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Quest Means Business
U.S. Markets Soar on Pfizer Vaccine News and Biden Victory; Biden Builds COVID-19 Task Force as U.S. Cases Pass 10 Million; Focus Moves to Georgia in Fight for Senate Control. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 09, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:42]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: It's the final hour of trading on Wall Street and I can tell you, there is jubilation out there, a possible
light at the end of the COVID tunnel.
Pfizer says its vaccine could be more than 90 percent effective. It's the moment -- a moment -- markets have been waiting for. The Dow soaring to
record highs following Pfizer's announcement.
And Joe Biden unveiling a COVID Taskforce as the United States passes 10 million coronavirus cases.
It's Monday, November 9th. I'm Julia Chatterley in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Welcome to the show once again, tonight, a great day for science, a great day for markets and a great day for humanity. Stocks are soaring after
Pfizer said an early look at data from its coronavirus vaccine shows it is more than 90 percent effective. We'll explain what that means.
But the Dow climbed as much as 1,600 points before paring some of its earlier gains, but we're still on pace, let's be honest, for one of the
best days of the year. It's also the first trading day since Joe Biden was projected to win the U.S. presidential election and became the President-
elect.
Investors were already celebrating the prospects it seems of a divided U.S. Congress lowering the prospect for tax hikes and increased regulations on
things like healthcare stocks and technology firms. They were the big beneficiaries up until today.
Of course, it all comes as COVID infections are exploding in many places around the world. In fact, the United States has now suffered its worst
five days of new case rises since the pandemic began.
Now, our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been speaking to Pfizer's CEO and he joins us now. Sanjay, great to chat to you, second time
in one day, lucky me.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT Yes, lucky me.
CHATTERLEY: Talk to us about what these interim results actually mean. Give us some perspective, please.
GUPTA: Yes. So they are interim results. You know, we are still waiting for this. But you know, the way this process works, Julia, is that nobody
at Pfizer, none of the researchers, not the participants knew this data. There's this independent board, this Data Safety Monitoring Board that goes
in and un-blinds the data. Who got the placebo? Who got the vaccine? Are we seeing a difference in terms of infection rates? And these two groups,
that's basically it.
And what they found, we can show you, so there are some 44,000 participants over this trial period, about 94 people became infected. Not a lot, Julia,
just 94 people. But when you looked at the case split between the placebo group, the people who got placebo and they were getting infected versus
vaccinated. They showed about a 90 percent efficacy when it came to the vaccine.
But you know, we have to see, you know, does this data continue to play out over larger groups of people? We need to look at the safety data. And also,
you know, Julia, keep in mind that 80 percent of people who get this infection do well, right? They have minimal or no symptoms.
What you really want to know about this vaccine is does it also help prevent disease in people who for that disease would be most consequential?
Elderly people, people who have pre-existing conditions, all of that. So it's good news, I think no question about it. But we still need to see some
of these details.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, I think one of the things that comes to mind is immunity. How long does the immunity that this vaccine provides last? You
mentioned that this trial is going to continue to go forward? What other kinds of information are we going to find out as it progresses?
GUPTA: Yes, that's a big one, right? The immunity -- is this going to become a yearly sort of thing? Because we know that it does seem that
people who become infected have natural infection, their immunity does seem to maybe wear off, it's still an open question. Is it going to be the same
with the vaccine?
I think the other thing is just implementing this distribution, Julia. It's hard to overstate how significant this is. There are football fields full
of freezers in cities across America right now where they are basically starting to store this vaccine, you know, in anticipation, and hope that it
will be authorized. It needs to be stored at a super cold temperature.
And look, you know, we're talking about pandemic, Julia, so, you know, the United States obviously one place, but if you have outbreaks of this
infection other places around the world, it puts the entire world at risk. Point being that this has to be a worldwide distribution, ultimately. And I
think how exactly that's going to happen, how do you make sure there's equity in that process that people don't get left behind because we're all
at risk, then is going to be critically important as well.
[15:05:22]
CHATTERLEY: Yes. For millions of people in this country that are frightened to take a vaccine, there are so many challenges beyond just
getting to the point of the science giving us a vaccine. I know, you spoke to Pfizer earlier as well, what are they saying about their results at this
stage?
GUPTA: Yes, I mean, you know, as you might imagine, they are quite bullish about this. I wanted to really drill down a bit with the CEO, Albert
Bourla, here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: Ninety percent is a game changer. Ninety percent, now you're hoping to have a tool in your war against the pandemic
that could be significantly effective.
