Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

U.K. Regulators Approves Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine; Argentina's Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Abortion; Russian Death Toll May Be Much Higher Tan Official Tally; Vaccine Gives Hope to Those with Complex Medical Conditions. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 30, 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]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:30 here in London. And we have been keeping a close eye on our top story as the British government says regulators have now approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. It becomes the second vaccine authorized for use in the U.K.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is celebration the approval. He tweeted this --

This is truly fantastic news and a triumph for British science that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use. We will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me now with latest on the vaccine. And Salma, after two days in a row of record COVID numbers that you and I have been discussing, this is really a dose of good news finally. Talk to us about what we know about this vaccine and crucially the vaccination plan.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Isa, it's definitely a ray of light in what has been a very terrible bout of bad news. COVID-19 literally plaguing London and a lot of affected areas, particularly this variant. So of course, the House Secretary Matt Hancock when he was announcing this today was triumphant. Saying that this a victory for British scientists. That this is a sign of progress. That this will bring the end of the pandemic sooner.

So what's the rollout plan? Well, the vaccine could start to be rolled out as early as January 4th, a matter of days. On Monday we could see the first people receiving their jabs here. So a lot of excitement to watch that all happen.

But there is something that we've been waiting to find out. Which is this winning formula that the scientists and researcher have been talking about. That they say will improve the effectiveness of this vaccine. And what's that winning formula? Well, it turns out it's time, Isa. Time.

So what they're going to do, is they're going to prioritize giving the first jab, the first dose of that vaccine as quickly as they can, to as many people as they can and then wait on the second dose. Potentially up to three months.

Why do that? Well, the scientists and researchers behind this vaccine say that two weeks after you get that first jab you already have your sort of protection, your shield from COVID-19 kick in. And that they have not seen anyone hospitalized with COVID-19 during trials after that first jab. So now that is the priority. That is the purpose. Relieves the pressure on the health care system by giving as many people as possible that first jab. Wait on the second jab, even if it's 12 weeks. But give everybody that first jab and have more and more people protected against COVID-19 and less and less people going into hospitals -- Isa.

SOARES: And we heard, Salma, in the last hour from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock who says that the second vaccine could be part out of the pandemic by spring. As well a virologist I spoke to said that's probably that's a bit too optimistic. Take a listen to what the health secretary had to say in the last few moments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATT HANCOCK, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: We've enough of this vaccine on order to vaccinate the whole population. You know, we've got 100 million doses on order, add that to the 30 million doses of Pfizer and that's enough for two doses of the entire population. So I can now say we've confidence that we can vaccinate everyone except of course, for children, because this vaccine has not been trialed on children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Salma, do we know -- so that's the health secretary giving us an idea on what the vaccination plan that you were talking about will take place and we'll know more details in the coming hours most likely. But do we know, Salma, whether this vaccine is effective with this new strain?

ABDELAZIZ: Well, the health secretary says that as far as they know it is effective against this new strain. And I'll tell you why he's sort of touting it as something that could bring the end of the pandemic sooner -- although experts might say that's a bit optimistic. That's because it is so much easier to transport. It is logistically easier. It does not need the special refrigeration capacity. Those extra cold temperatures that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine needs.

This can just be held in a normal fridge. The fridge at my home or your home. So potentially what this means is that now these vaccines can go directly into care homes, into nursing homes and be more accessible to the most vulnerable people who need the vaccines -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, it's much cheaper a well, as you've been saying, it's $3, the price of your morning latte.

[04:35:00]

Now crucially we are expecting to hear from the government later today about whether other parts of the country will go into the highest tier. I think there's around 40 percent of England already at the highest tier, tier four. But also, Salma, so many parents wondering whether schools will open next week? Whether term will start next week give the record breaking number of cases we've seen in the U.K. What are you hearing from government as to how they may move on that?

ABDELAZIZ: Isa, you know the score issue here has been one that's quite interesting and quite controversial. I can tell you that I was at a school just a couple of weeks ago on their last week before they went into their Christmas break, where they were rolling out a mass testing program for students. They were testing students for coronavirus at this school.

And I spoke to the principle, the head teacher of this school and she told me that although she is all for the mantra of keep schools open, she was finding it completely impractical to keep her school open. And this is why. She had so many teachers that were self-isolating because they had either been in contact with someone or were ill themselves with coronavirus. She had so many students who were being isolated because they themselves had been in contact.

So you essentially had this hodgepodge of people in school and people remote learning. She said, listen, this isn't going to work. We need to take a break. We need to step back. It's better for me to one system in place that everybody can do remote learning from home safely. Rather than have this mix of people in and people out and being short staffed -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, especially when we hear from experts, Salma, that perhaps the tiers that we have in place in some parts of the country are not sufficient to try and combat the virus. Salma Abdelaziz for us in London. Thank you very much Salma. Good to see you.

