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Now: FDA Panel Meeting Under Way on Pfizer Vaccine; Recommendation on Authorization Expected Soon; 106 House GOP, 18 States Backing Bogus Lawsuit to Overturn Election; FDA Panel Recommends Authorization of Pfizer Vaccine. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired December 10, 2020 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: May his memory and the memories of all of those we have lost in this horrific pandemic be a blessing.
Our coverage on CNN continues right now.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room. We're following breaking news.
A major turning point in the coronavirus pandemic as the United States shatters records for deaths and hospitalizations.
Right now, an FDA panel meeting is underway on whether to recommend emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine. Take a look at these live pictures coming in of that meeting.
If the panel does recommend the vaccine, a final FDA decision could come at any time triggering a massive distribution operation that's expected to see vaccines shipped within days. And the latest numbers reveal how desperately those doses are needed right now. More than 291,000 Americans have not lost their lives to COVID-19.
And tonight, the country is facing more than 15 and a half million confirmed cases. That follows the single deadliest day of the pandemic since it erupted here in the United States in January. More than 3,100 Americans died in just 24 hours.
Also breaking, a 106 House Republicans have just filed a brief in support of a bogus Texas lawsuit seeking overturn the presidential election. And President Trump just met over at the White House with state attorneys general supporting this effort.
Let's get the very latest, first of all, on this important FDA vaccine meeting. It is critical what's going on right now.
CNN's Sara Murray is working the story for us.
Sara, if the panel votes to recommend the vaccine, full FDA authorization that could follow very, very quickly, right?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The full FDA emergencies authorization could happen really at any point after this advisory committee comes through with their vote.
And from there, this sets off a chain reaction. We're going to see planes we are going to see trucks and within hours we are going to see this ultra-cold Pfizer vaccine going to sites across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We intend to act quickly.
MURRAY (voice-over): Within 24 hours of an FDA authorization the first coronavirus vaccines are set to ship out across the country. FedEx and UPS on standby to carry the first batch of nearly 3 million doses from a Pfizer facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan to more than 600 sites nationwide.
RICHAD SMITH, REGIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAS & EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FEDEX EXPRESS: There will be no higher priority shipments in our network than these vaccine shipments.
MURRAY: Another Operation Warp Speed partner, McKesson, is already shipping out supply kits, millions of syringes, needles, face masks and vaccination cards. The monumental task of beginning to vaccinate Americans coming in states are still grappling with uncertainty over exactly how many doses they'll receive and when.
In Nebraska, the governor is warning delays could lie ahead.
GOV. PETE RICKETTS (R-NE): We have been notified that Pfizer shipments will be delayed for week two and week three. We've not been told what that actually means for us.
MURRAY: One thing is clear nationwide, for a while, supplies will be extremely limited
DR. NIRAV SHAH, DIRECTOR, MAINE CENTER FOR DISEASE AND PREVENTION: Whenever the first shipment arrives, of course, it won't be enough for every single person in Maine who may want or need the vaccine.
Unfortunately, that has prompted us to have to make some difficult unsavory choices.
MURRAY: The first dose is will be steered toward frontline health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. Some hospitals are already setting up a delicate dance, staggering their staff vaccinations so entire departments aren't suffering the vaccine side effects, such as fevers and body aches at the same time. And even those at the front of the vaccination line could still have to wait.
DR. NGOZI EZIKE, DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Definitely we have to send the message that yes, there are a lot of people in that priority group. And yes, we want to make sure we get it to you. But no, it won't happen on day one or week one or maybe even week two. So, patience will be the name of the game.
(END VIDEO TAPE) MURRAY: Now, it's still going to be months before the general public is able to get any of these coronavirus vaccines after this round of health care workers. We expect it'll likely be essential workers. That's going to be a hard group to divvy down and we're already seeing some lobbying going on because of course everyone wants to be considered an essential worker.
We saw the airline industry today saying that these frontline aviation workers should be considered. They're making that pitch to the CDC, as you can bet many other groups are, Wolf.
BLITZER: They certainly are. Clearly the stakes are enormous for everyone.
Sarah, thank you very much.
Let's get some more of the breaking news right now. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us, along with former CDC Director Dr. David, excuse me, Dr. Tom Frieden.
Sanjay, let's talk about what this committee is up to right now. They're made up of different experts. They've been meeting all day now. It's supposed to wrap up fairly soon.
Any moment now they'll -- we're expect they will announce whether or not they are recommending that the FDA officially grants an emergency use authorization for this Pfizer vaccine. Tell us what they are way.
[17:05:05]
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think there's a there's a few discussion topics that are still happening right now, overall safety concerns, obviously, that's always going to be a big topic. What are the safety concerns? And also, how is the data going to continue to be collected over the next couple of years?
