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New Coronavirus Variant Spreading in U.K.; Travelers Making Last-Ditch Effort; Virus Mutation Transmit Faster than COVID-19; Congress Approved $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Package; UK Prime Minister Calls Meeting as More Countries Restrict UK Travel; EU Drug Regulator to Review Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine; Israel Kicks Off COVID Vaccine Drive as Cases Rise; ECO Solutions: How Eating Insects May Help Protect the Environment; New COVID Variant Drives Major Restrictions from Saudis. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 21, 2020 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

And we are following breaking news at this hour out at the United Kingdom and here in the United States. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is calling an emergency meeting over concerns about the flow of food and vaccines into his country. Britain is getting cut off as more countries restrict to U.K. travel.

It's all stemming from a new possibly faster spreading COVID variant discovered there. People have been rushing to leave the U.K. before the restrictions take effect. And the country could soon face a potential E.U. wide travel ban.

And here in the U.S., Congress has finally reached a 900 million- dollar COVID relief package so help could soon be on the way for millions of struggling Americans. We will have more on that a little later.

Well, CNN is covering all the new developments out of the U.K. Salma Abdelaziz is at Heathrow airport for us. But let's start first with CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joining me Downing Street in London.

Good to see you, Nic. So, one of the biggest concerns, of course, about these travel bans as the serious impact on food supply coming into the U.K. And then, of course there is the chaos surrounding travel restrictions on families on Christmas. All due to this new COVID variant. How bad could this potentially get?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, I think we got an indication on how much the government is concerned about how this could impact people in the country, whether or not they are worried about the possibility of panic buying or just sort of settling people's nerves after what has been a very unsettling weekend for most people, as you say having their Christmas travel plans and their Christmas really upended by the prime minister.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary has been on some of the British television channels this morning. And it's sort of, calm, trying to calm peoples expectations about what this means to have the truck crossings, the principal truck crossings into France close for the next 48 hours. He said, look, only 20 percent of goods come and go between the U.K. and France across that channel, across that channel crossing.

So, minimizing there only 20 percent, and he said the majority of goods that come into the country come in unaccompanied. That is, they are in containers on ships not driven by truck drivers. He said around 6,000 truck drivers are expected at the port of Dover today. They will be not be able to go through with their trucks.

What is in those unaccompanied containers, perhaps, may be, you know, not the fresh food and produce that the truck drivers would normally be driving to and from across the channel and the tunnel and on the ferries.

So, but this is a narrative from the government to try to settle people down because this is a big shock for people to wake up and suddenly realize that the country is effectively being cut off from Europe. People were concerned about the implications of Brexit and a deal that the government was trying to work out with the European Union that that was going to come into force or not within a week, within about a week and a half time.

So, these concerns were already on people's minds. But this makes it very immediate about what the impact can be when trucks containing food cannot move freely into Europe.

CHURCH: Yes, of course, here in the U.S., we would see panic buying at this point. So, Nic, talk to us about what's likely to come out of this emergency cobra meeting on Monday over bad U.K. flights and these food trucks supplies with Brexit, as you mentioned, looming in the background.

ROBERTSON: Well, we should be seeing government ministers and senior advisers arriving here in the next couple of hours for that meeting. I think what we are going to expect to hear from the government is in the vein of what we heard from Grant Shapps, the transport secretary early this morning. To sort of calm people's concerns for them to take stock and make sure they've got enough contingency measures in place.

But the contingency measures that have been put in place for a no deal Brexit scenario, such as a large enough car park for all the normally 10,000 trucks a day on their way to the ports is not ready. So the contingency plans that were supposed to be ready for a week and a half time are not ready.

So, no doubt this will be part of the narrative. But I think we're going to definitely hear the government try to sort of, calm the situation down and take a step back.

CHURCH: Yes, people are going to be quite nervous about this. Thanks for that, Nic.

[03:05:02]

Let's go to Salma now at London's Heathrow airport where travel plans have been thrown into disarray for so many people and so suddenly as well. Salma, what are travelers telling you?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: You heard from my colleague Nic there, the trains have stopped, the boats have stopped, the question is now, will the planes stop as well?

