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Soon: White House Issues Warning For Winter COVID-19 Surge; Deadly Storms Leave Trail Of Destruction In Louisiana; New Episodes Of "Harry & Meghan" Explore Split From Royal Family. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 15, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello everyone, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell.

Moments from now, the White House will issue a stern warning about a potential winter surge of COVID-19. The administration's Coronavirus response coordinator says the stakes are even higher this season because the country is facing a trio of viral threats, COVID, RSV, and the flu. They continue to dominate hospital occupancy.

GOLODRYGA: The Health Care Association of New York says one hundred percent of hospitals are reporting nursing shortages that they have not been able to feel so far. Officials' fear of the busy holiday season could only exacerbate the problem. CNN's senior White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond is at the White House with the latest. So, Jeremy, what are you expecting officials to lay out?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, every winter of this COVID pandemic, we have seen surges of cases across the country. Last winter, of course, because of vaccinations, the resulting hospitalizations and deaths were far lower. But we still saw a surge in cases. And so, as we are beginning to see cases take up once again, this White House is doing two things. They are preparing for that -- for the federal response to that potential surge, and also, of course, trying to prepare the public for what this all means as well.

In terms of what the White House is doing themselves. They are today relaunching this program to send free COVID test kits to Americans who request them, up to four free COVID test kits per household. That program had been paused in September because of funding shortages but the administration found some creative ways to get more funding to restart that program.

What they're also doing? Sending more federal resources to local health departments across the country, including pre-positioning some of those resources that hospitals that hit capacity or near capacity may need to deal with these surges. And finally, the ramping up their efforts to convince Americans to get vaccinated and focusing on the most at-risk. Setting up mobile vaccination centers working with some of those community health centers that serve underserved populations to try and ramp up those vaccination efforts.

But they're also focusing on trying to raise awareness for Americans. And that's why we're going to see Dr. Jha, the White House's COVID coordinator, come here to the White House briefing room to that podium to talk about what we're seeing, which is not just this COVID situation but also RSV cases high, the worst flu season in a decade. And really the concern here is what happens when all of those things collide. But Dr. Jha, expect him to say that what does happen in the coming weeks depends on what Americans do with number one on that list being getting vaccinated, getting that updated booster, if you haven't yet, Bianna, Victor.

GOLODRYGA: And that vaccination rate is still far too low right now. Jeremy Diamond, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Joining us now is Dr. Paul Offit. He is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Doctor, welcome back. So, Jeremy just detailed what the administration is doing. What should we be doing? I know getting the vaccine, getting the booster is at the top of the list, but a tick through the list of what we should do as we see this trio hitting us this season.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Right. So, RSV has been bad. We've seen an increase in RSV cases in our hospital like I've never seen before, but that seems to be coming down. The flu -- this is going to be a very bad flu year. We know that because countries that have winters that precede ours, like Australia, for example, or South America, have had dramatically increased cases of flu. This will be a bad flu year. The good news is that the strains that are containing the flu vaccine this year match exactly the strains that are circulating. So, please get a flu vaccine.

Regarding COVID, I think that what happens this winter will be instructive. I mean, as distinct from saying last winter or certainly the winter before that, we have probably 95 plus percent of people in this country who have been either naturally infected or vaccinated or both, which is to say that they have immunity. Now, there's definitely going to be an increase in cases. But what will be interesting to see is whether you see a concomitant increase in severe cases, meaning hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths.

Because with that level of population immunity, you're not going to do a very good job of preventing mild illness or asymptomatic infection or transmission because that's the nature of this virus. But you still -- we should be doing much -- doing much better in terms of protection against severe disease. We'll see. But certainly, those who are in high-risk groups, the elderly people, over 75, people in nursing homes, people who have -- are immune compromised, people who have high-risk medical conditions should definitely get a booster dose heading into this winter.

GOLODRYGA: Well, we do have the bivalent vaccine which has been available since September and that has proven to be pretty effective against the most recent variants, and still only about 14 percent of Americans who qualify who are eligible for vaccine have been vaccinated thus far. How worrisome is that to you? And what more if anything can the administration do to boost that number?

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OFFIT: I think the most important thing is that people who are in high-risk groups get that vaccine. I'd be curious to know who those 14 percent are. I mean, you could argue that people less than 75, who are otherwise healthy are not going to benefit from this vaccine nearly as much as those high-risk groups. So, I think that the focus, I think, for the administration should be on getting those groups out.