Warning labels, another big thing. For example, women who are pregnant or of childbearing age, are they going to be recommended not to get the vaccine? Or are they going to be told, look, there's very limited data, you need to weigh the risks and benefits with your health care provider. So, someone who's particularly high risk, they're not going to say absolutely no sounds like, but they're going to make it clear that there's not enough data there.
On the other hand, people who have -- who have had severe allergic reactions in the past are likely to be told that they're not going to get it. So those are some of the considerations.
Also, Wolf, these trials, if there is an authorized vaccine, what happens to the people in the trial who received placebo? Do they now get to get the vaccine? What about future trials? Will people still sign up for trials if there's an authorized vaccine? That's part of the discussion as well.
The fundamental question, Wolf, that they're trying to weigh is does the totality of scientific evidence really say that the benefits outweigh the risks when it comes to this particular vaccine? That's the fundamental question they want to answer at the end of the session.
BLITZER: Yes, it's a critically important question.
Dr. Frieden, as soon as the FDA grants this emergency use authorization, as it's called, Pfizer will start shipping out the vaccines. But the CDCs Advisory Committee also needs to sign off on that as well. What is the CDC's role exactly?
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR, CDC: Basically, the FDA says it can be distributed, the CDC recommends who gets it first. And what should the dosing schedule be? And there are lots of nitty gritty questions. What do you do if a patient doesn't come back at the scheduled time? What do you do if you don't have that vaccine on hand?
But more to the point, Wolf, this is a great step forward. But it's only one step on a very long road to getting people vaccinated. And there are going to be bumps on that road.
They're already having problems with production. They will be concerns about adverse events, just to be careful. There'll be people who are concerned that they don't want to get the vaccine. There'll be fights about who gets it first.
But what we have to understand is that it's not here yet. And right now, we're in the midst of a surge upon a surge of COVID. And we have to be as careful as possible so as many of us as possible will still be around to get the vaccine when it's our turn.
BLITZER: Yes, yes, obviously, that's so sensitive and so important.
You know, Sanjay, this advisory committee, they've been meeting all day now. And one of the things, I assume, they're going to provide a specific guidance for different groups, for example, pregnant women, and children, is that right?
GUPTA: Yes. I think we're going to see, you know, pretty specific guidance.
You know, it may be one of those things, again, Wolf, where they basically say we just -- there's not enough data here to suggest that there would be risks and not enough data to suggest there would be benefit. For example, pregnant women really weren't in, you know, included in the trial. There are women who became pregnant during the trial. There's some data there, there's some toxicity studies in animals, but not a lot of data. So, you know, that's something they're weighing.
Children under 16 really not part of these trials. They're part of other trials, so we make a data on them.
People who have immune -- who are immune compromised, are their immune systems working? Can the body actually generate an immune response? Is the vaccine going to be recommended for them? And then again, the thing that, you know, was in the news quite a bit yesterday, Wolf, people who have had severe allergic reactions in the past.
It sort of interesting, Wolf, if you look at the trial design, one of the things that they asked people before volunteering for the trial was had you had some sort of severe allergic reaction. And if people said they did, they were excluded from the trial.
So those people really weren't studied, Wolf, in the first place. And now we're getting we're getting some idea that probably those warning labels are going to come with one that says, if you've had a severe allergic reaction in the past, at least for now, this vaccine is not for you.
BLITZER: Yes, that's an important issue. Very sensitive issue as well, Dr. Frieden, because the committee did hear today about a side effects of the vaccine. How important is it for public health experts to communicate precisely the expected side effects? And they got to do it in a very transparent way, especially for people who have had problems as far as side effects from earlier immunizations.
FRIEDEN: I think the really important message here and we got this from the analysis that the FDA itself did of the drug company information two days ago and then today from the drug company itself. This is the first time we've seen the actual rates.
[17:10:00]
And the really encouraging news is that with 10s of 1000s of people vaccinated, there has not been any serious adverse event. That doesn't mean there won't be one that's rare when hundreds of 1000s or millions of people are vaccinated. But after both doses, headache, fatigue 50 percent or more, and fever and chills, 10 percent or 15 percent.
So, this will make people feel a little bit like they've got the flu for about a day, just about everybody felt better within a few hours or a day or two. But you've got to tell people, this is what's coming in. In fact, it's a sign that there's a take that the vaccine is working, if your immune system has gotten the message and will be ready to fight off the virus if you're exposed to it.
BLITZER: How big of a logistical challenge, Sanjay, lies ahead when it comes to vaccine distribution because millions and millions, millions of Americans are going to be desperately anxious to get it.
GUPTA: Yes. I think it's going to be challenging, Wolf. I mean, Operation Warp Speed talks about the idea of getting the vaccine from, you know, these manufacturing facilities like the one Sara Murray was talking about in Kalamazoo to the various states.
