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China Supports Independent Review Once Virus Is Contained; Trump Threatens To Permanently Freeze WHO Funding; No Evidence Hydroxychloroquine Works As Treatment; Italian Nursing Homes Devastated By Virus; Almost Every U.S. State Is Back Open To Some Degree; Moderna Vaccine Trial Shows Promising Early Results; Fed Chair Confident of Economic Recovery in the Long Run; Merkel, Macron Propose Recovery Fund for E.U.; D.J. Raises $1 million for Charity from His Basement; India Prepares for Super Cyclone Amphan. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 19, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Easy come, easy go. Donald Trump wants a freeze on U.S. funding so the WHO could become permanent. At the same time, China's president pledges the organization billions of dollars. It could be deadly. There's no proof it works in treating COVID-19, but what do you have to lose? The U.S. president putting his chloroquine where his mouth is. Cases of child abuse are down during this pandemic, but experts fear that's a bad thing. We'll talk to a D.J. who's using virtual dance parties to raise help for money -- raise money, rather, for child abuse survivors. Hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm John Vause, and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
In the midst of a global pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump, now threatening to pull the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, and permanently freeze U.S. funding, unless the group makes major improvements within 30 days. He posted his letter to the organization on Twitter. Again, accusing the WHO of being too closely aligned with China. Meantime, with the number of Coronavirus cases now approaching 5 million worldwide, members of the WHO are expected to approve an independent review in the coming hours into the global response to the pandemic. President Trump, though, unrelenting in his new attacks on the WHO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I think they've done a very sad job in the last period of time. And again, the United States pays them $450 million a year, China pays them $38 million a year. And they're a puppet of China. They're China centric to put it nicer, but they're a puppet of China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Steven Jiang live for us in Beijing with more on China's response to all of this. But first of all, we have Xi Jinping turning up to this meeting. Donald Trump was invited but didn't show. He said he'll make a statement later on. I guess this is it. It seems that China and Xi Jinping are very confident right now, turning up with $2 billion for the Coronavirus, and doing it about face and agreeing to this inquiry.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, that's right. But you know, the from the Chinese perspective, this international inquiry is not what its critics has demanded. The Chinese president as well as officials have been saying this time and again, this is going to be impartial evaluation of the global response to the pandemic led by the WHO, and based on science and professionalism and only to be conducted after the pandemic is brought under control. So, there's quite a bit of conditions attached to this inquiry that China has agreed to, which is why some analysts think the language about this investigation has been weakened quite a bit because of China's participation into discussing this draft resolution and to ensure its passage.
Now, of course, as you mentioned, Mr. Xi not only addressed the forum, but also made several major pledges including donating $2 billion to the global fight against the virus over a two-year period, as well as setting up a logistics center to ensure medical supplies flowing around the world, especially to Africa, a continent where they're also planning to set up a pan Regional Health Authority headquarters, not to mention sending medical supplies and medical teams to the ground. And then, there are these the relief measures. So, all these moves are really viewed being very strategic by the U.S. government. You heard the President say but other officials also call the Chinese $2 billion pledge, for example, as a token to distract cause from a growing number of nations demanding investigation into the Chinese response.
And the African initiatives also being viewed as China's way to counter some of the backlash received because of the recent discriminatory policies in some of its cities against African nationals. But no matter what, though, with Mr. Trump now threatening to pull the U.S. out of the WHO, this is really creating an opening for China and for Mr. Xi to really step in and to assume a more global leadership role. This is something we have seen in the past with other organizations. And this, of course, is something that we're increasingly successful in terms of trying to reshape the global narrative and reshape these global institutions previously dominated by Washington, John.
VAUSE: And that does seem to be the point here that this has been a full-court press, a diplomatic point of view with Xi Jingping, making this, you know, a sort of surprise announcement at the virtual -- surprise appearance, I should say -- at this, you know, virtual annual meeting. Also turning up with $2 billion, which easily accounts for the permanent freeze, if you like, on U.S. funding at least for a couple of years anyway. And it does seem that Beijing is muscling the U.S. out of that traditional leadership role.
JIANG: That's right. So, this forum, in a way, has really become the showcase of growing tensions between the U.S. and China. You know, Mr. Xi turning up and really sounding confident and trying to project this image of being open and transparent and responsible, while. Mr. Trump, even though he didn't attend, his secretary of health blaming the WHO for its failure and for costing lives and also taking a swipe at China.
[01:05:10]
Although he did not name China, saying, one member states made a mockery of its transparency obligation by concealing information. So, this war of words really continues between the two governments. But as we were saying, this withdraw, this retreat of the U.S. and by the Trump administration, really, is in a way, creating this opening for China, which is something they are probably very pleased to see. John?
VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang live for us there in Beijing, appreciate it.
