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Record Day For COVID: 2,600 Deaths Wednesday; 450,000 American Deaths Projected By February; U.K. Expects To Begin Vaccinations Next Week; White House Sidesteps Questions On Barr, Pardons And Trump 2024; Civil Rights Lobby Demands Diversity In Biden Cabinet; E.U. Lawmaker: U.K.'s Rapid Vaccine Approval "Problematic"; Interview with BioNTech CEO; South Korea Holds College Entrance Exams Amid Pandemic; U.S. November Jobs Report to Be Release Friday; U.N. Chief Warns "Our Planet is Broken". Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 03, 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]
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: COVID-19 is surging in the U.S., setting a terrible new record.
But there could the light at the end of the tunnel, the U.K. could begin vaccinating people in just a matter of days.
Meanwhile, as Americans are dying from the virus, the U.S. president is talking about his election loss with new unproven claims of fraud.
I'm Robyn Curnow, this is CNN.
Thanks for joining me this hour. So the U.S. has broken the record for the most reported COVID deaths in a day. That's 2,600 on Wednesday.
And the head of the Centers for Disease Control says it'll only get worse.
Doctor Robert Redfield predicts the next three months will be the most difficult time in the public health history of the nation.
The number of Americans being treated in hospitals more than doubled in November, now standing at over 100,000 people currently hospitalized.
There is promising news though from the U.K. The government has approved the first vaccine which should roll out next week.
Here in the U.S., the approval is expected soon with the hope that most Americans who are at risk can be vaccinated by the spring.
We get more of today's headlines across the us now from Athena Jones. Athena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the United Kingdom becoming the first western country to greenlight a coronavirus vaccine, plans are already underway to distribute it in the U.S. once the FDA grants emergency use authorization.
GEN GUSTAVE PERNA, COO, OPERATION WARP SPEED: When EUA decision comes, distribution to the American people becomes immediate within 24 hours. That's our goal.
JONES: Federal officials expect 40 million doses to be available by the end of December with between five and 10 million doses becoming available each week for the first few months as vaccine makers ramp up production.
The first shipment said to be delivered December 15th for Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine and December 22nd for Moderna's.
A CDC advisory committee recommending health care workers and residents of long term care facilities be among the first to be inoculated.
Operation Warp Speed officials expect to vaccinate 20 million people in December, 30 million in January and 50 million in February.
DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: And end of February, we will have potentially immunized 100 million people which is really more or less the size of the significant at risk population.
JONES: But it will be months before most people get a shot and America is already in crisis.
The White House coronavirus task force warning --
"We are in a very dangerous place with the COVID risk to all Americans at a historic high."
The U.S. setting another record for hospitalizations which more than doubled in the month of November on Tuesday. The CDC director warning by February we could have 450,000 deaths.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION: The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times.
I actually believe they're going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation largely because of the stress that it's going to put on our health care system.
JONES: Oregon reported its highest single-day death toll so far, Texas set a record for new cases in one day.
And in Kentucky --
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): There's no way to sugarcoat it. Today is the very worst day that we have had for reporting on the spread of the coronavirus. And it is the deadliest day that we have had.
JONES: In California, where Los Angeles saw its worst day for new cases and hospitalizations, the governor is waiting the possibility of a statewide stay-at-home order as cases surge.
And with Christmas right around the corner and the terrible numbers we're seeing across the country, the CDC has the same message for the upcoming holidays that it did for Thanksgiving.
The best way for people to protect themselves and their loved ones is not to travel and to stay home.
JONES (On Camera): Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks, Athena, for that.
Well, joining me now is Dr. Murtaza Akhter, he's an emergency physician and assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix.
Doctor hi, good to see you.
More records being broken here in the U.S. Record number of people dying, record number of people in hospital, over 100,000 people. How are you managing in the hospital?
DR. MURTAZA AKHTER, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, VALLEYWISE HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER: Robyn, thanks for having me back. Yes, it's just unfortunately getting worse.
When I was in Arizona for the summer and we had our surge then we were hoping that once things got better they would stay better.
And I reckon that was optimistic thinking, especially with the winter coming.
[01:05:00]
But really when the whole nation gets hit, every state gets hit and that includes Pennsylvania where I've been working recently, Arizona where I usually am. Very hard to get beds in the hospital and particularly in the ICU and remember, those are the sickest patients.
It's like Groundhog's Day, we're right back to where we started. It's really unfortunate.
CURNOW: Yes. How are you coping with the knowledge that health authorities are warning the next three months are going to be the worst ever, that there are estimated to be 450,000 Americans dead by February.
Just planning ahead for that when you know the numbers are coming, how do you do that? AKHTER: Yes, in the hospital setting you do as much as you can to be
able to isolate the COVID patients from the non-COVID ones. You try to create as many beds as possible in COVID units.
