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CNN Live Event/Special
COVID-19 Vaccinations Begin in U.S.; Electoral College Casts Votes For President; U.S. Deaths Surpass 300,000 As First COVID Vaccinations Begin. Aired 4:30-5p ET
Aired December 14, 2020 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:30:00]
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He certainly is.
And I think this is a very dangerous conversation we're beginning to have. I think we need to be very clear with the public. Our institutions are holding up, they're bearing up, but they're bearing up under unprecedented strain, unprecedented strain.
Yes, we have our courts and they're functioning. But when before have you ever had to have security guards for electors in America? When has that ever happened? This is unbelievable that the president United States is saying things and doing things that has American citizens willing to take up arms against other Americans carrying out this democracy that Santorum is talking about.
That can't be dodged. That can't be ducked. This is serious stuff. And I can't tell you, from my point of view, when you think about the minority leader of the House, Kevin McCarthy, somebody who has often, frankly, done a great job -- he's stood up on different causes. He has sometimes reached across the aisle.
That Kevin McCarthy would sign onto some lawsuit that was pulled out of a Cracker Jack box full of just B.S. and be proud to be a part of this, this is not what you're supposed to be doing as the -- one of the main leaders of our country.
So, this is -- yes, you can say, yes, democracy is working, but it's working under incredible strain that should not be there.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Yes.
President-elect Biden and president -- vice president-elect Kamala Harris will soon cross the critical threshold to confirm his and her Electoral College victory.
We're following that live. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:36:28] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to the CNN special event: The Electoral College votes.
Moments ago, electors in Montana allocated their three electoral votes. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chairman Chita (ph), will you please visually witness from the tally sheets the fact that the 2020 Montana presidential electors have cast three votes for Donald J. Trump, the Republicans' candidate for president of the United States of America, and have cast three votes for Michael R. Pence, the Republican Party's candidate for vice president of the United States of America?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, so there you see it's now 240 electoral votes for Biden, 232 for Trump, still, what, two or three states left to go, including California, with its 55 electoral votes. That's in the next hour. That will clearly put Biden over the top -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Nebraska is one of only two states that splits its electoral votes.
Four of Nebraska's votes went to President Trump. One went to president-elect Biden. And that Biden vote was cast by Precious McKesson, who joins me now.
Thank you so much for joining me.
First, take us inside the room. What was it like to cast this vote?
PRECIOUS MCKESSON, NEBRASKA ELECTOR: Oh, thank you so much for having me.
It was so monumental to be in a room with so many of my close friends and families and supporters. And when I walked in the room, they start cheering. And it just felt so good. So, I'm just really -- it was -- it was an honor to do it today.
BASH: So, you obviously cast a vote for Joe Biden for president and for Kamala Harris for vice president.
What did it mean to you to vote for the first woman and the first black vice president?
MCKESSON: Oh, man, I became really emotional after I checked -- did my check mark and after the secretary of state announced who I voted for.
It meant so much. It meant so much for many women who everyday fight this good fight to make sure that our democracy is not taken for granted. And so to be able to cast that vote for Kamala Harris today, it just meant -- it meant the world to me, and I'm just so happy that I was able to do that, especially here in Nebraska. And we're just really excited to see what the future holds. And we
can't wait until January 20, when they're sworn in.
BASH: And we actually have the moment that you were talking about. And we can watch it and talk to you on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Precious McKesson from the 2nd Congressional District has cast her ballot for Joseph R. Biden.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And, Precious, I'm going to turn it over to Abby Phillip now.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is Abby Phillip here.
MCKESSON: OK.
PHILLIP: You are also making history yourself today. You're the first woman, the first woman of color in your state to cast an Electoral College vote for a Democrat.
How does that feel today? How did you get to this point?
MCKESSON: Well, I mean, if you would have told me two years ago, when I started this journey, that I would be in this seat, I wouldn't have believed you.
But to get here, it was a lot of hard work and dedication, and not just me. It was me and my counterparts. I mean, we worked really hard for this vote and to make sure that we were able to secure CD-2 for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
So, you know, I just again say it wasn't just me who did this, but it was a lot of people behind the scenes. And the fact that I was nominated and elected to be able to cast that vote, it was just even sweeter to come out and do that and then to make history.
[16:40:10]
BASH: And you talked about how it felt.