Xi Jinping's surprised appearance at the WHO's annual virtual meeting, gave China a world platform, at the very least, to try and shape the narrative about the pandemic, as well as taking a prominent leadership role during a time of global crisis, a position which in the past would have been filled by the United States. And in the hours which followed Xi's address, the reporting was a P.R. coup. A headline in the Financial Times declared "Xi seeks to cast China as guardian of global order."
Well, the Wall Street Journal, "China pitches for global leadership role in Coronavirus fight." Well, the Guardian reported, "Xi Jinping defends China's handling of Coronavirus and backs review of global response." The U.S. President declined an opportunity to speak at the annual gathering. He explained that decision to reporters at the White House on Monday.
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TRUMP: I chose not to give a statement. I think they've done a very sad job in the last period of time. And again, the United States pays them $450 million a year. China pays them $38 million a year. And they're a puppet of China. They're China centric to put it nicer, but they're a puppet of China. And I think they've done a very -- even when I did the ban, Mike remembers this very well. When I did the ban, they thought it was inappropriate to do. I did a ban very early. If I didn't do that ban, you would have lost hundreds of thousands of more people in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Jamie Metzl joins us now. He's a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and he's an advisor to the World Health Organization. He is also author of "Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity." A bit of light reading there before bedtime. Jamie, good to see you.
JAMIE METZL, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Don't gist my book. I'm here on your show. It's a great book. It's --
(CROSSTALK) VAUSE: It is a great book. No, absolutely. I'll get through it one day. Very soon, I hope. About this meeting, the WHO meeting, include Axios. But Xi and Trump were both invited a month ago; the WHO wanted to bring these two leaders together, the biggest economies in the world at a time when they're being called to each other to try and create some sense of solidarity. So, without this full partnership between the United States and the rest of the world, that includes China, how much harder will it be for everyone to find a solution to the pandemic?
METZL: The United States has been at the center of solving the world's biggest toughest problems for over a century. So, it's just a tragedy that the United States isn't leading the world in addressing this terrible cataclysm that we're all facing. So, nobody is saying that the WHO is perfect. The leaders of the who themselves are saying that they can improve and they must. But the United States has supported the WHO for decades. And if we want to solve this problem, we need to help THE who fix any problems. And we need to help the WHO play the role that it must play in the world, otherwise, it's not just the world that's going to suffer, the United States itself is going to suffer.
VAUSE: So, representing the People's Republic of China, President for Life, maybe longer, Xi Jingping with promises of billions of dollars in aid to fight the virus. Well, for the United States Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, and here he is.
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ALEX AZAR, U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: In an apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak, at least one member state made a mockery of their transparency obligations with tremendous cost for the entire world. We saw that WHO failed at its core mission of information sharing and transparency when member states do not act in good faith.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, it was a blistering attack delivered with a very deadpan saw. But at times like this, surely, it's possible to both work with China, while at the same time realizing that Beijing has to answer some very serious questions, but, you know, the present urgent need takes precedent over retribution for sins of the recent past.
METZL: Well, nobody needs to be engaged in a process of retribution. It's clear that the United States and China must work together and the entire world must work together to solve this terrible problem. And, China learned a lot about how to deal with this pandemic and they've done in some respects, a pretty decent job. But I also -- I don't really agree with people who say now is not the time to point fingers. Now, is the time where we must thoughtfully, carefully point fingers to realize what went wrong because if we don't identify the problem, how are we possibly going to fix it. And I think it's absolutely correct that China really, really screwed up particularly in the first -- the critical first few weeks.
[01:10:10]
It's still an open question where this outbreak comes from. But there's a lot of at least preliminary evidence, suggesting that, in my view, the most likely source is an accidental leak from one of the Wuhan virology institutes, and if that's the case, certainly -- or even if it's not the case, there was a very dangerous cover up. And then, the World Health Organization wasn't able to call the alarm in part because, we the countries of the world, haven't given the world -- the WHO the mandate, or the power, the resources to have the kind of global surveillance and response capacity that it -- that it needs.
And I'm here in New York, and the reason why so many Americans are dying and so few Taiwanese are dying, is because our government and the Trump administration so spectacularly failed. We're not going to get through this crisis by lying about the failures, we need to be honest about them so we can fix them.
VAUSE: Our thanks to Jamie Metzl. Now, on a day that saw the U.S. Coronavirus death toll surpassed 90,000, President Trump suddenly announced he's taken an unproven drug, medical experts have warned, can have harmful side effects.
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TRUMP: A lot of good things have come out about the hydroxy. A lot of good things have come out. And you'd be surprised at how many people have taken it, especially the frontline workers before you catch it. The frontline workers many, many are taking it. I happen to be taking it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned against taking chloroquine for Coronavirus. Its (INAUDIBLE) "The FDA is aware of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine..." goes on to say, these drugs "have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19." CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper about the findings.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There's no evidence that it works. There is potential harm. This flies in the face of all of his own medical organizations including the FDA, which says this medication should not be used outside of a clinical trial or outside of patients who are hospitalized. There is no evidence that it works either for treatment or for prophylaxis.