And in a lot of places, as you know, elective surgeries have been canceled. So you do everything you can to try to create the bed space and the staff space because remember, you still need nurses and respiratory technicians, et cetera, in additions to doctors and cleaners and everything.
And so you do everything you can. But remember, all this has a downstream effect.
And so even if somebody doesn't have COVID, anybody who has any condition whatsoever -- if you get in a car accident while you're driving, people have heart attacks. All of them are dramatically affected by the limited capacity we have in the hospitals throughout the country.
CURNOW: You talk about plans for staff and hopefully arrangements for more beds. But what's the emotional impact of knowing that you're going to be hit over and over and over again in the hospital over the next few weeks, the next few months?
AKHTER: Yes. Part of it is you try to tell yourself this is what you signed up for when you went to medical school or nursing school and went through residency. This is kind of what you signed up.
But we never expected -- I don't think any of us expected a pandemic that would last this long and take this much of a toll on both the patients as well as on us.
And so it really fatigues people. You're in a hospital, you're working, you're working, you're working. And then you go home and you see images of people partying or politicians having mandates that basically say you're not allowed to have masks which is the exact opposite of what they should be doing.
And it really -- as I've said before, sometimes it really feels futile.
You're doing everything you can to help patients and in so many instances it feels like people are just trying to just basically shoot you in the foot.
It's very frustrating, it can be demoralizing, it can be depressing. As you can imagine, it takes a toll on all of us.
CURNOW: What are the patients saying to you particularly the ones who perhaps thought nah, I'm not going to wear a mask, I don't believe all of that stuff. What do they say to you when they find themselves in hospital?
AKHTER: Yes. Boy, I think they feel too ashamed to even mention that they were anti-maskers when they come in sick. And what's really ironic is that some of them once they're in a room
take off their masks, maybe because they've been in the ambulance so long or in the waiting room so long that by the time they get in the room they feel like they've some open space.
But usually when I walk in, they're very considerate and put the masks back on.
We try not to be judgmental in the emergency department or in hospitals in general. So we don't go around probing being like were you wearing a mask or were you not, we deal with the patient at hand.
But there have been plenty of stories both that I've seen and that you've seen of people who say oh wow, this is way worse than I thought.
And I don't know why people have been hearing this for nine months now and there are still people out there who thinks it's just a cold. It clearly isn't. There isn't a global conspiracy to create an event that hasn't occurred, obviously it's there.
But it's still amazing to me that people still think that there is no COVID or that mask don't work, it's shocking. I don't know why the most educated country in the world at one point has come to this state.
Dr. Murtaza Akhter there. Thank you very much for joining us, it's always good to get your perspective.
Good luck with the rest of the next few weeks, hopefully we can chat again. All the best to you and your team.
AKHTER: OK. Thanks, Robyn. Stay safe.
CURNOW: Thank you. You too.
So meanwhile, the U.K. is expected to start vaccinating nursing home residents and their caregivers as soon as next week.
Max Foster has the details from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Huge excitement here in Downing Street, across the political and national landscape as news came in that the Pfizer vaccine had had actually been approved much more quickly than anyone expected.
Off the back of that, the government accepted that approval and is now putting a plan into place for mass inoculations across the United Kingdom as 800,000 doses of this vaccine come from the Pfizer factory in Belgium into the U.K. through the National Health Service and into peoples' arms.
Top of the list to receive this vaccination will be people living and working care homes then it will be frontline health and social workers and people over the age of 80.
Then eventually over the coming months, everyone will potentially be offered this vaccine. But that could be six months away for a national vaccination program.
[01:10:00]
So Boris Johnson going out of his way to encourage people to stick to the tier system, as he's calling it here in the U.K., regional lockdowns effectively.
Different rules in each part of the United Kingdom to try to keep people safe. They should continue wearing masks, they should continue keeping their distance.
He's very concerned that people could get over excited about this news and relax as a result.
Also, the deputy chief medical officer coming out today and telling people that they should take this vaccine if they're offered it. It'll only work if they take it, he was saying.
Which sounds obvious but there is some concern that people will be waiting to take the vaccine once they've been offered it allowing other people to go first. And that will be a problem for the overall program.
A big project ahead, the world will be watching. Also health authorities in other countries look at the U.K. thinking actually we need to hurry up, get our vaccination program going to. But also, they have to get it right.
FOSTER (On Camera): Max Foster, CNN. Downing Street, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks, Max, for that. So we have an exclusive interview to show you for one of the people responsible for this ground-breaking coronavirus vaccine that Max was talking about.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UGUR SAHIN, CEO, BIONTECH: We believe that it is really the start of the end of the pandemic.
CURNOW: The vaccine he worked on is now approved in the U.K. More from BioNTech CEO, that is just ahead.
And then also, the U.S. attorney general's exit from the justice department may come early. Coming up, President Trump's response to Bill Barr's comments about the election.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back, I'm Robyn Curnow.
