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U.K. Okayed Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine; New Vaccine Much More Affordable; Argentina Approves Abortion; Mitch McConnell Swings COVID Relief Bill; 41-Year-Old Incoming Congressman Dies Of COVID-19; Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine Authorized in U.K.; At Least Seven Dead In Powerful Quake Hits Croatia; United States Braces For Winter Storm; Police Move To Fire Two Detectives Involved In Raid; Russia Faces Higher COVID-19 Death Toll. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 30, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Within the past hour, the U.K. approved another easy to store vaccine. Paving the way for millions more people to get protected against the coronavirus.

The COVID variant first found in the U.K. is now in the U.S., as the country reports the highest number of deaths since the start of the pandemic.

And celebrations are after major Latin American majority Catholic country makes history by moving to legalize abortion.

Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares. CNN Newsroom starts right now.

UNKNOWN: This is CNN breaking news.

SOARES: A very good morning, everyone. It is just gone past 8 o'clock here in London. We start this hour with breaking news out of the U.K where the government says regulators have just approved the Oxford AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

Now this is the second vaccine authorized for use right here in the U.K. Officials say the approval follows, quote, "rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts."

Let's get more on this. CNN's Phil Black joins me here from here in London with the latest. Phil, finally some good news out of the U.K. And relief no doubt that it has been authorized. Talk to us, Phil, about the advantages of this vaccine. And why so many have been excited about its approval.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, it is no overstatement to say that for the U.K., and indeed much of the world that hopes of getting ahead of the coronavirus in the relatively near future they really rest on this particular vaccine. And the reasons, well, it is cheap, just a few dollars per shot. Both Oxford University and AstraZeneca have committed to producing this at costs. So, no profit.

And on top of that, it is logistically convenient. You can move it around. You can transport it more easily because it only needs to be kept essentially in a fridge. It doesn't require the same deep, cold storage that the Pfizer vaccine requires, for example.

So, for these reasons, it can be rolled out in a faster and a much wider way to get to many more people. People that are more remotely located. And indeed just getting it to care homes and doctor surgeries as opposed to setting up specific vaccination centers in hospitals.

All of this will now be possible. And in line with this, the government today has also announced a shift in tactics in terms of how it's going to rule out its vaccines in this country now, too. Instead of trying to get two vaccines, both doses to people as quickly as possible is going to prioritize getting the first dose to as many people as possible as the vaccine stock becomes available.

That means that people will still get the second dose. But it's going to take longer. They're going to have to wait a little bit longer. The logic here is that it rolls out more widely and begins to build up some degree of protection within the community and it establishes that more broadly so that the country, the population can start to move ahead of the virus and that hopefully transmissions will then reduce, Isa.

SOARES: That is really interesting about breaking up the doses. And I'll speak to a virologist in the next few minutes, Phil, to get a deeper insight into that. Let's talk about the vaccine and its efficacy. Because there have been questions about how effective it is. In particular, how effective it is against this new strain. What do we know, Phil?

BLACK: So in terms of the new strain, broadly speaking, that is research that is still being carried out by everyone who is developing vaccines. But the consensus view appears to be among the scientific community that at this stage there's no reason to believe that vaccines would be significantly less effective against the new strain, the new more highly transmissible variant that has emerged.

When it comes to the Oxford University AstraZeneca vaccine specifically, its effectiveness has been controversial. The headline figure, I should say the top figure really, that has been published, is that it is 70 percent effective at ensuring that there are no symptomatic infections of COVID-19 beyond 14 days after receiving the second dose.

And perhaps more crucially, no one beyond that 14-day period within the trial group experiences a severe infection that required hospital treatment. But that 70 percent figure is a polled figure. It is an average. And that is because over the course of the trial, there was a mistake.

[03:04:59]

Now, Oxford University and AstraZeneca are talking about this as a happy mistake, serendipity in a sense. Because what they realize is that a small number of the trial participants had been given a smaller dose. A half dose initially. And when they followed that group through, what they found was that they had greater effectiveness. The figure there was 90 percent as opposed to the bulk of the trial group, which receive two full doses. Their figure was 62 percent.

