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U.K. Wants Slow but Sure Exit to COVID; Paramedics Journey to Save People; Protesters Not Giving Up Their Fight; China Taking Safe Position on Myanmar; U.S. States in Extreme Cold Weather; Aired Young Activist Arrested in India; Jimmy Lai Pleaded Not Guilty; U.K. Deaths Cut In Half As Cases See Major Decline; Companies Face COVID-19 Vaccine Production Challenges; Possible Vaccine Mandates Raise Ethical Questions; Deadly Rocket Attack Strikes Erbil In Iraqi Kurdistan; Investigation Into The Insurrection; GOP Donor Wants Money Back; Bold Business Move In Saudi Arabia. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 16, 2021 - 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)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, cautious optimism from Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the U.K. hopes to make the current COVID lockdown its last.
Plus, we follow two paramedics inside of their ambulance as they rush COVID-19 patients to the hospital. Their incredible stories of working on the front lines.
And the military steps up its crackdown of protesters in Myanmar. We have a live report.
Good have you with us.
It's not every day we can begin with some positive news about the pandemic, but today, we can. The U.K. has reported its lowest one-day new case totals since October. Despite these encouraging numbers and the success of the country's vaccine program, leaders are remaining cautious.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the threat from the virus remains very real. On Monday, he cautioned there are still more people in hospital with coronavirus in the U.K. than there were during the peak in April last year. The prime minister says he wants to see daily case rates fall even more before he decides how and when to ease restrictions in England.
The country's Daily Telegraph shows the statement from Johnson for the headline, this lockdown must be the final.
And CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now live from London. Good to see you, Salma. So, after a pretty rough start, the U.K. now cautiously optimistic with the decline in cases, and of course, success with its vaccine rollout with. What's the latest on that?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Rosemary, these are very hard one gains. Yes, a triumph, an absolute triumph, the key priority groups over 15 million people now have the first dose of their vaccine. But as the health expert said in the press conference yesterday, it's two sprints in a marathon. That means the first sprint the first key priority groups those are complete.
Now the authorities are going to move into the second sprint, which is getting all the other priority groups, all of those over 50 before May, and then that marathon, finally, is the rest of the population.
So, they still have ways to go, and it's important to remember here that that first category of priority groups, that first 15 million people, they were the smallest group. These groups are larger, there is more people, there is more work to be done.
And meanwhile, of course, Rosemary, there is a variant still out there that is more transmissible that could potentially be more deadly. So, nobody wants to lose these hard-earned gains to that variant, that's why you see a two-pronged approach. Restrictions and rules, as well as vaccinations. Take a listen to what the prime minister said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We must be both optimistic, but also, patient. Next week I'll be setting out a road map, saying as much as we possibly can about the route to normality, and even though some things are very uncertain. Because we want this lockdown to be the last.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ (on camera): Quite simply, Rosemary, there's a little appetite politically or publicly for another lockdown. We are in a third nationwide lockdown, the possibility of a fourth one just seems so daunting. That's why you hear the prime minister saying cautious but irreversible. It will be a slow and steady easing of restrictions. We'll find out where next week on February 22nd there will be a roadmap announce to the public. We'll find out more then, but it will be a slow easing of restrictions but irreversible, the prime minister says. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Very encouraging, but of course cautiously optimistic. We have to be careful. Salma Abdelaziz bringing us the very latest there. Many thanks.
Well, CNN receive special access to follow two paramedics in Wales as they care for COVID-19 patients.
Our Nick Paton Walsh joins us with their incredible stories and signs of hope. Good to see you, Nick. These two remarkable paramedics, and of course their colleagues, they are the quiet achievers in the midst of this pandemic. How hopeful are they that progress is being made? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (on
camera): It's extremely heartening to see on the frontline with paramedics like this who have endured seeing their friends, each other even succumb to the coronavirus.
[03:05:00]
One of the two hospitalized with the disease in April last year, beginning to see in their daily work some slight signs of change. Now, this is all anecdotal, but we were simply faced in a two-day period with this paramedic team, racing between cases that were often not COVID-related, or if they were, not particularly serious.
And that was an extraordinary change from the past month where they would repeatedly be called out to people in their 70s or over who were extremely ill, and potentially would succumb to the disease in the weeks ahead. The key change, well now, when you get a call saying there is a 75-year-old woman with breathing difficulties who might be COVID positive. There is a very large chance that they've already had the vaccine, and that does appear to be changing the nature of their frontline job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: The endless bad news here has traces of good end it now.
UNKNOWN: Nine-nine-nine route is activated.
WALSH: Paramedic team Angie and Lynda of her months of exhaustion and loss race between back to back COVID call outs
UNKNOWN: Just around the corner, chest pain.
