WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.260 align:start YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Welcome to the Washington Week Extra. I'm Yamiche Alcindor. 00:04.260 --> 00:08.230 align:start We want to pick up the conversation where we left off and discuss the latest on the 00:08.230 --> 00:12.790 align:start COVID-19 pandemic. President Biden is ramping up his push to get more Americans 00:12.790 --> 00:18.160 align:start vaccinated, especially looking at young Americans. On Tuesday the president laid out his 00:18.160 --> 00:23.090 align:start administration's strategy to deal with vaccine hesitancy. Here's what he had to say. 00:23.090 --> 00:26.550 align:start PRESIDENT JOSEPH BIDEN: (From video.) Now we need to go to community by community, 00:26.550 --> 00:30.850 align:start neighborhood by neighborhood, and ofttimes door to door literally knocking on doors to 00:30.850 --> 00:35.240 align:start get help to the remaining people protected from the virus. 00:35.240 --> 00:39.120 align:start ALCINDOR: But as the Delta variant continues to gain ground, what comes next in the 00:39.120 --> 00:44.380 align:start battle with COVID-19? Joining me tonight to discuss this and more are reporters that are 00:44.380 --> 00:50.430 align:start great: Dan Balz, chief correspondent for The Washington Post; Leigh Ann Caldwell, Capitol Hill 00:50.430 --> 00:55.690 align:start correspondent for NBC News; and Weijia Jiang, senior White House correspondent for CBS 00:55.690 --> 00:59.700 align:start News. Thank you so much for being here. Weijia, I want to start with you. 00:59.700 --> 01:04.100 align:start The Biden administration is trying so hard to get more people vaccinated, but we're - 01:04.100 --> 01:09.310 align:start they're really hitting some challenges here. Talk about those challenges and what their plans are. 01:09.310 --> 01:13.590 align:start WEIJIA JIANG: So from the beginning they've really wanted to focus on access and making 01:13.590 --> 01:17.750 align:start sure people can easily get the vaccine, and we are beyond that as we talked about on the 01:17.750 --> 01:23.730 align:start show, and they also have said that they were not the right messengers to try to convince 01:23.730 --> 01:27.370 align:start people, especially Republicans, conservatives in those strongholds that we are seeing are 01:27.370 --> 01:30.000 align:start still refusing to get shots. 01:30.000 --> 01:34.150 align:start And so, you know, my question remains whether they've reached out to the former president 01:34.150 --> 01:40.760 align:start about this because it seems that he could perhaps sway a few minds, and what's really 01:40.760 --> 01:46.230 align:start perplexing is that on the one hand Donald Trump wants all the credit for Operation Warp 01:46.230 --> 01:51.400 align:start Speed and for making this vaccine available and accessible; on the other hand, he's radio 01:51.400 --> 01:57.670 align:start silent about why people should get it when he really does have that influence, as we've 01:57.670 --> 02:02.120 align:start seen, over other things. And so I don't know whether they have plans to do that. 02:02.120 --> 02:08.180 align:start Sources are always very - (laughs) - they're always very prickly when you talk about, you 02:08.180 --> 02:14.360 align:start know, that communication, but eventually, you know, he might have to, you know, if he's 02:14.360 --> 02:20.060 align:start willing, use that megaphone to try to persuade people because at this point it is a 02:20.060 --> 02:24.220 align:start political argument against the vaccine. 02:24.220 --> 02:28.720 align:start ALCINDOR: Leigh Ann, you're on Capitol Hill, where a lot of this - the issues at play, 02:28.720 --> 02:32.220 align:start the politics at play in this vaccine issue play out. 02:32.220 --> 02:36.110 align:start Talk about what Republicans are doing to try to get more people vaccinated and how 02:36.110 --> 02:41.510 align:start lawmakers' efforts - how that contrasts with what we're seeing on conservative media. 