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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Pfizer's Drug Delivered To All 50 U.S. States Today; Germany Going Into Full Lockdown As COVID Cases Surge; The Electoral College Set To Confirm Joe Biden As President. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired December 14, 2020 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:34]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Live from New York, I'm Julia Chatterley. This is FIRST MOVE, and here is your need to know.
Vaccine voyage. Pfizer's drug delivered to all 50 U.S. states today.
Christmas curbs. Germany going into full lockdown as COVID cases surge.
And Democratic decision. The Electoral College set to confirm Joe Biden as President.
It's Monday. Let's make a move.
Welcome once again to FIRST MOVE this Monday. I hope you all had a safe and restful weekend and a start to the week wherever you're joining us from.
I have to say, it's a tale of two halves today across America. Let's talk about the good news.
Huge optimism as the first COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are delivered across the country. Frontline healthcare workers and residents of long-term
care facilities are expected to get the vaccines first. We will also be taking you behind the scenes later with the President of UPS's global
Healthcare and Life Sciences, the architect of that monumental delivery operation, so that's the good news.
The bad news, Congress still battling to deliver the pandemic aid package before Christmas. And the problem is even if they do agree; that help
surely won't be coming quickly enough for the 12 million people set to lose pandemic-tied jobless benefits at the end of this month. Time to act as we
keep saying.
What about for investors this morning? Well, they have vaccine vigor, I think, rather than benefit blunder, for a lack of a better word, in mind.
Dow futures are higher after the majors lost half a percent last week.
In Europe, the big story remains Brexit: when is a self-imposed deadline, not an actual deadline. Good question. Brexit talks, deal talks will
continue, and investors are optimistic judging by the pop higher in British pound versus the dollar and the euro.
The answer to that question of course is whether Brussels is involved in negotiations in Europe.
A quick look at Asia right now where the Nikkei and Shanghai rose Monday, while the Hang Seng and the Korean KOSPI underperformed as you can see
there. Seoul announcing fresh restrictions, the closing of more schools. Rising coronavirus infections in the Asia region tempering vaccine optimism
elsewhere, I think, and that is where we're going to begin the drivers.
The United States has begun the nationwide rollout of its COVID-19 of vaccine. Shipments of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine were dispatched to all 50
states Sunday. The first doses have been delivered to vaccination sites.
George Washington University says 975 doses arrived an hour ago and medical workers are preparing to administer the first inoculations shortly. The
C.D.C. has recommended healthcare workers and care home residents receive the vaccine first. But states of course make the final decision on
allocating those precious doses.
Meanwhile, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla spoke to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta earlier today in his first interview since the company's vaccine was authorized
here in the United States, and he said Pfizer can scale up production without compromising safety. Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: That the quality will be diminished, not at all because we have so strict rules that we will not allow anything to go out
without meeting the highest standards of quality.
So the one point that we believe, we will provide -- they will definitely meet the highest standards of quality.
Look, it's not an easy thing, so it's quite complicated. And there were a lot of things that were making me worried. Much fewer now. Already, we know
how to do it, and although it looks like a giant step; for us, it's what we do every day.
So right now, I feel quite comfortable that we will be able to do it smoothly. I'm sure that there will be bumps all the way -- across the way,
but also I'm certain that this is normal life for us and we will be dealing with them and then we will deliver these quantities and like I said, I hope
that we will deliver more.
[09:05:01]
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We've got a couple of minutes left. I brought up this point that I think is very important and
I'm hoping you can just clarify this. If we can show the graph of what happens with a single dose of the vaccine.
Now, I know all the trials were done on two doses. But I don't know if you can see this, sir. But the audience is seeing this graph from the F.D.A.
Pfizer's kit -- data that went out.
The red line is coronavirus cases going up without a vaccine. The blue line is about the 10-day mark after a single dose where you see a significant
flattening of new COVID cases.
The single dose appears to have a lot of benefit, not as much as it turns out as two doses, but in the middle of a pandemic, do you think and I
realize it's an F.D.A. and C.D.C. sort of decision, but as CEO of Pfizer, do you think there's merit in the middle of a pandemic when there's such
demand to giving one dose to as many people as possible, and then manufacture, just as you were describing the second dose very rapidly to
provide that dose after about three weeks or so.
BOURLA: Thank you, I can't see the graph, but I have it already printed in my mind very well. It's a very, very important graph from a public health
perspective, because indeed, those that already from 14th day, which is two weeks after the first administration, or the first dose, you can see the
lines getting separated.
And if you can measure around the 21st day, which is the day that we are giving the second dose, there is a vertical efficacy of 50, approximately
50 percent, but this is not something that we know can continue, and definitely is not as high as the 95, it is almost half of it that you can
get with a second dose.
