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Meghan: Palace Raised Concerns About Son's Skin Color; CDC Unveils Guidelines For Americans Who Are Fully Vaccinated; White House COVID Team: Need Equitable Vaccine Distribution To End Pandemic; Senate Changes To COVID-19 Rescue Package Will Test Democratic Unity In The House; Cuomo Says He Won't Resign As More Allegations Surface. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired March 08, 2021 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is good to see you. And I'll talk to you very soon. I really appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: If you know someone who needs help, this is always an opportunity to - to the National Suicide Prevention lifeline is there 1-800-273-8255. Thank you so much for joining us today. I'm Kate Bolduan. John King picks up from here.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Hello to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Welcome to Inside Politics. I'm John King in Washington. Thank you for sharing a very busy Monday with us.

President Biden sits one step away now from a mammoth victory and evidence he says the government can still work. The House votes tomorrow on the Senate version of the Biden COVID rescue plan. Stimulus checks guaranteed income if you have children and$300 weekly jobless benefits.

It expands the federal safety net and will cost nearly 2 trillion. New York Governor digs in; two former aides say Andrew Cuomo harassed them. The top two Democrats in New York's legislature say he should quit. But the Governor says no.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Legislators who suggest that I resigned because of accusations that made -- are made against me. I was elected by the people to the state. I wasn't elected by politicians. I'm not going to resign because of allegations. No, there is no way I resign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Up first though major new information in the COVID pandemic fights. Just last hour, the CDC offering a public health playbook for Americans who have received their COVID vaccine, a list you might say of what they can do safely and what they can't. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We would like to give the opportunity for vaccinated grandparents to visit their children and grandchildren who are healthy and who are local but our travel guidance currently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Dr. Wale sky they're laying out the new guidelines and trying to strike the balance because of learning better, but some butts we'll get to the new CDC guidelines in just a second. But first let's lay the state of play out before you if you will.

16 states holding steady that's the base 30 states trending down that's the green 30 states trending down fewer new COVID infections right now compared to last week. You see four states, that's the orange trending up more new COVID infections, essentially a plateau in the country, more states coming down from a high point.

When you average it all out this is what it looks like. Well down, go back to the beginning of the year. You see the seven day moving average. That's the red line. Well down Sunday actually down below 50,000, 40,340 new infections reported.

But all the experts on team Biden and in the public health sphere say look at that. That's not what you want. You want it coming down. We have this flat line plateau. Let's hope this is a good number off of the numbers go down on weekends hope it continues to go down with the plateau has been just above 50,000 cases for well over a week now.

That's what concerns the CDC and other public health experts on team Biden. If you look at the vaccine map here the percent of Americans fully vaccinated by state seven states in double digit, seven states reporting at least 10 percent.

You see North Dakota sent Alaska at 14 percent only 7 percent fully vaccine the other states trying to play catch up. Is that plays out? If you look at it here 18 percent of Americans partially vaccinated, just shy of 10 percent fully vaccinated.

These numbers are changing every day, changing every day because the administration has done in recent days. A good job ramping things up Sunday 2.4 million shots in arm Saturday, nearly 3 million shots in arm the average right now 2.2 million, the administration trying to bring this up. That's why this guidance was as important as more Americans get their vaccines. Take a look at this.

You now have 30 -- almost 31 million Americans fully vaccinated there in 29 million confirmed cases over the last year. With that many Americans already vaccinated the CDC guidelines are essential. Dr. Walensky saying yes, you get together in small groups with your friends if they've been vaccinated too. But she says the government still needs to strike a balance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. WALENSKY: Our guidance must be -- must balance the risk to people who have been fully vaccinated. The risks to those who have been and the impact on the larger community transmission of when we all recognize to be the overall benefits of resuming everyday activities and getting back to something to some of the things we love in life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Let's bring in our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to help us walk through these new guidelines. Elizabeth long waited what do they tell us?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's take a look at what they say John. This is addressed to people who are fully vaccinated. So first, let's define what that is. You are fully vaccinated if you are two weeks out after your first -- after your shot with Johnson & Johnson which is one shot or two weeks out after your second dose of Moderna and Pfizer.

So from there on out, you are considered fully vaccinated. So here's what the CDC has to say. If you're fully vaccinated and you're indoors, there is no need for mass or social distancing, if everyone there is fully vaccinated.

[12:05:00]

COHEN: So in other words, you can be in a room with people who are fully vaccinated and not were master distance, so do social distancing. But if some of those people are unvaccinated, they have to be from one household and at low risk for severe COVID-19.

