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Coronavirus Pandemic: CDC Predicts Up to 424,000 U.S. Deaths By January 23; Trump Remains Focused on Election Loss; Spain, UK Form Draft Agreement on Gibraltar; U.S. Defense Officials Split Over Potential For Iranian Attack. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired January 01, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:20]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to the viewers right around the world. Happy New Year, everyone. I'm Isa Soares in London, where it's just gone 10:00 in the morning here.

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SOARES: From New York, to Hong Kong, to London, there is a sense, really, of hope, as well as optimism that 2021 will bring better days. It was a message of hope, amplified by incoming U.S. President Joe Biden. Take a listen.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I'm more optimistic about America's chances than I've ever been, and I've been around this for a while. We have the most productive workers in the world, we've now found vaccines that are available, and they're going to work. If people -- if we can just get a better way to get them out there quicker. I find that we're in a situation where we once again have to step up and lead the world and lead the nation.

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SOARES: New Zealand was the first, major country to celebrate and because of the remarkable job it's done handling the pandemic, large crowds were allowed in Auckland to watch the fireworks and here is how the annual ritual played out, right around the world.

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SOARES: Meanwhile, the United States is closing out the year -- closed out the year, I should say, on the cusp of 20 million infections and almost 350,000 deaths.

Have a look at this. New cases and deaths continue to soar, right across the United States. The final day of 2020 saw another 3,400 Americans succumb to the virus. Medical experts fear holiday parties, as well as careless gatherings will result in even more COVID misery, ending New Year. Hospitalizations, already at an all-time high, with more than 125,000 COVID patients. One California health official says overcrowded facilities there, on the brink of catastrophe.

And if there ever was a silver lining to 2020, it was the rapid, of course, development of several, promising vaccines. But the rollout in the United States has been shaky, at best. Only a fraction of the 12 million or so available doses have actually been given to people.

We get more, now, from CNN's Sara Murray.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: A very, very tough year. This is the worst that we've had literally in 102 years.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As 2020 comes to a close, the coronavirus is still wreaking devastation across the country and lifesaving vaccines are lagging behind.

FAUCI: We would have liked to have seen it run smoothly and have 20 million doses into people by the end of the 2020, which was the projection.

MURRAY: Hailed as the light at the end of the tunnel, vaccines have been slow to make their way into American's arms.

[05:05:04]

Less than 2.2 million shots have been administered and lets that 12.5 million doses distributed according to the CDC, far short of the Trump administration's 20 million goal.

FAUCI: Obviously, it didn't happen. And that's disappointing.

MURRAY: As states struggle with distribution challenges.

MIKE DEWINE, OHIO GOVERNOR: Know that it is more imperative to get this out just as quickly as we can.

MURRAY: Arizona's governor ordered the state health department to accelerate vaccinations rather than leaving it to each county, saying vaccines don't do any good sitting in a freezer. In West Virginia, officials say 42 people were accidentally given antibody treatment instead of coronavirus vaccines.

In Wisconsin, the FBI is investigating after someone intentionally removed 57 vaccine vials from a pharmacy freezer and about 500 doses were discarded.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want normalcy in my life again.

MURRAY: And in states like Florida and Tennessee, which opened vaccines up to the elderly, lines are sneaking around the block. The urgent need for vaccines evident as 2020 ends with more grim milestones.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MURRAY (on camera): As of right now, the numbers do not look good heading into 2021. The latest CDC ensemble forecast predicts the U.S. could track 424,000 deaths by January 23rd.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

SOARES: Well, here, in the U.K., there is a chorus of disapproval over a government decision to delay some vaccinations. Two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are supposed to be given about three weeks apart. But the government now says that second injection can wait up to three months. British doctors call it grossly unfair, especially to the elderly and other, vulnerable people.

Salma Abdelaziz has more from London.

