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New Day

Internal CDC Document Sounds Alarm on Variant's Deadly Threat; Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) January 6th Vote Sparks Backlash in Trump Country; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Ends Up Owning Himself Instead of the Libs in Tweet. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 30, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:02]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: He laughs as if to say, commoner. He laughs in a manner of a person who has inherited all his umbrellas.

His royal highness, the prince of Wales, the duke of Cornwall, the duke of Rothesay, his umbrella prowess a genetic gift.

Now, I do know he has other issues. I've seen every season of the The Crown but not judging by this an umbrella issue. So, why not help the other guy out?

Yes, the prime minister is bad at umbrellas, maybe even incompetent, but at least it is elected incompetence. And that is something to be proud of, I guess.

By the way, the forecast for London rain.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEW DAY: That was so funny, but why are you so anti-British comedy? I mean, we're watching it play out right there like a Mr. Bean episode.

BERMAN: I'm not anti. I just -- they're not known for their comedy.

KEILAR: Well, maybe now they are. I mean, that was -- also, you pointed out the home minister, she was like the funniest part of all of that to me because she's watching -- I mean, she's watching it from the beginning like she knows what's coming, right?

BERMAN: She's like, no, no. I'm not being part of this at all. I have a future. I want a future in politics.

KEILAR: It's amazing.

BERMAN: All right. New Day continues right now.

KEILAR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Brianna Keilar alongside the always comedic John Berman, and it is Friday, July 30th.

We are not crying wolf. That is the message from the director of the CDC as alarming new data shows the delta variant is now one of the most transmissible viruses ever, and just as infectious as the chickenpox. In the words of CDC officials, the war has changed. The latest data also suggests the delta variant causes more severe disease.

BERMAN: This disturbing internal CDC report explains why the CDC thinks mask mandates need to be reintroduced and why the trend map looks like this. Look at that red, cases rising in every state this morning, everywhere in deep red rising more than 50 percent, big rises.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with exactly what these documents reveal about the delta variant, which spreads like wildfire, this document says, and might cause worse infection.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, right. we have known that the delta variant spreads like wildfire. And what these internal CDC documents show is sort of the data that's behind that.

So let's take a look at what this CDC document really puts in stark black and white terms. I'll be honest, I've covered them for decades now, and they are usually incredibly nerdy and express everything in these very, very nerdy ways.

This actually spells it out quite clearly. So what they say in these documents is that COVID-19 is more transmissible than the common cold or flu and as transmissible as chickenpox.

Now, I'm old enough to remember when I got chickenpox and my brother got it and my sister got it and my other sister got it and sort of everyone got it. That is really, really transmissible. I had a discussion with the head of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and she even said it's up there with chickenpox and measles. And measles, as we know, is as transmissible as it gets.

So, let's look specifically at something called an R-naught number. That is a fancy way of saying when one person gets COVID-19, how many people can they spread it to. When you look at the original strain, what I sometimes refer to as corona classic, kind of the thing we started out with, one person could spread it to about two to three people. That's what you would expect. But with this delta variant, it spreads to five to nine people. That is a huge difference.

And I don't know about you guys, but here in Georgia where I live, you can really see that. I mean, you really hear the stories of, oh, I know this person, I know this person, I know this person. To make matters even worse, the delta variant also seems to make you sicker. So, once you get it, it seems to make you sicker than previous strains of coronavirus. People who get COVID-19 are more likely to be hospitalized, more likely to be admit to the intensive care unit, more likely to die.

Now, I want to keep those words up there for a minute. If you're not sure yet if you should be vaccinated, those words should make you sure. You are more likely to die if you get the delta variant than the previous strains of coronavirus. Getting vaccinated cuts the odds of you getting hospitalized or dying way, way down to a very, very, very small number. John?

KEILAR: Yes. I think looking at the -- some of these graphics that we've seen from really what our public health officials at the federal level were looking at, it cuts it down to like -- you have 25 times more likely to be in the hospital or to die if you have not had the vaccine.

[07:05:05]

I mean, this isn't small stuff. This is huge.

And maybe you can talk to us a little bit, Elizabeth, about what we saw in Provincetown, Massachusetts, because I know that this is where scientists are directing a lot of their attention.

COHEN: Right. So, when the announcement was made earlier this week, the vaccinated people should still wear masks indoors in most parts of the country, a lot of people asked, well, where is the data behind that?

Well, this is some of the data behind it. As you mentioned, this is from an outbreak in Massachusetts. So what they found is they looked in the noses of vaccinated people who got COVID in this outbreak and unvaccinated people who got COVID and they scraped their noses. Many of us have had this done. And then they looked to see how much virus was in those specimens.