02:41.510 --> 02:45.180 align:start LEIGH ANN CALDWELL: Yeah, well, Democrats and Republicans - well, I guess, let me start, 02:45.180 --> 02:49.540 align:start it depends on which Republican you talk to about what they're doing for getting people 02:49.540 --> 02:55.060 align:start vaccinated. Senate Minority Leader McConnell is someone who talks about the importance 02:55.060 --> 02:58.840 align:start of vaccines. He has talked about the importance of mask wearing. 02:58.840 --> 03:05.360 align:start He was always very bullish on - or, on COVID safety. 03:05.360 --> 03:14.470 align:start But then you have Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is holding events with people who 03:14.470 --> 03:22.170 align:start he says have been adversely impacted by the vaccine, and so that is playing into the 03:22.170 --> 03:30.310 align:start entire distrust of the vaccine. But this also is a much bigger issue, too. So many especially 03:30.310 --> 03:38.000 align:start in the Republican base don't trust the media, don't trust their government, don't trust Dr. 03:38.000 --> 03:42.770 align:start Fauci and institutions, and they don't trust the vaccine, and so this is a societal 03:42.770 --> 03:51.550 align:start breakdown of belief in any sort of system, really, and so it goes much deeper than just 03:51.550 --> 03:57.340 align:start not trusting the vaccine. But then, as you mentioned, on conservative media this is not 03:57.340 --> 04:01.750 align:start something that's discussed; in fact, there's a lot of anti-vaccination segments on 04:01.750 --> 04:07.160 align:start conversative media, and so they are getting a completely different message than the rest 04:07.160 --> 04:11.450 align:start of the country. When they're talking about Dr. - when they're highlighting Dr. Fauci, 04:11.450 --> 04:18.680 align:start it's not what he says and what his advice is; it is saying - you know, disparaging him. 04:18.680 --> 04:22.490 align:start ALCINDOR: And we've been talking about this, one of the biggest - one of the biggest 04:22.490 --> 04:27.050 align:start hurdles is that vaccine hesitancy. Republican men in particular are among the most hesitant 04:27.050 --> 04:31.390 align:start group. On Thursday Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell discussed people's resistance to 04:31.390 --> 04:33.850 align:start getting the vaccine. Here's what he said. 04:33.850 --> 04:37.140 align:start SENATE MINORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): (From video.) I'm perplexed by the 04:37.140 --> 04:41.290 align:start reluctance of some to get vaccinated, totally perplexed. 04:41.290 --> 04:46.980 align:start To use a sports analogy, we're in the red zone, the last 20 yards before the endzone, but 04:46.980 --> 04:56.180 align:start we're not in the endzone yet because there is resistance for various reasons that seem to 04:56.180 --> 04:59.300 align:start have gotten caught up in politics. 04:59.300 --> 05:04.050 align:start ALCINDOR: Leigh Ann, Senator McConnell is - (laughter) - he's perplexed. 05:04.050 --> 05:10.520 align:start There was that long analogy to sports that was basically him saying we're not there yet. 05:10.520 --> 05:14.510 align:start Just your reaction to what Senator McConnell is saying. 05:14.510 --> 05:22.150 align:start CALDWELL: Well, he should talk to members of his party and try to figure out how to 05:22.150 --> 05:28.280 align:start change what is actually happening because it is his constituents, his voters who are not getting 05:28.280 --> 05:33.250 align:start vaccinated. And even last Sunday on the Sunday shows you had a lot of Republican governors on 05:33.250 --> 05:38.430 align:start these Sunday shows talking about vaccine hesitancy, especially among conservatives, and really 05:38.430 --> 05:45.130 align:start making an argument that boils down to economics because they want to keep their states 05:45.130 --> 05:49.720 align:start open, they want their economies to boom, and they know if people are continuing to get 05:49.720 --> 05:54.840 align:start sick, if COVID persists, then that hurts their local businesses, that hurts their state 05:54.840 --> 06:00.520 align:start economies, that hurts their tourism, and so it's good for business, they're saying, to get vaccinated. 