tv Anderson Cooper 360 CNN July 30, 2021 5:00pm-6:00pm PDT
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images beamed back from the rover should be a wake-up call. >> we are suddenly realizing that we don't own all of this. and it is a very aggressive competitor. >> reporter: kristen fisher, cnn, washington. >> thanks so much for joining us. anderson starts now. good evening. we begin with five words that define where we are in the pandemic. acknowledge the war has changed. those words come from a slide present, a strengths within the cdc. the war has changed. because the enemy has. the delta variant according to the cdc presentation travels as easily as chickenpox, meaning every person, each person can infect on average as many as nine other people. additionally, today the agency released this study is based its new recommendation on to wear a mask indoors even if you have been vaccinated and showed that
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infections with the delta variant produce similar viral loads regardless of vaccination status. in other words, even the vaccinated, who likely won't be anywhere near as sick, thank goodness, can still spread delta. the war has changed. today president biden acknowledged the additional measures might be coming because of it. >> in all probability, by the way, we had a good day yesterday, almost a million people got vaccinated. so i'm hopeful that people are beginning to realize how essential it is. >> the president signaling tougher tactics against in tougher adversary. the cdc study was based on a large outbreak in the massachusetts vacation spot at the tip of cape cod. ken owns a hotel there. >> we started to get the initial reports of some strange infection rates among vaccinated individuals, and then as time went on we saw more and more cases. until we eventually saw a number that was large enough to make a
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lot of us kind of scratch our ahead and said, wait a minute, is this something? >> and it was. because the vast number of people in province town are vaccinated, few people have gotten seriously ill. we will speak with a doctor who was vaccinated, visited province town and caught a breakthrough infection she believes from other vaccinated people there. the war has changed. and among the unvaccinated, the casualties are growing. here is a public health official in st. louis reacting to the cdc news. >> i was filled with dread last week about this and as i looked at this report and our local staff said earlier today, i'm even more worried now. icu admissions have doubled in the last couple of weeks here in the st. louis region. the community transmission levels are at an all-time high. >> more vaccine hesitant parts of the state, it's not the cases, but the type of patients
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they are seeing. >> we had about 15 patients hospitalized with covid in the middle of may and we are at about 150 in springfield in our hospital. so, you know, it's up ten times. the patients we are seeing sicker. they are younger and they seem to be getting sicker faster. >> and the war has changed in that respect, too. but not, thank goodness, in this. according to this internal cdc document, vaccines, even with delta, make you three times less likely to get infected and ten times less likely to get severely ill or die. they work. of the people in massachusetts in this latest cdc study we mentioned no one died and five were hospitalized. getting a shot is still a great way to stay healthy and stay alive. additionally, new cdc data out today shows that 90% of adverse
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events in adolescents to the vaccine are non-serious. now, with all this in mind more states, even red states, amped up calls to get the vaccine. georgia, which is not even 39% vaccinated, state officials saying hospitalization have risen 50% in the last two weeks and deaths by 18%. more companies requiring employees to be vaccinated. disney and walmart becoming the latest today. in addition, walmart employees will be told to mask up regardless of vaccination status. and of course there is the president late today opening the door to federal measures. that said, not everyone is onboard even with the threat to the unvaccinated becoming clearer, florida's governor issued an executive order blocking mask mandates in schools. blocking mask mandates that would protect unvaccinated students against a virus that is exploding in his state. the governor saying there will be no lockdowns, school closures, restrictions or man mandates in his state. the war might have changed today, but some on the
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battlefield have not. here to talk about it and take your questions are dr. hotez, co-director for the center of vaccination development in houston, author of preventing the next vaccine, vaccine diplomacy in the time of anti-science. michael, director of the university of mirpz's center for infe infebruary disease research and policy. so admiral girard, the former assistant health secretary under the previous administration warns that the delta variant is so contagious that if you have not been vaccinated and you do not previously have covid-19 you will become infected. what does that mean for children under the age of 12 who are ineligible to be vaccinated? >> well, it really depends on where those kids are, especially as schools open. and the big vulnerability that i'm sounding the alarm about is what's going on here in the south. for instance, the state of louisiana, you've got where delta, the variant is
