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Biden Declares "America Is Back," Pledges $4 Billion Toward Global COVID-19 Vaccine Aid; Water Disruptions For More Than Half Of Texas; Vaccine Doses Backlogged Due To Weather; French President Emmanuel Macron Urges E.U. To Allocate Doses To World's Poorest Countries; Pro-Democracy Protesters Honor Woman Killed By Myanmar Police. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired February 20, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, welcome to our viewers from all around the world, I am Michael Holmes, appreciate your company. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM.
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JENN STUDEBAKER, AUSTIN, TEXAS, RESIDENT: It's like, I would just keep going and going. This whole year, just keep going. If we just make it one more month.
HOLMES (voice-over): The deepening crisis in Texas. From COVID, to the crippling winter storm, Texas is pushed to the brink.
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HOLMES (voice-over): Also, America is back. President Joe Biden, reaffirming his commitment to allies and undoing his predecessor's agenda.
Plus, three weeks of demonstrations in Myanmar, defiant protesters playing tribute to a young woman, who died, after being shot by police. We'll have a live report.
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HOLMES: We begin with new developments on the Texas crisis kicked by severe winter weather. At least 26 people there have now died. Power has been restored for most, as the state, once again, experiences freezing temperatures.
It could still strain the water system even further. Disruptions are already impacting nearly 15 million people, over half of the state's population. And that is sending many in search of clean drinking water, wherever they can find it.
Now the water shortages are being driven by frozen bursting pipes and treatment plants that lost power. "The Wall Street Journal," reporting, it could all amount to $18 billion worth of damage. That is similar to the toll from a major hurricane.
President Joe Biden saying he plans to visit Texas next week, if he can do so, without creating a burden for the state. He also is set to sign a major disaster declaration to free up more aid.
Texans, meanwhile, still coming to grips with this week's events. Omar Jimenez has more now, on what people are going through.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So you never even used your fireplace before this?
STUDEBAKER: Oh, no.
Jenn Studebaker and her family, in Austin, Texas, were burning chairs, pieces of bookshelves, before eventually scavenging for bits of wood without even a means to cut it.
STUDEBAKER: That hammer, actually is what we were splitting wood with.
JIMENEZ: Using their nearly abandoned fireplace now as a means of survival.
GRAYSON CRUISE, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: We would bring the head of a futon bed and put it right here. So --
STUDEBAKER: Get closer to the heat.
CRUISE: And get closer to the heat. And I would sleep right here. So we would all just kind of be huddling together.
JIMENEZ: Restless from the new mentality they've now had to adopt.
STUDEBAKER: Everyone's just, you know, thinking like we just make one more day, just get one more day. And it's like, well, what if it happens again tomorrow? Now we got to -- OK, we can't burn all of this.
JIMENEZ: And even though the powers on,
STUDEBAKER: No waters, not even bubbling, nothing.
JIMENEZ: The water isn't. And it's not just Austin, as they are among the millions across Texas under a boil water advisory.
In Houston, miles of long lines to pick up water at mass distribution sites.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): I talked to the President last night and he called to let me know that he was going to go ahead and approve the major disaster declaration that Texas would be submitting.
JIMENEZ: In San Antonio, this apartment complex burned to the ground as firefighters struggled to get enough water to fight it. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our main concern is water supply. All these hydrants out here is dry. There's (INAUDIBLE) just frozen. There's no water.
JIMENEZ: Even members of Congress forced to get creative.
REP. SYLVIA GARCIA (D-TX): I'm going to fill my toilet with water so that I can be ready for later today.
JIMENEZ: Without water and her Houston home Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia collected rainwater to flush your toilet.
And hospitals are struggling to care for an influx of patients amid an ongoing pandemic.
DR. ROBERT SALDANA, MEDICAL DIRECTOR EMERGENCY MEDICINE, HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL: As more of our area hospitals were without power and water, many of their patients ended up at our facilities.
CHIEF CANDE FLORES, ABLIENE FIRE DEPARTMENT: Earlier today we had a situation where an elderly female walked out of her home and she was found in her backyard deceased. And that was directly related to the weather conditions.
JIMENEZ: Emergencies merging and leaving those already affected by the pandemic wondering where to go next.