So U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr's days on the job could be numbered. The "Washington Post" reports President Trump is livid with Barr and is considering firing him.
On Tuesday, Barr said there was no fraud on a scale that could change the results the election. Officials are discouraging the president from firing Barr so close to the end of his term.
As Jim Acosta now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Steering clear of reporters but surfacing at White House holiday parties, the president may have found a new official to put on the naughty list, Attorney General William Barr.
As Mr. Trump appeared to be ignoring his own justice department's assessment that there was no widespread fraud in the election.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I called it a rigged election--
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes!
TRUMP: -- and I always will.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yay!
ACOSTA: Asked about Barr's comments pushing back on Mr. Trump's false conspiracy theories about a rigged election, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnaney stopped short of saying the president still has confidence in the attorney general.
KAYLEIGH MCENANEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY:. The president, if he has any personnel announcements, you'll be the first to know it.
McEnaney suggested that Barr didn't have all the facts before referring the matter to the Trump Campaign. Yes, the same campaign she's represented as an adviser on conservative media.
MCENANEY: The attorney general was speaking to what has come before his desk. And again, I point you to the campaign for specific questions on this.
[01:15:00]
ACOSTA: That was hardly the only dodge of the day. On reports from CNN and other news outlets that the president and his advisers have discussed pardons for members of the first family, close associates like Rudy Giuliani and Mr. Trump himself, McEnaney sidestepped that matter as well.
MCENANEY: I've heard no mention of any pardons in any conversations I've had in the White House.
ACOSTA: Democrats say it's time for GOP leaders to stand up to the president.
CHUCK SCHUMER, U.S. SENATE MINORITY LEADER: No, Mr. President, that would be a gross abuse of the presidential pardon authority.
But I have a more important question. Just how long are our Republican colleagues going to indulge the president in this nonsense?
ACOSTA: As for the justice department's recently disclosed investigation into a president pardon bribery scheme, Mr. Trump tweeted that the probe is -- "fake news".
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Has anybody at the White House been questioned by federal law enforcement officials regarding potential bribes for a pardon?
MCENANEY: No. In fact, a DOJ official said yesterday that no government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation.
White House officials also declined to explicitly condemn recent threats against election officials in Georgia who contradicted Mr. Trump's bogus claims.
GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA VOTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER: Someone's going to get hurt, someone's going to get shot, someone's going to get killed. And it's not right.
When they called for us to resign and the senator -- sorry, the president called Brad Raffensperger who is a fine, upstanding lifelong Republican an "enemy of the people," that helped open the floodgates to this kind of crap.
ACOSTA: McEnaney's response to that --
MCENANEY: We condemn any threats against anyone, there's no place for violence.
ACOSTA: The White House was also asked about the possibility that the president could announce he's running in 2024 around Joe Biden's inauguration. An idea discussed by some Trump advisers.
Mr. Trump hinted at that to party goers.
TRUMP: It's been an amazing four years, we're trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I'll see you in four years.
CROWD: (Applause)
ACOSTA: McEnaney said she's out of the loop on that subject too.
MCENANEY: I've not heard any discussions of that.
ACOSTA (On Camera): A close source to the White House says the public should expect a quote, "flurry of pardons" as Mr. Trump nears the end of his time in office.
The source also said some of the president's advisors believe it would be perfectly fine for Mr. Trump to pardon his own family members pre- emptively even though they haven't been charged with any crimes.
Jim Acosta. CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, for more on all of this, let's go to CNN's senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. Ron is good in Los Angeles. Ron, lovely to see you.
So the president is ranting untruths about the election and wants to blame his A.G., why is this administration or this president not yet accepting reality?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SNR. POLITICAL ANALYST: He has defied reality throughout his political career. He has found that it works for him with his audience to ignore the facts and create his alternative facts.
And even in this case 75 or 80 percent of Republicans are saying they believe the election was stolen or fraudulently won by Biden even though essentially every court in the country has laughed out of the courtroom the evidence produced or the claims asserted by the Trump campaign.
And I continue to believe like from day one, a critical element in all of this is that so few other Republicans, other voices, that would matter to his coalition, have had kind of the courage to step forward and really to say the sky is blue, gravity exists, you lost the election, there was not massive fraud.
And that in many ways is what's allowing these poisonous and corrosive fantasies to take root.
CURNOW: Let's talk about the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump. She's facing legal questions or has faced legal questions. How serious is this development in relation to inauguration funds?
BROWNSTEIN: I don't think we know exactly and particularly what her potential exposure would be. But it goes into this broader question of how far the president abuse the pardon power in his final weeks?
We saw the CDC head, as you probably reported in the last hour or so, say that the coming months could be the most difficult for public health in American history. It's possible these coming months may be the most difficult for the health of democracy in American history.