06:00.520 --> 06:05.120 align:start JIANG: And I just want to say, you know, obviously, this is not a light issue, but you 06:05.120 --> 06:09.770 align:start have to laugh at the irony of both the messenger and the message here, right, because, 06:09.770 --> 06:15.080 align:start you know, where was Mitch McConnell during that entire stretch of time in the early 06:15.080 --> 06:21.010 align:start stages of the pandemic when their leader of the Republican Party was really laying the 06:21.010 --> 06:28.400 align:start foundation for this doubt that we're seeing now, and where was he in calling out Trump at 06:28.400 --> 06:32.460 align:start that time and trying to embrace and support science? 06:32.460 --> 06:37.920 align:start So much missed time happened, as we witnessed, in that administration, so for him to now 06:37.920 --> 06:42.480 align:start come out with this message is, I think, why I was chuckling. 06:42.480 --> 06:45.440 align:start DAN BALZ: But he's also hesitant to lay it on Republicans. 06:45.440 --> 06:46.880 align:start JIANG: Right, yeah. 06:46.880 --> 06:48.520 align:start ALCINDOR: For various reasons. 06:48.520 --> 06:52.850 align:start BALZ: Right, for - yeah, and just he won't - he won't address the big issue, you know. 06:52.850 --> 06:57.400 align:start I mean, if you look at the data at this point and you're not vaccinated, and you see 06:57.400 --> 07:03.070 align:start that, what, 99 percent of the people who are currently dying from COVID-19 are 07:03.070 --> 07:08.340 align:start unvaccinated people - now, some people live with a level of risk that's higher than what 07:08.340 --> 07:13.470 align:start other people live with, but there are political reasons that people are not doing this. 07:13.470 --> 07:19.250 align:start We did a poll with ABC that we published over the weekend and the - you know, the 07:19.250 --> 07:23.330 align:start percentage of Republicans who have gotten a vaccination is significantly lower than 07:23.330 --> 07:25.820 align:start Democrats; we know that. 07:25.820 --> 07:30.600 align:start When we asked, OK, of those of you who haven't gotten it, do you - are you probably going 07:30.600 --> 07:36.810 align:start to get it or not, 47 percent of Republicans said either definitely not or probably not, 07:36.810 --> 07:44.690 align:start and people under 50 40 percent said definitely not and another 17 percent said probably 07:44.690 --> 07:51.380 align:start not - 57 percent of Republicans under the age of 50 are unlikely to get the vaccination. 07:51.380 --> 07:55.650 align:start I don't know what the administration could do in the face of that resistance. 07:55.650 --> 08:00.470 align:start ALCINDOR: What can the administration do? I mean, I was there on that call when the CDC 08:00.470 --> 08:06.690 align:start director said 99.5 percent of people dying of COVID are people that were unvaccinated, and 08:06.690 --> 08:11.120 align:start I had to almost rewind to say, did I hear her right, did you say 99 percent? She said 08:11.120 --> 08:14.790 align:start there were preventable deaths. What's the administration to do? 08:14.790 --> 08:17.760 align:start JIANG: I mean, they are giving out beer. 08:17.760 --> 08:21.540 align:start You know, some states are giving out guns - my home state of West Virginia, I don't know 08:21.540 --> 08:27.620 align:start because they've already tried incentives, they've already tried to, you know, jam as many 08:27.620 --> 08:31.670 align:start stats as you mentioned that are really scary and try to get those out there to let people 08:31.670 --> 08:36.970 align:start know that this is a matter of life and death. So, you know, they really are relying on 08:36.970 --> 08:42.670 align:start local leaders, on physicians, on other medical experts in those communities to try to 08:42.670 --> 08:49.510 align:start spread the message, but in terms of incentivizing it I don't know what more they can do. 08:49.510 --> 08:53.830 align:start ALCINDOR: And Dan, as we're talking about what's going on domestically, it's not lost on 08:53.830 --> 08:58.300 align:start me that in the middle of all this abroad in places like Haiti, where the president was 08:58.300 --> 09:01.380 align:start assassinated, people are desperate for the vaccine. 