This was something that the both F.D.A. and C.D.C. considered a lot, and they are, I think recommending that you should complete the second dose.
However, it is a very, very important graph because from public health and from epidemiological point of view, we know that we will have an impact
already from the first dose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. Elizabeth, so much to discuss this morning. I think back over all our conversations over the last seven
or eight months, and here we are today. What a feat of science.
Talk us through what we can expect over the coming hours as we start to see these vaccines being rolled out.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Julia, it truly is incredible. I was texting with Anthony Fauci over the weekend, and he
called this a truly historic moment. He said -- and I want to make sure I'm quoting him correctly -- he said, this is, of all the vaccine development
that he's been involved with over many decades, this is the most stunning accomplishment among all those vaccines that he has been involved with.
So let's talk about what's going to happen in the next few days in the United States. So today we're going to see 145 sites across the U.S., many
of them hospitals and medical centers, receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
Tuesday, another 425 sites will receive the vaccine. On Wednesday, 66 sites will receive the vaccine. That's for a total of 636 sites and 2.9 million
doses.
So 2.9 million doses to 636 sites. Those are all supposed to be given out. They're not supposed to be saving any of them. They're supposed to be given
out.
And then three weeks from now, when all those people need their second doses, then they'll get another shipment -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's quite fascinating, isn't it? And I love the quote from Anthony Fauci, what a feat of science has been carried out here,
Elizabeth. So that's what's coming over the next few hours and days.
Let's just go back to what the Pfizer CEO was talking about there, because I wanted to get your expertise and wisdom. Fascinating discussion between
him and Dr. Sanjay there talking about why not just give everybody one dose and see what happens rather than giving everybody a smaller proportion,
clearly half as many, two doses in the initial stages and what health impact will be had, even just as you start to give people the first dose?
COHEN: Right. It was great to hear Sanjay and Dr. Bourla sort of sort that out. It's so important that people get this second dose. Yes, the first
dose will give you some protection, sort of 52 percent-ish protection. But why would you want only 52 percent protection when you can have 95 percent
protection, which is what you get with two doses.
Two doses, I will just put it out there, it is a pain in the neck. It's a pain in the neck for everybody. It's a pain in the neck for the public
health system to have to deliver the second dose. It's a pain in the neck for the doctors and nurses to have to administer it.
And it's a pain to have to remember to come back after three weeks especially because -- and I'm just going to be totally -- you know, I'll
put it out there after the second dose, many people, not everybody, but many people feel pretty sick.
Some of them get a fever, they have muscle aches. They get a headache. So it really would, in many ways be much easier just to end this at one dose.
But again, why would you want 50 percent protection when you can have 95 percent protection and hopefully there will be enough doses of both Pfizer
and soon also, Moderna, to sort of cover everybody as quickly as we possibly can.
Moderna is having its F.D.A. hearing on Thursday, so they are about a week behind, a week from today, Julia, I predict that you and I will be sitting
here talking about the Moderna distribution. So that's coming up in about a week.
[09:10:29]
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And you make such a great point, get the maximum protection, you can. This vaccine has what -- 95 percent efficacy. It's
incredible. Get the two doses, if you have them available, and for those that suffer from it, COVID-19 is a way bigger pain in the neck than just
having to go back and get that second dose.
Elizabeth Cohen, great to have you with us. Thank you so much.
All right, Germany, also set to receive 11 million doses of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine by next month. That's according to the country's Health Ministry. Good news, but of course, that doesn't help with the present
crisis.
The German President described the situation today as quote, "dead serious." The country reported more than 20,000 new infections on Sunday.
Just to give you a comparison here, the United States whose population is around four times larger than Germany's recorded more than 190,000 new
cases.
Fred Pleitgen is in Berlin. So Fred, relatively far fewer cases in Germany, but that's not to stop the nation deciding to embark on a lockdown here.
Something, to be fair that Angela Merkel has been pushing for now for many weeks.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Angela Merkel, you're absolutely right, Julia, Angela Merkel has been pushing for
stronger, stricter lockdown measures for a very long time. But of course, this is a very federalist country here in Germany, and she has to do all of
that with the state governors, and a lot of them simply didn't want to pull along with a lot of these stricter measures for a very long time.
But it really seems as though, especially the last two weeks, the Germans have really felt like the coronavirus infections have been getting out of
control, and I think one of the things that really scared people and woke people up was last Friday, when Germany hit a record number of new
infections in a single day of around 30,000. But also, a record number of deaths in a single day with about 600.
And, you know, that's about the equivalent of 2,400 people dying in the U.S. in a single day. So a very, very high number and at the same time,
ICUs in this country, they are also starting to get pretty full as well.
