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CNN Live Event/Special

First Coronavirus Vaccines Arrive at U.S. Hospitals. Aired 9- 9:30a 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.

[09:00:18]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Anderson Cooper alongside Erin Burnett. I want to welcome viewers here in the United States and around the world. This is CNN special live coverage of two historic events.

Under way right now, hospitals across America are preparing to issue their first doses of the coronavirus vaccine 11 months after the first case was documented here in the U.S. All 50 states are set to receive the vaccine today. CNN is live at several locations where the first vials are being delivered. It is a monumental development and it comes as the country nears a haunting milestone.

Nearly 300,000 Americans have lost their lives in this pandemic, and the crisis is worsening. The U.S. hit another record of hospitalizations just yesterday, marking the 12th consecutive day of more than 100,000 people in the hospital.

The second event unfolding moments from now, the electoral college will confirm President-elect Joe Biden's win, sealing President Trump's fate yet again, no matter what he says or which conspiracy theories he pushes. Electors from all 50 states in D.C. will today follow the Constitution and affirm what the voters decided on November 3rd.

It is a process that is formally -- well, it's normally a formality, I should say, but with an active attack to undermine democracy by the president and his Republican allies, we're going to show you the vote from each state, but first, we want to begin with the vaccine rollout.

A hundred and 89 boxes of vaccine vials are expected to arrive in all 50 states today. We have correspondents at hospitals across the country to watch who is getting the nation's first doses and when. Our Sara Murray is outside George Washington University Hospital in D.C. where Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Surgeon- General Jerome Abrams will observe the vaccinations with some frontline health care workers later today.

So, Sara, let's start with you. What more can you tell us about the distribution plans across the country today?

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think what we're seeing play out at G.W. is what we're going to see at hospitals across the country. The first box of 975 doses actually already arrived here this morning. There were some health care workers that came out, they were clapping. I think that gives you just an indication of what a relief it is around the country to finally have this vaccine shipping out especially to these frontline health care workers.

We're going to talk to some doctors at the hospital a little bit later this morning about how they're planning to stagger their workforce because of course we know 975 doses is a blessing for these health care workers. It's not going to go nearly far enough to be able to vaccinate all the health care workers that we need in this area.

And then later this afternoon, we are going to see some members of the Trump administration here at G.W. We are expecting to see secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar as well as the surgeon-general to oversee some of the first vaccinations in their area.

And, Anderson, this is of course a huge deal for the Trump administration. As much as they have mismanaged so much of this pandemic response, Operation Warp Speed they feel like has been a huge victory, and of course they want to be here to see some of these frontline health care workers get their vaccinations.

COOPER: I mean, it is an extraordinary effort that has gone under way from all aspects of society in order to get this precious vaccine out to people and -- into people's arms.

Sara Murray, I appreciate it.

Shipments of the vaccine are expected to arrive in just a few minutes at Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, and that's where we find our Martin Savidge.

So, Martin, once the vaccine arrives, how soon before the first shots are given?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they anticipate, Anderson, that they could get it or at least start to administer it within an hour to an hour and a half after receiving. I'll just point out, the anticipation is very high right now after this truck moves. As they anticipate that at any moment this arrival could happen.

The UPS truck which is what is expected will come down from the road that's behind us here, and then it will make its way over we're told to loading dock number 10, where you can already see there is a gathering of some hospital diplomats.

The governor of Ohio Mike DeWine is also there and present to watch as they receive the 975 doses that they will be getting here. As we've already said, it will take approximately maybe an hour, hour and a half until they can begin to administer that to the 20 to 30 frontline health care workers that have already been predetermined here.

There is a little bit of processing. You have to thaw the vaccine and of course there is some diluting that has on it done. It's just step one, but it comes at a very (INAUDIBLE) time here in the state. The state is about -- December, that is, is about to become the deadliest month of the pandemic here in Ohio. So the reality is this vaccine can't get here soon enough -- Anderson.

COOPER: Martin, there is some sort of eloquence to the fact that it's a UPS driver who's going to be bringing it, given that it's, you know, UPS folks delivery people who have really saved so many of us throughout this pandemic, and made it possible for people to stay at home as much as they have, made it possible for people to keep functioning and getting packages delivered.

[09:05:12]

I hope somebody told this UPS driver what they're bringing because they're going to be very surprised that there's all these cameras there and government officials waiting for him or her.

SAVIDGE: Yes. Yes, we thought about the very same thing. I mean, there is sort of a humble aspect that UPS is a brown truck that we're used to seeing in our neighborhoods but now the significance of this particular delivery, it simply can't be overstated.