But then after that, states are all sort of triaging this vaccine in different ways. There are some that are creating these stockpile facilities. In other states, the vaccine is going straight to pharmacies in the hospitals and places like that. So it's going to feel different in different places. And there may be somebody who qualifies for the vaccine in one state that crosses the border and doesn't qualify in the other state.
So it may feel a little disjointed at first, as Dr. Frieden was sort of saying. Ultimately, as you get more and more vaccine, hopefully that smooths over, but we'll see. I mean, there's a lot of things that have to go right here, Wolf, for it all to work.
BLITZER: I want both of you doctors to standby. We're going to continue our special coverage. We're standing by for this critical FDA panel vote on the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. Standby for that.
Plus, President Trump meets with state attorneys general supporting a baseless lawsuit to overturn the presidential elections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:16:23]
BLITZER: We're following multiple breaking stories here in the Situation Room. We're standing by any moment now for the FDA's advisory panel vote on whether or recommend emergency use authorization of Pfizer's new coronavirus vaccine. We'll share that information with you as soon as it comes in.
Meanwhile, there's other important news we're following. Breaking right now more than 100 members of the House of Representatives, all Republicans, now backing a Texas effort to try to overturn the results of the presidential election here in the United States. Hard to believe that's what they're trying to do.
Let's go to our Chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
Jim, the lawsuit is also backed by President Trump and some attorney generals, Republicans all, from various states.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. President Trump met with those Republican attorneys general at the White House earlier today as he continues to try to subvert American democracy and overturn the election results. The President is being backed, as you said, by more than, and get this, 100, more than 100 House Republicans who are now supporting a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas seeking to throw out millions of votes and key battleground states won by Joe Biden.
But even some of Mr. Trump's fellow Republicans from Texas see the lawsuit as all hat and no cattle. One White House advisor told me it is, "pretty crazy," "pretty crazy" that the President is taking part in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Surfacing in a White House holiday party, the President made it clear he wants the Supreme Court to gift wrap the election for him by siding with a group of pro-Trump state attorneys general out to overturn the will of the people.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Certain important people, if they have wisdom and of, they have courage. We're going to win this election.
ACOSTA: Filing the lawsuit with the support of 18 Republican led states, Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton, who's under federal indictment and accused by Democrats of seeking a presidential pardon wants the Supreme Court to consider the case before the Electoral College finalizes Joe Biden's victory next Monday.
KEN PAXTON, TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: Let's state on state action. The only place we can go is U.S. Supreme Court.
ACOSTA: Fitting his hopes on the Texas case, the President is still scamming his supporters on social media falsely tweeting, "How can you give an election to someone who lost the election by hundreds of thousands of legal votes in each of the swing states? How can a country be run by an illegitimate president?
Texas Senator Ted Cruz says he's willing to argue on behalf of the President before the Supreme Court.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I think we need a sense of resolution and we need the Supreme Court to step in and ensure that we're following the constitution and following the law.
ACOSTA: The same crews Mr. Trump repeatedly called a liar back in 2016.
TRUMP: Lion Ted Cruz, you know, he walks into Bible held high, right? The Bible held high he puts it down comes over here starts ranting and raving and he starts lying.
ACOSTA: But other Texas Republicans are throwing cold water on the case from Senator John Cornyn, who said "I frankly struggled to understand the legal theory of it." To Congresswoman Kay Granger, who said "I don't think it's going to go anywhere."
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported the president warned Georgia's Attorney General against rallying opposition to the case after he said it was constitutionally legally and factually wrong. Georgia Republicans are facing the wrath of Trump supporters threatened to boycott the state's upcoming Senate runoff election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some folks are saying they're not going to show up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand them, because we're pissed. If the Republican people and the base a reason to get up off our tails and go vote for you. Because if you don't stop this fraud of an election, you don't have our back. So, while we haven't yours.
[17:20:00]
ACOSTA: President's Personal attorney Rudy Giuliani says he's ready to return to Mr. Trump's election crusade after a bout with the Coronavirus. Giuliani told WABC Radio he received top notch treatment because he's a Trump VIP.
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: Sometimes when you're, you know, you're a celebrity, they're worried if something happens to you. They're going to examine it more carefully and to do everything right.
ACOSTA: President is fixated on the election as the pandemic is raging out of control, climbing more than 3,000 lives Wednesday, with the administration predicting there could be some 362,000 deaths by January. A reminder of all the times Mr. Trump downplayed the virus.
(on camera): What do you say to Americans who believe that you got this wrong?
TRUMP: And I do want them to stay calm, and we are doing a great job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: That's what that Texas lawsuit.
