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U.K. To Reactivate Emergency Field Hospitals; U.K.'s NHS To Roll Out Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine On Monday; Broadcasting Legend Larry King Hospitalized With COVID-19; Republican Senators Plan To Oppose Certification Of Biden's Win; Georgia Runoff To Determine Party Controlling Senate; Appeals Court Dismisses Gohmert's Suit Against Pence; U.S.-Iran Tensions One Year After Soleimani Killing. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 03, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Robyn Curnow.

So coming up in the show, we take you inside hospitals buckling under the strain of COVID cases and see how they're getting desperately needed help.

In the U.K., the virus' surge is forcing several emergency field hospitals to reopen. We're outside one of those.

And a growing number of American senators say they plan to challenge Joe Biden's win.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.

CURNOW: Great to have you along this hour.

I want to begin in the U.S., crossing another pandemic threshold. The death toll has now surpassed 350,000, based on Johns Hopkins data. Saturday alone, the country reported almost 2,400 deaths. The pressure just keeps growing on doctors and nurses and hospitals are filled with over 100,000 people fighting the virus.

Now every day for over a month. As of Sunday, only about 4.2 million Americans have received the first dose of vaccine even though the CDC says more than 13 million doses have been distributed throughout the country.

So no state is feeling the pain more than California. Health officials in Los Angeles County say the virus is claiming a life every 10 minutes. Now hospitals are so overwhelmed, the military is helping out. Paul Vercammen is in Los Angeles with the story -- Paul.

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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The COVID-19 tsunami in California is stretching resources so thin that the Army Corps of Engineers has now jumped into the fight here in Los Angeles, serving some seven hospitals to improve the oxygen supply line to those COVID patients, who are gasping for breath.

Here's what they are seeing at these hospitals.

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COL. JULIE BALTEN, U.S. ARMY CORPS: We went to one hospital and they had two tents outside and one of the tents -- one of the tents they were seeing COVID patients. And it is just -- they were tied into their mechanical systems. And so that's just an additional strain.

So we're trying to assess how we can reduce the strain on their facilities and their mechanical spaces and O2, oxygen distribution as well.

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VERCAMMEN: The Army Corps also serving White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights, where they now have 180 COVID patients. And the hospital members here, the head of the ER, celebrating the arrival of the Army Corps of Engineers.

DR. STEPHEN LIU, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: That's exactly right. These folks just can't get enough oxygenation into their blood, into their bodies. And that's what makes it so hard. These patients need so much oxygen and there are so many patients.

And so the two taken together, it's really taxing the system. These oxygen lines can only carry so many liters per minute and we're approaching the upper limits of those.

VERCAMMEN: The Army Corps of Engineers supporting this hospital, as it is with other hospitals in Los Angeles and here at White Memorial, we're also seeing members of the National Guard helping to treat this influx, this unending influx of patients -- reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen, now back to you.

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CURNOW: Thanks, Paul, for that.

So in the U.K., health care workers are preparing to reactivate seven emergency field hospitals. This as a surge of coronavirus cases there threatens to overwhelm ICUs as well. So on Saturday, the U.K. recorded its highest daily rise in cases since the pandemic began. Straight to London, where Salma Abdelaziz joins us now.

You are outside at one of those emergency field hospitals.

What can you tell us? SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: I'm outside the XL Center, one of the Nightingale Hospitals here in London. It's a huge conference center, it's a massive building. It could house a lot of people.

But here's the catch, Robyn, how are they going to staff it?

We already know that the National Health Service staff is being stretched to the limit in hospitals.

And how are they going to put equipment in?

We know that ICU capacity is being stretched to the limit.

What's the plan?

The government wants to bring in military troops to staff the center. You can understand why the situation is so dire. That record-breaking number case number on Saturday. You now have more patients in hospital with coronavirus than at any point before.

I was listening to a doctor on the radio this morning, who's talking about ambulances are lined up outside hospitals.

