Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump's Call Shows He Had No Intention of Calling Off Capitol Rioters; Trump's Defense Team Goes on Offense against Democrats; CDC Updates Guidance on Reopening Schools; New Federal Program Ships Vaccines Directly to Pharmacies; Flights to Victoria Suspended; Decision on Whether to Convict Trump Could Come Today; Anti-Junta Protesters in Myanmar March for Eighth Straight Day; IFRC to Launch $110 Million Global COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign; Over 120 Million under Winter Storm Alerts. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired February 13, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi and welcome to NEWSROOM. Coming up on the show, the U.S. Senate is nearing a verdict in Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. The vote follows news of a stunning call between the former president and a top Republican lawmaker. There's that.
And there's also another sign of the U.S. trending in the right direction on COVID. It comes as the CDC issues new guidelines for getting children back into school.
And protests against Myanmar's military coup enter their second week. The latest in a live report from the region.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: We're just hours away from the conclusion of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. Sometime this afternoon, U.S. senators are expected to vote on whether to convict or acquit the former president of inciting last month's deadly insurrection.
As Trump's lawyers laid out their defense on Friday, stunning new details emerged about Trump's actions as rioters broke into the Capitol. Republican lawmakers tell CNN that House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy begged Mr. Trump on the phone to call off the mob but Mr. Trump refused. We'll have more on that in a moment.
First, here's Jeff Zeleny. Jeff?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL VAN DER VEEN, FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LEGAL COUNSEL: The article of impeachment now before the Senate is an unjust and blatantly unconstitutional act of political vengeance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A verdict in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is expected Saturday with his lawyers swiftly resting their case after arguing the deadly attack on the Capitol was neither Trump's fault nor responsibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER VEEN: No thinking person could seriously believe that the president's January 6th speech on The Ellipse was in any way an incitement to violence or insurrection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): The senators quickly moved to the next phase of the trial with Republicans and Democrats alike submitting written questions before rendering their judgment. The Senate clerk read this query from Republican senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When President Trump sent a disparaging tweet at 2:24 pm regarding Vice President Pence, was he aware that vice president had been removed from the Senate by the Secret Service for his safety?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): The House prosecutors said it was impossible to think the president was unaware, but defense attorney Michael van der Veen insisted otherwise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER VEEN: The answer is no. At no point was the president informed the vice president was in any danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): Van der Veen dismissed the point beyond the question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER VEEN: It's not really relevant to the charges for the impeachment in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): After two days of dramatic testimony from House impeachment managers, including this security footage of Vice President Pence being rushed to safety, the Trump defense team sought to rewrite the narrative of that dark day in America. They sought to falsely equate the former president's own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): To routine political speeches of Democrats zeroing in on their use of the word fight. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To continue fighting, we each have an important role to play in fighting.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Never give up this fight.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Me, I'm here to fight back.
VAN DER VEEN: This is not what-aboutism. I am showing you this to make the point that all political speech must be protected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): With 17 Republicans unlikely to join all Democrats in voting to convict, many of the questions read aloud on the Senate floor underscored the inflamed partisan tensions at the core of the impeachment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are the prosecutors right when they claim that Trump was telling a big lie or in your judgment, did Trump actually win the election?
REP. STACEY PLASKETT (D-VI): As we all know, President Trump did lose the election by 7 million votes, 306 electoral votes. By the time of the January 6th attack, the courts, the Justice Department, all 50 states across the country had done, agreed that the votes were counted, the people had spoken and it was time for the peaceful transfer of power. He lost.
[04:05:00]
PLASKETT: He lost.
VAN DER VEEN: Who asked that?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): I did.
VAN DER VEEN: My judgment is irrelevant in this proceeding. It absolutely is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Closing arguments, in this case, by both sides, will take place today in the Senate chambers, with the vote expected in the afternoon. Still, an uphill climb for Democrats to get 17 Republicans on their side to convict the president.
But no question, with our new reporting showing the president's mindset on the afternoon of January 6th, there are even more questions now than when this impeachment trial started.
That still does not mean that there will be evidence to convict the president. Clearly, so much pressure on the senators who will be voting today -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Jeff, thanks for that.