We're all getting a civics lesson. A lot of people have not seen this, have not really understood or maybe not even thought much about how an elector is elected. How did that happen? I know you were you were -- you said you worked very hard for the Biden/Harris campaign.
How did it come to be that you were the one elector in Nebraska who could cast this vote today for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris?
MCKESSON: Well, prior to me going to work for the Biden/Harris campaign, I do sit as the Black Caucus chair, as well as the state legislative district holder. So, before -- before we do the -- before I went to work on it, we have
the state convention, and you have to go in front of your congressional district, and you have to actually ask for them to nominate you and to vote for you.
And so I went in front of my peers and told them that I felt this would be the time for a number of -- a woman of color and a woman to cast that vote. And then they voted for me to be able to be the one to represent Congressional District 2.
PHILLIP: So, this is such a big moment for you. And it's also coming at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is raging all across the country.
But you have been really careful. You have been taking a lot of precautions. You didn't want to get sick, so that someone else might take -- have a chance to taking your place today, right?
What were some of the things that you tried to do to make sure that you could be here in that room for that moment?
MCKESSON: I just limited the contact that I had with a lot of people, made sure that, if I did do something, it was limiting the amount of people, a lot of drive-ups.
A lot of the stores got to know me through the drive-up, and then just making sure that my girls understood that we couldn't do our normal things of going into the store and just being really careful, just taking extra precautions, and then just really making sure they understood the significance behind it, that we just didn't want to go out in public as much.
And so it was hard, but we made it through. And I was just really proud to be here today to be able to be the one to cast the vote.
PHILLIP: Well, congratulations to you for the history that you made today and for being able to cast that vote for your preferred candidate -- over to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, thanks very much, Abby.
Take a look at this, 240-232 right now. Biden has 240 electoral votes. Trump has 232. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have already cast their votes, as fully expected, three states left, Oregon, California and Hawaii. All of them will go to Biden. That will be 66 additional electoral votes for Biden.
He will wind up with 306 and Trump 232. That will happen in the next hour. We're following that very closely on this historic day.
Also, we're following the coronavirus vaccines, now going out in the United States, unfortunately, as the death toll here in the U.S. has just crossed 300,000.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:47:32] BLITZER: United States a little while ago marked a horrific milestone. More than 300,000 people of the United States have died from the coronavirus since it erupted back in January. And it comes on the same day that the first coronavirus vaccinations are happening here in the United States.
CNN's Sara Murray is joining us right now. She's over at the George Washington University Hospital.
You saw some of the vaccinations unfold happen today, Sara. Walk us through what you saw.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. You know, we've been here essentially since the vaccines were delivered this morning. They were put in that ultra cold freezer. They were de- thawed and then they were put into the first five arms of health care workers here. It was a combination of folks from the emergency department, the anesthesiology department from labor and delivery, they we kind enough to come out and talk to us after they received their vaccinations.
An, look, they didn't feel any side effects. They were very happy to be at the front of the line because they wanted to be role models. They want to set an example to their community and that, of course, means other health care workers, it means other people in the Washington area. It means their own family and friends, and it means everyone who's watching across the globe.
I spoke to one nurse Barbara Neiswander who talked a little bit about what this will mean for her patients going forward. I think we have sounds from that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA NEISWANDER, REGISTERED NURSE WHO RECEIVED COVID-19 VACCINE TODAY: I was an emergency room nurse. We are here to help with the public health and to take care of the patients that present to the emergency room and they depend on us to provide good care and when a patient will ask me, well, should I get the vaccine, I'll be able to say, yes, I was there and I got it first. You know, I remained healthy.
MURRAY: And you didn't feel any side effects? Nothing like that? No, no worries?
NEISWANDER: No, absolutely no side effects. I was surprised. It was very little. You couldn't feel the medicine going into your arm.
MURRAY: Just like a normal -- just a normal kind of shot? Even the flu vaccine you're sore a little bit.
NEISWANDER: No side effects at all. We did have to wait 15 minutes after we got the injection to see if there any side effects and for me there wasn't any.
MURRAY: So, what are you going to tell patients going forward? NEISWANDER: Well, first of all, it will be great to be able to tell
patients that I got the vaccine, that I'm on the road to making sure that I'm safe and that, you know, when we all get it, we'll be able to change our lifestyle. That is really going to take a long time, that we still have to wear a mask, that we still have to wash our hands and that -- and that we should be making sure that the people we care about realize that we have to limit how we interact and continue to have social distancing.