And so that's how you get that average, that 70 percent figure. What the U.K. is going with is twofold doses because that's what the bulk of the data supports at this stage. Even though the researchers believed they have stumbled upon a potential sweet spot for increasing the effectiveness -- the data is not yet there in enough size in volume to support that.

So, what they now have to go out and do is essentially try and replicate those results on a bigger scale. But that's going to take time. In the immediate future for this emergency use, we're going with two full doses. The stated efficacy there is 62 percent. That is enough U.K regulators, Oxford University and AstraZeneca all believe to make a really big difference in terms of battling this virus in the near future. Isa?

SOARES: And Phil, before you go, talk to us -- of course this is -- this news is coming -- excuse me -- off the back of two record breaking days unfortunately for the U.K. in terms of COVID cases. It is, the U.K. yet again at worst stage what we saw in April at the peak.

BLACK: Yes, that's right. This is a dark time for the U.K. There is no doubt. And it looks like things are going to get worse. So, we've had yet another peak figure for daily known cases. More than 53,000. It comes at a time when hospitals are treating more COVID-19 patients than anyone than in any stage during the pandemic. And none of this yet factors the inevitable consequences of socializing that took place over Christmas.

So, the expectation is that things are going to get worse. And that is why today we expect the government to announce at the very least that more areas of the country are going to move into what are currently the highest levels of restrictions, known as tier four here. But there's also the possibility that it could move further.

There are calls for them to take tougher action like perhaps delay the planned opening of schools in the coming weeks. Or perhaps even move towards another national lockdown. But indeed, there is difficult time ahead because this is all putting stress on the health system. It's at breaking point, we are told. And so that is another reason why this new vaccine comes at such an important time. Isa?

SOARES: Phil Black for us there in London, thanks very much, Phil, with that breaking news.

I want to bring in now -- I want to bring in now Lawrence Young, he's a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick. Professor, thank you very much for joining us.

Let's start with the breaking news out of the U.K. How much is this vaccine a game-changer?

LAWRENCE YOUNG, VIROLOGIST AND PROFESSOR OF MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK: Well, it really is, and it's a ray of hope during a very, very difficult time for us in the United Kingdom. The benefit of this vaccine of, course is twofold. One is that the U.K. government have ordered 100 million doses. And the second is the logistics. It's much easier to roll out because it doesn't require ultra cold temperatures for storage. So, it's a good news day really, given everything else that we are going though at the moment.

SOARES: Do we know, professor, whether it's effective against this new strain given the number of cases we have seen in two days in a row, of record cases out of the U.K., and how much that new strain is behind that increase, that surge in the numbers -- how effective is it against this new strain?

YOUNG: Well, it's likely that the surge in cases we're seeing is because this new more transmittable strain is replacing all other varieties and variance of the virus. We know from looking at the changes in that - in that virus and where the mutations have occurred that it's extremely likely that the vaccines that are all being developed at the moment including the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that's already been rolled out in the U.K., and this -- and the new AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine, will be effective.

Because the body's immune system mounts a very profound and broader response to the virus. And these small changes will not affect that immune response.

SOARES: Right. But, having consider what you just said to me, if we take, if government takes a long time, let's say, to actually vaccinate the population, is there a change -- is there a fear within the scientific community here, professor, that perhaps the mutation will keep occurring and that will make it harder for vaccines to actually try to be effective? Is there a fear of that?

YOUNG: Yes, there is. And that's a very good point. For two reasons. One is we really got to get on and vaccinate as soon as possible to try and stamp out the virus.

[03:10:03]

But we also know the virus is changing. And we also know that the virus will continue to change and will change in response to vaccination. So, whilst this vaccine program is so important, what we've got to do immediately is continue with these harsh restrictions.

Because whatever happens with the virus in terms of it changing, it will still transmit in the same way. And therefore, the restrictions that prevent transmission, that is wearing face masks, being very careful about hand and face hygiene, social distancing, being careful in crowded spaces and the need for ventilation inside. All of those things will prevent transmission of any variant.

So, what's really important, I know we're going to hear more about this I know today in terms of further restrictions in the U.K. -- is that people will take notice of this advice --

SOARES: Yes.

