Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Moderna Waiting for FDA's Approval; U.S. Faces Another Grim Milestone for Cases, Hospitalizations and Deaths; Congress Reports Progress on COVID Relief Deal; U.S. Lawmakers Call for Answers on Navalny Poisoning; South Korea Struggles with Transmission Tracing; Tropical Cyclone Yasa Makes Landfall on Fiji; China's Lunar Probe Returns to Earth with Moon Samples. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired December 17, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST (voice-over): A trio of all-time COVID highs in the U.S., the number of deaths, cases and hospitalizations break new records but a second vaccine may be just days away.

Plus, South Korea reported its deadliest day since the pandemic began and contact tracers are now struggling to contain a third wave.

After a historic first China's Chang'e unit probe successfully returns loaded with moon rocks.

That's all ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Hello, I'm Kim Brunhuber and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin with the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, as the U.S. stands on the verge of having two working vaccines. There is still a long way to go before things start to turn around.

Once again, on Wednesday, the U.S. set new daily records for cases, hospitalizations and deaths. But there is more hope on the way. Top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the Food and Drug Administration could greenlight Moderna's coronavirus vaccine as soon as Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Pan American Health Organization says the Americas account for almost half of all infections and fatalities worldwide, with nearly 31 million cases and 787,000 deaths.

And despite good news on the vaccine front, the World Health Organization's division in the Western Pacific warns, vaccines will not stop the virus. CNN's Sara Murray has more on the vaccine approval efforts in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the pandemic refuses to relent across the country, optimism is growing a second coronavirus vaccine could soon be on the way.

The Food and Drug Administration's independent advisory committee meeting to assess Moderna's vaccine.

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASST. SECRETARY OF HEALTH, U.S. DEPT. OF HEALTH and HUMAN SERVICES: We're looking at about a 95 percent efficacy on this vaccine, 100 percent at preventing severe illness.

MURRAY (voice-over): If the FDA authorizes Moderna's vaccine, nearly 6 million doses can begin shipping out soon after.

Because Moderna's vaccine doesn't require the same ultra-cold storage as Pfizer's, it's slated for broader delivery to more than 3,000 sites nationwide, including more rural areas and long-term care facilities.

But it will still be months before the vaccine is available to most of the public.

GIROIR: Right now, we're really immunizing for impact. We're immunizing only a few million people to start, our most vulnerable.

MURRAY (voice-over): Officials say they don't yet know how many people have been vaccinated nationwide.

ALEX AZAR, U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: I can't tell you at this precise moment how many have gotten it. We're just, of course, two days into the vaccination program.

MURRAY (voice-over): Today, the first nursing homes are receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's let her rip.

MURRAY (voice-over): All this while the outbreak worsens.

In New York, hospitals are going into crisis management mode, as officials warn shutdowns could be ahead.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Is a close-down possible in January?

Yes.

MURRAY (voice-over): California activated its mass fatality plan, purchasing 5,000 additional body bags and deploying refrigerated storage units to serve as makeshift morgues.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): This is a deadly disease. We are not at the finish line yet.

MURRAY (voice-over): As officials continue to plead with Americans to lay low ...

GIROIR: Avoid crowded spaces. Whether that's a bar or a house party of 100 people, you can't do it. This is a setup for spread.

MURRAY (voice-over): They're also warning a vaccine will only bring life back to normal if roughly 70 percent of the population takes it.

Health and Human Services is unveiling its first radio ads, touting the vaccines.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vaccines won't make over go away overnight but they give us a real chance to finally overcome it.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MURRAY (voice-over): But many Americans are still hesitant.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The challenge is the acceptance on the part of various elements in our society.

Minority populations, understandably, have somewhat of a skepticism.

MURRAY: Now, obviously, the goal is to get as many doses of these vaccines as possible to the American people as quickly as possible.

And, to that end, the Trump Administration is still negotiating with Pfizer over buying another 100 million doses of that company's coronavirus vaccine.

One sticking point, though, officials say, is that Pfizer is having some difficulty accessing raw materials. Both sides still say it's possible the federal government could use the Defense Production Act to help speed this process along.

Right now, Pfizer is saying they can't deliver these doses until the third quarter.

