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Omicron Variant of Coronavirus Becomes Dominant Variant in U.S.; Biden Administration to Send 500 Million Coronavirus Tests to U.S. Households that Want Them; Senator Joe Manchin Says He Cannot Support Build Back Better Legislation in Senate. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 21, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: OK, Berman, Erica.

BERMAN: NEW DAY continues right now.

Good morning to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is Tuesday, December 21st. I'm John Berman. Brianna is off today. Erica Hill with me this morning. Good morning to you.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, my friend.

BERMAN: So just hours from now, President Biden addresses the nation on the fight against the Omicron variant, now the most dominant COVID strain in the United States, accounting for 73 percent of all cases. The president will announce a series of steps as the country faces a surge of infections this winter.

HILL: Those steps include 500 million free at home rapid tests for households that ask for them. Here is Dr. Anthony Fauci just moments ago, right here on NEW DAY.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: Part of the president's program which he will be speaking about this afternoon is to dramatically increase the availability of testing. We're putting up about 20,000 testing sites. We're getting half a billion tests very quickly, literally within the next few days. And then have a situation where you can get anywhere from 200 million to half-a-billion tests per month. So we will be able to very soon have all the tests that people need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: President Biden will also say in his speech that vaccinated Americans don't need to cancel their holiday plans despite the rise in case counts. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live at the White House this morning with more for us. Good morning.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica. President Biden will deliver a stark warning once again to unvaccinated Americans today, warning them of the potential serious illnesses that they could face amid this Omicron surge.

But he will also seek to reassure those vaccinated Americans, particularly those who have received that booster shot, telling them that they can go ahead with their holiday plans as long as they're continuing to follow smart public health measures.

That is an important duality here that President Biden will try to thread in his speech this afternoon. He'll also be announcing a series of new measures that he is taking in the face of this Omicron wave, including sending as many as half-a-billion free at home tests to Americans beginning next month. That's at least when the first tranche of those tests will go out, though it's not clear how quickly they will get the rest of those 500 million tests out to the country.

They're also going to look to increase coronavirus testing sites, beginning in New York City this week with a federal coronavirus testing site being established there, also mobilizing 1,000 military service members to help hospitals and areas that are dealing with surges over the coming weeks and months.

And finally, Erica, all of this is coming as President Biden himself now being affected by this Omicron wave, at least the rise in coronavirus cases. We know that he is now considered a close contact of a White House staffer who tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday. President Biden also received a test, and that test so far has been negative. He will be tested again tomorrow. And based on CDC guidelines the White House says the president does not need to isolate for now because he is fully vaccinated. They will, however, continue to test him to make sure that negative test stays negative. Erica?

HILL: Jeremy Diamond, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's bring in now a former Biden COVID adviser and the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Michael Osterholm. Good to see you this morning.

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY AT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Thank you.

HILL: In terms of those recommendations, a lot of people have been struggling, especially for folks who are vaccinated and boosted, in terms of if you're positive, what do we do about isolation? Dr. Fauci said there is consideration right now about potentially reducing that isolation period, specifically for healthcare workers. Should that be revised?

OSTERHOLM: Well, I think it's a very important consideration right now considering the next three to eight weeks are going to be the critical time with Omicron in this country. That's when this viral blizzard will hit. That's when we'll be overrun. If we have talked about all the increase in cases this week, it is going to be substantially higher in the next few weeks.

And one of the thing that we're very concerned about is in healthcare systems are already overstretched, literally breaking, now imagine taking 20 or 30 percent of the healthcare workers out because they now too are infected, many will have mild illness because they will have been vaccinated with all three doses of the vaccine.

And we can send in FEMA, we can send in the military, they will be just a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed. We've got to keep our healthcare workers on the front lines. So rather than having no one at that patient's bedside, I think someone who is feeling well but may be infected, it's important to get them back into the healthcare setting as quickly as possible.

HILL: So we'll be watching for any of those changes. In terms of where we're at with the healthcare system, really, at this point it depends on who you talk to.