How long this protection will last is something that we don't know right now, but it is part of the objective of the study. We will follow up the
44,000 people that received -- that are part of this study for two years and during this follow-up, obviously, we'll be looking also at the
durability of the immune responses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: I think it's safe to say if you sort of parse what he is saying there, Julia, that there is a likelihood that this isn't going to be one of
those types of vaccines that you receive one dose and you're protected for life. There is going to be an interval period of time when people are going
to need to be revaccinated or boosted in some way.
And there's also other vaccine manufacturers, Julia, as you well know, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson. Those trials continue and there
may be more vaccine options, you know, within the next year as a result.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, this is all -- it's fantastic news, huge reasons to be optimistic. But I think Sanjay, you and I agree, it's not a fix today and
people still have to follow the same rules, as far as social distancing is concerned, wearing masks, the basic protections, because this is not going
to help us over the winter months.
GUPTA: Yes, I don't think we can say that enough, Julia. I mean, you know, it's really interesting culturally, you know, we want the home run, touch
down, knockout punch, whatever you want to call it. But you know, that's still a whiles away, and the vaccine is really important.
But we are still going up in exponentially high numbers here in the United States, exponential growth, I should say, and you know, the vaccine is not
going to come in time to really affect that apex that we're starting to climb toward.
But we can, as you point out, wearing masks, physically distancing a bit longer now that we have this vaccine in sight, we can hold on a bit longer.
We could save a lot of lives over the next few months.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, we must. Sanjay, great to chat with you. Thank you so much.
GUPTA: You got it.
CHATTERLEY: Sanjay Gupta there. All right, investors always jump ahead. U.S. markets are soaring on this news from Pfizer. Today's performance adds
to the seven percent plus gains that we've seen since the presidential election result last week.
This is the first trading day as I mentioned since Joe Biden was projected to be the winner, and so far, so good. The Dow and the S&P 500, both traded
at all-time highs. The tech heavy NASDAQ, the big outperformer, of course, up to this point underperforming today relatively flat on the day.
Let me give you a look at some of the biggest gainers driving the Dow. AmEx, up over 20 percent today. Boeing jumping by 16 percent. All the
airliners are benefiting today, a few more in the double digits including Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, and Disney, of course, all those leveraged to an
improved growth outlook and getting back to some sense of normality gaining today.
Even before Pfizer's announcement, Goldman Sachs though growing more confident in a V-shaped recovery. Over the weekend, they projected U.S.
growth will return to pre-pandemic levels by the middle of next year. Their reasoning is based on two assumptions. They expect a Biden administration
to reach a stimulus deal, and that a vaccine will be approved to help contain the virus.
There's a lot of assumptions in there. Joining us now, Quincy Krosby, Chief Market Strategist at Prudential. Great to have you with us. Just give me
your sense of what we're seeing today in terms of optimism, are we being too optimistic about the timing, perhaps here, if anything?
QUINCY KROSBY, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, PRUDENTIAL: Well, you can say that, but you know, all of the projections suggest that we could, by the
third quarter, maybe even going deeper into next year, the fourth quarter, have as much of the global population vaccinated and begin to have a normal
recovery not just a recovery based on fiscal stimulus and monetary stimulus, which global central banks are providing.
The one thing about the vaccine is, it is in and of itself a major stimulus for economic growth, pre-pandemic economic growth. But again, it's not
going to be quick. We are going to go through a difficult winter with COVID and that's global issues with COVID.
But nonetheless, we're on track to begin the process, and the first part of the process is emergency authorization and then the distribution in the
U.S. And you pointed out, not every American is going to take the vaccine is. That is going to provide a stumbling block in the country.
[15:10:26]
KROSBY: But nonetheless, this is probably, I would have to say even more important than even the election, because this is what we have been needing
and it is necessary, and also, as pointed out, it's not -- they are not the only providers of a vaccine. There are others that are in Phase 3 trial.
There is one in the U.K., AstraZeneca already starting the jabs.
So we are going to have enough companies and entities, and by the way, all together, there are about 120 working towards a vaccine development. There
will be mutations. There will be other issues with it. But it looks as if we are on the trajectory toward the other side of the pandemic.
As long as it takes, the market, as you again pointed out, looks ahead, looks ahead three months, maybe even four months and that's why today you
see the normal stocks, the sectors getting a major boost.
You're seeing Disney, the consummate discretionary -- consumer discretionary name getting a boost, and of course it will pull back,
there's no doubt about it. We'll see consolidation.
