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CDC: Health Care Workers With COVID-19 Should Isolate For 7 Days Rather Than 10; Limited Supply Of New COVID Drug For Immunocompromised; NFL Medical Officer: Symptomatic Players Are Driving COVID-19 Within The League; New Jan. 6 Video Shows Rioters Brandishing Weapons, Officers Being Viciously Beaten In Three-Hour Assault; Giuliani Associate Bernard Kerik Plans To Publicly Release Some Documents Requested By Jan. 6 Committee. Aired 5-5:30p ET

Aired December 24, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We start this hour with CNN's Brian Todd. He's live at Reagan National Airport just outside of Washington D.C., as airlines deal with a rash of COVID related sick outs.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In terminal after terminal, a glance up at these boards brought frustration and anxiety for 1000s of air travelers today.

KEISHA HART, AIR TRAVELER AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: We were really concerned last night when I saw on the news that they had cancelled 100 flights and I'm like, oh my God, we won't be able to get home.

TODD (voice-over): Airlines around the world cancelling 1000s of flights on Christmas Eve, including several 100 in the United States.

STACEY SUNDAY, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, RENO-TAHOE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Make sure that your cell phone is charged so that you are getting those airline alerts in case anything changes. I'd recommend you bring snacks just in case lines are long, and you're getting hungry.

TODD (voice-over): United Airlines and Delta apologize to passengers, both carriers saying their cancellations were at least partly due to the Omicron variant grounding flight crews.

DAVID SLOTNICK, SENIOR AVIATION BUSINESS REPORTER, THE POINTS GUY: What they didn't expect was this variant to come around. So, they have a lot more people than normal who are calling out sick, who are testing positive, and then who have to stay in isolation for 10 days even if they potentially feel better sooner.

TODD (voice-over): Airline workers who have been vaccinated and have breakthrough COVID infections now have to quarantine for 10 days from the onset of symptoms following CDC guidelines. The airline industry has asked the CDC to cut that time in half. While some medical experts think that's a good idea, others say it's dangerous.

DR. ALI RAJA, DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, MASSACHUSSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: I understand where it's coming from given the pressures on the industry, but I don't think it's the right move. The surge of cases we're seeing right now is already bad enough. We don't need to make it worse by lowering that isolation protocol number.

TODD (voice-over): Even with the Omicron surge, there's a huge spike in airline travel. The TSA estimating 20 million people in the U.S. will be flying this holiday season.

AMBER FLAHARTY, AIR TRAVELER AT REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT: I'm going to California. I'm nervous. I don't know if it's like the best decision to make but I haven't seen my family in like two years, so.

TODD (voice-over): The latest COVID surge could not come at a worse time for the airline industry.

SLOTNICK: It's a bad book. And I think that it's going to be hard to convince customers who are maybe on the fence anyway. Yes, you can come back to the sky and not worry about it.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

TODD: In the meantime, Aviation Analyst David Slotnick has some good advice for passengers for the remainder of the holiday season. Constantly check your reservations, he says, be almost obsessive about it. Get as much early notice of cancellation as you can so you can act on it very quickly. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Some good advice. Brian Todd reporting live from DCA. Thank you so much.

U.S. health officials are scrambling now to respond to the Omicron variants fast moving spread across the country. The CDC notably issuing new guidelines for how long infected healthcare workers should stay isolated at home.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

Elizabeth, what more are you learning about these new CDC isolation guidelines for healthcare workers and why they don't apply them to the entire population?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Boris, it's interesting because these new guidelines, they shorten the isolation period for health care workers who tested positive for COVID. But really, the CDC is leaving this in the hands of individual hospitals. They can shorten this isolation time even more or even get rid of it altogether.

Let's take a look at what the CDC put out. They say that if you -- if a healthcare worker is asymptomatic or just mildly symptomatic in getting better, they can go back to work after seven days as long as they have a negative test. But if a hospital decides that they need to go into a contingency plan, that could shorten further to five days with no tests necessary. And if the hospital says, look, we're in crisis, we have too many people out, too many patients, we are in crisis, they're allowed or the guidelines, I should say, are for them to have no restrictions.