[08:05:01]

There are areas, as you know, that are overwhelmed, but this morning, the head of one of the largest healthcare conglomerates here in the state of New York told John Berman they are not in a crisis right now, that their numbers comparatively right now, COVID patients are less than 10 percent of their overall capacity, less than half of what they were seeing last year at this time before there was enough vaccination. So are we overdoing it on concerns about hospitalizations when we're not seeing those surges at this point?

OSTERHOLM: Well, I think this is a really very important point. The public is very confused right now what's going on. Let's break this apart.

First of all, Delta. Delta is extracting a tremendous price right now from about 15 to 20 states in this country. If you're not in one of those states, you might say what's all the fuss about. But, in fact, they will really experience a major increase in cases with Omicron. That is going to be a blizzard in all 50 states. You've seen it right now in countries around the world. We won't have this regional hit. We in Minnesota have been in terrible, terrible shape since September. Only in the last two weeks have things started to improve. But now with Omicron coming.

So take the Delta situation, put that in the rearview mirror and look forward to what Omicron is going to do. And that is where we're going to see everyone watching this major influx of cases, and we're seeing that in Europe now. Countries that had very little activity are now seeing major activity with Omicron.

HILL: So two points to that then, when it comes to Omicron, the jump in cases is remarkable. This is now the dominant variant, about 73 percent of cases in the U.S., a huge jump from what we were seeing last week. But, as Berman was talking about this morning with Dr. Fauci as well, there is a focus or perhaps a question about a shift in focus from the number of cases to severity of those cases, because so far it appears that those Omicron cases, for the most part, and certainly among those vaccinated and ideally boosted, they are much less severe.

OSTERHOLM: That's true, but let's look at the numbers, OK. When you look at what's happening in South Africa now, they have seen among those 60 years of age and older, about 50 percent of the same rate of hospitalizations we saw with Delta, 50 percent. If you look at the entire population, about 25 percent of hospitalizations, what you might expect if it was Delta.

On the other hand, you're looking at a virus that is being transmitted many, many times more effectively than Delta. So what you have the intersection between less severe illness, but a heck of a lot more cases. And so if you add up the absolute number, that's where the challenge is right now. And so what we don't yet really know is what that means.

There is a lot of people out there right now talking about this with rose-colored glasses on saying, basically, we have vaccines that we didn't have a year ago, things will be better. Let me remind you, 70 percent of Americans who have received two doses of vaccine did not get their third dose, and we know that from an Omicron standpoint that third dose is critical. These are already in the pipeline.

HILL: We should point out, some of the folks -- right, but we have to remember, too, hopefully they will get that booster, but some of them aren't yet eligible, right, which is part of the other challenge here, if we're looking at that --

OSTERHOLM: No, these are the ones eligible.

HILL: You're talking about --

OSTERHOLM: I'm talking about eligible. And I'm talking about the fact that the clock is ticking right now. It takes anywhere from seven to 14 days minimum to see the impact of these vaccines on our immune system. So if you think you're going to get vaccinated on Christmas Eve morning and go to Christmas Eve celebrations that night and be protected, forget it. Right now vaccinating people today will start to protect us in early January. And so the challenge we have is how can we get as many people with that third dose as quickly as possible, because that will make a difference in how Omicron is manifest in the community.

HILL: Michael Osterholm, thanks for joining us this morning.

OSTERHOLM: Thank you.

HILL: Just ahead, how a COVID outbreak is now forcing the NHL to pause the season.

BERMAN: OK, paws of a different kind at the White House.

HILL: I saw what you did there.

BERMAN: Yes. The Bidens just welcomed a new puppy.

First, is Build Back Better totally dead? What each side wants to see to get President Biden's plan done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:11:31] BERMAN: Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is defending his comments that have put the brakes on Joe Biden's Build Back Better social spending bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN, (D-WV): I'm not blaming anybody. I knew what they were. And I knew what they could and could not do. They just never realized it because they figured surely, we can move one person. Surely, we can badger and beat one person up. Surely, we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough they'll just say, OK, I'll vote for anything, just quit. Guess what? I'm from West Virginia. I'm not from where they're from and they can beat the living crap out of people and think they'll be submissive, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So is there any path forward for what had been billed a Joe Biden's keystone piece of legislation.