Now CNN has obtained new bombshell details about a phone call that took place during the riot between then President Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy.
Republican lawmakers familiar with the call describe it as a shouting match, one they say shows Trump had no intention of stopping the insurrection.
They say, after McCarthy told Trump the rioters were his supporters, Trump said, quote, "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."
To which a furious McCarthy replied, quote, "Who the F do you think you are talking to?"
CNN's Jamie Gangel confirmed those new details with multiple Republican sources. This as aides of the former vice president, Mike Pence, and other former White House officials are still angry about Trump's actions or inaction, that day. CNN's Jim Acosta reports from West Palm Beach, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We reported this earlier this week, that former President Trump, then President Trump at the time was, quote, "loving" the Capitol mob. He was loving watching the mob do what they were doing up on the Hill that day. That they were showing force, as one other advisor put it.
That is what the president, at the time, wanted to see. So, it makes perfect sense with Jamie is saying. And what we're hearing from her sources is that the president, at the time, when he was on the phone with Kevin McCarthy, was not showing any kind of concern whatsoever estimate was being unleashed on the Hill that day.
We talked to a top White House official about some of this earlier today and this one former official said that it may have been beneficial to the entire process to have had hearings on this. To get to the bottom of what former President Trump, and top aides knew at that, time as things were progressing minute by minute.
You know, when Trump decided not to participate in any of this and not testify, there was a huge missed opportunity to get to some of the facts as to what he was doing that day.
But I talked to a couple of former top White House officials about this earlier today. They are still sick sickened, by what Trump was up to that day. His actions on that day, how he seemed to be delighting in what was going on that day.
One of the aspects that really sickened some of these former White House officials the most was the way Trump was behaving towards Vice President Mike Pence. This is, perhaps, the most loyal official under President Trump during that entire administration.
He was, essentially, throwing him to the lions on Capitol Hill. In the words of one former top White House official I spoke with earlier today, Trump saw Pence as, essentially, the fall guy. Blaming Mike Pence for not overturning the election results. And it is still something that sickens people who worked for the former president.
Although, there is plenty of former officials who will believe until the end of time that Trump didn't do anything wrong that day. But we do have to be honest, that does not mean everyone who worked under President Trump. There are a lot of former officials who were disgusted by his actions that day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Senior writer for CNN Politics, Zachary Wolf, joining me from Washington, D.C.
Great to have you on the show. Thanks for joining me. The details of this call are pretty stunning. But also beg the question as to why McCarthy and Republicans, who called the president in desperation from the Capitol, asking him to literally call off his supporters, are still giving him political cover.
Why?
ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS DIGITAL, MANAGING EDITOR: That's a great question. I mean, as you say, the details of this call are pretty incredible.
Simply that, you know, essentially the expletive-laden pleas of the House leadership, the Republicans in the House, for the president, telling him these are your supporters, you have to call these people off and then he won't do it.
But then I mean, if you think about it, McCarthy, the minority leader of the House Republicans, goes along and votes not to impeach President Trump.
So, they have continued to essentially provide him with this cover. I think that there is a fair amount of fear among a lot of Republicans of President Trump and his base, that they will be primaried, that they will be targeted online.
[04:10:00]
WOLF: That and physical fear, too, I think, amongst a lot of Republicans that, if they turn on the president, his followers, who have already attacked the Capitol, could then turn on them. I think there's -- all of those elements are something to consider.
CURNOW: And that in itself is stunning in a democracy. Also, though, to what has been playing out in Congress the last few days, we saw the former president's lawyers offer their defense.
But did they even need to make a case with the outcome pretty much all but certain?
WOLF: You know, the outcome is certain. But I think that they did need to make a case because things have been going so well for the prosecution. They have put out such a convincing argument that the Republican senators in particular needed something to grasp onto.
They needed some sort of lifeline, if you will, to say, well, you know, this is the argument that we're going to hang our hat on when we vote to acquit him, which is seems very likely that they will. And today may have given them that opportunity.
It was also, however, you know, a -- there were a lot of falsehoods put forward by the president's attorneys, sort of following along with things that the -- the former president's attorneys, following along with things that the former president has said.