So they looked at 80 vaccinated people, 65 unvaccinated people, and they were essentially the same. It was essentially the same. So, in other words, vaccinated people seem to be just as transmissible as unvaccinated people. Still get the vaccine because it could save your life. There's an excellent chance it, but you're just as transmissible so wear a mask.

BERMAN: Elizabeth Cohen, this is important. People need to see this, need to see the data. I appreciate you being with us this morning. We should note we're going to talk to a health official about this in just a moment.

KEILAR: We're seeing the first signs this morning that COVID is already disrupting the new school year. In Atlanta, a school has reportedly quarantined more than 100 students in the first week of classes after two staffers and at least one student tested positive.

CNN's Natasha Chen is live outside of Atlanta's Drew Charter School. Natasha, tell us about this.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna. The school started on Tuesday. And now, CNN has obtained a letter from the Drew School to families explaining that they found out about these positive test cases on Wednesday night and informed families on Thursday whether their students had close contact with those positive test cases and now those students, more than 100 of them in quarantine. The head of school here told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the most impacted grades are two, six and seven and that these positive test cases likely did not stem from this campus, although that's still under investigation.

The head of school also told the AJC that the staff who tested positive were not vaccinated. Now, it's not required for employees to be vaccinated, but the head of school did tell the AJC about three quarters of them are. He also told the paper that about one-third of the eligible students that's kids 12 and up are actually vaccinated.

Masks are required indoors at school. There was a requirement for employees to get tested before the school year and to continue weekly testing. Students are encouraged to do that as well.

And we're hearing from a parent that families are frustrated that this happened so early in the school year and wondering whether it's possible to mandate vaccines for staff and teachers in this situation. And this unfortunately may be a sign of things to come, this being one of the schools with the earliest start of the school year in this area, perhaps in the nation. So that is definitely weighing on the minds of educators and families, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. Kids do not have the choice. The vaccinations are not available to them right now unless they're in a trial. Natasha Chen, live for us from Atlanta, thank you.

BERMAN: All right. Joining us now is Dr. Faisal Khan, Acting Director of the St. Louis County Department of Health. And Dr. Khan has been dealing with these rising cases in places like Missouri, so we appreciate you being with us right now.

Dr. Khan, this report, this internal document from the CDC, I don't know how closely you've had a chance to look at it, but it talks about these new dangers with the delta variant, wildly transmissible, more transmissible than the flu or the cold or Ebola or anything like that, and more serious cases than the COVID we've come to know. What challenges does this pose?

DR. FAISAL, KHAN, ACTING DIRECTOR, ST. LOUIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: This is extremely worrying. I was filled with dread last week about this and as I looked at this report and our local stats earlier today, I'm even more worried now.

ICU admissions have jumped, have doubled in the last couple of weeks here in the St. Louis region. The community transmission levels are at an all-time high. Missouri is flashing a bright red in that distressing heat map that you referenced earlier. And so things ahead are not looking good. We are extremely worried about the beginning of the school year and what that might -- what dangers that might bring with it. This is my no means over.

And I would appeal to the public once again. I think you quoted Dr. Walensky saying that the war is evolving. That is an excellent statement to make because the confusion around -- well, you said one thing no in November and said another thing in May and now you're telling us something else in July stems from the fact that this battlefield is not constant.

[07:10:08]

The enemy we're fighting keeps changing tactics, deploying new weapons.

And as we fight back, we have to be nimble-footed enough to change our own strategy and tactics to counter those threats. That is what is happening. We are not sending confusing messages. We're simply responding to the threats that we're seeing.

BERMAN: One of the changes, according to the CDC document, is the viral load that is found in vaccinated people found to be infected with the virus, the same viral load in the nasal passages as people who are unvaccinated. But what does that mean? If I'm unvaccinated, what does that mean for me? Does that mean I'm sicker necessarily?

KHAN: Not necessarily. It simply means that you have the potential of coming down with symptoms, even though they might be mild, even though in most instances you will never require any degree of medical attention and will recover spontaneously on your own. The danger comes from the fact that you are likely to be shedding the virus and transmitting it to others around you, particularly those that may or may not be unvaccinated in public settings.

BERMAN: And that's the change, yes.

KHAN: Absolutely. It's an extra layer of armor that we're asking people to put on in addition to getting vaccinated, because the enemy is changing tactics.

BERMAN: Now, Dr. khan, this has been a difficult message to deliver, particularly for you. You attended a county council meeting where you were talking about the need -- and, again, we know your region is the reddest of red areas right now, where we have seen rising cases, hospitalizations and the like and you were talking about some of the reasons for re-imposed mask mandates and mask requirements.

And you say you suffered a barrage of racist, offensive slurs. What happened to you?

KHAN: Let me just state that, you know, I love St. Louis, we love our community. This is a very warm-hearted, kind, generous community. And even in the crowd that was present at the county council meeting on Tuesday evening, the vast majority of people were good people. They would never say or do anything vile to anyone, even if they were protesting mask wearing. They are fearful. They're frustrated. They're angry. We understand that.