You see the tech you rightly pointed out is flat. Any profit taking there is most likely being used to fund going into the laggards, the ones that
were pummeled by COVID. That's typically what happens, and one other thing coming into this market today before the Pfizer announcement, we saw the
technology stocks moving towards overbought, meaning they were ripe for any kind of pullback, any sort of consolidation.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, we have to make this point. I think everything that is gaining today has been so beaten up like the airlines, Macy's, Delta
Airlines, and yet on the downside, the ones that are losing, the Zooms, the Netflix, oh, boy, if they had an astonishingly great year, these are losses
that are really minimal relative to some of the gains that we've had there.
We've got them on the screen now so people can see.
I want to talk to you about the election as well, because I do think investors have convinced themselves, whatever the result of this election,
it was going to be great, because we were going to look at the optimistic side.
If we are looking at split Congress here, so the House holding -- sorry, the Democrats holding the House and the Republicans holding the Senate,
doesn't that not mean that all the challenges that we've had in agreeing financial aid continue? What are your views on that?
KROSBY: Well, there is a tug of war. I mean, the Republicans do not want to give -- you know, offer a $3 trillion stimulus. That was the initial
package offered by the by the Democrats. So it'll probably be a bit skinnier, especially because the virus will ultimately be contained by a
vaccine, and therefore economic activity will get a boost, again, not immediately, but certainly within the second and third quarter of next
year.
But that said, the other side of it is that with the split Congress, you don't have the fear in the market of higher capital gains taxes, of
corporate taxes rising, the wealthy -- you know, the fear was that the wealthy who would have to pay higher transaction taxes for their sales of
their stocks would start selling in force before the year was out. That has been removed from the table.
However, there's always a however, when we're talking about this, you do have runoffs in January -- January 5th, in the Senate in Georgia. That
could change and it's a distinct -- what shall I say? A possibility, a very distinct possibility of concern in the market. Both sides are pouring a lot
of manpower and spending in ads.
The Democrats want to see the two Senate seats up for re-election -- in the runoff, rather -- won by Democrats and similarly, the Republicans. Even one
vote for the Democrats will change the equation, but not heavily.
And by the way, again, because it's an off election, you're not having everyone running to the polls as they did in droves for the general
election, chances are statistically that the Republicans will maintain control of the Senate, but there's always that possibility of one of the
seats going to a Democrat.
The market is paying close attention to that, but now, I think the market is rejoicing in the possibility that next year, even third, fourth quarter
of next year, life looks more normal. And, again, back to a pre-pandemic, not a hundred percent, but as much as possible.
You named all of the stocks. It's interesting, I look at Clorox. Clorox is one of the most formidable beneficiaries of COVID, right? It's down today.
I sometimes think I know when all of this is going to end, if I can find those Clorox swipes on the supermarket shelves, then I will know it's all
over.
So we're not there yet. I think we have a hurdle to go through. But I would have to say that this is what we have been waiting for. And by the way, you
heard just before we got to the subject, Moderna is probably going to come through with their Phase 3 trials, again, positive.
But it is the 90 percent efficacy that was important for the market and the Federal Drug Administration was -- actually their baseline was 50 to 60
percent efficacy. This is even better than that, of course, and we expect to see more, again, coming out of Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and
AstraZeneca.
It is the beginning of the end of COVID-19 and it takes us to a place that the economy, believe it or not, even with the threat of COVID-19 now has
been inching towards the economic data in the U.S. have been surprising to the upside. And knowing that we're getting closer and closer to the jab
here in the U.S., it looks as if the market finds this even more important than the election.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I hope you're right, the beginning of the end of COVID, quite frankly. But there is a long time between that and down. We're still
going to be buying a lot of Clorox and washing our hands.
So the markets and not the real world and the real economy, I guess, we have to remember that, too. Quincy Krosby, great to chat with you, Chief
Market Strategist at Prudential there. Thank you.
All right, we'll take a break.
Still to come, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden doubles down on fighting the pandemic months before he is due to take office. We're live in Delaware
with all the latest. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to the show. Breaking tonight, the U.S. has officially passed 10 million coronavirus cases. As the numbers keep
climbing, President-elect Joe Biden isn't waiting to take action, naming a COVID-19 Taskforce of 13 health experts.
Speaking earlier, Biden said bold action is needed.