Now After months of negotiations, British lawmakers are getting ready to finally approve a post Brexit trade deal. In the last hour European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel signed the agreement in Brussels. And now it's time for the British Parliament to weigh in. You're looking at live pictures. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to open the debate, which is going to last several hours. They're going to debate from 80 page bill. They'll no doubt scrutinize it. They'll probable want longer to scrutinize it than what they're initially going to get. But that's going to happen throughout the day today. And of course, we'll keep on top of that story.

Still ahead, new COVID numbers out of Russia. Why the country's coronavirus death toll may be much higher than previously thought.

And Argentina has taken a historic step for women's rights. Why people filled the streets into the early morning hours next.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Well the search for survivors is ongoing at this hour in Central Croatia. One day after the area was struck by a powerful earthquake. It was the second quake in two days. At least seven people were killed. There are reports of the worse hit town of Petrinja has no running water or electricity. The mayor has put out call for emergency aid.

And just a short time ago, a landmark moment for women's rights in Argentina.

As you see there, cheers ringing out through Buenos Aires after Argentina's Senate passed an historic bill legalizing abortion. Supporters say it is a landmark moment. This has been a long divisive issue in the predominately Roman Catholic country. The bill galvanized activists on both sides of the debate. Argentina also happens to be of course the birthplace of Pope Francis.

Let's bring out CNN Vatican analyst John Allen who's standing by in Rome for more. And John, a history being made in the last few hours in Argentina. The first major country in Latin America to really legalize abortion. Not a surprise because it has been many years in the making. But still a very divisive issue for people there.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Oh, incredibly divisive, Isa. First of all, hello there, happy holidays to you. Obviously, the holidays turned just slightly sour for Pope Francis today, who awoke to discover this watershed decision in his home country.

As you say, I think the pope probably saw this coming. The trend lines have been moving in this direction for some time. You'll remember that in 2010 when Pope Francis was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires. Over his opposition Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage.

Two years ago it was on the verge of legalizing abortion. The bill narrowly lost then in the Senate under a center-right government. Two years later, of course, the center-left government of President Alberto Fernandez has aggressively promoted this move. So no real surprise. But nevertheless, a sort of bitter pill for the pope to swallow, especially given that he had engaged fairly energetically personally in this debate. Including writing to a group of four mothers opposed to abortion earlier in the year, encouraging them.

Writing to a priest to testify before the lower house in Argentina. Insisting that in his view this isn't a religious issue, but a scientific one. That is the pope who believes that biological science shows us that life begins at conception and therefore deserves protection. So he sort of pulled out all of the stop but that clearly was not enough to halt the momentum.

SOARES: Yes, and I suspect, John, not just -- or I consider snub for the pope, but perhaps also for the Catholic Church. What do we expect -- how do we expect the Catholic Church to react in Latin America, which has held so much sway in issues such as abortion?

ALLEN: Well you know, Argentina has long prided itself on being the most European nation in Latin America. And in some ways what we're watching is Latin America going the cultural route of Western Europe. That is a place where the Catholic Church once called the shots. Set the social, political, cultural tone. Increasingly it doesn't do that anymore and, therefore, the church is going to have to learn how to make its way in a society where the law doesn't reflect in all details Catholic teaching.

That's a transition that has unfolded very slowly and in fits and starts in Europe. In some ways the church is still trying to figure it out. I think this is going to be a long term issue for Latin America as well. But I think today's decision clearly indicates which way things are moving -- Isa.

SOARES: Indeed, John Allen for us in Rome. Thanks very much John.

Now reunited at last. After months of restrictions, parents are able to visit their children with severe medical issues as they receive their vaccines. Details just ahead.

[04:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Russia's coronavirus death toll may be much higher than previously reported. New data shows there were nearly 230,000 more deaths than compared to the same time last year. The deputy prime minister says a majority of them can be blamed on COVID which would raise the nation's actual death toll closer to 186,000.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now with more. And Matthew, for some time I know there has been plenty of skepticism about the numbers coming out of Russia and what relates to COVID. So break it down for us. What's the reality on the ground? And why is it taking so long to actually acknowledge these numbers?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Isa, we've known for a long time that the actual numbers of people who have been -- have died with COVID-19 are far greater than the official figures that have been put out sort of on a daily basis from the monitoring -- the official monitoring centers in Russia.

And that skepticism has been backed up by the social media video that we've seen coming out of Russia, of overflowing morgues, with bodies strewn everywhere simply through a lack of space.

[04:50:00]

Through the crammed hospital wards across the vast country. Where they simply don't have enough room to take patients in.

You know, the testimony of frontline medical workers who have spoken to us about how many people are dying and how that doesn't represent the reality of the -- doesn't represent the reality of what's going on.

