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Pharmaceutical Company, Pfizer Announces Results Of Coronavirus Vaccine Trial; Stock Market Up On News Of Vaccine Trial Results; Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) Is Interviewed On Joe Biden Winning Presidential Election; Several Key Battleground States Still Counting Votes. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 09, 2020 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Also new this morning, President-elect Joe Biden naming his coronavirus advisory board. The chairs are former surgeon general Vivek Murthy, former FDA commissioner David Kessler, and Yale Doctor Marcella Nunez-Smith. Also on the list, Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Dr. Celine Gounder, and Michael Osterholm. You probably have seen them on CNN throughout this pandemic. Also Dr. Rick Bright, that's the whistleblower who sounded the alarm about the Trump administration's pandemic response.

But we do begin right now with the breaking news from Pfizer. CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, what do we know about this?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, this is indeed a momentous day. We've been waiting for these results, and now the first set is here. This is from Pfizer, one of the first to begin their clinical trials, and let's take a look at what they found. They gave this vaccine to more than 40,000 people, and then they saw who got COVID and who didn't.

What they found is that 94 out of those tens of thousands of people actually did get COVID, but when they looked at them, they said wow, less than 10 percent of them got the vaccine, and more than 90 percent of them got the placebo. So more than 90 percent of those people got the placebo, that's good news. That means that the vaccine protected those people.

Now they haven't yet applied to the Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization. They're going to wait until after next week. That's because some more safety data has come in. We haven't heard any safety concerns with this vaccine, so we'll be interested to see what they learn next week.

Now, my friend and colleague Dr. Sanjay Gupta is interviewing the CEO of Pfizer right now, and so we'll learn more from him later what Dr. Bourla had to say.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Elizabeth, keep us posted. This news, rocket fuel on Wall Street. Just an incredible response, DOW futures are soaring upon this news, up more than 1,500 points. CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans watching very closely. Romans?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The five percent move, that is a big move for one day, and it shows you the optimism here that there could be a post-COVID economy again. When you look at the kind of names, John, that are rallying this morning, restaurant companies, travel, hospitality, you look at carnival cruise lines, for example, up 18 percent, Disney, which makes movies and has theme parks also up strongly.

So you're seeing a lot of energy in some of the most beaten down areas of the stock market, because COVID really decimated so many aspects of our life. A vaccine is critical, just critical to getting things back to a new kind of normal.

Now even before these numbers came out from Pfizer, this projection from Pfizer, you have stocks up 400 points and the DOW futures, because there was this feeling that election uncertainty was behind us. You put in good news about a virus and something that could help contain this disease, especially at a time when these numbers are record numbers in terms of the spread of this virus in the United States, this is a really crucial, crucial time for this news, and the stock markets are responding accordingly.

CAMEROTA: Christine, thank you.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very, very much.

OK, President-elect Joe Biden has just announced this morning the group of public health experts that will make up his coronavirus advisory board. Joining us now to talk about this and so much more we have Democratic House Majority Whip and Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina.

Good morning, Congressman.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC), HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: So I'm sure you're just hearing the breaking news, as we have been covering this morning on NEW DAY, and that is that Pfizer thinks that it has very promising data, and that it has a more effective vaccine, even up to 90 percent effective, than we had known they would have at this point. And so when you see what President- elect Joe Biden is doing in terms of his coronavirus advisory board and this news, but you know that President Trump is still in that office for two more months, what does this mean for the country?

CLYBURN: Well, this is great news. This is what science is all about, and to have this news come from one of our leading pharmaceutical people, right at the time the president-elect has appointed his board, or advisory committee, whatever they're calling it, a group of scientists who can work with Pfizer to make sure that not only do we get 90 percent, even up to 95 or 99 percent, but you'll also start working on how to get this thing to market, how to make sure that it's not just efficient and effective, but equitable. I've been warning people that when you start talking about coming up

with a vaccine, you've got to make sure not just that it's safe, but then you've got to work on how you get it distributed, how you prioritize that. And that's why you need people sitting around the table like this group the president-elect has just put together to work on that.

[08:05:06]

Because I tell people all the time, I remember the polio vaccine, and there were two of them. One was the shot in the arm, that was a soft vaccine, and then there was the little drop of serum on a lump of sugar. That was the Sabin vaccine. I need not tell you which community got the shot in the arm and which community got the lump of sugar. So if that's how you have to work on these things, to make sure that we are equitable as well as efficient and effective.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the big picture of what's happening and the transition, and if there are impediments to the transition. You, of course, are seen as being so instrumental in getting Joe Biden the Democratic nomination, and it follows his win, I would say. And so have you ah a chance to talk to President-elect Joe Biden?

