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U.S. Debating Whether to Declare Monkeypox Public Health Emergency; Ukrainian Officials Say, We'll be Ready to Start Grain Exports This Week; Pope in Canada to Apologize for Church's Abuse of Indigenous Children. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 25, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:00]

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over) : So, millions are turning to food banks for help. Some pantries say they're serving 50 percent more people than a year ago. Long lines in Phoenix mirror the worst days of the pandemic. In San Antonio, 1/3 of these people are here for the first time.

ERIC COOPER, SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK: These are families that are working, but they are just not making enough to put food on the table at the end of the day.

JESSICA YINGLING, USES FOOD BANK: Sometimes it's stressful to struggle.

COHEN: Jessica Yingling works at a nursing home, but she and her son still need this Maryland pantry.

YINGLING: Everything is more expensive and you're making the same amount than before.

COHEN: Bill Murphy is picking up meals for veterans.

BILL MURPHY, PICKING UP MEALS FOR VETERANS: It will mean survival, bottom line.

COHEN: Demand is skyrocketing as the government scales back COVID assistance programs and donations from the USDA and grocery stores plummet, stretching food banks to the brink.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't have surplus, well, then it cuts our supply.

COHEN: In Ohio, warehouses are drained. They say it's the worst shortage in years, and pantries are rationing food to stay afloat. Few banks can afford to buy supply to fill the gap, and even that is getting far pricier.

VINCE HALL, FEEDING AMERICA: America is transitioning from a pandemic crisis to a hunger crisis. The worst case scenario is that food banks will have to continue to wind down or even shut down food distributions that are vital lifelines for communities across this country.

COHEN: And if sky high inflation lingers, more families need help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just get to the point where you just got have to go get it.

COHEN: Janet Murray is raising her grandson, and for the first time, this free food is critical.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess more of us are going to be coming to the food banks. And it's sad, it really is, but what are you going to do?

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COHEN (on camera): Now, Feeding America tells me there are steps that could be taken right now. They are asking Congress to increase funding to the emergency food assistance program, and for the USDA to send more supply to food banks. They call this a dangerous and unsustainable trajectory. And, Poppy, food banks in some places are already on the brink of shutting down.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Gabe Cohen, thank you for highlighting that critical issue. We appreciate your reporting very much.

Up next, we will speak to the Health and Human Services secretary about the monkeypox outbreak across the United States. Stay with us.

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[10:35:00]

HARLOW: So, right now, President Biden is working in isolation after testing positive last week for COVID. Yesterday, his doctor said he's improving. His predominant symptom is a sore throat. The president is being treated with Paxlovid, Tylenol and albuterol, as needed. The first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, is staying in Delaware as the president recovers. A spokesperson said she tested negative again this morning.

Well, the White House is now debating whether to declare a public health emergency for monkeypox, but officials say data shortfalls are hindering mitigation efforts right now. The U.S. has just recorded under 3,000 cases of monkeypox. The CDC director, Rochelle Walensky, says her agency has no data on who has been vaccinated for monkeypox and does not have the authority to collect that data or to mandate it.

Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, says, quote, it's a new and really fast- moving outbreak and there have been some challenges around having a smooth and efficient way for the data to be sent from jurisdiction.

So, let's talk about all of this with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. He joins me now. Secretary Becerra, thank you for your time. And let's begin with this. On a scale of one to ten, how concerned are you about the spread of monkeypox in the U.S.? Are you more concerned than a year ago? A month ago, not a year ago, a month ago.

XAVIER BECERRA, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: A day ago. We should absolutely we should be concerned, 100 percent concerned, because we've not had monkeypox the way we have seen it now and we don't want it to be a part of life the way we are seeing it. So, we have to stay ahead of it, and that's what we've been trying to do since day one.

We have now increased the number of vaccines that we have available. As you mentioned, we've got about some 3,000 cases that have been reported. We suspect there's much more than that. But we have got about 300,000-plus vaccines that we have now made available throughout the country.

HARLOW: Well, two points you just made. Well, first of all, on a scale of one to ten, how concerned are you today?

BECERRA: Concerned? Look, always concerned with something that's coming that we have not had to deal with before, so ten.

HARLOW: Ten?

BECERRA: Yes, because we want to get ahead of it. You don't want it to become part of life. But how many people have died compared to COVID? Zero.

HARLOW: I understand that, but it's a mayor concern for those people affected and those people exposed.

You said we suspect more cases than the roughly 3,000 now reported. How many multiples are you talking about?

BECERRA: That's what is tough, as we need the states, the local public health directors to feed us data so know, not only so we have a sense of how -- what kind of volume we're talking about but to know how to best concentrate the help that we could provide.