WALSH: This is a normal busy morning for the ambulance crew. But with one key difference. They are finding that we are now in the middle of a two-day period with these COVID cases are dramatically dropping off.
One day we spent here in the city of a half million, Cardiff, there was only four. Could it be just a glitch or a global first? Vaccine sweeping in an easing pressure on the very front line.
UNKNOWN: Hello, my sweetheart.
UNKNOWN: Hello.
WALSH: This turning up to an elderly possible COVID patient and discovering Khatun Makani had the vaccine two weeks ago will soon be the norm.
UNKNOWN: You're struggling to get your breath? Struggling to breathe?
WALSH: Khatun says a home test found COVID but only has a slight fever and is awaiting a proper test.
UNKNOWN: Shivering. My mouth is getting really, really dry. WALSH: Khatun decides not to go to the hospital and she is already alone enough. This house mired in a new solitude and grief. Her son, Raheem, dies just days ago from a non-COVID heart attack.
The U.K. has one of the worst death tolls, but also, the fastest vaccination rates. In Wales, where nearly a quarter all the vulnerable have had their first dose by this day, they are even ahead of the U.K. schedule. They went into lockdown a little faster than England too, and now something could be changing as we only see one other COVID case in two days who isn't that sick.
Angie and Lynda have been a team for 12 years.
UNKNOWN: We've been to sentences.
We got two --
WALSH: But this year they had patients they'll never forget.
ANGIE DYMOTT, PARAMEDIC: She was my next-door neighbor so, I knew her. I immediately knew she wasn't well, so I called for an ambulance myself for her.
WALSH: It must be harder to know the person.
DYMOTT: It was really, really hard. Really hard. To tell her that she really, really needed to go in which I don't think she expected to.
WALSH: She was OK?
DYMOTT: No, she wasn't. No. So that particular lady did pass away five days later.
LYNDA STEPHENS, PARAMEDIC: You know, it may be the last time they say goodbye to their family on the back of the ambulance.
WALSH: Is there a patient stays with you when you say that?
STEPHENS: I will know.
WALSH: What were they're saying to each other?
STEPHENS: Just good -- mostly just goodbye, don't worry, I love you. That sort of thing. Everyone is well aware. The families are well aware they might not see their family and that person again.
WALSH: And then, there was April when Angie became a COVID patient herself raised by her own colleagues to hospital.
DYMOTT: I was really scared. I was scared. Although I kept telling myself, you know, I'm healthy, and I'm, you know, young-ish, I still kept thinking that I could deteriorate to anytime now. My oxygen levels weren't getting better.
WALSH: Was there a moment of panic at some point?
STEPHENS: Yes, definitely. Yes.
WALSH: Would it have been possible to come back to work without Angie for you?
STEPHENS: Probably not. No. I hope this vaccine is what -- what we need to, you know. We really hope there's not third wave. I think we're all exhausted now.
WALSH: Wales first minister, Mark Drakeford thinks the lockdown is more behind the drop in cases than the vaccine.
MARK DRAKEFORD, FIRST MINISTER OF WALES: Well, it will begin to make a difference, we know it's three weeks before the vaccine begins to make a difference, and we are only 66 days into our program altogether today. What has really made the difference was the decision we made, the very difficult decision, to go into a full lockdown before Christmas.
WALSH: Hope, good news, something so alien now to the streets. It will take time to be sure of it.
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[03:10:02]
WALSH (on camera): Now Mark Drakeford there, the Wales first minister, did get some sort of, certainly scrutiny when he called Wales into a lockdown ahead of Christmas faster and tighter than England. So clearly, he wants to emphasize it was that decision that maybe behind some of the drop in the cases they are seeing.
But it is, as I said, Rosemary, extraordinary to be with these teams. Racing to people who normally would be in an extremely bad condition but often turnout not to be. So, it's March, possibly because they have received that vaccine, and it would be on that front line with paramedics who are the ones who respond to the extremely sick that you would first see that change.
One day we'd sit at an ambulance rank that nobody had had a COVID patient, and the (Inaudible) either hadn't received any neither. I should point out, that is not a global U.K.-wide picture. There is still over 20,000 people in hospital here and those lockdown restrictions will go on for weeks until it is properly suppressed. But those, I think are the green shoots we saw in Wales, possibly of a better vaccinated future it looks like. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes, some real encouraging signs there, and those paramedics, they are our heroes.
Nick Paton Walsh, many thanks for that extraordinary story.
Well, we are tracking defiance in Myanmar where demonstrators are still demanding the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
(CROWD CHANTING) CHURCH: But the military is escalating its efforts to shut down protest with a nightly curfew and near total internet blackout two nights in a row. It's also deploying more soldiers and armored vehicles on the streets. The army took control of the country in a coup earlier this month detaining Suu Kyi and other members of her democratically elected government.