The Pennsylvania attorney general has filed a blistering response to that case. In that filing, Pennsylvania accuses Texas of, "seditious abuses" in the lawsuit. Wolf, it is sounding like a war of words between the states at this point, but at least it's just a war of words. Wolf.
BLITZER: Jim Acosta at the White House, thank you very much.
Let's get some analysis on what's going on. Our CNN Political Correspondent Abby Phillip is with us. Our Senior Political Reporter Nia-Malika Henderson is with us. And our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger is here.
You know, Gloria, as we just heard more than 100 House Republicans, 18 attorneys general are now signing on in support of this lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General that seeks to invalidate not a few 100 or a few 1000, or a few 100,000 millions of votes by American citizens. When this farfetched lawsuit was filed, did you ever imagine it was received this kind of support?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I must say I didn't. But it looks like the rigged election caucus is growing larger every day. And that's because it's political. And that's because these elected officials believe that there's absolutely no downside to supporting Donald Trump in this ridiculous quest.
The only question I would really ask is in supporting Donald Trump in trying to invalidate these elections, are these elected officials willing to say that their own elections were fraudulent? And that, in fact, they should not have been elected should be redone, recounted, tossed aside. All of them answer that question, I doubt they're going to do it.
But there is no fine line here, Wolf, either you are on the side of Donald Trump, or you are on the side of the Constitution of the United States.
BLITZER: You know, Abby, I want to put the names of these Republican lawmakers who actually signed on to this there you see it up on the screen, whether this lawsuit is successful or not. So many legal scholars say it will not be successful. We can't ignore what this show of support says about the state of our democracy here in the United States. It's hard for me even to utter those kinds of words.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's really an extraordinary moment that we are facing as a country because there has not, I don't think ever been an effort like this to invalidate the votes of so many Americans for purely partisan political purposes. But I think what people should understand about that list is that, that so many Republicans signed on to it is because the White House made it pretty clear, would be scrutinizing who was on that list and who was not on that list.
He has sent out warning shots to Republicans who have been willing to acknowledge that Joe Biden is the president-elect and called them rhinos and suggested that there would be consequences for them. So, it's not just a passive thing that all of these people are just saying, yes, you know, I actually do have my own volition want to sign up for this.
They're doing it in under duress, from the White House, from the President himself who's been staying up at the White House making call after call to elected officials at the highest or the lowest levels of government all across the country over this issue. But notably, Wolf, not on the issue of the more than 3,000 Americans who are dying every day now from the coronavirus.
BLITZER: You know, Nia, they want to invalidate millions of votes in four states, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia. And Georgia specifically.
Let's take a look at Georgia. That's a state, and I'll put a graphic up on the screen, that is led by Republicans, a Republican governor, a Republican lieutenant governor, a Republican Attorney General, a Republican Secretary of State, a Republican chief voting systems implementation, all Republicans in Georgia and these other Republicans whether attorneys general, or whether the President of the United States, whether members of the House of Representatives are accusing these Republicans well validated, they certified that the election was fair and responsible that Biden won in Georgia, they're saying these Republicans are simply not doing their job. They're simply wrong.
These are not Democrats they're accusing of misleading and engaging in a fraud, these are all Republicans, Nia.
[17:25:03]
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: They are. And they have incurred the wrath of this president, of fellow Republicans who see these folks as rhinos because they are defying this president. This President has been used to Republicans standing behind him, essentially wanting to get on the loyalty list that those other folks are on. The list of Republicans that you just showed who have signed on to this ridiculous lawsuit that is filed by the Texas AG.
And so you have a situation now in Georgia, where Brian Kemp has been pressured by this president to call the legislature back into session, to call a special session and to let a different slate of electors and give him those 16 electoral votes. He has said no time and time again, you've had officials there who complained about the pressure and this sort of violent atmosphere that is creating in those states for those folks who are just doing their jobs. They're following the law. They are following the Constitution.
As Gloria said, they have chosen of the Constitution in this instance over this president. And it has made of this president quite upset. He is threatening to have a primary challenge against some of those folks.
And so, they are doing something that this president does not like, but it is good for democracy. It is what they shouldn't be doing, standing up to this president who is behaving in a very lawless way in trying to overturn the will of those voters in Georgia and millions of voters all across this country.
BLITZER: Yes. Let's not forget all 50 states and the District of Columbia, they have officially certified the results of what happened in those states. More than 7 million -- 7 million plus vote lead for Biden over Trump as a result of all 50 states and D.C., 306 to 232 in the Electoral College, you need 270, they've all certified that. But these are Republicans they ignore that completely.
All right guys, thank you very, very much.
Stay with us. We're awaiting a critically important vote by the FDA's advisory panel on whether to actually go forward and recommend emergency use authorization for Pfizer's new Coronavirus vaccine here in the United States. We'll talk about that in more.
