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U.S. Set to Ring in New Year Amid Virus Surge; Texas Children's Hospital Bracing for Influx in Hospitalizations; Hundreds of Homes Destroyed in Colorado Wildfires; What Will Biden, Dems Accomplish in 2022? Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 31, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:57]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: It is the top of the hour on this final day of the year. Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow. Thanks so much for being with me. Jim is off today.

As COVID cases spike, New Year's Eve celebrations are scaling way down. The countdown to 2022 has already reached zero in certain parts of the world.

But the story feels similar to where we were a year ago. This time it's the omicron variant forcing cities to reduce and in many cases cancel the festivities.

In New York, the Times Square celebration, though, is moving forward even as the state case count reaches a new record high.

Across the country, an average of more than 355,000 cases every day for the last week. And that doesn't even include many of those who are testing positive at home. The rise is adding to the pressure to get booster shots. Sources telling CNN the FDA is expected to authorize boosters for kids ages 12 to 15 in just the coming days.

So, let's begin this hour with my colleague Polo Sandoval. He is in Times Square.

So, it's smaller but it's on.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Poppy. Good morning to you. And happy New Year.

Yeah, you know, we heard from Mayor Bill de Blasio in what is really his last days in office before the next administration takes over tomorrow that the show will go on despite the sharp increase in COVID cases in New York, at least an 80 percent increase in the number of positive COVID cases in just the last five days. That's fueling some concerns among some in the health community that this could potentially become a superspreader event.

But as we've heard organizers in the last couple of hours say that they are actually in consultation with health authorities and they do feel that they have multiple measures in place to keep it safe. What are those measures? Well, for starters, the drastic decrease in the number of people who

will be allowed in. You might see up to 50,000 people. Before the pandemic, that number now not expected to exceed 15,000, which will hopefully allowing for some social distancing. Also, anybody who's here has to be vaccinated and show proof that they are, in fact, vaccinated. Plus, bring a mask because that's going to be required when the show gets started -- Poppy.

HARLOW: All right. Polo, let's hope it's healthy. Thank you very, very much.

Any day now, we are told by sources the FDA is expected to authorize the Pfizer vaccine booster shots for children ages 12 to 15. That cannot come soon enough as hospitals are seeing a major spike in pediatric patients.

Our senior national correspondent Miguel Marquez joins me this morning from Houston, home of the nation's largest pediatric hospital.

Miguel, explain this to us.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. We were at Texas Children's Hospital. They're on their fourth wave in Texas. The positivity rate is about 22 percent. You want that below 5 percent to really keep the virus contained.

So, cases are taking off here. The take-away from children's hospital is in the last week -- they're not overwhelmed yet, but in the last week, they've seen a four fourfold increase in the number of pediatric hospitalizations here and that is worrying. They believe the worst is ahead of them.

Here is how the chief pathologist for Texas children's hospital puts it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JIM VERSALOVIC, PATHOLOGIST IN CHIEF, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: This omicron variant has reached a new level in terms of infectivity, in terms of contagiousness. It is at the category of measles, the most highly transmissible virus -- one of the most highly transmissible virus that's known to mankind. We've been vaccinating against measles for a long time. We need to do the same with SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: So, Texas Children has beds available. They are preparing for whatever omicron can throw at them. They believe that in the next couple weeks -- they're not sure where the peak of this current wave is, but they believe in the next two weeks or mid-June into February may be the worst of it.

And just by this -- even if omicron isn't as sickening or deadly as previous variants, just by the sheer number of cases out there, they expect to see hospitalizations rise in the weeks or days ahead -- Poppy. [10:05:08]

HARLOW: I wonder how striking this to you -- you know, as a parent covering this, I wonder how striking this is for you. For me the saving grace is our children were largely being spared. Now, as we heard Xavier Becerra say yesterday, you know, they're not anymore.

MARQUEZ: They're not. A lot of them, especially under 5, are most at risk because they don't have the choice to get vaccinated. Texas Children's Hospital is one of the hospitals that are participating in a study to help get those vaccinations for children under 5, but that's going to take more time.

