Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Logistical Issue Delays Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine in EU; U.K. Records Highest Daily Rise in COVID-19 Cases; U.K. Could Authorize Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine in Days; Cuba to Impose Travel Restrictions Due to Rise in Cases; Trump to Hold Rally in Georgia Before Runoff Elections; Churches Playing a Key Role in Pivotal Runoff Election; Returning to the Epicenter of the First U.S. Coronavirus Outbreak. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 29, 2020 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Isa Soares.

I want to take you right here to the U.K., which is marking a grim milestone, on Monday reporting more than 41,000 new coronavirus cases. You can see there on your graphic. That's the highest daily rise of cases since the pandemic began. And this comes as the. U.K. could soon approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Meanwhile, logistical issues are delaying the delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to countries in the European Union. The company says the issue has been resolved and that those hundreds of thousands of doses are now being dispatched.

Let's get more on both of those stories. Our correspondents are covering all developments across Europe. Salma Abdelaziz is live for us in London, Cyril Vanier is standing by in Paris. Salma let me start with you. We're seeing a tragic milestone here for the U.K. as the country fights off this new variant. Talk to us about the challenges the country is facing this time around, and how it compares to that peak we saw in April.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Isa, by a lot of measures, this is worse than the first wave. We are looking at an unprecedented infection rate on Monday, more than 41,300 new coronavirus cases recorded in this country, breaking the daily record since the pandemic began. There are more hospitals -- rather more patients in hospital with coronavirus than ever before.

The National Health Service says that they are teetering. They are struggling. They are on the edge. We also heard from the London ambulance service just yesterday saying the day after Christmas was nearly as busy as the busiest day in March. 800 emergency calls, and a lot of this is due to a new variant of coronavirus that the government here says is more transmissible, spreads more easily.

And London and the affected areas are where this is prevalent, and they are essentially under a localized lockdown right now. And we're expecting more restrictions to be rolled out tomorrow when all of these regional rules are reviewed by Parliament. So more rules, more restrictions, up ahead, and again, a health service that's absolutely overwhelmed, and warning that they just might be overcapacity next year -- Isa.

SOARES: And Cyril, vaccination campaigns, we're starting to see them picking up steam in Europe, but not without logistical challenges. Talk me throw those, Cyril.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. We always knew that fanning out what is currently Europe's only authorized coronavirus vaccine was going to be a major logistical challenge, and now we've seen that hundreds of thousands of doses of this Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have actually been delayed. I should say the delivery of those doses has been delayed.

They are all made in Belgium, and Pfizer has acknowledged that minor logistical issues which were then described by the health Spain ministry, as issued to do with handling and loading, that is what has delayed delivery of some of the doses of the vaccine.

For instance, Spain, which was supposed to get its resupply yesterday is now getting it today. So this is still, on this scale, fairly minor and fairly short of a delay, but it shows how dependent Europe is on this vaccine. It also underscores why Europe made contracts with five other vaccine makers, and it is so 2020, Isa, that the only vaccine currently authorized in Europe is also the hardest one to ship everywhere.

Because as we know, this Pfizer vaccine has to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius. That's minus 96 Fahrenheit, and keeping that cold chain going from Belgium, through to the confines of Iceland or the Czech Republic or Poland or France or Spain, you know, it's a major challenge -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, it's a major logistical nightmare, isn't it, Salma? But there is some potentially good news. News that we're expecting this sometime this week, the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine expected to be approved in the U.K., we're hearing this week. How does that differentiate, Salma, from the Pfizer vaccine that Cyril has been talking about?

ABDELAZIZ: Well you just heard my colleague Cyril there, tell you about the refrigeration capacity, the cold chain that has to be maintained. Well with the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, that is not needed. A normal refrigerator will do. It's also cheap. Only costs about three pounds, $4, the same as your morning latte. So a lot of advantages there as well with that.

Of course it's made right here in the U.K. So a lot of national pride around it. There's some debate about its efficacy. But researchers say they have a magical formula to make that all better. So again, a lot of excitement here. Because that could be rolled out as early as January 4th -- Isa.

SOARES: We all need a magical formula, don't we? Thank you very much Salma Abdelaziz and Cyril Vanier. Thank you very much, great to see you guys.