We in public health, however, are not the enemy. We care about people and we want them to remain healthy and safe in their own homes and in their own places of business, nothing more. What was regrettable was that the tempers in the crowd were stoked to a point that some individuals, some individuals in the crowd, allowed it to get the better of them and it spilled over into abuse. That should never have happened, lines that should never be crossed. It was highly unfortunate. It was saddening and jarring for me as a public health official, but we are used to being on the receiving end of public abuse. That's been happening for 18 months now. And it's part of our job to absorb it.

Tuesday evening, however, had an added twist to it, and that is what was unfortunate and compelled me to document my experience in that letter to the council chair.

BERMAN: Listen, if people want to question your findings or ask you how you came to them or criticize your work, I know you probably don't have a problem with that. But when they --

KHAN: Absolutely not.

BERMAN: When they hurl these awful racist slurs at you, there's no place for that. And I'm sorry that you had to endure that. Dr. Faisal Khan, we appreciate the work you're doing and we appreciate you being with us.

KHAN: Thank you. It's a pleasure.

KEILAR: Joe Kurilla and his wife, Kathy, both came down with COVID before vaccines were widely available. Kathy passed away on May 3rd after spending a month in the hospital and Joe Kurilla is with us now.

Joe, we are so sorry for your loss. You have just said goodbye to your wife here recently. I know you're very much in the middle of dealing with your grief from that. And we're so incredibly sorry for that.

Can you give us a sense, just tell us what happened. Tell us about when she became ill, as you were kind of awaiting a vaccine.

JOE KURILLA, WIFE DIED FROM COVID BEFORE VACCINE BECAME READILY AVAILABLE: Yes. Well, thank you. Good morning.

We both had some symptoms. I would say her symptoms were first, tiredness, a little bit of soreness, loss of taste and then I had the same symptoms right after her.

[07:15:05]

Her case was a little bit more severe, tiredness in a week prior to us getting the test results. When we got the test results, the next day, our primary doctor had us go into the hospital as an outpatient to do the antibody. And she was in there first and then shortly afterwards I went in to a separate room. And while I was getting my procedure and the nurse came in, told me that Kathy's oxygen levels were just really, really bad.

And I could tell. I mean, prior to us going to the hospital, walking to the car, she had to literally stop and sit on a park bench. So I could tell it was very laborious, her breathing. And so the nurse told me they had to admit her. She couldn't complete the test. Her oxygen levels were really bad. So, you know, walking away in shock, you know, my wife of 29 years being admitted, it's scary. So, I went home and then that was a Friday. Sunday night at 2:00 in the morning, I received a phone call that Kathy had to be intubated, and which was talking about waking up to a shock. And so she had to be intubated.

So, you know, a month later, she passed on May 3rd.

KEILAR: How has losing Kathy changed how you and maybe people in your family or your community are thinking about getting vaccinated? What is your message for people who have the vaccine available to them and are passing on it?

KURILLA: Well, my message -- obviously, everyone was extremely shocked. In my immediate community, everyone is pretty for it. But I do hear people on the outskirts, whether it's on the news, on the social media accounts, you know, who are kind of like against it, and I just say, I wish -- due to HIPAA, I wish I could have you sit there with me in the hospital room with my wife having the tubes up her nose, seeing seven different medications being pumped into her. I said, think you would change your mind in a heartbeat.

It's very, you know, hard to express sometimes but I think people, if they see the visual, I think they may change their mind. Hopefully, my message this morning will seep into people who are on the fence or who are not willing to do it. I say it is a simple shot, it doesn't hurt, no cost. It's just like taking an aspirin for a headache. So, I just -- I can't believe people are so against it right now.

KEILAR: Well, Joe, we certainly hope that people hear your plea today, and we're so incredibly sorry for what COVID has cost you and what it has cost your family with your wife, Kathy, passing on. And we are so appreciative that you're talking with us and our viewers this morning.

KURILLA: Well, I appreciate your time and thanks for having me on this morning.

KEILAR: Of course. Thank you so much.

KURILLA: All right. Take care.

KEILAR: Coming up, we have some brand new reporting about the backlash that one Republican senator is experiencing after voting to certify the election.

BERMAN: Plus, Marco Rubio swings and misses while trying to criticize the secretary of defense. We'll roll the tape, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

KEILAR: First, he rejected President Biden's election win and then he didn't. This morning, there is new CNN reporting about the backlash that Republican Senator James Lankford is facing from Trump supporters for his change of heart and vote following the events of January 6th. CNN's Lauren Fox is with us now. What's happening with the senator?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, James Lankford was one of those lawmakers going into the day on January 6 thinking he was going to challenge those results, and at least two states. But what happened, of course, is he is on the Senate floor when the protesters breakthrough the barrier. The Senate is evacuated and after that, there are several hours where lawmakers are basically talking in a secure location about what they're going to do next. He is one of the lawmakers who ultimately decided to fight another day on this issue. He was not going to challenge the election results.