It is disturbing to be in the ICU ward here and see the youngest and most vulnerable ventilated. Some were vaccinated and some weren't, but to see them suffering in that way, to see the worry on mothers' faces over the fate of their children, it is disturbing.

And the only thing that doctors can say now is the vaccines are proven for both adults and children, they're working on the 5 and unders. But if you can, get your child and yourself vaccinated -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Of course, of course. And boosted for anyone eligible. Miguel, thank you so much.

Joining me now is Dr. Andrea Rowland Fisher. She specializes in emergency medicine in Hennepin Healthcare System in Minnesota.

Doctor, thanks very much for joining me this morning.

DR. ANDREA ROWLAND FISHER, EMERGENCY MEDICINE, HENNEPIN HEALTHCARE: Hi. Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: You talk about the Twin Cities and the hospitals there in your words bursting at the seams. Has it gotten so bad you can't admit new patients?

FISHER: Yeah. I mean, every day it's a struggle to find beds to put patients in, especially ICU beds around the twin cities. We're having hospitals from rural Minnesota that don't have capacity to take care of sick people that can't find a place to transfer patients and patients are suffering because they can't get the care they need.

HARLOW: It is my hometown. I talk to my mom every day from there and she's telling me what it's like and I also know how cold it is, right? We embrace the cold in Minnesota, but from a health perspective, here in New York it's balmy so people are gathering outside.

I assume that's not happening there. So you're having more spread of infection indoors.

FISHER: Yeah. I mean, this weekend, for example, it was supposed to get down to negative 13 degrees. I mean, at that point, it's really not super safe for people to be outside anyways for long periods of time. And I think, around the holidays, people want to get together and unfortunately it's not safe to do it outside. With omicron, it's getting -- definitely not safe to do it inside either.

HARLOW: Yeah. Several states, I think about certain hospital systems in Texas and Ohio have said they've just completely run out of the monoclonal antibody treatment, the only one effective against the omicron variant. Are you also facing a shortage?

FISHER: Not that I know of. Our state department is well set up. And, actually, at the hospital, we do not take ownership of that. It's the department of health gets people plugged in with that. I do know of people that have gotten it recently. I think you just have to sign up through the website. The state calls you back. Other states, I would see that could be a problem.

HARLOW: Yeah, what about -- we just heard our colleague Miguel Marquez reporting at Texas Children's Hospital about pediatric hospitalizations. What are you seeing in Minnesota on that front?

FISHER: I think at our hospital, we haven't seen tons and tons of hospitalizations for omicron specifically. But I think we're still early in our surge. We have seen the most testing we've ever seen in our state in the last few weeks. It will probably get worse in the next few weeks.

HARLOW: So, is your concern that sort of the band of omicron we're seeing on the east coast is moving west and is about to hit the center of the country?

FISHER: Most definitely. I think that's the huge concern. And, fortunately, as far as hospitalization goes currently, we're not as bad as we have been at kind of the peak times of COVID. But I think we have the ability to get there by how many positive cases we're seeing right now.

HARLOW: Yeah. Well, Dr. Andrea Rowland Fisher, thank you for all that you do. I hope you have a healthy and happy New Year.

FISHER: Thank you. You as well.

HARLOW: Still to come, we are live from Boulder, Colorado, where a huge wildfire has destroyed hundreds of homes.

[10:10:01]

How long until emergency crews can get these flames under control?

Also, Democrats and Republicans are heading into the New Year with a lot on their agendas. What can they get done? We'll ask about the four biggest political questions of 2022.

And then New Year's Eve is typically a big night for restaurants and bars but the COVID spike is giving owners a feeling of deja vu. Some saying it's even worse than last year. A San Francisco chef and restaurant owner joins me ahead this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARLOW: FEMA has authorized the use of federal funds to help fight a fire in Colorado. The fire has destroyed nearly 600 homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

[10:15:01]

Look at these images, this is Superior, Colorado. It shows homes engulfed in flames and a state of emergency is in place.