Now, President Biden said today that there's no plans to change these rules for other workers. Delta Airlines asked for the change, for example, for airline employees, but President Biden said no, we're not doing that. But I think it's important to remember these are guidelines. And they play out differently in different industries. But the CDC does actually not set law. These are all guidelines.

So, it'll be interesting to see what kind of choices different industries decide to make. Will they abide by CDC guidelines? Or will they, perhaps, do something different? Boris.

SANCHEZ: And Elizabeth, you have new reporting about a new drug that could prevent COVID-19 but there's a catch.

COHEN: There is a catch. There's not nearly enough of it. Boris, I think sometimes we forget that there are 7 million immune compromised American. And many of them they got vaccinated, they got one shot, two shots, three shots, some of them four shots, and then they tested their antibodies, and they found they didn't have any. They had no antibodies or very, very low levels.

I've spoken to my team and I spoke to dozens of these people. I want to introduce you to a few. There's Diane Barron (ph), she's from Florida and she has cancer. She also has rheumatoid arthritis. She had no detectable antibodies after three shots.

The same for Diane Ellis (ph), she's a kidney transplant patient in Arkansas. Oris Bauder (ph) who's a cancer patient in Hawaii. And Candy Johnson (ph), same situation, a transplant patient in Virginia. And they're all wondering, wow, what do we do? We didn't get a response from the vaccine.

[17:05:18]

So, the good news, there is a drug called Evusheld, which got authorization from the FDA earlier this month. The bad news is, only 700,000 doses have been contracted for. So, 7 million immune compromised people in this country, 700,000 doses have been contracted for, that's 10 percent. And that's really going to be a problem as people try to get this drug. It's already causing problem.

One major hospital system in Massachusetts tells me, we're only getting enough in our first shipment for 1 percent of our patients who need it. Boris.

SANCHEZ: That is unsettling to hear. Hopefully that changes soon. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

So let's discuss all things COVID with an expert. CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, she's the author of "Lifelines, A Doctors Journey in the Fight for Public Health."

Dr. Wen, Merry Christmas Eve. We're grateful that you could share part of it with us.

You just heard Elizabeth Cohen reporting the U.S. government didn't purchase enough of this COVID-19 prevention drug for the 7 million Americans that are eligible to take it. Would you say that was a mistake by the Biden administration?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Boris, hindsight is always 2020. In retrospect, of course, the Biden administration should have purchased more. But in essence, they had to make a bet. They had to say is this going to pan out? And I'm really happy that it looks like this particular treatment works.

And just to emphasize what this is, this is an antibody infusion. And so, people who are immunocompromised, their bodies are not able to mount a substantial antibody response. And so, due to the vaccine, which is the reason why they may need infusions of this antibody, this last up to six months. And so, it really is very important to get this to those who really need it. And I hope that's something that the administration of works on ramping up in the months to come.

SANCHEZ: Yes. It's important to put things in perspective and to remember that up until, you know, two years ago, this virus didn't exist. So, responding to it in any meaningful way, takes time.

I want to turn to the new CDC guidance that shortens the isolation requirement for health care workers who tested positive for COVID. Do you consider it the right move at this stage in the pandemic?

WEN: Absolutely, for two reasons. One is that we're facing a potential collapse of our healthcare system if too many healthcare workers ends up not being able to be there, because they're out on isolation. And so we need this. This is a necessity in order to keep our critical infrastructure going.

But the other reason is, there is emerging science, there's research coming out that you don't need the full 10 days. And in fact, I'm a proponent of the test to return protocol. Now that we have rapid tests, why not test individuals, and if they end up testing negative, then they can go back to work.