And Paula Hancocks is following developments from Seoul, she joins us now live. So, Paula, what is the latest from the streets of Myanmar?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, once again, people have come out to protest that military coup. We are hearing from those on the ground that the numbers are slightly less, but they are certainly are making their voices heard. And that's despite what we have seen over the past couple of days, which is really an escalated use of force by the security forces trying to dispel them.
We saw just yesterday Monday in Mandalay that security forces, according to one protester we spoke to on the ground, saying that they were firing into the crowd, they say that they were using rubber bullets. But this one individual we spoke to said that he saw a number of people being carried away injured. He saw a number of people being arrested as well.
Now there is one Burmese NGO AAPP which is doing the unenviable task of trying to keep a tally of how many people are being arrested around the country. And at this point, they say there's at least 426, they believe, but clearly that is a very challenging task to try and count those numbers.
Now, we also know that the military is speaking at this point or just recently, they were going to give a press conference this Tuesday which is really the first time we've heard from them in such an official capacity. Now whether there will be any questions allowed it's not clear at this point whether that is in fact a press conference.
But clearly, we are looking and listening to hear what exactly they're going to say about what's happened. We have had a slight preview, we heard from the leader, Min Aung Hlaing, just earlier on Tuesday saying that he believes that the military taking over is completely in line with the 2008 Constitution, which, clearly, many around the world do not agree with.
Many on the streets do not agree with, the U.N. the U.S., still criticizing the military, calling for them to reinstate the democratically elected government and to stop using force against protesters. Rosemary?
CHURCH (on camera): All right. Many thanks to our Paula Hancocks bringing us the very latest there from her vantage point in Seoul.
Well, meantime, China says it is working to bring the situation back to normal in Myanmar. Beijing didn't join international calls for increased sanctions on the country after the coup, but denies it supports Myanmar's military. CNN's Nic Robertson is following the story from London.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice over): Outside China's embassy in Myanmar, formerly Burma, protesters vent fears that China support Myanmar's military coup.
ENZE HAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: If this thing gets out of control, and I think the Chinese government or Chinese interest in the country can become targets.
ROBERTSON: The coup is proving an early test of Joe Biden's presidency and his ability to influence his biggest foreign policy foe, China.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The military must relinquish power it seized.
ROBERTSON: Friendly nations supported Biden's call. But China and Russia blocked the U.N. move to condemn the military and, so far don't back Biden's sanctions on the military either.
[03:15:05]
China has a huge geostrategic stake in Myanmar.
PHIL ROBERTSON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ASIA DIVISION, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: What they really want is they want the access to the warm port. The Indian Ocean.
ROBERTSON: In recent years, China has cut development deals with both the military and ousted leader, Ang San Suu Kyi, including plans to construct a train line linking China's landlocked west to the Indian Ocean. And an agreement to develop an Indian Ocean port into a busy cargo harbor.
P. ROBERTSON: China has worked with both sides, and they are not going to be forced to make a choice, for China it's too important. Myanmar is all about what it gives to China.
ROBERTSON: It reinforces China's traditional diplomatic unwillingness to take sides.
WANG WENBIN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): China is Myanmar's friendly neighbor. We have all parties in Myanmar can properly manage their differences under the Constitution and the legal framework.
ROBERTSON: This, despite Aung San Suu Kyi being an easier trade partner than Myanmar's military.
HAN: What we see here is a military in past decades, also has been that the military was unpredictable.
ROBERTSON: But it's Myanmar's military who have the most to gain by keeping China happy. A U.N. report allege the military carried out atrocities in their campaign against Rohingya Muslims four years ago, calling on top generals to face genocide charges. But the military, backed by Ang San Suu Kyi, has repeatedly backed denied it deliberately attack unarmed Rohingya.
P. ROBERTSON: They have been relying on China to prevent any sort of referral to the International Criminal Court of the allegations of crimes against humanity.
ROBERTSON: Biden's game plan to curb the coup.
BIDEN: We will work with our partners to support restoration of democracy and the rule of law, and impose consequences on those responsible.
ROBERTSON: The question is, can Biden out leverage China in their backyard?
A stake in the anti-China protests, tipping China toward the military.
HAN: If Beijing perceived this is a plot to tarnish the Chinese government image, then they might respond in a different way.
ROBERTSON: So far, frustrations and fears are finally balanced. Biden and China in a cautious first test.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And the U.S. president is joining CNN for a town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper. It is Tuesday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, Wednesday morning in Europe and Asia. And you can also catch a replay on Wednesday at 7 a.m. in London, that's 11 a.m. in Abu Dhabi.
Still ahead, some prominent figures are speaking out after the arrest of a young climate activist in India. And one has ties to Washington. We will explain when we come back.