So let's take a look at what else the CDC has to say. They've tested or quarantine if you've been fully vaccinated and you're exposed long as you're asymptomatic. Also if you're fully vaccinated, you should wear masks and keep distance in public and avoid medium and large size gatherings.

So John, this is a lot of information. But let me sort of bottom line it here. If you're fully vaccinated and let's say your mother is or your grandmother or some other relative who you've just really wanted to see for the past year, you can go and hug them because you are both fully vaccinated.

Now if the other party is unvaccinated, you're vaccinated but the other people are unvaccinated. Then there are some ground rules that need to be followed. But you know this isn't everything. This isn't saying go back to 2019. But this is a huge step forward.

You can if you're fully vaccinated and other people are fully vaccinated, you can be with each other. You don't need to wear a mask. You don't need to do social distancing. John?

KING: For that 9 percent of the number grows by the day 9 percent, 9.4 percent and counting a few steps back toward relative normalcy. Elizabeth Cohen grateful for the - further. Now with us to share her expertise and insights is Emergency Medicine Physician Dr. Uche Blackstock. She's also Yahoo Medical News Contributor of Advancing Health Equity.

Dr. Blackstock, it's great to see you again, let's just start with what the CDC just laid out. Dr. Walensky says it's a balance. As Elizabeth just noted, it is some normalcy for people who've been fully vaccinated. A chance to sit around close with your friends. A chance to hug your grandchildren. Perhaps what strikes you most about them?

DR. UCHE BLACKSTOCK, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Well I think that these early guidelines and remember, they are early because we still are waiting for more conclusive evidence about whether or not vaccines help with transmission of infection that they are incredibly encouraging.

I have to admit, I felt a little bit emotional when I saw that they were published. But I think that especially as you mentioned for older individuals who are looking to socialize and get back together with their family, these guidelines are incredibly meaningful.

There are a few caveats. As Dr. Walensky mentioned, they are still discouraging non essential travel. So we have to think about those grandparents who are not local, but they are vaccinated and know whether or not families will be following these guidelines.

KING: Alright and as we continue this, as - to the question, you hear the optimism. People who have their vaccines now have at least some roadmap to where to go. You see the case count plateauing, but down significantly from the beginning of the year. More vaccines getting out there which leads to some optimism.

But then there are those saying, wait a minute because they've watched Europe's experience with these variants. I want you to listen here to Dr. Michael Osterholm. He says yes, we're in a better place now. But he's worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Four weeks ago, the b 117 variants went up about one to 4 percent of the viruses we were seeing in communities across the country. Today it's percent mark, you'll see cases search.

So right now we do have to keep America as safe as we can from this virus by not letting up on any of the public health measures we've taken. And we need to get people vaccinated as quickly as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Do you share that concern that the variants do pose the risk of a fourth wave?

BLACKSTOCK: I totally agree. I think we are at another very critical time in this pandemic. You know we even though cases have plateaued, they are still quite high. And then we have the variants on the loose and we only have about 10 percent of the population that is fully vaccinated. And so I think that no lifting restrictions as has been done in Texas

and Mississippi at a time like this is quite sensitive. And we really need to think about keeping those restrictions in place until we have case counts coming down for a significant amount of time and until we have a significant amount of the population that has been fully vaccinated.

KING: You mentioned vaccinations. You see the numbers from the weekend, nearly 3 million on Saturday. 2.4 million I think was the number on Sunday. So the administration is doing a better job now that has a third vaccine that helps to getting it.

But one of the frustrating things that an issue you pay attention to closely we've talked about before is this equity question. Dr. Nunez Smith at the White House briefing just last hour says yes, we are doing a better job. But she again voiced frustration with the quality of the reporting listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARCELLA NUNEZ-SMITH, COVID-19 HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCE CHAIR: We only have race ethnicity data for 53 percent of those who have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This varies widely among the states, as you can see on the next slide.

[12:10:00]

DR. NUNEZ-SMITH: And we're not getting from individuals, from providers and from states the critical information about who has access to these three life saving vaccines that need to be equitably distributed across our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We have talked about this issue for some time. You now have in the new administration, she's the equity coordinator. As part of the COVID task force, they have made it a priority. Why is it? Where, I guess, let me ask it this way. Where is the breakdown that is not doing their job and sending in the right data so that the White House knows and the people know?

BLACKSTOCK: So there's a CDC reporting form that asks for racial and ethnic demographic data among many other different criteria that states must submit and should be reporting. I think that there is an education component to this. We need health facilities that are vaccinating people to understand the importance of ethnic demographic data.

If we don't have that data, we cannot target outreach and access efforts. And unfortunately, what will happen is these inequities that we've seen throughout the pandemic may even worsen and be exacerbated.