I've been standing here for the last 30 minutes. This is one of the busiest airports in the world. I barely heard a plane take off. It is not chaotic inside that airport anymore because these restrictions went into place last night. So, most people got the message before they even got to the airport.

But people are trying to find loopholes. I have a friend in the airport right now, and he says people are trying to book flights to the U.S. rather than to Europe and then circumventing the rules from the United States to book back into Europe, of course, because the United States has yet to put restrictions on the U.K.

And this is the concern right now. Has the government acted too late to stop this variant, that they say is much more transmissible? Up to 70 percent more transmissible? Have they put these restrictions in place in time to stop this variant essentially from growing global?

Now we do understand that this variant is not more deadly that it is a not immune to the vaccine, but it is of course very concerning. Yesterday, country after country lining up almost every hour, a new nation, over 20 countries so far banning flights from the U.K. in a bid to stop this variant from entering their territories. And there is going to be an E.U. meeting today as you've heard essentially so that there is unified action on flights and travel for the E.U. out of the U.K. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Very frustrating because the U.K. of course are about to let the number of families and Britain sort of form a Christmas celebration bubble, if you like. But that of course was swept under the carpet and now this sudden move.

So what efforts are being made by the government to ensure people get back home after having Christmas plans cancelled last minute? Or rather they just having to fend for themselves?

ABDELAZIZ: Rosemary, this is a critical question because right now really the issue is one of compliance. Will people respect and obey the orders from the U.K. government, or will they break them? And there is a feeling, there is a sense across London in these affected areas that essentially the social contract has been broken.

That Prime Minister Boris Johnson who stood in parliament last week, and essentially mocked the opposition for bringing up the possibility of tougher restrictions during Christmas time. The prime minister who said, I'm going to give you a relaxation of rules for the holidays. The prime minister who said, I'm not going to criminalized Christmas. That that government has now turned around and a complete U-turn and now saying, no, you can't travel, cancel all your plans, stay at home at the 11th hour.

So many Londoners frustrated, essentially flouting these restrictions, flouting these rules. But yes, technically because the U.K. has put these rules into place people should be able to get their refunds from airliners. But as you're seeing, a lot of people just ignoring these restrictions, going ahead with their plans anyways. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. All happening just so suddenly. Nic Robertson and Salma Abdelaziz, thank you to both of you for joining us. I appreciate it.

And joining me now is Dr. Dale Fisher, chair of the World Health Organization's outbreak alert response network. Thank you, sir, for talking with us.

DALE FISHER, CHAIR, WHO'S GLOBAL OUTBREAK ALERT RESPONSE NETWORK: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, of course we know that viruses mutate. That's what they do. How concerned are you about this new COVID variant showing up in the U.K. and elsewhere? And are people overreacting or is this exactly what should happen in this situation?

FISHER: I think the answer is in your question, Rosemary. It's not particularly unexpected. Mutations do occur, of course, we are concerned when we see something that's, perhaps slightly surprising. This particular lineage has got a lot of mutations and a critical part of the virus. But really, it's just reminding us of the basic measures and why vigilance is critical.

CHURCH: And countries of course we're seeing this. They are putting travel bans in place to and from the U.K. and other countries, and that could potentially have dangerous consequences in terms of food supplies. Is that the right way to go? Do travel bans need to be put into effect? Or do people just need to sit back, take a breath, wear mask and follow all of the instructions that the WHO and other health services have told us to do?

FISHER: Again, the answer is in the question. Now seriously, I'm not in favor of the travel bans. I gather most of them are really just for 48 hours, so maybe they are just taking a breather that you're talking about while they regroup and think about it.

But these mutations were first identified in late September actually in London. And it's now being identified in genomes that have been analyzed about 1,600 times in London, Kent, Scotland, Wales and there's a few overseas places, I think Netherlands and Australia have also seen it.