STUDEBAKER: I lost half my income. And then finally we're getting here. What am I going to do? I mean, we can barely live here.
Sorry. It's like it just keep going and going and just this whole year, just keep going. And if we just make it one more month, then my tax return will come in or we get some funding. I can't pay my utility bills.
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STUDEBAKER: So let us just have this tiny apartment. Please. Maybe some water. That would be nice to.
JIMENEZ: And water is that next frontier. It's still expected to be a multiday process but officials, at least here in Austin, are optimistic that they can get it restored by the end of the weekend.
Now on the electricity front, we are still seeing outages across the state but we're in a much better place than we were days ago. The good news, overall, is that Friday night was supposed to be the last night of freezing temperatures that we would see this week, giving Texans, this weekend, the chance to play offense for a change -- Omar Jimenez, CNN, Austin, Texas.
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HOLMES: Now U.S. President Joe Biden emphatically assuring allies, America is back. He told the G7 and the Munich Security Conference on Friday that the U.S. will engage with Europe and defend democracy around the world.
The meetings were held virtually because of the pandemic, which, was, itself, a main topic of discussion. CNN's Nic Robinson with more from London.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The big headline from the G7 commitment to get COVID vaccines to the poorer nations, to speed the development and deployment of the vaccines, to increase manufacturing capacity of vaccines and to share more information about the variants of COVID-19 that can potentially be more deadly, more infectious.
That was a priority, committing more money so that those vaccines could get to those poorer nations, $7.5 billion committed. President Biden came with his own money as well.
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BIDEN: We must cooperate if we're going to defeat COVID-19 everywhere. My first presidential mass security memorandum focused on surging health and humanitarian responses to defeat COVID-19 and to better prevent and prepare for the next pandemic.
Today, I'm announcing that the United States is making a 2 billion dollar pledge to COVAX with the promise of an initial $2 billion to urge others to step up as well.
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ROBERTSON: And the G7 is not the only event of the day. The Munich Security Conference virtual as well. President Biden speaking there, talking about an inflection point in history, where you can go with democracies or you can go with autocracies.
He says he wants to work with other democratic nations to develop diplomatic plans to work together and hold China to account, to hold Russia to account.
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ROBERTSON: He said the United States is back on the world stage, wants to earn its place back in a leadership role, welcomed by Boris Johnson.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: As you've seen and heard earlier, America is unreservedly back as the leader of the free world. That is fantastic. And it is vital for our American friends to know that their allies on the side of the Atlantic are willing and able to share the risks and the burdens of addressing the world's toughest problems.
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ROBERTSON: Angela Merkel also offering support, saying it's important to get a joint transatlantic plan of how to deal with China, how to deal with Russia.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said, we agree on all the shared interests and values. Sometimes the priorities might be a bit different, he said. But we can work together.
That is the very clear message emerging at the end of the Munich Security Conference. The message also for President Biden is not all European nations are perhaps going to go along with him as easily as perhaps he would like, specifically on China and Russia, too. So not plain sailing.
But the United States, President Joe Biden, back on the world stage, leading, as he wants to -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
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HOLMES: President Biden, also reiterating the U.S. is willing to resume talks with Iran on a nuclear deal. That is a significant move toward ending a stalemate between the nations.
The U.S. has condemned Iran for reaching uranium beyond what was allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal. Former president Trump, of course, pulling out of that deal and imposed sanctions on Iran. Biden officials say, talks, at this point, are just in the early stages of planning.
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JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: One of our concerns right now is that Iran is presently threatening to move even further out of compliance, to refuse to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the work it is trying to do to ensure nothing in Iran's program is being used for weapons purposes.
So I think the first order of business here would be for the Iranians to take the decision to stop the process of moving further out of compliance.
And then I do believe that there is a diplomatic pathway to getting to an ultimate agreement in which we can all have confidence that Iran's nuclear program has a lid on it, the kind of lid that was on it when we were actually all in the joint comprehensive plan of action together.
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HOLMES: On Thursday, the Biden administration said it is reversing the efforts by the Trump administration to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran. Iran says it wants the U.S. to lift all sanctions imposed by the previous administration.
