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CDC: Vaccinated Americans No Longer Need Masks in Most Cases; Officer Injured in Insurrection: GOP's Whitewashing is 'Disgraceful'. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 14, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman. On this NEW DAY, a monumental day in America as the CDC tells Americans they don't need masks in most situations if they're fully vaccinated. We'll answer your questions about that.

[06:00:01]

Plus, a CNN exclusive. A Capitol Police officer joins us live moments from now to respond to lawmakers whitewashing the insurrection that he and his colleagues survived that day.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN uncovers a video from the past, showing how Marjorie Taylor Greene's chase-down of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't the first time.

And there is a tiger missing in Texas. Does the last man seen with him know where he is? We'll ask his lawyer. The man's lawyer, not the tiger's.

KEILAR: A very good morning to viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, May 14, and we begin with a major milestone in the coronavirus pandemic.

The CDC, in a surprise announcement, says if you are fully vaccinated, it is safe to ditch your mask indoors and outdoors, almost everywhere. The decision impacts more than a third of the country that is now fully vaccinated.

BERMAN: President Biden obviously celebrating the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you're fully vaccinated and can take your mask off, you've earned the right to do something that Americans are known for all around the world: greeting others with a smile, with a smile. So it's a good day for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Mask off, right? Many Americans, we are ready for it, but the abrupt shift in guidance has created this new set of questions for parents, employers, and millions of Americans who might still be hesitant to get vaccinated. Joining me now is Dr. Chris Pernell. She's a public health physician

and an American college and preventative medicine fellow.

Dr. Pernell, let's stipulate. I think we were all a little surprised --

DR. CHRIS T. PERNELL, PUBLIC HEALTH PHYSICIAN: Yes.

BERMAN: -- when this announcement came down. I think today many of us have questions for what happens now. How do we approach this going forward? And I just want to go through some of, I think, the basic questions that people are asking this morning.

No. 1, you know, only a third of us are fully vaccinated. So what's our risk, if we are maskless, from the two-thirds of the country that's unvaccinated?

PERNELL: Look, John, these vaccines are very powerful. We know that they're safe, and we know that they're effective. The risk of a fully- vaccinated person having a breakthrough infection is rare, approximately 0.1 percent. Point zero 1 percent, I should say.

And so we shouldn't be very concerned that we're going to get infected because of unvaccinated persons around us, but we should have our whereabouts of where we are. Because there are certain places where you won't be able to be unmasked, even if you're fully vaccinated.

BERMAN: Actually, I'm going to skip ahead to that question, then. Airplanes, why do we still need to wear masks on airplanes?

PERNELL: I think we still need to wear masks on airplanes because you just don't know. And it's not going to be a layperson's job to interrogate and say, Hey, are you fully vaccinated And then there are issues around ventilation. So it's just a best practice, and it makes the most sense whether you're on an airplane, a bus or train, or even in the hospital.

BERMAN: One thing that I think may have been lost yesterday, the euphoria. The surprise euphoria. You know, if you're not vaccinated, if you remain unvaccinated, it's no soup for you. You're still supposed to wear a mask in all the same places, correct?

PERNELL: Definitely. If you're unvaccinated, this is an excellent opportunity to get vaccinated, because you should still be masked. Unless you're outdoors and you're not around others and you're just with people from your household, you're definitely not in a crowded situation, then you're usually wearing a mask.

BERMAN: OK. To be clear, the vaccine is the ticket to losing this thing here. What about kids, right? Especially children younger than 12 years old, now not authorized for vaccines. What risk does this put them in, now that the world might be unmasked, or largely unmasked?

PERNELL: You know, I don't think that the risk is that much different. If most persons who are unvaccinated continue to wear their masks, children are going to have the same baseline level of risk that we've been seeing now. Those infections are rising in people who are unvaccinated.