[03:10:03] So, I think if we start doing a lot more genomic surveillance worldwide, we'll probably just see that in that sense, the cat is out of the bag.

CHURCH: Yes, and I remember us reporting sometime back about a mutation that showed that it was more contagious but less lethal. We don't know whether this one is less lethal at this point because the studies have not yet been done. But can we make that assumption that that appears to be the way this mutates? That it's easier to pass on from host to host but not as lethal?

FISHER: Well, it's because these particular mutations are in a part of the spike protein called the receptor binding domain, so we actually will expect if it's going to have any effect it will be on the transmissibility. It could be more, it could be less, but because we're seeing this particular lineage proliferate over the last four weeks, then that's where the presumption comes that this is more transmissible.

But you know, nothing is changed in that sense. The roots of transmission are the same. The only difference might be if it's more transmissible, is that the viruses are going to be less forgiving, I guess. And if there's poorly implemented interventions, then you are going to see spread. But well-implemented interventions, whether it's the distancing, the masks, the contact tracing, they are still going to work.

CHURCH: So, what's the best advice that you would give to the U.K. and other nations that are seeing this variant of the coronavirus pop up? And when might we learn more about it and of course its possible consequences?

FISHER: Well, I think we need to know which countries are actually seeing it. Because if it's as widespread as it could be, then obviously travel bans have got little value anyway. And in fact, travel bans are probably only going to delay the inevitable. So, we wouldn't ordinarily say that these are a good place to go. And obviously, they can be very deleterious, both socially, economically, and as you just pointed out, to the food pipe line.

There is going to be obviously a lot more work done on this, but my advice would just to be do those do all infection control interventions and do them really well more than ever before.

CHURCH: Yes. Really good advice. Dr. Dale Fisher, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

FISHER: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine could soon be going into the arms of Europeans. The E.U.'s drug regulator is meeting today to decide whether to authorize the joint U.S. and German vaccine. If approved, it could begin rolling out within a week.

Well after many weeks of wrangling, U.S. Lawmakers have finally struck a deal on a massive coronavirus relief package. Ahead, the new infusion of cash many Americans could be getting in the next few weeks. Back in just a moment.

[03:15:00]

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CHURCH (on camera): After months of bitter stalemate U.S. congressional leaders have reached a deal on a $900 billion-dollar coronavirus relief package. We don't know everything that's in it just yet but it is expected to offer direct payments of up to $600 per adult and child. Burst unemployment payments by $300 a week offer billions of dollars for small businesses extend a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions and provide funding for vaccine distribution.

Here's some of the reaction from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: We can find a report where our nation has needed to hear for a very long time. More help is on the way. We've agreed to a package of nearly $900 billion. It is packed with targeted policies that help struggling Americans who have already waited entirely too long.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Tonight, is a good night, but it is not the end of the story. It is not the end of the job. Anyone who thinks this bill is enough does not know what's going on in America.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: What took so long is because we could not get a Republican colleague to crush the virus. I couldn't understand it why would they not want to invest in the science. So, we consider this a first step, and that again, more needs to be done and we are so excited that that will be happening under the Biden/Harris administration about 700 hours from now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): And President-elect Joe Biden says he applauds the deal and the White House says President Trump will sign the relief bill once it reaches his desk. Mr. Trump just signed another bill that funds the government for the next 24 hours. That move averted a federal government shutdown and allows lawmakers more time to formalize a $1.4 trillion-dollar funding package for the new fiscal year.

Well, the House is set to vote first on the package later today. And CNN's Eleni Diokos joins us now with more details. Good to see you, Eleni. So, what more are you learning about this?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, as you say the House has to vote and then it goes to the Senate and then a final signature by President Donald Trump. And that's when you'll see the $900 billion bipartisan package come into effect. Rosemary, you and I know we've been talking about the conversations,

the dialogues, the stalemate, the log jam of the past few months in getting this relief package decided upon, but they've been so many sticking points. But the priority items like the $600 per adult and child once off stimulus check.

You remember we were talking of closer to $1,200 a few months ago, the $300 per week and enhanced unemployment benefits come back -- comes back into play. That was a really important item money for vaccine distribution.