I will point out that all of these boxes have a GPS monitor on them, so they aren't likely to get lost and they also have a monitor for the temperature because we've stated many times that keeping this vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine, at a very specific cold temperature is so vitally important to maintaining that it works properly here.

The other thing is, once they thaw it out, once you get it to room temperature, it only can last for about two hours. So you have to be careful and the amounts that you're going to thaw out and also as to how long you're going to keep it out. And they practice all of that here, at the Ohio State University Medical Center.

This is sort of what they call a soft opening, if you will, in other words 20 to 30. Yes, the first day doesn't sound as significant but tomorrow there will be more and of course day after day after day. After that it will continue to grow. But the process is really relying not so much on how many people want to get this vaccine, it's how much vaccine can the medical center here get.

And that is dependent of course on those that are producing it and then later in the week, we're expecting Moderna to come online with their vaccine getting approval so we'll have to see. But right now, all eyes focused on the road and that UPS truck waiting for that delivery, and yes, of course, we hope the driver knows just what he's going to run into here -- Anderson.

COOPER: Yes. I'm sure they do. Martin Savidge, appreciate it. I'm glad you're there.

CNN's national correspondent Sara Sidner is at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.

So what's the plan for today for where you are?

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We just got to see the vials coming in. They came right at 8:45 a.m. this morning, right on time. UPS brought them here. The vials have already gone in. They are very sensitive as you know. This is the ultra-cold freezer that has to stay at least negative 68 to 70 degrees Celsius in order to keep the vaccines safe and ready to be administered.

It came in this box here, and if you look down in there, our photographer Leon is going to give you a look, that's dry ice, very important to make sure that when it's shipped, that this dry ice, and you can see it there, that that is there to make sure. They call it the bunker, that's what Operation Warp Speed was calling it, the bunker. That's where they put these vials.

There were two cases of vials and let's go ahead and show you the tape. It just happened seconds ago, Anderson. Let's show you what happened. So the manager of the pharmacy here was able to take this, open it up very easily, pull out each packet. Now if you see those packets there, each one has about 150 vials inside so there's about 300-plus vials that are inside. Each of the vials can give five doses, so we're talking about more than a thousand doses that have been brought to the University of Michigan's medical center, and they are all here.

There's folks from Operation Warp Speed that you see here. You have folks from the State Department of Health, there are folks from the CDC and of course the university and university president is here.

I want to give you a quick look just over here, I'm going to scoot through here. This is how they're going to be moving the vials out to spaces where they're going to be able to inject folks outside of the hospital. But as we understand it, the first people who will get this will be those frontline workers, the people who have exhausted themselves taking care of these patients for months.

And we have talked to them all across the country, and to be very clear, every single time I speak to a nurse or a doctor, who has been dealing and helping COVID patients, they say they are beyond their breaking point, beyond exhausted, and for the first time, there were cheers here today. There were people clapping here today. They were so excited to see something that is going to help them through this.

Not only have the health care workers had to worry so much about their patients surviving but they have to worry about themselves and their families surviving and their colleagues surviving, and we know that so many people have gotten this virus because they have working with patients, but again, this was the best Christmas present that you can imagine, Hanukkah present that you can imagine today.

They did get these vials and we're talking I think it's now 390 that are in each of those two cases, and so, you know, this is the beginning hopefully of the end -- Anderson.

COOPER: It's really just extraordinary to see. I mean, you know, it just comes in a box like we all have received packages, even with dry ice.

[09:10:07] So it immediately goes in that freezer, and then how quickly -- from when they're taken out of the freezer, how quickly do they have to, you know, get it into a form that it can be injected and get into somebody? I mean, how long can it be outside for?

SIDNER: Yes. Yes, it has to thaw out for a bit. But each of these vials, which is incredible, it's five doses each vial and so those might look like tiny packages, but indeed they do -- you know, they can get quite a bit out of them and so it's really important.

Let me just quickly ask you. Can I ask you how long it would take for these to get into a human being, how long as far as defrosting them, if you will?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. So if we take them right from the ultracold freezer, they will take at least a half an hour to come to room temperature, and it has to come to room temperature before it can be reconstituted.

SIDNER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So -- then it could actually be up to two hours if it's like a whole tray.

SIDNER: So that's Lindsay Cart (PH). I just off-the-cuff asked you and you've been wonderful. She is the manager here at the University of Michigan Medical Center and she's the one that got the honor of opening this up and putting this away and taking care of this, and this is going to mean so much. But you heard that, about half an hour it's got to, you know, sort of, it's so cold, I mean, negative 70 degrees Celsius, and so it has to sort of get to a point where it can defrost and then human beings can then take it in their arms and you know, we've all had immunizations. Right?