So collecting this data is crucial and we need to be able to communicate that to the states to their public health departments as well as healthcare professionals and facilities that are vaccinating the public. KING: I hope just your being here helps communicate that message to a

degree. Dr. Nunez Smith is certainly on top of a doctor Dr. Uche Blackstock grateful as always for your important insights.

BLACKSTOCK: Thank you.

KING: Appreciate it. Thank you. Up next for us President Biden is on the verge of a giant win and Americans struggling in the COVID economy are close to getting some new help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:00]

KING: Tomorrow one final hurdle for the new president's COVID rescue package. The Biden $1.9 trillion plan heads back to the House. That after a few Senate changes, progressives don't like the alterations include lowering the number of Americans who will get checks in the mail chopping a weekly unemployment benefit by $100 and most notably stripping out a minimum wage hike entirely.

But this is an important, but the package still represents a dramatic expansion of a federal safety net. And a key House progressive this morning says the good far outweighs the bad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): It's a good bill; it gets checks into the hands of the American people. The most important part of it is it's going to give every working class and middle class family a $3,000 check for every child that they have.

That is an extraordinary policy that progressives have been pushing for decades now where there's a disappointment that the minimum wage increase wasn't in there. It should have been in there, we're going to continue to fight. But overall, it's a good strong bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: With us to share their reporting and their insights CNN's Phil Mattingly and Julie Pace of the Associated Press. Julie let me start with you on the point that Congressman Ro Khanna was making there. We focused as we should on the fights if you will, the skirmishes and there were several within the Democratic Party on this one.

However when you look at this Senate bill that the House will vote on tomorrow and then sent to the president this week. It is a dramatic expansion of the government role across the board not just in the COVID relief in the stimulus --. But the federal safety that gets much wider here. It is a giant liberal progressive achievement.

JULIE PACE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ASSOCIATED PRESS: It absolutely is. It has been years since we have seen this kind of move by Congress by the federal government to expand the social safety net in so many different areas. It's not just the direct checks that we're seeing go to millions of Americans through this package. It is, as the Congressman said, a child care tax credit. We haven't

seen something like this essentially paying people directly to help with their childcare. We also have seen this sort of stealthy expansion of federal subsidies for Obamacare as part of this bill.

And I think as Americans learn more about it, they're going to see more and more of these provisions. Democrats are arguing that this is what government can do if you actually pull the levers of it what the federal government can do to help people.

Republicans will argue that this is overreach, that this is Democrats trying to jam in some of the things they've been seeking for a long time under the guise of a pandemic; really that's the politics of it. But yeah, a lot of Americans are going to see more money coming into their pockets in the coming months.

KING: And its interesting Phil, you cover the White House now. But you spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill. When you hear Congressmen kind of -- the liberals don't negotiate with themselves during the process here. So they were complaining about some of these changes.

But they know in the end, they're getting a big sweeping bill with many of their priorities, just some of the changes. It does tighten income eligibility for direct payments about 7 million families impacted by that, that the federal minimum wage debate will live for another day. It's not in this bill.

$300 weekly jobless benefits instead of 401, one of the ways to win progressive votes now that goes back to the House was the first 10,200 of those benefit payments will be tax free if you make 150,000 or less a year. There's no doubt what happens in the House, I assume. And at the White House they think there'll be a signing ceremony this week.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They think there'll be a signing ceremony as soon as Tuesday they believe the House is on track. They're saying they're not taking anything for granted. But I think the reality here is when you hear from somebody like Congressman Rho Khanna, you hear Senator Bernie Sanders came out and was touting this thing.

This was one of the biggest progressive wins in recent memory. They feel very good about where they are. And I think you need to kind of move from the micro to the macro. And I think that's what's happened over the course of the last 72 hours or so.

On the micro level, obviously progressives were very frustrated about some of the changes that were made to ensure Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat; the Moderate was willing to vote for this.

But in the big picture you know, I think one of the biggest things I covered the kind of the creation of this to now, a couple pieces that really stick out to me. One, Joe Biden proposed six days before he took office, a $1.9 trillion plan with several of these key components.

Joe Biden in about 24 to 36 hours is going to sign into law, a $1.9 trillion plan with several crucial components that I don't think anybody you've covered the legislative process for a long time I have as well. The idea if the White House throw something on the table and it virtually goes unchanged through both chambers of Congress in to the president's desk is not something that happens very often.

[12:20:00]

MATTINGLY: And I think the broader picture here, when you talk to both conservative to moderate and progressive is a recognition of just how much this will do. And just how tangible these benefits are to individuals. This isn't, you know, a tax rebate that maybe you figure out six months down the line or maybe you see it in your taxes next April.