Plus, we'll have a live report on the first day of the trial of nine Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists including media mogul, Jimmy Lai. That is just ahead.
[03:20:00]
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CHURCH (on camera): Now for a CNN alert, brutal winter weather across the U.S. has left millions of people without power. A number of states have been enduring below zero temperatures. And Texas has been hit particularly hard, as parts of the state grapple with massive power outages. That forced the Harris County Health Department to re- distribute COVID-19 vaccines across the county before they went bad.
One of the places that receive them was Rice University where students lined up in the freezing cold just for a chance to get a COVID shot. And here is what some of the students had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: My roommate told me, like, hey, they are handing out vaccines, you need to run, because there's already hundreds of people there.
UNKNOWN: It's been two hours so far, and we are finally getting, you know, close to getting the vaccine.
UNKNOWN: It's going to allow me to like, when I go back home to California to be with my family, to be more safer around them and to potentially like visit my grandparents to not feel nervous about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And the icy conditions have also forced the Texas city of San Antonio to postpone its COVID vaccinations for a second straight day.
Well for more on what we can expect from all of this extreme winter weather, I want to bring in meteorologist Tyler Mauldin. Good to see you, Tyler. So, what are you seeing out there? Just how bad is this, and who is being impacted the most?
TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, let me show you exactly what we're dealing with at the moment temperature wise, Rosemary, because this is going to blow your mind. It is 78 degrees in Miami, Florida, it is minus 31 in international falls. That is a 109-degree difference between south Florida and going all the way up to the Canadian border.
In Dallas, Texas at the moment has now drop to 3 degrees. That means Dallas, Texas is just as cold as Fairbanks, Alaska. You add in the wind, and it's whoa, it's feeling much colder. In fact, it's feeling like it's in well below zero, maybe minus 20, or minus 30. Some spot is minus 40, especially when you start getting up here into Minnesota and portions of the Dakotas. That's why we have wind chill alerts for everyone that you saw highlighted there.
Unfortunately, we are looking at an energy crisis across the country because of this cold air and the ice and the snow that's coming with it. Nearly five million customers are without power right now as we deal with this record breaking cold. A lot of people will be turning to their generator to help keep them warm and give them a little bit of normalcy while the power is out.
If that's you, make sure that you read your owner's manual so you operate that generator correctly. Make sure you don't hook it up to your breaker panel, and most importantly, out of everything, is to set up your generator outside well away from any doors, any windows because they emit carbon monoxide. You don't want to have a carbon monoxide detector in case you do get your generator too close to your structure.
The reason why we have this air, jet stream is dipping down, it's bringing in the arctic air that is 50 degrees below average for us this time of the year. And rolling around the base of that jet stream are this little spoke of energy. We have the one that went through the plains yesterday, and this now up here across New England and it's giving this area ice and snow.
So, we have winter weather alerts here. You can see the snow here and the ice, and then the rain. And we have some severe weather all the way down into the Carolinas. And Rosemary, as you can see, there are more areas of low pressure out to the west that will be rolling over on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing yet more snow and ice.
CHURCH: Unbelievable. Those extreme temperatures are just extraordinary.
MAULDIN: Insane.
CHURCH: Unbelievable. Tyler Mauldin, thank you very much for bringing us all up to date on that.
Well, Hong Kong media mogul, Jimmy Lai, and several other pro- democracy activists have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a protest in 2019. That came at the start of a trial on Monday. Lai and eight others are being accused of organizing and taking part in that protest which has been banned by police.
And CNN correspondent Will Ripley joins me now from Hong Kong to talk more on this. Good to see you, Will. So how is all of this likely to play out? What are the expectations?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll have to see what happens in court tomorrow, Rosemary. But seven of these nine defendants, including Jimmy Lai, as you mentioned have pleaded not guilty. This is because at the core of their argument is, one country, two systems.
[03:25:01]
Beijing agreed when Hong Kong was handed over from British rule in 1997 that people would have the right to assemble, would have the right to protest. Now these charges are not related to the highly controversial national security law that Beijing imposed on the city after that summer of civil disobedience, that was kind of a climax back in August of 2019.
I remember that day, it was raining buckets. It was hot, it was muggy, but there were hundreds of thousands of people who first assembled legally in Victoria Park. But then they spilled out and march through Hong Kong and that was an illegal march.
Jimmy Lai, and the others are accused of organizing that illegal march through Hong Kong, holding up banners, encouraging people to protest. The reason why they are pleading not guilty is it because they say it as a fundamental right for people in this city to protest even if the police say no.
Now of course, with the national security law combined with the COVID- 19 pandemic, the protest movement has all but evaporated for now. But this trial is being watched very closely because even though the charges themselves of unauthorized assembly are not related to the national security law, people want to see what is going to happen to these veteran pro-democracy figures in court. Trial expected to last about 10 days, Rosemary.