[02:05:00]

MURRAY: And the Trump administration's saying, look, we really need these by the second quarter -- Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Joining me now from Berkeley, California, is Dr. Desmond Carson, an emergency room physician at LifeLong Medical Care.

Doctor, thank you so much for joining us.

The situation in California right now is breaking all kinds of records. Cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions at an all-time high. You are in the E.R., tell me what you are seeing.

DR. DESMOND CARSON, LIFELONG MEDICAL CARE: Well, actually, I'm in urgent care, but, to that end, our numbers are doubling as well. And as for today, as winter approaches, we have doubled in volume today. And I saw at least 40 percent of patients who had symptoms consistent

with COVID and I would expect that 50 percent of them will probably be diagnosed as COVID positive.

BRUNHUBER: And you know, during the last big spike in July, you got in front of a podium and said -- I want to read back here -- "Our rights are going to kill us. Our rights do not wear a mask. That B.S. is going to kill us."

You were frustrated and angry back then.

Are you still seeing the same thing?

CARSON: I would suggest that probably in public we do better. But in private, I'm not so convinced. From the high-ranking officials as the president, delved through community organizations and what we do at home, I don't think that we are protecting ourselves as we should.

So, in public, people go to the store, they wear masks, blah, blah, blah.

But when they go home, I think they do what they want to do and that's, I think, the continuum of the spread.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, because I was wondering, you know, California has some of the strictest rules but also the worst COVID rates.

So, you know, is it just that people are gathering together too much, as when they're necessarily going out to get the groceries, and so on, as you say, but they're just gathering with too many people, or going out at night?

What's to blame here?

CARSON: I would say all of the above; namely, that people are not abiding by the rules, again, while in private. They go in public, they show a good hand of wearing their mask and social distancing at the grocery store, because they are provided with a very conservative protocol to ensure not spreading the virus.

But when at home, people who do what they want to do.

And so that's why I believe Tom Cruise, as well as others, have gotten pissed off and as I was and I still am about what we are doing at home and in private.

BRUNHUBER: You know, the vaccine, obviously given the numbers, couldn't come soon enough, but experts, including Dr. Fauci, say one of the biggest challenges going forward will be vaccine hesitancy, particularly in minority communities.

What are you telling people?

What's your message to those who might be suspicious of this vaccine?

CARSON: So, I am blessed that I was able to read that "New England Journal of Medicine," they just put out an article that I received on December 15th. And so I like to just state what the objective data and the sciences are stating.

So, from the "New England Journal of Medicine," it is stating that the vaccine is relatively safe. They went across the board as far as demographics, race, class, sex, gender, social economics and they found it to be relatively safe.

So, in the absence of a true cure, prevention is the best thing. So I think we should go forward and take the vaccine. And I'm happy they are starting to distribute it to health care providers.

BRUNHUBER: But is there a different sort of message, or is there some special outreach that needs to be done particularly in those communities that are, you know, suspicious of the healthcare system?

CARSON: Of course. I mean, I've read the Tuskegee experiment and I'm well aware of what goes on as far as trials and data and the practice of medicine, where the word "practice" shouldn't be underlined. So, people are cautious because they know their history.

But in this scenario, whereby we are disproportionately affected as far as death rates in Latino, Black and, let's not forget our Native American brothers and sisters, that we should probably, at this point, step up first.

BRUNHUBER: I suppose it doesn't help confidence when people hear news about, you know, somebody getting a severe adverse reaction like we just did.

Are you more worried about the reaction in this case or people's reaction to hearing it?

CARSON: Both, because, I mean, if you have a bad reaction -- let's not forget history is our greatest teacher.

[02:10:00]

CARSON: In 1972, my mother, who's a nurse, told me about, when they had a new influenza vaccine that people had some deaths. About 30,000 people died of Guillain-Barre.

Now this is not influenza vaccine, but people's history is our greatest teacher. So, we, you know, people are not going to forget that easy. So, I mean, we just have to balance the objective data and I think the New England Journal of Medicine is very objective with the history and that went along with that.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll have to leave it there. Thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it, Dr. Desmond Carson.

CARSON: Thank you very much for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Countries in many parts of the world are making difficult choices in the face of surge in coronavirus cases. You can see there how bad things are in the Americas region right now and in parts of Europe.

Let's highlight some countries that are being hit the hardest with the holidays right around the corner.