I would say that the data that we have on the bivalent vaccines suggests that it's going to be no worse than the monovalent vaccine. But at least the data that we have so far suggests that it might not be any better against the circulating strains. But again, it will protect you against severe disease, and that's the goal of this vaccine, keep people out of the hospital, keep them out of the ICU, and keep them from dying. So, this booster dose will do that.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn to the flu vaccine. We've talked about a lot of shortages over the last year, baby formula, and acetaminophen, other medications, especially for children. The FDA has now received some anecdotal reports of availability issues of the generic form of Tamiflu, the flu vaccine. Now, the administration says there is not a shortage at this moment, but are you concerned that these reports could be the precursors of a shortage as this season ramps up?

OFFIT: So, Tamiflu is not a wonder drug. I mean, if you give early an illness, it can decrease the length of illness by one or two days. It really shouldn't be reserved for those people who are at high risk of serious disease, meaning a high risk of developing pneumonia or going to the hospital in the intensive care unit. So, again, people who have chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease, people who are elderly, obviously, people in nursing homes, people who have a number of health problems that make them, particularly at risk, where even a mild disease could land them in the hospital. I think that's true. But Tamiflu really should be reserved for those who are at the highest risk not everybody.

BLACKWELL: All right. Dr. Paul Offit, thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Doctor.

A massive cleanup is now underway across parts of the South after deadly tornadoes ripped through the region.

BLACKWELL: At least three people were killed and dozens injured in Louisiana. Now, the powerful twist is ripped roofs off homes. They ripped down power lines. Tens of thousands of people have lost electricity. And the governor has declared a state of emergency.

Nick Valencia is on the ground in Marrero, Louisiana. What do you see in there? NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is in Jefferson Parish here. That's where Marrero is at. And this is a hard-hit area from the tornado that ripped through here, killing one person. And looking at the damage you know, you really scratch your head and think, man, this could have been a lot worse here.

And last hour, if you remember, we introduce you to Trent Terrio (PH). He's this man here on the porch here with his dog. He rode out the storm inside of a closet, narrowly escaping the storm he says with his life. This hour, we want to introduce you to somebody he's calling his savior here. Brent, come on in here, man.

BRENT ROBEAUX, LOCAL RESIDENT: I mean there have been good guys.

VALENCIA: Yes. So, you --

ROBEAUX: Yes.

VALENCIA: Do you feel like a savior today?

ROBEAUX: Well, I didn't do it alone. Listen, I had my friend Ricky today but he came, we kind of met up here at a gala. And I was just -- I was howling Trent, Trent, Trent, Trent, and he was howling in scrubs. I thought he was hurt bad. And --

VALENCIA: And you describe, you said there's gas lines going off here. I mean, the tornado it just ripped through.

ROBEAUX: And that's what I was concerned with. The gas was going off and like man, I got to get him on it. So, Ricky -- we tried to kick the door down and couldn't get the door outside, put my hand through the glass, busted the glass and open the door and we got him out.

And to me, you know, he's pretty big but we got into the door and once I got him through the door, which was a little bit, I put him on my shoulders back and brought him here, and then I got into my place and got him calm down. He was -- he was in shock.

VALENCIA: You know, I'm sure you were running on adrenaline. When you got in there and you heard his screams, what did you think that you were going to find when you open that closet door?

ROBEAUX: Well, I thought he was hurt pretty bad. I really did. The way he was -- the way we screaming, I thought he was hurt pretty bad. But I think he was in shock. He was just in shock. Yes.

VALENCIA: Yes.

ROBEAUX: Yes.

VALENCIA: And you -- I mean, you survive this too.

ROBEAUX: Yes. Yes, I was -- I was right here looking out the door and kind of watching it all go down. And it was 35 -- 45 seconds. That happened quick. Bam. And common sense, you know I just -- like I said, I just -- I was just worried about him. VALENCIA: Brent, when you look around your neighborhood here. I mean, you've got roofs ripped off or parts of, you know, these power lines down here, debris everywhere in the street.

ROBEAUX: Yes.

VALENCIA: I mean, it's got to be unrecognizable at this point.

ROBEAUX: Yes, it's surreal. Yes, it's surreal. Yes. Yes.

VALENCIA: We're so grateful that you're alive, man, grateful that you got a great story to tell.

ROBEAUX: Yes.

VALENCIA: And your friends are still alive here. Thank you so much for taking the time with CNN.

ROBEAUX: Thank you. Thank you.

VALENCIA: We really appreciate it, Brother. Thank you.

ROBEAUX: Thank you.

VALENCIA: A lot of cleanup left to do here in this area. We understand that the governor may be making a tour here through Jefferson Parish. We'll update you as we get more information, Bianna, Victor.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, we've been covering the storm for days now, looks like Louisiana was among the hardest hit states. I mean if there's a silver lining, it's you have neighbors like Brent there that come in and rescue their neighbors and friends down the street.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

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GOLODRYGA: Nick Valencia, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Nick.