Even over at Fox News, they're normally President Trump's cheerleaders, so one of its hosts gave a stern warning against using this drug.
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NEIL CAVUTO, HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: If you are in a risky population here and you are taking this as a preventative treatment to ward off the virus, or in a worst case scenario, you are dealing with the virus, and you are in this vulnerable population, it will kill you. I cannot stress enough. This will kill you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And cue the tweet. The President was not happy with that. Fox News no longer the same. You have more anti-Trump people by far than ever before. Looking for a new outlet. Meanwhile, the U.S. House Speaker, a democrat, is wading into the debate, managed to get in a bit of a dig.
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SEN. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): As far as the President is concerned, the -- our President and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group had -- but it is morbidly obese, they say, so, I think it's not a good idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Brazil now has the world's third highest number of confirmed cases of the Coronavirus and accounts for more than half of Latin America's death toll. Despite an escalating health crisis with hospitals on the brink of collapse, CNN's Shasta Darlington reports that President Jair Bolsonaro does -- being doing push-ups with supporters and ignoring social distancing guidelines.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brazil topped 250,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, surpassing the U.K. and making it the third highest in the world. The death toll is over 16,000. In Sao Paulo, the mayor has warned that the health system is on the verge of collapse if residents don't start respecting social isolation measures. He said 90 percent of intensive care beds are full but less than half of the population is sheltering at home. This situation is similarly dire and hospitals from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.
Meanwhile, President Jair Bolsonaro is participating in anti-lockdown rallies. On Sunday, he was seen taking pictures with supporters and even doing push-ups with a group of men in Red Berets and camouflage. His health minister resigned on Friday. Bolsonaro has yet to name his replacement. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.
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VAUSE: Italy's gradual reopening continues at a pace. When we come back, new safety measures have been announced with shops, restaurants, even churches. Also ahead, going out, eating out, working out; U.S. businesses usher in a new era.
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VAUSE: Well, Greece has reopened more than 200 archaeological sites, including the Acropolis in Athens. Visitors will be required to maintain social distancing and face masks are recommended. Next month, cinemas and museums are expected to be allowed to reopen. The world- famous Gondolas of Venice are back. The city's canals were filled with gondoliers wearing protective masks and gloves. This was on Monday as Italy allowed some businesses to reopen. Notably, tourists were in short supply. This comes as the death rate continues to fall in Italy for the third time in as many days. The country reported its lowest steady increase of the death toll since early March. That's when the lockdown began.
Meantime, Italy began phase two of easing lockdown restrictions, Monday. Bars, restaurants, retailers, and museums among businesses about to open their doors. Italy's Lombardy region has been hit hardest by the virus. Since only now just beginning to reopen. The virus devastated Lombardy's nursing homes with many elderly patients dying alone. CNN's Ben Wedeman has our report.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The lockdown is over in the cemetery of Nembro in Northern Italy. (INAUDIBLE) succumbed to Coronavirus on the 11th of March. But only now can family and friends say farewell. Her voice breaking, his daughter, Nicoletta, says goodbye. But we never abandoned you. We never would, she says, because you'll always be in our hearts.
This community in the foothills of the Alps suffered one of Italy's highest per capita death tolls. It was as if a tsunami overwhelmed us, especially the oldest people, Nicoletta tells me. The average age of those who died from Coronavirus in Italy is 80.
For the town of Nembro, the month of March was a month of daily death. You just need to look at the death notices here. This woman died on the 7th of March. This man died on the 8th of March. This woman died on the 7th of March. This woman on the 9th of March. This man on the 7th.
Of Nembro's main nursing homes original 87 residents, 34 died from the virus. The first on the 19th of February, but it took provincial health authorities more than a month and a half to test anyone in this home. The very first swabs done here were the 10th of April, says nursing home director Barbara Codalli. It's been more than a month since any COVID deaths have occurred here. Now, relatives can visit their loved ones again at a distance.
But this situation remains precarious for the elderly in Milan's nursing homes, where the death toll has been described as a massacre. She's also dying without oxygen because we don't have machines says a nurse who shot this cellphone video. We muffled her voice because she fears for her job. As the pandemic intensified, the staff of the Palazzolo Nursing Home assured Carla Porfirio every day her 85-year- old mother Michaela (PH) was fine. On Sunday, April 5th, Carla called the nursing home. They said her mother was on oxygen and morphine. The next day, Michaela died.
What's so tragic, says Carla, for those of us who lost our loved ones, we didn't have the possibility not just to see them for more than a month, but we also couldn't be close to them in their last days as they suffered. They needed the hand of their loved ones. And not just that, we couldn't even hold funerals.
As the pandemic intensified, the Lombardy regional government asked nursing homes to accept COVID patients, which may have contributed to the high mortality rates in the homes. The regional government declined our request for comment responding that the matter is under investigation.