You kind of think that the trajectory that the president has been on from extorting the government of Ukraine to weaponizing the postal service to trying to tilt and distort the census bureau to his intervention in criminal cases involving Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, there really no way to have a sense of what the outer boundaries are on what he might try to do in these coming weeks. And the one thing we know, is that, again, there is no barrier there
from Republicans in congress to continue to be silent as he spins these fantasies.
And also as he walks away from the country with the coronavirus surging to almost unimaginable levels.
CURNOW: And we are hearing about this flurry of potential preemptive pardons --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
CURNOW: -- for the Trump family and possibly even the president himself.
[01:20:00]
Is that even constitutionally possible to pre-pardon someone or oneself? Isn't that also then admitting that you've done something wrong --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
CURNOW: -- or criminal, if that's what you're pre-pardoning? It just seems -- is it possible?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you probably have legal experts who are more kind of attuned to the details of the law.
CURNOW: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: I believe his pardon power is very broad for others, the big question will be whether he can pardon himself.
And if he does pardon himself, what exactly is he saying about his own potential culpability? He will certainly spin it if he does so as he is simply defending himself against the depredations of Blue America that are out to silence you, my supporters, by going after me.
And look, if you think about the totality of what you have been talking about in this broadcast -- we're talking about incompetence on the coronavirus, corruption on the inauguration and on many other fronts, the chaos of potentially more firings in the final weeks and disdain for the rule of law.
And yet for all of that, there is something like 45, 46 percent of America that is OK, essentially, with this package. Particularly with all of the disdain for the rule of law that we have seen.
And that idea is bringing American politics into a stage and an ear that we have not seen before.
This coming decade I think is going to see challenges to our fundamental institutions in a way that we have not previously experienced, maybe not since the 1860s.
CURNOW: OK, Ron. Always good to get your analysis and your expertise. Thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
CURNOW: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has invited hundreds of guests to the state department for holiday parties. That's in spite of health experts warning to avoid large gatherings as the coronavirus surges.
Two state department officials say invitations for one event went to 900 people, 180 foreign ambassadors in the U.S. are invited to another.
A department spokesperson said guests will be required to wear masks and socially distance. But career officials are enraged because staffers feel they can't say no to working in these events.
Meanwhile President Elect Joe Biden gave small business owners and workers hit by the pandemic some encouragement during a virtual roundtable on Wednesday.
M.J. Lee breaks down his busy schedule in the lead up to the inauguration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We do have a lot of concerns Mr. Biden. It's been rough.
M.J. LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Elect Joe Biden staying laser focused on the economy meeting virtually with small business owners struggling amid the recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know you're all experiencing the effect of one great problem and that is the economic downturn in large part because of COVID and the failure of some of our friends in congress to move forward on the kind of economic package --
LEE: This as the former vice president confronts lobbying from multiple directions. Civil rights and advocacy groups as well as elected officials publicly calling on Biden to appoint more people of color to high-profile cabinet positions.
The NAACP has asked for a meeting with Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris vice president to discuss this and other issues important to underrepresented communities.
DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT & CEO, NAACP (Voice Over, Captioned): "There have been several meetings with other constituency groups, they have not been in a meeting with the civil rights community.
We don't want the clock to run out before there's a discussion or all decisions are made."
LEE: Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus writing to the transition team pushing Biden to choose New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham as his health and human secretary and ensure that Latinos are more fairly represented in our nation's government.
Sources telling CNN, Lujan Grisham is currently a leading contender for that job. Also under consideration, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo who has been interviewed for the role, a source tells CNN.
Biden on Tuesday touting the diversity of his economic team.
BIDEN: Janet will be the first woman to hold this office and now Wally will be the first African American ever to hold this post.
LEE: Forty-nine days out from his inauguration, Biden yet to announce other top cabinet positions including CIA director and secretary of defense.
BIDEN: We're just doing a piece at a time here.
LEE: And just one more sign of the flurry of lobbying that we've been seeing. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus also writing to Joe Biden asking that he appoint either Xavier Becerra or Tom Perez for the role of attorney general.
And also the head of the NAACP telling CNN that it's less about these individual appointments and more about making sure that civil rights issues and issues that are important to these minority communities be adequately represented in the Biden Administration.
LEE (On Camera): M.J. Lee, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: And then on Friday, our jJake Tapper sits down with U.S. President Elect Joe Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris. It's their first joint interview since they won the White House.
See it on Friday at 10:00 in the morning if you're in Hong Kong, 7:00 in the morning if you're in London. Only here on CNN.
[01:25:00]
And former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn in as a U.S. senator for the state of Arizona on Wednesday.
He unseated his Republican predecessor in a special election, meaning Arizona will be represented in the upper chamber by two Democrats for the first time in 70 years.
Kelly will serve out the remaining two years of the late senator John McCain's term and he and his wife, former House representative, Gabby Giffords, visited McCain's grave in Annapolis on Tuesday to pay their respects before the ceremony.