CHURCH (on camera): All right. We'll watch to see the outcome of that. Will Ripley joining us from Hong Kong. Many thanks.
Well, the niece of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is among those speaking out against the arrest of a young Indian climate activist. Author Meena Harris took to Twitter and criticized Indian officials for the arrest of Disha Ravi over her support for farmer protests. Ravi's arrest has also angered many of her supporters who've turned out to protest.
CNN's Ivan Watson has more.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A young activist locked up in India accused of criminal conspiracy provoking a riot and sedition. Her alleged crime contained in a tweet sent by another young woman on the other side of the world, Greta Thunberg.
Early in February, Thunberg shared a protest toolkit with her nearly five million followers, a guide to supporting striking farmers in India. Police in India say the unsigned document was compiled by Disha Ravi and at least two others sought by police then sent on to Thunberg. Police say the main aim of the toolkit was to create misinformation and disaffection against the lawfully elected government.
The document declares, the world needs to know that India is ignoring the voices of marginalized communities.
COLIN GONSALVES, HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: So, it's totally illegal, there's nothing wrong with the toolkit. It's in fact quite a wonderful instrument for coordinating demonstrations against the government which is a very good thing to do, as long as it's peaceful and democratic.
WATSON: There's nothing in the short English language document that appears to support violence, instead, the document suggests that young people call their local government rep, sign petitions and share on social media. Indian farmers have been gathering across India in the thousands since September to demand the repeal of new laws they say weaken their collective bargaining power.
ASHISH KOTHARI, ACTIVIST: I mean, obviously the government wants us to have some sort of a chilling effect so that people don't speak up, they don't dissent. But I doubt that's going to happen.
WATSON: Her colleague say Ravi is a member of Greta Thunberg's grouped Fridays for Future, and has previously warned against climate campaigns that could be deemed unpatriotic. DISHA RAVI, ACTIVIST: As climate activists we have to refrain from
doing anything that could be considered anti-national.
WATSON: Now that's exactly what police say she's guilty of. Quote, "economic, social, cultural and regional war against India." Ravi will remain in police custody for at least five days, but it's not yet clear what the sentence could be for this young woman accused of sharing a document online.
Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): So, can your employer require you to get a COVID vaccine? We will take a look at the legal and ethical issues around vaccine mandates.
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[03:30:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Welcome back everyone just to recap our top story this hour, more signs of optimism, and hope, in the battle against COVID-19. In just the past months, deaths from the virus in the U.K. have been cut in half. A new infections are down around 80 percent. The seven-day rolling average has dropped from nearly 60,000 new cases a day, to about 13,000. That is the lowest since early October.
And a new border policy is now in effect for travelers to the U.K., residents who visited any of the 33 hotspot countries with COVID variants in circulation must quarantine in a government managed hotel. It is part of a major effort to help stop the spread of the virus.
Well right now, there are several COVID-19 vaccines on the markets, and many more in the pipeline. But making enough vaccine doses for the entire world could take years due to manufacturing challenges.
CNN's Anna Stewart, explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN PRODUCER (voice over): This lab is making lipid nanoparticles. A genetic code in MRNA vaccines, are transported into human cells by these little fatty bubbles. Around a 1000th of the width of a single human hair, they are incredibly small, critical to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and there aren't nearly enough.
The Acuitas Therapeutics since one of the biotech firms, making the lipid component in the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, they were also supporting Curevax, and Imperial College London. You have vaccine candidates in the pipeline. But, they can't make enough by themselves.
TOM MADDEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ACUITAS THERAPEUTICS: We are trying to do it all ourselves, we try to enable others around the globe to be able to contribute to this effort.
Whenever we reach out to other companies to ask them whether they can support manufacturing of the lipid components, for example, as soon as they hear it still support a COVID-19 vaccine, you know, they completely engage.
STEWART: Powerful alliances are being forged in the private sector. There are calls though for more cooperation at the government level.
PRASHANT YADAV, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT: Now you are facing a situation where overall capacity whether it's for first steps of manufacturing or in full and finish. They are scarce, and as a result, we need public agencies. So, governments, nationally or regionally. They have to come together and asked the question, if I have scarce capacity for something, how do I show them to coordinated (inaudible) multiple vaccine manufacturers?
STEWART: Greenlight biosciences, a biotech firm in Boston, has delayed the development of their MRNA vaccine candidate. So they can tailor it for the newer variance of coronavirus. But also allow them more time to increase capacity.