Alessandro Azzoni's mother, Marisa, was in Milan's Trivulzio Care Home. She's now in hospital with Coronavirus in critical condition. He shows me how sections of her care home marked in red were turned into COVID Ward's. Alessandro has founded a group demanding an investigation into nursing homes. The elderly, says Alessandro, are part of society with a memory, they gave us life, we can't just throw them away.
In a corner of Milan's main cemetery, more than 120 fresh graves. Here, too, most were old, most were in nursing homes. This is where the unclaimed dead from Coronavirus are buried. Unclaimed because many of them had no family. They died alone with no one to mourn their passing. Small plastic crosses marked the end of lives lost. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Milan.
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VAUSE: The British government is ramping up COVID-19 testing and expanding criteria for who actually gets tested to include anyone over age 5 showing symptoms. And the loss of smell or taste has been added to the official list of symptoms. The U.K. has the most confirmed cases in Europe. Its aiming for 200,000 tests per day by the end of the month. The COVID-19 mortality rate in Spain has fallen to its lowest level since the peak of the pandemic. Just 59 deaths were reported Sunday. During the worst of the outbreak, 11 percent of all Coronavirus patients were dying. That number has now fallen to two percent.
It's a question being asked by parents and their children all around the world, when will school reopen? Well, in France, schools are gradually reopening with limited class sizes and mandatory masks for older students. Denmark will allow students in grades six through 10 to return to class. Primary and secondary school classes in Belgium have resumed, and in Portugal, temperature checks and face masks are mandatory for high schools.
Well, the Trump administration continues to push for states to end their shelter-in-place orders and reopen businesses. There's not the same enthusiasm for reopening the country's international borders. According to two administration officials, later this week, the White House is expected to extend travel restrictions and tough border control measures, which were put in place back in March. These strict rules have also curbed immigration. But now, with reopening in full swing, CNN's Erica Hill looks at whether looser restrictions have now resulted in more Coronavirus cases.
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ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Gyms in multiple states are open today, including Texas where offices also have the green light as the state moves into phase two.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): One thing that we all know and important part of reopening is access to childcare. So, starting immediately, childcare services are able to open.
HILL: Summer camps and youth sports can return May 31st. Bars and bowling alleys can open Friday, the same day restaurants can start seating at 50 percent capacity. Texas posted its highest single-day spike in cases over the weekend, two weeks after easing restrictions.
[01:25:02]
DR. UMAIR SHAH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HARRIS COUNTRY, TEXAS PUBLIC HEALTH: We do have more testing that's happening, but at the same time we're also recognizing that we have reopened, and people are mixing in, so we don't know how those two equations coming together how that really is impacting the overall equation that we have. More than a third of the new cases there connected to meat processing plants in the state. Overall, Texas is one of 17 states seeing a rise in new cases over the past week. 18 posting a decline, including Massachusetts, which just announced its plan for a phased reopening. California's new cases are holding steady, as the governor loosens the criteria for reopening.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We recognize the conditions across the state are unique and distinctive depending where you are.
HILL: Churches may be allowed to meet in person in the next few weeks. In-person retail could open next month. Automakers are returning to work in Michigan today with a few changes.
BRIAN PANNEBECKER, UAW WORKER, FORD MOTOR CO.: I'm pretty comfortable with the precautions that I've heard that they're going to be taking.
HILL: While across the country, beautiful weather, cabin fever and more reopening made for a busy weekend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been really studied busier than I thought it was going to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am beyond excited to be shopping again.
HILL: In Scottsdale, Arizona, packed bars and restaurants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no more fear than contracting the flu, a cold, a virus that they haven't named yet.
HILL: Lines in the mall and outside this casino, though not everyone, is ready for the crowds. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you go to Walmart and everybody's on top of each other and people in the bars are high fiving and people you don't even know and they try to get too close.
HILL: The University of South Carolina will reopen its campus this fall, but after Thanksgiving, classes will move online over fears of a possible spike in cases in early December. Purdue and Rice University is adopting a similar plan, while Creighton University will end the fall semester before the holiday.
One vaccine currently in the works is showing signs of promise. All eight participants in this small study developed antibodies to the virus. Moderna, which is partnering with the NIH, says, if future studies go well, the vaccine could be available to the public as early as January.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything I'm seeing so far makes me optimistic.
HILL: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also said he would like to see sports come back to his state, saying, the state is a quote, ready, willing and able partner. Of course, any games would be played without fans but he said they could be televised. And here in New York City, sixth region is opening on Tuesday. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: While clutching for hope, ahead how positive word on one vaccine sent stocks and hopes soaring, but this is not a vaccine for COVID-19, nor is it a path to a vaccine. What is it? It's a good start. Details when we come back. Plus, France and Germany proposed a new plan to boost the European economy. Details on the $500-billion package.
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[01:30:22]
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm taking it -- hydroxychloroquine. Right now, yes. A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it.
Here is my evidence. I get a lot of positive calls about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: So before President Trump just sort of casually announced that he's taking an ineffective and potentially dangerous drug as a preventative measure for the coronavirus, there was word of a possible breakthrough on a coronavirus vaccine.