This now for the first time the deputy prime minister acknowledging that of the excess deaths over the past 11 months, the duration of the pandemic, something in the region of 229,000 people, 81 percent of that figure, she says, is related to COVID-19. That would make, as you said, the actual death toll in Russia. Not 56,000, which is bad enough, which is what the official figure is, but more like, you know, 156,000, which would make it the third highest death toll in the world.

SOARES: And given these numbers, these shocking numbers, Matthew, how is the government been reacting? I mean, what is their assessment of their handling of the pandemic?

CHANCE: Well, I think the Russians would give themselves, you know, a very high rating, if you like, when it comes to how they handled it. In the sense that they were the first country in the world to register a vaccine for emergency use. The Sputnik-V vaccine back in August was approved for use in the general public, even before phase 3 human trials had come to an end.

They've been I think relatively slow in rolling that out given that it's been out there since August. They've had some problems in their production facilities, but they have been vaccinating, you know, vulnerable groups like frontline medical workers and teachers, and is starting mass vaccinations now amongst the general public.

And so, the Russians would say they've done a relatively good job. But of course, when you add to that the lack of transparency over the people who have died with COVID and these figures that are now starting to emerge and have been emerging over the past couple of months. I think you have to take a very different view of how well Russia has done when it comes to dealing with this pandemic that has affected of course countries across the world.

SOARES: Indeed, Matthew Chance for us in London. Thanks very much Matthew.

We're going to take you now to the U.S. where so far just over 2 million Americans have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. But President-elect Joe Biden is criticizing the Trump administration's rollout plans. Saying they're far behind their end of year goal to vaccinate 20 million people. While President Trump has been shifting blame to individual states, Biden is pledging to, quote, move heaven and earth once he's sworn in to get more Americans vaccinated.

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 and was set to take office on Sunday. Louisiana's governor ordered that the flags would stay to be flown at half-staff.

Now to New York where more than 11,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported, but the vaccines are now providing some hope as well as relief. Especially at one facility that cares for those suffering from complex medical issues. Our Gary Tuchman has the story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In New York State's Catskill Mountains. It's a landmark day for these young people, all of them who have severe medical issues and comorbidities. Today's the day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey. One, two, three. Awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): They get the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Awesome buddy.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is the 1,500-acre center for discovery, where hundreds of vulnerable children and adults with complex medical conditions live and visit for clinical treatments and educational, social, nutritional and recreational experiences. 24-year-old Candra Dese (ph) has cerebral palsy.

TUCHMAN: That's a beautiful hat. How do you know to make a hat? I have no idea how to make a hat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do.

TUCHMAN: I do? I couldn't do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are done. Good job.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): For months, the residents here were not able to see their parents and families in person because of COVID. Now with proper precautions they can, and parents are with their children as they get their vaccines.

DENISE LOMBARDI, RJ'S MOTHER: Good job. You're doing great.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): RJ has severe autism. His mother says his grandfather died from COVID in April.

LOMBARDI: And I know that my dad would be so proud. And how well RJ, you know, has done for this entire ordeal. And particularly today you saw how much of a trooper he was getting his shot.

[04:55:00]

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Jodie also has profound autism and seizure disorders.

JODIE SINGER, PATIENT: Looks like a boo-boo.

ALISON SINGER, JODIE'S MOTHER: Yes. OK, look, I need a boo-boo.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Her mother says not being able to see Jodie in person for months was excruciating.

A. SINGER: Just the thought of that, for me has been the worst part of the pandemic. So, getting the vaccine today --

J. SINGER: Clock.

A. SINGER: -- it's the beginning of the end of that nightmare.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Although residents and employees here have tested positive for COVID over these months, there have been no deaths. Credit is given to the diligence of the employees here about 1,700 of them and they too are getting the vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, here we go. Tell me you're ready.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): After all it's the employees who can bring the virus in.

PATRICK DOLLARD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CENTER FOR DISCOVERY: Their courage and their efforts just keep us moving forward. But we have to stay with it. You know, it's not a mic drop yet. You know, we still have to get through this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The parents visiting realize this frightening time is not over. But the relief on this day is palpable.

MICHAEL ROSEN, NICKY'S FATHER: It is so emotional. And he knew in his gut that this is something he wanted to do. I can't tell you how emotional it is to watch. So many of you were so worried about for so many months. Now automatically we see hope on the horizon.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): And remember the hat maker we met earlier?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, a little pinch. Ready? Can you feel it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): And all Candra says she is most grateful that she too, has now been vaccinated.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Monticello, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: That's it for us. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Isa Soares. Do stay with CNN as we continue to follow the breaking news out of the U.K. Another coronavirus vaccine getting the green light. We'll have more on that after a quick break. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans is next. Do stay right here with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:00]