09:01.380 --> 09:06.220 align:start What does it say about the global efforts and the global need for the vaccine, what we're 09:06.220 --> 09:08.820 align:start seeing happen at the Olympics and other places? 09:08.820 --> 09:11.980 align:start BALZ: Well, it's a reminder of the haves and have-nots in the world. 09:11.980 --> 09:15.900 align:start And the richer countries are the ones that are vaccinating more people. There may be gaps 09:15.900 --> 09:20.390 align:start within those countries, but richer countries have the availability of vaccinations. They 09:20.390 --> 09:25.320 align:start have the ability to distribute them and they have a willing population to try to get them. 09:25.320 --> 09:29.860 align:start In these poorer countries, that doesn't exist - they don't have vaccines available. 09:29.860 --> 09:35.490 align:start The wealthier countries - when the president was in Europe for the G-7 meeting, they 09:35.490 --> 09:41.360 align:start pledged, you know, a billion or two billion doses to be sent to other countries. 09:41.360 --> 09:45.670 align:start But that is not enough to do what needs to be done. 09:45.670 --> 09:49.970 align:start And we're now at a moment, because of the Delta variant, where there's a greater sense of 09:49.970 --> 09:54.750 align:start urgency to try to get vaccinations as widely across the globe as we can. 09:54.750 --> 09:59.170 align:start And that is - that is another enormous problem that not just this administration but 09:59.170 --> 10:04.130 align:start other countries around the world that have these vaccines are going to have to deal with, 10:04.130 --> 10:07.210 align:start and deal with pretty swiftly. 10:07.210 --> 10:10.190 align:start ALCINDOR: And, Leigh Ann, on Capitol Hill, of course, there's a lot of stuff stalled on 10:10.190 --> 10:14.140 align:start the Hill, but I wonder if there's any sort of talk about prevention for future pandemics, 10:14.140 --> 10:18.520 align:start what the thoughts are on what they've learned and what lawmakers have learned from this pandemic. 10:18.520 --> 10:22.640 align:start CALDWELL: There was a little bit of money in the last COVID relief bill for future pandemics. 10:22.640 --> 10:27.570 align:start And then there is Senator Patty Murray, the head of the Health and Education and Labor 10:27.570 --> 10:34.540 align:start Committee. She is readying legislation to help fund and prepare for a future pandemic. 10:34.540 --> 10:39.560 align:start So that is something that they are thinking about. You know, it's not necessarily the 10:39.560 --> 10:43.990 align:start headline grabbling priority right now, with everything else that Congress is trying to get done. 10:43.990 --> 10:46.000 align:start ALCINDOR: There's a lot. 10:46.000 --> 10:48.700 align:start CALDWELL: But they're thinking about it. 10:48.700 --> 10:53.190 align:start Perhaps in this appropriations process they will fund it, even though they are very far 10:53.190 --> 10:57.280 align:start behind on that process and the fiscal year ends at the end of September. 10:57.280 --> 11:01.290 align:start BALZ: But it's a reminder - I did a story very early on in the - during the pandemic 11:01.290 --> 11:06.720 align:start about why government is never prepared for these things. And one of the reasons is 11:06.720 --> 11:12.750 align:start there's very little political incentive or political reward for getting prepared for something. 11:12.750 --> 11:17.600 align:start There's reward if you respond quickly and efficiently when there is a problem, but it's 11:17.600 --> 11:23.210 align:start always a low priority to seek the funding, to get the support for the funding. 11:23.210 --> 11:28.020 align:start So it's - given everything we've gone through, you would think that people would say, 11:28.020 --> 11:32.860 align:start well, this is a priority, or this should be a priority, and yet we see that it's not 11:32.860 --> 11:35.850 align:start likely to be the - you know, anywhere close to a top priority. 