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Inside Politics

Maryland Gov. Asks To End School Mask Mandate; DHS Warns Convoy Could Disrupt Super Bowl Sunday; Biden In VA To Tout Efforts To Lower Health Care Costs. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired February 10, 2022 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:01]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: This is a very important and yes somewhat confusing moment in the COVID pandemic, most of the numbers and the trend lines are improving. And so states and cities from coast to coast are dropping or setting not too far off dates to drop mask mandates. Here's just an example, the Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, just now asking the State Board of Education to drop the mask mandate in the state of Maryland.

Now the Biden COVID team is watching all of this, not taking the lead at the moment does restrictions fall. And there's some mixed signals coming out of the White House. Let's go through some of the latest first. This is the CDC's map of high transmission. You see all the red, 99 percent of U.S. counties still have high or substantial spread, which the CDC says you should wear a mask indoors.

And yet, you have governor after governor after governor after Governor, I'll bring it up right here. This is just some of them New York, Delaware, Rhode Island, California, Washington State New Jersey, Oregon, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Connecticut, saying we're going to ease, either immediately or in the very near future aren't mask mandates.

So let's bring in on Dr. Ranney to discuss this. Dr. Megan Ranney is professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Dean of Public Health at Brown University. There's a disconnect, Dr. Ranney, is there not between these governors saying we're ready, drop the mask, get back to normal or more normal. And the CDC saying well, we still have high transmission, not so fast.

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE: So the reality, of course, is that there are many governors across the country who haven't had mask mandates in place during this entire surge. What is the science tells us? It tells us that as case numbers drop, and as the percentage of the population with either vaccine induced or infection induced immunity grows, it is going to be safe to take those masks off in indoor locations.

It's not going to put us at risk the way that we've been for the last month and a half. And our hospitals will soon have the capacity to handle a small low level of COVID cases. I would say that dropping the mask mandates today is a few weeks too early. And most of the governors in Democratic states who have dropped mask mandates have said that they're putting it off for a week or two and equally importantly, are putting off dropping mask mandates for schools until the end of February or early March. That's appropriate because I expect that cases will have dropped even further there.

There's also a big difference between saying I'm going to drop a mandate and saying I'm going to ban mandates, of course, which is what many of the red state governors have unfortunately done throughout the pandemic, putting their population at greater risk.

KING: So what should somebody watching across the country? What should they use as their personal metric if they want to make their own decision about what they think is the smart, the common sense thing to do in the sense that this is how the CDC defines high transmission? If you look at this map, you think most of the country is still in a bad place. However, if you look at our case trend map you see a lot of green, 47 states reporting fewer COVID infections this week compared to last week, two holding steady, only one heading in the wrong direction.

This is new COVID cases down 70 percent since last month on average. Hospitalizations, look at this, a lot of green, 40 down, 10 holding steady, no states reporting more hospitalizations this week compared last week. So if you're the parent out there the business owner out there, trying to decide what do I need to do. What metric would you focus on?

[12:35:08]

RANNEY: So the personal metric that I'm using is a combination of local vaccination status and local case numbers. So for me, I am not taking off my mask in public indoor settings until the case numbers in my community are below around 100 per 100,000 per seven days. You may want that number to be even lower if you're in a community with low vaccination rates, like some of the states with currently increasing numbers of hospitalizations. But that 50 to 100 per 100,000 per seven days is a reasonable number to start safely taking off your mask indoors.

Now, the caveat, of course is that if you're someone who is tremendously high risk, John, immunosuppressed, elderly, you may want to keep your mask on even longer.

KING: One of the things I enjoy in our conversations is the clarity with which you communicate, Dr. Ranney. So help me through this one right now. If you look at our new poll, Democrats and Republicans, look how different this is, should we learn to just live with the virus, 27 percent of Democrats say that 73 percent of Democrats say stop the spread should be the highest priority among Republicans, it's a flip, 27 percent of Republicans say stop the spread is the highest priority, 72 percent say we need to learn to live.

