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CNN: Biden Considers Withholding Federal Funds To Spur Vaccines; Florida Shatters Hospitalization Record As DeSantis Remains Defiant; WHO Argues No Boosters For U.S. Until World's Vaccinated; Jeffries Goes Off On "Extreme Left" Who Trash Mainstream Dems; Sharp Decline In Vaccination Ads On Television In U.S.; Teachers Union Under Fire For Not Pushing Vaccine Mandates. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 06, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hospitals are overrun in several states and many governors across the U.S. are fed up with the unvaccinated.

Plus, in what could be a dramatic escalation. President Biden considers withholding federal funds to help spur vaccinations.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A top Democratic congressman is telling one wing of his party enough. Why Hakeem Jeffries is slamming what he calls the woke left. And we'll speak live with two men who predicted that Donald Trump would attempt a coup and now after new evidence shows he did, they're saying, we told you so.

KEILAR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, August 6th. And hospitals across the country are facing desperate staffing shortages as their ICU are overrun with mostly unvaccinated coronavirus patients. This morning, mayors, governors and health officials are sounding the alarm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINA HIDALGO, JUDGE, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: Today we find ourselves in a difficult situation. We find ourselves retracing our steps toward the edge of a cliff. It is very conceivable that we could once again be heading toward a public health catastrophe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A growing number of healthcare workers and elected officials are running out of patience with the unvaccinated and that includes New Jersey's governor who is expected to announce a statewide mask mandate for all students today after lashing out at anti-vaccination protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): These folks back there have lost their mind, you've lost your minds. You are the ultimate knuckleheads and because of what you are saying and standing for, people are losing their life. People are losing their life.

GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): Those of you who refuse to get vaccinated at this point, are willfully and unnecessarily putting yourself and others at risk of hospitalization and death. You are the ones threatening the freedoms of all the rest of us.

Please just get the damn vaccine.

JOHN DENNIS, MAYOR, (R-IND) WEST LAFAYETTE: There are people that still think that this is something that we've made up. I lost my temper at a council meeting here recently and I referenced them as unvaccinated assholes, And unfortunately, that sometimes is accurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That was the Republican mayor of West Lafayette, Indiana. He has since apologized for his language, but says that it comes from a growing concern that he's going to have to shut down his city again.

BERMAN: So there are signs this morning that the public vaccination campaign is working. The White House says daily new vaccinations over the past 24 hours are at their highest level in more than a month. Overnight, CNN learned the talks are underway in the Biden administration to try to accelerate the pace of these vaccinations and one possibility is withholding federal funds from places like nursing homes until vaccination requirements are met. And the administration is increasing pressure on governors who are blocking the will of towns and counties that want masks and increase safety measures in schools.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL CARDONA, EDUCATION SECRETARY: Don't be the reason why schools are disrupted because of the politicization of this effort to reopen schools. We know what works. We have to keep our students safe. We have to keep our educators safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Leyla Santiago is beginning our coverage live from Miami. Leyla.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna here in Florida hospitalizations have increased 13% from the previous peak of the pandemic, which was July of last year. And the Florida Hospital Association warning that 60% of hospitals who will have a critical staffing shortage in the next week, that's what they expect and that has some taking additional measures.

In Miami-Dade County, the mayor has said that she's now going to require testing of its employees who were not vaccinated. The Jackson Health System now is putting in place a vaccine mandate for its vaccines meet for its employees rather.

Meanwhile, the governor continues to say that Florida will not be a state of lockdowns and mandates. So, President Biden earlier said if you're not going to be part of the help in this, then get out the way. That didn't sit well with DeSantis. He went right back at Biden. And so, there's been kind of this back and forth between the two. Here's the latest with what Biden said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: DeSantis who was using your words about, don't be in the way, and he said, I am in the way to block too much interference from the federal government. Your response Mr. President?

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Governor who?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: DeSantis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTIAGO: Governor who, those are the words from President Joe Biden, the latest in this exchange between the federal and state government here in Florida.

[06:05:03]

And here's another issue, school is just days away for many students here in the state of Florida. The governor signed an executive order that threatens to cut state funding for any school that implements a mask mandate. So a lot of schools are trying to find ways around it, including Orange County just announced that they are requiring mask for its employees for the upcoming school year. You have Alachua County who also is requiring masks of students in the first two weeks in unless they have a doctor's note. And then you have Duvall County who also says we will only give parents an opt out option otherwise students should be wearing masks.