The Ohio Republican governor, there you see a Mike DeWine. We got lots to discuss, we will when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:32:21]
BLITZER: This hour's breaking news, an FDA advisory panel is wrapping up right now, a full day of hearings on the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. We're expecting them to issue the recommendation momentarily. We'll, of course, have live coverage, standby for that as we await that major news.
We're joined by Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine. Governor DeWine, thank you so much for joining us. It's awful situation what's going on with COVID right now here in the United States. I understand you just extended Ohio's curfew in light of the surge in cases, the hospitalizations, the deaths. There is this good news, though, FDA advisors are meeting now. We could soon be a step closer to an Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer vaccine. If all goes well, when do you expect Ohio to start getting its first shipment?
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): Well, we're very excited about it, Wolf, and we can't wait to get the news. As you say momentarily, we hope. You know, we have 10 hospitals that are set to get the first shipment. You know, as soon as it shipped out, those hospitals are going to be vaccinating the first line health workers, people who are dealing with COVID patients every single day. So, we're very, very excited about it.
BLITZER: Are you going to get the number of vaccines you need to deal with those critically important individuals?
DEWINE: Well, Wolf, we're going to take what we can get. I mean, they're estimating -- they've told us, we're going to get about 660,000 in the month of December. So that's going to allow us to get started on our frontline health workers. It's also going to allow us to go into the nursing homes and start vaccinating workers there, as well as residents. You know, Ohio is like most states, we've really been hit hard in our nursing homes and, frankly, I can't wait until we really start vaccinating people in those homes because they're the most vulnerable.
BLITZER: Because the logistical challenges as you know, Governor, are enormous. The limited numbers that are going to be sent out, the early shipments, the super cold storage that is absolutely required getting this to rural areas, I assume you and your experts, you've gone through all of that and you're trying to deal with it.
DEWINE: We are. In fact, we're going to deploy the National Guard. My wife Fran and I were at the headquarters where they put their -- where the National Guard near Columbus is actually practicing and breaking down. You know, Pfizer sends out 975 doses lots. But you're talking about the rural areas, smaller areas of the state. We'll have to break that down out of that, you know, for some of the hospitals in the smaller areas, some of the nursing homes. And so, the National Guard will be doing that.
[17:35:04]
A good part of it, though, is going to be shipped, of course, directly to the hospitals or it's going to be shipped directly to Walgreens or CVS who's doing in Ohio. They're the ones that are doing the vaccination in the nursing home. So, yes, the logistics are big, you know, there's no doubt about it. A lot of moving parts, but we're ready.
BLITZER: I know there's some anti-vaxxers, people who are skeptical. Are you ready to get the shot, to do it publicly on camera to encourage folks in Ohio to go ahead and take the shot?
DEWINE: Yes, I would love to take it early on. But I think it's only proper that I wait until it's my turn. And so, I'm not in the category of frontline workers or -- and I'm not, of course, in nursing home. So, we'll wait. Fran and I wait. But as soon as, you know, it's our turn, we certainly will do it.
I think it's great. We've got former presidents who've all volunteered to do that on national TV. I think that's a great, great thing.
BLITZER: Yes, I totally agree. And I'm ready to get the shot as soon as it's my turn, as well.
Let me switch gears, Governor, while I have you for a moment. You're a Republican, as you know, more than 100 House Republicans are now signing up on an effort by President Trump and 18 states attorneys general, not Ohio, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate millions of votes in four key battleground states, including Georgia, which I pointed out is led by Republicans. Does it concern you to see so many of your fellow Republicans lend legitimacy to a push like this to ignore the will of the American people?
DEWINE: I'll tell you the truth, Wolf, I've not paid much attention to it. I watched a little bit a few minutes ago of your show leading into that. I learned some more things about that. Look, the courts are open. The Supreme Court will make a decision.
What I've said throughout this is let's have faith in the electoral system. Let's have faith in the courts. The courts are open. They've adjudicated things, you know, allegations --
BLITZER: Governor, I just want to interrupt -- I want to interrupt for a moment --
DEWINE: Sure.
BLITZER: -- because they're reading the results now from this FDA advisory panel. I want to listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- voted yes. Dr. Kim voted no. Dr. Monto voted yes. Dr. Tripp voted yes. Dr. Wharton voted yes. Dr. Banacloche voted yes. Dr. Offitt voted yes. Dr. McInnes voted yes. Dr. Lee voted yes. Mr. Toubman voted yes.
And that concludes the vote. So, we do have a favorable vote. And that concludes this portion of the meeting. So, I will now hand the meeting back over to Dr. Monto. Thank you, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEWINE: OK.
