Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

White House Begins Program on Monkeypox; Health of the Economy; Cervical Cancer Rates Increase; Finnish PM Leaked Video. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 22, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:12]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, new action to try to slow the rising case count of monkeypox. Over the weekend, the White House began its pilot program, sending 50,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine to LGBTQ events nationwide.

Dianne Gallagher is in Charlotte, North Carolina, this morning, which held pride events throughout the weekend.

What did you see there, Dianne?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, John, the pride festival ended this morning here in Charlotte, but it is only the beginning of the Biden administration's efforts to accelerate the monkeypox vaccine and the federal response to the outbreak.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER (voice over): Celebrating pride in person for the first time in two years, Charlotte showed up, dancing, cheering, marching and vaccinating at-risk pride participants against monkeypox.

ABE GADIKIAN, PRIDE FESTIVAL ATTENDEE: There were a group of women walking around saying that the shot was available. And me and a friend took a walk down to the health department, 15 minutes, filled out some paperwork, in and out.

GALLAGHER: The North Carolina city's pride festival is the launch site of a Biden administration pilot program to send 50,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine so LGBTQ centered events, like pride, around the country.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We will now, by prepositioning a considerable number of doses of vaccine, we'll be able to handle it and get our arms around this so that we don't see further spread.

GALLAGHER: Though some, like Miguel Fuller, who is vaccinated, feel the administration should have done this sooner. MIGUEL FULLER, PRIDE FESTIVAL ATTENDEE: You can't just like put

something on social media and say, all right, we've done it. They need to go to the bars, to the clubs, individually.

GALLAGHER: That's something local outreach organizations, like Rain, say they've had success in doing and is especially effective, they found, in reaching disproportionately affected communities of color.

CHELSEA GULDEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, RAIN, INC.: I know what we've been seeing in nontraditional venues has been primarily people of color. So, the first weekend we did it, we did a day event and an evening event, and we vaccinated 170 individuals. But 90 percent of them African American.

GALLAGHER: For Charlotte's heavily attended pride weekend, the Biden administration allotted Mecklenburg County Public Health an extra 2,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine to be administered to people considered high risk.

GLENDA DANCY, ASST. HEALTH DIRECTOR, MECKLENBURG COUNTY HEALTH DEPT.: We're excited to be a part of it. There definitely is a need in this county. We have a high case rate, and we definitely want to be able to provide vaccinations to individuals who need those vaccines.

GALLAGHER: The CDC has recorded more than 14,000 cases of monkeypox across the country. State public health data shows that as of August 18th 198 cases of those were in North Carolina, 93 here in Mecklenburg County, which was operating on a vaccine wait list.

[06:35:02]

They transitioned last week to an alternate, under the skin injection method in the forearm as a way to increase supply from one to five doses per vial.

GADIKIAN: I wasn't expecting the mark, but they -- I mean they told me it might be sore, it might be itchy. But, me personally, I haven't had any -- any symptoms from it. It's not bothering me at all.

GALLAGHER: But something that is bothering people at pride --

JENNY GUNN, PRIDE FESTIVAL ATTENDEE: We're very aware of not stigmatizing it as just a gay man's disease, just like HIV was in the '80 and '90s.

GALLAGHER: Men that have sex with men and transgender people do make up the majority of monkeypox cases right now, which is why they are being prioritized with the limited vaccine supply. However, monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection and any person can get it from prolonged close, typically skin to skin contact with an infected person. So, if the Biden administration wants its outreach to be a success, celebrating while educating without discriminating is the only way to approach it.

GUNN: It's good to see the community back. And, yes, it's a -- it's a great moment for all of us. And that's what should be talked about. And we can protect people and still not stigmatize them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER: And that is key here from almost everyone I spoke with, making sure that you do not create a stigma around certain communities because of the monkeypox outbreak.

Now, one more thing, John, that was interesting about the way they approach this. Look, they didn't have a residency requirement, and that was because of those extra doses that they were allotted from the federal government, that way they could vaccinate visitors as well without cutting into the supply that they had for residents here in Mecklenburg County. The administration is looking at other events across the south coming up like Southern Decadence in New Orleans and Atlanta Pride in the future.

BERMAN: That is very interesting to see. Well, certainly monkeypox doesn't care about borders.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

BERMAN: Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much for that.

So, a big week for the U.S. economy. The key reports that could point where things are headed, and huge shifts in momentum ahead of a critical primary in New York.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, women around Europe are posting dancing videos in defense of Finland's prime minister. We'll have the story, why dancing is their defense, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:17]

BERMAN: All right, a big temperature check for the economy this week. New home sales, durable goods orders and an updated estimate of second quarter GTV - G -- I just chose three random letters, right? Three -- any three letters.

COLLINS: What's - what's the GTV? We know what you're saying.

BERMAN: I have no idea why those came into my head. GDP. Those are the three correct letters here. These reports coming in the next few days.

Here to save me, Christine Romans, CNN chief business correspondent, and Rahel Solomon, CNN business correspondent.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And PCE is Friday. GDP is Thursday.