According to the Biotech company Moderna, eight trial participants developed antibodies to the coronavirus keeping it from attacking human cells. Again, this is from the early and limited first phase of what is anticipated to be a much larger three-phase face study. It's not being peer-reviewed. Experts all say it's encouraging.
Neil Browning is a participant in the human trials. He spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL BROWNING, PARTICIPATING IN MODERNA CLINICAL TRIAL: I was the second person in a small group. so out of the first four people in the small group that should include me. And it seems like it's a big win for us.
Not only are we getting the safety precautions out of the way to make sure that it is not having any ill effects on people, for instance and did not go through any animal trials. But now it seems like it's actually showing immune response, which is typically not something looked at until much further in several other phases of the vaccine trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Dr. Lloyd Minor is the dean of Stanford University School of Medicine. He is with me from Palo Alto in California. Doctor -- thanks for being with us.
DR. LLOYD MINOR, DEAN, STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Thank you very much -- John. It's good to be with you.
VAUSE: We'll talk about the vaccines in a moment. But first I want to get to the, you know, Donald Trump, MD, essentially prescribing this anti-malaria drug chloroquine. He went and ask a doctor for it. The doctor said why not.
Apparently he's been taking it regularly for a week and a half. Before I get your reaction, I want you to see the stunned reaction from an anchor on the usually Trump-friendly Fox News. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK HOST: If you are in risky population here and you are taking this as a preventative treatment to ward off the virus, or in a worst-case scenario, you are dealing with the virus, and you are in this vulnerable population, it will kill you. I cannot stress this enough. This will kill you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Neil Cavuto there. He is not a medical doctor but do you agree with his prognosis, especially given the President's health profile?
DR. MINOR: Well we know from when hydroxychloroquine was used, not uncommonly as a prophylaxis for malaria, that there are cardiac problems that are associated in some people with taking hydroxychloroquine.
And I am concerned about using hydroxychloroquine outside of the setting, of a well-controlled clinical trial. I think that using it outside of the setting of a clinical trial or outside of a hospital setting does raise more risks than benefits. And thus far there have not been any clinical trials that have established in COVID-19 that hydroxychloroquine is effective in either preventing or treating the infection.
VAUSE: What message does this send to, you know, Americans and I guess, you know, the world at large?
DR. MINOR: Well, I think, you know, it is not the right message. What we really need to be focusing on is identifying therapies, antivirals that can be used to treat effectively the virus.
Encouraging results a few weeks ago about Remdesivir for hospitalized patients. There are now a number of clinical trials being conducted in the out-patient setting including one here at Stanford. And we're hoping even some additional ones at Stanford in the near future.
We do need to focus on identifying effective therapies for this virus while we are simultaneously working on the development of a vaccine.
But those effective therapies will only be developed -- will only be identified through well-controlled clinical trials done by experts with results that are meticulously analyzed and then reported.
VAUSE: Yes. With that in mind, on the vaccine front, we do have news from this little known group called Moderna. I would like to listen to Dr. Tal Zaks. He's the chief medical officer. Here he is describing their progress and the breakthrough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TAL ZAKS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, MODERNA: These antibodies, were proven to be able to block the ability of the virus to infect cells. Even at the lowest dose that we test, there's a 25 microgram dose -- we are already seeing an immune response at the level of people who have been infected with this virus and are believed now not be susceptible to further disease.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:34:52]
VAUSE: You know, that sounds great to people like me, who don't know a whole lot about this, so I'd like you to put it in context because Moderna hasn't developed a vaccine but are they on the path to a vaccine? What is their timeline here? And are we moving the conversation from if there is a vaccine to when there is a vaccine?
DR. MINOR: I think the Moderna results are very encouraging. It is important to remember though that we have not yet seen an effective RNA vaccine introduced for any disease.
But these initial results in the phase one trial with eight patients, who are otherwise healthy, these initial results are encouraging. They show that the vaccine prototype was safe. They also show, as just indicated in the segment that you played, they also show that people develop neutralizing antibodies in response to the vaccine.
That's patients -- it's a very early stage, all these patients who are otherwise healthy, not necessarily the group of patients that would be expected to have the most adverse effects from the infection with the SARS COVID-2 virus. But yes, I'm encouraged by the result.
We also know though that RNA is an inherently unstable structure. And packaging it for large-scale vaccine usage can prove to be difficult. That's no reason not to try, and I am encouraged by the Moderna results. And I'm sure they'll pursue the next steps in the clinical trial process very vigorously as they should.
Also there are more than a hundred vaccine candidates at various stages of development and clinical trial development today. And that is encouraging.
So yes I believe that it is one day going to be possible to have a vaccine or multiple vaccines effective for COVID-19. I'm still concerned though that the timeline is more likely to be in the 12 to 18 month period than it is in the next six months.