And, Salma, let's start with that. Seriously, getting some pushback now from the British medical association. Explain to our viewers why that is.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely. And it's -- it's not just them. Another association of doctors, so upset about this that they wrote directly, rather, to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, and said this essentially violates the consent of the patients and this simply fails to follow the science, very harsh words.

And U.K. chief medical officers have had to write back to health-care workers around this country, essentially to explain themselves, to defend their strategy. And they say, in this letter, that they believe that, based on the science, that first jab gives significant protection about two to three weeks after you receive it. And that the second jab only provides durability. Basically, a moderate amount of protection, in the short term.

So, again, they are trying to defend themselves, as I know that you were speaking last hour. As doctors are literally having to call people over 80, and tell them their second appointment is cancelled and they are going to have to wait another three months. And this is a dampener, of course. I mean, you have to remember the U.K. government has been quite bold, quite forward, in its vaccination strategy, the first country to start using that Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

So, this is definitely going to put a bit of a dark mood on this rollout because what we heard a couple of days ago is we have this great idea. We have this great strategy. We are going to space these vaccines apart.

It means less -- less people going to hospital, and more people getting vaccinated. So, really, the question now is how are people going to handle this especially with all the vaccine hesitancy that's around?

SOARES: Yeah. And like you said, so many of the elderly who have been receiving the vaccine have been waiting so long for this vaccine. But also, like the doctor said in the last hour, I am sure you heard her. They don't have the manpower to be calling all these patients and telling them. That is too many hours, when really they want to get the vaccine out.

Salma Abdelaziz, in London, thank you very much, Salma.

Well, U.S. President Donald Trump remains focused on his election loss, an increasingly desperate scheme really to change it.

Mr. Trump rang in the New Year at the White House. Late Thursday, he tweeted support for Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who plans to object when Congress counts electoral Congress votes that's happening next week.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell doesn't like the plan. He called Hawley out during a conference call this week. But Hawley wasn't dialed in.

Kaitlan Collins has the latest for you.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sources say Trump is almost singularly focused on a plot by Republican allies to disrupt certification of Joe Biden's win next week, which Democrats are dismissing as absurd.

SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): They have got to choose here. It's real simple. There is only two choices. You choose democracy of the Constitution or you choose the big-lying Trump. It's as simple as that.

COLLINS: Josh Hawley, the first to challenge the election results which will force the Senate to debate his claim before affirming Biden's win but he may not be the last.

SEN. JOHN HAWLEY (R-MO): This is the one opportunity that I have as United States senator, this process, right here, my one opportunity to stand up and say something and that's exactly what I am going to do.

COLLINS: Senator Ben Sasse said he won't participate in the stunt by his fellow Republicans and urged others to reject this dangerous ploy, adding, the president and his allies are playing.

[05:10:08]

If you make big claims, you better have the evidence. But the president doesn't, and neither do the institutional, arsonist members of Congress, who will object.

Sasse also noted, when we talk in private, I haven't heard a single congressional Republican allege that the election results were fraudulent. Not one.

Although the vice president only has a limited ceremonial role in the process, sources say Trump is demanding that Mike Pence fight harder for him.

"The Wall Street Journal" editorial board, which is often friendly to the president, says Trump is putting his loyal VP in a terrible spot. Mr. Pence is too much of a patriot to go along, but the scramble to overturn the will of the voters tarnishes Mr. Trump's legacy and undermines any designs he has on running in 2024.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, the vice president's lawyers have asked a judge to reject another Republican attempt to overturn the election results, as Kaitlan Collins was there reporting.

Representative Louie Gohmert filed a lawsuit that would really empower Mr. Pence to ignore the electoral votes of key states when Congress meets to count those votes, on January the 6th. In their response, the vice president's lawyers note, if successful, Gohmert's lawsuit would undermine his own position in congress, stripping him of his right to object to the vote count.

Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue who is days away from a tight runoff election, is now in quarantine after being exposed to someone with COVID-19. Now, his campaign says he's tested negative for the virus. The election for his seat is next Tuesday. It will determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate. Something we have been discussing all week here, on CNN.