But I do think that they needed this opportunity to say this is our side of the story and in the strange sort of rules at the impeachment trial, it's not Republican senators that make the case, it's his attorneys. So they had to give that and give these Republican senators, you know, something to hold onto.
CURNOW: This has been hurtling by at record speed, coming to pretty much a swift conclusion.
Should there have been witnesses, for example, people subpoenaed from the White House, to give a better understanding of who the president was talking to when he was giving instructions, what he was doing at the time?
Or is that irrelevant politically for the Democrats here?
Was this just about putting things on the record, the process rather than the outcome?
WOLF: I think it was irrelevant for the Democrats. They put together a very compelling case using his testimony, if you will, as he talked to his supporters on January 6th, his tweets, things that he had said in the months and years leading up to this insurrection on Capitol Hill. They didn't feel like they needed to do more than that.
The proof was out there, and it was in the open. But we did see the criticism of the president's -- former president's attorneys, saying there should have been an investigation. There should have been more to this.
But you know, I think part of their defense was to confound or to criticize this very methodical case. So that was maybe I think to be expected.
CURNOW: So, what do you expect in closing arguments?
Can anyone's minds be changed?
WOLF: You know, it's hard to say -- people are so locked in Washington right now about how they feel. Republicans were looking for a lifeline. They were looking for some way to be able to acquit him. I think they may have gotten that, even if other people who watched the prosecution weren't convinced.
I don't know that many minds will be changed. But it was extremely surprising when Bill Cassidy, the Republican senator from Louisiana, voted that it was constitutional, in fact, to have this trial. So that shows that minds can be changed.
CURNOW: Zachary Wolf, always good to get your perspective. Thank you so much for joining us.
WOLF: Thanks for having me.
CURNOW: CNN will have special wall-to-wall coverage of Saturday's final proceedings in the Trump impeachment trial. You'll want to tune in beginning at 9:00 am Washington time, 2 in the afternoon if you're in London, 10:00 pm in Hong Kong right here on CNN.
Meanwhile, coming up, U.S. health authorities release new guidelines for safely reopening schools. That doesn't necessarily mean we'll see a return to widespread, in-person learning anytime soon in the U.S. We'll explain why.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Parents in the U.S. have a new road map when it comes to getting kids back to school safely. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines on Friday that emphasize key strategies, like mandatory masking, hand washing and physical distancing.
However, according to CNN analysis, nearly all U.S. children live in areas where the guidelines would not recommend a full-time return to in-person learning because local COVID transmission levels are just so high. But that could change if you take a look at this graph. The seven-day
average of new infections in the U.S. has fallen below 100,000 for the first time since November the 3rd.
Now those school reopening guidelines we mentioned don't offer a one- size-fits-all approach. They recommended different protocols depending on how much transmission occurs in the community, as Alexandra Field reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new set of guidelines for schools waiting to reopen. The CDC unveiling a color- coded system as part of a plan aimed at helping schools assess COVID- 19 threat levels and determine what action to take.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: CDC is not mandating that schools reopen. These recommendations simply provide schools a long-needed road map for how to do so safely under different levels of disease in the community.
FIELD (voice-over): The reopening of a majority of schools a top priority for the Biden administration, which is making progress toward another goal tonight: the struggle to find a spot to get a shot is a little easier for some Americans. As of today, 6,500 retail pharmacy stores are able to administer COVID-19 vaccines, part of a new federal program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As more vaccine is available on a daily basis, we'll be able to administer more and more shots.
[04:20:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But for today I can say that every slot that we have available has already been booked up.
FIELD (voice-over): Those pharmacies only have a million doses to give out at the moment but every shot counts. The U.S. is now averaging 1.6 million daily shots, the highest weekly average yet.
As the Biden administration promises a bigger ramp-up, announcing there will be enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July, the key to success still distribution.
DR. MEGAN RANNEY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We're currently not just building the airplane while we fly it, we're also flying it with a broken instrument panel and one engine out. But I've seen a lot of steps over the last month that give me a lot of hope that the infrastructure will be in place.
FIELD (voice-over): Even with progress, some setbacks: Los Angeles today temporarily shut down a number of vaccination sites. They've exhausted their supply.