[15:20:09]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bottom line, I will spare no effort to turn this pandemic around once we're sworn in on January
20th. To get our kids back to school safely, our businesses growing and our economy running at full speed again; and again, an approved vaccine
manufactured and distributed as quickly as possible to as many Americans as possible, free of charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Jeff Zeleny is in Wilmington, Delaware for us now. Jeff, great to have you with us. He may not yet be President and of course, President
Trump is not conceding and looking anywhere near like to concede at this moment, but it's not stopping Joe Biden from pleading with people to wear
masks and him taking action on the transition.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Julia, they are moving full steam ahead here just a couple of days after giving that victory
speech here in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, President-elect Joe Biden is making clear the priority is fighting coronavirus.
Again, as you said, announcing a 13-member Taskforce, not just any 13 people, some of the nation's top experts in this field, of course, also
though former Surgeon General from the Obama administration, and that whistleblower from the Trump administration, Dr. Rick Bright, who said the
White House was not taking this as seriously earlier this year. So he also will be advising the Biden transition project on this.
But Julia, clearly even as in Washington, and around America, Republicans, most of them are not acknowledging the outcome of the election. Joe Biden
is moving ahead. And he is, also I'm told, still trying to give the President and some Republicans a little bit of space here to come to the
realization that the election outcome is over.
But one key voice in this is former President George W. Bush, the only living Republican former President who issued that statement over the
weekend saying he has no question about the outcome of the election. He called Joe Biden to congratulate him. He called Kamala Harris as well,
saying, you know, it's time for America to accept this, even praised that speech over the weekend, that victory speech from Joe Biden.
So clearly the Biden transition team moving forward on this. We will see how long the delay is and if it has any real consequences in that transfer
of power here, which is always so important from government to government.
CHATTERLEY: Jeff, you raised such a good point, though, and I think Joe Biden has done well in in recent days to acknowledge this. He may have got
the most votes in this election, but what -- more than 71 million Americans voted for President Trump and voted for the Republican Party and we do have
to remember this, a very contentious, I think, moment in time.
Talk about what you were saying though there about perhaps the implications of a delay in conceding and challenges over recounts and legal battles,
potentially, what does this mean even financially for how the transition team works and operates from here on in?
ZELENY: Right, well, how the transition team works, it's a function of this U.S. government. You know, there's always a transition team in place
and they get funding, which means they can go ahead and do background checks on people coming in. And, you know, it's quite effectively an arm of
the government at this point.
But until the Trump administration recognizes this election, there's this small agency, the General Services Administration that is not acknowledging
that the election is over, the outcome is over. In fact, they are comparing it to the 2000 election with Al Gore and George W. Bush, which of course,
was in dispute for more than a month.
So it's an open question, if this is going to affect the handover, if you will here. You'll remember after 9/11, after the September 11th terrorist
attacks in 2001, the government came together and said there needs to be a better job transitioning from government to government. You have to have a
seamless transition for National Security and other matters. So that's why it matters.
It's not just about naming new people to your government. It's about this continuity of government. So a few days is probably not a big deal. If it
goes beyond, then, that's where some officials really start to worry about the bigger ramifications of this -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the last thing we need during a pandemic. Jeff Zeleny is in Wilmington, Delaware for us there.
ZELENY: Indeed.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you. All right, election season isn't over, at least as far as the U.S. Senate is concerned. As we've discussed, all eyes are now
on Georgia where two run offs in January could decide which party is in control of the Senate.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says he is actually going to move to Georgia now to try and make sure people vote and push for
that blue wave. Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We have to give Joe a Senate he can work with, and unfortunately, Julia, we saw Mitch McConnell play the
obstructionist role during the Obama years. That is not what America needs right now.
So you're right, my family is moving to Georgia, the Yang Gang is heading to Georgia, and I'm going to knock on doors and register voters and rally
folks to come out for the Democratic Senate candidates on January 5th.
It's going to be great. It's going to be a continuation of the campaign in many ways.
[15:25:11]
CHATTERLEY: What specific policies do the Democrats need to go into this runoff promoting, Andrew? I guess, I want specifics because there was a lot
of confusion about things like court packing for the Supreme Court, tax rises, and people weren't clear if those tax rises were relevant to them or
their small business, for example.
I just feel like in terms of policy, and you kind of made this point, it was so noisy, I'm not sure people really understand what they're getting
here.
YANG: There is a lot of misinformation out of the Republican camp. I mean, Joe's plan was to raise taxes on people who are making over $400,000.00 a
year, which is a very, very small sliver of American taxpayers.
To me, the front and center policy that we should be emphasizing is cash relief, particularly while we're still trying to recover from this
pandemic. There have been tens of millions of Americans who filed for unemployment. And there is deprivation in every community around the
country, as small businesses closed. That's what most Americans see around them. That's what they care most about.