BLITZER: The FDA panel has voted to authorize, to go ahead and recommend the authorization of this Pfizer vaccine. Governor DeWine, I want you to stand by. It was -- the vote was 17 in favor, four against, one abstention.
Sanjay -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us right now. Sanjay, so they are recommending now to the full FDA that go ahead, start distributing the vaccine. Is that right?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like it, Wolf. I was watching that vote very carefully. 17 people voted in favor of recommending this Emergency Use Authorization. Keep in mind, this is a recommendation from this committee. The FDA still has to actually issue the Emergency Use Authorization. They almost always follow the recommendation of these advisory committees, but that step still has to take place. But 17 people voting yes, four no, one abstention.
So pretty overwhelmingly positive in terms of recommending this Emergency Use Authorization, Wolf. So pretty big moment. I mean, you know, considering how quickly this is all sort of transpired, we'll see what the FDA says now, maybe even tonight or tomorrow. And then likely, as we've talked about, Wolf, for some time, next week, we could see this vaccine actually being used to being injected for the first time in the United States outside of a trial.
BLITZER: Because as you point out, I want to bring Dr. Tom Frieden into this conversation as well. Almost always, whatever this panel recommends the full FDA approves, then it goes to the CDC and then the distribution begins, is that right?
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Absolutely. And just to clarify, because as Sanjay noted, it was 17 to four with one abstention. It's not that four people thought it wasn't effective or wasn't safe. There was some debate on the committee of what about young people ages 16 to 18 or 16 to 25 do the benefits, outweigh the risks, so much so that they need an Emergency Use Authorization. It was a very technical issue.
[17:40:00]
And as Sanjay says it was overwhelming support for this vaccination. It really appears to be extremely effective and quite safe. And now the challenge is to get it out to first thousand and tens of thousands, hundreds, thousand, millions of Americans so we can begin to get toward the new normal.
BLITZER: And we assume, Sanjay, that the full FDA will meet, maybe even tonight or tomorrow, and go ahead, and I assume they're going to accept this recommendation so this process can begin.
GUPTA: I think so, Wolf. I spoke to the Commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Stephen Hahn, a couple days ago, and that's basically what he said. I don't know if it'll be tonight or tomorrow, but he did say it was going to happen very quickly. And then as soon as that that EUA is actually granted, the distribution does begin. As Dr. Frieden knows, the CDC advisory committees are meeting I believe, tomorrow and again on Sunday to basically determine the who, what, when, as far as the vaccine distribution once it gets to the states. But, yes, I mean, this triggers a lot of movement once this Emergency Use Authorization is granted, which looks eminent at this point.
BLITZER: And already, as we all know, Dr. Frieden, the Pfizer vaccine was approved in the U.K. and Canada. They're starting to distribute -- they're starting to vaccinate people this week there, so I assume the United States will be next.
FRIEDEN: Absolutely. And, you know, one week from today, the Moderna vaccine will go through the same process and we'll see what the result is for that. So, the road to vaccination has begun. But it's going to be bumpy and the vaccines aren't here yet. So, we all need to be as safe as we can be because the virus currently has the upper hand, then it will be many months before there's enough vaccine for most people to get it.
BLITZER: Is there a major difference, Sanjay, between the Pfizer vaccine which this panel has just recommended be authorized for emergency use and the Moderna vaccine? Both the two doses given what, three, four weeks apart, right?
GUPTA: That's right. No, they're very similar. I mean, they're both this relatively new sort of platform of vaccine called mRNA. This will be the first time incidentally, Wolf, that an mRNA vaccine has been authorized in the United States, and obviously, the first time in the world with the U.K. and Canada over these past couple of weeks.
So, they're very similar. You know, some of you been asked if they're interchangeable in terms of first dose from one, second dose from another. They're not recommending that, although Public Health England said it could be done, if needed. But that's how similar they're sort of considering it. But it's very interesting the way this type of vaccine works. And now, the effectiveness that we're seeing, it's pretty remarkable.
BLITZER: You know what else is remarkable, Dr. Frieden, the transparency, all -- this hearing, this panel was meeting today all day since 9:00 this morning. It was all being streamed. People could watch it. They were aboveboard, open with the American public to watch what's going on. Because one issue that is such great concern is will the American public have faith, trust in this vaccine?
FRIEDEN: Right, and an all-day meeting is great to stream. What we also need is the top experts at CDC along with Tony Fauci and others speaking regularly to the American people, and that's been lacking for the whole year. Vaccine is a new technology. It's mRNA. And I've heard some people scared about that. It's really an exciting discovery.
If you think of it, it's almost like a message that gets sent to your immune system, shows it a picture of what this dangerous intruder, the coronavirus will look like, and gives it instructions on how to kill that. And then like a Snapchat message disappears. So, it's a very exciting new technology. It hasn't been used in people before, so we do need to look carefully but with tens of thousands of people having already received it, we haven't seen severe side effects. So, it's very encouraging. And the start of a long but very important road to vaccination.