Here's another way to look at it. Parents, 64 percent of parents say we need to learn to live with the virus, those who are not parents, it's more of an even split. How do you try to communicate priorities, which metric you should look at, where are we going next when we are divided politically and divided, it appears to be between those who are parents and those who aren't.

RANNEY: So I think that's a false choice that people are being presented with, we both have to learn to live with a virus because the reality is it's not going away. And we have to stop the spread. We have to expect as a society that there will be periods of time where we need more mitigation measures, where we need to put masks back on, where we need to be more conscious about rapid testing. And there are other periods like what we're heading into now, where we're going to be able to relax, and it's going to feel more like COVID is not around.

KING: Dr. Ranney as always grateful, thank you so much.

RANNEY: Thank you.

KING: We want to make an important point of clarification on our new CNN poll, which shows you at the top of the show, and we'll show you the graphic right here. When asked what Biden has done that you approve of, the numbers we showed you specifically refer to those poll with the 56 percent of Americans polled who say they disapprove of the President's job performance, we should have made that more clear in that graphic and in that presentation.

Up next for us, a new Department of Homeland Security warning about the trucker protests in Canada, a copycat movement is in the works now. And, yes, it could disrupt the Super Bowl.

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[12:42:16]

KING: The Canadian trucker protests are having a giant impact. Car manufacturers, for example, are canceling shifts in Canada and in Michigan because of supply chain issues and now worried that disruption just might grow. The Department of Homeland Security warns a copycat convoy is being discussed starting in Los Angeles where the Super Bowl is this Sunday and making its way across the country to Washington in time for the President's State of the Union address at the beginning of March.

That new DHS bulletin cites quote reports of truck drivers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers. CNN's Miguel Marquez is at one of the block border crossings, the Ambassador Bridge covering the Canadian protest. Miguel, tell us what you're seeing?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are seeing protesters who are not going to leave and we're seeing a local government and provincial and national government that is getting increasingly short with the protesters. You know, I want to show what happening here.

This side here, this road here that should be chockablock with trucks and traffic heading into the U.S. across the Ambassador Bridge. And on this side, this should be the same, chockablock with trucks coming from the U.S. into Canada. It has been blocked. We're going into the fourth day now.

There was one lane to this bridge that was open earlier in the last couple of days. But it appears that too now has been blocked. The Windsor Police have been taking a what they call a diplomatic approach to dealing with all of this, saying that they want to talk with the protesters and respect their right to protest. But also get them to allow the free flow of goods and transportation. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles typically come over this bridge every day. Hundreds of millions of dollars in goods typically come over this bridge every day.

Protesters here, what do they want? Not -- it's not just about vaccine mandates, they say, it is about all the mandates that the government has imposed here and they're looking to the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do away with all of them before they say they will leave this area. The Mayor of Windsor now says that he has asked for additional resources from the province and from the national government. It has come in and he also says that time is growing short and they expect to, if protesters will not leave, they will make them. Back to you.

KING: They will make them. Ominous words there. Miguel Marquez, appreciate the live reporting and grateful you're there to keep an eye on this important story. Let's get some more perspective now from CNN's Paula Newton. She is in Ottawa, the Canadian capital. Paula?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, you know, authorities here in Ottawa would say good luck with that Windsor. They've been trying that here for the better part of two weeks. I mean, take a look behind me, John. This is what DHS and the FBI are worried about. This is a string party. It looks like a tailgate party. It has been the same every day. Authorities here in Canada have been in touch with both DHS and the FBI. They want to try to avoid this. It is absolute gridlock. And it is wreaking havoc in many different parts of Canada, including, as you heard from Miguel at the border.

[12:45:15]

But I mean, this is right in front of Parliament, I want you to come turn and around with me, John. We have businesses that are closed all the way down behind me and then this. John, these trucks here have been parked in street after street and the downtown core. Now, again, going on two weeks, convoy here is actually promising more vehicles, more people on the weekend, still no sign of any end to this stalemate, as much as police don't want who don't want to really risk escalating it further with violence, there seems to be no solution being offered by the politicians at any level of government, John?