And so one of the things or the things the Germans are doing now is they are putting the stricter lockdown in place a lot earlier than anybody would
have thought. It starts on Wednesday when all nonessential shops have to close. And keep in mind, this is right as people were about to do their
Holiday shopping.
So yesterday, people got the word that by the way, as of Wednesday, all shops are going to be closed, and also schools are going to close as well.
So there's going to be distance learning. So a lot of that a heavy burden on a lot of people here in this country, a heavy burden; also, of course,
on a lot of businesses here in this country, the government has already said that there is going to be compensation, but it is certainly something
that is cause for concern.
All of this, Julia, is to ensure that there can be some sort of Christmas here in Germany. It is going to be a lot smaller for a lot of people,
they're only allowed to gather in groups of fives and only from two different households, and just to give you an idea about how careful the
Germans want to be with all of this, there are going to be church services, but those church services have to be registered and approved by authorities
and people who go to these church services have to wear masks the whole time and are not allowed to sing.
So the Germans really trying to bring those numbers down and really don't want to take any chances because they understand, the situation right now
is extremely dangerous in this country -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, all about risk mitigation. Fred, thank you so much for bringing us that update there and stay safe, please. Fred Pleitgen there.
All right, today marks an important step in confirming Joe Biden's victory in the U.S. presidential election. Electors from all 50 states and
Washington, D.C. are gathering to cast their ballots in the formal process required by the Constitution.
Joe Johns is in Washington for us to explain this because, Joe, ordinarily, I don't think we'd even mark this occasion, quite frankly, even if it's
something that dates back to the details in the Constitution.
The problem, of course, is the consternation and conflict within the White House and the President himself over who actually won this election. And
that's why we're firmly focused on this today.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Julia. And just a few minutes ago, the President tweeted out just another conspiracy
theory about the November election, totally false, and he has been doing it almost since the election in November, almost every day.
But the fact of the matter is, today is a very big day. It is the day where the electors meet in all of the several states here in the United States to
cast their votes essentially, underlying or affirming the popular vote that happened in November.
There are 538 of these electors that vote if it goes precisely along the lines of the November election, it would be something like 306 to 232. But
there is a possibility that here in there, there could be a number of electors who say they're not going to vote for Joe Biden as they're
expected to, but turn their votes to Donald Trump, that's at least possible. It has happened before, even though about 33 of the states have
laws against it, there is a possibility.
[09:15:28]
JOHNS: We can't say today is the end of the drama in the United States over the 2020 election. That probably won't come until about January 6th. That's
the day when the certificates from those votes that happen today are up here on Capitol Hill, and people up on Capitol Hill actually tally the
votes and declare Joe Biden the winner.
There's a possibility even there for some type of a challenge from Members of Congress, if they choose to. But once again, highly unlikely that
anything will change and that Joe Biden will become the President on January 20th -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I think some people are waiting for Inauguration Day, quite frankly, in order to be sure of that, whichever way you voted in this
election.
Our senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns. Thank you, sir, for explaining that. Great to have you with us, as always right.
All right, and don't miss our special coverage of the Electoral College vote. It starts less than two hours from now at 11:00 a.m. in New York,
4:00 p.m. in London, right here on CNN.
All right. Let me bring you up to speed now with some of the other stories making headlines around the world.
Singapore has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. It is expecting the first shipments by the end of this month. The Prime Minister
says the vaccine will be available free of charge to all residents, it won't be mandatory.
He also said Singapore will relax coronavirus restrictions starting December 28th.
As we've mentioned, crucial Brexit talks are coming down to the wire. The British Prime Minister and the European Commission President have agreed to
extend talks again after speaking on the phone Sunday, but the two sides are warning a no deal Brexit likely.
Actually I'm going to hand you over now because we're going to listen to Governor Andrew Cuomo talking about vaccine delivery --
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): ... in the State of New York, maybe the first vaccine shot in the United States. Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse. It's a
pleasure to be with you.
And you are in Long Island Jewish Medical Center, which is in the borough of Queens. But things come from Queens. Let me start by saying thank you,
doctor. Thank you, nurse. Thank you, Mr. Dowling. Thank you for everything you've done for all New Yorkers through this pandemic.
I know how horrific it was. It was a modern day battlefield. And that's why the word "heroes" is so appropriate for what you did. You put your fear
aside and you stepped up every day to serve others and you did it magnificently well, so I can't thank you enough.
This vaccine is exciting, because I believe this is the weapon that will end the war. It's the beginning of the last chapter of the book. But now,
we just have to do it. Vaccine doesn't work if it is in the vial, right?
So New York State has been working very to deploy it, to get it out. We have trains, planes, and automobiles moving this all over the state right
now. We want to get into the point and we want to get it deployed quickly. And we're here to watch you take the first shot. So Michael Dowling, Dr.