VAUSE: You know, the reaction to this news was pretty phenomenal, you know, from Wall Street to Main Street, to Struggle Street. You know, it's like Wordsworth home. My heart my heart leaps when I behold a rainbow in the sky.
How often though is a potential vaccine showing promising results in phase one only never to pan out? How long is the list of potential problems along the way?
DR. MINOR: Well, looking across the board, the problems generally outweigh the initially encouraging results. That is no reason not to try. We have to try. And having multiple shots on goal, with yes, the Moderna vaccine for sure, but also the many other approaches that are being now applied in vaccine development.
All that is encouraging that one or more of them is ultimately going to be effective. And it will have an effective vaccine or vaccines. But it is hard to predict when and at this stage, there is still a lot of uncertainty. Because we still have so much more to learn about this virus and the infection that it causes.
VAUSE: Dr. Lloyd Minor -- thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your expertise and your insights, sir. Thank you very much.
DR. MINOR: Thank you. it's good to be with you.
VAUSE: Well U.S. markets soared on the encouraging news from Moderna. The Dow finished more than 900 points higher on Monday, while the S&P and Nasdaq had their best days since April.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says the vaccine will help U.S. economy recover in the long run but he's warning that the GDP will shrink over the next few months. He say it could recover by the end of the year.
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JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: Assuming there is not a second wave of the coronavirus, I think you'll see the economy recover steadily through the second half of this year. So for the economy to fully recover, people have to be fully confident and that may have to await the arrival of a vaccine.
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VAUSE: Powell also says the economy may need further support from Congress and the Fed. He's expected to brief lawmakers in the coming hours.
To Europe now where France and Germany have proposed their recovery fund to boost the European economy. The European Commission has welcomed the plan by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the President Emmanuel Macron. It would offer $500 billion in grants to E.U. countries hit hardest by the pandemic. The funds would eventually be repaid by all E.U. members. Chancellor Merkel says the crisis has transcended borders.
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ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): We are both convinced that the only answer is that Europe acts together. The lone national state does not have a future. What is clear is that Germany can only be successful if Europe is successful. And that means peace, freedom, a strong economy, and prosperity.
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VAUSE: Nothing quite like $500 billion to boost the European markets. Stocks closed sharply higher there on Monday. Investor confidence also rose as many countries continue to lift those coronavirus restrictions.
CNN's John Defterios joins us now live from Abu Dhabi. So Joh -- you know, it seems that we've got these investors who are becoming increasingly confident that, you know, know maybe perhaps hopefully everything will come together just at the right time for the second half, economic recovery.
[01:39:55]
VAUSE: But much of that is based on, you know, actual reality. How much of that, you know, is kind of wishful thinking?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well yes, John -- I think we're in this glass half full moment, if you will, because a lot of things came into alignment yesterday. And as you intro'd there for me, the European package, which has been on the table for about three months -- we had a major breakthrough. And as you suggested half a trillion dollars is a lot of money for the region to finally get this sort of lift that it needs and the kind of wealth transfer into the southern states who are suffering most, in particularly Italy. And to see Germany and France number one and two economies of Europe coming together made a big difference.
Also the vaccine trials, you have Jerome Powell even weighing in as the central bank chief saying that this could provide stability for the second half is big. And this plays out in the European markets yesterday, and the U.S. Markets, and now we're seeing it in Asia.
If you take a look at the majors, the big four, if you will, we all have gains of about 2 percent or more with Seoul leading the way. Shanghai with a gain of better than a half a percent. The carry-over because of the monster gains we saw on Wall Street, and even better by the European Union markets as well.
I think it was important for Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to come together. You had to kind of push her along because Germany was resisting the sort of level of investment. At the end of the day they're going to put up 27 percent into the overall fund.
That does not play well for Angela Merkel but as she suggested, a healthy Europe is also good for Germany, companies as well. And particularly if we see them tilt back to Asia if China recovers. This will be a win-win for Europe in the second half the year.
That's all premature, by the way. Moderna, the vaccine company had a good day on the market. The Cambridge, Massachusetts company picked up 20 percent of those trials. I don't want to be the naysayer here, John -- but that is a small trial. It's going into the second round. But you can see the mood on Wall Street is that let's buy into this hoping that the recovery picks up and confidence in the second half as well.
VAUSE: Yes. Eight people out of I think 35, we didn't know what happened to the other ones who were also taking part in the trials in this -- a lot of unanswered questions there.
Also, you know, whenever you see the Fed chief coming out trying to boost confidence, it's not really a good sign. You know, you have these unemployment numbers soaring, consumer confidence also taking a hit, some serious warnings about this will affect global trade. What sort of damage are we looking at?
DEFTERIOS: Well, we heard from the World Trade Organization just over 10 days ago during the changeover the leadership there. That we could see global trade getting hit between 10 and say a third, better than 30 percent. And that's what the Moody's Investor is saying here between 13 and 32 percent. That is something we have not seen in decades and well beyond the levels we saw during the global financial crisis.