[03:05:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Basically, unable to get their patients admitted into these hospitals because they're so backed up. It is a dire situation, much of this driven by this new variant of COVID 19, that authorities say is more transmissible.

You already have three quarters of England under the strictest rules, under localized lockdowns. Doctors are now saying, this is not enough, Robyn. They want to see the entire country locked down. They want to see stay-at-home orders for everyone.

The fear is for the medical community that the worst is yet to come. They have yet to see the spike of cases from Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Basically, Robyn, they are on the brink.

CURNOW: That is absolutely terrifying but at the same time there is this light at the end of the tunnel. I know the U.K. health authorities are excited about the AstraZeneca vaccine coming online. Talk us through about the rollout in particular.

ABDELAZIZ: So the rollout starts Monday. First vaccinations, first injections given of this Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. A great deal of national pride because it was developed right here at Oxford University in the U.K.

There are a lot of advantages to it. It is a cheaper dosage, it only costs about three pounds or $4 but it doesn't need any special refrigeration capacity. This vaccine does not have to be held in those extra cold temperatures. So it should be easier to disseminate, easier logistically to get into people's arms.

There's a lot of hopes around this vaccine, particularly in places like India where they will be able to reach more of the rural communities.

But the government has been catching a lot of debate for their vaccination program plans. There has been guidance issued that the second dose of any vaccine can be given up to three months after you get the first dose, although it's supposed to be 21 to 28 days.

And government guidance says you can mix vaccines.

Why are they doing this?

This divides health experts. The medical community and some doctors say that these approaches simply don't follow the science. They're doing this because they are desperate. They have to take bold measures in order to get control of this virus -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Bold measures indeed from the U.K. authorities. Some are good to see.

I want to bring in now Oksana Pyzik. She's a global health expert at University College London.

Good to see you. You heard our correspondent on the ground outside the XL Center, preparations to reactivate these emergency field hospitals.

Do you think this will ease the burden on the health care system in the U.K.?

OKSANA PYZIK, GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERT, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, here in the U.K. and in England in particular, we are seeing the worst part of the pandemic has hit us now.

We can see another 100,000 by June 2021. It would actually exceed the first wave, the number of deaths. So the reactivation of field hospitals is necessary. But of course, the problem we face is the staffing shortage and how we will be able to man these larger field hospitals.

So despite having the space, there's still going to be a struggle in order to treat the patients, with people who have the appropriate skillsets, for requiring ventilation and other aerosol generating procedures.

CURNOW: An important point and that's obviously something that's going to concern many people.

One of the positives, as we're just talking with Salma about, is the AstraZeneca Oxford University vaccine rollout on Monday.

How quickly can the U.K. and other places like here in the U.S., which is also lagging, catch up with the virus so that vaccine shots start overtaking new infections?

PYZIK: Well, this is a long game so we shouldn't look at that the fact that these vaccines are starting to roll out. These will not necessarily save the lives of people who are already getting infected. This is why we need to continue these public health measures, along

with more aggressive vaccination rollout. And that requires ensuring that we have upscaling of staff and more resources dedicated toward this rollout.

But again, this is not going to be something that even here we've had the prime minister say that we should be able to get enough protection by Easter 2021. But at the current rate of vaccination, that is actually not a realistic estimate.

CURNOW: What is your take than on this mix and match vaccine regimen that the U.K. is saying it's going to be OK to cross-use different vaccines?

This contradicts U.S. guidelines.

Is this a pragmatic health policy, a sign a desperation or is this the U.K. being the Wild West of vaccinations, as suggested by some?

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PYZIK: I think there is some misconception around this particular piece of guidance that has been issued. We heard from Public Health England to clarify that this would be under extremely rare circumstances, in which it would be either not possible to trace what type of vaccine was first in a patient of if there's a critical shortage, that it wouldn't be possible to deliver the second vaccine doses.

So rather than missing out the second dose altogether, it would be better for a patient to receive another vaccine. Again, this is not something that is going to be widely encouraged but would be a very narrow set of circumstances.