And if Democrats were to message, look, we're going to put money into your hands and help shore up the jobs in your community that to me would be a
winning message.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Andrew Yang there. We're on the verge of a historic day for the Dow, more on the markets and a potential coronavirus vaccine after
this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Hello. I'm Julia Chatterley. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. But for now, Pfizer expects to make more than a billion
doses of its COVID vaccine next year. We will look at the supply chain challenges.
And not everyone benefiting from today's market rally. Pandemic stocks like Zoom, Netflix and Clorox are taking in major hit from the vaccine news and
before that the headlines this hour.
[15:30:05]
The United States has reached another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, surpassing 10 million cases. It comes just ten days after the
country hit the 9 million mark. The average daily number of new cases is soaring with more than 40 states now reporting an increase in infections.
The death toll, meanwhile, nearing 240,000 lives.
The U.S. Secretary of housing and urban development has tested positive for coronavirus. Ben Carson attended an election night party where White House
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and most others were there not wearing masks. Meadows and four other staffers have since tested positive. Carson is a
member of the White House coronavirus task force.
U.S. President Donald Trump has fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper. He made the announcement on twitter. Senior administration officials tell Cnn Esper
had been pushing back on Trump since last year and even prepared his resignation letter weeks ago. The president named Christopher Miller as
Esper's acting replacement.
All right, let's bring it back to markets. We have 30 minutes left of trade on Wall Street, closing out what could be a record day for the DOW. The
index on track to surpass its February all-time high, its closing high, 29,551 is the magic number there to watch. It's also likely to be one of
the biggest daily point gains in history as well.
Look at that, more than 1,230 points. Stocks were already primed to rise because we now have a greater degree of certainty around the U.S. Election
and the impending Joe Biden presidency is clear. Then, Pfizer leapt to the front of the race to find a coronavirus vaccine.
The company says early data shows its vaccine is more than 90% effective. Dr. Saad Omer, the Director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, and he
joins us now from New Haven, Connecticut. Great to have you with us, Dr. Omer. Struggling not to be over enthusiastic here, but your perspective is
definitely needed. What do you make of today's announcement?
SAAD OMER: So, my mood is cautious optimism. It certainly is good news. It's a very good news, but we need a little bit more data to be certain of
this finding, but also, the subsequent status of this trial and others set of evidence base.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, what we have to be clear, and we were just talking to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about this earlier on in the show, he said, 44,000 people
were in this trial. 93 people have caught COVID, and 90% of those came from the placebo pool. Is the risk here as we see more people catch COVID that
that efficacy rate of 90% comes down?
OMER: Not necessarily. So, that's the beauty of randomized trials.
CHATTERLEY: Right.
OMER: The efficacy can change due to prevention behavior and other extraneous factors, but that's the value of doing these randomized trials,
that we can have confidence in the overall estimates once the final results are out.
I'll caution that while these results are good, and while the fact -- while they point to a reasonable efficacy, this may not be the final number. But
this magnitude of impact rarely goes away on the final analysis so the chances are that a good solid vaccine will be available. It may not be 90%
efficacious but this is a good number.
CHATTERLEY: Okay, what's the next things that we need to know, whether it's, I guess, the impact on severe cases of the disease but also, I guess,
the level of immunity and how long that immunity lasts?
OMER: Absolutely. So, the first thing that is coming down the pike is the safety analysis.
CHATTERLEY: Right.
OMER: So, the FDA said last month or a few weeks ago that they want to see, for any consideration of authorization, they want to see two months of
median follow-up by study subjects, so half of the subjects should have been followed up for at least two months after the second dose of vaccines
of this vaccine.
And so therefore, that's coming up in a few weeks, so that's what we are interested in. We want to see, what is the impact on severe disease, not
just all disease that is lab-confirmed, and also, how long does this protection last? And so on and so forth.
Another thing that we want to see is a correlate of protection. So that's the antibody or any other immunological marker and a certain level of that,
that is associated with actual, clinical real-life protection and vaccine trials can be an important tool to get at that.
[15:35:00]
So, that's another sort of scientific point we're looking for.
The other thing here has been the just sheer level of mistrust about the speed upon which companies have been working on this vaccine, and the
United States in particular is a country that has a lot of skeptics, what we all anti-vaxxers at this stage. Do you think that 90 percent figure
helps convince some of these skeptics to say, OK, well I may as well have it because the greater extent in most cases actually, this works for people
versus not? Or do you think that's still going to be a huge problem?