[07:25:00]

But back home, that has become the litmus test for whether or not he should be in the Senate for another term. And back home, he has a primary challenger now in Jackson Lahmeyer, this pastor in Oklahoma, who basically has made his entire campaign about the fact that Lankford was not there for Trump on this important vote. And we should note, Trump has not endorsed Lankford yet in this race.

Now, we've been asking Lankford, what has this been like back home? And he told me that he has not necessarily asked for Trump's endorsement, but he would like to have Trump's endorsement. He wouldn't answer the question when I asked him, have you asked for this endorsement. He said he didn't want to get into that.

But he's also trying to kind of have it both ways right now, back home, this is becoming an issue. And he has the cash advantage, he has the backing of many other state leaders but he doesn't have the backing of the state party chairman, John Bennett. And that's become another wrinkle in his fight to get re-elected.

It just really shows that it doesn't matter how conservative you are, because Lankford voted with Trump on Supreme Court nominees, on the tax bill, on other important legislation more than 90 percent of the time. But when it comes to whether or not Trump was supposed to be the president or not, that is what he wants Republicans fighting for. And that's why he hasn't endorsed him.

BERMAN: Yes. You know, Lankford hardly, though, sort of an uninvolved victim, right? You recently discussed the election results with him. What did he say?

FOX: Well, look, I wanted to understand why he had changed his mind on January 6th. I said, what happened behind the scenes? And as we started talking about it, he essentially said that he still had questions about the election. Here is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOX (voice over): Do you still think that Biden won the election rightfully?

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK) (voice over): I think Biden is the constitutional president. No question about that. Are there questions still hanging out there? Yes.

FOX (voice over): But are those questions things that would have ultimately changed the outcome of the election?

LANKFORD (voice over): Nobody knows. We can't get a full answer on some of them. So we don't know. I'm not trying to be coy about it. It's the unknown at this point. I just want all the questions answered and so that people can know one way or the other on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And, of course, you see he's really trying to play both sides there, saying there's really no way to know whether or not any irregularities in the election might have changed the outcome. Of course, we should repeat over and over again that there is no question that Joe Biden rightfully won the election.

And, ultimately, Lankford didn't vote to challenge any of these votes on the floor of the U.S. Senate. He agrees that Biden is the constitutional president, whatever that means. But I do think it's important to underscore to people back home, Biden is the president, Lankford is trying to deal with the fact he has problems back home with his right flank.

KEILAR: Yes, he certainly is. Lauren, great reporting. Thank you so much, Lauren Fox.

Senator Marco Rubio took a swing at the defense secretary on Twitter yesterday and not only did he miss, he hit himself in the face. The Florida Republican mocked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for this, arriving in the Philippines wearing a mask and also that face shield there as leaders were greeting him.

All the way back in America, this appeared to somehow personally affect Rubio who called it embarrassing COVID theater. The problem is, as Politico first pointed out, the Philippine government has mandated that everyone must wear both face shields and face masks while in public places. Why? And I know this is scandalous, they're trying to stop the spread of coronavirus, which, let's not forget, has killed more than 610,000 of our fellow Americans.

Rubio is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, so you would think if he saw a cabinet member wearing a protective get-up, he usually doesn't in a foreign country, it might occur to him that there could be different rules or norms there. And he could have saved himself scorn by doing a little research before the rip.

And Rubio, mocking masks, that's really where we are still as we learn that vaccinated people, while hugely protected from hospitalization or death compared to the unvaccinated, can spread the delta variant perhaps as easily as chickenpox.

And Florida, Rubio's state, is currently the worst in the nation when it comes to the spread of delta. lorida is now averaging 10,000 new cases a day. That is up 61 percent since last week. More than 8,000 people are in the hospital right now, the most since January. Every county in Rubio's state except for one is experiencing high transmission. Here is one doctor that we spoke to this week in Rubio's state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Do you consider Florida right now to be the new epicenter of the unvaccinated pandemic?

DR. DAVID DE LA ZERDA, ICU MEDICAL DIRECTOR AND PULMONOLOGIST, JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Oh, for sure. I think that's our major issue here in Florida.

It's very concerning. Also you point out here in Florida, we have a lot of people that come and retire here in Florida, so these are very vulnerable patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: On T.V., Rubio recently slammed the politicization of the vaccine and skepticism that a sizable minority of Americans have about the vaccine.

[07:30:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I don't think the skepticism is just among Republicans. I mean, I see all kinds of voices I don't even think are ideological.