[03:19:59]

Billions of dollars that has been allocated for small businesses, and of course, importantly, the extension of eviction protections, that if this bill didn't come through, we would have actually seen almost five million Americans facing possible eviction by January.

That is why the sense of urgency really came into play before government was officially meant to shut down on Friday. Now lawmakers working basically through the night to reach agreement, but the sticking points, the things that aren't included are also quite important to look at.

In fact, one of the things that was holding the conversation back over the past few days was the fact that Republicans wanted to put a limit on Federal Reserve emergency loan spending. And that would have stifled the Biden administration in early 2021. That has been excluded.

Liability protections for businesses has also been excluded. That was one of the things that Republicans wanted to see in the package and then funding for state and local governments has been excluded, that was nice to have and an important point for Democrats.

So, both sides had to make concessions here. But as you say, the Democrats are saying that this is just the start. And in fact, we heard that this is going to create a floor of spending not a ceiling. So, the anticipation is that we'll see more money, more emergency spending, more relief coming through into the new year.

And also, the overall macro picture, Rosemary, is an important one because you've seen the jobs market in the United States deteriorating with the latest initial jobless claims numbers, and we also know that the rising coronavirus cases has reacted localized lockdowns that could have a very impact on the economic outlook in the United States. This puts money in the hands of vulnerable Americans and on spending priorities for the next couple of months.

CHURCH: Yes, some relief is on its way. Eleni Giokos, many thanks.

Joining me now is CNN economics commentator Catherine Rampell. Good to have you with us.

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS COMMENTATOR: Great to be here. CHURCH: So, Congress has reached the deal for $900 billion relief package, now of course it needs to be voted on in the House and the Senate, and then President Trump will need to sign off on it. How likely is it that he will do it and how long will this process take?

RAMPELL: Well, right now, the bill is still being written as we speak, in fact. There was a very last-minute agreement on the broad contours of the bill but the language hasn't been produced yet. And then of course the bill will probably the bill over the COVID relief, rather, which is separate initially from that stopgap funding bill just to keep the government open, that will probably get a vote in the House tomorrow and then sometime after that in the Senate, as what I have heard, but all of this is up in the air. It's a very fluid situation.

Whether or not the White House is on board also is an open question, but it seems like they have participated over the weekend in some of these discussions, so I think it would be unlikely for President Trump to throw a bomb in them at the last minute but he loves doing that, so it's hard to say.

CHURCH: Yes, very unpredictable. And lawmakers have released the summary of the coronavirus aid package. What are the main elements of the stimulus bill that people need to know about, and how soon might they get this stimulus checks, because that's for most people, what they're waiting for?

RAMPELL: So, the main elements of the bill are an extension and sort of a revival of some of the unemployment insurance expansion programs. Some of which have been ongoing and were set to expire right after Christmas. One of which already expired this past summer. Topping up the value of those benefit checks.

And in terms of stimulus checks, I would expect that a second round of checks would come up more quickly. I don't know exactly what the timeline would be, but it took a couple of months, I think, for the last of the checks to get out in first rounds, probably it would more expedited in that this time around.

CHURCH: Yes. So, we'll see what happens. I mean, certainly people are not going to get relief before Christmas.

RAMPELL: Yes.

CHURCH: Was there just too much politics involved on both sides while American suffered, lining up for food, and being evicted from their homes, and of course, all of this will still happen until this gets agreed upon and get signed on.

RAMPELL: Well, to be fair, Democrats actually passed another round of fiscal relief months and months ago. They did it several times. These were much bigger bills than the one that is in the works now, that looks like it's likely to pass. There was one that was about $2 trillion dollars, for example. This is more likely to be around $900 billion. So, it was a much more generous package. It was a nonstarter in the Republican held Senate. So, you know, you can argue about whether that was really a messaging bill or if it was something that was intended to help American families and I think there were arguments for both sides of that debate there.

Republicans in the meantime have been holding up further progress in these stimulus negotiations.

