Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

FDA Authorizes Moderna Vaccine For Emergency Use; European Countries Tighten Restrictions; Large-Scale Evictions Loom In U.S. As Relief Deadline Approaches; U.S. Officials Found Early, Inconclusive Signs Of Cyberattack; California Hospitals Near Capacity As Cases And Deaths Spike; Minority Communities Remain Hesitant About Vaccination; Mexico City Imposing New Three-Week Lockdown; Hyper-Realistic Masks Feature Lifelike Faces. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired December 19, 2020 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A second coronavirus vaccine will soon roll out across the United States as a record number of Americans seek hospitalization.

Plus, the U.S. Congress barely manages to avert a government shutdown. We'll tell you what that means for millions of Americans hoping for pandemic relief.

And it's the biggest data breach the U.S. government has ever seen. We'll tell you whom the Trump administration blames for the attack.

Live from CNN World Headquarters, welcome to viewers here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Another vaccine now has emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It's the second one in a week to get the green light.

The decision came as the U.S. saw a record number of new coronavirus cases on Friday, just shy of 250,000 people. Adding to the toll, 13 record straight days of record hospitalizations. We get the latest from CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The United States now in far worse shape than at any point during the pandemic, deaths reported Thursday, 3,270. And the IHME is predicting roughly 560,000 U.S. deaths by April, a significant increase since their last projection.

Hospitalizations also mounting nationwide and all eyes are on California, which is in a gruesome predicament. L.A. County's Health Department says on average, two people are dying from COVID-19 every hour and there are now zero ICU beds left in Southern California.

The director of the L.A. County Health Department says their hospitals are under siege. The vaccines are in high demand. Today, vice president Mike Pence and surgeon general Dr. Jerome Adams got their first dose for all the public to see.

The surgeon general is doing his part to encourage people of color to get vaccinated.

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: And as the U.S. surgeon general and a Black man, I am equally aware of the symbolic significance of my vaccination today.

KAYE (voice-over): The vaccine rollout also getting some help from pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS. They are expected to help vaccinate millions of residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

But what about Pfizer's vaccine distribution?

Health officials across the country are confused after multiple states were told by the federal government to expect fewer doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine than initially promised.

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (R-MA): It's not clear to us why the shipment amounts have been adjusted. We're certainly frustrated that we won't be receiving the amount that we expected in the first wave.

KAYE (voice-over): A reason for the delay wasn't given, though Pfizer released a statement Thursday, saying they have millions of doses in their warehouses, but no shipment instructions.

KAYE: Here in the state of Florida, they are preparing to receive 367,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine next week. That would be the Moderna vaccine. And those doses will be going to 173,000 hospitals in the state that did not get the Pfizer vaccine in the first round.

The larger hospitals got the Pfizer vaccine. Those are the larger teaching hospitals, which have more staff to assist -- Randi Kaye, reporting in West Palm Beach, Florida -- back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump sent out a tweet to mark the emergency authorization of the Moderna vaccine. He said, "Congratulations, the Moderna vaccine is now available."

And President-Elect Joe Biden released this statement, "Today's emergency use authorization is another milestone in our battle to overcome the crisis our country is facilitating today.

"We are grateful to the scientists, medical experts and trial participants, who helped to deliver these vaccines and evaluated their safety and efficacy free from political influence."

In the U.S., health care workers are among the first to get the shot. CNN medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is one of them. He got the shot live on CNN Friday.

So why was it so important for him to get vaccinated in such a public way?

Dr. Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It was quite an extraordinary moment, I must tell you, to get the vaccine and a real collision of my worlds.

[05:05:00]

GUPTA: As a health care worker, they are vaccinating people at the hospital where I work. And when my turn came, I did not hesitate.

But also, as a journalist, who's been covering the story of COVID for so long, I had really seen the beginnings of this vaccine development. I followed the clinical trials, interviewed people like the FDA commissioner, Stephen Hahn, looked at the results of those trials and then made an educated decision for myself.