Panama will go into a national lockdown over the Christmas and New Year's Day weekends. And there will be a daily curfew from now until January 4th.

Germany has already begun a strict lockdown to bring down infection rates and hopes to start administering the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine by December 27th.

Brazil registered a new daily record of more than 70,000 new cases on Wednesday. It already had the worst numbers in the world behind U.S. and India and now suffering a second wave.

Let's go to Salma Abdelaziz in London, reporting on the controversy over the British prime minister's decision to ease restrictions for Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted on his coronavirus Christmas plan, despite the fact that he's been facing massive criticism from the medical community, from the opposition Labour Party.

That's because on December 23rd, there'll be a special Christmastime dispensation of five days to ease social restrictions.

Up to three households will be allowed to come together, they can celebrate together, go to each other's homes, go to church if they like. This was announced about a month ago.

But since that time there has been a spike in coronavirus cases in mounting pressure for the administration to reverse this plan.

But the prime minister insisted on it saying that people should exercise extreme caution but that they can go ahead with those rules. Take a listen.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We're collectively, across the U.K., governments at every level, asking you to think hard and in detail about the days ahead. And whether you can do more to protect yourself and others.

We're keeping the law is the same but we all want to send the same message. A smaller Christmas is going to be a safer Christmas and a shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas.

ABDELAZIZ: On Wednesday, London's COVID alert level was raised to very high risk, that means England's toughest coronavirus restrictions. Which is shutting down pubs, restaurants, bars closing, all night life. Virtually banning households from mixing together. But again, because you have that December 23rd deadline for that special Christmas time dispensation, these rules will only be in place for just one-week time.

And the statistics are worrying. In the last seven days a number of positive cases has increased by 28 percent, the hospitalizations has increased by 14 percent.

A lot of doctors and people in the medical community very worried about this. And saying that this plan, this reversal during Christmastime, will mean that hospitals will be overwhelmed next year -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: More now on Brazil's struggle with COVID-19, as the country surpasses 7 million cases. Shasta Darlington reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brazil reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as a second wave grips the country.

According to the health ministry, more than 70,000 new infections were registered bringing the total number of cases to over 7 million. And more than 900 people were killed by COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

After peaking in July and August, the coronavirus pandemic showed a steady decline in Brazil. But starting last month, the number shot up filling hospital beds beyond capacity in Rio de Janeiro and forcing Sao Paolo to reimpose restrictions.

So far, none of the potential vaccines have been approved in Brazil and the government's vaccination plan has been marred by delays and political infighting.

On Wednesday, the health minister said national vaccinations would begin in February. But the Sao Paolo governor has insisted he'll roll out the CoronaVac vaccine for the country's biggest state in January.

CoronaVac is being developed by the Chinese company, Sinovac and tested by a Brazilian biomedical research institute.

President Jair Bolsonaro, however, has repeatedly insisted he won't be taking any vaccine at all.

[02:15:00]

DARLINGTON: Brazil has the third highest number of cases in the world and the second highest number of deaths -- Shasta Darlington, CNN. Fernandina Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Congress is nearing agreement on a new COVID relief package. We will see what kind of checks Americans could be getting in the mail.

Plus, hundreds of Donald Trump's allies are hitting up the president for pardons. How the White House is keeping track of the flood of requests. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's final weeks in the White House could be filled with presidential pardons. One sources says it's crazy how many allies and associates have made requests. Another advisers says the president knows his days in the White House are numbered and he is lashing out, throwing a temper tantrum. CNN's Pamela Brown has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sources are telling me that hundreds of people have been reaching out to the White House in recent weeks since Election Day. These includes allies of President Trump in this frenzied push for pardons.

People asking for pardons for themselves, for friends, family, on behalf of a client and, in fact, the White House has been so inundated that a spreadsheet has been created to keep track of all the requests pouring in.

People have been going around DOJ and going directly to the White House top officials if they can't reach Trump himself, reaching out to Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law; Mark Meadows, chief of staff; the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, in their bid to get a pardon request in front of President Trump.

They know the president likes to flex his pardon power and he only has a few weeks left in office. They also know this president is transactional, that he likes to cut a deal. So some of these people reaching out to the White House in this frenzied effort in recent weeks are hoping to essentially cash in on the loyalty they've showed to the president over the last four years.