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accelerating and kids are starting to show up in pediatric intensive care units. you have 17% of the adolescents vaccinated, 15, 16, 17% of the adolescents vaccinated, 30 to 40% of young adults. you have the delta variant accelerating and no mask mandates. so this is a crucible. and as schools open, for instance, in some parishes in louisiana, you are probably looking at august 9th or 10th when schools open, this is not going to go well. i think we will see this big steep acceleration. so as bad as things are right now in the south, they are about to get worse for lots of unvaccinated individuals. and this is why, you know, we're, you know, working overtime to try to convince people. it's not too late to get vaccinated before schools open. but time's run out and you've got to do it now. >> tonight dr. fauci is calling this a different and more formidable virus. how do you think this war will change now that we know
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vaccinated people infected with the delta variant can transmit the virus? >> things will change a bit. i think the one thing we have to remember tonight, if no one takes away any other message than this, these vaccines are highly effective in reducing severe illness and hospitalizations and most infections. please understand that. so no matter what else we discuss, that's an important issue. i think the challenge we have right now is with this increase ineffectivity, if you look at the previous surges of infection, the cases have risen rapidly in different parts of the country the last 18 months and then dropped rapidly. and we don't understand why. i think it's very possible we will see this surge take off in the southern states as it is now whether it will spread to the other states in a meaningful way, i don't know. i think it's possible that by september we'll see that this thing will drop again as it's done in a number much locations around the world. we can't count on that. i think that's likely what will
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happen. >> i think it's important to stress what you said, which is vaccines work and vaccines are,frankly, for everybody, it's the only way out of this. i mean, we don't have to be in this situation. >> exactly right. you know, i think one of the challenges we have is when the surges end, when this big wurst in cases come down, people on the other side of it that haven't been infected say, well, i missed it. i am not going to get it. i made this through. you know, you can't run out clock on this one. eventually, as was in your lead, this virus will find you. it is that infebruary issues. if it's not this surge, it will be the next. that's an important message, is that don't try to run out clock, it won't happen, you will know a covid-19-related outcome. please get vaccinated. >> we have a lot of viewer questions i want to get to. marcy says everyone talks about the pfizer/moderna vaccines. what about the j&j shot? do we need a booster?
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we received a lot of questions about the j&j vaccines. people are worried. should they be? >> that's one much my most frequently asked question. the answer is we don't have clinical data against the delta variant or at least not that has been publicly made available. we have laboratory data showing that people who have virus neutralizing antibiotics to the single dose j&j vaccines have some virus neutralizing antibiotics against the delta variant, but it's way down compared to the earlier lineages like the u.k. variant. and when i look at the numbers. >> and they are small numbers, one has serum from a dozen patients, another eight or nine patients are those who have gotten the vaccine, the decline is similar to the decline that we saw with the south african variant and we know that translates to a decline in efficacy. i don't want to extrapolate too much, but i think a single dose will have some decline and that means we got to really hear from the cdc and fda very soon about
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a second immunization of the j&j vaccine or move to the mrna vaccinations. >> by the way, right now, i mean, someone who took the -- got the one j&j vaccine, if they want to just get a booster shot, if they want to get another shot, can they just go swrr and do it? >> well, it's not always the case. it depends on your health care provider and some will not authorize it. the pharmacist will say, look are if you look at your vaccination card, i can't give you another dose. it really varies. and this is one of the problems. the cdc really and fda really have to come out with recommendations pretty soon. for the third immunization for the mrna for vulnerable populations, those on immunotherapy, some of the older individuals. >> as we heard president biden said tonight in all probability there will be new covid restrictions. beth is wondering. she asks, what's the risk of
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outdoor transmission for fully vaccinated? should there be large outdoor gatherings at this point? what about that? >> we have learned clearly over the past 18 months that this virus is transmitted by an aerosol. these are the kind of mist-like transmission in the air. if you want to understand what an aerosol is, think of somebody smoking. if you can smell the smoke from the cigarette, that's the same as if you were breathing in the air they exhale out that has the virus in it. we do have examples where we have trans higgs in outdoor activities where people are close together for an extended period of time. clearly, indoors areas the biggest challenges. we both know if i were in the room with you smoking you would smell it and smell it very quickly. so that's what people have to understand. if you can smell a cigarette in the location you are at, you are breathing someone else's air that may have the virus in it. >> that's stunning to say it in that way. i hadn't heard it said that way. it makes it quite alarming. professor, along the same lines, with the delta variant and