I can tell you, I was very comfortable with the idea of getting this vaccine. I did not hesitate, because I know it is safe and effective, based on the data I've looked at.

But I was surprised to learn, for example, there is still significant hesitancy, even among health care workers at my own hospital. Take a look there. About a third, a third, a third; a third of people say they would go ahead and get the vaccine, a third say they would not get the vaccine roughly and a third say they need more information.

It's part of the reason, again, we decided to do this on camera and try and provide some of that information. Along with me was the dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, an obstetrician, herself a surgeon. I asked her, specifically, about what made her comfortable getting this vaccine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. VALERIE MONTGOMERY RICE, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: There are Black scientists in the room, where decisions are being made. So we, clearly, are not going to go against ourselves, right?

Because we understand how critical this is for Black America and Latinx America, who has been disproportionately targeted by the virus. I would not actually recommend anything if I did not believe it was safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: As you heard Dr. Rice talk about how there has been representation through all these various aspects of the vaccine development and the trials, I want to give you a we numbers to put in the back of your mind as well. When you look at the representation within these trials, for the

Pfizer trial and the Moderna trial, you can see just how many trial participants were Black or African Americans.

Now there will continue to be a fair amount of vaccine hesitancy; this we know although, it is improving, there are fewer who are hesitant now is compared to September. Even more so, as compared to the summer.

But unless enough people get vaccinated, we are not going to reach that herd immunity that you heard so much about. It is part of the reason I did it. And I have to tell, you I feel fine. I am looking forward to getting my second shot, about three weeks from now.

Hope this helps provide a little bit more information that people definitely want and need right now. And as we get more details about these trials and what is happening with these vaccines, we will certainly bring it to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: More European countries are tightening restrictions, hoping to avoid another wave of COVID-19 infections after the holiday.

Italy will go into nationwide lockdowns that will last through Christmas and New Year's. This means people will only be able to leave their home for health, work and essential needs and can only visit family members during certain hours.

Millions in England are now in tougher restrictions called tier 3. The British prime minister says he hopes there won't be a third lockdown for England after Christmas but he's not ruling it out.

Other parts of the U.K., however, are planning another lockdown after the holidays. Let's turn now to London, where Salma Abdelaziz joins us live.

Salma, what's the latest?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Well, as you said there, Kim, the prime minister absolutely hoping to avoid another lockdown. That's despite a worrying spike in cases and growing demand from the medical community to put more restrictions in place.

But rather than tightening screws, we're actually heading into a period of relaxation. Rules will be eased around Christmastime between December 23-27. Social restrictions will allow to you bring three households together to celebrate. They can spend time in a warm, confined space, having a holiday meal.

But of course, it's conducive to the virus and why the medical community has been pleading with the prime minister to reverse the Christmas plans.

Hospital capacity across England has already reached 90 percent. The number of patients admitted with coronavirus in the last seven days, that's increased by 20 percent. That critical R number, for the first time in weeks it's over 1, all of this a very worrying figure.

Why has the prime minister not changed his mind?

Why has he not done an about-face?

Well, if I had to answer that question, part of the reason I think he doesn't seem to be wanting to make a U-turn. This announcement was made a month ago about easing Christmas rules and as the prime minister said himself, he doesn't want to criminalize it.

There's always the economic impact. But it does feel like deja vu. This debate was raging in the second lockdown.

[05:10:00]

ABDELAZIZ: We were also in a regional system at the time. And there does come a point, if the spike in cases continues, there does come a time where the prime minister has to face the music and may potentially have to impose that third nationwide lockdown, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Infectious disease expert Keith Neal joins us now from Darby, England, professor emeritus at University of Nottingham.

I want to ask you about that new variant. Obviously, diseases mutates and so on.

But how worried should we be about this variant?