And also an example of how clinical trials have these perfect conditions, that really center around a smaller group of people. But when we roll that out to the population level, it would be naive to think that we wouldn't run into hiccups, that it's going to look exactly the same.

This is actually a move that, in the U.K., it was already covered, that the situation is extremely serious, it is looking to get worse. And this is the way that the U.K. can solve, at least with that gap of potentially extending it for 12 weeks instead of what was followed in the exact clinical trial, that this would allow a broader set of the population to have some sort of protection.

That's because of the circumstances we're currently in and the measures that need to be taken.

CURNOW: I understand you've also just recovered from COVID yourself and there's been a lot of talk about this new variant.

What is the thought about why it is so much more infectious, this new variant?

Is it about people shedding more virus, about the virus surviving better in the air or on surfaces and how are you feeling as well?

PYZIK: This new variant has really hit London in particular the hardest. And this is part of why this is contributing to these hospitalization rates that are increasing so much. They have tripled and the number of hospital admissions since the beginning of December, so we can really see the immediate effect of this new variant.

We are still looking to really try and understand why this new variant in the U.K. has become so much more infectious, up to 60 percent more infectious.

But the other strain that is extremely concerning is one emerging from South Africa which has a bit more chunkier mutations, it could be a bigger problem that the one we're seeing here in the U.K.

Despite its increased transmissibility, at least the good news is that it doesn't appear to have more severe health outcomes, which is very positive for patients.

And thank you for asking about how I am doing. I had a pretty bad go of it. However I'm feeling much better now and when the vaccine become available for me, and that may be some time because I don't have any underlying conditions.

But maybe within the next year, 2022, I will be really happy to get that vaccine because that is not something I would want to go through again.

CURNOW: OK, thanks for that and great to see you on your feet again. Appreciate it.

So one of the 20,000-plus people in California hospitals battling COVID right now is Larry King. Yes, you know him, legendary former CNN host has been at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for more than a week now. That's according to a source close to the family.

Larry King is 87 years old and he does have a history of health issues. Now, of course, Larry King has conquered these health issues. Brian Stelter is following the story closely for us -- Brian.

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BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Larry King, a giant of broadcasting, is the latest high-profile individual to come down with the coronavirus and require hospitalization.

King is 87 years old; he has been at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for more than a week, according to a source close to his family. Due to COVID-19 protocols, his sons have not been able to visit him in the hospital. King is in isolation, like so many others, who are struggling with COVID-19 at this time.

Right now, we know that in the United States about 125,000 Americans are hospitalized. That was the figure on Friday; just a slightly lower figure on Saturday, as coronavirus continues to challenge, in some cases, overwhelm the hospital system in areas like Los Angeles. King is a television mainstay and a CNN legend.

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STELTER: His program, "LARRY KING LIVE," aired here on CNN for 25 years and he remained active in his days and weeks and years after CNN. He hosted a program for Ora TV as recently as November, covering the 2020 election.

Of course, he is an expert at telling other people's stories. Right now his own story is in the news. Hopefully, soon he will be able to recover and tell his own experience, share his own story about having to fight off this nasty virus -- Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.

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CURNOW: And coming up, a push to disenfranchise the millions of American voters is picking up steam. Sitting and incoming senators planning to challenge Wednesday's Electoral College vote certification. That is just ahead.

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CURNOW: Welcome back I'm. Robyn Curnow.

So to American politics now, where tensions are rising in several fronts. At least a dozen Republican senators now say they will vote against counting electoral votes this week. Congress is expected to certify President-Elect Biden's victory on Wednesday.

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CURNOW: But more lawmakers now say they intend to support an objection to the Electoral College vote. All based, of course, on false claims of widespread voter fraud.

And then on Saturday, a federal appeals court dismissed representative Louie Gohmert's appeal of a case he lost just the day before. He and other Republicans filed suit against vice president Pence. They were seeking to force Pence to interfere in next week's vote count.