Joining me now, CNN political commentator and former Republican congressman Charlie Dent from Pennsylvania, where, look, they don't back down either, and political commentator and former Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy from the commonwealth of Massachusetts, where they don't back either.

Congressman Kennedy, I want to start with you. I don't get it how people always claim that in their state they do things differently. There are 50 states where everyone claims they do things differently. That aside, Congressman Kennedy, James Carville told me overnight that he thinks Build Back Better might be dead, but build back differently, he says, is still alive. What do you see?

JOE KENNEDY, (D) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: John, look, I think -- I think there has to be something still alive here. And I think if you have been following this process all the way through, there are significant areas of overlap between what Senator Manchin has indicated he would support and the priorities put forth by the White House and, by the way, progressives in Congress.

And is that going to be everything that I would want in that bill or progressives would want in that bill? No, it is not. But I think we've also recognized that the need for urgency -- or the urgency to try to deliver on major aspects of the Biden agenda is so great that they got to get something done, and they do. And I think they will. It ain't obviously pretty, but I think they're going to get there.

BAIER: So Congressman Dent, you support Joe Manchin in his efforts to put a pause on this. You wrote an op-ed on CNN.com. Manchin and Biden spoke Sunday night, and we're told it was a cordial discussion. How much significance should we put in that, Charlie?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I put some significance in it, but I think Joe Manchin has been right, that this is a time for incrementalism, moderation, and bipartisanship. He's been right. He's been very forthright and clear about where he has stood. He sent a letter to Chuck Schumer over the summer, which Schumer signed, laying down his redlines.

So I think right now they should focus on something that's achievable, maybe focus on paid family leave, try to do that in a bipartisan manner. They did infrastructure in a bipartisan manner. Manchin helped lead that effort. So I think there is an opportunity to do something, but they're not going to get this big $1.75 trillion plan. I think it's totally tone deaf that they're trying to jam this thing through on partisan basis.

BERMAN: Congressman Kennedy?

KENNEDY: Charlie, love you. Disagree with you on this one.

Look, I think what you actually saw, according to the reporting that has come out, was not Manchin's objection to $1.75 trillion bill. It was the concerns that this last version of the bill was quite a bit higher than that. And I certainly feel, and I think my former colleagues in Congress, many in the Democratic Caucus, believe that there is such urgent and critical areas that we need to invest in that have been underinvested in for a long time that it's hard to prioritize.

[08:15:01]

What Manchin basically did was throw cold water on that notion and say, you might want to do ten different things, you're going to get two or three. So pick them. And I think that's the hard part coming back, which is going to say, okay, well, if we can get two or three, what are the two or three things we really want to do?

According to public reporting, he was supportive of universal pre-K. He was supportive of some of the climate provisions. He had concerns with some of the way that child tax credit was drawn. And all of those things would be slam dunks for me.

But not Joe Manchin. And we got to take -- Democrats have to take at this point the reality of 50 votes, do whatever they can do through executive action and push as hard as they can on everything else, but recognize if you need legislation, you need that 50th vote.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, Charlie, where are these ten Republicans you see lining up to work with the White House on all these separate issues?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, might be nice to invite them into the process, to be perfectly honest. Joe Biden was elected as a transitional figure, not a transformational one. We all know that. I think this has been a complete and total misread of the mandate of this election. It was not to go big. And I think they should have focused this bill much more from the very beginning, rather than doing ten things as Joe said, they should be focused on one or two things, and do them well.

I was being generous when I said $1.75 trillion. According to Penn Wharton, it is more like $4 trillion to $4.6 trillion when you look at all the slights of hands in the budgetary gimmicks deployed here. I think right now you -- I know that I think Susan Collins and others have been interested in talking about paid family leave. Why don't they start having that conversation with some Republicans? I know there is some interest in that one.

There might be -- I bet there is probably some agreement on the child tax credit. But it is going have to be much more targeted than it is right now. But what if they begin having the conversation, the decision was made to do this on a partisan basis early on, unlike the infrastructure bill.