News of Perdue's quarantine broke while his campaign event was going on. As you can see, few attendees were actually wearing masks.

Out with the old and in with the new. Britain rang in the New Year with a divorce from the E.U. But some details still need to be ironed out. We have the details from Paris, as well as Spain, coming up.

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[05:16:06]

SOARES: You are looking at sunrise over the British parliament. As the first day dawns on the United Kingdom divorced from the European Union, Britain and the E.U. agreed on the future economic relation just a few days ago, completing U.K.'s withdrawal from the E.U. Now, U.K. no longer has to follow E.U. rules, and has new arrangements on trade, travel, fisheries, and a whole other draft of issues.

It's also reached a draft deal with Spain over the border with Gibraltar.

During the New Year's Eve address, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it's time for U.K. to unite behind its newfound independence. Take a listen.

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BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is an amazing moment for this country. We have our freedom in our hands, and it is up to us to make the most of it. And I think it would be the overwhelming instinct of the people of this country to come together, as one, United Kingdom. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, working together, to express our values, around the world.

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SOARES: Well, journalist Al Goodman is in the Spanish capital, Madrid, excuse me, with details on that Gibraltar agreement.

But let's start with Cyril Vanier in Paris and Britain's new relationship with the E.U.

Cyril, we have been hearing from officials that the border systems are ready to go. Of course, that's what he had that lengthy transition.

But I suspect, it's perhaps too soon, this January 1st, to see how it really plays out?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yeah. It's a little bit too soon to see how it really plays out, not least because the border system is not ready on both sides. It's ready on the European side.

In fact, I want to show you the pictures of the first commercial truck rolling into Europe, this morning. And everything went smoothly, it sailed through customs because, of course, that is the biggest change now. Trade is still happening, without tariff or quotas between the E.U. and U.K. But it is subject now to more checks, including possible customs checks. They have to have the right declarations and certification.

So, that truck that came in, it sailed through because the content had been previously declared to customs. And that's how it's going to work, from now on. So, from -- from U.K. to E.U., the border checks and the border systems are in place. From E.U. to U.K., on the U.K. side to check European merchandise coming in, they have actually granted another six months, before Europeans have to do customs declarations because their systems are not fully operational, yet. They still have to build some of the infrastructure. So, we're not quite at cruising altitude, as far as this trade is concerned between the E.U. and the U.K.

SOARES: Yeah, and that's not to mention the other host of issues that, you know, we haven't got into, regarding, obviously, the financial services, et cetera.

Al, Spain, I believe, it's reached a last-minute deal regarding the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Break it down for us. What's been agreed?

AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Hi, Isa. Well, this agreement will become a formal treaty within six months, the foreign minister said when announcing it. She and other officials said it will basically make Gibraltar kind of an E.U. zone. So, they remove the existing border controls with police on both sides at the Gibraltar-Spain border. So it would become part of the E.U. zone, similar to if you are in Spain right now, you can go into France and vice versa, and Spain into Portugal. The countries are part of that E.U. zone Schengen.

That would happen at the Gibraltar-Spain border. We have got pictures of a live camera of the exit area. Vehicles

exiting or where they would exit from Gibraltar into Spain. There is not much traffic, I'm told, because it is New Year's morning. But if there was a hard Brexit, which so many people feared according to the Spanish foreign minister, you would see it right there.

[05:20:02]

You would see long lines, which has happened in the past 30 minutes, an hour, or more. And that's what they wanted to avoid because there's such close economic ties between the two. But Gibraltar's airport which is at the rear of that live-cam picture, and at its port, it's shipping, that would have European border agents according to the plans because it would be an external border to come not just into Gibraltar, but also the European Union zone -- Isa.

SOARES: Al, do stay with us.

I want to bring Cyril back.