ANDREW ZARUR, CEO, GREENLIGHT BIOSCIENCES: Greenlight has been looking for multiple facilities. We are in conversations with multiple regional partners in south Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, North America, South America, to implement those facilities. Those facilities will take roughly six to nine months to construct, then, you know, they need to be validated by local regulatory boards which (inaudible), you know, anywhere between a month and three months, or whatever, but once each on of those facilities are up and running, they will be able to produce billions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine locally.
[03:35:20]
STEWART: If you see other vaccine makers failed to make vaccine, pull out of the vaccine race, are you looking to buy out their facilities as well to ensure that you can make as much as possible?
AZUR: We are looking for GNP facility. We are looking for local partners, you know, so that is my wanted out on CNN is can we please, if you have spare capacity, or you want to participate in getting local production up and running, please, give us call.
STEWART: Vaccine factories, and lipid nanoparticles, are just some of the bottlenecks to vaccinating the world. There will be more, not least this new variants of coronavirus require modifying vaccines. And perhaps, for years to come.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): Joining us now is Arthur Caplan, he is a professor of bio ethics at New York University Grossman School of medicine. He is also the founding Director of the division of Medical Ethics at NYU Medical Centers Department of Population Health. Thank you professor for being with us.
ARTHUR CAPLAN, PROFESSOR OF BIOETHICS, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY GROSSMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE (on camera): Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So, I did want to ask you this, how likely is it that private businesses will, eventually, make it mandatory for employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to the workplace? And can they legally do that?
CAPLAN: Well, not to be around the bush, but I'm going to say, 100 percent. It is almost assured that private businesses will start to say, if you want to work on a cruise ship as a crew member, if you want to work at a hotel, if you want to work in many office spaces, you are going to have to get vaccinated.
Legally, I think they have the right to protect their workers from one another, and customers, who are going to want some assurance. Let's say if they fly, or travel on a train, or go on a cruise boat, they are going to be safe.
CHURCH: So, if an employer decides to fire an employee, because they refuse to have the COVID-19 vaccine, they are completely protected.
CAPLAN: Well, I think you have to make a reasonable accommodation that tends to be the standard that we hear about in various countries. So, someone says I'll work at home, I don't want to have to come into the office, I've learned to work remotely, and employer says OK, can do your job that way, and they can reasonably avoid the vaccination if they don't want it.
But in general, I think the employers are going to be able to say, a safe workplace, the maintenance of confidence of consumers, or the people that we've send our salesforce out to, it requires vaccination, and I think that's going to hold up in front courts and judges.
CHURCH: All right. So, if they can, if it's possible, they can make that accommodation. But what about schools? Will eventually need to make it mandatory for all students, and teachers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to school grounds? Once vaccinations become more readily available, of course. Because, they have to be vaccinated against the mumps, and chicken pox, pox, etcetera to go to school right now.
CAPLAN: Well, COVID doesn't seem to be as dangerous, in terms of causing real health harm to most kids, but there are some children who have gotten very sick. So, I'm going to say, yes. I think it will be added to the list of vaccinations required to go to the classroom, to go to school.
Again, you may see some reasonable accommodations or maybe some people who choose to home school, or maybe some other people who say, look, if I mask, can I still send my child to school if they go unmasked? Similarly for teachers. But overall, I think we will see, the vaccine requirements pretty soon after licensure of vaccines in the schools.
CHURCH: And professor, about 10 states have proposed bills prohibiting private employers from mandating that their workers be vaccinated against COVID-19, as a condition of their employment. What can private businesses do about that?
CAPLAN: Well, I think they will challenge any such laws in court, and I think they will win. There is no reason to say you can require me to put on a hair net, you can require me to get a hepatitis vaccination if I work in the food industry, but you can't impose a requirement for a COVID vaccine. As long as it is safe, as long as it is affective, efforts by legislators to carve out a restriction on COVID vaccination, I think, will fail when subject to employer challenge.
[03:40:03]
It may slow down mandatory vaccination as these things get hashed out in court, but I think, again, the pressure will become very strong to show that your workplaces is safe. The customers can trust going there, or, if you are sending people out to other officers, or you're servicing these businesses with water, or food, you can expect vaccination.
CHURCH: We will watch to see when that happens. Arthur Caplan, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it.
CAPLAN: Thank you.
CHURCH (on camera): We are tracking developments in Iraq where a deadly rocket attack has hit near an airport used by coalition forces. This was the scene in Erbil on Monday as a blast ripped through a busy city street. Officials in Iraqi Kurdistan said that several rockets were launched. A civilian contractor was killed near the Erbil airport, and at least one U.S. Service member was among the wounded. The Shia militant group is claiming responsibility, but has not offered any evidence.