And then former president Barack Obama is warning young activists to stop using the phrase "Defund the Police." Mr. Obama has been a vocal supporter of protestors after George Floyd died when he was pinned to the ground by an officer. But in an interview on Snapchat the former president said the slogan
backfired and other carefully considered slogans should attract more supporters.
BARACK OBAMA, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've got to be able to meet people where they are. You can use a snappy slogan like "Defund the Police but you know you've lost a big audience the minute you say it.
If you instead say let's reform the police department so that everybody's being treated fairly suddenly a whole bunch of folks who might not otherwise listen to you are listening to you.
CURNOW: Well, Barack Obama is joining with other former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton volunteering to get their COVID vaccines on camera. They hope it will help convince people the vaccine is safe.
A recent poll found 58 percent of Americans said they would get vaccinated if there was an FDA-approved vaccine available right now at no cost. That's up 50 percent from 50 percent in mid-September.
And Pfizer BioNTech's revolutionary coronavirus vaccine has now been approved in the U.K. but people need to get vaccinated for it to do any good.
SAHIN: If everything goes well, I expect that the first people will get the first vaccinations beginning next week.
CURNOW: Our exclusive interview with BioNTech's CEO, that is next.
And then also a new report predicts a global climate catastrophe isn't far away if immediate action isn't taken. Experts say humanity won't win its war on nature.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:29:51]
CURNOW: Welcome back to all of our viewers joining us from all around the world.
I'm Robyn Curnow. And you are watching CNN.
So the U.K. has approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for public use and vaccines there could start as early as next week. But some have doubts about just how fast the U.K. has approved this.
Peter Liese is an E.U. lawmaker and physician and he's calling the U.K.'s decision to authorize as quote "hasty and problematic" and doesn't think other European countries should follow suit.
Meanwhile, Germany's health minister says his country is going for a longer approval process to create confidence and trust.
And the European Medicines Agency is supposed to publish its findings on the Pfizer-BioNTech by December 29.
Meanwhile, Moderna says delivery of its vaccine in the E.U. could start in the first quarter of next year if it is approved.
Well BioNTech CEO spoke with Fred Pleitgen about the big vaccine used in the U.K. and what it means for the coming year.
Here's that exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UGUR SAHIN, CEO, BIONTECH: This is really, of course, very important milestone so it will be the first time that people outside of clinical trials will get access to our vaccine.
And we believe that it is really the start of the end of the pandemic if we can ensure now a (INAUDIBLE) out of our vaccine.
Of course it's the first country to enable an authorization and others will probably follow. But it is a good start.
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How fast are things going to go out now from this approval to people actually getting the vaccine first in the U.K. and of course, also in other places as well.
SAHIN: Yes. So we are at the moment in the process of preparing additional documents and dealing with logistics. So if everything goes well, I expect that first people could get the first vaccinations beginning next week.
PLEITGEN: Beginning next week in the U.K. at the same time, you also -- you believe it -- everyone believes very close to getting approval emergency use authorization from the FDA. When do you think that is going to be the case? How soon do you think that's going to happen.
SAHIN: Yes. so we are in close interaction with the FDA, and addressing their questions, providing additional data.
The next important meeting will be on December 10. THE VRBPAC meeting and after the VRBPAC meeting, depending on the outcome of this meeting, they could be really and so it could happen that the days after the VRBPAC meeting, we might get the authorization and if we get the authorization, we would be able to start delivery of the vaccine very fast.
PLEITGEN: How fast is very fast? Because a lot of people in America, of course, also are asking, how soon will they be able to get the vaccine? How much have you already produced for instance?
SAHIN: So we have already produced a lot of doses in the last week. These doses -- these vaccine doses are now going to be released, with certificates as quality -- certificates we already mentioned that we will deliver, after 50 million doses to the different regions in 2020 so that means a significant proportion of this doses would also go to the United States of course, it is pandemic -- will also go to United States. Of course it depends on when we would be able to start the whole out.
So technically, we are prepared to start the rollout. It depends of course, on the right (INAUDIBLE)
PLEITGEN: One of the things that we've been hearing over the past couple of weeks is the logistics specifically of your vaccine. Having to be stored at around minus 100 Fahrenheit.
There are some have called that a logistical nightmare. How do you plan to mitigate that in the future?
SAHIN: Yes. So this is the early phase of pandemic supply, and of course, the early face of pandemic supply, is a logistical challenge for all of us.
It's not only the storage and transportation of the vaccine but also really getting the people to transportation of the vaccine, but also getting the people to the right places of the right time.
And ensuring that they can come back for the second vaccination.
PLEITGEN: We are in the moment, working in analyzing either transportation temperatures, including minus 20.
We are evaluating whether the vaccine is stable to two to eight debris for a longtime time. And what we also do is they are working And we are working already on a second generation of formulation which could -- which might allow us even transportation at room temperature.