CLYBURN: No, I have not taken an opportunity to talk to him. I did talk to him the night. I had not talked to him since. I have talked to people on the transition. I have talked to staff people. I am sensitive. Before I came to Congress, I spent four years on the staff of South Carolina governor, and I don't bother the principle with all the stuff that I'm thinking. I go to the transition people, I'll let them know what my thoughts are, and leave it up to them, because I think it's unfair to bother the principle with mundane things like what I make, that.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: All right, but when you say you did talk to him on the night, do you mean, Tuesday night, election night, or do you mean Saturday night after it was called? Because I would imagine that his mood was different on those two nights.

CLYBURN: I talked to him Tuesday night. I avoided talking to him Saturday night.

CAMEROTA: And what was the mood on Tuesday night? What was your mood and his?

CLYBURN: His was a little more upbeat than mine, because I guess he had more information than I had. I was looking at the results, and I saw Pennsylvania, and we were, what, 700,000 votes down in Pennsylvania. I didn't have the information as to where it was coming from, so I was a little bit divided Tuesday night, because I saw my friend and former employee Jaime Harrison going down to significant defeat.

And so I was not in a good mood to talk on Tuesday night, to say how much I appreciated the campaign that he conducted, trying to get people back together, lowering the temperature, so to speak, and really having a very positive campaign. So that's what we talked about. But he seemed to be a little more upbeat than I was.

CAMEROTA: And then where were you on Saturday morning, when you heard the news that the networks had called it?

CLYBURN: I hate to tell you this, because I was in the same place, though a different venue, that Donald Trump was. I was on the golf course.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Playing together, no doubt.

CLYBURN: No, I wasn't playing with him. I was here in South Carolina, and playing with a group of 12 people that I usually get with on the weekends. I called them my sounding boards. These are people, some retired, some still actively working, they are all from rural South Carolina, except for two. And I'll talk to them about their feelings. And so we went out to play, and I got to the 15th hole. And all of a sudden I felt this presence coming upon me, and it was the people from our security detail telling me that I needed to get off the course and get home.

CAMEROTA: Wow. Wow, that's pretty dramatic, congressman.

CLYBURN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And so, look, President Trump is not conceding, and the people around him are saying that he should fight on. And the real world consequences of that, it sounds like, are that some things in government are not happening that would normally happen. For instance, the GSA administrator has not yet signed the paperwork that would officially begin the transition to open up funding and equipment and office space and things like that for the Biden transition team. And so what do you make of that? Is that going to happen? And what if she never signs it?

CLYBURN: Well, this is a classic example of why people ought to be very, very careful when we're trying to look for leadership. Leadership has got to be about more than soundbites. It's got to be about more than who can yell the loudest, who can insult the most.

[08:10:04]

It's got to be about determining what direction the country needs to go in, and really being able to reach out to people on all sides, because if this president was really concerned about this country, and its people, he would use the Al Gore example, or the George H. W. Bush example. Both these men suffered disappointing losses, one a Republican, one a Democrat. But both of them conceded in the way that would make all of us proud. I was really hurt over Florida 2000 and Al Gore. I was very active in that campaign. But they showed us the way to do it.

And so I would hope, though I would not hold my breath, that the president would come around to a system of transition, because this transition will be very, very important when it comes to saving lives and really fending off this virus and really getting this economy back on track. The election is over. Put it behind us, and let's go forward and continue this pursuit toward a more perfect union.

CAMEROTA: OK, and last, very quickly, once your security detail got you off the golf course, and said you had to go back, what was your response when you heard the news that it was called for Joe Biden?

CLYBURN: Well, I started yelling at people as I drove off the course. I was seeing people behind me going the wrong way down the fairway, you can imagine them look at me rather aghast. And I started throwing up victory signs saying it's over. It's over. Joe Biden is going to be their president-elect, and that was it. I guess some of them are still worried whether I made them miss their next shots.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Congressman James Clyburn, a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you very much for being on NEW DAY.

CLYBURN: Thank you very much for having me.

CAMEROTA: Georgia's days as a 2020 battleground are not over yet. The latest on a possible recount and runoff, and the runoff elections that could tip the balance of power in the Senate. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:06]

BERMAN: So as of this morning, President-elect Joe Biden has expanded his lead in Pennsylvania and Georgia, also, Nevada; the race tightening some in Arizona. Two U.S. Senate races in Georgia likely headed for a runoff that does put control of the Senate on the line.