By the way, I don't think this is something that should only apply to healthcare workers. We're seeing now that New York State is saying all workers in critical infrastructure, they don't need to quarantine or they don't need to isolate for the full 10 days, but I also think that there are many people, everyday citizens, who would really benefit from this. And actually, there are many people right now, I know anecdotally, who are not getting a test because they don't want to be stuck somewhere. If they're travelling, they'd rather not find out if that sniffle that they're having is COVID. And so right now, we're disincentivizing testing because of this really long isolation period.

SANCHEZ: So do you think that the White House in the CDC should push to shorten isolation guidelines for everyone?

WEN: Yes, I do. I believe that the test to return is a way forward. So, to shorten the isolation period in general, but also to specifically say you can -- if you have a negative antigen test, a rapid test, that you're able to end your isolation period. I think that would also make it a lot fairer because I've also heard from nurses and other health care workers who are saying, why does this only apply to us, that we have to go to work when we're potentially infected and still not feeling great, but this isn't applied to everybody else.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Wen, there was this statement made by the NFL's chief medical officer that kind of confounded me. He told the NFL Network, the data collected by the league shows that COVID-19 is not spreading from asymptomatic players. Does that make sense to you?

WEN: I mean, I would love to see the data because they contradict the other data that are out there. Prior to Omicron, more than 50 percent of the spread was by asymptomatic individuals. And with Omicron, that's so much more infectious. One would think that even more so, that even before somebody ends up necessarily showing symptoms that they may be infectious. And so we really need to get more information about this.

And I think the NFL, in the meantime, they need to go back to their former protocol of regularly testing asymptomatic vaccinated individuals because we really don't want to get it wrong and then end up, again, disincentivizing testing. Just because you don't test, doesn't mean the infection isn't there, the infection is there, you just don't know about it.

[17:10:14]

SANCHEZ: Right, Are you concerned that policies based on that kind of thinking could put people at risk?

WEN: Yes. And this is the reason why we do need clearer and more urgent guidance from the CDC about this.

I think right now, what's happening is so many businesses, including the NFL, are being affected. People are just out for a really long period of time, and therefore they're not even getting tested. And so, if we're able to shorten that isolation period, even if we end up missing some people who may still be infectious, if we're able to test a lot more individuals and actually get them to comply with the guidelines, that could save a lot of lives.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Leana Wen, always appreciate your insight. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Thanks for joining us.

WEN: Merry Christmas to you too, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

Coming up, some of the most startling images yet of the January 6 insurrection. Standby for just released video showing rioters battling and beating police in a tunnel for hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:15:07]

SANCHEZ: There is new violent evidence today of what happened on January 6. The Justice Department releasing new video of the Capitol insurrection showing rioters brandishing weapons and viciously beating police officers during the three-hour assault that day.

CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider has more on the video and the new Trump ally who is cooperating with the January 6 committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A three hour video just released by the Justice Department after CNN and other outlets sued for access shows one of the most violent and prolonged battles between Capitol Police and the pro Trump mob. The video taken from a Capitol security camera on the Lower West terrace does not have sound but it shows how dozens of rioters moved in on Capitol Police spraying the cops who stood guard with pepper spray, pointing strobing flashlights at them, striking them with batons and flagpoles. More than an hour in when police push back, you can see a helmet knocked off of one officer's head.

The video release comes as the House committee investigating January 6 prepares to ramp up its probe in the New Year. Chairman Bennie Thompson tells the "Washington Post," he's focusing on then President Trump's actions zeroing in on this video he released 187 minutes after the riot began.

DOALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have to go home now.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Thompson telling "The Post," "It appears that he tried to do a taping several times, but he wouldn't say the right thing." Thompson now saying Trump's delayed response could be a factor in deciding whether to make a criminal referral possibly for obstructing the Electoral College proceedings and that other Trump officials could also face referrals for pressuring local and state election officials to overturn the results.

BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NEW YORK COMMISIONER: The men and women are the New York City Police Department --

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Former New York City Police Commissioner and Trump ally, Bernie Kerik, is saying any cooperation he provides to the committee must be made public. Kerik now says he'll post subpoena documents online and that he wants to testify at a public hearing. Kerik worked alongside Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani after the election to discredit the results and attended a meeting at the Willard Hotel with other Trump allies on January 5 to discuss how to keep Trump in office.

Meanwhile, Committee Member Pete Aguilar says they hope the Supreme Court acts fast to rule on releasing documents from Trump's White House.

REP. PETE AGUILAR (D-CA), JANUARY 6 SELECT COMMITTEE: So, the courts have already ruled in our favor. Our anticipation is that the Supreme Court will uphold that ruling in an expedited manner.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): No word on how quickly the Supreme Court will decide.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thanks to Jessica for that report.

So, let's get more on all of this with two former federal prosecutors. We have CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig with us. He's the author of "Hatchet Man, How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutors Code and Corrupted the Justice Department." And we're also joined by CNN Legal Analyst Jennifer Rodgers.

Jennifer and Elie, grateful to have you both this Christmas Eve. Thanks for joining us.

Elie, let's start with you. How important is this lengthy new video as investigators are trying to piece together exactly what happened on January 6?

ELIE HONIG, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NY: You know, Boris, I really hope that we all don't get numb to all of this because we've seen so much video coming out over, in particular, the last six months. And it's important to remember, we are coming up on the one year anniversary of January 6. And already, there is such a virulent strain of denialism and revisionism, people saying it wasn't violent, you know, what's the big deal?

Essentially, every one of these pieces of footage should remind us just how serious this was, just how dangerous this was. This wasn't a quick one-off skirmish. This video shows this was a prolonged battle in our Capitol. We need to keep all of this. These are facts, this is truth. It's so important.

SANCHEZ: No question. And Jennifer, as we're watching this clip, what stands out to you about this new video evidence?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's interesting, Boris, because of course, we knew that there was violence, some of that we could see not just in the tunnels but, you know, outside of the Capitol. But what strikes me is the obvious planning.

I mean, you don't have those strobe lights and the bear spray and other things, they were using the tactical gear, unless it was well planned. So, I know that that's a lot of what the Select Committee is focused on, who was planning, who was involved, who knew they were bringing that sort of equipment with them? And I think they're going to dig into that aspect, which this video shows clearly.

SANCHEZ: Yes, you don't bring bear spray to a peaceful demonstration.

Elie, let's talk about former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. He says he's planning to publicly release some documents requested by the House Select Committee. Is the committee really going to allow him to dictate the terms of his cooperation?

HONIG: Oh, I doubt it, Boris. I would not call this cooperation at all because for exactly the reason you say. This is not how it works. The witness doesn't get to say, well, I'm going to give you what I feel is appropriate and I'm going to hold back the rest of it. It'll just give the one-sided version of the story.

And by the way, Bernie Kerik has no executive privilege claim here. The guy's never worked for the executive branch at all among other problems with his argument. Really he has about the same argument as Steve Bannon which is none. Steve Bannon has now been -- he's in the process of being prosecuted for contempt of Congress.

[17:20:12]

Another thing to keep in mind, by the way, about Bernie Kerik and Steve Bannon, both of these guys, trivia question, both of them have previously been charged with other federal crimes and then both pardoned by Trump. So, they're both obviously loyal to him. I expect Bernie Kerik to end up down the same road as Steve Bannon.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And notably, Jennifer, both Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani and Bernard Kerik, all three of them, work to try to find evidence of voter fraud on behalf of the former president. Ultimately, what impact could Kerik's potential cooperation have on someone like Giuliani or Bannon?

RODGERS: Well, it's interesting because apparently what they really want to talk to him about is this -- his involvement, of course, in the election fraud nonsense, but also this meeting at the Willard Hotel right on the eve of January 6. So, you know, if he turns over enough information and if he's willing to talk about that enough, that will of course, put pressure on all of the other participants in this conspiracy, including this meeting at the Willard where they were talking about how to put pressure on Mike Pence to overturn the election.