BERMAN: I have no - maybe it's PCP is the problem. I don't know what's going on here.

COLLINS: Exactly. This is why President Biden hates acronyms.

BERMAN: So, what - what are we going to see this week and why is it important?

ROMANS: Well, it's so critical because we're getting closer and closer to the next meeting of the Fed is September and we don't know if the Fed's going to raise interest rates 50 basis points or 75 basis points. Each one of these numbers is seen as defining what the Fed will do next. So, each one has added influence.

Also, the Fed chief, there's a big Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week, the Kansas City Fed Conference, so that will be really important to see what the Fed chief has to say about where we are in the U.S. economy. So another really big week. Sometimes we wouldn't normally pay so much attention to any one of these individual reports, but now they're really important.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And then to add to the acronyms, we also get the PCE inflation report, which is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. It's a bit broader. And one thing that I think folks are going to be watching very closely is the monthly core inflation. Core inflation being -- stripping away categories that are volatile, like energy and food, to see month over month what that's doing because Chair Powell has said that's what they're looking for as evidence that inflation may be starting to ease.

COLLINS: Well, and one question, I think, for Powell, and what people will be watching to see as we've been watching his words so closely is, is what the Fed is doing so far working?

ROMANS: Yes, and there's a really important survey of business economists that said -- only 13 percent of them said they think the Fed can pull this off. They can pull off the feat of being able to tamp down inflation without having a recession -- resulting in a recession.

So, pessimism about recession and inflation is something that business economists are still really concerned about.

BERMAN: Let's talk about polls, right? There's this other poll which says that 72 percent of 200 economists say that the economy is headed into a recession by the middle of next year, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yes, because what we're really thinking about, right, is this soft landing, right? Can the Fed raise interest rates enough to cool inflation without causing a recession. The Fed doesn't have a great track record of doing that. Powell has pointed to three time periods where he has said that they have effectively done that. Others push back on that.

So, the Fed doesn't have a great track record, even coming into this extraordinarily high inflation environment of being able to pull it off. But this time around you have 40-year high inflation. You have inflation, by the way, which isn't totally demand driven. Part is supply driven, which the Fed doesn't have much control over.

So, it was already tough heading into this. It has become even more tough as the Fed has had to do more to try to tame inflation with these really high rates. ROMANS: I was -- I was impress that 13 percent of these economists saw

a pathway for the Fed to get this right.

SOLOMON: Yes. I do think that's high.

ROMANS: Thirteen percent -- there are 13 percent of them think that they can somehow do it. And 76 percent of these economists supported the Inflation Reduction Act, even with the higher corporate tax - you know, the minimum corporate tax and everything, saying those are important investments in the U.S. economy.

COLLINS: Well, all of this is also news that parents are watching. And there is this crazy new "Wall Street Journal" report that says the average cost now to raise a child is $300,000. From birth to 17 years old, that's how much it costs. And they say that that's going up from what you see the number in 2015. They say one of the reasons, obviously, is what we're talking about, inflation.

ROMANS: We're talking about - we're talking about dance lessons, braces, housing, the whole bit there, $311,000.

[06:45:01]

This is a middle income, two-income family.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: The second child, that's how much it would cost.

You know, John was joking earlier that I always call my kids my cost centers.

BERMAN: It's not a joke, you do.

ROMANS: I do. I remember when I first started covering personal finance, I asked this famous personal finance author, I said, what is your number one advice for someone for personal finance, and she said, don't have a kid. If you want to be rich, don't have a kid, because they're - they're - they cost a lot of money and - but, you know, you have them because you love them.

SOLOMON: By the way -

COLLINS: But $18,000 a year for a middle income couple to raise two kids.

SOLOMON: No, I don't think it's surprising, I mean, to be honest.

BERMAN: No.

SOLOMON: It's eye popping, but it's not surprising. You talk to parents about this and -- at least all of the parents I have spoken to have rolled their eyes and said, I spend a lot more. And that adjustment was because of inflation. But it turned out to be about, what, 9 percent of an adjustment. We're dealing with 9.1 percent, 8.5 percent inflation. So, it certainly makes sense. But, by the way, for parents who are at home, who are back to school

shopping, they're experiencing this, right?

COLLINS: Back to school shopping.

ROMANS: Yes, and childcare.

SOLOMON: I mean we see it in category after category with the exception, I think, only of crayons, only thing that hasn't gone up for back-to-school shopping. So, parents at home certainly can resonate and can relate.

BERMAN: Well, grandma and grandpa here can tell you, you know, a lot of the time kids are OK. Just -

ROMANS: Speak for yourself.

COLLINS: Yes, I just going to say.

ROMANS: Speak for yourself.

BERMAN: I just want to tell you, it's important to know that sometimes kids are OK. It's not just a cost center.

ROMANS: No, they're great. They're great. They - but child care, I think the policy part of this is child care is an ever growing part of this and there are a lot of people, child care is more expensive than college in some zip codes in this country.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROMANS: And that is a real problem. A real problem.

BERMAN: All right, Rahel and Christine, thank you both very much for being here today.

A new study reveals one of the deadliest forms of cervical cancer is on the rise. This is an important report. What you need to know, next.