OMER: I think only partially. So, there are two, three things that will help convince people. The first thing is to ensure that the process is
mainstream, rock solid, and is transparent. So, they have been encouraging signs for the past three, four weeks that the FDA has, you know, starting
with the career folks but overall leadership as well, has given signal that they're going to follow the mainstream process. So that's the first thing.
But that's necessary but not sufficient. Look, my understanding is that over $10 billion have been spent on Operation Warp Speed, and there have
been zero real dollars spent or minimal effort on vaccine education and communication. So, I'll give you an example. For tobacco, we have the Truth
campaign that is -- that was of national scope.
And we are in the middle of a pandemic, and we assume that automatically, one fine morning, people will read the New York Times or watch CNN or CNN
International and they'll take vaccines. That's a naive way of thinking. So we need to have serious concerted evidence-based interventions, and the
evidence-based is there now. And over the years, folks have developed evidence of how to communicate effectively around vaccines. So, we need to
bring our A game not just to vaccine development but to vaccine communication as well.
Yeah. I hope Biden's transition team and their task force are listening to this, because education is everything. Very quickly, let's talk about
supply chains. How concerned are you about the distribution, particularly for this vaccine in particular, mRNA, the messenger RNA, cool conditions,
really cold conditions are required.
OMER: No, this is a massive logistical effort.
Yes.
OMER: And some of us have been calling for a national plan for months. There are sort of, you know, versions of a plan now, especially led by the
CDC, that goes into these logistical issues, but it will be a logistical challenge. But it's not an unsurmountable (ph) logistical challenge that
while this overall storage is there, minus 70, minus 80, the vaccine for deployment can usually for these kinds of vaccines can survive beyond that
for a few days. So, it's not that you have to bring everyone to a facility where there's minus 70 freezer.
You can have sort of effective smart strategies there. But at the end of the day, we have never -- we have never vaccinated people in the numbers
that we will need to vaccinate them for us to resume normal life. So, you know, this is good news, but this is just a start. And the licensure or
approval, otherwise approval or authorization of a vaccine will be the beginning of the end. It will certainly not be the end of our efforts.
Yes, plenty of challenges ahead. But still, a great day for science and a great day for humanity. Dr. Saad Omer, great to have your perspective and
wisdom here, the director of Yale Institute for Global Health.
All right, let's discuss this further. Governments around the world are laying out plans to distribute the Pfizer vaccine once it's approved.
Billions of doses will be needed, presenting a major challenge for those global supply chains. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his country
has ordered 40 million doses, enough to inoculate a third of the population. Just listen to what Pfizer's CEO said about the expected
availability this year.
(BEGIN CLIP)
ALBERT BOURLA, PFIZER CEO: We now (ph) have millions already manufactured. And we believe that we are in good situation to have up to 50 million doses
this year, globally.
(END CLIP)
I'm very glad to say Anna Stewart is in London for us to discuss this. Anna, I know you've done a lot of work on the logistics of this particular
vaccine as well. Talk me through it, because this is a big challenge.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A huge challenge developing a vaccine is one thing. Making and distributing hundreds of millions or billions of
doses is quite another. Now you heard the CEO say they're planning to make 50 million doses by the end of this year. That is actually half what they
projected to make just a few weeks ago. They've slashed that by half due to clinical trials taking longer, time and so forth.
[15:40:00]
STEWART: Now, this particular vaccine candidate is a really interesting one. It's slightly trickier than some of the others in terms of making it
and distributing it.
First of all, it is a double dose vaccine like some of the other ten that have reached Phase III trials. That means that you're doubling down on
supply chain pressures and also the cost of the vaccine per head. So, Pfizer plan to make 1.3 billion doses by the end of next year but that will
actually only cover 650 million people.
There are issues of course with lots of vaccines, do they have enough glass vials, do they have enough of the raw material? Pfizer invested heavily
very early on in this pandemic so they don't actually foresee any kind of supply chain holdups there.
The second big issue with this vaccine which you touched on with a guest before a messenger RNA vaccine requires cold temperatures and this one
actually really, really cold. We're talking about minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, that's minus 80 degrees centigrade not just in the facility but
throughout transport and supplies.
Now, if you look at UPS is a really good example and we can show you some footage. They actually invested heavily in freezer farm (ph) technology--
CHATTERLEY: Wow.
STEWART: -- for their sites in the U.S. and in Europe just in case this sort of vaccine were to come to market. Are all logistics firms ready for
this? Are all countries ready for it? Well, that is another question. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I mean those are some incredible images there of all those fridges. Anna, I can't help but notice you're back at home and of
course the U.K. now under lockdown conditions as well.
