccinated, as 27 Air Force members just got their walking papers for refusing the shot. And the legal fight continues as the Supreme Court just ruled it will

not block a vaccine mandate for New York health care workers. The sports world meanwhile also still being affected by COVID a year after we got the vaccine. The NBA's Chicago Bulls forced to postpone two games with 10 players placed in COVID-19 protocols. The NHL's Chicago Blackhawks also delaying a game because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the Calgary Flames. And in the NFL a source says 37 players tested positive for COVID just yesterday.

These headlines all paint the picture the battle is so far from over. Some places have it worse than others right now. Doctors in Minnesota just took out this full-page ad with the caption, "We are heartbroken. We are overwhelmed."

Let's get to Dr. Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association.

Doctor, this ad, it tells a dire story. How did it come to taking this route, a full-page ad? Was this a last resort of sorts?

DR. RAHUL KORANNE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MINNESOTA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION: Ana, thank you for having me. You know, we are running out of words to describe the crisis that we are seeing here in Minnesota and across the U.S. It's a true crisis, and now we are invoking our heart. You know, I'm a physician, and so many of the health care heroes came to this industry because it's a calling, so we are saying our heart is aching. Our beds are full.

Our emergency departments are full. Our hallways have patients in them, some on breathing machines, and at this point our care capacity is stretched to the very limits, so we are invoking our heart. We want our communities to know the dire situation we're in right now.

CABRERA: It just sounds so disheartening. I hear you. I feel you. The latest data, though, from the Minnesota Department of Health shows 71 percent of people in your state who are eligible to get vaccinated have received at least one shot. So why do you think things are so bad? Why does it seem to be getting worse?

KORANNE: You know, it's COVID. It's also the heart attacks and strokes and patients that deferred their surgeries and their care that are causing such high volumes in our hospital, but the other thing that's very important to know right now in the U.S. national data says one in five health care workers is leaving the industry. We were already short thousands of workers before the first COVID case showed up, and now the health care workers are exhausted.

They are retiring. They are resigning. They are going to other industries. That is limiting our care capacity, and so we're telling our community that at this point if you had a motor vehicle accident or if you had a heart attack our care capacity is limited. It's really a crisis.

CABRERA: We keep hearing pleas from you, from other doctors, nurses, other health care workers for people in their community to take COVID seriously, to take measures to protect themselves and their loved ones whether it's wearing masks or getting the vaccine. Why don't you think it's getting through?

KORANNE: You know, we are hearing it's getting through, but sometimes it's too late. Sometimes, you know, a community member, a patient says I wish would I have had the COVID vaccine when they were making a decision about being on the breathing machine themselves, or they're holding the hand of a loved one.

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You know, there are many questions about this, you know, disease that are still emerging, but we know what works. Get the booster. Get your kids vaccinated. Let's do the right thing and, again, we are invoking our heart. We're calling on our community. As a physician I can tell you physician, nurses, patients, we are one. It's a bilateral relationship. Help us help you, and we will get through this.

CABRERA: Beyond taking out this ad, do you think, you know, implementing more vaccine mandates would help? What other tools do you have?

KORANNE: You know, in Minnesota I'm really proud of what our health care systems have done. Ever since the first day the vaccines became available, we have been strongly encouraging our communities, our patients, our health care staff to get the vaccines. You talked about the high rates that we are seeing here in Minnesota. 75 percent plus of our communities have gotten vaccinated.

We're so proud of the public-private partnership that we have in Minnesota. That's the work of today and tomorrow. Get those shots in arms, and we're hoping our community will do the right thing and we will get through this.

CABRERA: So let me just ask you one last question here because we're seeing more and more data about Omicron showing the vaccines may not be as effective, right? On the other hand, we have this new study showing a 29 percent lower chance of hospitalization with this variant which is good news compared to some of the other variants, but what is your message then to people who aren't vaccinated, who may have been hesitant to begin with and now are thinking, well, this variant doesn't seem so bad, why do I need a vaccine anyway?

KORANNE: You know, if you come to an emergency department, you will see our hallways are full of beds and patients. Some of them on breathing machines. If you talk to one of your neighbors who had their surgery and even sometimes a heart surgery that was cancelled because we're completely full and we don't have any space in our intensive care units, and, unfortunately, if you're one of those folks that has a family member that suffers or dies from COVID or you yourself get COVID, hopefully that's not when you come to the realization that this was a preventable illness, that I wish would I have gotten the shot.

Let's do what science tells us. Get the shot. Do what's right and, again this ad says it all. Our heart is aching. We are looking forward. We want to get through this together, but we need you. We need your help. CABRERA: Dr. Rahul Koranne, thank you for putting your heart out there

and taking the time to talk with us and just for the tireless effort you and your colleagues are putting in each and every day. We really appreciate you.

KORANNE: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: President Biden is heading to Kentucky tomorrow as communities begin the long road to recovery from those deadly tornadoes. We just got a grim update from the state governor there. That's next.

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CABRERA: Welcome back. President Biden plans to travel to Kentucky tomorrow to tour some of the areas hardest hit by last weekend's tornadoes, one of which was on the ground continuously for at least 228 miles. It killed 74 people.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is in the devastated town of Mayfield, Kentucky, and Brynn, Kentucky's governor, I understand, just spoke a short time ago. What did we learn?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, you know, the governor, again, giving an update on the lives lost across this state. The number, sadly, not unexpectedly, going up. I want you to hear the latest information.

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GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D), KENTUCKY: The age range has gotten even harder. It ranges now from 2 months to 98 years of the Kentuckians that we have lost, some not even getting an opportunity to experience this life. Twelve. 12 of the 74 are children.

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GINGRAS: And we have a picture of that 2-month-old that he was just referencing there who passed away in these storms. This is 2-month-old Oakland Kuhn. She was with her mother and two brothers sheltering in a home in Dawson Springs when these storms ripped through. Certainly devastating to see the face of a 2-month-old baby as part of these victims in these storms.

Guys, the rebuilding is what is a huge focus now while this communities all across the state are dealing with so much loss, but I want to get out of the way because I do want you to see how this effort is going. It is just a massive effort as you can see all these backhoes here and so much damage that they have to go through. But there are so many people that have been willing to help out.

Of course, the National Guard, FEMA, the governor talking about thousands of people still without power. Certainly it will be an experience for these people who are, again, trying to rebuild, trying to get their lives back together to know that the president, of course, is coming here tomorrow -- Ana.

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CABRERA: Brynn Gingras, thank you. Really appreciate it.

That does it for me today. Thank you all for joining us. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and a reminder, you can always join me on Twitter, @anacabrera. The news continues right after this.

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