But some Republican lawmakers are against all of this. And it's causing chaos within the party, as Boris Sanchez now reports from the White House -- Boris.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump getting welcome news on Saturday after confirmation that a least a dozen Republican senators are planning to object to the results of the Electoral College when they're certified by Congress on January 6th. The president had been campaigning for this publicly for some time and

now these dozen Republican senators led by Ted Cruz, are saying they want to essentially look at the allegations of widespread election fraud, even though the president and his team have not been able to provide any.

Here's a portion of the statement from Cruz and crew.

They write, quote, "We are not naive. We fully expect most if not all Democrats and perhaps more than a few Republicans to vote otherwise. But support of election integrity should not be a partisan issue."

We should point out those allegations of widespread fraud are coming from the president and the White House. And they've not been able to corroborate any of these allegations of widespread fraud.

These lawmakers are calling for a 10-day audit to exhaustively review the results from multiple states. Clearly their effort is not going to work and they acknowledged that they simply don't have the numbers, especially in the House of Representatives.

Other Republicans are coming out against this effort, including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, one of those states where there's a lot of debate over the results of the election, at least on the Republican side.

Here's a portion of a statement from Senator Toomey released on Saturday.

He writes, quote, "The evidence is overwhelming that Joe Biden won this election. His narrow victory in Pennsylvania is easily explained by the decline in suburban support for President Trump and the president's slightly smaller victory margins in most rural counties.

"I voted for President Trump and endorsed him for reelection. But on Wednesday, I intend to vigorously defend our form of government by opposing this effort to disenfranchise millions of voters in my state and others."

Now examining the motivation behind these 12 senators' objections, some of them are clearly trying to stake their ground for a potential 2024 run, including Senators Hawley and Cruz.

Others may simply be doing this for survival. There is serious concern among Republicans about coming out against President Trump on the issue of an objection on January 6th. Just look at the way he went after John Thune, the number two Republican senator, calling for the senator from South Dakota to be primaried over his dismissal of Hawley's objection.

The president clearly still holds the reins of the Republican Party and he is exercising that power in a way where establishment Republicans are clearly bending to his will -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CURNOW: Now the dysfunction in Washington could impact Tuesday's crucial U.S. Senate races here in Georgia. Control of the chamber is at stake. Incumbent Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are battling Democrats Jon Ossoff and reverend Raphael Warnock.

Warnock spoke with CNN earlier and he described the Republican push to overturn Biden's win as a new low. He criticize senator Loeffler for not denouncing it as well. This is what he had to say.

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RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: We have a democratic system. The most powerful four words in a democracy are, "The people have spoken."

They have spoken all across this country. They've spoken in swing states like Pennsylvania. They've spoken here in the state of Georgia. And instead of standing up for the people and their voices, like these other dozen politicians, Kelly Loeffler is focused on her own future rather than the future of the people who are trying to survive amidst this terrible pandemic.

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CURNOW: And Senator Perdue was recently forced to actually go in to quarantine after being exposed to the coronavirus. Despite that, he says he's in a good position to win.

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SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): The energy level is exactly where was in November, when the polls had me down 5 points. We won by 2. As a matter of fact, 52.5 percent of Georgians rejected Jon Ossoff and his democratic liberal agenda in November.

Same thing happened in 2014. I don't put a lot of stock in polls. I look at this early voting and I'm very confident, with the president coming Monday night, the, vice president coming Monday and what we are doing with our team over the next three days.

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CURNOW: Thomas Gift is a political science lecturer at University College London and the director of the UCL Center on U.S. Politics.

Thomas, lovely to see you. He joins us from Oxford, England.

[03:25:00]

CURNOW: So as you heard there, the Georgia runoff is so, so crucial. And again, it is about voter turnout.

How much momentum do the Democrats have? THOMAS GIFT, POLITICAL SCIENCE LECTURER, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: You're right, Robyn, that both Senate races in Georgia are incredibly close, much closer than I think many experts initially predicted.

What is clear is that these races have become truly national contests, because of their stakes. Candidates have been shattering fundraising records. Political ads have been ubiquitous and we've already seen more than 3 million early votes, which reflects the intense interest in these races.