MURRAY: Has it started --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Now, Barbara was the first health care worker here at GW to receive that vaccine.
And, Wolf, one of the things that came through as we were talking to these health care workers is, of course, they're excited to begin to get some protection from this deadly virus for themselves. They're excited to get the second dose. Mostly they are excited to be able to share this with their patients in the coming months.
BLITZER: Sara Murray over at GW Hospital, thank you very much.
Let's bring in our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, you know, it's almost like a split-screen moment. 300,000 Americans have died from coronavirus over these months. But at the same time, vaccines have started here in the U.S. and within the next few weeks and months, millions of Americans will be able to get vaccinated.
DR, SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, Wolf, it's tough in that regard. It feels like whiplash. You want to -- the news is good about vaccines and you certainly want to celebrate that.
But also fully acknowledge that it's going to take time to roll outline the vaccines as Sara Murray was just talking about and it's going to take even longer for it to have, you know, this demonstrable impact on changing the trajectory of the virus. I think a lot of people understand that by now. It just takes a while for these things to work.
Things that work more quickly like masks, things that are maybe more boring to talk about, you know, could make a big impact now. So, that's sort of the challenge, 300,000 people have died. Florida just passed 20,000. Now, Wolf, 20,000 thousand in four states in the United States, Florida, Texas, California, and New York all have had 20,000 or more people die in these states, more than many -- most countries I would say around the world.
So, you know, we are, by far, sadly, leading the world in terms of deaths and overall numbers of cases and hospitalizations and all of that. It is still an addressable problem even before the vaccine, you know, is distributed widely, Wolf. And we got to remember that. BLITZER: And even if you get vaccinated, you still have to be
careful. You should still continue wearing a mask. Is that right, Sanjay?
GUPTA: Yeah. So the thing about the vaccine, what we can say and what they were really studying is that does it prevent the disease, COVID- 19? Does it present the symptoms of this disease? You know, Wolf, the data is pretty remarkable with this Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, 95 percent plus, close to 95 percent protection with this vaccine.
But we're not -- it's not clear, I should say at this point, that it actually prevents people from still carrying the virus and potentially still transmitting the virus. So, think about that. You could be vaccinated which is really important and be fairly confident that you're not going to get sick.
But you still don't want to potentially pass this virus on to others. As you get more and more people vaccinated, that all, obviously, will become less and less of a concern. Until we get to that point, it's good you got vaccinated but you still want to protect those around you.
BLITZER: You certainly do.
All right. Sanjay, we're going to get back to you. We're going to continue to follow two major historic stories that we're following right now -- the vaccines which have started in the United States.
Also the Electoral College. President-elect Joe Biden is closer and closer to officially reaching 270 electoral votes. We're going to bring you that. Stand by.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:58:28]
BLITZER: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in the CNN Election Center.
We are bringing you inside a historic and unprecedented live event, the Electoral College votes. In minutes the Electoral College will confirm President-elect Joe Biden's win. California electors will vote and push Biden over the key threshold of 270 electoral votes. At this moment, the electoral count stands at 240 for Biden and 232 for President Trump.
Let's walk over to the CNN's John King over at the magic call.
John, what, 47 states have now cast their votes. No faithless electors as they sometimes say. Everyone has voted according to the majority in their respective states. Three states left -- Oregon, California, and Hawaii. All of those electoral votes will go for Biden.
JOHN KING, CNN CHEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All of them will go for Biden. It took us until Saturday, right, Election Day was Tuesday, took us until Saturday to declare the winner back on election week in America if you will. This has gone pretty smoothly today.
And in the hour ahead, Joe Biden will officially pass 270 electoral votes. He's already the president-elect of the United States. But the celebration of today, the circumstance and pomp of today, the reaffirmation of today of the Constitution.
You mentioned, let's just bring it up and show, just isolate California for one minute for you. In the 5:00 hour on the East Coast here, obviously, it's 2:00 on the West Coast. California stands alone. It's 55 electoral votes. Joe Biden right now is at 240.
So, California alone will put him over the top. Oregon is voting they started last hour and its votes likely come in before California. So, give Joe Biden even with more of a lead and California will put him over the top.
Come back to the full map here, Wolf, still waiting on 55 in California. We're waiting on seven in the state of Oregon. Joe Biden won the state handily.
