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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Pfizer Says Time for a Booster Shot, CDC & FDA: Not so Fast; Biden Defends Leaving Afghanistan Despite Taliban Gains; Two Americans Arrested in Haitian Assassination Case; Suns Take 2-0 NBA Finals Lead Against Bucks. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired July 09, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:24]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Friday, July 9. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York. You made to Friday.

We begin this morning with the debate over waning immunity from vaccines and the battle against coronavirus. Pfizer announcing Thursday that it is seeing immunity from its two dose shot weaken over time and now it is planning to seek emergency use authorization for a booster shot as early as this August.

But the federal government says not so fast. Hours after this Pfizer news, the CDC and the FDA issuing an unusual joint statement saying you don't need a COVID booster shot at this time if you've been fully vaccinated.

ROMANS: Key there, at this time. What you are seeing here in red is a worsening situation in the South and Midwest. That is where the virus is spreading in pockets of unvaccinated communities. Health officials say without the protection of the vaccines in these places, these communities can be a breeding ground for variants and for disease. Like the fast spreading delta variant which health experts are calling COVID-19 on steroids, 29 states have seen an uptick of 10 percent or no of cases much of that the delta variant, spreading among unvaccinated Americans.

JARRETT: And a new study shows those unvaccinated or undervaccinated clusters really mostly in the southern U.S., as you saw in that map. Well, they're putting the whole country at risk of returning to the dark days of the pandemic.

Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen starts us off this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Laura, about half of the United States is not fully vaccinated against COVID- 19. Now, if those people were evenly spread across the United States, that would be one thing. Vaccinated people might to some extent be able to protect them and prevent outbreaks.

But according to research that was done by epidemiologists at Georgetown University, that is not the case. This group has been tracking the vaccine rollout since the beginning and what they found is that unvaccinated people are actually in clusters. Let's take a look.

These are the five most significant clusters of unvaccinated people in the United States. As you can see, they are mostly in the southeastern United States, one of them reaches up into southern Missouri, another one goes into West Texas. And here is more information about the people living in these five clusters. Taken together, it is 15 million peel, again people again largely in the southeast. The vaccination rate, the average vaccination rate in the counties in these clusters is 28 percent. National vaccination rate is 48 percent. So as you can see, that is a big difference.

And it is interesting, there are some cities like Montgomery, Alabama, or Amarillo, Texas, however 92 percent of the counties in these clusters have fewer than 100,000 people. So, obviously, these clusters are a problem for the people who live there. But they are also a problem for people who don't live there even if they are vaccinated. And here is why. The virus is getting a lot of chance to replicate and to spread from person to person, ad to practice. The more it spreads, the more it can create variants.

And we've already seen the variants. The variants we've seen can pose a little bit of a challenge to the vaccine. The problem is that the next variant or the one after that could pose a big problem for the vaccine and that is how it could cause a problem even for the people in the United States who are vaccinated -- Christine, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

President Biden is defending his end America's longest war by the end of next month despite the Taliban gaining ground as it moves closer to the capital city of Kabul. Biden said that the U.S. didn't go to Afghanistan to nation build.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nearly 20 years of experience has shown us that the current security situation only confirms that just one more year of fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution, but a recipe for being there definitely. I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: CNN's Anna Coren is live in Kabul for us. Anna, Biden said that he trusts the military to conduct this -- to

conduct this war really. He has had this position for a long time. But is he right about that, are they ready to do this on their own?

[05:05:00]

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, the Afghan security forces, Laura, is about 300,000 members. But as we are seeing, they are sustaining significant losses on the battlefield. The Taliban making sweeping gains over the last few weeks in particular after the Biden administration announced these withdrawals. Bagram Air Base has been completely deserted by any U.S., NATO forces.

And over the last 24 hours, since Biden made that speech, we've seen the Taliban take a major gateway between Iran and Afghanistan, the dry port that millions of dollars worth goods, fuel cross through that port every single day. That is confirmed by the customs chief there.

There is another border crossing in this major province of Herat that they have also taken. It's called Tjugandi (ph), which borders Turkmenistan. I mean, these are significant develop developments because it means that the Taliban are in control of the trade and money coming into Afghanistan. You know, they can quite literally choke this country and obviously it puts the government in an incredibly precarious situation.

The government said that it is responding, it is sending in troops to try to recapture those border crossings. But it certainly does not bode well.

We've also heard from a Taliban spokesperson in Moscow in the last few hours saying that the Taliban is now in control of 85 percent of Afghanistan's territory. They have also appealed for humanitarian organizations to continue operating here in Afghanistan. They have also called for schools and hospitals to remain open and keep functioning.

And in a very interesting development, they said that they want girls to be educated in this country all the way up to university. Now, if this is true, that is an incredible development and a change in mindset of the Taliban. We know that when they were in control beforehand, women had to stay inside. Girls could not go to school. It was a very repressive society.