Ultimately though, as you suggest, this will be a base mobilization game. Anything can happen. Turnout will inevitably be lower than the presidential race on November 3rd. That means the average Republican voter will be more conservative and the average Democratic voter will be more liberal.

Of course, the competitiveness of these contests also raises the interesting question of what might happen if the margin of victory for the candidates is relatively small. Trump for example, has already called the Georgia runoffs illegal and invalid, which only adds to concerns about voter distrust in the electoral process. Certainly all eyes this week will be on Georgia.

CURNOW: Yes, it's a huge week. And I think many people here in Georgia will also be relieved if it does end for many of these political ads to stop because it certainly has been ubiquitous, as you say, quite overwhelming on some level.

I do also want to look ahead to what is going to be a pretty dramatic week for U.S. politics, to the showdown expected in Congress. The vice president and other Trump loyalists are trying to help Mr. Trump override, essentially, the election results.

It's nothing than a cynical farce. Nothing is expected to come of it. Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January the 20th.

So then my question is, why do it?

Is this less about the outcome and more about the act?

GIFT: Well, Robyn, I do think that this is mostly political theater. But we still shouldn't underestimate how dangerous of a precedent it sets for U.S. senators to aid and abet Trump's baseless allegations of electoral fraud.

I do think that it's largely about political ambitions, about political survival. But over recent months, efforts to prove voting irregularities have faced defeat in roughly 60 court cases and to still see this response now from elected leaders is extremely regrettable.

It's important to emphasize that the vast majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill don't support this effort. Mitch McConnell opposes it and the ploy won't change the fact, as you suggest, that Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20th. But the fact that it's likely to garner the support of nearly a dozen

Republican senators, including senator Hawley, senator Ted Cruz and senator Marsha Blackburn, is really partisanship, I think, at its worst. And what it reveals is how it strongly the grip Trump maintains over certain elements of the GOP.

Clearly many Republican lawmakers just view this as furthering their own political ambitions.

CURNOW: Yes, I mean so many ways this is being seen perhaps as a loyalty test to Mr. Trump by some of these Republicans and then, of course, you are talking about the pushback.

As you say listen, Mr. Biden, one, let's just move on and deal with the future.

So with this push and pull between the Republican Party, where does that leave the Republicans and particularly the political landscape post Trump?

GIFT: I think the most problematic aspect of this is for U.S. democracy writ large. This January 6th standoff is going to do serious harm for U.S. democracy. Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution, for example, said in "The Washington Post" recently that it is not the short-term turbulence that should worry Americans. Joe Biden will be inaugurated and that's not in doubt.

He said it's the fact that we're at a point where a non-trivial number of GOP politicians feel that it's appropriate to call into question this most basic precept of U.S. democracy, the integrity of free and fair elections, despite all the evidence pointing to the legitimacy of those elections.

So I think this does do serious harm to the Republican brand. I think it turns off a lot of moderates. And many are just going to see this for what it is, a last-ditch political ploy. This is why Mitch McConnell really wants to avoid this. I don't think he's going to be able to do that. And we'll see how the party evolves with Trump going forward.

CURNOW: I think you mentioned the 60 attempts by the Trump administration to challenge the election results at the court. I think 90 judges have said no to all of these, all in all, to all of these attempts. So this has certainly been a stress test, I suppose, put on the U.S. democracy.

But has, in many ways, democracy pushed back?

And if you think about it, many of these attempts have been stopped by Republican governors, Republican lawmakers, Republican judges.

I mean, has the center held?

GIFT: I think that it has, by and large, Robyn. Ultimately, this is just one more example of Trump and his supporters trying to erode constitutional norms. [03:30:00]

GIFT: Contrary to what some alarmists may say, this isn't the beginning of the end of U.S. democracy. At the same time, those who simply dismiss this behavior as a slight deviation from political norms, also miss how problematic this conduct is.