BLITZER: It's critically important. It's a lifesaving development indeed. I want both of you doctors to stand by. Pete Muntean is in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where the Pfizer vaccine is being stored right now, it's about to be distributed, assuming the FDA approves this recommendation from this advisory panel. Pete, set the scene for us, what is about to happen?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Pfizer has been saying all along that within 24 hours of FDA Emergency Use Authorization, trucks could begin leaving here carrying the vaccine. This is a critical part of the distribution network, Wolf. Pfizer's largest facility, sprawling complex, 1,300 acres. We know that vaccine arrived here late last month but according to Operation Warp Speed, vaccine will be leaving here going directly to 600 individual locations.
We know that UPS and FedEx will carry those packages that have thermal monitors on board to make sure that the Pfizer vaccine is at its required negative 100-degree temperature.
[17:45:09]
This is where it all starts, Wolf, the beginning of a major movement coming out of Michigan and going all across the country for Operation Warp Speed.
BLITZER: This is going to be an amazing logistical challenge. It's a life-saving moment indeed. Pete, standby.
Sanjay, we're now told the full FDA is going to be on Sunday to whether accept or reject, I assume they'll accept this recommendation. I don't know why they're waiting until Sunday. I assume maybe because they want to go through and study everything that was revealed today, is that right?
GUPTA: Maybe. I mean, you know, there any additional points of clarification or what. I actually thought, Wolf, that it would happen sooner, as you're sort of intimating as well. So -- but we also know that the CDC --
BLITZER: Let me just correct. The CDC advisory panel, the CDC advisory panel is going to meet on Sunday, whether or not to recommend -- I don't know when the FDA is going to specifically meet again to make its recommendation.
GUPTA: Right. So, these are two committees, and some of this is overlapping, Wolf. The CDC Advisory Committee, ACIP, they're -- they had scheduled meetings already tomorrow and Sunday. We've heard from them before, Wolf, that they were the ones who sort of made these recommendations that health care workers and people in long-term care facilities should be at the front of the line in this first phase of the vaccine distribution.
The FDA, we don't know when they're going to meet, but as we talked about before, I thought was going to be very soon and maybe even tonight, tomorrow maybe, it could be any time over the next few days. But I did talk to Dr. Stephen Hahn, the Commissioner of the FDA a couple days ago, and he really very much gave me the impression that it was going to happen as soon as possible after this advisory committee had made their recommendation.
BLITZER: Yes, that's what we're now hearing. And Dr. Frieden, you used to run the CDC so you're very familiar with the process. What I'm now told is the advisory committee, they made the recommendation it goes to the full FDA, they will presumably approve it. And then the final step in all of these before it's released to the public will be on Disease Control and Prevention is expected to vote and presumably to approve it. But walk us through the exact process. FRIEDEN: Actually, once the FDA approves, the vaccine can get distributed. It doesn't wait for the CDC committee. The CDC committee, ACIP is more advising who should get it first. And the phase 1a as it's called, is really pretty straightforward. Residents of nursing homes, staff of nursing homes and frontline healthcare workers are first in line.
And the nursing home population is particularly important because it's been about 40 percent of all of the deaths. And getting both the residents and the staff of nursing homes vaccinated as quickly as possible is going to be the single highest impact of population in the vaccination program. And I would hope that every state, every community is making sure that they have a way to get those populations vaccinated as quickly as possible. Because really, if we had first doses in the next few weeks, second dose three, four weeks later, you could get most of the nursing homes in the United States protected, and that's going to reduce the risk of death by 40 percent or so. So that's crucially important.
The other big difference between the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine is the temperature that has to be kept with. Pfizer has these extreme sub-arctic temperatures, Moderna is just very cold. So, it's a lot easier. You don't have to deal with as much dry ice with the Moderna vaccine, which will come up for its vote a week from today.
BLITZER: And they're both about 90 percent or 95 percent even effective, which is so, so encouraging. So, basically, the advisory panel has issued this recommendation to go ahead, the FDA presumably will meet in the next maybe tonight or tomorrow, go ahead and accept it. And then the CDC will decide who gets it first, they'll accept the recommendations of those who are waiting in line.
Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio is still with us. And you've been very patient, Governor DeWine. What's your reaction to the breaking news we're just been following?
DEWINE: Well it's the news we've been waiting for, Wolf. We're very, very excited. And I could make a little joke with my Ohio State tie, I'm glad to be close to Michigan right now.
BLITZER: Yes.