KEITH NEAL, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM: I think it's one for concern. It's not unusual for viruses to mutate because they're really not very good at replicating their RNA or DNA accurately, unlike animals and plants.

I think the issue is it appears to be spreading faster, which in effect is, if you have a selection, random mutation for something that can spread quicker, then it's likely to become the predominant strain.

What we are not seeing is that it is more dangerous and more virulent. Which means for health issues, it's about the number of those being infected is crucial. And we need to ramp up what we do accordingly.

BRUNHUBER: So I want to go back to our headline here in the U.S., a second vaccine authorized by the FDA.

How important might that be?

NEAL: We've heard the phrase game changers for many times. And I think the only two game changers we've had is one, the dexamethasone in the recovery study here in Britain and now vaccines, because this is the end of the light of the tunnel. We can stop this spread when the vaccine is adequately spread to as many people. BRUNHUBER: Now you know, we're getting alerts every so often about

adverse effects and we've been reporting on them as they happen. But there's a danger there that we give people the false impression that these vaccines are dangerous. So talk to me about what is normal.

What should we expect?

And what should the bar be for alerting the public about something that is significant, that they should be aware of?

NEAL: I think we've always known that vaccines have a small risk. I think the issue is that, when these vaccines were introduced, they'd been given -- each the three vaccines have been given to at least 20,000 people without any really serious effects.

What happened in Britain on the first day was two people developed a severe allergic reaction. But interesting, both these people carried EpiPens and that was a sign that they are particularly likely to have allergic reactions.

And we've changed our guidance for the Pfizer vaccine to, if people have a severely allergic response, to wait for another vaccine. So far, we've given doses to 137,000 people here in Britain.

And that figure was three days ago so you can increase that further. And we've had only very few reactions. If you think about a 6-year-old person's risk of catching COVID, it's pretty high now. And if you get it, there's a 1 percent chance of dying.

So that's 1 in 100 chances of death or 1 in 100,000 chance of a bad vaccine reaction. I think the maths is really clear.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's very well put. So while some countries are entering lockdowns over Christmas, other countries aren't taking any action here, for instance, or even relaxing some restrictions like in the U.K. where you are. Now the instructions we're getting are, you know, just keep it small, keep it to a few loved ones, a few family members.

But that still involves often traveling, mixing, sometimes with the elderly, so how safe are these small family gatherings, really?

NEAL: I think we can actually reduce the risk substantially. And that is really limited to the number of families you meet up with because each family, if they've got infections, quite likely many people in the family could have it.

So a couple of families who meet up, most of whom have isolated before meeting up, not have symptoms, then you can substantially control the risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: That was infectious disease expert Keith Neal, speaking with us last hour. French president Emmanuel Macron said he's doing fine a day after

testing positive for COVID-19. He's working in isolation from an official residence outside Paris. Mr. Macron says he has the same symptoms as many others, fatigue, headaches and a dry cough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Yesterday I tested positive, showing that the virus can infect anyone. I was very protected. I was being very careful. I respected the safety measures, the distancing. I wore a mask, I was applying alcohol gel regularly.

[05:15:00]

MACRON (through translator): And despite everything, I caught the virus. So we must continue to respect these rules that may weigh on you, that may sometimes seem hard for you. But we have to hold on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Macron says he'll stay focused on his country's response to the pandemic and continue to give updates on his health.

The U.S. Congress voted to give themselves more time to pass a COVID relief bill, while millions of Americans can't afford to wait. We'll find out if and when a vote is likely to take place.

Plus, the latest on the massive cyberattack that targeted the U.S. government and public corporations. Find out why senior U.S. officials say they're sure Russia is involved. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I'm begging and pleading with my Republican friends, my Republican senator friends, and Mitch McConnell and the majority leader for the Republicans, I'm pleading, please. This is not the place for that. It truly is politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: That's Democratic senator Joe Manchin, saying Republicans are playing politics with the much-needed COVID-19 relief bill. He was speaking to us after the U.S. Congress passed a short-term extension to prevent a government shutdown but gives lawmakers two more days to negotiate a relief package.