Well, CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon, and has more on what we are learning.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORESPONDENT (on camera): A total of 14 rockets were fired at U.S., and coalition forces, stationed near Erbil International airport on Monday night, defense officials told CNN. As a result of that rocket attack, one civilian contractor was killed, one U.S. service member was injured, and five other civilian contractors were also injured. All but one of whom were American citizens, according to defense officials.
In this video you can see one of the rockets there, landing on a busy street in Erbil, a cloud of sparks and smoke flying in the sky after that explosion. The Kurdish and Iraqi government have said they will work to find out who is responsible for the attack, suspicion immediately fell on Iranian-backed militias in the region. It was similar militias that were responsible for an attack on U.S., and coalition forces, back in late September.
If it is indeed the case, once again, it is a first major test for the Biden ministration on its errand policy, how to find out, who is responsible, and how to respond to this attack. All as it strung to figure out what to do with Iran's nuclear program and attempts to enter or renegotiate the nuclear deal. In the Pentagon, Oren Liebermann, CNN.
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CHURCH (on camera): Donald Trump's latest impeachment trial is over, but Democrats are not done with him yet. What the U.S. House speaker is planning to do, now that the former president has been acquitted.
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CHURCH (on camera): Former U.S. President, Donald Trump's impeachment trial is over. But although he was acquitted of inciting the Capital riot, the investigation into the insurrection is far from over. U.S. House speaker, Nancy Pelosi is planning to establish an outside 9/11 style commission to investigate the causes of the attack.
And CNN's Ryan Nobles, has more on that.
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RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Some pretty big developments since that vote on Saturday night that ultimately, acquitted the former president. There is still a lot of questions being asked about what happened on January 6th, so much so that Speaker Pelosi has decided that she is going to push forward with plans to create a 9/11 style commission to look into what happened on January 6th.
[03:45:19]
Now this is something that would have to be passed by statute, meaning both the House and Senate would have to pass it, signed into law by President Biden, but it would have established a commission outside the government, This would be independent experts, not affiliated with parties, they would not be current members of the House or Senate, or of the government that would look in to everything that happened and then issue a report with recommendations on how to change things moving forward.
Now, that is not the only fallout from what we saw on Saturday. Also, these Republicans that broke party ranks and voted to convict the former president are now hearing it from their constituents and party leaders at home. For instance, Richard Burr, the Senator from North Carolina who is not running for reelection, he is on the verge of being censured by the state Republican Party. Bill Cassidy, also from Louisiana, his states executive committee censured him on Saturday after he cast that ballot to convict the former president.
So, Republicans now dealing with how this impacts their future. There is still many party leaders, still very loyal to the former president, they want to see him part of the conversation moving forward, while there are other Republicans that are ready to move on and there's no group of people feeling it more, feeling that pressure more than the members of Congress who are part of the Republican Party.
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CHURCH (on camera): With us now is CNN political analyst, Sabrina Siddiqui. She is also a White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Good to see you.
SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (on camera): Thanks for having me
CHURCH: So, in the wake of the acquittal of Donald Trump, Congress will now set up an independent commission to investigate the facts and causes of the January 6th attack. What will actually come of this? And any effort by the judiciary to hold Trump accountable for his actions leading up to the rioters? As well as he's many attempts influence election results, and all of his questionable tax and insurance dealings?
SIDDIQUI: Look. What House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said is that there will be a 9/11 style commission to investigate the January 6 terrorist attack at the U.S. Capitol. And so, it will examine everything from the security breach at the Capitol itself, to the planning on the part of the rioters. What was really overlooked by the U.S. Government, and, of course, who all was involved in coordinating, organizing, and executing the deadly insurrection on January 6th.
I'm sure that that will include any ties to former President Trump who, of course, was acquitted by the U.S. Senate and his impeachment trial over the weekend. But, perhaps, there will be an opportunity here through an investigation to shed more light, also on the role that the White House may have played, especially as legal proceedings continue into the former president.
And as you point out, his business dealings which of course, are being led out of the state of New York. And it will certainly cloud his political future, as well as just what comes of, you know, his future after leaving the White House in January.
CHURCH: Right, and while Donald Trump was acquitted by his own party in a political process that essentially, they let him off the hook. The private sector has not been so accommodating with Republican donors pulling out. One GOP donor, Fred (inaudible) gave $2.5 million to investigate voter fraud which, he later realized, was just one big lie.
Now, he wants his money back. What might this reveal about the power of private sector GOP donors holding Trump accountable as opposed to self serving Republican Senators?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think what's really going to happen is that the Republican Party has to reckon with what its future looks like after the Trump presidency. And you have a number of Republican mega donors, as well as corporations, who have long given money to the GOP, who are now asking themselves, what cause is it that we are supporting?
And I think as you pointed out, it was really Republicans in the Senate, who voted to acquit former President Trump of charges that included incitement of the insurrection on Capitol Hill, but there are a lot of outside voices within the party, or who have help propel the party in the past, who want to see the GOP do away with Trumpism, so- called Trumpism, once and for all.