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greater viral load is six feet still the recommended distance? he is talking about social distancing. >> six feet is, to my mind, already outdated. when we came up with this understanding of the aerosol transmission of this virus we realize it could be further. how many times have you been 20 feet downwind from somebody smoking and smelled that smoke? and so six feet works as the old respiratory droplet idea, where if i am talking or coughing, it's like boulders coming out my mouth and falling to the ground. that's not the case here. if you are indoors and again just rule of thumb or if you are outdoors you can smell the smoke, you can also inhale the virus. >> wow. doctor, professor, thank you so much. i appreciate it. next, new notes taken by the third man in a phone conversation between the former president and the acting attorney general. as you'll see, they literally spell out his intention to lie about the election and his demand of america's top law enforcement official to help him
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♪ this next story falls into the shock bud category. if you are lacking evidence after three troubling new accounts of his final days at the former president was consumed with staying in office and nevermind democracy, this is for you. it's perhaps the closest we might ever get to a signed oval office photo of him with the inscription, here i am on the phone trying to overturn the election. new, we have already seen reporting he was constantly calling acting attorney general jeff rosen for evidence of voter fraud, something william barr said did not exist. today the house oversight committee released handwritten notes by mr. rosen's deputy of a december phone call he and his former boss had with the
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president. the handwriting isn't very legible, but quoting the former president, it reads, just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the r congressmen. republican congressman. in other words, just lie and other liars, myself included, will take it from there. we are joined by congresswoman malone. it's another example of the president going to extreme lengths to overturn the election, but to have it handwritten by somebody, the deputy or the assistant to the guy who he is talking to, what happens now? i mean, what's your committee going to do about this or can they do? >> well, just as you said, it's highly unusual to get any documentation involving direct comments of a president of the united states, especially to get handwritten ones documenting in great detail that he was urging
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the department of justice to call the election illegal and corrupt and implied and threatened them they would be replaced if they didn't comply. and when doj pushed back and said, this is not true, there was no signs of corruption or illegal activity, he said just leave it to me. i will just go out and say it and the republican congressmen, we'll do the rest. it's shocking beyond belief. we are in the midst of an investigation. we is not have these documents that you are revealing tonight until early yesterday morning. and more are coming in. and we're not going to stop until we get to the bottom this. so those who aided or witnessed trump's unlawful actions must answer those committee questions about the attempted subversion of our democracy. it is extremely serious and we are not stopping until we get to the bottom of it. >> also for the president to say
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to the acting attorney general, you know, just leave it to me and the other -- you know, and the republican congressmen, he knows he has a stable of republican congress people who will propagate that lie and he's right about that. many still are propagating that lie. he was so confident in not only his own ability to lie, but also that he would have a whole host of actors willing to go along with it in congress. >> well, all those that are involved should be called for for questioning. we have gotten clearance from doj to question six leaders and the department of justice. we are arranging those interviews for next week. we expect them to fully comply. if not, we will figure out how to force them to comply and we will continue with our investigation. >> at another point during the call the former president
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described congressman jim jordan as a fighter. something jordan said recently about his conversations with the presidents on january 6th. >> is you speak with president trump on january 6th? >> yeah, i mean, i spoke with the president last week. i speak with the president all the time. i spoke with him on january 6th. i talk with president trump all the time. i mean, i don't think that's unusual. >> on january 6th did you speak with him before, during, or after the capitol was attacked? >> i'd have to go -- i -- i spoke with him that day after, i think after. i don't know if i spoke with him in the morning or not. i just don't know. i'd have to go back -- i mean -- i don't -- i don't know -- when those conversations happened, but what i know is i spoke with him all the time. >> i mean, first of all remarkable on the day that the democracy is attacked by our fellow citizens and he spoke to the president, a, he is just now talking about that, it's the second time in recent days
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jordan has been shaky about his conversation was the former president on january 6th. you might think he might remember talking to the president of the united states on the day the capitol is being attacked. what do you make of that? >> well, i'm not surprised at all that he said he talks to the president all the time, that he talked to him on january 6th and we need for him to recall what these conversations were and put forward any information he has of any efforts by former president trump to overturn the election, to pressure leaders at doj, to call it an illegal and corrupt election when it wasn't. it's shocking. the allegations. actually, the proof that we're seeing is unprecedented. >> i appreciate your time. thank you. joining us now, senior political commentator david axlerod. david, what do you make of this?