COLLINS: Yes, and on top of that, you know, with the end of Roe versus Wade, you're now seeing individual states and companies that are stepping up to protect women's access to health care. We'll have the latest on the company to expand abortion coverage, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:58]

COLLINS: One of the deadliest forms of cervical cancer appears to be on the rise in the United States. A new study finds that late-stage cervical cancer cases where only 17 percent of patients will live past five years are increasing.

Joining me now is CNN's health reporter Jacqueline Howard.

And, Jacqueline, this is obviously awful news, but what are we seeing in this data and what does this tell people?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Yes, this is news, and it is concerning, to see a rise in an advanced stage cancer. But here's what this study is telling us, Kaitlan.

The researchers looked at cervical cancer rates from the year 2001 to 2018 and found that there was an annual increase of stage four cervical cancer by 1.3 percent. You see there on the screen.

And the researchers also found that there was an increase among white women alone of 1.69 percent. So, it appeared to be rising higher among white women. It rose among black women 0.67 percent each year. And white women in the south in particular, the researchers found regional differences. They -- that demographic had the highest increase overall with an annual increase at a rate of 4.5 percent.

But even though there was that annual increase, Kaitlan, overall researchers did emphasize that black women still have the highest overall rate of cervical cancer, which means black women are still more likely to be diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer.

You see the rate there among black women. It's 1.55 cases per 100,000 people, compared with white women it's 0.92 cases per 100,000.

So, those are the numbers that were in this study. But I think the takeaway here, Kaitlan, is that researchers emphasize to maintain cervical cancer screening, because early diagnosis is key so that you aren't, you know, diagnosed at a late stage. And it's a good reminder that the HPV vaccine prevents most cases of cervical cancer. So, those are two take a ways, I think, for women.

Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely critical to get those regular screenings.

HOWARD: Yes.

COLLINS: Jacqueline Howard, thank you for bringing us those numbers.

BERMAN: So, Finland's prime minister say she has taken a drug test to prove she didn't take narcotics at a private house party where she was seen dancing in a leaked video. The private videos are drawing criticism from some political opponents. But women around the world are supporting the 36-year-old prime minister by posting videos of themselves dancing.

CNN's Melissa Bell, live with the story this morning.

Good morning, Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

This was a video published, made public much to the regret of the finish prime minister who said they'd been filmed in private. The intention was they would remain private. Nothing illegal had taken place. This was a private party at which she danced, as she recognized boisterously. But there was nothing else that anyone else should have worried about.

As you say, when it first became public, a great deal of outrage, a great deal of criticism. So much so that Sanna Marin went and took a drug test that we will get the result of next week insisting that she'd never taken drugs in her life. This was her response on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANNA MARIN, FINISH PRIME MINISTER: I didn't have any work meetings planned for that weekend. They are confirmed usually beforehand. And I didn't have any meetings, for example, Saturday or Sunday. I had work meetings on Monday. But I, of course, handled - but we didn't have any government meetings during that weekend. I had time off and spent it with my friends and did nothing illegal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: But after that criticism and that defense and the drugs test, a great deal of support, as you say, from women all around the world posting pictures of themselves, videos of themselves, doctors, lawyers, all kinds of professionals, essentially, John, saying the message that even though they are women and professionals, the idea that they should be dancing in their living room or in a nightclub or at a party shouldn't present any problem to anyone. And that is very much the Finish prime minister's defense, I'm going to keep doing what I do, which is a -- what a 36-year-old normal woman would do, to enjoy time off for herself.

[06:55:07]

And that seems to have struck a chord with a lot of women. All those women coming out in support of the Finnish prime minister, who retains, John, crucially, the support of her party as well.

BERMAN: All right, Melissa Bell, thank you very much for that.

You know, my question is, when did Europe become "Footloose"? I mean haven't these countries learned anything from Kevin Bacon? What's wrong with dancing?

COLLINS: I actually have a strong opinion on this because I think it's ridiculous, the criticism.

BERMAN: Yes.

COLLINS: She's 36 years old. She -- it's not a criticism of her doing anything in her job. She's having to come out and defend herself and say that there weren't any meetings and she wasn't doing anything illegal. Are people not allowed to have a work/life balance and enjoy their time away from work?

BERMAN: If Kevin Bacon has taught me anything, it's that dancing, particularly good dancing, can be therapeutic there.

COLLINS: Are you a good dancer? BERMAN: I happen to be a good dancer. That's not an invitation to

publish any video of it. But I was, at one point - look, it's really - it's - it's an unfair criticism (INAUDIBLE).

COLLINS: But in all seriousness, I don't think a man who was doing that would get the same criticism. And I also think if you look at the scandals that are happening here in the United States and other places, it seems like such a small issue.

BERMAN: Right. And as far as Joe Biden's concerned, as long as they're dancing their way into NATO, he's happy.

Ahead, we're going to have an update on Russia's investigation into a car bombing that killed a daughter of a prominent Putin supporter.

COLLINS: And, two deputies and a police officer in Arkansas have been suspended after beating a suspect that was caught on this video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:00]