And so, I think they are going to face a lot of pressure from their donor base, and I know the Wall Street Journal, where I report, we have spoken to Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, he said, he's going to get more involved in the Republican primaries, and try and weed out some of the extreme candidates who have fashioned themselves in the image of Trump.
[03:50:01]
So, that is, absolutely, a civil war within the party that we are going to see continue to unfold. And a lot of it will very much have to do with the donor base and holding on to the kind of support that they need to win elections both in 2022, as well as 2024.
CHURCH: Right, and of course as we watch the Republican Party attack those Senators who dared to vote to convict Trump, like Senators Burr and Cassidy, where does this leave the future of the GOP? Could you see it splitting off with another group? You've got this extreme right pulling the party in a direction that other members of the Republican Party don't want to see.
SIDDIQUI: Well, that's really the predicament that the Republican Party is in. And it is because what former President Trump did is he really brought what was once on the fringes of the GOP, and injected it into the mainstream of the Republican Party. And so, they are dealing with a lot more pressure from the right flank.
And you mentioned it yourself, some of the Republicans who did vote to impeach former President Trump in the House, and then those who voted to convict him in the Senate. They are being censured by their state's Republican Party, they are facing consequences for taking the step of holding former President Trump accountable.
There is polling showing that three quarters of Republican primary voters say that this election was fraudulent, even though, of course, that is completely baseless and unsubstantiated. So, it shows you the kind of impact that the former president has had, and really the way in which he's wrestled control of the party away from the establishment.
And so, it may have started with his presidency, but certainly, it doesn't end there. And that is really going to be, I think the battle that you'll see the GOP continue to find itself in moving forward, especially as they figure out whether or not they will be a party that continues to be beholden to one singular figure, which is Donald Trump. Or, once again, trying to, you know, model itself behind a more of a conservative policy argument. Which they have of course, as we've seen, failed to do over the last four years.
CHURCH: Yes. Alright. Sabrina Siddiqui, always good to get you analysis. I appreciate it. SIDDIQUI: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, Saudi Arabia is revamping how it does business in a bold effort to boost its economy in the years to come. A look at how the plan will work that is next.
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CHURCH: Welcome back. We are following some big changes on how Saudi Arabia plans to do business in the future. The kingdom is threatening to end contracts with foreign companies that don't have regional headquarters located inside the country, starting in 2024. The goal is to create thousands of jobs inside Saudi Arabia, and help boost its economy. Companies, and investors, not link to government contracts are exempt. That is according to at least one report.
Well, for more on this, CNN's John Defterios, joins us live from Abu Dhabi. Always good to see you, John. So, how is this going to work exactly? And will it result in all these foreign firms opening regional headquarters in the kingdom?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (on camera): I tell you Rosemary, the pre window is a very short timeline here. And this is an audacious move to force the hand of those global corporations who have their regional headquarters primarily in Dubai. So, let's set the scene here, Mohammed Bin Salman, has been the crown prince since 2017, and his father, the king, King Salma, has given him full reign here to push through this diversification away from oil, and create the jobs that you are talking about.
[03:55:15]
This is not announced as a direct challenge to Dubai, but it certainly in this region, being seen that way. But we have to put it into context. The UAE has been building this infrastructure for 30 years. Dubai has the airline links, the trade links, set-up the medical systems, the school systems, tourism and major events. It is not easy in this three-year window that the crown prince was targeting, to pull that away.
I can't see companies knocking out the ties that they have here in Dubai, and now in Abu Dhabi for the last decade as well in terms of it's bailed out. So, there has to be some sort of middle ground. Yes, all have a presence in Saudi Arabia, but I don't pull out of the UAE, I don't see it right now.
But there is some incentive for these corporations to be in Saudi Arabia, it's the largest economy in the regions by a long stretch, it has the largest population in fact, bigger than the five other Gulf States here in the region combined. And it remains the number one exporter of oil around the world. So, while it's trying to move away from these hydrocarbons, and get into other industries here, bring companies there, it still has the power to be the number one world exporter of oil and have the number one proven reserves.
At the same time, Rosemary, this is the challenge. This is not dangling the carrot for the companies, most observers I'm speaking to say this is arm twisting and we try to force companies to do so, it doesn't go so smoothly. And this is a big question mark, another kind of a bold move by the crown prince, but does it deliver the results? It's not certain yet. That's for sure.
CHURCH: Yes. Alright. John Defterios, many thanks for bringing us all the details on that. We will watch and see what happens.
And thank you for joining us, I'm Rosemary Church, you can connect with me on Twitter at Rosemary CNN, we would love to hear from you, and I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Stick around.
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