Joining me now from Oxford, England is Sian Griffiths, the emeritus professor of Chinese, University of Hong Kong. She's also chaired Hong Kong's inquiring 2003 SARS epidemic. Professor, thanks very much for being with us.

[04:35:00]

Let's start, if I may with a sharp increase that we were just reporting there with Salma Abdelaziz, our correspondent in London. In the new cases we're seeing here, a record 41,000 plus testing positive. Do we know the percentage of these infections, what percentage are from the new variant, I should add?

SIAN GRIFFITHS, EMERITUS PROFESSOR, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: The figure that has been quoted for southeast England and London is around 70 percent because that's where we've seen the sudden increase of the new variant.

As you remember, you identify it through genomic sequencing. And genomic sequencing was put into play at the beginning of December, because we were still seeing large increases in cases in the southeast, despite having had a lockdown. And people were saying, was it just behavioral or was it something else? And the something else was this new variant.

So, now the new variant does appear to have taken a grip in the southeast. And so what we're seeing is large increases in cases within London boroughs, sometimes over a 1,000 per 400,000. That's really high. In my own patch in the countryside, it's still 100 percent increase in cases during the last week. So, we're seeing a rapid rise in cases which then knocks on to hospital admissions and pressure on our NHS.

SOARES: And that's exactly going to be my next question. You know, we're starting to see hospitals under extreme pressure, care beds being limited. Health care workers once again in the eye of the storm, many of them actually infected themselves. Give me a sense of what you're hearing from the medical community, and how different it is to the height of the pandemic back in April.

GRIFFITHS: I think the difference from the height of the pandemic back in April is that as you were reporting, there is a sense of hope because the vaccine is around. So, although hospitals themselves are under huge pressure, some of them are having to cancel elective surgery to reorganize the way they work because it's not just the COVID cases. It's also the other respiratory infections which always rise during winter or winter pressure.

So, it's not just COVID. Our hospitals are under huge pressure. The beds are under huge pressure. The ambulance servicing under a huge pressure. But I think it feels different, because we can see that A, we've learned a lot from the treatment, so the scientists have been refining treatment. We now can used dexamethasone for example. Methods in ICU are refined. So, but that's put pressure on everybody on the hospitals, but at the same time we can see the vaccine but are particularly and hopeful about the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, as you were saying. Once that comes on stream, easier to give in the community, it's easier to get the numbers up.t

SOARES: And That was Professor Sian Griffiths joining me from Oxford, England.

I want to take you to Cuba where the government will restrict incoming flights from several countries and tighten border restrictions. That's after a right in new COVID cases on the island. Most of those new infections been linked to international travelers. Patrick Oppmann reports now from the Cuban capital, Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cuban health officials on Monday said that starting in January, they'll begin to reduce the number of flights coming from countries that have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic like the United States, Mexico, Panama and the Bahamas.

Cuba recently has seen a surge in new cases and officials say that most of those new cases, more than 70 percent, are people coming into this country from abroad, already infected bringing the coronavirus illness with them.

And so that by reducing the number of flights and reducing the number of travelers coming in on those flights that should help Cuba begin to get the spread of this pandemic once again under control.

Cuba for most of 2020 was under lockdown, which kept the number of new cases here very, very low, compared to much of the rest of the region. But had a major impact on the economy as there was no tourism.

As Cuba has begun to reopen up out of necessity, to help the economy once again grow, they have seen near the number of cases slowly start to rise. As we've gotten into the holiday season, when many Cuban Americans frankly from Florida have begun to return to the island. That is when officials they've seen a surge.

On Monday they said they had a record number of new cases, 229 new cases. And that has led them to first announce that travelers will be required to show a negative PCR test within 72 hours of their travel.

And then on Monday, officials said that they would actually begin to reduce flights from a list of countries that have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus.

This is a turnaround for Cuba, which officials here have said that they felt that they had the virus under control, that they felt they could manage it. But what they have seen as has been the case in so many other countries, is that by opening up too quickly, once again that has led to a reset.