We will see that this if -- just about full cast (ph).
PLEIGTEN: When would that second generation be available?
SAHIN: So first of all what is important is that in the next few months we will get additional data supporting us the transportation of the vaccine at for example at minus 20. So that is the first change.
The second generation will be available most likely in the second part of 2021.
PLEITGEN: When -- and this is the final question -- when do you think that this will all have such an effect that we will begin to see the end of the pandemic and life will be going back to normal?
[01:34:48]
SAHIN: It is important so every individual who receives the vaccine will most likely have a benefit. We have demonstrated for our vaccine, 95 percent protection from disease. And so it will be benefit for everyone getting this vaccine, including those who are at risk to have a severe disease.
To ensure that we are able to stop this pandemic, we need to reach a high vaccination rate. And experts give different numbers, 60 to 70 percent is a number proportion of people having an immune response with quick and able stopping of the vaccine. And I believe -- I personally believe, there is a number of companies
now reaching the approval in the next few months. We might be able to deliver sufficient number of doses, until end of summer 2021. To reach 60 to 70 percent coverage, which could give us the relief to have a normal (INAUDIBLE) in 2021.
PLEITGEN: Ugur Sahin, thank you very much for speaking with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: To get you answers to questions about COVID, join Anderson and Sanjay for a new "CORONAVIRUS TOWN HALL: THE VACCINES". That's Friday at 9:00 in the evening on the U.S. East Coast. 6:00 a.m. Sunday, if you are in Abu Dhabi. 10 in the morning in Hong Kong if you are there. Right here on CNN.
So even a deadly virus is not stopping South Korea from going ahead with college entrance exams. Right now around half a million students are taking a grueling almost eight-hour test. But authorities say they have taken precautions to ensure the exams are being held safely.
And Paula Hancocks is monitoring that live from Seoul for us. Paula hi, what can you tell us. That is a long exam. Wow.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is.
I have to say, it sounds pretty brutal Robyn. I mean in this school ground for 9 hours, they have a break for lunch but of course they have to bring their own lunch.
Because of the pandemic, they have to sit at their desk eating their own lunch because they have the plastic dividers between each other. They are socially distanced, they're wearing masks the entire time. They're using hand sanitizer, and they're having they're having temperature checks.
So this is an example exam like any other. But it is a pretty long exam. They have a number of different topics, different exams to take within that. And it is an incredibly important college entrance exam in this country. It is taken extremely seriously.
All businesses, and even the stock market opens an hour later on this day, every year in more regular years. To make sure that students are not stuck in rush hour traffic. The transportation has increased, at the time that they will be coming into the exam.
And even flights are suspended, for a certain period of the exam when there is an English listening test, to make sure that the jet overhead does not jeopardize anyone's chances. So this is taken extremely seriously.
Of course this year, it is taken even more seriously for different reasons. Now the education minister I spoke to last week and she said she was comforted that told authorities have put in place should suffice to stop any kind of spread. But she said, she's also nervous every day that something could come of this. Also pointing out the psychological burden that many of these students have as well.
And it's also those who have tested positive for the virus, who will be taking this test today. 35 are taking it in isolation in hospital, they will be moderated by someone wearing full PPE.
And then after they finished the test, those test papers will be put into a plastic sleeve, and stored for several days to make sure that there is no remnants of the virus on the paper when it is then marked.
So this is all being thought through extremely carefully; those in quarantine, more than 400 of them will have a similar situation as well.
But there are still significant concerns. 540 new cases for the past 24 hours, that is higher than we have seen it in recent months. So there is that concern, and there's also a petition with 6000 signatures on it, to ask for this test to be pushed back a couple of weeks, saying that it was too much of a risk for the students.
In fact they called it quote, "like throwing students into a pit of fire". Questioning whether schooling was more important, or the health of children?
Now clearly there are some who are concerned this is going ahead. It is a case of wait and see time will tell whether or not the risk was worth taking and whether or not there will be some kind of outbreak from this.
But the government has gone fully ahead, they are confident they say that they can pull this off. They've already that said they've done an election why not an exam, Robyn.
CURNOW: Ok. Thanks for that. Paula Hancocks in Seoul. Good to see you. Thanks.
So you're watching CNN.
Still to come, state of the planet is broken, the U.N. Secretary General doesn't mince words and chastises the world for not addressing the climate crisis.
That's next.
[01:39:54]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.
So despite positive news on the coronavirus vaccine, the U.S. job market is still looking pretty, pretty bleak. A new report shows job growth slowed down in November. And there's still no sign, of course, of COVID relief from Washington. Well John Defterios is live in Abu Dhabi and he's looking at all of this for us. So hi, John, lovely to see you. Is this closely-watched jobs report for the private sector, really illustrating firsthand that impact the pandemic is having on hiring?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes I think the job machine in a word is sputtering Robyn, because we had this burst of activity taking place over the summer months and even in October.