Chester, Sandra Lindsay, we are all with you.
MICHAEL J. DOWLING, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NORTHWELL HEALTH: Hi. Governor, thank you so much, and let me also express our thanks to you for
your extraordinary leadership during this whole pandemic over the last number of months, and obviously today. And the fact that you committed to
science and data to guide your leadership is absolutely extraordinary.
And as you said, we're in Eastern Queens. And as you know, Queens was the epicenter of the COVID issue back a number of months ago. This is where it
hit the hardest. And this facility, Long Island Jewish was right at the center.
And here at Northwell. You know, we've seen well over 100,000 COVID patients. And at one point back in April, we had over 3,500 patients in our
hospitals. And as you said, we are the largest health system in New York and we are very, very proud of our frontline staff, and of course, the
frontlines staff with all of the -- and all of the hospitals and all of the facilities across the region, this spectacular work and as we said, they
are the real heroes.
[09:20:10]
DOWLING: So it's a pleasure to be here with Sandra and Dr. Chester. And I don't think we need to delay any further. Because this is a special moment,
it is a special day. This is what everybody has been waiting for, to be able to give the vaccine and to hopefully see -- this is the beginning of
the end of the COVID issue.
But I just would like to say something, though, that just because we're giving out the vaccine is no excuse for the public out there not to
continue wearing masks, not the social distance, et cetera. You have to continue to comply with safety standards, even though the vaccine is going
to be distributed over the next couple of months.
You have to do both if we're going to be successful here, as you know very well. So again, Governor, we thank you, thank you for your extraordinary
leadership. And with that, let me turn it over to Dr. Chester. And then with Sandra here.
Sandra is a critical care nurse and has been on the frontlines all during the crisis and is a director in critical care. She has seen a lot and she
is very, very happy to be here to receive the vaccine.
And Dr. Chester is a Director of our Employee Health Services. So with that, Dr. Chester, we will turn it over to you today
DR. MICHELLE CHESTER, DIRECTOR OF OUR EMPLOYEE HEALTH SERVICES: How are you feeling today?
SANDRA LINDSAY, ICU NURSE, LONG ISLAND JEWISH MEDICAL CENTER: I am feeling great.
CHESTER: All right, so we are going to give it on the right deltoid.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
CUOMO: So, Sandra, you didn't flinch. I take it that Dr. Chester has a good touch.
LINDSAY: She has a good touch and it didn't feel different from any different from taking any other vaccine.
CUOMO: Great. Dr. Chester, it all worked, the kit from your end?
CHESTER: Everything worked perfectly. Thank you.
CUOMO: And you're feeling well?
LINDSAY: Governor Cuomo, I am feeling well. I would like to thank all the frontline workers, all my colleagues who have been doing Yeoman's job to
fight this pandemic all over the world.
I'm hopeful -- I feel hopeful today, relieved. I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning to the end of a very painful time
in our history.
I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe. We are in a pandemic, and so we all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic
and to not give up so soon.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to continue to wear our masks, to social distance.
I believe in science. As a nurse, my practice is guided by science. And so I trust them.
What I don't trust is that if I contract COVID, I don't know how it would impact me or those who I come in contact with. So I encourage everyone to
take the vaccine.
CUOMO: Sandra, you said it very well, Sandra. We trust science here in the State of New York. Federal government approved the vaccine. We then had New
York State have a separate panel that also approved the vaccine and we've been following the science all along.
I hope this gives you and the healthcare workers who are battling this every day, a sense of security and safety and a little more confidence in
doing your job when the second vaccine has been administered.
In New York, we've prioritized healthcare workers at the top of the list to receive the vaccine, because we know that you are out there every day,
putting your lives in for the rest of us. So we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to keep you safe.
[09:25:47]
CUOMO: And the point about New Yorkers and Americans having to do their part, and take the vaccine, because the vaccine only works if the American
people take it.
They estimate we need 75 percent to 85 percent of Americans to take the vaccine for it to be effective. So every American has to do their part, and
your point is right. It's going to take months before the vaccine hits critical mass.
So this is the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's a long tunnel and we need people to continue to do the right thing and the smart thing all
through the Holiday season. And hopefully, when we get to about June, they estimate the vaccine can hit critical mass.
But the healthcare workers will get it first because we know that you're super stressed during this Holiday season.
So God bless you. I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for what you do. Everybody knows it. Everybody knows how brave you are and
skill and talented and selfless.
When we use the word "heroes," we don't mean that lightly. We mean it deeply and sincerely. What you do, showing up every day, you really are
heroes and we wish you and your families a blessed Holiday season.
Michael Dowling, thank you very much for your leadership once again, my friend.
DOWLING: Yes. Thank you, Gov, and we will beat this. We will win.