[04:40:00]

And Cuba while not going back to a full lockdown, will begin to reduce the number of travelers that can come to this island.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, as Republicans fight to hold on to their Senate seats in Georgia, they're going to be getting some special help from Washington. We'll explain when we come back.

And CNN goes back to one of the original COVID-19 epicenters, the U.S. facility that made headlines as an early hot spot for the virus. We'll bring you that story after a very short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: We are just a week away from Georgia elections that will decide the future of the U.S. Senate. All four candidates are making a final campaign push. And for the Republicans, an extra bit of help is coming from the White House. President Trump is planning on holding a rally on the eve of the runoff elections. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidates are asking for donations, a warning that they're being out spent. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON OSSOFF, U.S. DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: We are making unprecedented investments in turnout, mobilization, voter protection. There is movement energy right now in Georgia. Democrats are excited, but look, here's what people really need to understand. First of all, Republican combined spending is vastly more than Democratic spending. but more to the point, Republicans are filing lawsuit after lawsuit to disenfranchise black voters in Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: As you can imagine, there has been plenty of national interest this these runoffs, but as Kyung Lah reports, Georgia churches could be a deciding factor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put our hands together Antioch.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Antioch A.M.E. Church in Atlanta suburbs, the Georgia Senate runoff is front and center, progressive and conservative Christian groups determined to move the faithful from the pews to the polls.

[04:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we want to be a ready church, because the whole world is counting on us to make the Senate blue.

LAH (voice-over): At stake, control of the U.S. Senate.

LAH: How important is the role of the church in these runoffs?

REGINALD T. JACKSON, BISHOP, 6TH DISTRICT AME: Oh, I think it is critically important. I think we saw in November, there was a huge turnout among blacks and a surprising turnout for some, and I think the church played a major role.

LAH (voice-over): It's important to note that we are in the South.

JACKSON: The black church is extremely strong in the South and historically, the black church has led the effort for justice.

LAH (voice-over): A passion the bishop believes will bring out voters for the two Democratic challengers.

JON OSSOFF, U.S. DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: And your standard bearer is a young, Jewish son of an immigrant mentored by John Lewis and a black preacher who holds Dr. King's pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church, hallelujah.

LAH (voice-over): But this is the Bible Belt.

REV. VANDY C. SIMMONS, SENIOR PASTOR, ANTIOCH AME CHURCH: Right now, we are challenging our so-called evangelical brothers and sisters. We challenge them to be better. We challenge them not to hide behind something called pro-life.

LAH (voice-over): And there is another major force of faith in Georgia's run-off. This is Flat Creek Baptist Church, part of the conservative Baptist network.

REV. JOSH SAEFKOW, SENIOR PASTOR, FLAT CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH: We got a little election coming up. Vote Christian.

LAH (voice-over): Head pastor, Reverend Josh Saefkow.

SAEFKOW: We need to vote with a context of Scripture in our minds.

LAH (voice-over): There's little doubt with that means to Evangelicals.

ALLISON YATES, BAPTIST PARISHIONER: I always vote for the candidate that most aligns with my Christian faith. And in this runoff, especially, you know, I'm voting for the candidates that are pro-life.

LAH (voice-over): Reverend Warnock's pro-choice stance and his words from the pulpit, often taken out of context, have been the target of the fiercest Republican attacks.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, hello Georgia!

LAH (voice-over): Vice President Mike Pence has campaign multiple times for Georgia's Republican senators, underscoring abortion.

PENCE: David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler stand for the right to life. LAH (voice-over): A potent to get out the vote force for Evangelicals, says this pastor.

SAEFKOW: I think it's advantageous for all of us followers of Jesus to elect people who represent our world view.

LAH: You would like to see more engagement.

SAEFKOW: There ain't no doubt about it. We've become more engaged as a church family, so we can make an educated decision in the voting booth, but also being framed through the scripture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amen.

LAH (on camera): The president is scheduled to be in the state next week. It is the day before the election. And he's heading to Dalton, Georgia. It's in a county that he won by 70 percent. It is a reminder that these runoffs are about turning out the base for the Republicans. That includes Evangelicals.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Fines, threats, and legal battles, this is what one Washington care facility has endured in addition to fighting COVID-19 for nearly a year. More on that story when we return.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: U.S. troops based in South Korea are being vaccinated as the country records some of its worst COVID-19 numbers yet. Frontline health care workers and first responders in the military are receiving the first doses. There are reports of vaccinations are voluntary and will be given to other troops as supplies are ready.