YOUNG: -- that even with this variance we can stop transmission.

SOARES: And professor, we heard -- I don't know if you heard our correspondent Phil Black at the top of the show in the last few minutes saying that potentially the vaccination plan is to try and vaccinate at least the first round as many people as possible. Then build -- and then vaccinate much later the second round.

What is the thinking behind? It is still -- is that to break -- is that to build a strong immune system. What can you tell us?

YOUNG: We know that all vaccines work best if you give two doses. There is a priming dose that alerts the body's immune system, and then there is the boosting dose. And the times between those two doses is very, very variable.

What we know from the data coming out of most of the vaccines being developed, but particularly the AstraZeneca vaccine, is that the first dose does give you quite a proportion of protection.

SOARES: Right.

YOUNG: So that you get an immediate protection. And given the need to roll this out to as many people as possible, it makes sense in the first round to get as many people vaccinated with the prime vaccine, and then up to 12 weeks later -- you got a margin, about three months before you need to give the second dose.

So, I think this is a very sensible approach to ensuring we get as many of the vulnerable folks in our population and now health care workers vaccinated as soon as possible. So, I think it does make -- it does make immunological sense as well.

SOARES: Right. Very briefly, professor, I'm hearing from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock who has said in last few minutes that the U.K. will be out of this by the spring. How realistic is this, you think?

YOUNG: I think that's really optimistic. I mean, the issue here is, one of logistics.

SOARES: Yes.

YOUNG: Getting this vaccine rolled out to the entire population and certainly the most vulnerable, is going to take time. I'd love to think that we can do this, this time of the spring. I anticipate it being a little bit later. But we've just got to get on with it and we got to get all the organizational, logistical bits and pieces in place whilst we know that our National Health Service is under so much pressure.

SOARES: Indeed. Professor Lawrence Young, I appreciate you taking the time to speak for us this morning. Thank you, sir. Now do stay with CNN for more on the breaking news. Plus, still ahead,

the U.S. is hitting record COVID deaths as well as hospital admissions. The nation is lagging behind on vaccinations. Why health officials fear another surge could be on the way?

Plus, huge crowds filled the streets of Buenos Aires late into Tuesday night. Argentine's lawmakers spent hours debating a historic abortion bill. Why activists on all sides of the issue came out ahead of a landmark vote. We'll bring you both those stories after a very short break.

[03:15:00]

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SOARES (on camera): The COVID-19 pandemic's deadliest month in the U.S. is only getting worse. Daily coronavirus deaths hit another record high on Tuesday. You can see there with more than 3,700 reported. And right now, more Americans than ever are being treated for the virus.

In Los Angeles County, the number of people in the hospital for COVID is up 1,000 percent. You heard it right, 1,000 percent from just two months ago.

Meantime, the U.S. has confirmed its first case of the new variant of COVID-19 first found here in the U.K. Officials say a Colorado man has been infected despite having no travel history. They warned the more contagious variant is more likely -- is most likely already in other states as well.

The U.S. is among at least 26 other countries confirming its presence. But there are still signs of hopes as a vaccine rollout continues.

CNN's Nick Watt has more for you from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Yes, I'm ready.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There is a reason the V.P- elect just got vaccinated live on TV. To reassure black Americans, all Americans that it's safe.

HARRIS: It's about saving your life, the life of your family members, and the life of your community.

WATT: The outgoing V.P. did it. The president-elect did it. Lame duck Donald Trump has not. His administration projected 20 million doses in arms by New Year's. We're two days away. A little over two million shots logged. Not even close.

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Even if you undercount, two million is an undercount, how much undercount could it be? So, we are below where we want to be.

WATT: The federal government ships the doses but leaves the logistics from there to others. Here's the optimistic take.

WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Think of it like a locomotive getting started. Those first few wheel turns are slow and difficult, and then things move faster.

WATT: Meantime, more than 2,000 Americans on average are killed by COVID-19 every day.

FAUCI: I think we just have to assume that it's going to get worse.

WATT: The stay-at-home order for much of California was extended.