11:35.850 --> 11:39.660 align:start CALDWELL: If you preempt a crisis then there's no crisis to try to help. (Laughs.) 11:39.660 --> 11:41.490 align:start BALZ: Right. 11:41.490 --> 11:45.180 align:start ALCINDOR: Yeah, Weijia, I want to ask you two quick questions. The first is, are we - is 11:45.180 --> 11:48.920 align:start the Biden administration, based on your reporting, going to come out for mandates of 11:48.920 --> 11:53.060 align:start vaccines at all? I've heard from my sources there's a lot of caution on that because of the 11:53.060 --> 11:57.340 align:start politics of this. What are you hearing? And then also, what's the deal with the booster shot? 11:57.340 --> 12:01.460 align:start (Laughter.) Pfizer was like, yes, yes, we definitely need booster shots; FDA and CDC were 12:01.460 --> 12:03.740 align:start like, not so fast. 12:03.740 --> 12:07.800 align:start JIANG: Right, this is - was really awkward messaging, because Pfizer came out and said 12:07.800 --> 12:12.950 align:start they were seeking an FDA approval for emergency use of a third shot, in case we get to 12:12.950 --> 12:17.080 align:start that point, and then immediately, almost, the government said, wait, nobody needs a third 12:17.080 --> 12:21.970 align:start shot. And so there are lots of questions today about why that messaging wasn't better 12:21.970 --> 12:27.120 align:start coordinated, because that obviously leads to more confusion and more skepticism about the 12:27.120 --> 12:32.380 align:start vaccine when you have, you know, one of the main manufacturers saying something different. 12:32.380 --> 12:37.590 align:start And so Jen Psaki, the press secretary, said over and over that, look, this is a private 12:37.590 --> 12:42.300 align:start company. They do want they want. We have to do what we feel we need. But this is a private 12:42.300 --> 12:47.190 align:start company that has received billions and billions of dollars from the U.S. government. 12:47.190 --> 12:52.480 align:start So you would think that at the very least they were able to get this message together, 12:52.480 --> 12:57.960 align:start but the line from medical experts in the administration is that right now we do not need 12:57.960 --> 13:01.010 align:start a booster shot. 13:01.010 --> 13:05.380 align:start To your other question, from day one they've been very clear that they do not plan to 13:05.380 --> 13:09.160 align:start mandate vaccines for anything, and that they're relying on the private sector to do that 13:09.160 --> 13:13.780 align:start because, again, they don't want what is already a very fragile relationship with some 13:13.780 --> 13:18.580 align:start Americans to worsen because of them telling them what to do with regard to their health. 13:18.580 --> 13:25.510 align:start However, you know, it's hard to imagine how we're going to really get out of this or 13:25.510 --> 13:29.920 align:start reach herd immunity if more people don't get vaccinated. 13:29.920 --> 13:33.150 align:start ALCINDOR: Yeah, yeah, well, thank you, all of you. 13:33.150 --> 13:38.920 align:start And before we go, this week 14-year-old Zaila Avant-Garde from Harvey, Louisiana, made 13:38.920 --> 13:43.720 align:start history: She became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. 13:43.720 --> 13:48.880 align:start And she's not only a spelling bee champ; she's a star athlete who holds three Guinness 13:48.880 --> 13:53.830 align:start World Records related to dribbling basketballs. Congratulations, Zaila. You are way more 13:53.830 --> 13:59.370 align:start impressive than I was at that age. So that is amazing. We'll leave it there for tonight. 13:59.370 --> 14:03.650 align:start Many thanks to Dan, Leigh Ann and Weijia for your insights, and thank you for joining us. 14:03.650 --> 14:07.650 align:start Make sure to sign up for our Washington Week newsletter on our website. We will give you 14:07.650 --> 14:25.150 align:start a behind-the-scenes look into all things Washington. I'm Yamiche Alcindor. Good night.