Approximately about 24 percent of new cases are occurring in kids. But what I've been telling parents who have reached out to me, look, if you're going into a place where there are a lot of people, keep your child masked. That's your best protection.

BERMAN: So this is connected, I think, the discussion we're having, about massive vaccines. Bill Maher, vaccinated, tested positive, canceled this week's taping of his show. A bunch of New York Yankees, vaccinated but tested positive. All of them, as far as I know, are asymptomatic. You know, why is that important in this discussion here?

PERNELL: It's very important, because again, it shows that these vaccines work.

What's the purpose of the vaccine? The purpose of the vaccine is to prevent severe disease. The purpose of the vaccine is to prevent death. and we know that those who do have breakthrough infections, in that 0.01 percent, they're usually asymptomatic. And if they have symptoms, they have mild symptoms. So that should be really encouraging to the public that these vaccines work.

[06:05:17]

BERMAN: See, it's not that they're not working. It's that the vaccines --

PERNELL: They do work.

BERMAN: -- are working. It's keeping them where they are.

And very, very quickly, the one sort of unknown is, though, if you do get infected, even asymptomatically after being vaccinated, what do we know about whether you can pass coronavirus on?

PERNELL: So John, that evidence is really emerging as we speak. We have recent data in that shows that those who potentially do get infected have a reduced rate of being able to transmit that infection.

And why is that true? That's true because they could have anywhere from a 2.8 to a five-fold decrease in their actual viral load. Again, these vaccines work. It's a game-changer.

BERMAN: All good news across the board.

PERNELL: Yes.

BERMAN: Dr. Pernell, thank you.

Like I said, we're all surprised.

PERNELL: Yes.

BERMAN: We're just trying to figure out how we move forward this morning. Thank you -- Brianna.

KEILAR: I am also trying to figure it out, John.

Some Republican lawmakers continue to deny basic facts about the Capitol attack on January 6. They defend the rioters as peaceful patriots who could have been mistaken for tourists and deny that there was even an insurrection.

Their whitewashing is contradicted by what we all saw with our eyes that day and by the testimony of the brave police officers who defended the Capitol.

Here's a reminder of the brutal attack that one of the officers defending the Capitol, Michael Fanone, experienced that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy. Back up.

OFFICER MICHAEL FANONE, CAPITOL POLICE: (SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're better than this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold it. Hold it. I got you. I got you. I got you.

FANONE: I've got kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: He was tased. He was knocked unconscious. And last night, Officer Fanone responded to the GOP attempt to rewrite history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FANONE: Those are lies. And peddling that bullshit is an assault on every officer that fought to defend the Capitol. It's disgraceful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now is Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. He also defended the Capitol very bravely on January 6, and he witnessed the violence and also the racism.

Thank you so much for being with us, Officer Dunn. I just want to make very clear that you're speaking for yourself. You're not speaking on behalf of the department. But when you hear some lawmakers say that the rioters were peaceful patriots, and they deny that there was an insurrection, what's your reaction?

OFFICER HARRY DUNN, CAPITOL POLICE: First of all, good morning. Thanks for having me on.

That -- that audio, Officer Fanone's body cam footage, that was -- it's tough to listen to. I've heard it before. That wasn't the first time, but just that opening, the first thing you hear is "I got one," like they were there with a purpose to hurt people and they had bad intentions.

And for -- it just hurts, like, to believe that people can -- can think that it was a normal day, it was a tour. And it's -- it's hurtful. It's hurtful that they can say things like that when we had officers give their life to make sure that they were safe. It's just hurtful.

BERMAN: We heard Officer Fanone pleading saying, "I have kids, I have kids," trying to save his own life. You've said you didn't think you were going to make it through alive there.

And, again, I don't want to make this about the members of Congress. You work around them and near them. But you know there's a notion out in the country among some people, you know, these people, they weren't out there for harm. I mean, how do you convince them?