You remember when you were a kid. This is not a scary thing. It is something that is going to help stop this, and so many people have lost their lives and so many people have gotten sick, and this is finally a day where we can all smile -- Anderson.

COOPER: Yes. It's just incredible to see. Sara Sidner, I'm so glad you're there. thank you very much.

Coming next, we'll talk about who gets the vaccines first and how they work, plus the former director of the CDC joins us live on a new prediction that many Americans will have access to the vaccine perhaps by late February. That's surprising.

And the electoral college set to begin voting just a short time from now, confirming Joe Biden's win and putting another official end to the president's baseless challenge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Any moment, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will speak live about his state's first vaccinations. New York City is launching its COVID vaccine Command Center, that's what they're calling it, tens of thousands of doses are actually now already in New York City. Soon, the most at-risk frontline workers will be among the first New Yorkers vaccinated. Let's listen in and see what they're going to do.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Good to see you, Michael Dowling, who is the president and the CEO of Northwell Health, which is the largest health system in the state of New York. It's very good to be with you. Dr. Chester, pleasure.

MICHELLE CHESTER, DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYEE HEALTH SERVICES, NORTHWELL HEALTH: Good morning.

CUOMO: And to you, the person who is going to take the first vaccine 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. You are in Long Island Jewish Medical Center, which is in the great borough of Queens. Good things come from Queens.

(LAUGHTER)

Let me start by saying thank you. 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 did you 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's in the vial, right?

So New York State has been working very hard 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 it deployed 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're all with you.

CHESTER: Thank you.

SANDRA LINDSAY, ICU NURSE: Thank you.

MICHAEL DOWLING, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NORTHWELL HEALTH: 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're committed to science and data to guide your leadership is actually extraordinary. And as you said, we are 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 in 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 proud of our frontline staff, and of course, of the frontline staff of all of the -- and all of the hospitals and all of the facilities across the region. It's spectacular work, and as you said, they are the real heroes.

[09:20:00]

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, 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 to 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, has been on the frontlines all during the crisis, is a director in critical care. She has seen a lot, and she is 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'll turn it over to you.

CHESTER: Thank you. How are you feeling today?

LINDSAY: I'm doing great.

(CHEERS)

(APPLAUSE)

CHESTER: How are you feeling?

LINDSAY: I feel great. Thank you.

CUOMO: So, Sandra, you didn't -- 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 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: You're feeling well?

LINDSAY: Governor Cuomo, I'm feeling well. I would like to thank all the frontline workers, all my colleagues who have been doing a yeoman's job despite this pandemic all over the world. I am hopeful, I feel hopeful today really, I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning of 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 mask, to social distance. I believe in science as a nurse, my practice is guided by science, and so I trust that. What I don't trust is that, if I contract COVID, I don't know how it will impact me or those who I come in contact with. So I encourage everyone to take the vaccine.

[09:25:00]

CUOMO: So, 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 once the second vaccine has been administered. In New York, we 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 danger with the rest of us.

So, we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to keep you safe. 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 being -- 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 skilled and talented and selfless. When I 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: Thank you, governor, and we will beat this, we will win.

CUOMO: Thank you. When my --

DOWLING: Thank you --

CUOMO: Time comes -- when my time comes, I want Dr. Chester, I like her style.

(LAUGHTER)

CHESTER: No problem.

DOWLING: See you.

CUOMO: Thank you guys. Thank you very much.

DOWLING: Thank you, governor.

(APPLAUSE)

BURNETT: All right, so you have 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's interesting, there's a part of me that looks at this and says wait, we just are aptly watched, someone gets 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.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, look, you know, we have been sort of dealing with this pandemic for so many months now. There has been this hope on the horizon in the form of this vaccine, and I think as a result, there's been this mystique and all that surrounds it. And you know, some of it for good reason.

And 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 moon shot, 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 any -- a flu shot or any other shot that they would have received. I mean, you got the vaccine, it was diluted. It was thawed, may have felt a little bit cold, just because of --

BURNETT: Yes --

GUPTA: The cold storage.

BURNETT: I'm sure, yes, I was thinking about that, yes --

GUPTA: Going into the arm, but besides that, I mean, you know, Sandra just got that shot -- which by the way, and this is another point, will, 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 --

BURNETT: Yes --

GUPTA: You know, which is what it should look like --

BURNETT: Yes --

GUPTA: But everything behind it, the story of this pandemic, the story of the scientific achievement, the scientists that had 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.