Cyril, many people look at this and say, okay, Brexit is done and dusted in many ways, the agreement has been done. But then, lots of other issues that remain. Talk us through the stand-out issues that you have yet to reach an agreement on.

CYRIL: Well, you know, the E.U. and the U.K. have only agreed on a deal for their trading relationship. That was massive. It was huge. We are talking about 700 billion pounds of trade, a year. So, it was huge.

But that -- that doesn't include everything else that makes a rich and deep relationship between the two sides. So, as far as defense is concerned, there is no plan to cooperate. As far as foreign policy is concerned, there is no plan to cooperate. As far as services, you mentioned it, are concerned, well, there is no agreement on that.

So, the financial services that are such an important part of the British economy can no longer be sold in the E.U. And as far as professional qualifications, for instance, architects or accountants, those are no longer recognized in the E.U.

Now, I can't rule out that there will be deals on those specific things, going forward. But for the moment, there aren't, Isa.

SOARES: Al Goodman in Madrid, and Cyril Vanier, in Paris. Thank you, to you both. Happy New Year.

Now, the military adviser to Iran's supreme leader is warning President Trump not to turn the New Year into, quote, mourning for Americans. He spoke, after the U.S. sent B-52 bombers to the Middle East saying all American bases in the region are within the range of Iranian missiles.

This comes as the U.S. threat level from Iran is the highest it's been since the U.S. killed top Iranian general, last year, if you remember. The head of Iranian military elite Quds Force is now suggesting retaliation for the killing could come from someone within the United States.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has more for you.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we approach the one-year anniversary of the U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani, much of the focus in terms of what might be a response from Iranian proxies or Iran itself has focused on Iraq and that's because senior defense officials say they see evidence and intel that Iran is moving short range ballistic missiles into Iraq and they see coordination between militias in Iraq as well as the Quds Force. That's the elite force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

They say there is also evidence of planning in such advanced stages and with such complexity that it would require Iranian support. That has led one senior defense official to tell CNN the current threat level is its highest since the killing of Soleimani one year ago. But that's not a universally held belief. Another senior defense official tells CNN there is no corroborating intel of an imminent strike or an imminent attack from Iran.

As such, the current position of the American military is one of deterrence, sending B-52 bombers to the region, that will be the second time this month that happened.

As well as about ten days ago, the U.S. Navy announcing a fairly rare statement that a nuclear submarine and two guided missile cruisers have gone through the Persian Gulf. All of that is an effort at deterrent to send a message to Iran, that the U.S., if it wants, if it had reason to, could unleash a fairly powerful force in the region and could do so fairly quickly.

Iran responded and basically said these accusations are baseless, that Iran will defend its interests. Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, saying these accusations of preparing for a strike are what he calls a U.S. pretext to start a war.

Is something going to happen? It's an open debate at the highest levels of defense officials here. Chairman and joints chiefs of staff, Mark Milley, is keeping a close eye on the situation to see how it develops into the weekend here.

Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.

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SOARES: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Still to come, as we say good-bye to 2020, take a look back at the moments that defined a year that was unlike any other, in recent memory. That is next.

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CROWD: Five, four, three, two, one. (END VIDEO CLIP)

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[05:28:12]

SOARES: Hello and a happy New Year to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Isa Soares, coming to you live from our studio in London.

New Year celebrations around the world were much quieter affairs due to the pandemic. But it did not dampen the enthusiasm, while people everywhere were hoping for brighter days ahead. Take a look.

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SOARES: New York's Times Square is normally packed, as you can remember, for the annual ball drop. But COVID restrictions limited attendance to small numbers of invited guests.

On the other side of the world, a spectacular, fireworks display greeted 2021, in Cairo, Egypt.

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SOARES: Well, 2020 has been, I think it's fair to say, an eventful year. Months of deadly pandemic, devastating, natural disaster, shifting, political circumstances. And CNN has been with you through it all.

Our Clarissa Ward takes us back through the year.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a year we'll never forget.