CUOMO: Thank you. When my time comes -- when my time comes, I want Dr. Chester. I like her style.
CHESTER: No problem.
CUOMO: Thank you, guys. Thank you very much.
DOWLING: Thank you, Gov.
[APPLAUSE]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So you've just seen the first person in New York State to get the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer, an ICU nurse,
critical care nurse from Long Island Jewish Medical Center out on Long Island, New York.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me live. You know, Doctor, it is interesting. There's a part of me that looks at this and says, wait, we just all aptly
watched someone get a flu shot. You know, I mean, like something that we get every time, but we were glued to it, right?
And I think it was so important, she made the point. This isn't any different than any shot she's ever gotten. It felt completely normal. And
that was the whole point to show people how normal and safe it is.
GUPTA: Yes, I mean, look, you know, we've been sort of dealing with this pandemic for so many months now. There's been this hope on the horizon in
the form of this vaccine, and I think as a result, there has been this mystique and all this around it.
And you know, some of it for good reason. I mean, the scientific sort of achievement behind this, Erin, as we've talked about is truly remarkable.
And I think when scientists have described this vaccine as sort of, you know, the infectious disease equivalent of the moonshot, I don't think
that's being hyperbolic.
I mean, I didn't think we'd be having this conversation this year. But to your point, in practical terms, what it ultimately all leads to for any
given individual is a shot that feels very much like a flu shot or any other shot that they would have received.
I mean, you've got the vaccine. It was diluted. It was thawed. You may have felt a little bit cold just because of the cold storage going into the arm.
BURNETT: Yes, I'm sure, yes, I was thinking about that.
GUPTA: But besides that, I mean, you know, Sandra just got that shot, which by the way, and this is another point, well, you know, fairly quickly
within, you know, a week or so start providing her some protection.
This is called the prime shot, and then the next shot, the booster shot, three weeks later will get her up to that 90, you know, 94 percent or so
protection against COVID-19.
So it looks very unremarkable in the scheme of things, you know, which is what it should look like. But everything behind it, the story of this
pandemic, the story of the scientific achievement, the scientists that have been working not just this year, but for over a decade on the idea of mRNA
technology is really -- it's really remarkable.
I mean, I could talk about it all day, Erin, but it is a really, really remarkable moment. And you know, just -- I hope that people get to take a
breath and just take this in.
[09:30:17]
BURNETT: Yes, I mean, it is pretty incredible when you think about it, and also there is technology involved, right? This isn't some of the tried and
true technologies, right. These are new technologies and the other -- we have other vaccines coming, mRNA, pretty amazing to think of such
innovation in a sector that, you know, to most people until recently, was pretty staid. Right?
And that's not -- that's obviously not the case here. So Sanjay, while you're with me, I want to bring in former C.D.C. director, Dr. Tom Frieden
as well, because he led the C.D.C. during the H1N1, Ebola and Zika emergencies as well.
So Dr. Frieden, you know, it is interesting that New York chose to do it that way. And I do think it was significant. We don't know if that's the
first vaccine around the country that was administrated. It well could have been, but it certainly was in New York State.
But for something so mundane to be so important to do, like this, I think is a significant statement.
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER C.D.C. DIRECTOR: This is a wonderful first step on a very long road to immunity from vaccination. It is a triumph, a
scientific triumph. It's amazing that we have a vaccine is this effective and appears to be this safe.
But we're not out of the woods yet, and for the next few months, we really need to double down on protection protocols, so that there aren't avoidable
deaths while we're waiting to get the vaccine rolled out.
BURNETT: And Sanjay, that is the great tragedy, right? You've got 110,000 people hospitalized. Hospitalizations at record. New cases at a record.
Deaths, the C.D.C. has said are going to run 2,000 to 3,000 per day for the next 90 days. I mean, a tragedy in that so much of this was avoidable, had
behavior been changed.
Sanjay, what do you think about what's been put out there as people, you know, mull over the vaccine and what they're going to do. Some have said,
well, you should give everyone one dose and just give everyone a dose and get as much immunity as you can, and then not worry about that second dose
until everybody has had the first and then do a booster.
Do you think that makes any sense given that the vaccine has obviously not been tested in such a way?
GUPTA: You know, I've asked so many people about this, including Albert Bourla, who is the CEO of Pfizer. I asked him about that this morning.
We've talked to the F.D.A. about this, Dr. Fauci and I think, you know, it's really interesting. I don't know if we have this graphic, maybe we
don't -- it basically shows how much protection people seem to be getting after a single dose.