Now the U.S. has officially rejoined the Paris climate accord. President Biden signing an executive order, beginning that process on his first day in office. And it took effect on Friday. Biden's special envoy for climate, John Kerry, says the hard work is just beginning.
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JOHN KERRY, U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR CLIMATE: We got to be really honest with each other. We have to be humble and most of all we have to be ambitious. We have to be honest that, as a global community, we are not close to where we need to be.
We have to be humble, because we know, the United States was inexcusably absent for four years. And most of all, we have to be ambitious, all of us, because we have to get the job done.
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HOLMES: "We have to be ambitious."
That has also been President Biden's approach to delivering COVID-19 vaccines. Unfortunately, that brutal winter weather we were talking about in the U.S., derailing his efforts. We have details coming up.
Also, we will look at the state of the pandemic outside of the U.S. and why some countries are extending lockdowns, even though their numbers are looking much better.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.
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BIDEN: Just over four weeks ago, America had no real plan to vaccinate most of the country. My predecessor, as my mother would say, God love him, failed to order enough vaccines, failed to mobilize the effort to administer the shots, failed to set up vaccine centers. That changed the moment we took office.
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HOLMES: That was President Biden, of course, touting what he says his administration is doing to fight the pandemic. But now Mother Nature, getting in the way. The White House says brutal winter weather has delayed vaccine deliveries and forced vaccination sites to close. CNN's Alexandra Field reports.
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ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All 50 states, now feeling the impact of the deadly winter storm, 6 million vaccine doses, now delayed. Shipments of more than 700,000 shots to California alone, still not arriving, creating a ripple effect and leaving people who need shots, waiting.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We're working with provider network, complicated 1,100-plus providers in the state, a lot of increase -- a lot of calls, a lot of stress.
MICHELE ROBERTS, ACTING ASSISTANT. HEALTH SECRETARY, WASHINGTON STATE: We estimate more than 90 percent of this week's allocation will arrive late because of the weather out east. FIELD: Weather derailing every part of the process from vaccine manufacturing sites to distribution hubs, power outages across the country affecting as many as 13 vaccination sites. Until the power is back, they can't get new supplies.
But 1.4 million doses are final on the move again today. Health officials say UPS and FedEx will make Saturday and Sunday deliveries this week and they're tasking states with making up for lost time next week.
GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): It appears that next week we're going to be trying to double up.
DR. MARC BOOM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HOUSTON METHODIST: It will be a little slower than usual. But we'll catch up.
FIELD: The delays coming just as so many states across the country were starting to close the gap between doses received and shots in arms. 37 states now say they've administered more than 75 percent of what they've received. Four states are over 90 percent.
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): We've now got over 200 vaccine distribution sites. We're ready for more. We have been told to expect a significant increase.
FIELD: The latest estimates suggest the U.S. is in for a big increase in vaccines. If Pfizer and Moderna are able to provide what they've promised in the next three months, the U.S. should have three times as many shots on hand. New study suggests even a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine could be highly effective, but Dr. Anthony Fauci says just one is just too risky.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The reason is even though you can get a fair degree of, quote, protection after a single dose, it clearly is not durable.
FIELD: Also on the vaccine front, Dr. Anthony Fauci is saying we should have data on vaccine safety on high school age students, perhaps, by the fall or around the time school starts.
Data concerning even younger students, elementary school age students, unlikely to arrive before the first quarter of 2022. Certainly, something so many families are anxious for -- in New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.
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HOLMES: Wales is extending its COVID lockdown. The first minister says the lockdown is in place since December will last another 3 weeks. But some measures would be relaxed.
Germany, also being cautious about easing its lockdown measures. The health minister says the virus variant first discovered in the U.K. has been found in one out of every five people testing positive.
And, on the vaccine front, French president Emmanuel Macron is now urging E.U. members to put 4 percent to 5 percent of their supply to developing countries. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, standing by, in London.
Yes, European vaccinations underway.
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HOLMES: But there are very important, vital, really, efforts to ensure that the world's poorest get a vaccine as well.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely, Michael. As these nations are struggling to deal with variants of COVID-19, they're looking ahead. You hear that phrase over and over again, no point in one country being vaccinated, if the whole world isn't. We are not safe if the entire world is not vaccinated.