One person I spoke to said they hope their loyalty will pay off in the president pardoning this person's client. So that's what we are seeing play out. And the president is interested in this. He's actually been reviewing cases in recent weeks, of potential pardons in that the White House counsel's office has put together. He's been asking people, talking to them.

And what makes it so interesting, this is happening as the president is still in denial that he lost the election, even though this frenzied push for pardons is essentially a tacit acknowledgment that he did lose the election.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Talks will resume in the coming hours on a new economic stimulus package for Americans hardhit by the coronavirus pandemic. The deal could include a second check from the U.S. government, although not quite as hefty as the first one. CNN's Eleni Giokos joins me live with more on this.

Eleni, a deal seems close but it can't come fast enough for a growing number of struggling Americans.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: Look, this is the closest we've ever been. And we have discussed this, we've seen the logjam and the bickering and, of course, the self-imposed deadlines over the past few months.

[02:20:00]

GIOKOS: And now time is running out. Washington is under pressure to get something decided upon, firstly, and then voted on, on the House floor as well as the Senate floor, by Friday.

That's when we run out of legislative federal spending days. And this is a really important deadline here, because 12 million Americans are going to be running out of unemployment benefits the day after Christmas; 5 million Americans could be facing eviction by January.

This relief bill is a long time in the works. I want you to look at the tweet that came through from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi through spokesperson Drew Hammill, just a few hours ago, saying that Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Secretary Mnuchin had met and their last conversation occurred at 10:30 pm.

We also know they all agree there needs to be some kind of consensus and additional paper, they say, has been exchanged. And the conversation is going to continue on Thursday morning.

So these updates are really vital, because it's signaling that we are getting closer to resolution. We are talking about paperwork that is 600 pages long. The wording matters, the spending allocation matters.

And, Kim, as you say, it's about extending jobless benefits and hopefully direct payments, not as large as we had initially anticipated or even spoken about months ago. But it's definitely included.

The bipartisan deal right now looks to stand at around $908 billion. They've split this package into two separate bills, one focusing on that priority items and the other focusing on the big, contentious issues like liability protection for businesses and aid to states and local governments as well.

The markets were really upbeat earlier this week. We saw a little bit softness on the Dow and SNP coming through yesterday. But the Nasdaq is sitting at all-time highs in anticipation of this bill.

Jerome Powell, yesterday, the Federal Reserve chairman, came out and said the next 4-6 months are going to be critical and vital. And as vaccine rollouts start to occur, still there is so much uncertainty.

This is why the relief bill is vital at this point in time. Asian markets are rallying on the back of the fact that we are waiting for this announcement to come through. We've seen a bit of softness coming through in Korea, because the GDP numbers are not looking great.

And it shows the uncertainty that is occurring not only in the U.S. but around the world; until you get a vaccine, until you start to see the COVID-19 cases start to come down, relief packages, stimulus bills are going to be vital.

And everyone is looking to the U.S. as an example. And, Kim, I will stress this, there is no more time to discuss this. They need to act.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, they have to get it done. Eleni Giokos in Johannesburg, thank you very much.

President Trump also wants to see special counsel investigating his false claims of election fraud and Joe Biden's son, Hunter. The younger Biden is already under investigation related to his taxes.

CNN is reporting the president sees the special counsel appointment as payback for the Russia investigation. It's not clear if deputy attorney general Jeff Rosen will actually follow through on the matter when he takes over at the Justice Department next week.

U.S. officials are struggling to determine the extent of the damage after discovering apparent cyber hacks at major U.S. government agencies. They suspect Russia is behind, it and they say it's still going on.

Here's what we know. The data breach has targeted the Departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, Commerce and, reportedly, the Treasury. The FBI is investigating the same Russia-linked group that earlier breached the elite cybersecurity firm FireEye. The hack came after the National Security Agency warned about Russia accessing data on protected systems.

We have much more on this story on our website. Go check it out at cnn.com.

Moscow is dismissing CNN's exclusive investigation with Bellingcat into the poisoning of a top Kremlin critic. They found Alexei Navalny was trailed for years by elite Russian security forces highly specialized in nerve agents. Navalny was poisoned in August and almost died.