So, you know, these are building blocks. Each person, if you can get enough information from them, it helps in getting information from other people too. So that's certainly one of the reasons they want to speak to Kerik.

SANCHEZ: Elie, do you think there's any chance the January 6 Select Committee could pursue a criminal referral for former President Trump? Chairman Bennie Thompson indicated that could be on the table.

HONIG: Well, they're certainly signaling that's a possibility, Boris. It's important to understand what a criminal referral is and is not. It is not anything that is technically legally binding on the Justice Department or anyone else. It's simply a request to prosecutors saying, hey, we think we found evidence of a crime or potentially we'd like you to take a look at it. But what it does do is really change the political atmosphere, the political calculus.

You know, look, we get referrals as prosecutors all day every day. Jennifer knows this. But getting one from the U.S. Congress is a big deal.

SANCHEZ: We have to leave the conversation there. Elie Honig, Jennifer Rodgers, if you're celebrating, Merry Christmas. If not, enjoy a nice weekend with some eggnog perhaps.

HONIG: Thanks. Merry Christmas, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

Still ahead, a 14-year-old girl wound up dead. Shot in a department store dressing room by police firing at a suspected attacker. We're going to break down what happened with a law enforcement expert when we get back from a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:27:14]

SANCHEZ: The police chief in Los Angeles is apologizing for the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old girl at a department store, calling her death, devastating and tragic. It happened while officers were firing at a suspected attacker. A single bullet wound up striking the innocent teenager in a dressing room where she was with her mom. CNN's Security Correspondent Josh Campbell has more from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood, California now a crime scene after the tragic killing of a 14-year-old girl Thursday. Police say they had received multiple calls of a possible active shooter around 12:00 p.m.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A number of those individuals indicated that they were sheltering in place and they were taking cover.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): At least one responding officer open fire on the suspect near the 14-year-old's dressing room.

ASSISTANT CHIEF DOMINIC CHOI, LOS ANGELES POLICE: The suspect was struck and passed from the gunfire.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Police preliminarily believe a stray round from an officer's gun pierced through the wall.

CHOI: We found a hole in the wall. We went behind it, it turned out to be the dressing room. We're able to locate a 14-year-old female who was found deceased.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): No firearms are found at the scene. The suspect, police say, was swinging a bike chain and assaulted another young woman in the store.

CHOI: The suspect assaulted a female, that female was transported to the hospital. CAMPBELL (voice-over): The LAPD chief said video of the incident will be released to the public Monday, adding, it will include the 911 calls, radio transmissions, body worn video and any CCTV and other evidence gathered at this preliminary stage. Their investigation comes amid reports of upticks and violence across the country with at least 10 major cities breaking homicide records this year.

CHIEF JAMES KRUGER, OAK BROOK VILLAGE POLICE: It happened in one of the corridors near the Ann Taylor store, just adjacent to the Nordstrom store.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): At another shopping center near Chicago, armed police were on scene, Thursday, after four people were shot and sent to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries.

KRUGER: The two suspects involved in the shooting were known to each other and shout at each other, and the other victims were injured by ricochet gunfire.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Those trying to protect and serve in these conditions have been victims as well. Thirty-nine year old Baltimore police officer Kiona Holly, a mother of four, was taken off life support and died Thursday after authorities believe she was randomly ambushed in her patrol car.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CAMPBELL: And Boris, no one is immune to acts of violence. A member of Congress, for example, this week was carjacked by a suspect holding a gun to her chest. She thankfully did not have any physical injuries.

One common thing we've seen in so many of these recent cases of violence is an apparent random targeting of victims. It's why it's so important for all of us to remain alert while we're out and about. Authorities don't want people living in fear, but a good rule of thumb is to maintain at least a basic level of situational awareness as we're going about our business this holiday season, Boris.