HARLOW: It is, and I was shocked when you learned this, that it is volunteer for states to share any data on monkeypox with the CDC. That's not the case with all diseases and all viruses. There are some that are mandatory in terms of reporting. Should this be mandatory?

BECERRA: Poppy, actually, most of the time, we can't require the states to do this. So, on COVID and until we declared a public health emergency and start to enact these emergency authorities, we could not require states to provide us data.

[10:40:06]

We need these states to help us understand the scope and depth of the problem, because we have vaccines and we have treatments and we want to make sure we're sending them where they are most needed. HARLOW: So why not -- the WHO over the weekend declared monkeypox a public health emergency globally. The U.S. hasn't done that. You just listed one major benefit in terms of getting data that you would gain the authority to impose. Should you declare it a public health emergency in the United States? Why not do that now?

BECERRA: We're monitoring and we kept in close touch with WHO. We're doing what we can. We're in a far better place than most of the world because we prepared. We had vaccines available before May 18th, when the first case of monkeypox was reported in the U.S. We need to have more cooperation from the locals so we can get the information we need. But we are prepared in terms of the testing, the vaccines and the treatment, but even that can be overwhelmed if we're not careful.

HARLOW: And you know right here in New York City, the mayor, Eric Adams, has been pleading for more vaccine for weeks now. I understand you say, we're monitoring, but the reality is you have the power now to declare this a public health emergency in the United States. It would give you the authority to get more data, and you said your concern level about monkeypox spread is a ten out of ten. So, what are you monitoring for?

BECERRA: Well, Poppy, I sense that you're in favor of declaring a public health emergency --

HARLOW: I have actually no expertise in that. I'm just asking you what I think someone sitting at the couch at home would be wondering is, you're worried, why not make this declaration? Are there things that are holding you back from doing it that you're seeing that we don't see?

BECERRA: Because we declare public health emergencies based on the data and the science, not on our worries. We try to prepare for things. And so our scientists, as with COVID, are making decisions as we speak. As I said, if we were in a position, as most countries in the world are, to not have any vaccines for monkeypox, to not having the testing available, we have the capacity to test some 60,000 to 80,000 people on a weekly basis, we have only had reported so far 3,000 cases. So, we have done what we need to do to prepare, we just have to coordinate better with the locals so we can make sure we're feeding each other the right information.

You mentioned New York City. We want to make sure we're helping New York City. They have received more vaccines than any other city in America. But we have to make sure that we are distributing it in a way that prevents other jurisdictions from seeing what we see right now in New York City.

HARLOW: Right. You bring up other jurisdictions. So, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has called on you specifically to take more aggressive steps to counter the monkeypox outbreak. San Francisco's City Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is quoted in the L.A. Times this morning saying, this should have been a preventable public health crisis, had monkeypox received a stronger response, he writes, if it were not primarily affecting queer folks. I wonder what you say to that concern. BECERRA: Well, what I can simply say is that there is no other place in the world where they have 300,000 doses of vaccines that they have distributed to the states, as we have here in America. There is no other place in the world that has prepared the type of treatments that are available for monkeypox the way the U.S. has.

What I can say is that we all know what it takes, those who are knowledgeable about monkeypox, to prevent this and we need everyone to help. This is not COVID in the sense that it is not as contagious, but it is something that you can contract. Close contact means you're putting yourself at risk of contracting monkeypox. And so we need help from those who are in those vulnerable groups that might catch it. We need help with the locals so they can coordinate better with us because they don't have vaccines. And what we can do is work with them. But we need information, data so we're doing this the right way to protect all Americans.

HARLOW: Specifically, what help are you asking for for those who are most vulnerable right now, that is men around the average of 36, men who have sex with men, what are you calling on folks in the most vulnerable groups to do?

BECERRA: We have been working closely, and we thank the LBGTQ+ community for the help that they have provided in getting information and education out there to the communities of what monkeypox is, what it looks like, what it would take to contract it and what you should do if you think you may have it. And so all of that information helps. They would then report to their local public health officials. We need those local public health officials to coordinate with us far more with us, so we have the data that helps us drive our support where it's needed most.

HARLOW: And, Secretary Becerra, I would be remiss not to also ask you about a very important day, which is tomorrow, marking the anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act.

[10:45:00]

The American Association of People with Disabilities put out a statement marking last year's anniversary, and they say, look, it's important to honor these anniversaries, but more needs to be done. Specifically, they're calling for more focus on identity and empowering people with disabilities to lead, accessible and equitable transportation, housing, employment, removing barriers to political participation. When I think of New York City, I think we've got 126 of our 472 subway stations that are actually accessible for folks.