DUNN: I can relate to Officer Fanone when it comes to that. I have a daughter. And I had a moment where I didn't think that, A, it was a possibility I might not make it home. So I relate to that.

[06:10:00]

And it is saddening, because you know what you went through. And I feel like that's a lot of time where officers find, like, solitude in each other, is because nobody really understands what we went through, even with thousands of hours of footage of what we went through. It's hard to believe that people still deny what really happened. If you -- the video evidence doesn't show it, I don't know how you can convince people.

This has nothing to do with politics. It was an all-out attack. That had nothing to do with politics. It was just -- it's so frustrating when you -- when you hear people say things like that. Like, how do you look at that tape and see anything else than an assault? I don't get it. I don't understand.

KEILAR: Have -- have you wondered why some people either lie or they don't want to believe what they're seeing with their very eyes? Do you think that they're fooling themselves, or do you think that they know that they are misrepresenting what we can see?

DUNN: I just think in general, not just politicians, people in general have a problem with being wrong. It's OK to say, Hey, I got it wrong, or Hey, I didn't understand it's this way, or My initial thoughts were this. But once the film was released, whoa, I didn't know that.

And when you have footage released and people telling you firsthand experiences what they went through, for you -- for people to contradict that, it -- it's insulting. It's a slap in the face. And it's like -- it's kind of like we're being dismissed as our opinions and what we experienced didn't matter. So it's just frustrating.

But -- and that's the great thing about those heroes that day, myself, my co-workers, Metropolitan Police Department. They are up to -- you know what? If it happened again tomorrow, I guarantee you we would respond the same way and, you know, be heroic in our actions that -- again, so --

BERMAN: Yes. The great thing about you and your colleagues is you save lives. I mean, you saved lives that day. And I think the country is grateful to you. And I think anyone anywhere near that complex should be grateful to you. I certainly hope they are this morning.

I know the last 24 hours have been strange and challenging for you. Have you had a chance to talk to some of your colleagues in law enforcement who were at the Capitol, around the Capitol that day? What's -- what have those discussions been like over the last day?

DUNN: Well, it's interesting, because the last -- like I said, the last 24 hours, you know, people are starting to get over -- not get over it, but be able to work through it better. That's not something that you get over. You're able to work through it. And, you know, spirits are a little higher. The weather's turning nice, you know, so people -- people's spirits are a little higher.

So -- and then that -- that hearing Wednesday comes out, and you're like, you've got to be kidding me. So it just takes people back to, wow, people still believe that -- and around the country, you know. It's not just, you know, certain lawmakers. Or -- it's just citizens around the country believe that.

The people that were there, they thought that they were right. They thought that they were right. So -- and that's what's so dangerous about this society that we live in. When people think that they're right, it kind of like empowers them to do things that we saw on January 6.

But, yes, to answer your question, I have been talking with our co- workers. We talk daily about it. It's hard not to. We work in a crime scene, I guess, you know, and so we see things daily that we're reminded of, of what happened. But we're always -- we've -- we've grown closer, I believe, through this. And it's been -- it's been OK, over the last couple of days. So --

BERMAN: Officer Dunn, stick around, if you would. There's a lot more we want to talk to you about, including, you know, how you handle these emotions, how you process moving forward. And also what you need history to remember and history to know about this. We'll continue the conversation right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:56]

KEILAR: We're back now to continue our conversation with Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn.

And just before the break, Officer Dunn, you were saying that going back to work, which you did the day after the insurrection, that you were working in a crime scene. You know, this is -- you remember things that happened. Obviously, you're in this place every day. What has that been like to work on Capitol Hill since the

insurrection?

DUNN: It's different. The pandemic changed a lot of things. The -- the tourists, the visitors, they're not there. So you're just dealing with basically the essential staff.

But when -- when the insurrection happened, the fence went up and is still up. So it's a reminder when you go into that fence of why it's there.