[05:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: But as Suzanne Malveaux reports, there are still several issues that keep lawmakers from agreeing. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Congress successfully averted a government shutdown, voting for a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded and going for another couple of days, just six hours shy of the midnight deadline.

This required at least two-thirds of the House to pass this continuing resolution and all 100 senators not to object to it. That actually happened. But all eyes were on Senator Bernie Sanders, who essentially said that he was demanding that direct checks, stimulus checks of $1,200, go to working class families for relief, not the $600 that are part of the negotiations in the COVID relief package now.

But ultimately, he did not block the short-term spending resolution from going forward. But he did warn that he is not going to be signing onto a bill that doesn't have substantial, direct relief to Americans.

We also heard that from Republican senator Josh Hawley earlier as well. So that is one of the sticking points, one of the things we will see play out in the days ahead.

Saturday morning, Congress will be back in session to negotiate on the relief bill: two things, $1.4 trillion on a spending bill and that $900 billion COVID stimulus package. They will have to work out those details. We are told that the earliest time that the House would vote on COVID relief would happen on Sunday, 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

So Americans will just have to wait a little bit longer to see if Congress can get anything done -- Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, as we heard, getting a new stimulus bill passed in the U.S. Congress has been fraught with issues. I spoke a bit earlier with Thomas Gift. He's the director for the Center for U.S. Politics at University College London. I asked him what's holding up help for millions of Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER FOR U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: I do think that the main issue right now seems to concern the Federal Reserve.

Back in March, when the first stimulus passed, the Fed utilized a number of lending programs that aided in the provision of credit to states and private companies. Republicans in Congress now want to ensure some of those powers are limited. That's angered Democrats.

They say that the Fed wouldn't be able to operate as effectively as a lender of last resort, which would also depress confidence in financial markets.

By contrast, Republicans are making the case that curbing the Fed's discretion would preventive it from crowding out private lending and becoming too politicized in bailing out states and local governments.

So it's a significant impasse. And I guess we'll see if it ultimately proves to be too much of a roadblock to overcome.

BRUNHUBER: To the transition now, Joe Biden is expected to announce more members of his cabinet next week. Democrats are hoping Biden doesn't grab any more members of Congress. Their majority is already razor-thin. But there is a plan to stagger the nominations. Take us through how that might work to sort of lessen the risk.

GIFT: We're going to see some special elections. But on the one hand, one might say it's a majority. But on the other hand, it does seem like there is very little leeway for action, especially since the Democratic Party is already deeply divided between progressives and moderates.

For Nancy Pelosi, marshaling broad support across her side of the aisle will be a challenge, especially in the months following the transition. So pushing forward in a liberal agenda will be especially hard, I think, because, looking forward to the 2022 midterms, elections tend to go against the party holding the White House.

As a result, vulnerable Democrats might be more reluctant to support anything too controversial. So this razor-thin margin, I do think, is a significant story.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thank you so much for joining us, Thomas Gift of University College London, we always appreciate it.

GIFT: Thanks, Kim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo is now going public who is behind the targeted attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There was a significant effort to use a piece of third party software to, essentially, embed code inside of U.S. government systems and it now appears systems of private companies and countries and governments across the world as well. This is a very significant effort.

And I think it's the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, we're learning more about when U.S. officials first began to notice that something was wrong. Alex Marquardt has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We are getting new information about what was known and when.

[05:25:00]

MARQUARDT (voice-over): It was several months ago that American officials, who monitor for threats to critical infrastructure, when they first noticed suspicious activity, according to three sources speaking to CNN.

That suspicious activity, we now know, was linked to what we are now reporting as one of the largest hacking operations in history. At the time, those officials were not able to tie what they were seeing to the software, which we know the hackers used to get inside.