My colleague Natasha Chen joins us from Superior this morning. The winds that were so fast and whipped up those flames have subsided somewhat. What are you seeing?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, these were hurricane-force winds that brought flames through neighborhoods. We can see remnants of fires across town from this bird's eye view. You can see puffs of smoke next to completely blacked-out areas, burned- out neighborhoods.

This would be overlooking Superior. We came from the town of Lewisville. You can see the nature of those winds where they can pick up flames from one spot to another rather randomly in cases. We saw hotspots and flames popping up on certain property lines standing right next to houses that were untouched, that still had Christmas lights up.

So, depending on which streets you turn onto, you could see a completely different scene. Of course this has been an absolute nightmare for these residents.

Here's the Colorado governor and a resident talk about that evacuation process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JARED POLIS (D), COLORADO: Very little time to get out. Very little time to get even the most important parts of your life. Yes, its will be a difficult process for Colorado families who were directly affected to rebuild their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all on a group text. Do we leave, do we stay, what's everybody doing, everybody is rushing around with their phones taking videos of their home inside just in case. Never saw this coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: So, we're talking about hundreds of structures destroyed. Thousands of people had to flee their homes. Some people now are talking about losing every material possession they have. Even those perhaps not affected, maybe their house is still standing.

The general experience around this area is that there are road closures everywhere to keep people safe. You can smell the ash in the air. It's a little better up here where we are. But definitely near those neighborhoods, it is a very difficult air to be breathing, Poppy.

HARLOW: Wow, how fast it's moving. Natasha Chen, thank you very, very much.

With me on the phone is a storm chaser Aaron Rigsby who captured harrowing images of these fires.

Aaron, can you hear me?

AARON RIGSBY, STORM CHASER (via telephone): Yeah, I can hear you great.

HARLOW: Good morning. Thanks for joining us. We're watching this video. It's terrifying. It's been so destructive. So many people's lives upended and homes destroyed.

On Twitter, you called this the closest thing you've seen to an apocalypse. Is that right?

RIGSBY: That's correct, especially on those overlook areas where you kind of looking down on the city and you could see all those spot fires and where the main fire started. It looked like something I'd only seen out of apocalyptic film.

HARLOW: The governor was saying the fire was moving so fast that it was the pace of a football field a second. How did you stay ahead of them?

RIGSBY: Well, it was extremely difficult. I had to position myself to where the fire wouldn't be in my direct path. You had to keep your head on a swivel the other time while you're documenting this fire because if one wind shift could put me in danger and the last thing I wanted to do is take resources from other people that need it more.

So, I positioned myself in a safe manner where I could document the fire as safely as I could. You could see it charging up those hillsides and unfortunately overtaking several homes. It was interesting going through some of the neighborhoods, there would be two or three houses on fire and the rest of the neighborhood was fine. Then four or five more houses on fire as well. You could see where the wind was driving the hot ashes and embers and starting to be wildfires.

HARLOW: I mean, you're -- I should remind people, you are a storm chaser, this is what you do, and this was yet still so shocking to you because you've never seen anything like the combination of hurricane force winds with the wildfire like this?

RIGSBY: That's right, especially in late December and January. We're used to wildfires in Colorado, typically in July even into October, but to have this kind of devastating wildfire is such a rarity. A lot of the times these wildfires will start up in the mountains.

So, to have it unfortunately start next to a densely populated area, it's almost unheard of. Unfortunately, the snow that will be coming across this area is coming about a day too late. When that wildfire started we had high wind warnings in effect and gusts of 106 miles an hour. It is the worst-case scenario that came to fruition.

HARLOW: Have you been talking to any officials on the ground?

RIGSBY: I have, yeah.

[10:20:01]

The number of homes estimated to be lost I believe is nearing 600. I haven't heard confirmation on injuries or fatalities, which is a good thing for now. They are allowing a few people back into their homes where the wildfire unfortunately has gone through. But overall, they still very much have pretty much all of Superior on lockdown to keep everyone safe, and make sure that everyone stays off the roadways.