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i am shocked to see a handwritten note by somebody listening in on the phone call, taking notes while the president is saying this. say the election was corrupt. leave the rest to me and the "r" congressman. >> yeah, you know, it is appalling. nothing is shocking,around, anymore. there is a well established storyline and well established pattern. he does not believe -- he never believed in rules or laws or norms or democracy institutions and it was clear that he was trying to overturn the election in any way he could. we have already heard the conversations he had with state officials, local officials, you know, in georgia asking them to find the votes that he needed. he is, obviously, given amplification to crazy conspiracy theory that have been thrown out in courts of law. i mean, this is was, you know, his idea was i'm going to take this however i can.
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what's outrageous is that there were elected officials who were so willing to cooperate with him. and that is pawling. but we should know that they are, including these two officials of the department of justice, the acting attorney general and his deputy, who were unwilling to do this. there were people at the state and local level unwilling to be cowed and bullied by the president of the united states and our democracy was saved by that margin. the last thing that i'd say about this, after all of this, after all of this he remains the, you know, punitive frontrunner for the nomination in the next election. and that is really deeply concerning. we had an impeachment, anderson, and the argument that was made by some of the president's support -- or at least some republicans in congress was, well, he's left already, so it's irrelevant. part of that proceeding was going to be followed -- that
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proceeding was going to be followed by a motion to disqualify him for running from office again. if this doesn't warrant disqualification from holding public office and particularly the presidency, i don't know what does. >> yeah, this is not going to have any impact, obviously, on trump's hold on the republican party. but just be clear. i mean, presidents aren't supposed to tell the attorney general -- just say this and i'll deal with the rest. i mean they are supposed to be -- isn't there some -- >> we went through a national trauma in the '70s that i remember when richard nixon tried to use the justice department to protect himself from proougs in the watergate scandal, and, you know, what happened after that were a series of steps by president ford, edward leavey, who was appointed attorney general, to restore faith in the justice
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department to restore faith in the rule of law and those norms have held for decades and decades. they were absolutely shredded by donald trump. we have never seen anything like that. certainly in my lifetime. i think thiin our history. you know, just wanton disregard for the norms of democracy. >> yeah. i mean, history is going to look back on this and it's not going to be pretty. david axlerod. thank you. next up, what the justice department decided today about the tax returns of the former president. the congressional investigators long hoped to access them. that's coming up when we come back. it's the most comfortable, body-sensing, automatically-responding, energy-building, dually-adjustable, dad-powering, wellness-boosting, foot-warming, temperature-balancing, recovery-assisting, effortlessly life-changing proven quality night sleep we've ever made. save up to $1,000 on select sleep number 360 smart beds and adjustable bases.