BARBARA FERRER, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH, L.A. COUNTY: On average, nine to 10 people in L.A. County test positive for COVID-19 every minute.

WATT: And ICU capacity across the region is at zero percent.

SCHAFFNER: What's going to happen in California when you run out of capacity? Physicians and bio ethicists in these hospitals will need to decide which patients are salvageable, potentially salvageable, and which patients aren't.

[03:20:04]

WATT: Nationwide, more patients are hospitalized with this virus now than ever before. And December is already the deadliest month of the pandemic. Then came Christmas. The travel, the gatherings.

COVID: In addition to the surge, we're going to have an increase super imposed upon that surge, which could make January even worse than December. I hope not.

WATT: Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: A few hours ago, in fact, cheers ringing out through Buenos Aires. Just a short time ago after Argentina Senate passed a historic bill legalizing abortion. It is a landmark moment for women's right. This has long been a divisive issue in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

The bill galvanized activists on both sides, I should say, of the debate. Argentina also happens to be of course, the birthplace of Pope Francis.

Let's bring in our senior Vatican analyst John Allen who standing by in Rome. And John, history being made the last few hours in Argentina. The first major country in Latin America to legalize abortion. It is not a surprise, because it's been years in the making in terms of the movement trying to approve this. But for many, still very divisive.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: It is very divisive, Isa. First of all, hello there. Happy holidays to you. Obviously, these holidays are slightly less happy for Pope Francis

this morning, who undoubtedly finds himself disappointed but not terribly surprised by the result. Things have been trending this way for some time. You'll remember that when he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010, over his opposition, he watched Argentina legalize same sex marriage.

This debate over abortion came up 2 years ago, in 2018. Just narrowly lost in the Senate. And the difference today, of course, is that Argentina has a center left government under President Alberto Fernandez who was aggressively backing this measure which probably explains the different result in the Senate.

Nevertheless, that does not make this less of a bitter pill for Pope Francis to swallow. As you say this has been a terribly divisive issue at home. The two sides even have their own color schemes. The pro- choice movement in Argentina wears green. The pro-lifers wear powder blue. It is divided families.

And certainly, this is an issue the pope -- that put some of his personal credibility on the line for, intervening several times directly. Pleading for this not to happen. So, it certainly will be seen as a setback, though perhaps one the pope did see coming, Isa.

SOARES: So, a bitter pill. A snub let's say for Pope Francis, the Argentinian pope, who like you said, John, has interjected regarding the vote. But also, no doubt, for the Catholic Church which perhaps for so long in Latin America and Argentina, held so much sway.

ALLEN: Yes, that's right. I mean, Argentina traditionally -- I'm sorry, Latin America traditionally has been an almost homogenously Catholic continent. Forty percent more, more than 40 percent of the world's Catholics still live in Latin America. And the church has been this sort of 800-pound gorilla of the social and political scene.

But obviously, this is another chapter in a transition from the Catholic Church not being the one that sort of calls the cultural shots. But rather being an important but minority presence. In that sense, Isa, Latin America is undergoing the same transition that Western Europe did some time ago.

There too, the Catholic Church and its bishops have had to adjust to not always getting their way and often having to live and move in societies where the civil order does not reflect church teachings, Isa.

SOARES: John Allen for us in Rome. John, I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. And happy holidays to you. Thank you.

Now, U.S. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could end up killing the effort to get Americans larger stimulus checks. On Tuesday, he introduced legislation that combines the COVID relief measure with two additional demands that Democrats oppose instead of allowing a direct vote on just the stimulus.

Let's bring in Robert Gutsche, he is an associate sociology professor at Lancaster University in England. He's the editor of a new book called "The Trump Presidency, Journalism and Democracy." Professor, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us.

Plenty for us to think our teeth into this morning. Let's start with the move by the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who has tied the larger relief checks with other two measures. What's the strategy here from him, do you think?

[03:25:03]

ROBERT GUTSCHE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, LANCASTER UNIVERSITY: Well some of this was a negotiation to get Donald Trump to sign the first bill. Right? To provide the $600 to Americans. But also, to stop the government from shutting down among lots of other funding budget line items here.