BERMAN: Charlie, I want to ask you, Scott Perry, the January 6th committee, has asked him to come in and testify. Congressman Perry from the district that I think bordered yours in Pennsylvania.

Charlie, what do you think of Scott Perry and his role perhaps in trying to overthrow the election results?

DENT: Well, I think he probably ought to lawyer up right now. Certainly I've known Scott for many years. But he had contacts with Mr. Clark at the DOJ and Mr. Perry also has been pushing this election fraud narrative. So I think he has a problem.

I think what is more interesting, this seems to be anyway so unprecedented. I've not seen a situation where members of Congress have been actually asked to testify. And I suspect that Scott, I don't know what he's going to do, I suspect he will not come in voluntarily. With the committee then subpoena him, which would be, again, extraordinary, and I think unprecedented, I don't know the last time a member of Congress was subpoenaed to testify before a House committee.

So I think we're kind of in an unchartered place here. And I do think that, you know, Scott's got something to worry about here given the level of interaction he had with Clark and Meadows during the time of the insurrection.

BERMAN: And also unprecedented would be sitting members of Congress trying to overthrow election results if that is in fact what happens. It may call for separate measures.

Congressman Kennedy, back to you within second here and give you a chance to respond to the idea that the Biden White House hasn't reached out to Republicans to try to find common ground on issues.

KENNEDY: Look, I just don't think that's wholly accurate. You saw the infrastructure bill was an entire process to do that. And they got as far as Democrats got -- in the White House got as far as they could on that infrastructure bill. That wasn't to say if Republicans wanted to do more things, they weren't all of a sudden limited by the White House or the Democrats working on that bill. That was as far as the ten Republicans, or so that were part of that process and ultimately more than voted for it, that's as far as they would go.

So, look, if there are bipartisan ways to address climate, child care, paid leave, investments in housing, and myriad of others in which have been systemically under-investing for a long time, I think you're going to get plenty of support from the Democratic caucus and the White House. The reason why the things were broken in two is because it was clear we weren't going to get Republican support for a number of those issues.

So, look, if there is a process and pathway there absolutely that should be explored. But they have to deliver and I'm confident that when push comes to shove in the months ahead they will.

BERMAN: Joe Kennedy, Charlie Dent, thanks to both of you. Two incredibly kind, polite guys. This was like watching a football game. Thank you, both, for being with us.

DENT: It's early.

BERMAN: Thank you.

Just ahead, President Biden's brand-new plan for free at home COVID tests. How will that help fight the winter surge?

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, hockey season now on hold. We have more on the NHL's plan as more players test positive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:36]

HILL: Today, President Biden is set to announce the U.S. is buying half a billion at home coronavirus tests and will mail them to people who want them starting in January. This comes as holiday gatherings and omicron surge have fueled a massive demand for tests causing a national shortage.

CNN's Gabe Cohen is live this morning in Washington with more.

Gage, good morning.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, good morning.

Now, this is a huge investment that the Biden administration is now making in COVID testing. And it is not just those half billion take home tests you referenced, which starting next month people can go online and order for free, straight to their home, the administration's also now setting up federal testing sites, more of them, the first of which could open in the next couple days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): With Christmas days away, Americans are scrambling to get COVID tests, waiting in line in some cases for hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of like trying to play it safe for the family.

COHEN: Health experts are warning people, even those without symptoms, to get tested before gathering with loved ones. DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES: They could

add another layer of protection or security if they got a rapid test that morning.

COHEN: Dr. William Schaffner is part of the CDC's advisory committee on immunization practices.

SCHAFFNER: I'm certainly disappointed and concerned that testing is not more widely available.

COHEN: In many parts of the country, finding a test is extremely difficult. Appointments are tough to get, and over the counter rapid tests are selling out online and at pharmacies.

[08:25:01]

Dr. Brook Watts works with Metro Health in Ohio.

DR. BROOK WATTS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH, THE METRO HEALTH SYSTEM : There isn't a rapid test to be found and the PCR tests that are offered at testing sites, the wait period is approximately seven days.