Nationwide the average number of COVID-19 cases is way down, falling 22 percent in a week, enough that some states are rolling back restrictions. New York City reintroduces indoor dining today at 25 percent capacity.
And Ohio ending its curfew, citing fewer hospitalizations. Steps closer to normal, though Dr. Anthony Fauci warns there's still a lot of ground to cover.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think we're going to be wearing masks for several, several months into the future.
FIELD (voice-over): Even with many holding onto hope for a better summer ahead, there are new concerns about what we could see this spring.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: With the U.K. variant now, many of us think that there's going to be a doubling every week, every 10 days. So that, as we get into the middle of March, April and May, that's the time when we're really going to see this big upswing in the number of new cases and possibly deaths.
FIELD (voice-over): Alexandra Field, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: France has had a recommendation that could make more vaccine doses available for everyone. Health authorities there say those who have recovered from COVID should get one dose of the vaccine rather than two.
People should wait at least three months after recovering to get the shot, officials say. But waiting six months is better.
Meanwhile in the U.K., the reproduction number or R has fallen below 1 for the first time since last July. It's now between 0.7 and 0.9 which means the spread of the virus is basically slowing.
And then in Australia, all flights into the state of Victoria have been suspended after a snap five-day lockdown come after a coronavirus outbreak linked to a local quarantine hotel.
We have reporters all around the world standing by for us. Phil Black is in London. Angus Watson joins us from Sydney, Australia.
Angus, going to get to you in a moment.
Phil, hi, there. Good news from where you are.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right. As you touched on for the first time in a long time, the U.K. epidemic is shrinking. That crucial reproduction number, R number as it's known, has dropped below 1. That hasn't happened since July 2020. So, it means that, while cases are shrinking and it shows, that the current strict lockdown is helping drive down transmission.
But the warning from scientists and officials is to interpret this news cautiously. There is still a mountain of evidence that shows the virus is circulating widely in the population. While key markets are trending in the right direction, they are not low enough.
So daily cases are still high, hospitalizations, admittances still too high. And so are deaths. There were more than 750 new deaths announced just yesterday. So, there is still a long way to go, despite very positive news.
They do hope that in the coming weeks you will start to see noticeable evidence that the mask vaccination program here is helping to slow the virus further. They do not believe that they're seeing that yet. But hopefully that will be imminent.
There's good reason to believe so, because that vaccination program is about to hit its first big target, its first goal, to offer a first dose of the vaccine to around 15 million of the U.K.'s most vulnerable people. That includes everyone over the age of 70, front line health care workers and those who are deemed to be extremely clinically vulnerable.
Those demographics make up the bulk of people who are likely to die if they do catch the coronavirus. So it will be further good news and it does look like the vaccination program is set to make that goal within the next day or so -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Thank you so much for the update. Good to see you there. Phil Black in chilly London.
I want to go to Angus Watson in Sydney, Australia.
The Australians all along, and we've spoken about this, have managed to contain these outbreaks, even if it's just one person in Perth. They've done lockdowns. And similarly going on where you are in Victoria, a little bit south.
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely. It's a very swift, strict response to just one new case overnight.
[04:25:00]
WATSON: That whole state of Victoria that you mentioned, 6 million people, plunged into lockdown for five days until Thursday. People told not to leave home unless it's absolutely necessary. Schools closed, businesses closed, masks compulsory while they try to get on top of the spread of the U.K. variant through Melbourne.
But as you say, it's just 14 cases since Monday in that state of Victoria. So a strict response to a handful of cases. That's how the Victorian government wants to get on top of this outbreak. Here's what the premier said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL ANDREWS, VICTORIA PREMIER: I know many people will be hurting today. This is not the position that Victorians want to be in. But I cannot have a situation where in 2 weeks' time, we look back and we wish we had taken these decisions now. I've gotten the advice to do it, I've done it, it's based on science. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: So Robyn, this all is happening at the backdrop to the Australian Open, which is being held right now in Melbourne. It will be played behind closed doors while this lock downplays out over the next five days.
But some 100,000 fans have already been to see the players in action since Monday. And incredible scenes last night as Melbourne crept closer to that lockdown at midnight. Novak Djokovic was playing against American Taylor Fritz.