And so, these are -- these are taking a look at some of Donald Trump's issues, having to do with social media and holding them accountable in his eyes to the content that they spread which he thinks led to him losing the election and being anti-conservative and what it supports, or what it deems is being fake news, as well as other concerns of his.

But really, it's the 2,000 number. Right? Of wanting larger checks to go to American bank accounts.

SOARES: Now I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong here, professor, the move by Mitch McConnell doesn't necessarily guarantee that he will bring up the bill for a vote. But if he does, is this just a game of political chest, likely to kill off all of the three measures altogether?

GUTSCHE: Well, what we're also seeing that's playing into this is the January 5th Senate race in Georgia. And so, a lot of this is trying to curry favor with American voters. Because that decision is going to decide who is going to run, who is going to hold control in the U.S. Senate.

And so, even though there are lot of complexities and general, what looks like dismay on Capitol Hill, there's also an understanding that we need to have voters go to the polls and make decisions that would influence a Senate poll under a Biden presidency.

And so, one of the main issues here is how do we get those voters to go to the polls to secure the Senate for either side? And what they're doing at the same time is having voters be concerned about how the American democracy works. This is going back into the normalcy, I guess, of U.S. politics pre-Donald Trump. Which kind of fits to Donald Trump's rhetoric over the time that government can't get anything done.

And so, you know, even though he sat on that bill for five days and delayed a lot of things and added a lot of concerns about whether people get unemployment benefits or whatnot from the first bill. You know, he's actually proving a point in his own kind of bizarre way of running politics. That government is its own enemy at times. And certainly, isn't necessarily thinking about the average American who could use that money but also who is looking to the government for some sort of certainty particularly now in the middle of a pandemic.

SOARES: And you know, we are seeing I think it's fair to say, a feud within the Republican Party. Because we've seen several Republicans now supporting the expanded stimulus payments. But many others still believe they are not sound economic policy. So, how real the feud is there within the Republican Party?

GUTSCHE: Well, this is, this has been something that has been boiling up from not just pre-election, but certainly during the election about where they're going to land on if the election itself was valid, legitimate and if Donald Trump lost the election.

And certainly, you know, Republicans have been struggling a long time now for four or five years now to figure out where they stand in terms of what some considered turmoil on Capitol Hill. But some might also see as policies that are making America better if we were to use Donald Trump's rhetoric here.

And so, this kind of feud within the party is a real thing that's been brewing for a couple years. Certainly, then it got a big punch during the election. And this is kind of the first time that it's come before Congress, that they've had to make a decision, put a vote down on a piece of paper, make it, you know, make it stand and speak to their constituencies about who they are, what the Republican Party is, where it's going forward.

And quite frankly, where they are now when people are looking for how they are going to rent, how they're going to put food on the table. It's not a good look for Republicans to be blocking this even though there are a lot of other political pieces at play here. It really does for the American people come down to how do I make rent? How do I not get evicted? How do I put food on the table? And some of these other policies kind of take a second seat.

SOARES: Yes. It's such an important point here. Meanwhile, we have the president saying there are less republic, that they should vote for this unless the Republicans have a death wish.

Robert Gutsche, thank you very much for your time, sir.

GUTSCHE: Thank you.

SOARES: Now, an incoming Republican congressman has died of COVID-19. Louisiana's Luke Letlow was only 41 years old. He had won a U.S. House seat in a runoff election that was set to take office on Sunday.

[03:30:00]

Louisiana's governor ordered the flag in the state be flown at half- staff on the day of Letlow's funeral.

Right now we are following breaking news out of the U.K. Just in the last hour, government regulates approved another COVID-19 vaccine. The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine set to be rolled out in early the New Year. We'll have all of the details with the breaking news story after a very short break. You are watching, CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: It is just gone 8:30 here in the U.K. where in the last hour we have been following breaking news. The U.K. has authorize Oxford AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine. Government regulators say the vaccine has met their quote, strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

Let's get more from CNN Salma Abdelaziz. Has more of this breaking news. And Salma, after two days in a row of record COVID numbers, this news is very welcome indeed. What do we know about this vaccine? And crucially, the vaccination as well as the delivery plan?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): Well, let's start by talking about the vaccine, Isa. So this Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is set to be rolled out next week. Jobs could be given on January 4th, Monday. So just a matter of days. Of course, the British government says that this is a victory for British scientists. They are touting this as something that will bring on the end of the pandemic sooner. Because ultimately this, means more vaccinations, more jobs getting to that level of herd immunity, maybe a little bit earlier. In the first two weeks, the authorities want to vaccinate as many as 2 million people.