So, the Taliban trying to come off as that alternative government, Laura and Christine.

JARRETT: Yeah, I guess the question is whether they can be trusted to follow through on that promise.

COREN: Exactly.

JARRETT: All right. Anna, thanks so much for your reporting in all this.

ROMANS: Al right. To business now, critical aid for families that expanded child tax credit will start flowing next week. This is guaranteed income for the year for low income families. Eligible parents could see as much as $3,600 for a child six years old and under, $3,000 for older children.

A Democratic lawmakers like Senate Majority Chuck Schumer urging families, make sure you register with the IRS so you receive these payments. Now, most families, you don't have to do anything to get these child payments. The IRS already has your tax returns on file. But families who haven't filed your returns or haven't given the information need to register to get the money. The IRS is holding outreach events this weekend in 12 cities to give free tax help for families, register them for these monthly payments, and make sure that the stimulus money gets to so many families.

And this is something that experts say could cut child poverty in half in this country. The biggest dent on child poverty we've ever seen.

JARRETT: That would be amazing. Don't leave money on the table. That's the lesson from Christine Romans.

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: All right. Manhunts, arrests, and three suspects now dead, the latest on the investigation into the assassination of Haiti's president. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:13:05]

ROMANS: All right. Welcome back.

Two American citizens have been arrested in the assassination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moise. The two believed to be Haitian American, among more than a dozen other suspects linked to the brazen killing. Some of the suspects are Colombian ex-military. Police officials say that they are looking for at least eight more people and "Reuters" reports at least three suspects were killed.

CNN's Matt Rivers reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, we're getting a lot more information from Haitian authorities about who they believe are involved in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. It was a press conference with authorities on Thursday night that they identified some of those suspects, including some of the people that you see on your screen here who they actually paraded in front of media cameras in attendance at that press conference.

We know that authorities say that they have detained at least 17 people so far for their role in this assassination. Authorities also saying that there are at least eight different suspects that remain at large at this point. Interestingly, it seems so far that the vast majority of the suspects

identified are foreign nationals. Authorities saying that of all the suspects, 26 of them are Colombian nationals.

The Colombian defense ministry also weighed in on Thursday evening, saying, of those suspects, some of them are actually former members of Colombia's military. We also know that two Haitian-Americans are among those suspects identified by authorities here in Haiti.

But like I said, some suspects remain at large and this remains an ongoing investigation. There are still a ton of questions surrounding exactly how all of this happened. For example, we still don't know the motive. Haitian authorities had not really said why they believe so many foreign nationals, so many people in general participated in the assassination of this country's president.

[05:15:02]

And we also don't know how so many people managed to get past the normally very robust security presence that exists outside of the presidential residence here in Port-au-Prince. These are questions that we are looking at. We hope to bring those answers to our viewers in the coming hours, days or weeks. And it just goes to illustrate how much this is an ongoing, evolving situation here in Haiti -- Christine, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Matt Rivers, thank you for that one.

And now to a CNN exclusive, South Africa has reached a breaking point pushed by the spread of the COVID delta variant. Patients waiting nine hours to access hospital beds, ambulances carrying sick patients being turned away, and charities are scrambling to build field hospitals from scratch now. And with a severe lack of access to vaccines, South Africa's third wave of COVID is showing no signs of slowing down.

CNN's David McKenzie is live for us in Johannesburg.

David, good morning.

You had exclusive access to a hospital there. What are you seeing and how are health care workers handling all of this?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura.

Well, it's bad. We are here at a vaccine site in Johannesburg where they are ramping up efforts to try to protect people from this more transmissible delta variant. And you mentioned that in the U.S., unvaccinated populations are uniquely at risk. Well, there are very few people vaccinated here and delta is really putting these hospitals at breaking point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE (voice over): They hoped it would be better, hoped that COVID-19 had done its worst. But 16 months in, and Mohammed Patel and his paramedic team are in a new more dangerous fight.

What has the Delta variant done to COVID-19 here?

MOHAMMED PATEL, PARAMEDIC: It has caused a lot of chaos. There's a whole lot of patients that are suffering. Their oxygen levels are dropping drastically daily.

MCKENZIE: South African scientists tracking Delta saw it dominate new infections in just weeks. Patel takes us into a home south of the city.

PATEL: Hello, good morning.

MCKENZIE: Where Delta is tearing through families, ripping through the country's largely unvaccinated population. Less than 1 percent of South Africans have been fully vaccinated.

The 67-year-old patient has critically low oxygen levels.

PATEL: We're going to get you through, OK? There's patients that are suffering at home because they aren't able to get hospital beds. There is no spaces in hospital. There's no ventilators available. It's completely a chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The third wave has really been far more devastating and far more overwhelming.