South Korea's reporting 40 COVID related deaths on Monday. That is the highest jump in coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Now when the coronavirus was first detected in the U.S., the Seattle area was the epicenter of the outbreak. CNN's Sara Sidner returned to the nursing home that first confronted the virus to speak with staffers who just received their COVID-19 vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALICE CORTEZ, NURSING MANAGER, LIFE CARE CENTER OF KIRKLAND: That feels good.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These were some of the very first people in the United States to go to war with a new virus without weapons to fight it. Ten months into the pandemic they are finally getting the most powerful weapon available -- a vaccine.

SIDNER: What is this day like for you?

CORTEZ: What I feel right now is a new life, a new beginning but a better life.

SIDNER (voice-over): This was the first epicenter of Americas deadly coronavirus outbreak.

SIDNER: What was your most difficult day?

CHELSEA EARNEST, NURSING DIRECTOR: March 4th.

SIDNER (voice-over): Registered nurse Chelsea Earnest cannot get the memory of what happened that day out of her head.

EARNEST: That was the night there was like five ambulances in the parking lot.

SIDNER (voice-over): Patients were dying or needed to be hospitalized. Ultimately, 39 patients died, 10 died at the facility.

SIDNER: Whose job was it to call the family members?

EARNEST: There were many that I had to call either say they were going out to hospital, or that they didn't make it.

SIDNER (voice-over): The trauma of those days in March and the family members' cries haunts them all. That same months, several members of the staff spoke to CNN.

Life Care Center said in the first few days they begged government agencies for help and received little.

SIDNER: Did you get what you need when you needed it?

EARNEST: No. No.

SIDNER (voice-over): Testing took days to get results then. Now they have a rapid test that takes minutes. Initially, the staff was blamed for not controlling the COVID outbreak by just about everyone.

EARNEST: We got threats.

SIDNER: What kind of threats?

EARNEST: All kinds of death threats. We ended up getting security.

SIDNER (voice-over): And soon, threats of a loss in funding and a fine of $611,000 unless the facility resolved problems found by inspectors. Federal inspectors said Life Care fail to rapidly identify and manage all residents putting them in immediate jeopardy. State inspectors reported similar finding. Life Care Center appealed.

NANCY BUTNER, VICE PRESIDENT, LIFE CARE NORTHWEST DIVISION: We knew what we had done was the best we could have done.

SIDNER (voice-over): In September, a state administrative judge largely agreed saying the state provided relatively little evidence that the facility actually failed to meet any expected standard of care or failed to follow public health guidelines.

[04:55:00]

The federal case is still pending. Ten months after the initial chaos of the outbreak, the closest we could get was a look from the outside in. In-person visits are still forbidden.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why don't you guys cover his legs up?

SIDNER (voice-over): The chairs outside patients' windows used by families to communicate in March are now a semi-permanent fixture here. This facility is COVID-free right now, but several of the nursing homes, Nancy Butner oversees are not.

BUTNER: There is not a day that goes by where I don't get a phone call or a message that we have a new positive patient or staff.

SIDNER: Coronavirus still killing patients?

BUTNER: Absolutely.

SIDNER: Still sickening staff?

BUTNER: Yes.

SIDNER (voice-over): Which is why this day is one of the most hopeful days they've had. But for this physician's assistant, the day was bittersweet.

CHRISTY CARMICHAEL, PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT, LIFE CARE CENTER OF KIRKLAND: I have one resident who last week asked me if she could get the vaccination. I said sure you can. Unfortunately, she passed away. So I did promise her that she would get it. So it was just sad that she didn't get to see this today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Our thanks to Sara Sidner reporting from Kirkland in Washington. And we'll continue to follow this story and the COVID-19 pandemic here on CNN. For live updates be sure to visit our web site at CNN.com.

And that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Isa Soares live from London studio. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Ryan Nobles is next. Do stay right here with CNN. And I'll be back tomorrow, so tune in. Bye, bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:00]