KING: And so, Paula, you have now the economic ramifications, the car manufacturers in particular, which has an economic impact. And then there's the political question Miguel touched on this. You have mayors, then you have provincial governments, then you have the Prime Minister. Are the governments on the same page about trying to figure out we know their patience is running thin but then what?

NEWTON: Listen, John, they're on the same page is agreeing this is an occupation. They all say it has to end. But when you look at the different level of governments, local, provincial, right, like at the state level in the United States, and then the federal government, you know, the federal government saying, look, it's local police that have to handle this.

You have local policing. This is a siege. We do not have the resources to handle this. I can tell you the Defense Department here has reached out to me to say, look, we are not a police force. The military is not going to be a solution here. All Canadians now wondering, well, what is the solution and they want their leaders to step up at all levels.

KING: Paula Newton, ungrateful for the live reporting on the streets of Ottawa for us. We'll keep in touch. Thanks so much.

Up next for us, number one, we're watching the President of the United States and event coming up where we know he'll talk about the new inflation report, also, a rare bipartisan showing the Senate not long ago passing one of the largest workplace reforms in decades.

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KING: Take you straight to Culpeper, Virginia, the President of the United States discussing his efforts to reduce health care costs.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- when I was 12 years old than fly. I used to be a stutterer. I was scared to death I would stand up and ta, ta, ta, ta, talk like that. And I can't tell you how much -- how proud I am of you. And your brother is equally as impressive as you are. He's standing there, he's sitting there two seats over.

Shannon and Joshua, and by the way, Happy Birthday, man, he's going to be 13 years old, a teenager in a couple days.

[12:50:03]

I want you to know that lowering the cost of prescription drugs is one of the reasons why I'm here with Abigail, your congresswoman. And that's what I want to talk about with you today. Lowering the cost of healthcare overall, as well. Lowering the cost of prescription drugs is important. And giving families like yours just a little bit more breathing room makes a gigantic difference.

Before I get into that, I want to say, it's good to be here at Germanna School. And, by the way, Abigail, if I wanted to know anything about community colleges in Virginia, I go to my wife. She teaches full-time and has for the last nine years. She's in the classroom now at a community college in Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Community College.

And she says, she says, you know, the single best-kept secret in America is community colleges. And it really is. They are so flexible. They can do so much, so much. And if I had more time which I don't for all of you, I'd go into what we're going to try to do to increase the flexibility and the funding of community colleges for people.

But it's great to be here with Abigail with Congresswoman Spanberger. In every chapter of her career, in every chapter, she's always been about one thing, service, service.

I also want to thank Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who senators here, good friends and worked closely with me on so many things when I was a senator and now as President and when I was Vice President. But they needed to be in Washington today because there's votes in the Senate.

I also want to thank Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra for two things. One, for answering my call when I asked him to come and be the Secretary, I was worried he wouldn't. And how much he's helped us make so much progress in getting people vaccinated, getting health insurance, and making more affordable healthcare.

Look, healthcare is part of Abigail, Congresswoman, your Congresswoman's background. Back in 2017, she saw her representatives in Congress vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act. That was one of more than 100 Republican efforts, there were 100 Republican efforts since we passed it in our last administration to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

But she knew that that was the exact opposite of what central Virginia badly needed. You needed then and you need now more access to quality healthcare that is more affordable. So, when I became President of the United States, that's what we did. We passed the American Rescue Plan, which made quality coverage through the Affordable Care Act more affordable than ever before, with families saving, on average, who have signed up, a family on average, $2,400 a year in their annual premiums.

Compared to last year, the average monthly premium for Virginia -- for Virginians has gone down more than 25 percent. Over 5 million people have gained coverage through the ACA since I became President. And as was mentioned by Xavier, over 300,000 Virginians have signed up for health insurance during open enrollment period here in Virginia.

And we want to go further, lowering prescription drug prices, get a cap on the amount people pay on Medicare, pay for prescription drugs; and to bring more clarity and fewer surprises when you get your bills if you've been hospitalized.

So, let me say a few words about each of these things now. With regard to prescription drugs, in America, we pay the highest prescription drug prices of any nation, developed nation in the world, the highest of any. And it's about two to three times higher than what other countries pay.