[03:25:02]

For example, just over the past several days, there was this somewhat unrelated debate that kind of got shoved into these negotiations about whether the fed should continue to have the same sort of emergency landing powers that it has had for decades in fact, although they were expanded in a sense through the CARES Act that was passed earlier this year.

So, this was issue that's a thorny issue, but one that's not entirely related to the fact that again something like 12 million people were about to lose their unemployment benefits this week but it became, you know, this last-minute roadblock.

Similarly, there was this negotiation, as I understand, just over the weekend related to this business. Again, you can argue that, you know, this is a priority for Republicans but it's not addressing the most immediate time bomb that was about to go off, which is the last of these other sorts of benefits around Christmas.

CHURCH: All right, we shall see if all of this is enough to keep a lot of people afloat who are really hurting right now. Catherine Rampell, thank you so much.

RAMPELL: Thank you.

CHURCH: All right. We have been talking about this new variant that has shown up in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. I just want to bring you this news that just in because France's health minister has just told the nation there across France. He says that it is possible that this new variant of the coronavirus is already in France.

Now there is no reason to panic, this is the situation that we are hearing from various doctors, medical experts are saying this is what viruses do. They mutate. So, this is what we are seeing happen in the United Kingdom. We are seeing it elsewhere across the globe. It is popping up here and there and now we are seeing these travel bans being put into place for 24 to 48 hours.

We will keep an eye on that, but just letting people know across France that the health minister there says it is possible that the new variant of the coronavirus has already, or is already in France. We'll continue to watch that.

All right. I want to have a look at some stock numbers, because European stocks are sharply lower amid the growing travel ban on the United Kingdom. In the first minutes of trading you see there the FTSE 100 down nearly one and a half percent. German's DAX is down more than 2 percent, and then in France the CAC has lost 2.38 percent.

And here in the U.S., let's just check out futures, because the Dow futures are down 0.21 percent. The S&P 500 down nearly 0.4 percent there. And then, the NASDAQ futures up slightly there, nearly a quarter of a percent.

All right. Coming up on CNN Newsroom, as more U.K. travel bans go into effect, it's creating chaos for people trying to leave the country. But what kind of headaches it is creating across the channel in Europe? We will find out. Back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Prime Minister Boris Johnson is convening an emergency meeting as more countries restrict movement in and out of the United Kingdom. Holiday travellers rushed to leave before the measures take effect. A potential EU-wide travel ban cuts the UK off from continental Europe.

It is all stemming from a new possibly faster spreading COVID variant discovered in the UK. Now there are fears travel restrictions could create a shortage of food and critical medical supplies in Britain, including vaccines.

And right now, the EU's medicine agency is assessing the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. If it receives approval, it may hit the European Commission on Wednesday. Now, once it clears that hurdle, EU states could begin inoculations within a week.

For more on how the travel restrictions are affecting continental Europe, let's bring in Jim Bittermann, who is joining us from just outside of Paris. Good to see you, Jim. We just brought that breaking news to all of our viewers, that the health minister there in France has said this variant is probably already in France.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he said it is possible that it's already in France. In fact, they had at least one case of the variant found in Italy. So far, he said nothing in France. He said they are checking and they have been checking, I guess, since the British notified the French back on December 15th, last week. So, in any case, they are watching for this.

That is one of the reasons why they've imposed this 48-hour travel ban. Basically, it bans people from going from Britain to the continent but it does not ban people on the continent going to Britain. In fact, there are several Eurostar trains running today from Paris to London. So, that communication line is still up if you're going from the continent to London.

But of course, what they are worried about is this virus spreading, this variant of the virus spreading through the European continent. And what the prime minister indicated last night is they want to get together with the European partners and come up with some kind of generalized European overall plan of how to deal with this variant and its outcome in Britain and how to either cut off Britain or to at least confine the people coming from Britain.

It's very likely that people coming from Britain will have to have a COVID test within 48 hours of departure. In any case, the ban is on for 48 hours from midnight last night, and then after that, theoretically, the Europeans need to get their act together. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yeah, we'll see what they do after that. And Jim, Europe is poised to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. What is the latest on that?