So, a lot of schools just days away from the first day of school trying to figure out how to stop the spread of this virus given what DeSantis signed in his executive order, Brianna.

KEILAR: You know, unfortunately, they may become science experiments as we see these schools open. Leyla, thank you so much life for us from Miami.

BERMAN: Developing overnight. CDC Director Rochelle Wallensky tell CNN that the CDC is working with the FDA on a national strategy for coronavirus booster shots that is expected to roll out next month. But there isn't a global debate on this as the World Health Organization says the U.S. should wait to issue third shots to people until more countries get first and second shots in arms.

Joining us now is Andrea Taylor. She's a leading -- she is leading research at Duke University looking at Global Vaccine Distribution. And CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner.

Professor Taylor, I want to start with you the idea that the U.S. might get third shots or start distributing third shots, you've got some problems with this as other countries are trying to get their first. ANDREA TAYLOR, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DUKE GLOBAL HEALTH INNOVATION CENTER: Well, so the issue is that we're trying to solve a global crisis with local interventions. And that's never going to work. So, we need to end transmission globally before we'll be successful at ending it locally. And to do that, we need to ensure that at least 70% of the world can get vaccinated so that we can stop global transmission. And until we do that, we'll just be kind of stuck in this game of playing whack-a-mole with the different, you know, emerging infectious variants that are popping up and we'll be doing boosters over and over again, until we just end it at a global level.

KEILAR: Doctor, what do you think?

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, look, I don't think it's a binary choice. I think the United States can do both. I think we can be what the President calls an arsenal for vaccines for the world. The United States has committed I believe, half a billion doses to COVAX and amble contribute to the G7 getting another 500 mil million doses. But we can also do what's necessary here. Look, I'm a practicing doctor, and I live in the real world. And though I absolutely believe in vaccine equity around the world, I have real issues to deal with on the ground here.

So, what do I tell a renal transplant patient who I saw this week, who has been locked in his house for the last 18 months because his immunosuppressants have prevented him from developing antibodies after to mRNA shots. Or other people, you know, for instance, receiving disease modifying therapy for a disease like multiple sclerosis, who also need a booster shots. And what do we tell the elderly who research suggests may have more rapidly declining immunity. What do we tell healthcare workers in the United States now facing another surge, who were vaccinated now eight months ago, and our risk in their battle to treat patients in this latest surge.

So I think the United States should do both. I think we should continue to donate as many vaccines as we can to the world, and then do what's necessary here in a tiered weight to boost to the people who need to be boosted in this country.

BERMAN: Professor Taylor, what about that?

TAYLOR: Yes, I think that's absolutely right. I think it doesn't need to be and shouldn't be set up as a binary choice. And I think that the -- we are in the midst of a shift now where for the first six months of 2021, supply, limited supply has really been the rate limiter in terms of vaccinations around the world. And we're now shifting into a phase where that's not the case. And the rate limiter is going to be is going to be distribution, actually distribution challenges globally.

So we are now for the remainder of 2021, we actually should have enough supply where we're producing hundreds of millions of doses each month, and should have enough supply actually within the next year to both vaccinate the entire world and provide boosters. And I think if wealthy countries can continue to prioritize distributing vaccines globally, and also I think that tiered approach was really key there and if we can continue to, to distribute vaccines globally, but also provide boosters to the very top priority groups in wealthy countries at the same time, then I think that's probably the best approach and a win-win for everyone.

[06:10:19]

But we do need to continue having a laser focus on vaccine equity, because without that we won't ever ended at home either.

KEILAR: That's right, we see the -- just the, you know, the porous nature of how travel works obviously, what's happening outside the U.S. affects what happens inside the U.S. But Doctor, I wonder what you think about how soon we will need broadly, boosters, not just the vulnerable folks, which you they need it now. Right? That's what's clear. Writ large, when will we need boosters?

REINER: Well, no one is short if we really need the CDC to be much clearer on this. If you look at the data that Pfizer has presented, there does appear to be some waning of immunity when we get out past six months with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, although the vaccine remains still, you know, quite effective. The Israelis think that the efficacy wanes even more than the Pfizer data suggests, which is why the Israelis have taken the lead and have already begun boosting their country.