So if there is one lesson we can take from the last four years, it's that U.S. institutions have held. But I do think that they have frayed and I think that they have been damaged. And that opens them up for further exploitation or challenges going forward.

CURNOW: Which is again why, even just the next few days are going to be so important. Thomas Gift, from the UCL Center on U.S. Politics, thanks so much for your insights.

GIFT: Thank you, Robyn.

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CURNOW: So coming up, here on CNN, Americans desperate to get the coronavirus vaccine are waiting in long, long lines. Look at these images. And there is no guarantee of delivery yet. That's next.

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CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is 34 minutes past the hour. I'm Robyn Curnow, live from CNN headquarters here in Atlanta.

I want to update you on these figures that you're seeing on your screen. The U.S. is nowhere near the 20 million coronavirus vaccines the Trump administration had promised by the end of the 2020. And experts are certainly sounding the alarm.

The CDC and Johns Hopkins University said only 4.2 million doses have actually been administered so far even though more than 13 million doses have been distributed across the country.

Now that doesn't necessarily mean vaccines are just sitting on the shelf. There could be a time lag when it comes to reporting data here. But there does seem to be a lack of urgency from the White House to try and actually speed things up.

[03:35:00]

CURNOW: Many people in the U.S. who want vaccines are having to wait, not sure when they'll be able to get them. The U.S. state of Florida has its own approach and it's causing even more confusion, as Dianne Gallagher now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As of Saturday, just over 4.2 million Americans have received the first dose of one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Now that is out of the more than 13 million that have already been distributed across the country. Therein lies an illustration of the problem the United States seems to be having, actually getting those shots into people's arms.

Now here in the state of Florida, the governor decided not to adhere to the recommendations of the CDC when it comes to who got that next phase of vaccines. Initially of course, it's the health care workers and those in the long term care facilities but the CDC says that Americans over the age of 75 and front line essential workers should be getting them next.

In the state of Florida, the governor decided anybody over the age of 65 will get the vaccine. And since making that decision, we have seeing long lines in the state of Florida and really a lot of confusion.

Each county within the state is doing something different. Some of them are administrating vaccines to those over the age of 65 on a first-come, first-served basis. We saw elderly people literally camping out overnight for a shot at, well, getting the shot.

Other counties were deciding to use appointments and they saw their phone lines and their websites crash from so much interest. Now we have talked to different people who have attempted to get the vaccine.

They say that the confusion is discouraging but, more than anything, they want that protection. So they are going to keep trying until they get it. But take the county I'm in, Lake County, they ran out of vaccines today. They're currently waiting for another shipment before they will be able to be continue vaccinating people who are over the age of 65 here in Florida -- Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Lake County, Florida.

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CURNOW: Now the U.K. is adding a new coronavirus vaccine to its arsenal starting on Monday. The country will be ready to administer the first doses of the Oxford University AstraZeneca vaccine, as Phil Black reports -- Phil.

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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The British prime minister has a reputation for prematurely predicting an imminent return to normal life. His latest forecast:

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: April the 5th, Easter, we really are confident that things will be very, very much better.

BLACK (voice-over): During one of the darkest moments of the pandemic, Johnson and his government are telling the British people, it will be behind us by spring.

Could he be right this time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe. It's about logistics more than anything.

BLACK (voice-over): The government's optimism is fueled by this vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So I will need a scratch.

BLACK (voice-over): Developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, it's the most low-maintenance vaccine option so far because it doesn't need ultracold storage. And the British government got in early, speeding up the regulators' scrutiny and securing supply.

One hundred million doses are coming plus another 30 million doses of the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. Together, it's more than enough to protect every British adult.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.K. government has made a lot of mistakes in this outbreak. But the thing it's done really well has been the vaccine development.

BLACK (voice-over): Public health experts say the U.K. has another big advantage for pulling off the next phase of the plan, which involves getting the vaccine to around a third of the population, including everyone over 50 and everyone at greater risk due to an underlying condition.

LINDA BAULD, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH: We have a National Health Service that is funded through general taxation and is highly integrated in a way that is not the case in so many other countries.