COHEN: Dr. Michael Mina has been sounding the alarm on testing trouble since early in the pandemic.

DR. MICHAEL MINA, CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER OF EMED: I think our testing failure is the greatest failure of this pandemic.

COHEN: In recent months, the Biden administration has pledged to spend close to $3 billion to ramp up testing. They also used the Defense Production Act several times to make millions more tests available.

Last week, the White House coronavirus response coordinator said they had enough supply.

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: There is plenty of free testing across the country.

COHEN: But days later, COVID is surging and the testing supply hasn't kept up.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We really need to flood the system with testing. We need to have tests available for anyone who wants them.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My COVID-19 team --

COHEN: Senior administration officials tell CNN that President Biden is set to announce new testing measures today. They'll purchase a half billion at-home rapid tests to be delivered starting in January and they'll set up more federal testing sites including one in New York city that will open before Christmas.

MINA: This prior to the pandemic, the U.S. is, you know, light-years behind our, you know, our peer nations in terms of making these tests readily available.

COHEN: Last week, CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, suggested increased testing will help keep schools open.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: These studies demonstrate the tests to keep unvaccinated children in schools safely.

COHEN: Another sign that those swabs could play a massive role in our return to normalcy.

How far away are we from a time where we'll have enough tests to accomplish that?

SCHAFFNER: We can all hope that the testing bottlenecks are resolved quickly, but I'm rather convinced that this will take some time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): Now, a lot of the criticism here is not just about the quantity of testing, but it is about developing a more aggressive strategy. Now, for example, pills that treat COVID may be available in the near future, but they need to be taken within a few days of showing symptoms. So Dr. Mina is advising the government get tests placed in the homes of vulnerable people to catch those cases. To get them medicine, and, Erica, to possibly save lives. In this latest move, by the Biden administration, may be a big step to getting that done.

HILL: Yeah, certainly, could be. Interesting to see those new testing sites open as well.

Gabe Cohen, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

BERMAN: So, let's bring in someone who is seeing this testing demand firsthand, Dr. Neal Shipley, medical director of Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent Care in New York.

What are you seeing in terms of demand, Doctor?

DR. NEAL SHIPLEY, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, NORTHWELL HEALTH - GOHEALTH URGENT CARE: Good morning. Thank you for having me. Like the rest of the country, we are in the middle of a COVID surge. We're seeing a rise in positive cases across the New York area and a serious increase demand for testing, which is a good thing.

BERMAN: What kinds of people are you seeing come for tests?

SHIPLEY: We're seeing, you know, the whole range of New Yorkers coming. People who want to travel and visit their families, people who are sick, people who think that might have been exposed. We think this is responsible behavior, people getting tested before they visit their loved ones or travel. But it posed challenges for us because demand is very high.

BERMAN: I was going to ask, how able are you to keep up with the demand?

SHIPLEY: Yeah, it's a great question. We have four different modalities in our centers. We have rapid tests available. We have laboratory tests available. We this is all hands on deck. Unfortunately it feels a lot like it did last year, where the demand for testing and the surge is really straining the health system.

Our job in the urgent care is to try and prevent sicker patients from ending up in the hospital, in the emergency department. And ideally diagnose as many people as we can as early on in this disease as possible.

BERMAN: What do you need?

SHIPLEY: That's a great question. I think the most important tool we have against the COVID virus is still vaccine and boosting. So, you know, I think what we need is everybody who hasn't been vaccinated to think strongly about getting vaccinated. If you've been vaccinated, get boosted.

The things that worked before still work. Masks work, social distancing works, hand hygiene works. The challenge right now is also flu season. There is lots of other respiratory viruses out there, adenovirus, rhinovirus, RSV virus, flu virus, and they all look like COVID at the beginning. Everybody has a cough, everybody has a fever, everybody feels lousy.

So, the challenge is to distinguish those from COVID and get those people the care they need.

BERMAN: Look, my son, we woke up -- we were convinced he had COVID, had all the symptoms, took him in, tested positive for flu. Was sick, but it was flu, not COVID. So I'm sure you're seeing a lot of that right now.