And the wild card here because you have such a wide variance, is the tensions that we see in China, particularly U.S.-China, the very stern reaction by the U.S. administration on Huawei. But we also see China putting tariffs on Australian products as well at this stage. The Australian leadership said this is not a trade dispute and a trade war between the two. But this is now covering farm products from Australia going into China. That's not positive.
Then the markets are looking today with Jerome Powell, with Steve Mnuchin the U.S. Treasury Secretary going to the Senate at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. Jerome Powell has played both sides of the fence here saying we need to do more. So he's looking for more congressional support in the Pelosi bill from Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House for some $3 trillion. Mnuchin is on the other side saying let this play out and see how the recovery picks up in the second half.
But we have a second wave -- John. All this confidence you see in the markets today, can quickly disappear. But this is the silver lining here if we have all those pieces of the puzzle come together particularly with the vaccine.
VAUSE: Yes we still have the market being driven largely by emotion and if there is a second wave. That emotion would turn to fear.
John -- thank you. John Defterios in Abu Dhabi.
Still to come here reports of child abuse in the U.S. are down during the pandemic. In a moment, we'll explain why that is not necessarily a good thing.
Also he was bored at home, with stressed out kids but somehow a long the way he managed to raise a million dollars to charity from his basement. Hear D.J. Kopec's amazing story in just a moment.
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D.J. KOPEC: What do we do? How much we all raised tonight.
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KOPEC: We hit it. We hit $1 million from this basement in eight. Between our donations of food, our donations of money -- we have done it. Facebook, D.J. Kopec -- $1 million.
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VAUSE: That's right. A million dollars raised for various charities in just eight weeks by a man with an iPhone, a D.J. sound system and a virtual tip jar.
With businesses and schools closed and stuck at home with three bored and stressed out kids, Chris Kopec, a.k.a. D.J. Kopec headed to the basement, registered his first ever Facebook Live account and threw virtual dance party he thought for family and friends.
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KOPEC: Let's go. Listen. Your attention please. You're going to want to hear this, man. I'm so excited.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guess what.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you believe it. It's so exciting.
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VAUSE: It turns on he has 26,000 relatives and friends, at least that's how many were watching live that Saturday night and by morning, the number of views was over 1.4 million. All watching his wife and kids in their jimmy-jams, Chris in his sweats and leaving behind $15,000 in that tip jar.
The weeks that followed, the dance parties became a sensation. Just eight nights so far, watched for a total of 190,000 hours on Facebook.
But more importantly, this past weekend, raising more than $16,000 for the Baltimore Child Abuse Center. One unintended consequences of stay- at-home orders has been (INAUDIBLE) many abused children to be locked inside with their abuser.
D.J. Kopec joins us now from Baltimore in Maryland. Good to see you. So first of all, congratulations.
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D.J KOPEC: Thank you.
VAUSE: Not just for making a really big difference here but, you know, it's inspiring, but you are having a great time along the way. And it just seemed to evolve on its own, right? There's no grand plan to this?
D.J KOPEC: No, there was not. I think you said it best. We went down the basement to entertain our children, lighten the mood. I hit that go live button and, never imagined. I thought we'd have a few hundred. And we now have millions of friends and we've coined the name the D.J. Kopec Pham.
VAUSE: You know, when you saw that first night, you know, you wake up in the morning, a million views, 1.4 million or whatever, where you stunned. I mean, did you think it was a mistake? How did you get your head around being a viral sensation during a viral pandemic?
D.J KOPEC: it was an incredible night. You know, I often D.J., I leave the house, events are late at night, they're on the weekends. I'm not often able to share that with my family.
So having them with me in that moment, it was incredible. My son, he is eight, he was counting out -- Dad, we have 5,000. Dad, we have 10,000. And on up the ladder.
And my children were dancing on the couch here and my wife was in the room and we were just in shock.
VAUSE: You know, over the weekend, you raised a lot of money for the Baltimore Child Abuse Center. Even nationally reports of child abuse have dramatically declined, CNN is reporting experts believe that the reason declining calls to child abuse and neglect hotlines might really mean more cases are going unnoticed.
Figures provided to CNN from states across the country show considerable drops in child abuse reports as social distancing measure have kept people at home, kids out of sight.
You know, right now, kids are not in school, there's no escape from a home which can be abusive. And it seems these child welfare groups, you know, their work is harder, but more important than ever before.
So to get that big wad of cash from you must met have meant a whole lot for these guys.
[01:49:49]
D.J KOPEC: It did. The Baltimore Child Abuse Center does amazing work. And I spoke with the director, Adam Rosenberg today. When we selected them, we knew that there was a huge need in our city. Baltimore has some of the toughest neighborhoods in the country, Gun violence plagues our city and emotional trauma from that, and abuse in general.
So right now, kids are not in school, school is one of the best places for reporting and recognizing abuse, whether it's teachers, councilors, coaches. So without those voices for these children they are really innocent right now, and it's important that we all be vigilant for this.