But regardless, what you hear from just about everybody is that what the data sort of points to is the efficacy of two doses. There was just a
three-week time period in between the first and second dose, so it's really hard to read too much into this idea --
BURNETT: So Dr. Frieden, how long does it take? You had the Governor of New York saying next summer. You heard the Health and Human Services Secretary
Dr. Azar implying it could be much sooner than that. Right? You get it by February.
How quickly does this actually provide the vaccine induced herd immunity?
FRIEDEN: Well, first off, the top priority here, in addition to healthcare workers are people who work or live in nursing homes, because that's where
40 percent of the deaths are. And if we can rapidly get people in those communities vaccinated, we can really knock down the number of deaths in
the coming months.
But remember, it's one vaccine, a second vaccine three or four weeks later, and then maybe a week or 10 days after that, the kind of protection that
we're seeing, it's very encouraging.
There's a lot of bumps in the road that can happen. Production problems, supply problems, distribution problems. There may be signals that make
people worried about acceptance. And it's going to be many months before this pandemic begins to be over.
But today's first step is a great one. It's worth celebrating, but we should celebrate by being even more careful so that people don't get it
avoidably and die just as a vaccine that can prevent it is so near.
And one last thing that's so important, Congress must act, billions of dollars spent to make this vaccine, but no money allocated to make sure
people get it. That's got to be in the next bill in Congress, or it will be a tragedy because even a vaccine that's 100 percent effective will be zero
percent useful if people don't get it.
BURNETT: Yes, that's the thing you need. You need the public relations campaign and information. Thank you very much, Dr. Frieden and Dr. Gupta,
and Anderson, back to you.
CHATTERLEY: All right, let's carry on. The rapid U.S. rollout of the COVID- 19 vaccine is the result of months of planning. Shipments by UPS and FedEx went out to all 50 states within hours of regulatory approval being given.
You'll recall that this vaccine requires unbroken cold chain storage at minus 70 degrees Celsius. So let's talk about this.
Joining us now is Wes Wheeler. He is President of UPS Healthcare and is in charge of the company's vaccine distribution strategy. Wes, fantastic to
have you on the show.
Our viewers have just been watching live the first person in New York State to be vaccinated. We saw similar in the U.K. last week. You described the
emotion of this moment as comparable to your daughter's wedding when you were speaking to CNN over the weekend, just describe what it took to get to
this moment and how it feels.
[09:35:28]
WES WHEELER, PRESIDENT, UPS HEALTHCARE: Well, Julia, we've been working on this for four or five months since we started working on the clinical
trial. So we had a very good idea, way back in April just how hard this would be and how difficult it would be to coordinate all these activities.
And then, of course, the Operation Warp Speed team that put us on their team. We've been with them every day. And now we're with them twice a day
to make sure we have enough capacity in our network and we've made plenty of capacity available in the U.S.
Of course, now we're pivoting to Canada. We're delivering to Canada this morning. And we're now pivoting also to Europe. We're ready, and we're
having a lot of anxious moments, but we're very proud.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, anxious and proud of all the work that's gone into this, too. I think everybody watching you as well.
Wes, we've often talked on this show about the fragility of this Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine, the fact that it has to be kept at minus 70 degrees. It's got to be kept colder than Mars.
Just talk about the choreography required and the process that you're going through here from the point upon which you begin the process of delivery
right to the endpoint when it gets to wherever it's going to be administered.
WHEELER: Yes, so Pfizer has designed a very complex package they call a thermal shipper. And the thermal shipper has four components in it that has
dry ice in the bottom, a payload section where you can put up to five trays and 975 vials, which is almost 5,000 doses.
On top of that, a package of dry ice. And then on top of that they have their GPS tracking device with a temperature probe inside so we can watch
the temperature, we can watch the location, anywhere it is in the U.S. right now.
In fact, we just sent to Operation Warp Speed a few minutes ago, a map that shows exactly where all the vaccines are sitting as we speak.
CHATTERLEY: Wow. It's pretty clever. And from my understanding, I believe you're creating 24,000 pounds of dry ice daily. Forty pounds of dry ice is
delivered the day after each box is delivered, which has 50 pounds inside. How long does that keep the package cool for?
WHEELER: So Pfizer has validated the shipper with 50 pounds for up to 10 days. So we know we have 10 days of good solid minus 70 temperature, which
we'll be monitoring all the time.
We are shipping dry ice the next day to those sites that would like that additional dry ice and we're putting 40 pounds in. It comes in a day later.
That would give another five to six days, according to the protocol that Pfizer has validated for us.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, okay. I just want you to explain actually that because I'm just looking as you're talking. Where are you? Can you explain what we're
seeing in the background there of your shot?
WHEELER: I'm standing in the -- I'm standing on the cargo deck of a 747-8 freighter. This is one of UPS' premier cargo airplanes. And above -- a
minute ago, I was up in the flight deck where the pilot sits, but this is one of our premier air cargo flights.