The activity they saw was classified and did not provide conclusive evidence that the networks had been compromised. Still, it worried top cybersecurity officials that there were potential vulnerabilities in the systems.

Then, fast forward to 10 days ago. The top cybersecurity firm FireEye revealed that it had been hacked. Then followed several days later by the U.S. government, admitting, it, too, had been targeted in what we now know is the biggest breach the U.S. government has ever seen.

We are learning more every day about what the hackers, who are believed to be connected to the Russian intelligence services, what they had access to. But given the sophistication, there is still so much that needs to be learned.

What data was accessed?

What was done with it?

18,000 customers use the software that the hackers rode into these networks on. It's from a company called SolarWinds. All of those clients, including many in the U.S. government, they all need to do a forensic analysis. That could take months or longer and we may never know the full extent of what these hackers did.

The U.S. cyber agency, known as CISA, has also said in a statement that there were other methods used to get in and techniques that have not yet been discovered. The scale and sophistication of this operation that has been going on since March cannot be overstated -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The FBI has accused a Zoom employee of censoring video meetings for the Chinese government. Court documents say he monitored videoconferences on political and religious subjects unacceptable to the Communist Party and then he used fake IDs and complaints to justify cutting off meetings and user accounts.

He faces federal charges. Zoom responded to the allegations Friday, saying there's no indication that any enterprise data was shared with the Chinese government. We terminated this individual's employment for violating company policies. We've also placed other employees on administrative leave pending the completion of our investigation.

California's COVID-19 crisis is getting worse. Hospitals across the state are overrun. Health care workers are overworked. And intensive care units are running out of beds. That's ahead.

Plus a vaccine can't come soon enough for many people. But there's still mistrust about vaccines, especially in minority communities. A medical expert explains why and how she's reaching out to change their minds.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to all of you watching in the United States, Canada and around the world.

The COVID vaccine developed by Moderna could be loaded into syringes and administered as soon as Monday. The FDA gave emergency use authorization on Friday. A final OK by the CDC is expected this weekend.

Moderna is the second vaccine authorized in a week after Pfizer BioNTech. The arrival of the two vaccines coincides with the pandemic at its worse. New cases in the U.S. reached another record Friday, almost 250,000 people.

Hospitalizations hit a record high at almost 115,000 COVID-19 patients nationwide. California is experiencing an unprecedented surge in new infections, hospitalizations and deaths. More than 41,000 new cases were reported Friday alone. Health care workers are exhausted and, as Lucy Kafanov reports, some fear the worst is yet to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In southern California, our hospitals are at their breaking point. Too many coronavirus patients and, as of Thursday, no ICU beds left.

Just outside of Los Angeles, the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in San Bernardino, so overwhelmed, they've had to treat COVID-19 patients inside these surge tents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look around. This is not ideal.

KAFANOV (voice-over): All 48 ICU beds full; the majority, COVID patients. The relentless pace, the deaths, the suffering taking a toll.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's probably the hardest year I've had as a nurse. As nurses, we still have our families and our loved ones to worry about. KAFANOV (voice-over): Dr. Rodney Borger, who oversees the emergency

department, says this is the worst crisis he has faced in his 25-year career.

DR. RODNEY BORGER, ARROWHEAD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: The thing that keeps me up is when there is a time where we have to decide who gets something and who does not.

KAFANOV: So if things don't change, you are concerned?

BORGER: If things don't change, we probably will ration care. And that is something that's very concerning.

KAFANOV: That's a decision no doctor wants to make.

BORGER: A decision no one wants to make.

KAFANOV (voice-over): The state reporting more than 147,000 new coronavirus cases in just three days, activating its mass fatality plan, ordering 5,000 body bags, 60 refrigerated trailers on standby as makeshift morgues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This means we expect to have more dead bodies than we have spaces in morgues for them. That frightens me. And it should frighten you.