BITTERMANN: Well, they are meeting right now. They are going to be meeting all day today to talk about this European Medicines Agency looking into the Pfizer vaccine to see if it is OK for the continent. We are expecting to hear something towards mid or late afternoon today from them. And then, after, that it goes to the commission, as you mentioned earlier. And then, of course, inoculations could begin as early as next week.

Currently, it is going to roll out in a coordinated fashion all across the European Union at the same time. So, we will see how that works as well because, of course, of the kind of distribution travel we've seen in the United States. But we will see if the Europeans could do it any better.

The theory is they're going to roll it out in all the countries across Europe at the same time as soon as they get clearance from the European Medicines Agency. Rosemary?

CHURCH: What have you got in terms of numbers, the number of doses?

[03:34:58]

BITTERMANN: Well, they have contracted for a billion or so doses across Europe. So, I mean, they have plenty of vaccines on order and Pfizer is expecting to provide a good part of that, at least the initial part. And then they are going to look into Moderna later on in the week to start and see if Moderna can also be approved. Rosemary?

CHURCH (on camera): Right. Jim Bittermann is joining us there. Many thanks for bringing us up-to-date on the situation across France and Europe. Appreciate it.

Well, in the United States, the first public doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine could be administered as early as today. The vaccine received emergency use authorization before the CDC director accepted the recommendation that the shot be given to people over the age of 18.

Trucks like these delivered the vaccine to Tennessee on Sunday, part of more than six million doses being ship to 3,200 sites across the United States. Moderna's vaccine will be administered in two doses, spaced 28 days apart. Now that the US has two COVID-19 vaccines, many Americans may be wondering when they will be able to get their shots. You will recall health care workers and those in long-term facilities were first on the list when the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine rolled out.

CNN's Natasha Chen has the latest on who's next in line.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A CDC advisory committee voted Sunday, 13 to 1, on the next two phases of people who should be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine. Already we have seen in the very first phase, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities start to be vaccinated.

Now, the next group that's been voted on now include people 75 and up, as well as frontline essential workers, people like first responders, grocery store workers, and teachers. The phase after that will includes people 65 and up, younger people with high-risk medical conditions and other essential workers.

Now, that last phase involved a bit more debate among the committee members, especially what is considered a high-risk condition. Right now, that list includes issues like diabetes, obesity, cancer. The committee did say that these are issues that with sufficient evidence of being associated with sever COVID-19, but it is not an exhaustive list and they did say that will be updated on the CDC website.

Already, we are seeing more than half a million people vaccinated now with the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna vaccine is now being shipped out as we speak with the first shots expected to happen on Monday.

Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): Joining me now is Dr. Carlos del Rio. He is executive associate dean at Emory University School of Medicine. He also serves as a special adviser for infectious diseases with Delta Air Lines. Thank you, doctor, for being with us and for all that you do.

CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: It is an honor to be with you.

CHURCH: And I do want to make the point, too, because you just received the Pfizer vaccine, the shot in the arm, one of 500,000 plus Americans to get it so far. How are you feeling right now? What is your message to those fearing the side effects after two people had allergic reactions?

DEL RIO: You know, I think I did fine. I took it 24 hours ago and I am feeling just fine. I basically have no symptoms, no side effects. I have a little bit of pain in my arm, but that's about it. You know, we are going to see allergic reaction but they are going to be rare. You know, not very common. And none of them has been, you know, very serious. So, it's OK. Just go ahead when you get your chance. Take the vaccine. That's the best thing I can tell you.

CHURCH: Right, really nothing to be frightened about. And of course, millions of doses of the second vaccine are to receive authorization, Moderna. Those shipments are now going across the United States. How much smoother do you expect this rollout to be and when can we expect everyone in the country who wants to get a vaccine to get it?

DEL RIO: The rollout will continue to happen but the reality is I don't think before July or August we will have everybody immunized. I think most people will start seeing the vaccine getting to them sometime in April.