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the justice department today advised that the treasury department must in its words turn over the former president's tax returns to the house ways and means committee. in an opinion by legal counsel they said that committee chairman invoked sufficient reasons for requesting the returns. the trump administration refused the committee's original request and triggered the ongoing battle. want to fwel legal perspective from elliott honig, former federal prosecutor and author of hatchet man. and from prorper and author tim o'brien, who had a chance to see some of those returns as a result of a lawsuit filed by the former president questioning the
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ac accuracy of his book. tim, you have seen the form he president's tax returns. you can't discuss what you have seen. what do you make of today's announced by the department of justice? >> well, there is a lot of elements from it that i think are important that go beyond trump himself. i think it establishes that the congress has a supervisory role to play with the executive branch, particularly around whether or not the president has financial conflicts of interest that can compromise how he or she might conduct their affairs while in office. i think it put a firm check on a previous department of justice ruling in 2019 under barr that i think essentially tried to establish the idea that the congress was only on a fishing expedition and had no super str supervisory role to play, which wasn't keep with the traditional view that the executive branch
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should be independent from congressional oversight. i think it's a seminal development here po except potential think as they are putting into print in the modern era like up trump or any president with financial conflicts of interest needs to be supervised more closely because it can corrupt or compromise policy making. and i think that goes beyond trump. it's a new element that trump introduced when he became president and it's good to see that being put in play, something to check. >> legally speaking, does this mean that the fight for congress to see the former president's taxes is over and they will get his returns? >> just about, anderson. this means it's highly likely. the law says that if the house, the ways and means myth, requests the toss-ups of any person, the irs shall furnish, that's what the law says, shall furnish those returns. the trump administration as tim
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said bill barr came up with a convoluted legal theory, that doesn't apply, so we are not turning over anything unless the courts force us. today the biden doj reversed that. they said shall furnish means shall furnish so we are going to turn it turnover unless the courts stoppous. now the ball is in trump's court. if he does nothing, those tax returns are going to congress. or he can try to file a lawsuit to stop this. he is looking at a serious uphill climb legally. >> but that could take a long time, couldn't is? >> yeah, that could be the strategy, anderson. exactly. >> i think it's likely he does try. >> tim, you were saying given his history? >> sorry. i think in there they basically have given him a 72-hour window to try to come back at this. so they clearly have said we're opening a door. if you want to contest it, that door is not going to stay open
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very long were the justice department cited the former president's tax returns could re veal, quote, hidden business entanglements including conflicts of interest, affecting proper execution of the former president's responsibilities. to you see this as potentially res revealing liabilities? >> certainly. it would go a long way towards explaining why downnald trump engaged in corrupt and unseemly diplomatic dances with vladimir putin and other dictators. i think the easy explanation at the time, i think, and it was a real one, and had merit, was that he had a juvenile fascination with authoritarian leaders and he liked to preen around them. but i also think always in the back of donald trump's mind is how quickly can i make a buck. and i think that a very direct reason he was doing a lot of these things was in order to feather his own nest financially. and one of the unfortunate elements of a mueller
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investigation is that robert mueller chose not to probe deeply into trump's finances which remains a mystery to me. not only in terms of trump, but any president who has financial conflicts of interest that need to be scrutinized and certainly would go a long way towards explaining what motivated a lot of trump's actions. >> and if the returns go to congress, is it possible the public would see them? >> yeah, i think it is. and potentially fairly quickly. we know the manhattan district attorney has had the returns for a year now. those are grand jury materialsful they have to remain secret. we won't see unless and until there is an indictment and trial. who knows? that's unlikely at this point. however, congress doesn't have the same limitations. but they should think about this. the position they have taken is we want those tax returns not just to embarrass the president, but because we need them to consider specific legislation we
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are thinking about. they may want to think about the political impact of putting the tax returns out. there is very little to prevent it. >> appreciate it. straight ahead, i will talk about a pediatrics who was vaccinated against the coronavirus still diagnosed with the disease after visiting province town, massachusetts, on holiday at the center of a cluster of covid cases this month that the cdc has been studying. that's next. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ oh! are you using liberty mutual's coverage customizer tool? sorry? well, since you asked. it finds discounts and policy recommendations, so you only pay for what you need. limu, you're an animal! who's got the bird legs now?
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emergency planning for kids. we can't predict when an emergency will happen. so that's why it's important to make a plan with your parents. here are a few tips to stay safe. know how to get in touch with your family. write down phone numbers for your parents, siblings and neighbors. pick a place to meet your family if you are not together and can't go home. remind your parents to pack an emergency supply kit.
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making a plan might feel like homework, but it will help you and your family stay safe during an emergency. outbreak in provincetown, massachusetts, with hundreds and hundreds of the new cases reported. one of those infected dr. aa aronson is a pediatrician. she is also a friend. she joins me now. thanks for being with us. how are you feeling? you said you were frightened by your symptoms after you game down with covid. >> yeah. i'm better. i mean, i feel lucky. you know, and every day it's funny to be in a way looking at my illness and realizing that every day you can see yourself getting better. and that's a powerful message that i want to give people.