[03:35:03]

Again, those who are priority, are those who are over 80, the elderly and frontline health care workers. So, it will be very limited portion of the population. But there's a lot of advantages to this vaccine. That's why people are excited about it. It's cheap, only cost about 3 pounds, $4, same as your morning latte. And most crucially, Isa. It does not need the special refrigeration capacity that we see needed with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.

So we've already seen the delays happening in the E.U. All of that is less of a concern now. Because it can be stored in my fridge, or your fridge. And think about the global implications of this, right? Think about the ability to go into rural communities, put this in a normal fridge. Think about the ability to go into a nursing home or care home and put that in a fridge. Rather than having it in a centralized hospital, in big cities.

This is a massive deal. Because it means for the rest of the world, getting into parts of countries that may be that Pfizer BioNTech vaccine simply could not have reached. Isa?

SOARES: Yes, logistically so much easier. Salma, you and I were talking yesterday, looking ahead to this approval. And we were talking about the questions that have risen from the efficacy of this vaccine. And crucially, whether it can be effective, Salma, against this new strain. What are you hearing from the Oxford teams?

ABDELAZIZ: This has definitely been a matter of debate, a matter of controversy. And sort of a cloud -- a little bit hanging over this vaccine. But here's what the scientists and the researchers behind this vaccine say. They say, that they have a winning formula that will make the efficacy of this vaccine higher.

So, during preliminary trials, the efficacy was about 70 percent against immunizing against coronavirus. But researchers say if they change the dosage. If one of those two doses, because remember we need two doses of the vaccine, if one of those two doses is a half dose, that could bring the efficacy up to 90 percent. So putting it on par with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. Now, we're expecting to hear more about this from the researchers and the scientists behind it.

But they believe this works because it sort of mimics the immune system in a better way. So, they're really touting that winning formula. Pointing to that, they're going to be really advertising that as a way to bring the efficacy up. Bring it on par with Pfizer BioNTech. And then also advertising, guys, this is cheaper, and most importantly, it's easy to transport. Isa?

SOARES: Salma Abdelaziz for us there in London. That breaking news. Thanks very much, Salma.

In the last hour also heard from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who said that the second vaccine clears the path out of the pandemic by (inaudible) one virologist I spoke to the top of this hour said, that's probably a bit optimistic.

Well, do stay with CNN as we continue to follow that breaking news out of the U.K.

Plus, have more on this devastating earthquake rocking Croatia. Crews are still digging through the rubble as the search for survivors continues.

Plus, millions of Americans are set to welcome in the New Year with snow, ice and sever storm. These two systems sweep the nation. Have a check of your forecast next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

SOARES: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares, and you are watching CNN Newsroom. Now at least seven people are dead after a powerful earthquake struck Central Croatia. It was the second quake in two days.

And the search for survivors is still on. There were reports, the worst hit town of Petrinja has no running water or electricity. The mayor has put out a call for emergency aid.

CNN's Cyril Vanier joins me now from Paris for the latest. Cyril, what do we know at this stage about the search and rescue efforts? Are they still ongoing?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, Isa as we understand the search and rescue efforts still ongoing. Really what's been happening right now is that authorities are still assessing the extent of the damage. And people went through hell yesterday. Those are the words of one of the mayors of one of their towns hardest hit by this earthquake. And people were not able to go back into their homes.

Many chose not to go into the communal accommodations, like schools, that were being offered to them to spend the night. And so they lit bonfires and slept in their cars, outside their homes. I want to show you what it was like for them yesterday, from the moment the quake hit, Isa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER (voice over): The moment the earth shook in central Croatia. The mayor of the town of Petrinja almost knocked off his feet by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter, only 3 kilometers away. After the tremor, this is what Petrinja new looked like. Roofs collapsed. Buildings destroyed. The damage is extensive in this rural town of around 25,000 residents. The mayor fearing the worst.