MCKENZIE: For months now, CNN has requested access to hospitals, but we were denied. So the true impact of this brutal Delta wave has been largely hidden from view.

But CNN obtained this disturbing video from the emergency room at a Johannesburg hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patients are waiting on stretchers. They're in cubicles. Doctors are overwhelmed. Nurses are overwhelmed.

MCKENZIE: Not enough beds, and what does that result in, in these waiting areas of the hospital?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's -- it's chaos.

MCKENZIE: The senior doctor wanted to speak out, reveal what they call war zone-like conditions. We agreed to hide their identity because they were afraid of reprisals from the government. In recent days, they said the bodies couldn't be wrapped fast enough to make space for the sick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are patients who are dying while they're awaiting to be seen, while they're awaiting to go to the ward because the resources are just being overwhelmed by the onslaught of patients.

MCKENZIE: How does that make you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sense of helplessness, but then also almost a blunting, a desensitization that we're doing everything we can, but it's still not enough.

MCKENZIE: Patel's team is often diverted from hospitals with critically ill patients. They search for hours to find a bed. So a charity called Gift of the Givers constructed this 20-bed field clinic staffed with volunteer doctors and nurses in less than five days.

Every single bed could give a sick patient a chance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE (on camera): Doctors and nurses stress that some patients are too sick to be helped even if there is space in hospitals. We put the questions to the Department of Health about the conditions of hospitals, and they sent us their presentation saying that they had increased bed capacity.

Now, the delta variant is very dangerous, but the answer is what you are seeing behind me, vaccines. And South Africa is ramping up its vaccine coverage, but is it too late? Laura, Christine?

JARRETT: And you talk about this being over the hump, but you just look at those scenes and it shows the devastation.

[05:20:05]

As you said, the answer is more vaccines.

David McKenzie, thank you for all of your reporting and for being there for us.

ROMANS: All right. Twenty minutes past the hour.

The Phoenix Suns starting off hot after decades of messing the playoffs. Coy Wire with the "Bleacher Report," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. The Phoenix Suns are just two wins away from their first NBA title.

Coy Wire has this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Good Friday morning, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, happy weekend to you, Christine. It has been 28 years since Phoenix has been in the NBA finals and they are playing like they are making up for that lost time.

[05:25:05]

Suns might be the hottest thing in that Arizona desert. Booker leading with 31 points, seven of them threes.

Even though the Bucks played well, Phoenix just shot down their hopes from beyond the arc all night. A playoff franchise record with 20 three-pointers, just four off the NBA finals record.

Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo singlehandedly keeping the Bucks in this, scoring 42 points. Rest of the starters scored 43 combined.

The Suns win 118-108, series now goes to Milwaukee for game three on Sunday.

And boxing fans hoping to see the fight between WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder have to wait a little longer. Fury tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the July 24 bout in Las Vegas to be postponed, a source with knowledge of the situation has told CNN. Fight promoters say they hope to announce a makeup date soon.

Swimmer Michael Andrew expected to make a splash at the Olympics for Team USA, but he will not be vaccinated for coronavirus. The 22-year- old American record holder and the men's 100-meter breaststroke told reporters yesterday that he does not plan on getting the shot in the future because it might interfere with his training schedule.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL ANDREW, AMERICAN OLYMPIC SWIMMER: As an athlete, on a daily level, everything we do is very calculated. For me and the training cycle especially at the trials, I didn't want to risk any days out because we know that there are periods where you have to deal with some days off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: The International Olympic Committee has encouraged athletes to be vaccinated ahead of the games but there is no requirement for anyone competing in the games.

To the Stanley Cup champion Lightning, they will have their second boat parade in Tampa on Monday, but will players throw the Stanley Cup from boat to boat? You might remember Tom Brady and the Bucs tossing the Lombardi trophy when they won the Super Bowl in February.

Stanley Cup's Twitter feed which is a great follow giving a warning to Brady stay away, this is too heavy to throw Tom Brady. But Brady with a great reply saying, I don't know, everything feels a bit lighter with some tequila, and a laughing emoji.

Now, the Lombardi trophy, Christine and Laura, is only 7 pounds. Stanley Cup trophy, 35. So I do hope for the sake of his arm and Bucs fans everywhere, he stays away from tossing that one.

JARRETT: I like that. Super tequila string.

ROMANS: Toss back the shots, not the trophy.

WIRE: Happy Friday.

ROMANS: All right. You, too.

JARRETT: Thanks, Coy. All right. Coming up, the White House says Republicans are using the big lie about the 2020 election to make it harder to vote in 2022.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These laws create obstacle upon obstacle. These laws make it harder for you to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: How Democrats are now ramping up pressure on the Biden administration to protect the right to vote, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)