Our chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, and her team have been working the story for months and Clarissa spoke to Wolf Blitzer after the Kremlin finally broke its silence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was more than 48 hours of radio silence -- and I mean not a peep; not on Russian media, not from the Kremlin, not from the FSB.

Then finally, we heard today a little something from the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. He said about our report, it was funny to him. He said that he had come to expect such things from the West, that it was proof of a lack of ethics.

[02:25:00]

WARD: That he also thought it was in contravention of international legal norms. Not clear exactly what he meant there.

And he also said that one should not mistake Moscow's silence on this issue for any kind of an admission of guilt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Vladimir Putin could be asked to address these new findings on the Navalny case in the coming hours when he is due to hold his annual news conference. We will keep an eye on that.

A government official in Nigeria says talks are underway to secure the release of more than 330 kidnapped students. The boys were taken by gunmen, who ambushed their school in northwestern Nigeria on Friday.

The terror group Boko Haram has apparently claimed responsibility for the attack. The governor of Katsina state says the area where the students are being held has been secured. He spoke earlier with Becky Anderson about their efforts to bring them safely home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: You're telling me at this point that you've located these children on the ground.

What do you understand to have happened here?

There were some youngsters who got away. I mean, this is happening in your state under your watch.

So what do you understand happened, sir?

AMINU BELLO MASARI, GOVERNOR, KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA: (INAUDIBLE) From all the work we've done so far, mostly, not all the children have been located in the first of Kankara, in a neighboring state.

Like I said, the intelligence, they have located really are and we are working to make sure they are rescued from harm.

But that is the current position now. And we are looking to those leaders of Boko Haram, who have contacted the abductors, who most of them live outside of (INAUDIBLE) state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Amnesty International has condemned the attack as a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, indepth coverage of the world war against

the coronavirus. We will check in on some of the toughest fights.

Plus, South Korea sees a rapid rise in COVID infections and the surge is making it harder to conduct contract tracing. How officials are responding to the crisis. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's bring you up to speed on our top story now, the global fight against the coronavirus.

[02:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: Wednesday was a rough day in the U.S. with a triple dose of bad news. Record numbers in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. But the whole Americas region is suffering.

You can see the spike in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. Health officials just released some sobering numbers on the pandemic there. And the regional picture is complicated by pervasive inequalities. CNN's Paula Newton has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest statistics from the Pan American Health Organization lays bare the fact that look, the Americas have been disproportionately hit by this virus. Now, its director, Carissa Etienne, points out that nearly half of all deaths and infections have occurred in the Americas so far.

And you just have to look at the United States and Brazil, number one and number two in terms of deaths. And to realize that cases are still surging in those countries as well. But, you know, the director also points out that look, cases are surging in places like here in Canada, where a deadly second wave continues to rage.

Now she also points out that in some of these regions, there were already not very well equipped to deal with this kind of healthcare crisis and that continues. She does point out that in places like Latin America they were able to double ICU capacity in very few months.

She points to that kind of behavior, which she hopes will continue, and will continue that other countries will contribute to the developing nations in both Latin America and South America to make sure that they can fully recover from this virus -- Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: South Korea has reported another 22 deaths from COVID-19, its highest daily totals since the pandemic began. The country is now seeing its third and, so far, worst wave of COVID infections. And as Paula Hancocks reports, contact tracers are struggling to keep up with the rapid surge of cases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lunchtime rush at a Seoul restaurant, with almost every table taken, one diner tests positive for coronavirus, the search begins for who else may have been infected.

It starts with a phone call, confirming the patient ID from a health official to an epidemiologist investigator. Mobile phone and credit card checks follow. Lee Young-wook, a contact tracer, and her colleagues physically retrace the footsteps.

The restaurant owner shows where the customer was sitting and shares the CCTV footage. Lee checks who was close by and needs to be warned. The owner and staff have already tested negative.

Lee makes at least 10 of these visits a day, rarely finishing work before 9:00 pm.

She tells me, "The person having lunch with the confirmed case is not wearing a mask and is a close contact. He has been contact tested and quarantined for 14 days."

With hundreds of new cases every day, this work is becoming harder, with many cases now termed as untraceable.