You also put a picture on social media and I spotted it and it has an ironing board on your table there. I think you need to explain not only to
me but for your followers on social media. What on earth is the ironing board doing on the table there just working from home analysis here?
STEWART: Yes. Julia, I am always so happy to host you in my home. I'm back here now. We're back in lockdown. The cat is standing by ready to steel the
show. And you're right, I am facing a phone and behind it there is an ironing board covered with a furry rug to sort of soften the echo.
CHATTERLEY: OK. Well, you do make working from home look very easy I can tell you and spot the cat. I'm looking forward to that as much as I am sad
that the U.K. and you are back under lockdown conditions. But you make a good show of it and thank you for that explanation. Anna Stewart there.
Thank you.
STEWART: Thanks, Julia. At least we get to talk. You're my socializing for the day.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, exactly. There we go. See you tomorrow morning on First Move.
(LAUGHTER)
All right, we have to go. I'm being told off (ph). Still ahead a rare sight in Belgium hospitals, military troops helping doctors who are being
overwhelmed by the surge in coronavirus cases just part of the drastic measures underway in Europe to fight the second wave. The challenge goes
on. That's next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:00]
CHATTERLEY: Some breaking news now on CNN. Moments ago, Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the floor at the U.S. Senate. He
said he does not acknowledge Joe Biden as president-elect, nor Kamala Harris as vice president-elect.
According to McConnell, President Trump is 100% within his rights to wage a legal fight and, of course, demand recounts in states where the votes are
very close. Now, President Trump is not only refusing to concede, he's also promoting baseless claims of voter fraud. Many of his supporters are
amplifying that message too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CALL)
CROWD: Count the votes, count the votes, count the votes.
CHATTERLEY: The truth here matters. Protesters across the country are claiming the election was rigged after viewing viral posts on videos and
social media. But as CNN's Donie O'Sullivan explains, much of that information appears to be false.
UNKNOWN MALE: Trump is still your president.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: It's legal for them to count votes in Pennsylvania two days after the election on November 3rd?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: You're wrong. Go. I don't even want to talk to you.
UNKNOWN MALE: I believe that Donald Trump won the election. I believe that they tried to steal the election.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN: Stop the Steal, a movement of Trump supporters that gained hundreds of thousands of followers online in the hours after the
election has inspired protests across the country. The ballots that you said you saw lying around the place or in trash cans or whatever, where are
you hearing that from?
ANDREW WALKER: I mean, it's -- the videos are going viral everywhere. I've seen them on TikTok. I've seen them on Facebook. I've seen them on Fox
News, the local news around my area.
MELISSA: I've seen too much pieces of different evidence so far that shows that, at this point, I would be okay with a revote.
O'SULLIVAN: Really?
MELISSA: Yeah, absolutely. When you have video footage of people taking bags of ballots and showing that they are for Donald Trump and lighting
them on fire.
O'SULLIVAN: I helped write a fact check on CNN on that particular video. The election officials said that video's been going around for a few days.
They are print out ballots, they're not real ballots.
MELISSA: So you use the information of the election officials.
O'SULLIVAN: Somebody like me comes along, tries to research it, tries to fact check it, and then I fact check it, you'll come back and say, well,
the election officials would say that.
MELLISSA: Well, wouldn't they, though? That's the thing, though. Question everything, right?
UNKNOWN MALE: They were not going to steal this election from us.
O'SULLIVAN: The video actually showed sample ballots, not real ballots. The video's assertion is false, but even the president's son tweeted it to
his millions of followers. Election officials in Virginia, where the sample ballots were from, told CNN they had spent days trying to correct the
online misinformation.
UNKNOWN MALE: When we went to bed on election night, when they told us they stopped counting, we woke up, and there was a vertical spike right for
Biden, 130,000 votes approximately. That's when I knew there was a problem.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Now, as my buddy Steve Bannon says, if you're going to lie, be believable about it. Because you do not have 138,000 votes come in
and 135,000 of them come in for Biden.
O'SULLIVAN: This is what I think you guys might have been talking about on election night. Michigan, 138,000. This was from a website called Decision
Desk HQ. They came out and they said, we messed up, there was an error in how votes came back and were reported and that's why there was this spike
in the map.
But you know, the election officials in Michigan then all confirmed to say, yes, there was this error, they are not real ballots, those ballots never
existed. President Trump himself even shared a post about the Michigan error. Twitter labeled his post as misinformation.