DARINKO DUMBOVIC, PETRINJA, CROATIA MAYOR: I don't know if people in houses are alive or dead. Half of the city has been demolished. Our kindergarten has been demolished. Our court is demolished too. A lot of things were demolished. We are now struggling to organize with a new strength that we must find in ourselves. Because this is a sadness. This is a torment. I call for help. Anyone who can come.

VANIER: First responders and emergency services are activated. So are soldiers from the nearby barracks. The priority, save lives. Search for possible victims trapped under the rubble. And treat the injured. This one clutching a child as they are loaded into the ambulance. This is the strongest earthquake to hit the country since the advent of modern seismic measuring tools, according to the United States geological survey. And it was felt across the area.

In neighboring Slovenia, where the parliament session was interrupted. And in Croatia's capital, Zagreb, residents huddling outdoors. Taking stock of the damage.

Back near the epicenter, several fatalities are confirmed. And the number of injured is rising. The hospital of Petrinja barely able to function. Itself struck by the quake. The lights knocked out. Patients in the dark. Waiting to be evacuated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER (on camera): Now all the patients in that hospital, Isa, has since been airlifted to another hospital in the capital's Zagreb. Many of them couldn't be driven to the capital because a road -- a bridge I should say leading from that region to the capital was badly damaged. Also, we can report that according to our affiliate on the ground and one that all of the electricity in Petrinja has not yet been restored.

Lastly, Isa, there have been aftershocks. At least two registered by the United States geological survey. Coming in at 4.7 and 4.8 magnitude on the richer scale, respectively.

[03:45:00] And that really is a challenge after any earthquake. Is that usually there are aftershocks. And those two can, you know, cause damage to structures and be a real danger to the population there. Until the safety of those structures has been assessed, Isa.

SOARES: Absolutely. Cyril Vanier, there for us. Thanks so much, Cyril. Good to see.

Now, millions of Americans are bracing for what could be a treacherous end 2020. It's not one, but two storms will sweep the nation this week. About 40 million people in dozens of states are under winter weather alerts. The snow blanketed much all of the Midwest on Tuesday. Meanwhile, another system is taking shape further south.

Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is tracking the latest. Karen, not one but two. Talk us through it.

KAREN MAGINNIS, METEOROLOGIST, CNN WEATHER CENTER (on camera): Yes, a very complex, very dynamic weather systems. The system that moved across the Midwest yesterday that really pummeled portions with very heavy snow fall and some icy conditions. Like in Iowa, 10 inches of snowfall in some cases. That's about 25 centimeters of snowfall. Well, now that system is moving through the Great Lakes. And that's very dynamic still wintry weather.

But further to the south, it's kind of a different situation. We've got that warm sector, where the warm sector is, lots of moisture. And on the back side of this, also in the state of Texas, this is where we're looking at kind of an icy mix and perhaps changing over to snowfall. Along the I-10 corridor.

All right as we look at the high risk forecast radar. We still got some icing and snow, but mostly liquid precipitation across the northeast. Which extends down towards the Ohio River Valley. And a thin sliver of ice, places like Indianapolis and St. Louis. I think it will be brief there. For Chicago, pretty much the same. They start out with ice, changing over to rain, it's been quiet, go back to snow. So this is a very dynamic weather system.

Further to the south, right across the south central and Mississippi River Valley, two to four inches of rainfall. Or as much as 100 millimeters. The Gulf Coast region of Texas, about 7 million people from Houston to Corpus Christi and Sugar Land, you are looking at the potential for severe weather. That's in that warm sector of the system that I was talking about. Temperatures very mild. Lots of moisture here.

Then it expands out going into Thursday. New Year's Eve, and from New Orleans to Lafayette. Lafayette so hit hard by the hurricane season. Mobile, Alabama, towards Montgomery and into Birmingham. The risk of severe weather again. But we're looking at places like Martha, the Davies Mountains, into southwestern Texas, they can expect some snowfall. So very dangerous driving conditions.