CHATTERLEY: And this is actually being used to distribute the vaccines.
WHEELER: Yes, so UPS has several types of aircraft. I think yesterday, you saw Captain Houston Mills fly in on the 757, which delivered the first
vaccines here to Louisville, Kentucky, and then out last night to all locations around the U.S.
But we use five different aircrafts. This would be the largest of our fleet.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And to get back to your point, because I was just, one, amazed by the communication quality that we have here. But you were saying
you know, you've just sent out a plan. So you know exactly where all of these packages are at any given moment whether that's on a flight, whether
it's on a truck.
How are you collecting and collating all that data and mitigating potential risks? These packages are precious, precious cargo.
WHEELER: Yes, of course. So we have triple redundancy actually. For the trailers that come out of Michigan, each trailer is carrying one of these
sensor devices, which is measuring temperature, location, shock, motion and light detection. That's in real time.
Any cargo flight that we have in the network and most commercial flights as well if we ever use one. In addition to that, every package has one of
these tags. This is a Bluetooth and radio-activated tag that communicates.
As soon as the package arrives in one of the UPS locations, we can find that package within 10 feet and that gives us the option to look at in
transit, in the facility, and of course, Pfizer has their own tracking device in the box.
[09:40:19]
CHATTERLEY: So just to give us a sense, because obviously Pfizer have said, Look, this is our production schedule. Have you mapped requirements for
their production schedule? And could you scale up or down quickly, depending on what they can do? So if they can produce more, for example,
you can get it delivered?
WHEELER: Yes, Julia. So back three months ago, we started modeling this for not only just for Pfizer, but all the developers that are developing
vaccines today. We've mapped all their manufacturing locations, all the potential supply lanes across the world. And of course, I'm talking to CNN
International here.
So you should know, we're looking at all the supply lanes all across the world, from Belgium, from the Netherlands, from Germany, anywhere they're
being manufactured, even India, so that we can actually put the capacity into our network planning, and make sure we reserve that capacity, in
addition to all the packages that we deliver every day.
So we have done a lot of work on this for the last four months.
CHATTERLEY: So anyone who says, you know, they're going to be able to produce the vaccines, but they're not ready to deliver them. You're saying,
don't worry, we've been modeling this now for months, we're ready.
WHEELER: Don't worry, we're very, very proud to be part of this. The UPS serves -- there are thousands of UPS centers that are behind me, plus
Operation Warp Speed, we have a very direct line into the Washington Command Center. I was talking to General Perna a couple of days ago. We're
ready for the next vaccine coming, we hope next week.
And then beyond that, we know the others as well. We're very, very proud to be part of this. And thank you very much for your attention.
CHATTERLEY: No, Wes, thank you to you for spending time with us this morning, and to your team for the hard work. One can only imagine. Not much
sleep, I'm sure.
Stay in touch, please. And we'll keep talking about this. Wes Wheeler, I will let you get back to your work. President of UPS Healthcare there. Sir,
thank you.
WHEELER: Okay, we're still working. We are still working. Thank you very much.
CHATTERLEY: No, I know you are. Sir, thank you. You take care.
We're back after this. Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:22]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. U.S. lawmakers are looking to split the stimulus package into two to try and break a renewed stalemate. The
more contentious point could be isolated. And that's the sum of around $160 billion, and it includes issues like state and local aid and liability
protections for businesses.
The remaining near $750 billion contains all the items garnering wider support from things like jobless benefits to small business loans. It would
also include aid for airlines, among the pandemic's hardest hit industries.
Joining us now, Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants. Great to have you back with us. I vividly remember our
conversation last time and I was hoping by this point, Sara, you'd have cash aid to those that you represent. Not the case. How hopeful are you
this time and how are they doing?
SARA NELSON, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: Well, it is very difficult. So we have had people out on furlough since October 1st. The
moratorium on furloughs with the airlines ended at that time. So there have been more furlough announcements since then.
People have -- because of our contracts -- have a period of time where the companies in some cases are covering the cost of COBRA, the very high cost
of the health insurance plan. But that is ending as well.
So without a paycheck and without any kind of support on healthcare at the end of this month, when 12 million people are set to fall off of any kind
of unemployment insurance at all, 17 million children are going hungry, 30 to 40 million people are at risk of losing their homes.
In addition to that, the people that I represent are definitively losing their healthcare and trying to figure out how they're going to survive.
So it is absolutely confounding that nothing has happened to this point, and I believe when we spoke before, I shared that we actually had a program
that we had hoped would be provided for every other industry. We are 80 percent union in the airline industry and we forced the airlines to come to
us on a workers first package that required all the government money to go through to our pay, our healthcare, no cuts in hourly rates, continued
service to all of our communities, and a cap on executive compensation and ban on stock buybacks.