In that vein, you see European leaders taking these steps to ensure that the vaccine is distributed. Yesterday, prime minister Johnson, of course, hosting the virtual G7, starting by saying, the U.K. will give its surplus vaccines to any developing nations.
Now the U.K. ordered 3 times as many doses as needed for their population. So expect there, there could be millions of doses that will be distributed. We don't have a timeline on when it would happen.
And we also have French president, Emmanuel Macron, also calling on countries, calling on the U.S. and the E.U., to pledge up to 5 percent, if not more, of their vaccine supply to developing nations.
You also have an E.U. wide effort. There is a doubling of the contribution of the E.U. to the COVAX initiative. That is the initiative driven to get these vaccines to the developing countries.
Money which can be spent for vaccinations, to get the vaccines into these countries, as well as surplus vaccines and doses, to get to these countries. But we are talking about a huge disparity here.
You have 130 countries, so far, in the world, that have not administered one single dose of the vaccine. When you talk about a vaccination program globally, it is not global, Michael; 75 percent of those doses that have been administered are only in the 10 wealthiest countries.
If you ask experts, if you ask others, they will probably tell you, no. More needs to be done to ensure these vaccinations get to these countries that need it most. HOLMES: The wealthy countries will suffer, if the poorer countries are
raging with infection. It comes back around. Salma Abdelaziz, great to see you, good reporting, thank you.
We are going to take a quick break, when we come back, motivated and defiant in Myanmar. Why they are still turning out in the streets in massive numbers, despite the fear of unrest.
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HOLMES: Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has appeared in court again today. This is new video that is just coming into us. The Putin critic is in Moscow city court, appealing converting his suspended sentence to actual jail time from an embezzlement case from 2014.
Navalny's lawyer asking the judge to allow video recording of the session. She is also asking for Navalny to be released from the pretrial detention center, where he is being held.
The judge says she will rule on that request when making her final decision in the case. Navalny's defamation case, over comments regarding a World War II veteran, will also be heard today.
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HOLMES (voice-over): Those are protesters in Myanmar, chanting, "We need democracy," and demanding the release of the civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The country, now entering the third week of massive street demonstrations against the military coup.
They are also paying tribute to the young woman who died 10 days after she was shot in the head by police.
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HOLMES: CNN's Paula Hancocks, joining me now from Seoul.
That young woman being remembered by the protesters, she has become quite a figure, hasn't she?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She has, Michael. She's become a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. In fact, she has, for the past 10 days, as she's been in critical condition. Then, on Friday, the family confirming that Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, a 20-year-old woman had, in fact, succumbed to her injuries.
I spoke to 2 doctors who had been looking after her, just earlier today and they both said that she did not regain consciousness at anytime. That as soon as she arrived, really, it was too late to try and save her. Also saying, it was a live bullet, which had killed her. We have been hearing from the police, that they said at this protest,
back on February 9th, they had been using anti-riot equipment only.
So certainly, there is anger on the streets. They have had the first casualty of this pro-democracy movement. Reuters spoke to her sister, who was there, when her sister was shot. She has been calling for people to come onto the streets and to keep going until there is a victory.
Really, this is something that many people we've been speaking to, on the ground, have said that they feel like this is the last battle. They can't give up this time, because they feel, if they lose this battle, they will be under a military dictatorship for good.
So there is a real sense that it keeps going, but there, is of course, a lot of concern from those on the streets. Michael?
HOLMES: Paula Hancocks, appreciate it. Thank you so much in Seoul.
I want to show you what Mars looks like in full, living color. NASA's Perseverance rover has sent back these stunning photos of the Martian surface. You know, only 16 million kilometers away.
Look at the detail. It looks like it could be part of a desert here on Earth. The rover landed on the Red Planet on Thursday, in that area that is marked there.
The main goal?
To find signs of ancient life. The mission, supposed to last one Mars year, at least. When I say Mars year, that is 687 Earth days, to be precise.
I am Michael Holmes, appreciate spending part of your day with me, follow me on Twitter and Instagram, @HolmesCNN. Robyn Curnow will be on in 30 minutes, meanwhile, "AFRICAN VOICES CHANGEMAKERS," up next.