And people told halfway through the fourth set to get out. The match had to be suspended for 10 minutes while everybody was chucked out, Robyn.
CURNOW: The Australians not missing a part of this. Extraordinary scenes, you're right. The tennis goes on. Thanks very much for that update there. Angus Watson in Sydney, thank you.
One of the most momentous weeks in U.S. presidential history is rapidly drawing to a close. A final vote on Donald Trump's impeachment could be just hours away.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. It is exactly 30 minutes past the hour.
So the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump is expected to conclude later today with a final vote in the U.S. Senate. Trump's attorneys spent only a few hours trying to rebut the meticulous case laid out by the House impeachment managers. They argued that Trump did not intend for his supporters to attack the Capitol.
But we now have shocking new details of a desperate phone call that day from House Republican Kevin McCarthy to Trump, as rioters stormed the Capitol. Republican lawmakers say McCarthy begged Trump to call off the mob but he refused.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden has said very little publicly about the impeachment trial. He took a walk on Friday morning to look at the Valentine's Day hearts the first lady had set up on the North Lawn. And he was asked what he thought might happen in the Senate. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm just anxious to see whether -- what my Republican friends do, will they stand up.
ZELENY: You're not planning to speak with any of them about what they --
BIDEN: No. No, I'm not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: The president later left the White House to spend the weekend at Camp David in rural Maryland. On Friday the Senate voted unanimously to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Capitol Police Eugene Goodman.
Goodman had been hailed as a hero for his actions on January the 6th, which include confronting the violent rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol, luring them away from an unsecured Senate chamber.
And this week, House impeachment managers revealed video showing Goodman guide Republican senator Mitt Romney away from the mob, probably saving his life. The Senate majority leader says Goodman deserves the highest honor Congress can give.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): In the weeks after the attack on January the 6th, the world learned about the incredible, incredible bravery, of Officer Goodman on that fateful day. Officer Goodman is in the chamber tonight.
Officer Goodman, thank you.
CURNOW (voice-over): Goodman is now the acting deputy Senate sergeant- at-arms. He was there for the vote. Afterwards, he was swarmed by those in the room, exchanging salutes, fist and elbow bumps with appreciative senators.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: And mass protests against the military coup in Myanmar have entered their second week. Thousands of packed streets in Yangon holding up pro-democracy signs. Many with the image of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Will Ripley is tracking the unrest and joins me now from Hong Kong.
Hi, what do you make of this continuing protest that we're seeing on the streets?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Robyn. This protest movement shows no signs of slowing down despite repeated calls for citizens to obey this 8:00 pm local time curfew that's in place across much of the country.
People have been going out at night in defiance of the curfew, in defiance of the military coup. People who turned out in droves in November to elect the National League for Democracy Party led by Aung San Suu Kyi and overwhelmingly reject the military proxy parties, which received just a few dozen seats in parliament versus nearly 300 for the civilian elected leaders, many of whom are in detention, including Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.
We haven't heard anything officially from her since this military coup. But we are certainly hearing from her supporters. It is arguable that she is more popular now than ever before, despite international criticism for her defense of the military's treatment of the Rohingya Muslims, who have been forced across the border into Bangladesh.
Aung San Suu Kyi domestically, with an 80 percent Buddhist population is an icon, a symbol. And today, happens to be the birthday of her father, the Burmese military hero, who helped to liberate the country from Japan. Now Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as a symbol of a civilian leader trying to liberate the country from 50 years of military dictatorship.
When the military did not like the result and did not acknowledge the results of November's election, calling them fraudulent, even though election watchers dispute that, well, they have now seized power, they've declared a state of emergency.
The United Nations saying they're very concerned. People on the ground are very concerned about the fate of a young woman, 19 or 20 years old, Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, who is in the hospital clinging to life.
[04:35:00]
RIPLEY: She has also become a symbol of the people rising up against this coup.
CURNOW: OK. Thanks for the update there. Will Ripley live in Hong Kong. Thanks, Will.
So, health organizations are warning about vaccine inequality. Ahead, why experts say not immunizing people in poorer countries could be devastating for everyone.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.
The International Red Cross/Red Crescent is tackling global vaccine inequity head-on. The aid group is launching a $110 million program aimed at immunizing some 500 million people against COVID.