So all the things that we hate about those corporate bailouts we took care of, too. And now here we are with the distribution of the vaccine, and we
need all the planes up in the air distributing that vaccine to make the demand.
But that requires people, planes and routes to be in place and that doesn't happen just overnight. So we've got a humanitarian crisis and we also have
a real infrastructure crisis in order to attack this virus and get to a place where we can recover.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, you raise all the most important points here. There's an ethical and a moral duty here for lawmakers to act. It's hard, I'm sure
for you to explain to those that you represent and say look, actually lawmakers agree on a package whether they are Democrats or Republicans.
It's just trying to agree some bigger deal.
Sara, what's your message to lawmakers at this moment, because you're incredibly eloquent in pointing out the need?
NELSON: Look, every single day counts. So if we think about this, if we think about just if you want to look at a balance sheet or you want to look
at the infrastructure that needs to be in place to attack this virus, to have a larger structure to be able to take care of people get through this
pandemic, every day counts, because the longer you go, the more people who fall off of certification to fly the aircraft that we need to move the
vaccine around.
But everyday counts for those individuals, too. There are people who have been out of work now for two months and are trying to decide -- they have
been told by lawmakers it is coming, relief is eminent and so they've made personal decisions in their lives, not to leave their apartments that are
near the airport so they can do their jobs.
They're hanging on just barely, but they're going to have to get rid of that now and pay the extra month's rent in order to break those leases
early, or be in a position where they won't have a home if that relief gets in place, and now they won't have a place to meet their obligations on the
job.
So every single day counts and people have been left in absolute shock over the inaction of this government, especially when there is so much
agreement. They have got to get this done. They cannot wait to do this.
And we've got to talk really about what this relief money is. When we simply talk about state and local, it is very easy to make that a line
item. But what is that? That sanitation jobs. That's firefighters' jobs. That is teachers' jobs. Those are people who also pay into the economy.
So the lawmakers have got to set aside either who's going to get the credit, or who's going to get the blame and understand that we are in 100-
year crisis here. And without action, we're really going to fall off the cliff and have a much more difficult time to recover. More people are
likely to die of poverty and homelessness than the virus itself.
[09:50:37]
CHATTERLEY: Do you think it is politics coming before people, Sara? Because you're advocating for every single person in this nation that is struggling
and not just the airline workers that you represent. Do you think the lawmakers are putting politics first?
NELSON: I think there's been a heavy dose of an assessment of politics. And anytime we address an issue about whether or not something is politically
possible, or whether or not it's going to help or hurt someone politically, then we've lost our way.
Because that is not going to encourage consensus. That's not going to encourage people to come in together and solve problems the way that we're
supposed to.
I think about the flight attendants who've been on the frontlines of this coronavirus from the beginning, going to work, continuing that essential
service for our communities, even the people who don't fly, repatriating Americans to get home to their loved ones during that time.
And now, they're out of work. Now, they're not being taken care of, and not given the support to do our jobs. The people who remain on the jobs today
because we don't have that support from the government to hold up that infrastructure. There's more stress as airlines are forced to cut costs,
and encouraging people to come to work sick.
These are problems that continue to get created because the public health emergency collides with the financial emergency. And Congress has got to
set any political assessment aside, if that starts to enter their minds, get rid of it. Focus on the people. Focus on the people on the frontlines.
We're going to be the ones to rebuild this economy. And we're the ones that we've got to focus on to make sure that we eradicate this virus because as
long as one person has it and we're not able to treat it, we're all at risk.
CHATTERLEY: Amen. Sara, I have not heard anybody argue it better. Thank you so much for coming on our show. You give me a frog in my throat. Sara
Nelson, thank you once again and we're thinking of you and all of your people. Thank you.
All right, more to come. You're watching FIRST MOVE.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. A quick look at what we're seeing in terms of price action for U.S. stock markets this morning. They are
running for the first trading day of the week and they are running higher. Look at that, almost a percent or over a percent now for the NASDAQ, the
tech heavy stock market.
Wall Street rebounding from last week's losses. This of course, as the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is shipped across the United
States as we've talked about and shown you in this show. A lot of optimism there about the endgame, but challenges of course remain.
[09:55:15]
CHATTERLEY: And a final reminder of one of our top stories today, the Electoral College vote happening today, electors from all 50 states in
Washington, D.C. will finalize Joe Biden's win. It's a formality of the U.S. elections and normally, wouldn't make the headlines, but of course,
with concerns and disputes about the final results, it takes on far greater significance this time around. Our special coverage begins in around an
hour from now.
That's it for the show. I'm Julia Chatterley. You've been watching FIRST MOVE. Stay safe and we'll see you same time same place tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
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