HARLOW: Wow. Well, Aaron Rigsby, thank you for the time you took to call in in the middle of this and for that footage you sent as well. Stay safe.

RIGSBY: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: Of course. So, same areas hit by the fires are now expecting snow.

Let me go to our meteorologist Jennifer Gray.

Jennifer, good morning. So, when is it coming?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it starts today and will last throughout the day.

This is going to be really the first significant snowfall for the region. When you look at the wind totals of 110-plus miles per hour, it definitely falls in line with a category 3 hurricane strength, which is winds of 111 to 129. Now, winds have definitely died down but the snow is going to help, 100 percent of the state is under drought conditions, 67 percent severe or extreme drought.

They that would their latest first snowfall in Denver which was December 10th and it wasn't much at all. During the last six months have only received about an inch of rain. It will linger in the area.

We could see 4 to 8 inches of snow for some of the lower elevations. Several feet of snow for the higher elevations. So, Poppy, this will be welcome for Colorado, but for folks trying to get back to their homes, it could be cumbersome for some.

HARLOW: OK. Jennifer, thank you.

Next week marks one year since the January 6th insurrection. What will the house select committee investigating it find? We'll break down the biggest political question of the New Year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:26:47] HARLOW: Well, a big question going into the New Year, what will President Biden and the Democrats be able to accomplish ahead of the 2022 midterms when they could potentially lose their slim majorities in both the House and the Senate? 2021 was a mixed bag of legislative wins and losses for Democrats. What is to come next year?

Let me bring in Amber Phillips, political reporter for "The Washington Post" political blog "The Fix" who recently wrote a column titled "The Nine Biggest Political Questions of 2022."

So, let's talk about them. Good morning.

AMBER PHILLIPS, POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST'S POLITICAL BLOG, THE FIX: Hey, Poppy. Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: Where should we start? What's number one?

PHILLIPS: I think the most immediate question is facing the Democratic Party when the New Year turns and it's, are they going to get President Biden's main spending agenda done. You talk to Democrats in Washington, they're pretty happy with the legislation they've done so far. They passed the big coronavirus stimulus package. They've got a bipartisan infrastructure bill done.

But they have not delivered for their base, addressing climate change, paid family leave, expanding the government safety net, and passing voting rights legislation they hope will help them win key states like Georgia next year.

Democrats don't know how they're going to do that. And if Senator Joe Manchin is the boss, and it seems he is, they're going to have to drop a lot of key priorities they've been promising for years or decades to get this done.

HARLOW: Do Republicans capture majorities in both chambers? That's your number two question.

PHILLIPS: Yeah, it is. 2022 coming up is going to be a year of political transition. We're no longer in President Biden's first year in office. At the very end of this year, there are midterm elections where voters decide who's in power from your local legislature on up to Congress.

Historic trends suggest that the party in power loses seats in Congress. In fact, it's almost certain based on the last century of elections. Republicans have a really good chance to capture majorities in the House and maybe the Senate as well. Even capturing one chamber would completely stop President Biden's first term.

HARLOW: Obviously, a huge question, three, is what does the January 6th committee find? I mean, their filing this week show that they know they're up against the clock.

PHILLIPS: Yeah, that's exactly right. So, if Republicans capture majority in Congress next year, they're worried that come January 2023 when they officially take hold they can shut down the committee. Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican leader, has not been friendly to this committee. So, they're racing to get stuff done, possibly by the summer, my "Washington Post" colleagues report.

The main question they're trying to answer, and we don't know if they have an answer to it -- they've interviewed hundreds of witnesses, looked at tens of thousands of pages of documents, referred several people to the Justice Department for crimes for not cooperating with tem. The main question they're still trying to answer is, did President Trump attempt a coup against the United States? And with what institution help?

HARLOW: Amber Phillips, thank you very much for joining us. Have a happy New Year.

PHILLIPS: Thank you. You, too.

HARLOW: As you ring in 2022, join Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen live New York's Times Square tonight. It all begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)