Adam also mentioned to me that, you know, it is not stranger danger. Typically kids know their abuser, it's often a relative or somebody, and right now they're spending more time with those folks than ever.
So it's very important that this happened and that we are able to share this money so they can continue their mission here in Baltimore.
VAUSE: It must be terrifying to be a kid locked inside a home with someone who's abusing you and you can't get out.
You also managed to do a lot for other charities as well. Here's a couple of examples, April -- Night number 5, Superheroes night -- $106,000 raised for Ulman which supports teenagers diagnosed with cancer. Super bonus of additional 40,000 pounds of chicken, 160,000 packages of rolls for food banks.
April 23rd, Friday night, number 6. Woodman Life donated a million dollars to feeding America. You say we raised $180,000 in a two-hour show.
And a lot of your focus apart from the first responders and helping them out has been simply to raise money to buy food, because a lot food, because right now there are parents and kids in the United States going hungry,
D.J KOPEC: There are, because of social distancing and not being able to leave I have not been able to see a lot of these donations in person. But I did visit two or three food banks when the deliveries were made. And seeing children with their parents waiting in line for food -- that is really something to see.
It grabs at your heart and we have donated now, thanks to some amazing family businesses, 120,000 pounds of chicken from Holly Poultry here in Baltimore. That is an incredible amount of chicken.
We were able to hit 14 area food banks two times with that, and we're going to go out the first week of June again with more chicken. H&S Baker donated almost 300,000 bread items now. Wo we have made an impact. Our viewers have helped us do that and some amazing businesses.
VAUSE: While you talking Chris -- we're putting up numbers for help lines for anyone who may need it in an abusive situation around the world. At the end of the day though, you are living proof that not everything from this pandemic is bad. There are moments of good, you just have to find them.
But where does this all go from here? How does this all end?
D.J KOPEC: You know, music has always brought people together for great causes. I have never D.J. and not left an event with a smile and happiness. And so we are going to continue that.
We are working right now on our next couple of events. We're going to take the Memorial Weekend off and let people enjoy with their family. And we're going to take a rest and we're going to take it back up in June with some more charity.
VAUSE: Thanks. Thank you so much for being with us, Chris Kopec there in Baltimore, Maryland. We appreciate you taking some time to spend with us and everything that you've done. It's great.
D.J KOPEC: Thank you.
VAUSE: And we'll be back in just a moment. You're watching CNN.
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[01:54:52]
VAUSE: Mass evacuation efforts are underway in India as Super cyclone Amphan strengthens to the strongest storm on record in the Bay of Bengal. Expected to make landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh by Wednesday, the cyclone is bringing immense pressure on emergency services already dealing with the outbreak of the coronavirus.
CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with mor eon this. and I think you're saying last hour Pedram that it sort of eased up a little bi tin intensity but now a whole lot. It is still pretty strong.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, when we say a little bit, of course, we are still talking about a storm equivalent to a strong category 4 hurricane, if we were in the Atlantic Ocean, of course. In this part of the world it's considered a tropical cyclone.
And if you take a look, just off the coast there of the (INAUDIBLE) and this is a storm system, of course, that as it kind of migrates off towards the west here and interacts with the east coast of India, that is going to be bad news, of course, for this densely-populated area of Eastern India, but as far as the impact area and landfall location, it will cause the storm to be weaker on approach. So that is at least some good news.
But notice the incredible strengthening within a 24 hour period going in from Saturday into Sunday. The storm climbing from some 140 kilometer power winds to, as John mentioned, up to 270 kilometers per hour, making it the strongest cyclone ever observed in the Bay of Bengal.
About 30 hours though left before the system makes landfall. In the West Bengal, Bangladesh, that border region across this area is where we're looking at landfall, possibly as early as Wednesday afternoon.
And the storm surge threat is going to be the most significant with this as it is with any tropical system. Comes a shore winds again on the eyewall region there, near Kolkata could be as high as 150 to almost 200 kilometers per hour. That is going to be a localized area for landfall location, depending on where it crosses land.
But the widespread impact is that elevated area of water. The storm surge, especially above normal tidal levels could be as high as five meters above what is typically considered the normal tide level.
So you put that some five meters high, you know, some of those first story of any building near the coastline is going to be inundated. And of course, this is among the most densely populated areas on our planet -- some 700 rivers and tributaries dot this region, some 24,000 kilometers of waterways and we do know across (INAUDIBLE) just south near Cox's Bazar there in Southern Bangladesh is home to the most populated refugee camp in the world -- John. So this is going to be a very serious story once the storm system approaches land on Wednesday.
VAUSE: Yes, a lot of people already dealing with a lot of stuff and their (INAUDIBLE) of the moment with the virus and now this super cyclone. It's not exactly what they want.
So Pedram -- we know you will keep an eye out for us in the hours and days ahead. Appreciate it. Pedram Javaheri there reporting on the latest with the cyclone.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. Robyn Curnow takes over from me after a very short break. You're watching CNN.
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