BLACK: That's a structural institutional advantage that other countries don't have.

BAULD: That's correct. Many other countries, particularly larger, more complex countries, where health systems, for example, we have multiple partners, insurance companies or many more private providers, when you have a system like that, it's much more complex to deliver at scale and nationally batimo load (ph).

BLACK (voice-over): But nationalized health care hasn't prevented the U.K. from recording one of the highest numbers of deaths in the world.

BLACK: Britain's track record through the pandemic also shows that it does not guarantee success in handling a complex operations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, quite. Quite. I'm slightly more confident in their ability to do this than their ability to do this than other big parts of this pandemic simply because it's been that they have been pushing.

BLACK: So there are good reasons why the U.K. finds itself in a hopeful place. And we will see needles plunging into arms relatively quickly. [03:40:00]

BLACK: But to meet that Easter deadline and effectively end the threat of the pandemic in this country, that will take a medical logistics operation unlike anything seen here before -- Phil Black, CNN, London.

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CURNOW: Well, India has just formally approved emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines, the Oxford AstraZeneca one and Covaxin. Now the country has more than 10 million coronavirus cases, second only in case count to the U.S.

On Saturday, India conducted a national drill ahead of these mass vaccinations. Authorities are hoping to vaccinate 300 million people.

Now just more than a year ago, the world's focus zeroed in on the city of Wuhan, China, where this outbreak of a mysterious illness was spreading.

Well, a year later, there is still much, much we don't know about the coronavirus. But the people of Wuhan have persevered. This, after enduring months of sickness, lockdowns and the stigma of being the location where many believe the virus began.

Life in Wuhan is gradually returning to normal. No recorded cases of community transmission since May. As businesses also, though, are trying to rebound. And people are starting to enjoy mixing together again at social events. But questions remain, as the World Health Organization is setting up a visit to the city this month.

Why did the virus take hold and what if anything can be done to make sure it doesn't happen again?

Yuli Yang is a former resident of Wuhan and the founder of the Go Wuhan Campaign and she spoke to us earlier about how things are going for family and friends in Wuhan.

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YULI YANG, GO WUHAN CAMPAIGN: It is kind of hard to imagine but it's true, that life is basically back to normal now in Wuhan, with my friends and family and the rest of Wuhan.

People have been back to work for months now, kids are back to school, traffic is back on the streets. Obviously, in this new normal, we have masks, we have temperature checks everywhere, we have to scan QR codes for contact tracing purposes.

But there is this real sense of safety and normalcy in Wuhan. Of course, among family and friends, people still pay extremely close attention to any news that is virus related, especially domestic news. And if there is any important stories, people share those quickly through the social media, like WeChat apps, to their friends. There is especially close attention put on the elderly, wanting to

make sure they're nowhere close to any danger.

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CURNOW: Thanks to Yuli Yang there from Singapore.

So coming up, pop star Harry Styles is starting the new year with a new hit. Take a listen.

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CURNOW (voice-over): You must recognize a familiar face there, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Also Harry Styles coming up next on this video and the message behind it.

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CURNOW: Take a look at these images; a candlelight vigil has been held at the site of the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani one year ago today. Soleimani was the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. He was killed while traveling in a convoy in Baghdad.

U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden hopes to engage with Iran after he takes office but, as Arwa Damon now reports, there's a lot of unease about what could happen in the final days of the Trump administration.

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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are commemorations underway of Baghdad's airport road at the exact location where the U.S. strike hit the vehicle hit, carrying top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, killing him alongside a key Iraqi paramilitary leader.

Since then, tensions between the U.S. and Iran have only been escalating, with some U.S. officials saying the threat being posed by Iran is the most significant since Soleimani's killing.

And they're pointing to intelligence saying that Iran has been moving short-range ballistic missiles into Iraq.

But this is where it gets confusing. Other senior U.S. officials say that there is no actual evidence to corroborate this claim of a greater threat.