This comes after a disturbing analysis by the group about vaccine distribution. It says the vast majority of immunizations have been administered in the 50 wealthiest countries. That's compared to a very tiny fraction being administered in the poorest countries.
This also has been a concern of the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The IRFC added that the disparity could be devastating if the virus is allowed to continue spreading and mutating in unvaccinated populations.
Joining me now is Dr. Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and one of the researchers who co- discovered the Ebola virus. For more than a decade, he led global efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and he is a COVID survivor after being hospitalized with it last year.
Good to see you, sir. Good to see that you're up and well. I think you've said, after all your years of chasing viruses, this one finally caught up with you.
What happened?
Tell us what happened when you got COVID.
DR. PETER PIOT, LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE: Good to see you again, Robyn. Yes, I was infected with the virus, COVID, in March. So, one of the early cases to say so. And I was hospitalized. And thanks to oxygen, I survived.
[04:40:00]
PIOT: And by the way, oxygen is something that is lacking in many countries, particularly in Africa.
But then I thought it was over and I would get better. But then for about six months, I was one of those suffering from so-called long COVID. So COVID is not just a bit of the flu or you're in intensive care and dying. But it's a lot in between.
There are probably millions suffering from months and months of extreme fatigue, heart problems and so on. But at the moment, I'm absolutely fine.
CURNOW: You have said, though, that you feel more vulnerable.
If so, what hard questions do you think still need to be asked about where, how and when this virus mutated in Wuhan?
What still troubles the investigator in you about this virus?
PIOT: Well, what troubles me the most is what you mentioned in your introduction and that is equitable access to vaccines.
I spent about a decade of my life trying to make sure that people living with HIV all over the world could have access to affordable anti-retroviral therapy, anti-HIV therapy, which is lifesaving. Now millions have access to that. But that took about 10 years. We can't afford that.
And this is not only a moral imperative but it's also, you know, absolutely essential. Let's not forget this is a pandemic. Pandemic means it's an epidemic covering the whole world.
The president of Rwanda Kagame said recently the whole world will suffer until Africans also are vaccinated. And the reasons are multiple. One of those, as long as one country has COVID cases, they will be spreading over the rest of the countries. And we can't really isolate ourselves, close the borders forever.
The economy would go down and everybody would become extremely poor. But also, you mentioned variants. These are new mutations and that's what viruses do. When we have millions of people infected with a virus, that virus will develop new ways of escaping infection, escaping vaccine.
So, it's a race between the virus developing new variants, you know, mechanisms to defend themselves, to survive, and rolling out vaccination. That is the key issue. That's high on my mind at the moment.
CURNOW: Yes. It must be because you've -- you talk about the similarities here between your experience of HIV/AIDS and COVID. You were on the front lines, as you said. I was a reporter for many years in South Africa, covering the early days and years of HIV/AIDS. There's similarities: the denialism, the fear, the inability to get medication, the unequal treatment.
Besides the chord that it strikes between you now and then, how do you really get to practically avoid this COVID ghettoization or vaccine ghettoization?
What would you suggest to people in Africa now, for example, on how to not be at the back of the queue?
Or is this about rich countries pulling people along with them?
PIOT: Absolutely, you're right. I mean, you know, and I said we can't afford it. We can't afford 10 years. What to do?
To be honest, there are no easy solutions. The main reason there is a supply problem. Manufacturing is still not where it should be. And as we all know, scarcity is a big enemy of equity.
However, we can do a few things and that -- and we should do them now. First of all, there is the so-called COVAX facility set up by the Gavi, the vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation and they will start delivering vaccines slowly but surely at the end of this month.
And that's specifically set up at the meeting, you know, that was launched by Ursula van der Leyen of the E.U. to provide vaccines, (INAUDIBLE) vaccines, to low-income countries.
Secondly, the African Union has not waited for COVAX and for others. And through their Africa medical supply platform has no concluded contracts with suppliers. But the problem, again, is that the vaccines are not yet there. And -- but they're coming.