But this latest report from ADP showed private sector, this is the private sector job creation at 307,000. That was down a quarter from expectations and that's a lot when it comes to the job market.
The other thing that was worrying about this report is that you can look across multiple sectors and see weakness, but you and I have talked about tourism and hospitality because travel is so low compared to this time last year. It's not too surprising.
So let's look at that dynamics here. What happens on Main Street could filter into Wall Street. The markets are pretty stable right now because of the vaccine progress so far. But there is pressure being applied to Congress to get a stimulus package done.
Let's listen to the Federal Reserve Board chairman, Jerome Powell who was on Capitol Hill yesterday saying, this is not the time to pull back as the vaccine starts to develop which is premature to not do something. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: The risk of over doing it is less than the risk of under doing it, that is the record of pandemics and crises.
We've come a long way. The Cares Act did a tremendous amount of good. We can see what maybe the light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines. And I just would want us -- we at the Fed will keep at it until we're really done. And I think that some fiscal support now would really help move the economy along as well, at least to guard against those downside risk we've been talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: I've covered the Federal Reserve for the better part of 30 years, Robyn. That was very blunt language from essential from the Central Bank suggesting that we need to act a good part -- there was a bipartisan proposal that came out Tuesday. Over a $900 billion.
I'm not getting a lot of support from the Senate Republican leadership, Mitch McConnell. He is set on having a half of trillion dollars as part of a wider spending package and most including the Federal Reserve right now and the Treasury Secretary appointee say saying that it's just not enough with the job losses we're seeing.
CURNOW: Mind then, you know, we have the U.S. unemployment report coming out on Friday. I men is the jobless rate expected to remain stubbornly high here?
DEFTERIOS: Well, it is stubbornly high right now but if you compare it to the spring time, right, It's been a vast improvement, because we had an unemployment rate of better than 14 percent back in April.
[01:44:57]
DEFTERIOS: But we're just hovering below 7 percent and that is two times the level we saw in February. It's a lot of numbers I'm talking about here where we know bottom line is, Robyn, 10 million people more are out of work than they were in February.
That's why we're watching this report coming out today. It's the jobless claims, those filing for benefits again who can't find work, and we're looking at what 775,000 here. That is two times or more the average run rate for this report.
So again people are suffering. And we're going to get the big unemployment report that's going to show the numbers in November. That's going to come on Friday. And there's a worry that the job creation is the lowest level in May.
So you get the point why we need a stimulus package, why people are worried about the second wave and that time in between, when we get the vaccines to tackle the pandemic. This is a critical window.
CURNOW: Ok, thanks for that. John Defterios there in Abu Dhabi, thank you.
So this just in to CNN, the U.S. is reporting a new record high number of COVID deaths. Johns Hopkins University reported 3,157 people died on Wednesday. That's a grim increase from the previous one day high from April 15th when twenty-six hundred people were reported dead.
We'll continue to report on that story and bring you any new latest numbers.
Now, two new reports (INAUDIBLE) what could be the devastating impact of climate change around the world. One study is from the World Meteorological Organization and the other from the U.N. Environment program.
In a scathing speech on Wednesday, the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the studies show the planet is close to a quote "climate catastrophe".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: "The state of the planet is broken. Dear friends, and it is already doing so with growing thoughts and fury.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Guterres explained what needs to be done to tackle the crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUTERRES: We face city (ph) imperatives in addressing the climate crisis. First, we need to achieve global carbon neutrality within the next three decades. Second we have to align global finance between the Paris agreements, the world's blueprints for climate action. And third, we must deliver a breakthrough on adaptation to protect the world and especially the most vulnerable people and countries, from climate impacts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Bill Weir joins me now. He's CNN's chief climate correspondent. Bill hi. Great to see you.
So what's your take on these comments coming from the U.N. chief?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's speaking the truth. It would be suicide to stay on the current course and without the U.S. involvement, the biggest, most powerful economy in the world right now, it would be impossible really to meet these goals.
So he's speaking sort common sense these days. And only in America is this still a political debate.
And it's just a practical imperative. It's a moral imperative as well. There's something called the Climate Reference Equity Project where they looked at the historical damage done over the years and the ability to pay by countries.
They estimated that the United States given our huge footprint historically, would have to reduce emissions by 2,030 195 percent below 2005 emissions levels.
And that's impossible to do just in the United States, that would mean about if they went all in on a green new deal here, and electrified everything immediately. That would only cover about 70 percent of it.
So the other hundred and 25 percent reduction , would have to come in foreign aid.
CURNOW: So it is certainly alarming, the warning is certainly a lot to do but there is also I suppose light at the end of the tunnel. The fact that the Biden administration simply needs to acknowledge this, that there is climate change happening.
And how imperative then is it to resign up to the Paris agreement?
WEIR: Yes it is one of the key promises of the Biden campaign, and a no-brainer, to believe in science again at such a pivotal time in history.