KAFANOV (voice-over): In Los Angeles, where the mayor is in quarantine after his 9-year old tested positive, officials say an average of two people die every hour. The number of patients hospitalized across L.A. County, tripling over the past month, to more than 5,000.

DR. BRAD SPELLBERG, LAUSC MEDICAL CENTER: We are getting crushed. I'm not going to sugarcoat this. We are getting crushed.

KAFANOV (voice-over): In some areas, emergency rooms so crowded that ambulances had to wait hours to offload patients, some on gurneys outdoors, waiting. The entire San Francisco Bay Area is now effectively locked down, 98 percent of the state's population ordered to stay at home.

Colleen Cirrillo is a traveling nurse who arrived in California in May. She's exhausted from all of the deaths and wants people to take the virus seriously.

COLLEEN CIRRILLO, TRAVELING REGISTERED NURSE: It's really frustrating because today I lost my patient. So that was someone's family member. And for people to still believe that this isn't real, I don't know, I take offense to it. And I would take greater offense if that was my family member.

KAFANOV: The doctors, the nurses here tell us they've never seen anything like this before. Yes, vaccines are being distributed. There is hope on the horizon but there's also the holidays coming up. And if people let their guards down, during this critical time, the next two months, these doctors say will be bleak.

[05:35:00]

KAFANOV: We have not yet turned the corner on this pandemic -- Lucy Kafanov, CNN, San Bernardino, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: With the FDA issuing an emergency use authorization for Moderna's coronavirus vaccine, health officials hope more people can get vaccinated quickly. But while the number of Americans willing to get the shot is growing, some are still reluctant.

That's why the U.S. surgeon general wanted his vaccination to be public. He talked about his reasons with Dr. Sanjay Gupta during a CNN town hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: I did this on TV because I want people to understand, I've looked at the data. I've worked with the companies. And I felt safe getting the vaccine.

It is OK. It's OK to ask questions. It's OK to wonder, is this right for me. But what's not OK is to let misinformation cause to you make a decision which is bad for your health. I looked at the data. I made a decision that I felt was appropriate for my health. And that's all I'm asking your viewers to do, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: African Americans are among the most reluctant to get a vaccine due in part to the sordid history of racist medical experiments in the U.S. A Black nurse talked about that legacy during CNN's town hall. But she said it's especially important for minority communities to protect themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA LINDSAY, LONG ISLAND JEWISH MEDICAL CENTER: This is not a hoax. This is real. I've lived it. I know that our past, the legacy of the past, it looms darkly over, you know, minorities, Blacks, Hispanics, Latinos, Black and Brown people.

But every day, since March, that I entered work, each day has gotten darker and darker. I've seen the effects of it. And I don't want to see you end up in one of our ICU beds or enter our hospitals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Dr. Sheila Young is an assistant professor at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.

Thank you so much for joining me, Doctor. This is such an important topic. The experts are emphasizing just how important it is to encourage people in minority communities to get vaccinated. So give me a quick history behind the Charles R. Drew University and

where exactly you work. I used to live not too far away.

So what makes it different from much of L.A.?

DR. SHEILA YOUNG, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CHARLES R. DREW UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE: So the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science was founded after the Watts rebellion in the 1960s. So it was established to provide medical care and also jobs for those in the community.

BRUNHUBER: And what makes it a bit different from the rest of L.A.?

YOUNG: One thing I can say is some of our greatest talent in the world has come from this area in South Los Angeles. Unfortunately, there is a very high poverty rates. We have the highest rates of homicide, unfortunately, the highest rates of diabetes and complications of diabetes, also high blood pressure.

And there's a very large percentage of the population who don't have insurance. Also, there's a large part of the population who are undocumented.

BRUNHUBER: So when it comes to COVID, that sounds like a recipe for a disaster. You know, when the virus hit, it seemed like the traditional ways to reach those Black and Latino communities weren't working.