Thirdly, I think that we should really have the difficult discussion, the sharing of vaccines in high-income countries. I mean, I totally understand that countries have to safeguard the lives of their citizens. So, I applaud the European Union's deals with pharmaceutical companies to have vaccines for all of its citizens.
However, the U.K., the E.U., Canada, they all ordered far more vaccines than they need in their countries.
[04:45:00]
PIOT: And we should start sharing now.
And fourth, I mean, we need to support deployment of vaccination in African countries. Some countries are doing a great job in terms of immunization programs. But not all. So, there will be some support needed.
Fifthly, I would say we need finally to invest in local manufacturing. When you consider that in (INAUDIBLE) and Senegal, they're producing one of the four approved vaccines against yellow fever in the world. So, they have the knowhow.
Why not invest there and make sure that this local production of vaccines against COVID-19?
Also taking a long-term view because there will be other epidemics. And Africa and other regions can't always depend from others. This is a matter of national security.
CURNOW: I think you said, as well, that this will be the age of viruses, which is certainly a wake-up call, that this is the beginning, potentially. Doctor, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for all the work you've done over the decades. I'm so glad to see you also healthy. Thank you, Doctor.
PIOT: Thank you so much.
CURNOW: So, in the past few weeks, Cuba has experienced its biggest spike yet in coronavirus cases. And at the same time, it's getting harder and harder to find food on the island. Cubans are facing a dangerous dilemma: wait in store lines, risk getting infected or go hungry, as Patrick Oppmann now explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the sun comes up, hours before the store even opens up, Cubans get in line to buy food. For many, it's a daily task, a daily frustration, a daily hazard to their health.
People we've talked to say some in the lines don't seem to care about the danger. Others argue, it's impossible to socially distance when everyone wants to buy food that could run out at any moment.
"Of course, we are taking a risk because we are on top of one another. We don't understand by being so close we are going to get each other sick and that is why we do lines this way."
While Cubans are not strangers to lines and shortages, the Communist- run island's economic situation hasn't been this dire in years, perhaps decades. Cuba depends on income from tourism to stop the shelves of government run supermarkets, the only kind there are here.
Despite Cuba's hundreds of miles of farmland, the island imports most of its food, the legacy of decades of U.S. sanctions and failed Soviet-style centralized planning. COVID destroyed the island's tourism market.
Imports have plummeted as the government runs out of money. While there is less supply, people still need to eat.
OPPMANN: Cuba's food crisis appears to be getting worse and worse as the pandemic goes on longer and longer. The people here say they don't want to be waiting hours in these lines. But they feel the choice they have is run the risk of getting infected or going hungry.
OPPMANN (voice-over): The food shortages are at their most dire, at the same moment the rates of infection on the island are soaring. Cuba's health ministry says the country had more COVID related deaths in January than in the previous 6 months combined.
The Cuban government has closed down stores where infections broke out and sent troops to organize lines. It's not enough. The government's own experts admit.
"We have to do it better," he says, "with the correct distancing. It doesn't matter if the line goes around the block. We have to protect ourselves."
The Cuban government is developing four vaccines, but they will not be ready until April at the earliest, the government says.
Meanwhile the lines for food get longer and longer.
"Every day, there are people out here for whatever there is. Some days you don't even know what products they are going to be selling," Rachel says.
"You have to be out here if you want to have food."
It's not clear if the economy here has hit rock bottom yet. But already Cubans face an impossible choice -- Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thank you, Patrick, for that story.
I want to turn now to Iceland, where life is slowly returning to normal, as COVID appears to ease. Bars are allowed to serve customers once again. Gyms and pools are allowed to reopen.
It comes after the country began easing restrictions in four stages since mid-November. After a spike in new cases to mid to late October, Iceland has seen a number of new infections fall with only five new cases detected in the past 14 days.
And coming up after a short break, parts of the U.S. are bracing for an icy, icy blast. When we come back, we'll get the latest on the winter storms hitting this weekend.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Goodness me. Parts of the northwest U.S. may see a year's worth of snow and ice this weekend. Meanwhile, an ice storm is impacting the Mid-Atlantic states and record cold is sweeping across the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[04:55:00]
CURNOW: So that wraps this hour of CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. For our viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" is next. For our international viewers, stay with us for "CONNECTING AFRICA."