Either way, President Trump is not shying from warning Iran that, if one American is killed, he would be holding Iran responsible. There still continues to be, on a fairly regular basis, mortars and rockets that fall inside the heavily fortified green zone.

On December 21st, a number of them landing inside the U.S. embassy compound itself. All of this is leading to growing concerns across the region, that the situation could escalate even further, that President Trump could do something that would potentially be quite destabilizing and devastating, not just for the region's stability but specifically for the stability in Iraq.

This is a country that has, for a long time, emerged as a proxy battlefield between what's meant to be its ally, the United States, and its neighbor, Iran -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

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CURNOW: Thanks, Arwa, for that. Of course, we're monitoring that story.

You're watching CNN. We'll be right back.

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CURNOW: So the role of the geisha is an important part of Japanese culture, mystery and myths surround these legendary entertainers but somewhat less mysterious is the toll the pandemic has taken on one of Japan's most enduring symbols. Selina Wang now reports from Tokyo.

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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an iconic Japanese image, the geisha. During the pandemic, the centuries-old profession is struggling to survive. Koiku has been a geisha for a decade in Tokyo's Akasaka district.

During Japan's state of emergency in the spring, she had almost no work. She says business is still less than half of pre-pandemic levels.

KOIKU, GEISHA (through translator): The scariest part is that we don't know when this is going to end. If the situation continues for a long time, I do not know how long we can survive for.

WANG (voice-over): Geishas are hired as upscale entertainment for banquets, celebrations and events. Famous for their beauty and wit, they spent their lives perfecting traditional Japanese dance, music and arts. Daily preparation is also an art, applying white makeup, painting the

face, perfecting the wig, tying the elaborate kimono. This one cost more than $10,000. There are hours of dance rehearsals then nights entertaining clients, often ending work past 2 am. Dining with a geisha can cost thousands of dollars but COVID has slashed spending.

Gatherings have been canceled. Even before COVID, geishas were in decline, with an aging clientele. Eight-year-old Ikuko, a practicing geisha and head of the Akasaka Geisha Association, remembers working in the area 50 years ago, when there were 400 geishas. She says today there are just 21.

IKUKO, AKASAKA GEISHA ASSOCIATION (through translator): We are struggling for survival. What we can do is train constantly to be prepared to perform at any moment.

WANG (voice-over): COVID-19 precautions make intimate conversations difficult, holding fans in front of their faces when speaking, dancing at least 2 meters away from clients. Japan's daily COVID cases continue to reach record highs, as the government urges people to dine in small groups.

The owner of the 350-year-old restaurant where Ikuko and Koiku perform says another prolonged state of emergency will kill his business.

[03:55:00]

WANG (voice-over): Yet over in Tokyo's Fukugawa district, Sayuki, Japan's first Western geisha, is finding new ways to survive: banquets over Zoom.

SAYUKI, JAPAN'S FIRST WESTERN GEISHA: In many ways, we're doing a lot of new things that are a bit revolutionary in the geisha world.

WANG (voice-over): She's also trying to reach new customers like this 20-year-old college student. For about $100 per hour, people can invite a geisha for a casual conversation at a counter bar.

But Koiku and her colleagues are sticking to tradition for themselves and the craftsmen that make their kimonos, wigs, combs and instruments.

KOIKU (through translator): The banquets protect the jobs of Japanese craftsmen. Our role is to pass traditional culture to the next generation.

WANG (voice-over): As she waits for COVID-19 to pass, Koiku says all she can do now is practice and perfect her art -- Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.

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CURNOW: Well the new year has scarcely begun and pop star Harry Styles has already saved it with a stylish dance video from his new hit, which is aptly called, "Treat People with Kindness."

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CURNOW (voice-over): The former One Direction member plays a night club singer who invites actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge to dance with him. In glorious black and white, the old Hollywood style clip has racked up more than 9 million views so far on YouTube. Of course, the message, no doubt, treat people with kindness, also hitting home.

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CURNOW: So that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow. I will be back in just a moment, with more news.