You have another title, Director of Street Medicine COVID-19 Testing. You've been going out into the community, to talk to folks about the coronavirus getting tested and so on. And you had one of the busiest testing sites in L.A. County.

Tell me more about why so many African Americans and Latinos are skeptical about COVID-19 and testing and how you were able to turn that around.

YOUNG: Sure. I think one of the things that hindered testing In the beginning was the misinformation and also the visuals of a procedure that appeared very painful and very scary. And that's, of course, the nasopharyngeal swab going to what people said was their brain.

But it wasn't that. We were fortunate to work with organizations and laboratories that offered us oral testing so we were able to take a sample from the mouth. So we really just got out on the streets and let people know what we had to offer.

We also addressed the fears that other folks had, about whether they had to have insurance or not; whether you had to be documented or not. And one of the things that happened is that families have been split up when ICE has come to the home and taken a person from the family.

[05:40:00]

YOUNG: So getting a test through a government-run facility isn't necessarily the best option for folks. However, because Charles R. Drew has worked in the community for so many years and we have strong ties to the community through our community partnerships and also the fact that many of our faculty members are from the community -- our president and CEO, Dr. David Carlisle, his grandmother lived not too far from the big university.

And so with these personal connections, it provides an opportunity for us to really understand and reach the heart of those who have fears around medical care.

BRUNHUBER: So now the next challenge will be getting people vaccinated. The polls show that people in minority communities, especially African Americans, are much less likely to get the COVID shot.

Does it just come down to people won't trust a coronavirus vaccine if they don't trust the government?

YOUNG: I don't think so. I think that, essentially, what we have to do is provide the proper education. And I think that folks will, once they understand how the vaccine works, would be more willing to take it.

BRUNHUBER: Thank you so much for everything you're doing there in the community and best of luck going forward, Dr. Sheila Young. We appreciate you talking to us.

YOUNG: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A Georgia college student and her boyfriend have been sentenced to four months in prison for breaking COVID restrictions in the Cayman Islands. Eighteen-year-old Skylar Mack was visiting her boyfriend for a jet skiing competition. She was instructed to self- isolate for two weeks after arriving. Instead after only two days, she went to the competition.

Mack and her boyfriend have been in jail since Tuesday when the sentences were handed out, according to the Cayman News Service. They both pleaded guilty but their attorney says he will appeal next week to get their sentences reduced.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a wintertime warning for all Canadians as coronavirus cases there surge. Coming up, the measures he says Canadians must follow and how they can help frontline workers.

Plus, millions of people in Mexico City and the surrounding areas are now under a strict lockdown that will last through the holiday season. We've got a report from the Mexican capital. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is urging citizens

to take coronavirus seriously, as the country's numbers head in the wrong direction. New infections have surged in recent months. You can see there how drastically the seven-day average of new cases has risen since late summer.

Trudeau says Canadians should continue to use safety measures, even though a vaccine is on the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Getting a vaccine in a week or a month won't do you any good if you catch COVID-19 today. Avoid gatherings. Practice social distancing. Use the COVID alert app. Do the right thing for the most vulnerables.

And think of being careful as a gift you can directly give your fellow Canadians, especially front line workers, who continue to step up every single day to keep us safe, to keep Canadians safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now for a new grim development, India has just surpassed more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases. It's the only country, other than the United States, to surpass that mark.

Some positive news, though; the country is working on authorizing vaccines for its more than 1.3 billion citizens. India plans to vaccinate 300 million people with its first batch of doses.

Millions of people in Mexico City and the surrounding area are now under strict new lockdown measures that will last for at least three weeks. With an alarming spike in cases and Christmas shopping in full swing, officials say they had no choice. Matt Rivers has the details from Mexico City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For weeks now, health officials here in Mexico City have been warning the general public that if the situation with COVID-19 did not get better, that they would be forced to close down sections of the city, to take more drastic measures.