So, as we celebrate this anniversary tomorrow, what more needs to be done?

BECERRA: Well, as you just said, Poppy, the most important thing is, when I remember as a kid growing up, you could walk to the door of that retail establishment and I could walk in, but someone who was disabled might not be able to. And what we're trying to do with the Americans with Disabilities Act is say, no one will be left out. Everyone will be included. And we have had now three decades of its working. We still have more to do. But by God, we're getting to the point where everyone in America will be included. We talk about race, color and so forth, disability as well, we want to make sure every American counts and the ADA is there to make sure that we enforce a law against discrimination.

HARLOW: Secretary Xavier Becerra, thank you very much for answering so many of these critical questions and for the work you guys are doing on this front. We'll talk to you soon.

BECERRA: Thank you.

HARLOW: Still to come, Ukraine says it will export its wheat this week despite that Russian bombing at the port city of Odessa over the weekend, one day after that critical export deal was signed. We'll have details next.

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HARLOW: So, this morning, Ukrainian officials say they will resume exporting grain from the country this week. This is after a Russian missile strike on the port city of Odessa Saturday. That blast came just a day after Russia and Ukraine had signed a deal to resume those grain exports from the region.

Our Senior International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is in Kyiv this morning. I mean, Nic, the United States is working with Ukraine, according to Secretary of State Tony Blinken, to get it on a plan B, because the bombing of this key port a day after this really critical agreement between the two sides, they need clearly another strategy. What more are you learning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, plan B is still in play. I was speaking with the infrastructure minister here in Kyiv just a couple of hours ago, and, of course, was the one in Istanbul who signed the deal for Ukraine with the U.N. to get the export going from the ports. But he said, absolutely, we're still committed to that plan B, we're putting grain on to train, on trucks to go over land, even using barges on River Danube. Nothing though really matters in terms of getting quantity out and quickly as using the ports.

He still hopes that the deal with the U.N. can work. They're committed to it. He has sent officials to Istanbul to be part of the joint center there that will oversee how the U.N. deal works and inspection of vessels as they sort of come and go in and out of the Black Sea. So, that part is in play as far as Ukraine is concerned.

I asked him about the Russian strikes, and he said he thought that was just a power play by Russia. But there are other things that Russia has been doing as well that are troubling and worrying him. One of them is that Russia's foreign minister has said that Russian ships will escort these cargo vessels once they get out into the Black Sea. He told me that's absolutely not part of the deal. It's not going to happen. So, there are really some underlying tensions here.

Russia exerting the right to strike the port of Odessa, it says military facility, Ukraine trying to make good on its commitment to the U.N. So that plan B, as you speak about, is important. But Russia has been targeting those rail tracks and places that they are blown up, and the trains just can't get down the tracks.

HARLOW: Yes. Nic Robertson, thank you very much for the update from Kyiv this morning.

Well, right now, Pope Francis is in Canada. This is a week-long trip where he will personally apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church for the years of abuse that thousands of indigenous children suffered while at Catholic-run residential schools.

Our Paula Newton is live this morning in Edmonton, Alberta. It is an incredibly significant, meaningful, important trip to make for the pope to do it and personally make this apology.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Poppy. And this is a rare visit, because it has a singular purpose. I mean, imagine the pope actually call thing a journey of penance. The issue is that he is here for contrition, for the whole abuse scandal of the Catholic Church.

And that's what we are going to hear from him coming up in about an hour. We are going to hear that apology on Canadian soil, in an indigenous community, an apology that the Vatican and the pope hope will be received by survivors as being very, very sincere given this is decades that these schools were run with impunity, with, Poppy, I have to tell you, some of the most monstrous abuse that we have seen in this country, in Canada.

He will continue to journey on in Canada.

[10:55:00]

He is not just here. He will also be going to Quebec City and then a northern community called Iqaluit and then on to Rome.

Just to give you some context here, Poppy, you and I know the pope is 85 years old. He's not in good health. Most times he is now being seen in a wheelchair. This was an important trip for him to make even though he had canceled others, including to Africa. The issue here is not the abuse that you and I have known about and have seen reported at CNN by Catholic Church entities around the world, including in the United States. This is really about something more. It's about cultural genocide and the fact that the Catholic Church participated in eradicating the culture of indigenous peoples.

In the next hour, that's what those survivors will be listening and we will be listening for their reaction as the pope gives that very rare apology.

HARLOW: I'm so glad you're there reporting that and bringing that to us, a very consequential day. Paula Newton in Edmonton, Alberta, thanks very much.

And thanks to all of you for joining us today. Jim and I will see you back here tomorrow morning. I'm Poppy Harlow.

At this hour with Kate Bolduan is next.

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