CHURCH: Right. I wanted to talk to you, too, about what's happening in the United Kingdom when the Pfizer vaccine was first rolled out. We're now hearing about this new variant of the coronavirus. It's proving to be more infectious. We don't know if that is more or less lethal at this stage. But how concerned are you about this and will the vaccine still work on this mutated virus?

DEL RIO: I'm not too concerned. Viruses mutate all the time. Coronavirus has had already multiple mutations. This mutation appears to be the predominant mutation right now in the UK. It's an N501Y mutation in the spike protein.

It makes the spike protein of the virus more capable of attaching to respiratory cells, to the receptors in the respiratory cells. It's easier to attach and that's why maybe the predominant one is being more transmissible.

[03:39:59]

DEL RIO: We don't think it's more lethal and it should not impact the effect of vaccine.

CHURCH: Yeah. That must set a lot of people's nerves at rest because it has gotten a lot of people concerned. I know you're saying all viruses mutate, people should worry about this, but we still need to address this so that people can have those concerns looked at.

And I do want to ask you this because some European countries and Canada have now banned flights coming from the United Kingdom as a result of this new variant of the virus.

Is this what needs to be done and should the US also be thinking about this, banning those flights to prevent the movement of this new mutation version of the virus?

DEL RIO: You know there are very few flights from the UK to the US. Quite frankly, banning flights doesn't really help much. We showed that from the beginning of this pandemic. By the time flights were banned, the virus was already all over the place.

CHURCH: Right. So you don't see that as a necessary thing to necessarily --

DEL RIO: No.

CHURCH: -- stop the virus?

DEL RIO: No. Let's focus on what's important, which is, you know, wear mask, watch your distance, wash your hands, get the vaccine.

CHURCH: Is that message still getting across? I mean, there are still a lot of people in America who are refusing to wear masks. They don't think this is a big deal at all. How do you get the message across to those people?

DEL RIO: You get the message by saying it is a big deal. You know, 3,000 Americans are dying every day and over 300,000 people have died. It is a big deal. I mean, by the end of this pandemic, we are going to have over half a million Americans dead from this virus. That is unprecedented.

CHURCH: Those numbers are just horrendous and we keep telling people, wear a mask, it is very important. Dr. Carlos del Rio, thank you so much for talking with us.

DEL RIO: Delighted to be with you.

CHURCH (on camera): Well, Israel is banning flights from the UK, Denmark, and South Africa amid fears over this new COVID variant. This comes as Israel launches its vaccination drive. Many Israelis say they are willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

In Jerusalem, some residents say they have already scheduled an appointment to get vaccinated. They hope this will lead to a return to normal life.

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UNKNOWN: I think it's a chance to be able to live normally once again. And I would like to be able to give my grandchildren a big hug and a big kiss.

UNKNOWN: Our family said take it and a lot of very smart people take it. I read a lot of articles about it. I think it is quite safe. And I think that the corona is a very dangerous sickness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Joining me now to discuss more on this, journalist Elliott Gotkine. Good to see you, Elliott. So, I want to talk about the vaccinations. But first, we know that Israelis, only Israelis are being allowed to fly home from the UK, South Africa and Denmark, and they need to go straight into quarantine hotels because of this variant in the UK. Of course, other travellers have been banned. What's been the impact of all this?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, beyond the immediate most obvious impact on flights that involve Israel and those countries and people's travel plans over Christmas and New Year, perhaps the biggest impact will actually be political, on the credibility of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He came in for quite a bit of criticism for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and by leading his coronavirus cabinet on Sunday to act swiftly and decisively once word came out of this new variant of coronavirus that's spreading through the UK and other countries.

Once he acted swiftly and decisively, then that would be seen -- that will be probably seen as a good thing for his credibility. It is quite an important moment given that there is the possibility still, very large possibility that Israelis could find themselves going to their fourth election in the space of two years in the next two to three months.

