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Harsh Weather Causes Backlog In Inoculations; Midair Engine Failure On Boeing Jet; Millions Of Texans Without Safe Water; Leaders Must Prepare For Uncharted Weather; South Africa On Fourth Day Of Vaccinations; U.K. Goal To Offer Vaccine To All Adults By July 31; Pro-Democracy Protests Continue After Myanmar Coup; Biden Visits Bob Dole After Cancer Diagnosis. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 21, 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]

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Ahead on CNN, a frightening inflight incident in the sky. A commercial airliner raining debris onto homes and streets in Colorado, shocking moments witnesses knew something had gone wrong.

That story plus the deadly crisis in Texas. Millions are without water and food. As the state starts to thaw, they're facing a long, long recovery.

Also we speak to a doctor in South Africa on their COVID vaccine rollout and how the variant is impacting their response.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.

CURNOW: U.S. aviation authorities are investigating a midair emergency that ended with one passenger expressing, quote, "pure relief," even though it could have been deadly and catastrophic. Parts of a passenger plane plunged from the sky above Colorado after a Boeing 777 blew an engine. It was ultimately able to land safely.

Now this is what it looked like on Saturday afternoon as onlookers watched the debris come down. Pieces of the plane ended up in front yards in Broomfield, Colorado, which is near Denver.

The engine failure happened shortly after takeoff, forcing the Hawaii bound flight to return to Denver International Airport. Here's audio of the moment the mayday call went out. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, mayday, United 328 -- United 328, heavy mayday, mayday, aircraft --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 320, again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Denver departure United 328, heavy mayday, aircraft just experienced an engine failure. Need return immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: All 241 passengers and crew on that flight made it off safely. The airline says most of them have since boarded a new flight to Hawaii. Amazingly, there have been no reports of injuries. Lucy Kafanov is in Broomfield, covering the story for us, and she filed an update a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So we are in Broomfield, Colorado. This was the area most impacted by the debris raining down from United Flight 328, the Boeing 777 that took off from Denver's International Airport. It was bound for Honolulu but minutes after takeoff, the pilots reported a problem with the right engine.

They then turned around and, as they were doing that flying over this area, residents, eyewitnesses on the ground reported hearing the sound of an explosion. One eyewitness described it as a sonic boom and that's when they saw black smoke coming from the plane and pieces of metal raining down.

Just to give you a sense of the scope of the debris field, I mean, down the block behind this cop car is a massive soccer field. There's a dog park, a lot of folks out and about earlier in the day, playing soccer, walking their dogs, enjoying the nicer weather that Denver had earlier in the afternoon.

All of that disrupted by this incredible event. The Broomfield police said they used a massive amount of police tape to section off these areas because, anywhere you go here, you can find pieces of debris. They're still urging residents to report those pieces. They're saying you shouldn't touch that, get the authorities involved.

And a miracle that no one was hurt, not any of the 241 people on board that craft nor any of the residents here on the streets of Colorado -- Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Broomfield, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Here's another view from the ground, showing the moment witnesses knew something had gone wrong.

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TYLER THAL, EYEWITNESS: No, it's -- something blew up.

CURNOW (voice-over): That video was shot by Tyler Thal. He spoke with CNN earlier about what he saw.

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THAL: I just couldn't believe it. We were on a walk with our family, just like any other Saturday and there's a low flying airplane. I looked up.

And as I'm looking at it, I actually see, you know, fire burst out of the plane, an explosion.

So you know, I was kind of in shock at first and then you start thinking, oh my gosh, is this plane going to go down?

So I mentioned it to my family. I didn't know what else to do. I pulled out my camera. I grabbed my phone. I didn't know if I was going to call someone or not or who I'd call, but I took the video.

[03:05:00]

THAL: Once the sound from the explosion hit, it was very frightening for my daughter. You could hear her on the video. I just didn't know what to do.

We're far enough away. I wasn't concerned for our safety necessarily, but knowing the area, I knew that was over Broomfield and that is just a populated area, you know, the debris I saw on that soccer field, I'd been there with my family.

So you know, I was absolutely concerned for the people on the ground and the people on that plane. And I'm just thankful they all -- they were all OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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CURNOW: Well, I want to bring in former senior NTSB investigator and aviation security consultant Greg Feith. He joins us now from Golden, Colorado.

Hi, Greg, listening to all of these eyewitness account and video and photographs, what's your initial thoughts?

GREG FEITH, AVIATION SECURITY CONSULTANT: One of the first thing, Robyn, is that investigators are going to be collecting these pieces.

It is evident this was an uncontained engine failure. We have seen it in the past on a variety of different aircraft. With this it's fortunate that it happened right after take off and not five hours into the flight. With the debris being in an area that's acceptable by investigators, that'll provide evidence for them.

CURNOW: Just the video of that plane and what was left of that engine, kind of limping back to the airport. The pilot did an amazing job after this catastrophic event happened. FEITH: Definitely with this particular flight crew and other flight crews, they are constantly being trained to handle situations like this. So they are prepared. Fortunately, they have those skills; we don't want to see them use it. But when they do have to use it in this instance, it is a prescribed procedure.