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>> you feel lucky because you were vaccinated? >> oh, my god. you know, still i remember the -- just the miracle of going up to cornell where i'm on faculty and getting my first vaccine and then my booster, and i -- i just can't tell you how proud i was. >> if you hadn't been vaccinated, what do you think would have happened with this infection? >> i was -- i was dreading. i was for sure feeling as if i could get sick at any point, and i really worked hard to keep myself safe. and i was a vigilante with friends and family about how to stay safe. >> but once -- i mean, if you hadn't been vaccinated and you got the delta variant in provincetown, i mean, you -- at your age, which is probably close to my age, you would -- i mean, you were at risk? >> oh, i have to tell you, there
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was no question that i was already very convinced that i couldn't get delta. i just felt like, you know, i was counting the months and asking at, you know, at the various places i could ask, like, does anyone know what my immunity is really about after six months? and i'm turning 70 in the fall. all i could think of is every day i was eking out whatever antibiotic i might have had. and i wanted to talk to someone about getting another shot. >> do you know how you got -- because i -- there is a lot of people who have gone to provincetown in the summer who have ended up infected and a lot were vaccinated. they are not hospitalized, thankfully, because they were vaccinated. so it's not a commentary on the vaccines themselves. it's a commentary on how easy it is to catch delta. do you know how you caught it? >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, i know the two possibilities was that i love that dune tour.
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i used to go on it myself, but i wanted to go on the dune tour. >> driving -- i don't know. driving in a car on dunes? >> yeah. it's up those famous beautiful dunes in provincetown. >> you were sitting near people in a vehicle? >> well, i was in a vehicle with another friend and there was plastic across and just the driver. and we were there 15 minutes on the way up and then we were outside on the dunes. and then we were 15 minutes back. so that was really what -- and i called and i found out that, yeah, that the driver was infected and then had been vaccinated. and then the other was a breakfast where we were not set in our usual place for breakfast where we were like separated with guards on either side. suddenly, they removed it. we said, okay, we'll just have our breakfast, and we had
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breakfast with two really lovely guys and chatted. and maybe we were exposed over a 20 to 30 minutes. >> and what is your -- i mean, people who are seeing this may be saying, wait a minute, you are an infectious disease specialist. you caught this. you have been vaccinated. why should i get vaccinated if it doesn't make any difference? >> okay. well, it does make a difference because i'll tell you what happened. i mean, i developed symptoms within a couple of days, and my shortness of breath was so frightening, i can't even -- i don't know how to express it. it reminded me of patients who i had taken care of who were dread p dreadfully ill and had pneumonia, cancer, children, adults. and i know what it felt like for them when they were short of breath. i was short of breath and i was frightened. and i had a horrible headache and low-grade fever and achy muscles and had a dry cough and i was exhausted.
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and i spent maybe three to four days like that. so i was really aware of what this could look like and i was absolutely frightened. and i had it be, you know, sort of calmed down, like people were really helping me. >> do you think the vaccine saved your life? >> right. that's exactly what happened. i felt immediately like i'm scared, but i know this vaccine will work and i want to tell people. i feel so open hearted. i have always counselled people on not getting vaccinated, kids, and i felt like, let me talk to people. let me -- i'll love them into taking it. i'm good like that. i could convince anybody to do anything. i wanted a chance already months ago, and now i want the chance here to say, don't be afraid. open yourself up to an opportunity to be well and safe and for us all to work together
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as a community. i'm sorry to be so preachy, but i feel like we are all together on this, and i want us -- i want to tell people about that. i'm better and i want them to know, they can talk to me. i'd be happy to talk to anybody so they could take the vaccine. >> dr. aronson, i'm glad you are okay and i'm thankful that you agreed to tell your story. thank you. >> thanks, anderson. how the florida governor is trying to make sure no school system can mandate masks in his state. you've been taking mental health meds, and your mind is finally in a better place. except now you have uncontrollable body movements called tardive dyskinesia - td. and it can seem like that's all people see.