DEWINE: So, we hope to get here very quickly. And, look, this is great news. This provides hope. You all were talking about the nursing homes, our nursing homes are still being hit over half of the people who've died in Ohio, have died in nursing homes. And, you know, we're all going to sleep a lot better once we start vaccinating people in our nursing homes as well as our first responders.
BLITZER: Are the numbers really exploding in Ohio right now like they are in so many other parts of the country of what, more than 3,000 Americans reported dead in just the past 24 hours?
[17:50:06]
DEWINE: Wolf, one-third of all the people in ICU in Ohio are now there because they have COVID. And we have some regions of the state where it's over 50 percent. So, it just kind of tells you where we are. We're in a real crisis in Ohio. We're battling. We've got Ohioans are wearing masks a lot more, particularly when they're out in public. And we're doing things but, yes, it's a real battle.
BLITZER: Yes. And I assume you're telling the folks there, even though the vaccine is on the way, whether it's the Pfizer or the Moderna, in January, they may be considering the Oxford-AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, more vaccines are being tested right now, folks still have to be really, really careful right now. They got to wear mask, social distance, they got to stay safe. I assume you're telling everyone in Ohio, this is no time to let up, especially now as we go into Hanukkah and Christmas, New Years.
DEWINE: No, that's absolutely right. I had held a press conference today. So, the next 21 days, until we get through the two holidays, all the holidays and get into the next year are absolutely crucial. We've got to slow this down in Ohio, we've got to pull back.
One thing I said, look, you know, don't eat a meal with somebody who's outside your house. And if you're talking or even close to someone who is not in your residence in your house, wear a mask. I don't care if it's your brother-in-law or your mom or who it is, if they're not in your house, you guys don't live together, you need to wear a mask.
So, you know, we're making progress with that in Ohio and Ohioans are stepping up and it's tough. They've been doing this, like they have across the country for nine months. But, no, you're absolutely right. There's hope out there, we can see the end if the vaccine is going to be here. We're going to start putting people's arms quickly in Ohio. But we also know that December, January, February, these are going to be these are going to be tough months, and we got to hang in there.
BLITZER: And, Sanjay, you know, I'm -- you've said this, Dr. Fauci has said this, we're only now beginning to see the aftereffects of Thanksgiving, when people were obviously celebrating Thanksgiving. But now these numbers a week or two or three weeks later, they're really exploding.
GUPTA: Yes, it's really sad. I mean, we're two weeks exactly out from Thanksgiving and two weeks exactly from Christmas Eve right now. So, you know, we know that typically there is a lag time between exposures and there were likely significant exposures over the Thanksgiving holiday. We know travel was significantly up that weekend.
So, the lag time two to three weeks so we're probably seeing start the surge of those Thanksgiving exposures in the form of new cases now. And, you know, that's the tough part. We're hearing such good news today, Wolf. But it feels like a little cognitive dissonance. We haven't -- we are well on our way to having an authorized vaccine for COVID-19 in this country. I didn't think I'd be saying that this year, to be perfectly honest.
At the same time, I also didn't think I'd be saying that we're going into a period of time where, you know, 2,000 to 3,000, maybe more people are dying every day of this disease as well. And those numbers are likely to continue to increase for a period of time, and then hopefully plateau and come down as quickly as possible. We don't know yet, Wolf, if at some of these projections, as you've seen, they're pretty dire.
BLITZER: Yes. It's really encouraging the breaking news we're following that this advisory panel from the FDA by a 17 to four vote, one abstention, recommending strongly to go ahead and begin distributing this vaccine and now goes to a full vote from the FDA. They've got to approve it, presumably they will with either the next few hours or by tomorrow, then it goes to the CDC. They're going to be meeting on Sunday to decide who gets it first, the priorities. They'll authorize that.
And then this vaccine, this Pfizer vaccine will be distributed nationwide, hopefully very quickly to millions of Americans and will save a lot of lives. That's what we're all hoping for.
Governor DeWine I know you got to run, thank you so much for joining us. Dr. Frieden, Sanjay, we'll have you back very, very soon. We're going to continue to stay on top of all of the breaking news much more of our special coverage here in The Situation Room right after this.
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[17:59:05]
BLITZER: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, I'm Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room. We're following major breaking news right now and the most hopeful moment yet in the coronavirus crisis here in the United States. And FDA Advisory Committee just recommended what's called Emergency Use Authorization of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine. This is a first in the pandemic that erupted in January. Final authorization could come at any moment triggering the shipment of nearly 3 million doses within 24 hours.
This milestone coming as the toll on the country is growing worse and worse by the hour. The loss of life hitting a new high with more than 3,100 Americans dying of COVID-19 in just a single day.
Let's begin our breaking news coverage this hour with CNN'S Nick Watt, he's following all of the late breaking developments for us. Nick, 17 FDA advisors voted to recommend the authorization of this vaccine, four voted no, one abstained.