I think we will see boosts of probably for everyone, beginning in a sort of exactly the way that I outlined it, starting with the immunosuppressed going next to the elderly, probably healthcare workers, in a similar risk stratified way that the initial vaccines were rolled out in the United States. And this shouldn't be distressing to folks in the United States. If you think about we get a flu vaccine or we should get a flu vaccine every year, and that is essentially a booster. So, it it's not unprecedented in the United States for us to boost our immunity to a disease with an extra dose, periodic dose of a drug, and we will start doing that. Certainly probably within the next four to six weeks.

BERMAN: Dr. Reiner, Professor Taylor, thanks to both of you.

REINER: Our pleasure.

BERMAN: Just in, new CNN reporting shows a sharp decline in TV ads promoting vaccination. See what we've learned.

KEILAR: Plus, a top Democratic congressman is fed up with the woke left in his party here. What is making Hakeem Jeffries so angry?

And a "New Day" special report, hear how close Donald Trump came to an attempted coup, as we speak live with one of his former advisors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:50]

KEILAR: New this morning, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is criticizing liberals who go after more moderate Democrats and accuse them of not doing enough to advance progressive policies. Jeffries told The New York Times, the extreme left is obsessed with talking trash about mainstream Democrats on Twitter when the majority of the electorate constitute mainstream Democrats at the polls. In the post Trump era, the anti-establishment line of attack is lame, when President Biden and Democratic legislators are delivering millions of good paying jobs, the fastest growing economy in 40 years and a massive child tax cut.

Jeffries comments are coming after Shontel Brown the establishment favorite one in -- and the Ohio special election on Tuesday beating Nina Turner, who is an outspoken liberal who co-chaired Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign.

Joining me now to talk about this is Democratic strategist and senior vice president of Firehouse Strategies, Michael Starr Hopkins.

Michael, thank you so much for being with us. I just wonder, you know, what do you think about what you're -- really just about what Jeffries is saying this statement? Is he right on?

MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: OK, thanks for having me. I think Jeffries hit the nail on the head, look for every AOC and Cori Bush. There's a Stephanie Murphy and a Conor Lamb who've managed to be Democrats and win in a swing district. And when you have the progressive wing of the party attacking the establishment wing of the party, you end up just doing the bidding of Republicans. This administration has managed to get a $1.9 trillion stimulus past 165 million Americans vaccinated and child credit that has been transformational.

And so, have we gotten everything we wanted done? No, but we've gotten so much done. And it could be so much worse if Donald Trump were still in power. So we've got to work together and bridge the divide.

BERMAN: You know, the implication more than just about the sniping, which Jeffries was specifically referring to there is that there are some people in the center of the Democratic Party suggesting that some people on the progressive left are dragging them down. Do you feel like that's a fair characterization?

HOPKINS: I think the sniping within the party, whether it be from the progressive side or the middle or the establishment, it's not healthy. Republicans are determined to take away more rights. They want to block the Voting Rights Act, they want to roll back environmental standards. They want to basically turn Florida into a morgue. That's not the party that we need to be supporting. We need to be supporting Democratic priorities and Democratic candidates.

And if you look back at the last election, while President Biden managed to do well, all over the country, Democrats down ticket lost because of messaging. And messaging is something that we've never really been great at. And have allowed Republicans to really take the onus on.

And so, Democrats need to come together and figure out a way to talk to people in Queens, talk to people in Iowa, and talk to people in Florida. This is a numbers game and we've got to win the numbers.

KEILAR: Let's talk about Cori Bush, who is fresh off, who was a big victory for progressive. She actually pushed the Biden administration to extend its moratorium on eviction -- evictions across the hardhead COVID areas in the country, which is most of the country. And she's now facing backlash from Republicans because she said this when asked about her use of personal private security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:20:13]

REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): I'm going to make sure I have security because I know I have had attempts on my life. And I have too much work to do. There are too many people that need help right now, for me to allow that. So if I end up spending 200,000, if I spend 10 more dollars on it, you know what, I get to be here to do the work. So suck it up and defunding the police has to happen. We need to defend the police and put that money into social safety net.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Republicans already seizing on this, Michael, how problematic is this for Democrats?