You walk through the hallways, and some of the windows are -- still have boards over them. There's a window that's still shattered. So it's a -- a vivid reminder daily of going to work, that you just have to -- you're just reminded of it, you know.

[06:20:08]

It's -- it's challenging, like I said, but it's -- we're able to work through it. Like I said, not get over it. I don't want that phrase to ever be put out there, get over it. But be able to work through it. It's -- with the support of the -- a lot of the congressional community, to include the staff, the members, everybody. They've just been very supportive, so -- it gets easier day by day.

BERMAN: I like the fact you point out no one ever -- You don't get over it. You learn to live with it. There's a big difference there.

DUNN: Mm-hmm.

BERMAN: How does -- how do the people trying to rewrite history, how does having that idea thrown out there on a semi-regular basis affect your ability to do your job every day, in some cases, protecting some of the people throwing these notions out there?

DUNN: It doesn't affect it at all. The ability to do my job, it doesn't affect it.

My -- my personal feelings don't interfere with me doing my job, because I believe I do my job right and based on honesty and truth and integrity. So that's what you have to focus on.

So I respectfully disagree with the notion that, you know, it wasn't that bad or, you know, it was a normal tourist day. I experienced it different. And I guess the rest of the country saw, you know, what happened, you know.

So it doesn't affect my ability to do my job. I just continue to do it day in and day out. So --

KEILAR: You've talked, Officer Dunn, about rioters calling you the "N" word over and over on January 6. At one point there was a crowd of -- You described about 20 people who were hurling that slur at you.

How do you think racism, now that you've had a chance to speak with other officers and you're working, day in and day out, with other officers, because it sounds like you are talking about how you're moving through this emotionally.

How do you think racism has compounded the experienced that you and black officers have had to deal with this, the last few months?

DUNN: Racism didn't just appear a few months ago, you know. It's -- everything's made public now. It's been occurring, I guess, since the beginning of time, you know.

Working through it, you have to -- I guess the best way to put it -- I'm thinking about what I'm trying to say. The best way to put it is when you see racism, you have to call it out. You have to confront it. You have to not just brush it to the side or look the other way. When you see something wrong, that's what you have to do. You have to stand up against it.

And the more people that are aware of it -- you know, I'm an optimistic person, so I believe that most people in the world are good. So most people know about something, then they're going to push back against it.

So continue to call it out, speak out against it. People feel emboldened when more people allow things to happen, good or bad.

So the spike in racism that you see, it came from something, you know. There are interpretations of what you think it may have come from, but people felt emboldened to be racist blatantly. But we need more people to speak out against it when it's clear that that's what happened. And you know, and say that it's not OK. Continue to push back against it.

It's not going anywhere, but I guess we want to push the racists down in their little hole, you know, because they're not going away.

BERMAN: Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. Listen, we're so grateful that you continue to do your job. We're so grateful that you continue to tell the truth. I wish everyone took their jobs as seriously and their responsibility as seriously as you do. Thank you for being with us this morning.

DUNN: Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.

BERMAN: Be well.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggesting an investigation into Marjorie Taylor Greene, who chased and shouted down Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We will speak with one of their colleagues.

KEILAR: Plus, we're now being told that Colonial -- the Colonial Pipeline company did pay the hackers ransom, but at what cost?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:29:02]

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): This is beneath the dignity of a person serving in the Congress of the United States, and is a cause for trauma and fear among members, especially on the heels of an insurrection on which the majority -- which the majority in the -- excuse me, the minority in the committee yesterday denied ever happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggesting the House Ethics Committee should look into Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for her alleged verbal assault of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the halls of the U.S. Capitol complex.

A since-deleted Facebook live post from 2019 preserved by CNN's K-file shows this week's incident isn't actually the first time that Greene has targeted Ocasio-Cortez. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I'm an American citizen. I pay your salary through the taxes that you collect from me through the IRS.

I'm a woman. I'm a female business owner, and I'm proud to be an American woman. And I do not support your socialist policies.