They did the right things. It was thorough and methodical. They're maintaining control over the airplane, assess the controllability of the airplane and determine the best course of action to get your plane back on the ground. It is evident they did it and did it safely.

CURNOW: Hats off to that crew. An engine should not pop off midflight and it was not just after takeoff, when sometimes planes are most stressed the most, it happened right afterwards.

FEITH: Well, they were still climbing so you are still at a maximum power setting. They were in a phase of flight where they were heavy, low and slow. So they have a lot of fuel on board and they're climbing to cruise attitude, so they are accelerating.

When this event took place, this is the worse time. This is the point of the flight where you have the most stresses on the engine. Investigators will be looking whether there a series of blades.

This engine has different kinds of blades and they'll look to see if those failed or some other mechanical part failed.

CURNOW: How much does the debris field tell you, how much will it tell you, the scope and the size of it. Certainly some great clues for investigations on the ground.

FEITH: Absolutely, Robyn. When you look at documenting the debris field, you can trace by trajectory the larger pieces and where they fell in relation to the flight path of the aircraft.

They'll have to try to find out if something they did not see, such as a flock of birds that they may have hit, that could have led to this event.

Or was this a true mechanical problem?

Where that debris is, the smallest piece of that debris could be the origin of this failure. So it is going to be important to get as much of the debris as possible. If people see it, don't touch it, call the local authorities because it could be something that you can hold in your hand that could be the origin of this failure.

CURNOW: These folks were supposed to going to Hawaii. When they get to Hawaii, they're going to have a much needed holiday there.

FEITH: Absolutely.

CURNOW: Greg Feith, thank you very much for talking to us. Appreciate you for sharing your expertise.

FEITH: Thank you, Robyn. CURNOW: Cheers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: So coming up on CNN, the deepening crisis of broken water lines in Texas.

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CURNOW: Fourteen million people across the state are already without access to fresh water. We have that story just ahead.

Also a climatologist explains how warming temperatures in the Arctic may help trigger severe winter storms as far south as Texas. All of that next.

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ANTHONY HOANG, AUSTIN RESIDENT: We've been without hot water since Monday, so it's been a little tough. And yesterday we lost water, so, like a lot of other people in this city, we don't have any water and we're just trying to look for water.

So we're here meanwhile. And so it's great to see the community come together and pitch in and do stuff like this. But, yes, we're scrambling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: As you heard there, water is the issue for millions of Texans right now. Last weekend's deadly winter storm knocked out power and water across the state. Surely lights are coming back on but fresh water will take much longer.

At distribution sites, pallets of bottled water handed out as quickly as new ones are trucked in. Some 14 million people across the state are impacted. Those who do get tap water must boil it. Some are resorting to melted snow to flush toilets.

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CURNOW: And from not enough water to way too much. Many homes are currently unlivable because of severe water damage from burst pipes, as you can see here. And the expected thaw this weekend could make it worse, as more pipes unfreeze and fail.

The state has announced plans to recruit a small army of plumbers to begin the extensive repairs.

And President Biden on Saturday freed up additional federal resources for Texas by approving a major disaster declaration and 3,000 members of the Texas National Guard have now been pressed into relief efforts. Here' s the latest from Omar Jimenez.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water's not even bubbling.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lights may be on but across parts of Texas the water isn't. Drinking water still needed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a panic mode that we didn't have enough drinking water. We would love showers but we'll get that when we get our water turned back on.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Texans waiting in long lines just to pick up cases of water, with nearly half the state under boil water advisories.

MAYOR STEVE ADLER (D), AUSTIN, TX: This is a community of people that are scared and upset and angry. We're eventually going to need some better answers. But right now we're just trying to get water to our neighbors.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): But it's not just drinking water. Some residents can't even flush the toilet without melting snow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We relocated back to our house, five adults and two dogs, and we started harvesting snow because we also lost water at that point. Harvesting snow for toilet water.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): That lack of water making it difficult for those suffering from kidney failure. Some dialysis clinics have been forced to temporarily close, meaning patients have to go to the hospital to keep their kidneys from shutting down.

DR. PAUL NADER, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL: So we've had double, sometimes triple coverages of physicians at all the hospitals. We cover many hospitals in Austin.

Ordinarily we finish most of our dialysis between about 8:00 and 5:00 or 6:00 at night for a regular day. We were working 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, dialyzing patients in the hospital.

JIANG (voice-over): President Joe Biden approving a major disaster declaration for Texas, freeing up more help from FEMA.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): You know, when disaster strikes, this is not just an issue for Texans. This is an issue for our entire country. Disasters don't strike everyone equally.

When you already have so many families in the state and across the country that are on the brink, that can't even afford an emergency to begin with, when you have a disaster like this, it can just set people back for years.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): As residents wait for the water and power to come back, some still forced to use their cars for warmth. Others, if they're lucky, find shelter in a hotel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guests, frankly, it's been the equivalent of camping indoors.

JIMENEZ: And moving forward, officials here are going to start looking at what exactly went wrong over this past week. Among what they're investigating is that many customers here in Texas reported getting extremely high power bills, even amid this catastrophe.