Joining me now is the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, Republican Geoff Duncan, Lieutenant Governor, thanks so much for being with us. You've become a friend of the show. We always appreciate your time.

LT. GOV. GEOFF DUNCAN (R-GA): Glad to here.

BERMAN: Listen, as you well know, no Democrat has won in Georgia, no Democratic presidential candidate since 1992. Joe Biden leads there now by 10,000 votes. How did this happen?

DUNCAN: Well, we're in the midst of the election process, like every other state is right now making sure that we count every legal ballot, and the counties will individually certify later this week, and then the state will be able to take on that final certification.

So we'll have plenty of time to digest exactly what the presidential election looked like here. Certainly proud of the efforts that we've made in the General Assembly and being able to hold Republican majorities in both the State Senate and the State House. BERMAN: Well, why was -- I'm not asking you to opine on something

that's uncertain. I mean, either Joe Biden won Georgia or somehow a recount will overturn it. Either way, he did much better than the Democrats have since 1992. So my question to you is why?

DUNCAN: Well, certainly we'll have to take some time to figure that out. You know, we're going to continue to push forward here in Georgia. And like I said, we're going to go through the election process and make sure that every legal vote is counted.

But also, you know, I think, you know, as you mentioned in the lead in, we've got a huge, huge opportunity in front of us to make sure that we keep Republican control in the U.S. Senate and we've got our hands full over the next two months to make sure that we get Senator Loeffler and Senator Perdue back in Washington, D.C. to represent not just us, but the entire conservative movement across this country.

BERMAN: And we'll talk about the Senate race in just a second. Gabriel Sterling, who is a Republican voting systems manager of Georgia says, quote, "We're not seeing any widespread irregularities in terms of the vote counting there." What reason you have to doubt that?

DUNCAN: Yes, so my offices has been in close communication with the Secretary of State's Office and the Attorney General's Office and made sure that if there is any sort of systemic examples of fraud or voter, you know, disenfranchisement across the voting base, to let us know.

We've not had any sort of credible incidents raised to our level yet, and so we'll continue to make sure that the opportunity to make sure every legal ballot is counted is there, but you know, at this point, we've not seen any sort of credible examples.

BERMAN: That's interesting, and just to be clear, I think everyone on earth agrees that they want every legal ballot counted and no one wants any illegal ballots counted.

DUNCAN: That's absolutely right.

BERMAN: Every single American wants that. But the question is, and I think you've just said this, clearly, and I'll just ask you to say it again, you haven't seen any evidence of any widespread systemic voter fraud or irregularities?

DUNCAN: We've not seen any get to our office yet, and certainly, we'll make sure that every sort of legal opportunity to make sure that that's -- you know, if there's an issue out there, we want to make sure we understand it, investigate it, and be able to make sure that we were able to rectify it.

BERMAN: But there hasn't been any, correct?

DUNCAN: We've not had any get to our office yet.

BERMAN: You've been in the political field for a while now, I've covered it for -- I am older than I like to admit, for a long time. 25 years, I've never seen an election where the margin is 10,000 overturned in a recount. Recounts, absolutely within Georgia law can be requested by a campaign if it is less than 0.5 percent, and it looks like that is where this is headed.

But have you ever seen an election change -- the results change in a recount where the margin was 10,000 votes?

DUNCAN: I'm relatively new to politics also. And so, I have not seen any examples of that. But certainly, I don't have a long history in politics to know any other examples.

BERMAN: What will you need to see -- what evidence will you need to the point when you will start cooperating with the Biden transition team? Will you call for instance, as we sit here today, is Joe Biden the President-elect of the United States?

[08:20:03]

DUNCAN: So my job is to make sure that we follow the letter of the law here in Georgia. All of that other stuff is above my paygrade. My job is to make sure we follow the letter of the law and as the counties certify later this week, and then get to the state level, make sure that we certify the election and in the winner is the winner, John.

It is what it is and make sure that like I said, every legal vote is counted and accounted for and then we'll determine a winner and move forward. And you know what, this is America. We have so many great days in front of us.

I'm certainly glad to hear the news that it looks like there's some movement on the coronavirus vaccine. There are some great days in front of us here, and not only here in Georgia, but here in this country and we're going to continue to work hard.

And like I said earlier, we're going to focus a lot of attention over the next two months making sure that we create the firewall in the Senate to make sure that we are able to, you know, make sure that if there is any sort of bad ideas that floated out of any sort of whether it be the White House or the House or whatnot, that we make sure we have conservative values represented in the Senate.