These are things that are going to show up in the mail in people's hands, direct checks, child tax credit all of these different, different ways that people are actually going to see this in their hands.

And that's such a departure from the way a lot of aid has been delivered over the course of the last decade or so.

KING: And Julie, this is a piece of it that is in the previous segment, we talked about the public health challenge and the vaccine ramp up. And what happens there the new CDC guidelines this is the economic piece if you will of the president's COVID response here.

If you look at the ABC News/IPSOS poll 68 percent, 68 percent approve of Joe Biden's handling President Biden's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. That is a big number to start your presidency. We're at day 48 today.

Thursday night, the White House says the president will deliver a primetime address essentially marking one year of COVID lock down. At the moment he's in a position of strength. But what is the challenge as you go forward?

PACE: Well absolutely, he is starting at a position of strength. We have seen vaccine rollout ramping up; we are seeing the numbers of cases starting to come down. And now we're seeing passage of this bill. I think there are a couple of challenges for Biden going forward.

Some of this will be on just his agenda after he gets through this crucial moment. Everything that he wants to do next, whether it's a big infrastructure package, whether it's work on immigration, climate change, that all gets harder in part because of the rules of the Senate.

And we're going to be talking a lot about the filibuster coming down in the next couple of weeks here. Everything gets a little bit harder because of these really narrow margins that he has when it comes to democratic control in Congress.

And then there of course is the future of the pandemic. We are -- we're in this moment as public health experts say where we are waiting to see where we are is the vaccine rollout going to outpace questions about some of these new variants and the potential for another spike.

And so just because we are in a good place right now and Biden is in a good place right now doesn't necessarily mean that we will be in that same place in the next couple of weeks or months on the pandemic. So as much as they're celebrating at the White House, the progress that they're making so far, they're very much aware that they are not out of the - yet.

KING: Right. Day 100 will tell us more about that, especially the intersection if you will of the variants of the vaccine rollout and who wins the race if you will. But to the point you know, here Julie was just making a very important point here, Washington, no Republican votes.

Out in the country 68 percent support for his handling of the pandemic that tells you a lot of Republicans are supporting the president's bigger big picture pandemic response so far. They may have issues within the details.

Celinda Lake, the Veteran Democratic Pollster has this take on this in the Washington Post yesterday. Biden style and his persona have allowed him to be heard as pragmatic on policies that if articulated by other people with sound ideological just by temperament and culture and background, Joe Biden seems less ideological and more pragmatic.

Do they view it that way at the White House in that you're not viewed as this partisan liberal, you're not identified that way? Keep it because that's a brand that helps.

MATTINGLY: Yes and it's also more importantly viewed on the hill that way. There's moderate Senator, somebody wrote about this, this weekend. But I've heard it as well, moderate Senators joke that the moderate position is wherever Joe Biden is right now.

It doesn't matter what he's pushing. So long as Joe Biden is there they feel comfortable that they're in a good place in terms of where it is ideologically right now. That matters going forward that presents space. Space not just for moderate Democrats but potentially for future deals ahead. Right now we'll see obviously that didn't work out the first time around.

KING: Didn't work out the first time around. We will see Phil is going to stay with us. Julie Pace grateful for the reporting and insights. We're going to keep track of these things as we meet forward. Up next for us two new allegations but the same answer from Governor Andrew Cuomo. He says he will not resign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:00]

KING: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's weekend message is clear. He will not resign that even as the number of women who say he harassed them grows. That number now stands at five after two new accusations this weekend. Analysts a former Cuomo aide told The Wall Street Journal she

requested a transfer after the Governor called her sweetheart touched her lower back at a reception and kissed her hand inside the workplace. A contingent of former Cuomo aides and advisers paint the Governor's Albany operation as "toxic" were "searing verbal attacks are routine".

And the Governor frequently wades into the dating lives of younger staffers. The New York Governor's team says this as reported in The Washington Post is in their words "made up" that Cuomo wants some of female staffer during his time leading the housing department here in Washington in the Obama administration.

That staffer Karen Hinton to his hotel room where she says Cuomo hugged her too tight, too long, too intimate. Two top New York state lawmakers say the Governor should leave or at least consider leaving. Cuomo says he deserves due process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: There is some legislators who suggest that I resigned because of accusations that made are made against me. The -- I was elected by the people of the state. I wasn't elected by politicians. I'm not going to resign because of allegations. The premise of resigning because of allegations is actually anti democratic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Joining our conversation our CNN Legal Analyst Anne Milgram and POLITICO's Sean Groenewald. And let me start with you. When you hear these democratic legislators and let me bring two of them up on the screen here.

[12:30:00]