HANCOCKS: If the mobile phone and credit card usage isn't quite enough to gain a full picture, then contact tracers can track an individual's movements here at this CCTV center. They can find out exactly where a confirmed case went, who they met and crucially, they, say whether they were wearing a mask.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): More than 3,000 cameras cover just this one Seoul district, normally used for crime prevention, but now a key element in the fight against the coronavirus.

The mayor says, "The reason this third wave is so difficult to contain is because infections are happening in all cities and districts simultaneously."

While the first two waves centered around one or two main outbreaks, health officials now say you can catch the virus at any time in any place. Extra testing sites have been set up around greater Seoul for the next three weeks, health officials providing free tests for all, regardless of symptoms or exposure.

Shipping containers are being used to set up more hospital beds to cope with the feared upcoming lack of rooms for coronavirus patients. And more than 1,300 military personnel have been deployed to health

centers in greater Seoul to help with the legwork and data processing. President Moon Jae-in says this is an emergency situation, calling it the final challenge before the vaccines arrive -- Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: To a welcome surprise. Some pharmacists in the U.S. say they found a way to distribute more doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine than originally planned and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is signing off on the discovery for now. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So they have these vials, they're supposed to have five doses. It's a frozen liquid that comes in. When they get to the hospital, pharmacy, wherever it's going, they thaw it and, at that point, they take some of the liquid out, a set amount, and dilute it with saline.

And that's what's -- that's what you see in the syringes, that's what you see going into people's arms. That is the vaccine.

What they are finding is that there is more of the solution in those vials to make up more than five doses of the vaccine. So the FDA looked at this and they said, OK, based on the fact that it's a preservative-free solution.

[02:35:00]

GUPTA: There does seem to be enough for an additional dose, sometimes two additional doses. Given that there is such high demand and such little supply, go ahead do it, if you can. Basically that's the message that they are hearing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: If you've been watching CNN, you know Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been helping us all break down the news on the virus and the vaccines. On Saturday, he will co-host "The ABCs of COVID-19," to help kids and families talk about the pandemic and understand why it is a global concern. Our CNN special airs this Saturday at 3 pm in London and 11 pm in Hong Kong, only here on CNN.

A fierce winter storm is rolling through the U.S. and it's causing major travel disruptions. The potential impact this could have on the COVID vaccine rollout -- ahead.

Plus China space agency discovers something not seen in decades. Details on the country's latest mission to the moon and how it could change our understanding of the solar system. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Right now, we are tracking two powerful storms in different parts of the world and each could cause significant damage in the days ahead.

In the U.S., more than 60 million people are on alert as a major winter storm rolls through the East Coast, over 1,300 flights have already been canceled. Officials fear the storm could affect the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

In Fiji, a tropical cyclone is making landfall with powerful winds. Officials warn the impact could be devastating.

(WEATHER REPORT)

[02:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: China says its lunar capsule has successfully collected samples from the moon and brought them back to Earth. The spacecraft returned home early Thursday, making China the first country to retrieve lunar material in 44 years. The country is now hailing the mission as another major milestone in its ambitious space program.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Touching down in Inner Mongolia during the early morning hours Thursday, a piece of China's history successfully returned to Earth. After a 23-day mission, the Chang'e-5 brings on the first lunar samples collected in nearly half a century.

China is now only the third country to deliver such precious cargo, its flag now proudly planted at the site of the lunar probe. Named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, the Chang'e-5 mission had a twofold objective, one part discovery, the other to advance China's ambition in space with one of the most complicated and challenging missions in the country's aerospace history.

The four-part Chang'e-5 probe blasted off from an island on China's southern coast November 24th. It touched down seven days later on a part of the moon that has never been visited before, a massive lava plane known as the Ocean of Storms.

There, a lander began collecting samples with a drill and robotic arm before loading it onto an ascent vehicle.

Two kilograms of the material were sealed in the reentry capsule, which left the moon Sunday and brought to Earth the first lunar sample since the 1970s.

Soon scientists will be analyzing the structure, physical properties and material composition of the soil and rock samples.

They hope to find information that helps explains the moon's origins, how long it was volcanically active and when its magnetic field, which protects life from the sun's radiation, disappeared. Possibly other clues can be found, with answers to long-held mysteries about our nearest celestial body.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: That's it for. Now I'm Kim Brunhuber and I will be back with more NEWSROOM in about 15 minutes from now. But do stay tuned for "WORLD SPORT," which begins after a quick break.