Over the past few days, we have seen record numbers of hospitalizations here. We've seen a record number of new cases being added on a day-to-day basis. Because of that, officials are following through on that threat.

As of midnight Saturday, all nonessential businesses, both in Mexico City and in the surrounding state of Mexico, which, combined, make up one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, all those nonessential businesses will be forced to close until at least January 10th.

Health officials say it could go on longer, depending on the status of the pandemic. Make no mistake: health officials tried not to do this. In fact, they faced criticism over recent weeks, as we've seen this disease trending in the wrong direction in terms of new hospitalizations and new cases.

Some of them calling for businesses like these to be closed earlier. But health officials resisted that, at least in part because of the economic pain that this is going to cause. Mexico City, the state of Mexico, huge economic drivers for the country overall.

And this will be an economic hit to an economy that is already struggling during this pandemic. But officials are saying they didn't have a choice here. They were forced to make what they are calling, quote, "extraordinary actions" to try and get the pandemic more under control.

And, of course, they are going to be looking at the upcoming holiday season. We're in it right now and just like other countries around the world, Mexican families gather during this time of the year. That poses a risk. Mexican health officials are urging people to stay home.

There's no mandatory stay-at-home order. But we know that these businesses are being closed. That's is the play by the Mexican government right down, to try and get the case numbers and hospitalizations moving in a different direction -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Now an update on a story we've been following. All 344 Nigerian boys abducted from their school a week ago are safely home. Family members cried and hugged their children Friday as they were reunited. Gunmen on motorbikes kidnapped the boys. The Nigerian army rescued the children on Thursday.

Face masks have become a fashion staple in the pandemic. But this Japanese face covering is anything but ordinary. Coming up, the mask that's creeping out the internet. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: A story in Japan is getting in on the face mask craze. Well, their masks won't protect you from COVID but they're sure to turn a few heads and probably freak out a whole bunch of people. Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Think of it as wearing someone else's face, the hyper-realistic face of a stranger. That's what an arty mask shop in Tokyo is selling. Maybe Tom Cruise would approve. The shop's owner got over 100 submissions to be the model for this mask, right down to the skin imperfections.

There is one word in particular the mask evokes: "creepy," deliciously or otherwise. And those freaky eyes, that's probably how the model's eyes looked when realizing he was paid a mere $386 dollars to serve as the face of a mask that will sell for $950 apiece.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I own a mask shop, so I thought to be fun selling and buying people's faces.

MOOS (voice-over): At least the model's face was recreated using a 3D printer. No surgery required, as it was when John Travolta and Nicholas Cage swapped faces in "Face/Off."

[05:55:00]

MOOS (voice-over): The Japanese mask is not intended to protect against COVID.

Someone tweeted, "All the annoyances of wearing a mask, with none of the medical benefits."

Other mask makers, like this Brazilian artist, have created lifelike masks that meant to protect, while at the same time...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I use this mask in order not to lose my identity.

MOOS: To confuse your identity seems to be the point of the Japanese mask.

"Good for bank robberies," was a typical tweet.

"Can't wait for this dude to show up on wanted posters worldwide."

"I hate it. I hate it. I hate it."

But enough people love it that the store owner says interest is higher than expected for when the mask goes on sale in the New Year. Creepy, yes. But it could've been worse -- much worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Love your suit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take this thing back to Baltimore.

MOOS (voice-over): Make that Tokyo -- Jeanne Moos, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Why not?

Turning our focus to the heavens now, to where the two largest planets in our solar system are closer than they've been in centuries and will soon form a conjunction called a Christmas star. 8

Saturn and Jupiter will be so close on December 21st, they'll look big and bright like a star. Of course, they're actually millions of miles apart and just appear close due to our vantage point here on Earth.

Astronomers suggest looking low in the Western sky around twilight to catch a glimpse of this rare event.

Well, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For our viewers in the U.S. and Canada, "NEW DAY" is just ahead. For everyone else "Going Green" is next.