Well, now to the border where communities are facing an overwhelming number of migrants crossing into the U.S. Thousands are already streaming into cities like El Paso there in Texas, and straining resources. Just last hour, El Paso's mayor called for more help from the federal government and beyond.

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OSCAR LEESER, MAYOR OF EL PASO, TEXAS: Funding and sheltering is not the answer. It's a band-aid to a really a bigger problem. And it's really important for us should we continue to work with our federal governments to see how they can come up with a permanent solution. It's something that we're going to have to work with the UN and other countries to work through a situation that again, is bigger than El Paso, and now it's become bigger than the United States. (END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: And the situation is expected to get even worse in just a matter of days. And that's when the Trump-era border police title policy, Title 42, comes to an end. CNN's Rosa Flores joins us now. So, Rosa, the administration just released their plan for what to do once Title 42 expires. What are you learning about it?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, if what I'm about to say sounds familiar, it's because it is. What DHS did in essence, they updated the plan that they released back in April when Title 42 was expected to expire back in May. But as you remember, a federal judge blocked the lifting of Title 42, then that's why we are here now waiting -- awaiting again for that scheduled lifting of Title 42.

So, in essence, DHS, what they've released is this six-pillar plan, which starts off with a surge of resources. DHS saying that more than a thousand Border Patrol processing coordinators have been deployed to the border. There's also 2500 contractors. And the reason why those numbers are important is because of the following. And we hear this from politicians and other law enforcement agencies that when law enforcement agents, i.e., Border Patrol agents are taken to process migrants because of a surge, then there's a problem with national security because there are gaps on the southern border. Well, what this plan says that with these thousands of resources sent to the border, then Border Patrol agents can actually do their jobs and keep the border safe.

Now, according to this plan. In the past year, DHS has also put up 10 soft-sided facilities that have increased the number of holding capacity for CBP by a third. And they've also doubled the number of transportation resources. Now, this is important because of the following, especially what we're seeing in El Paso right now. When there's a surge of migrants in one area, the federal government says that they do something called decompression. And that's a fancy word in essence for saying that they move migrants from that area, for example, El Paso, to other parts of the southern border where they have capacity available, where not as many migrants are crossing.

So, that is happening according to the federal government. And this plan, they have hundreds of flights and buses, Bianna, that are going to be doing exactly that, especially leading up to the lifting of Title 42, and which Title 42 lifts which the federal government is expecting an increase in migrant crossings.

BLACKWELL: Rosa, the mayor of El Paso just talked about the limits of financial support. And to that end, he has not -- the city there has not declared a state of emergency.

FLORES: You know, you're absolutely right. And this has been a contentious point. And what the Deputy City Manager said is that they're getting actually around to that by asking the state of Texas directly for resources because, in essence, that's what a state of emergency does. It opens the floodgates of state resources to help an area like El Paso when there is a migrant surge. And so, with the help of a senator, with the help of the state of Texas, the Texas Department of Emergency Management, they're actually getting around that to make sure that they -- that they get resources because as you've seen these dramatic images out of El Paso and you really wonder why they wouldn't declare a state of emergency.

Now, the question that wasn't asked during that press conference, Bianna and Victor, was why the mayor continues to say that a state of emergency will not really be declared. Because here in the state of Texas, it would have to be the mayor or the county judge to do that. The city manager is kind of like the operations guy. He's running everything but he doesn't have the power to declare a state of emergency.

BLACKWELL: Important distinction there. Rosa Flores, reporting, thank you so much.

GOLODRYGA: Well, there are some stunning new allegations in the final installments of the Harry and Meghan documentary including sibling confrontations and accusations of planting stories and gaslighting. So, how are the royals responding?

BLACKWELL: And let's take a look at stocks now, down sharply after new retail sales numbers show consumer spending plummeted last month. What this says about the state of the economy? That's ahead.

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GOLODRYGA: Netflix has released the final three episodes of the docu- series, Harry and Meghan Overnight. The couple explained in new detail the breakdown of their relationship with the British Royal Family triggering their exit from the UK in early 2020. Harry dropped this bombshell about what he faced from his brother and father in front of his grandmother, the queen.

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PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: It was terrifying to have my brother screaming and shouting at me and my father say things that simply weren't true, and my grandmother you know quietly sit there and sort of take it all in. But you have to understand that from a farmer's perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things. And her ultimate sort of mission goal social responsibility is the institution.

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BLACKWELL: Netflix says that the first half of the series had the biggest debut of any of its documentaries. More than 28 million households watch the first three episodes. Joining us, now royal historian Ed Owens and British talk show host Tricia Goddard, of This Week With Trisha Goddard, welcome to you both.