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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ as we mentioned earlier in the broadcast florida governor ron desantis has issued an executive order to fight the cdc guidance for mask mandates in schools. it orders the state to issue emergency rules to prevent any school system from florida from implementing the order. broward county did just that. he said this was to, quote, protect parents' freedom to choose whether their children wear masks. new covid cases in florida have
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jumped 50% in one week and as hospitalizations reach the same level as a year ago. joining us now, an infectious disease expert from florida. doctor, thank you for being with us. 50% jump in cases in florida is pretty sobering. what do you think about governor desantis blocking or issuing an order to block mask mandates in schools? >> let me just be very clear. the situation is grave and getting more and more so day by day. our hospitals are jam-packed and people are in long lines, waiting for -- to be seen, including children. and this is absolutely tragic. so the situation is bad. this order is based on a study that was done up at brown and it's a small study that contradicts every other study including cdc's studies in the state of florida. that study is not peer-reviewed
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back in may and it probably not be approved. so it's very surprising because the reality is, every leader right now should be doing their absolute best to reduce the transmission of this horrific virus. >> so we're learning just how transmissible this delta variant is. the cdc says it's as transmissible as chicken pox, each person can give it to nine other people. as we get close to the opening of schools in florida, do we know enough about the impact of delta on children who can't get vaccinated? what do you expect to happen when kids are blaare back in th classroom unmasked, assuming their parents don't want them to be masked? >> i'm hoping that parents are going to do what is best for their child and for their community and ask their children to use masks. because the reality is, as i already mentioned, we are seeing very young people including young children coming into hospitals symptomatic, with
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covid here in the state of florida. and what we don't need is to have long term complications in these children. so, you know, it's like going against medical advice. you're going against the science. i can release you from the science against medical advice, but that's what it is, it's not following science and it's not following the best medicine. >> to be clear, you would say, vaccinated or not, every child, teacher, and staff in school should be wearing a mask? >> that's the recommendation of the american academy of pediatrics. and i wholeheartedly support that recommendation. it's also the recommendation of the infectious disease society of america and virtually every medical society in the united states right now. >> governor desantis spoke earlier today, i want to play a little bit of what he said. >> i have young kids. my wife and i are not going to do the masks with the kids, we never have. i want to see my kids smiling. i want them having fun.
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>> do we know -- i mean, do we know the possible long term effects of a child who gets covid at this point, who gets the delta variant? are kids susceptible to -- you said you're seeing them in the hospitals. are they also susceptible to long covid? >> yes. the children are susceptible to long covid although we don't have all the data of what that incidence is going to be or for how long they're going to have any kinds of complications. the biggest risk for children is the multisystem inflammatory system or kawasaki syndrome that we also see in some adults. even that is uncommon. but if it happens to your child, it's absolutely tragic. >> doctor, i appreciate it, thank you very much. ahead, something a little lighter but also a serious question. just what was that on the president's chin and did he really -- well, you'll see.
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we wanted to end on something a little lighter that could maybe make you -- some people thought it was funny. others thought it was kind of gross. today president biden was meeting virtually with western governors and while listening to the conversation a staffer handed him a note, he takes it, he reads it. now, later he was holding the note in a way that cameras could capture the text. it said, sir, there is something on your chin. that happens sometimes, certainly -- and so was that awkward thing is do you tell the person there is something on your face. if it's me, i always prefer to be told, you know, there's something hanging off my chin or whatever. anyway, let's look at the video again. he's handed the note. he reads it. sir, there's something on your chin. and he wipes it. looks at it. i don't know if he -- did he eat it? it looked like he -- i mean, i
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can't confirm it. but it looks like he did the old kind of -- i don't know, we'll leave it up to you to decide. something to make you smile or cringe a little bit. i cringed. the news continues. let's hand things over to chris for "cuomo prime time." what do you mean, chris? >> did you -- coop. did you just accuse the president of -- >> no, i didn't. i asked the question. i'm just asking the question. >> some say. >> but, i mean, we've all done -- >> would you tell me if i had something in my big chompers? >> i would absolutely tell you, yes. >> you're one of those. >> i believe in just saying it to the person. i've said it to people in the most awkward situations. i feel like, you know what, it's good to just rip the band-aid off. >> i still think you kind of accused the president of the united states -- i think you said, did he just -- >> it was a question. i don't know. couldn't tell.
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