Let me give you one example. An anti-cancer drug to treat leukemia and lymphoma costs $14,000 a month in the United States. The same exact drug, made by the same exact pharmaceutical company, is sold in France and it's $6,000 a month, 6,000 for the same exact drug, same exact manufacturer, same exact amounts. Not 14, but 6. That's for a month's supply. Today, one in four Americans who need prescription drugs struggle to

afford them, one in four. Nearly 30 percent have skipped doses of essential drugs they're supposed to take. Others have simply not filled prescriptions that the doctor had given them, tried to use over-the-counter drugs or pills cut in half because they can't afford the cost of their prescription.

This is the United States of America, for God's sake. That's just wrong. It's simply wrong, especially since it doesn't cost the drug companies nearly, nearly, nearly, nearly as much to make the drug or the research that went into them.

[12:55:13]

Let me regress for just a moment here. I started when in the Obama- Biden administration an effort to deal with the Cancer Moonshot to change the way in which we deal with cancer. And I'm reinstituting that in my administration now.

And it was interesting. I met, we had these hearings all over the United States. And one of the major events we did, we use at Howard University, where there were 35 other events going on simultaneously with this. I had subsequently met with the heads of - I think it was 13 drug companies.

And I asked them, I said, if you found a cure for a particular cancer, how much you think you should be able to charge? And the response universally was, what the market will bear. I said, hope I don't get elected President, because that's just not -- what you'll get should be treated more like a utility. You should be able to make a significant progress for that. Let's add up how much and like they do in Germany, how much did it cost you all, the research and development all the effort. Add it all up. And then, on top of that, add a significant premium for it, a profit of 20 to 30 percent above that, maybe, in some cases, more.

But the idea, the idea you can charge whatever you want is just not going to happen in the United States of America if I have anything to do with it. If you think this doesn't affect you, it does, by the way. Everyone has less money in their pockets today because of high drug price -- drug costs and health insurance. And it's more expensive for everyone.

And the reason it is, is this is what your insurance companies pay. Every -- all of you who have insurance, you're paying a heck of a lot more even if you're not using the drugs. Over the past decade, healthcare costs have gone up 50 percent. Prescription drugs are a big chunk of that.

And there's a lot of things that almost every American can agree on. But I think it's safe to say that all of us, whatever our background, our age, where we live, whether we agree on prescription drugs, look, we all acknowledge they're outrageously expensive, and in many cases, there is no relationship to cost. It doesn't need to be that way.

Josh and Shannon, it costs drug companies less than $10 to make a vial of that insulin, less than 10 bucks. That's what it costs. There's no reason you should be paying over $300 a vial for medicine you need every day to stay healthy and, in many cases, stay alive. As your mom said, you got to pay $5,600 for prescriptions before your insurance even kicks in. You got to do the deductible.

Shannon, you should have peace of mind of knowing that if Joshua grows up and leaves your care, your healthcare plan, he'll be able to choose a job without ever having to make a choice between which one has the particular healthcare coverage.

You know, we're now in a position where we can cap co-pays for insulin at $35 a month. And it's still a staggering profit, three and half times what it costs to produce the drug. You can do that with a stroke of a -- we can do that with a stroke of a pen.

In my Build Back Better legislation that with Abigail's leadership passed in the House of Representatives, we can do that. Now we just have to get through the United States Senate, and we're close. We can do even more to lower out-of-pocket prescription costs.

Under my proposal, we will hold drug companies accountable for the absurd price increases. Here's how, drug companies that increase their prices faster than the rate of inflation, once the price is set, will face a steep tax. This will help us end the days when drug companies could increase their prices with no oversight, no accountability, and no responsibility.

We're saying to drug companies, you are finally going to become accountable when you raise prices on the American people, accountability. You're still going to make a significant profit. And we can take additional steps to lower drug costs for people with Medicare, something Abigail has championed.

[12:59:51]

Right now, the only thing Medicare is not allowed to negotiate the price of our prescription drugs. For everything else covered by Medicare, a doctor's visits, they negotiate and say, we'll pay no more than this much for a doctor's visit.