So I'm going to work hard for Kelly Loeffler. I'm going to work hard for David Perdue over the next two months.

BERMAN: So again, you are looking to an extent to nationalize these Senate runoffs in Georgia, assuming it sounds like that you think Joe Biden will be elected, you're hoping that these two senators will serve as a counterweight to that?

DUNCAN: Well, certainly, you know, we're going to work hard here in Georgia. I wish it wasn't a nationalized election, right? But certainly, it's going to be regardless of what the outcome of the election was going to be for the President. This was going to be a national story, because the balance of power for the Senate essentially hangs on these two seats.

We're going to work hard. I have gotten to personally know Senator Loeffler and Senator Perdue. They are both business-minded folks. I know that they are both there to make sure that we have a tax environment that's very, very low and very cooperative towards small business owners and individuals, making sure that you know, we work hard towards keeping low regulatory environments on businesses, making sure that we have a Supreme Court that continues to stay the way I believe the founding fathers really structured it.

These are good folks, and they're going to work hard, and I'm anxious to work hard for them.

BERMAN: I appreciate your time this morning, sir. Just one quick last question. You said you haven't seen any evidence of irregularity or fraud. Given that, should people be making these claims at a national level without the evidence?

DUNCAN: Certainly, everybody has that right to make sure that their opinion is heard. And certainly, we're here and available for anybody who does have a credible example of some sort of fraud to bring it forward.

We've got the Secretary of State's Office, the Attorney General's Office. We have every reason to listen to those claims and to investigate them, and so, if something arises in the next few days, then certainly we want to make sure we investigate that and that's what our job is.

BERMAN: But so far as you said, nothing.

All right, Lieutenant Governor, thanks so much for being with us. We always appreciate your time.

DUNCAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: As the Lieutenant Governor was just talking about, there is breaking news on the race for a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta just spoke with the CEO of Pfizer about the big news, 90 percent effective rate on this vaccine so far. The market you can see there already responded.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:55]

CAMEROTA: We do have breaking news. Pfizer, announcing that early data from its human vaccine trial has shown it to be more than 90 percent effective.

Dow futures soaring to record territory up more than 1,500 right now ahead of the market open on that news. And CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta just talked to Pfizer's CEO. Sanjay, tell us the headlines.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know it is sort of as described, you know, so Albert Bourla is the CEO of Pfizer and it is important to remember that even the CEO of the company, nobody at the company had seen this data, even heard about the data until yesterday.

So he is the CEO, he gets a call around 2:00 p.m. yesterday, he knew he was going to get a call because this independent committee un- blinded the data around 11 o'clock in the morning yesterday, and within three hours, they basically looked at it and said, "This appears to be 90 percent effective."

And what that means is they have two groups. They have a placebo group and a vaccinated group and they were finding much higher rates of infections in the placebo group and when you looked at the data and crunched it, it said it was about 90 percent -- actually, Mr. Bourla said more than 90 percent effective, although again, he hasn't seen the data. This is a really interesting process. Nobody has seen it except for this independent committee.

So what happens now is that there's a few more weeks that go by to get to the two-month mark of the vaccination to ensure that there is not safety concerns. You'll remember, we had a lot of discussions about that that would place it at the third or fourth week of November.

But I did ask, you know, we did talk about a variety things. First of all, 90 percent effective, what does that really mean? I asked him about it and here is how he framed it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: Ninety percent is a game changer, 90 percent, now you're hoping to have a tool in your war against this pandemic that could be significantly effective.

How long this protection will last is something that we don't know right now. But it is part of the objectives of this study. We will follow up with the 44,000 people that they received -- they are part of this study for two years. And during this follow up, obviously, we will be looking also the durability of the immune responses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So a couple of points in there, just to explain a little bit first of all, 90 percent protection, again, that no matter how you cut it, that is terrific news.

I think one of the big questions is 90 percent effective at preventing people from getting infected. Is it also 90 percent effective at preventing people from getting serious disease, meaning, you know, does it prevent milder or more moderate infections? Or does it prevent the serious infections that lead to serious COVID disease?

He doesn't know -- he didn't really know the answer to that and that we will get a better idea when the when the data is un-blinded.

Also, you know this question we've talked about so many times on your program, how long does it last? Right? We know if somebody gets infected, they may have immunity for several months, but still, it is a little bit of a question mark.

How about with the vaccine? Is this going to be like a yearly thing of two shots? Again, he doesn't know. He says, they are going to follow these patients for a couple of years.

[08:30:12]