And Isa, we haven't even talked about the Pacific Northwest. Back-to- back storm systems over the next few days. Keeping things interesting there, back to you.

SOARES: Karen Maginnis, thank you very much. Good to see you, Karen.

Now to Louisville Kentucky were two police detectives connected to the Breonna Taylor case could soon be fired. Taylor, remember was shot and killed inside her apartment during a flawed forced entry raid back in March. Detectives Joshua Jaynes and Myles Cosgrove have received pre- termination letters. The chief of police says James violated standard operating procedures when it came to search warrant operations and untruthfulness. Cosgrove fired a shot that killed Taylor, according to an FBI analysis. The police hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Now after months of speculation, we're getting a clear picture of Russia's actual coronavirus death toll. A new data suggests it's much higher than we expected. Our Matthew Chance has the latest after a very short break.

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[03:50:00]

SOARES: Russia's coronavirus death toll maybe three times higher than previously reported. The official tally stands at just about 55,000. But data from the country's statistics agency said nearly 230,000 more deaths were reported in Russia, compared to the same period last year. The Deputy Prime Minister says a majority of them can be blamed on COVID. That would put the country's actual virus death toll closer to 186,000.

Our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is following the story for us from London. And Matthew, for some time there has been so much skepticism about the numbers out of Russia and what relates to COVID. So break it down for us. What is the reality on the ground? And crucially, why has it taken so long to acknowledge these numbers?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, look, I mean, as you rightly say, Isa, the skepticism has been pretty widespread. The official figures that Russia puts out there in terms of deaths related to COVID-19, grossly understate the actual number of people who have died because of that pandemic and that disease. They did report actually in November, which you know, identified the fact that Russia only records as COVID deaths, people, patients who have been diagnosed with COVID, before they die. And who don't have any underlying health problems.

So people who've got late stage cancer, for instance died as a result of the disease, making it worse. Or people who have in fact had COVID after they died in the post mortem, they don't go on the official list. And that's led, as I say, a gross understatement of the actual number of people who have died. It is still a big number, 56,000 people is the official figure.

But, you know, what the Deputy Prime Minister was saying a couple of days ago now is that look, the number of excess deaths that have taken place over the course of the past 11 months, the duration of this pandemic, it's close to 230,000 people. About 80 percent of that figure, she said, are related to COVID-19. And so that would mean the death toll is somewhere in the region of 185,000 -- 186,000 people. Which makes it the third highest death toll in the world.

And obviously that's much more -- you know, that tallies much more accurately. With the kind of scenes we are seeing on social media, of morgue overflown with bodies. And a terrible testimony we are hearing from doctors and nurses, who worked on the frontlines in this pandemic in Russia.

[03:55:00]

SOARES: So that, 186, 000, like you said, Matthew, puts the country as the third highest in terms of number of a number of any country in the world. How has the government there been handling the pandemic? Or rather, what is their assessment on their handling of their own pandemic -- of the pandemic?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, I'm not sure that they make that kind of transparent self-assessment. Except to say that look, they've been doing a lot to try and bring this under control. They were one of the first -- they were the first country to approve for emergency use a vaccines. They did that back in August. And that vaccine which is called sputnik v. has been rolled out ever since then. Frontline health care workers and teachers are among those who have been already vaccinated.

It's a process that is ongoing. They wanted to vaccinate a lot more people than they have done. There's been some problems as I understand it, with the production of this vaccine. The facilities have not quite got up to speed yet. But they've been exporting -- they are doing deals to export that vaccine overseas in very many countries in the region. And in Latin America, in Asia, in Africa as well.

They've also been imposing at times, quite strict lockdowns. Imposing essentially, very tight restrictions on people in Moscow. But at other times letting people basically roam free and mixed quite really and that's led to a spiraling upward of the number of infections in the country.

SOARES: Matthew Chance for us there in London. Thanks very much, Matthew, good to see you.

And that wraps up this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Isa Soares, I'll be back with some more breaking news out of the U.K. in just a few moments. Don't go anywhere.

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