CHURCH: Elliott Gotkine, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it. And we will be right back.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH:

GOTKINE (on camera): Well, the appetite for meat is growing around the world and so is its carbon footprint. CNN's Selina Wang shows us how insects offer several environmental advantages over traditional sources of protein.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In most restaurants, bugs are the last thing you want to see. But here at Antcicada in Tokyo, they are all over the menu.

Twenty-six-year-old Yuta Shinohara opened this insect restaurant in early 2020, looking to create a sustainable and high protein, however unusual, alternative to beef, pork, and chicken: cricket roman, silkworm sausages, even beer.

YUTA SHINOHARA, RESTAURANT OWNER (through translator): Eating insects is not only tasty and healthy, it is environmentally friendly. It is a kill two birds with one stone solution.

WANG (voice-over): Globally, the livestock industry accounts for over 14 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. That is according to the United Nations. Insect farming releases just a fraction of that, they say.

SHINOHARA (through translator): Crickets can be raised on less feed, water, and space compared to conventional livestock. They also develop into adults in about a month. As the growing period is fast, it is fair to say they have little impact on the environment.

WANG (voice-over): Humans have eaten insects as a source of protein for thousands of years. For many, though, there is a discussed factor, Shinohara says. He partnered with the award-winning noodle chain Ramen Nagi to develop a high-end menu. They aren't the only ones getting in on insects. Japanese retail giant Muji started selling crackers made from cricket powder in 2020.

TATSURO YAMADA, HEAD OF SNACK DEVELOPMENT, MUJI (through translator): Cricket cracker smells and tastes like shrimp. Customers were, in fact, pleased with its taste. They overall received a positive public reaction quite before and after the launch.

WANG (voice-over): Shinohara has found success, too. His restaurant has been fully booked since it opened, he says.

SHINOHARA (through translator): I hope we can enjoy eating insects without thinking too seriously. But ultimately live in a world where we care for the environment and future generations.

WANG (voice-over): Empty shelves and bellies full of bugs. For Shinohara, it is a promising start.

Selina Wang, CNN.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): And coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," many countries are restricting UK travel over a new variant of the coronavirus.

[03:50:02]

CHURCH: But Saudi Arabia is going a step further. The drastic measures the kingdom is taking. That is ahead.

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CHURCH: Well, Saudi Arabia isn't taking any chances as a new COVID variant is reported in the UK, putting in some extreme new travel measures.

Arwa Damon is in Istanbul. She joins us now live. Good to see you, Arwa. So, Saudi Arabia is suspending all international flights into the kingdom as a result of this new coronavirus variant. What more are you learning about this extreme move?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, it is not just a suspension of all international flights, it is also effectively shutting its land and sea borders for about a week.

Now, if individuals have travelled to affected countries and are currently in the kingdom or on their way back in, they are going to have to quarantine. The kingdom is also launching this program of repeated testing, not taking any chances at all.

Now, it also be noted that these restrictions do not necessarily apply to the movements of goods and commodities if they are arriving from unaffected countries.

[03:55:00]

DAMON: It is not just Saudi Arabia that is implementing new measures. Here in Turkey, where we currently experiencing a COVID-19 wave, that is proving to be more devastating than previous ones.

Turkish Airlines is also announcing that it is suspending its flights until further notice from the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and South Africa at this stage.

There is understandably great concern in the region, as well as globally, about what this variant does actually mean. It seems as if at least when it comes to some countries, they really are not taking any chances, perhaps learning the lesson from previous waves of the pandemic and wanting to, to the best of their abilities, at the very least try to stay ahead of it. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yeah, understood. Arwa Damon is bringing us the very latest on that. Appreciate it.

And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more news in just moment. Stick around.

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CHURCH: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching "CNN Newsroom." I am Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, the United Kingdom increasingly isolated as more countries ban flights amid reports of a COVID-19 variant spreading fast in parts of England.

And in the US, the Moderna vaccine is shipping out.

[03:59:00]

CHURCH: It is the second vaccine rising to the rescue after being authorized for emergency use.

Plus, Democrats and Republicans finally strike a deal on coronavirus relief.