Trisha, let me start with you and how this is being received. We know that the audience is huge, but how is this being received in the UK?

TRISHA GODDARD, HOST, "THIS WEEK WITH TRISHA GODDARD": Well, Victor, you might recall before any of this series dropped, you and I had a chat and you said to me -- you asked me did I think the royal family would be nervous. And I said to you, I think there'll be more tabloid press that is nervous. And I stand by that.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

GODDARD: I think this entire series really has been looking at, you know, the dehumanizing and the sort of low tactics where anything goes. And you know -- and Harry challenging that, obviously very traumatized from what happened to his mother, Princess Diana, and sees it played out again. And he's actually challenging it.

Now, a lot of the press in Britain are saying yes, but -- the tabloid press, I have to say a saying, yes but they haven't admitted -- the Sussexes haven't admitted to anything they've done wrong. There -- it's all about blame. Wouldn't it be lovely if the tabloid press came clean and admitted what they had done wrong without them having to be successfully sued?

GOLODRYGA: Well, there -- I see it as two buckets here. One, them taking out their feelings and anger towards the press, but also their relationship with the royal family, with the establishment there right with the firm, as they call it. And, Ed, there are some serious accusations that are lobbed here, bullying, jealousy, no one there to protect them. Let's play this clip and then we'll talk on the other side.

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PRINCE HARRY: It was already clear to the media that the palace wasn't going to protect her. Once that happens, the floodgates open.

MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: And I realized that I wasn't just being thrown to the wolves. I was being fed to the wolves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Insinuating that it is -- the royal family that was feeding her to the wolves. These are serious allegations, as we noted. Do -- is there anything there to substantiate them in your view?

ED OWENS, ROYAL HISTORIAN: The problem with this discussion and the insinuation that the institution didn't stand up for them, that the institution didn't seek to protect them against the media is that they talk about the monarchy as this monolithic thing that they very rarely if you like, direct their criticism at specific members of the royal family. As Tricia was just saying, you know, most of their animosity was directed very much at the British press. Instead, they talk about the institution not protecting them. The institution not defending Meghan from defamatory reporting.

I think what's really frustrating for a historian like me who's looked at the monarchies' relationship with the media, and the nature of sort of palace relationships over the course of the last 100 years, is that they talk in these generalities. We don't know who it is within the monarchy that wasn't standing up for them. We don't know who it was that they approached to ask for help. So, that was slightly frustrating I found watching the series this morning.

BLACKWELL: We've got some new video in. This is Prince William and Princess Kate here going to a holiday celebration -- a Christmas celebration there at Westminster Abbey there. Appearances, as usual, Trisha, the palace has said there will be no response to this. Is that a tenable position? And if the accusation is that they plant stories, will there be a third party through which they leak some response potential issue?

GODDARD: That -- there is a potential for that. You know, Katherine's got her choir, you know, her Christmas thing going on at Westminster Abbey, which was going to -- which has been a long plan. Yes, I think it could leak out somewhere along the line. I'm not surprised that the palace isn't saying anything. I mean, that's a usual start.

Also, I think they would have been quite shocked. You know, you often hear of family members going through a hard time. But if you actually got some video of -- and saw you know, whatever you think about them, family is family. And when you hear the visceral pain that your brother and sister-in-law went through, it would be quite shocking. So, I'm not sure they would know what to say anyway, you know, but let's just say that the monarchy -- and kudos to Charles.

[14:25:01]

He's already seen that the monarchy has modernized move with the times. And I think we've seen that in his very outgoing you know greeting audio -- you know people outside the palace. That wasn't typical of Charles when the Queen was still alive.

However, I think Harry and Meghan are moving much, much faster. They speak to a new generation who wanted and want change now. They're not prepared to put up with the old deal of, you know, this is how it works between the royals and the media or that's the way it's going to stay. They're challenging that.

And I actually say good for them because there are a lot of ordinary people who've fallen foul to absolute press intrusion. And I've got to put my hands up having been in that situation myself when I was very ill when I was going through my cancer diagnosis and what have you. It can absolutely destroy you. So, I can't imagine what it might be like to have the sort of profile that Harry and Meghan have had, a habit non-stop.

GOLODRYGA: All right. To be continued. We'll continue to follow this. Ed Owens and Trisha Goddard, thank you.

BLACKWELL: The parents of one of the UVA football players fatally shot during a class field trip speak with CNN about their loss and the gun violence epidemic.

GOLODRYGA: And the Senate passes legislation to ban TikTok from U.S. government devices. What it signals for the company's future here in the U.S.?

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