HOPKINS: It's extremely problematic. And look, I can -- I understand what she means when she says we need to defund the police. But we need better messaging on that. Because what she really means is, instead of spending a ballooning amount of money on police, we need to put more money in social care and into mental health programs. But that's not a short sound bite that you can say as easily.

And so, while I hate the fact that we have to pay this political game, we have to play this political game. And we have to manage to put together sound bites and put together talking points that will resonate across the country. And when you say things like defund the police, people who aren't as tuned in every day, don't understand what they mean.

And so, groups like Fox News and other Republican right wing talking groups are able to basically flip that and scare people into thinking that they're not going to have police when they call 911. Or that they're not going to have people to protect them. And that's a losing message. So we've got to be better than that.

KEILAR: Michael, thank you so much for joining us this morning. This is a big conversation that we'll be heading towards the midterms next year. We appreciate seeing you.

HOPKINS: Thanks for having me. Stay safe.

KEILAR: More than 30% of eligible Americans have not been vaccinated. So why are TV stations airing fewer ads promoting the shot? We have a new CNN analysis, next.

BERMAN: Plus, the Teachers Union under fire for not pushing for vaccine mandates. The union president responds, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:25]

KEILAR: As of this morning, more than 30% of Americans who are eligible for the vaccine and not gotten the shot. But new CNN reporting shows there's been a sharp decline in vaccination ads on television.

CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, with us now on this story. Why are we seeing this decline, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, it's so interesting, with nearly a third of Americans opting not to get vaccinated, you would hope that the ads would increase educating people, letting people know the correct information, rather than all the misinformation that's circulating on social media.

But let's take a look at a graph. This is from the folks that iSpot, they're a company that tracks advertising. And what they found is that the number of COVID-19 vaccine ads viewed on TV peaked in May, and then went down steadily. I mean, that decline is really quite dramatic. Now, one of the reasons is that TV viewing naturally always goes down in the summer, people are watching TV less. But still that is a decline, right at the time that you don't want declined, because there are so many people who need to hear this message.

Let's take a look at the people who need to hear this message most. The Kaiser Family Foundation in a recent poll said that people who say they definitely won't get the vaccine, 15% of Democrats say they definitely won't get it, 58% of Republicans say they definitely won't get it.

So, there needs to be ads, obviously, that really are geared towards Republicans since 58% of them say they definitely won't get a vaccine. Brianna.

KEILAR: OK. So then looking at Republicans, does the ad matter? Are there some ads that appear to be working better with folks who are more reticent to get the vaccine?

COHEN: The ads matter very much. So iSpot put together panels of people of various political stripes and colors. And what they found was that there was they read -- these ads resonated differently with different groups. So let's take a look at an ad that didn't resonate so well with Republicans. So, this was an ad where presidents came on, U.S. presidents came on and said, I got vaccinated, I got vaccinated, I got vaccinated and even think here's Obama, they also had Bush they had all of the living former presidents, you would think one of those presidents might resonate with Republicans or with these folks, but apparently not they were not so thrilled with this ad.

Now let's take a look at an ad that did resonate better with Republicans and that's an ad that shows FedEx folks going forward shows people going forward, and then shows people going backwards, such as people going forwards and backwards. The message is that if you get vaccinated, our lives can move forward, the economy can move forward, that one did better with the Republicans.

KEILAR: Very interesting. It's a cute ad, I see little kids running --

COHEN: It is cute. Yes.

KEILAR: -- and stuff, it looks nice. All the things we want to be doing.

COHEN: Exactly.

KEILAR: Elizabeth, thank you so much for that.

COHEN: Thanks.

BERMAN: So employers across the country have started to implement vaccine mandates requirements in an effort to protect their workplaces. But some labor unions including the American Federation of Teachers have been reluctant until now to accept some of the more strict vaccine mandates, arguing they're not the best way to convince those who are still hesitant about the vaccines. That position has come under fire as the Delta variant surges around the country and the new school year gets underway.

Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers. Randi, thanks so much for being with us, as always.

And I do understand that your position is evolving over the last 24 hours and last week as it becomes clear of the risks of the Delta variant. Are you prepared to say this morning that the American Federation of Teachers supports vaccine requirements for teachers in schools?

[06:30:04]

RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: So, we -- well, first off, thank you for having me.