O'SULLIVAN: Are you concerned that just as how people on the left can fall for misinformation that maybe sometimes you.
UNKNOWN MALE: Oh, I'm sure -- Yes. No. I'm -- me, I'm very thorough with the information I look at. I have my opinions, obviously, but I'm not just
going to go around retweeting blatantly false information or things that I believe that are just -- it's just I look at things that are suspicious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: All right, a very active day on the markets as renewed vaccine hopes drive trade. We'll talk about the biggest winners and the biggest
losers just ahead. Stay with us.
[15:50:00]
1550 Drive trade. We'll talk about the biggest winners and the biggest losers just ahead. Stay with us.
(BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: aviation and travel stocks are soaring on fresh hopes for a vaccine. Delta and United shares are both up by double-digit percentage
points. Look at that, same for the booking company trip advisor, but none of them can match Carnival Cruise Line shares in (ph) the world's largest
travel leisure company are up more than a third, remember, from very beaten-up levels.
Travel stocks may be the big winners but there are also some losers today too. Shares in companies that benefit from people staying at home like
Netflix (inaudible) all watched too much television, Peloton, and Zoom are plunging in the session. So let's talk to CNN Business reporter Paul La
Monica now. Paul, great to have you with us. No surprise this is what we're seeing, but I have to say, rising from really beaten-up levels for some of
the travel stocks and taking profits here, investors in some names, that have had a bumper six-month performance.
PAUL LA MONICA: Exactly, Julia. It goes without saying that this rotation we're seeing today, whether or not it's the start of a trend or just a one-
day or maybe a couple of weeks phenomenon, that remains to be seen. But you are 100 percent correct to point out that the travel stocks, Carnival,
Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, I mean, we were worried about, will these companies be able to stay afloat, pardon the pun, I mean, will they have
enough cash to get through this recession and the travel slowdown, and I think that investors are maybe being a little premature, because obviously,
this is great news about the vaccine.
We still need, though, for people to actually get the vaccine and then for people to feel comfortable enough to go on vacation again. There are a lot
of people that are still without jobs because this pandemic -- just because the pandemic might be sooner to ending, doesn't necessarily mean, like,
hey, guess what, I now have thousands of dollars to go spend on a Mediterranean Cruise.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and this is a great question. You raised some really important points about the point upon which we actually get this vaccine
distributed. We're looking at what, the first, second, maybe even into the third quarter of next year. Trying to get enough people to take it is
another factor as well. But markets always look ahead, they always price three, six months ahead. I'm going to push you. Do you think we continue to
rally from here?
LA MONICA: I think we do, because you know, you still obviously have not just Pfizer and BioNtech working on this vaccine. Dr. Fauci himself has
talked about how this news could mean that some of the other companies like Moderna and
[15:55:00]
J&J may also have promising things to share in the next few months. And if we get more vaccines that lends to the validity that we might be turning a
corner in this crisis, and if that's the case you will see people eventually trying to return to normal.
That doesn't mean that we're going to stop watching Netflix and stop having Zoom calls, but those two stocks in particular, they ran up so much, they -
- you do have to question the valuation, same thing obviously with Peloton as well.
Clorox a little bit different because it's a more stodgy consumer staple, but the P.E. ratios on things like Netflix and Peloton are astronomical.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, hey I'm still washing everything in sight and my hands for the next few months, so I'm not too worried about Clorox either quite
frankly, but a bit of profit taking, but if all else fails Jay Powell will provide more support and I think that's the bottom line for investors here
too.
Paul La Monica, thank you so much.
All right, there's just moments left to trade on Wall Street, we'll have the final numbers and the closing bell right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: There are just moments left to trade on Wall Street this Monday and what a Monday it's been. Good news from Pfizer's vaccine trial
and, of course, the projected win for President-Elect Joe Biden pushing markets skyward.
The Dow and the S&P have traded at all-time highs today. The Nasdaq lagging behind, but even that's managing to make modest gains here.
Let me give you a quick look at the Dow components, a banner day for American Express leading the index. Several others posting double-digit
gains to the likes of Boeing, JP Morgan, Chevron, Disney and Dow Chemical, all the stocks that are tied to economic recovery here doing well and
bouncing back from really beaten up levels. Good numbers on almost all the components today.
Home Depot is the noticeable outlier, we've had enough of hanging out at home, but we're going to have to do it for a while longer yet. And that's
quest (ph) means business. I'm Julia Chatterley here in New York.
"The Lead" with Jake Tapper is coming up next. Thank you for watching.
[15:59:30]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