But if you have children, you know there's a big difference between joining and doing and the promises, the pledges are one thing, and enacting them, you know, without maybe the senate behind him is something else entirely. One big test for this Biden administration is something called the green climate fund, in which it gives developing countries money to bring up their economies.
President Obama promised $3 billion to this one, President Trump held back $2 billion of that. and about 130 countries have already agreed to ramp up their targets, to come in even stronger next year in Glasgow for the next round in Paris. And so the whole world is watching to see if Biden makes good on Obama's pledge and then takes it to the next level with ambition.
[01:50:07]
NEWTON: Obviously we've all been focused justifiably so on the pandemic that has ravaged the world the last year. But at the same time, these extremely disturbing effects have been taking place in terms of climate change in Brazil, under the Bolsonaro government.
How devastating is what's been taking place and how much do we even know about what is taking place?
WEIR: Well that's a great question. It is believably catastrophic what's happening down there under his administration. He has basically indicated to every farmer, every logger, every rancher to slash and burn at will, the cost to the environment be damned.
And it's not just the Amazon which is the air conditioner of the planet, it is also the Pantanal (ph) which is the largest tropical wetland in the world a quarter of which burned this year. That just doesn't make sense, it seems oxymoronic that a wetland is burning. But that is a hotter drier planet and these some are natural fires and some again or the result of development.
But by some estimates, if Bolsonaro has his way, his policies that would add another China to the global carbon footprint. And if the Amazon, you know, even a big percentage of it turns to deserts, everybody suffers around the world.
NEWTON: So you mentioned China, where does China fit into this?
WEIR: China is interesting. They give a lot of scientists hope because about three months ago, President Xi came out and says they are going to hit peak emissions by the end of this decade by, 2030 and then begin to wrap it down to zero emissions by 2060. And then Japan and South Korea fell in line behind that and South Africa and Australia also joined in.
And so with the United States that's 50 percent of the biggest sort of heat-trapping polluters around the planet.
So if they can make good on these pledges, and actually enact these things, that means we probably avoid going off the cliff to 3, 4, 5 degrees Celsius above pre industrial levels which would just be hell on earth.
But again, these are just words so far. Humanity is burning 80 percent more coal now than 20 years ago. wind and solar is much cheaper, but it's not replacing the dirty fuels it's just adding capacity, and for example bitcoin minting eats up all of that green energy.
So far the promises are in place, now it's time for action.
NEWTON: It certainly is. And it might even just be too late but we can do all we can.
Bill Weir, thank you very much for joining us there. Good to see you.
WEIR: Good to see you, Robyn.
NEWTON: France and the E.U. are honoring the legacy of former French president, Valery (INAUDIBLE) D'Saing. he passed away on Wednesday. We'll know how he brought and the rest of the continent into the modern era. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:54:54]
CURNOW: Former French president Valery Giscard D'Estaing died on Wednesday at his family home in France. His foundation wrote on Twitter that his state of health has worsened and that he died because of COVID.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: One of the architects of European and a World War II resistance fighter, France's former president Valery Giscard D'Estaing passed away Wednesday and he said, how doe he confirm. his family told AFP he died from COVID 19
CURNOW: He took office in 1974 and said it marked a new era from French politics, promising quote, rejuvenation and change for his country; 11 resistance fighter. Ain his seven years ass president, he over throw reforms like legalized abortion and divorce by mutual consent.
Prior to taking office, he twice served as the country's finance minister and was one of the founders of the E.U. charter and the European monetary system that led to the single euro currency.
Though he proposed the article that allowed Brexit, he made clear his aversion to it. Saying it would hurt Europe and the U.K.
VALERY GISCARD D'ESTAING (through translator): I am not in favor of it because I think such an exit and its decision which the United Kingdom has a right to make, will hurt Europe and the United Kingdom too.
NEWTON: At 18 years old, D'Estaing was part of the liberation of Paris in 1944 from German forces. Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy posted a tribute to him on Twitter, calling him a man who has brought honor to France and modernized political life.
Sarkozy said D'Estaing had worked all of his life to strengthen ties among European nations.
D'Estaing was 94 years old.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: And then finally, the first man to appear as Darth Vader in Star Wars is being remembered in his birthplace in the U.K. in a pretty unusual way. Someone placed what looks like a large action figure of the sci-fi villain on an empty pedestal.
In Bristol England. the English Actor David Kraus for the suit in the original star wars trilogy, but James Earl Jones of course supplied the voice. He Powell died last week at the age of 85:
Well, I'm Robyn Curnow, thanks so much for joining me. I will be back after this short break. Join me for that.
[01:58:14]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: A grim reality, the U.S. is a mind boggling 3,000 feat deaths from coronavirus in just a single day., A grim reality, the U.S. passes a mind-boggling 3,000 deaths in just a single day.