So Texas officials are investigating that.

On the water front, when could we see the water come back to Texas?

Well, in some places, we're well on our way. In Houston, for example, they've reached that minimum threshold for water pressure. Here in Austin, officials are optimistic they can get water citywide by the end of the weekend -- Omar Jimenez, CNN, Austin, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: It will be many months before we learn exactly why the Texas power grid failed. And there are questions and concerns about the unusual nature of this storm itself. It was far colder and more persistent than anyone expected or prepared for that far south.

Scientists want to know if it's more evidence of weather extremes brought on my climate change. And while some have falsely tried to pin the blame on renewable energy, such as wind turbines, the mayor of Houston says that is nonsense. Take a listen.

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MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D), HOUSTON, TX: For anybody that attempts to blame what happened this week in Texas on renewables, being totally, totally disingenuous. What is important to bear in mind is that the climate is getting warmer.

And we have to address the issue of climate change, even in the state of Texas. Anybody who contends that what happened this week was due to renewable energy, they're trying to deflect where the real responsibility lies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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CURNOW: Let's talk more about all of this with Katharine Hayhoe. She is an atmospheric scientist and director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University.

Great to have you on the show, I really want you to unpack for us why a warming Arctic has an impact on Texas.

[03:20:00]

KATHARINE HAYHOE, CLIMATE SCIENCE CENTER, TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY: Well, first of all, in Texas, about every 10 years, there is a very severe cold wave with ice and snow that knocks out the power.

It happened in 1989. There was a very big one in 2011, there was a large one and, after every single one of these winter storm events, there was a commission, there were findings saying that the power grid was not prepared, the gas plants were not prepared, the gas lines were not prepared and they really should be winterized as they are winterized in other places further north.

But each time those recommendations were ignored. So the storm that happened in Texas this past week, it was not unprecedented and it was not something that has not happened before.

Now as the world warms, we know that our weather is getting weirder. We know that heat waves are becoming more intense and more frequent. We know that wildfires are burning greater area, from California to Alaska to Australia.

We know that hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are getting stronger and more damaging. We know that our really expensive weather and climate events are getting worse. And we know that today we are already woefully unprepared for those changes, as this week has just showed us.

CURNOW: It certainly has. Just explain to us what played out in terms of the atmosphere that led to these catastrophic scenes we saw in Texas.

HAYHOE: We get these terrible cold waves in Texas when there is an outbreak of cold Arctic air that makes all the way down to Texas. And this does happen on a fairly regular basis. Not all the time but enough that, if you lived here a while, you will have experienced it a couple of times.

Here is the connection with climate. The jet stream is powered by the temperature difference between the Arctic and the mid latitudes but the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world.

And in fact, this past week, some parts of the Arctic were over 15 degrees Celsius, almost 25 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than they would normally be at this time of the year.

So the jet stream slows down and begins to meander. And scientists are not sure yet, this is still at the cutting edge of scientific research, we don't have a long enough satellite record to be sure.

But there is some indication that as the Arctic warms much faster than the rest of the world, even though our winters are getting warmer, which they are, we can still be seeing these cold air outbreaks happening. So you would have warm, warm, warm, cold, warm, warm, warm, cold, as the world continues to get warmer.

CURNOW: So you call it global weirding, I understand, which is a pretty good description, because it has been wacky weather.

What do folks do about it? Because this is about mitigation, about adaptation. I think somebody also said that it is about suffering. But it is a balance of how all of us are going to manage this global weird weather in the years or weeks or months ahead.

HAYHOE: Well, to complete the quote, we have these 3 choices, mitigation, adaptation or suffering. And the more mitigation we do, which means the more carbon emissions we reduce, the less adaptation is required and the less suffering there will be.

Adaptation means to look ahead down the road and see what is happening. We have to prepare for 500-year flood events to be happening every three years, as they have in some parts of Houston.

We have to prepare for hurricanes to be capable of dropping 50 inches of rain, as Hurricane Harvey did three years ago. The Midwest was in record flood conditions just two years ago. It is hard to remember that far back.

And we are seeing weather records being broken all over the world, as they normally do, both hot and cold. But our high temperature records have now been broken much more frequently.

So we can not only prepare based on the past, we must also prepare based on how things are changing so that, when we hit them in the future, we will be ready.

CURNOW: So I know that you advise cities and city managers, engineers, ecologists about these scenarios. If you look at the globe -- I mean, this is the kind of expectation in terms of weather that we all need to prepare for.

But what is clear from Texas is that, even knowing all of that, nothing was done. And then on top of that, we are hearing all of these reports of folks being charged crazy prices for their electrical bills. So ordinary folks are then going to have to pay for the ill- preparedness of the infrastructure of cities.

What do you make about that?

How can any of us, who are listening to you now, try and fathom and put this into our own daily lives, in terms of preparation?

HAYHOE: You are absolutely right, that is what is happening. So those who reap the benefits of failing to prepare to adequately winterize their equipment, because it would cost more up front, they are not the ones paying the greatest price.

As with any disaster, the poorest people, those living below the poverty line, those already vulnerable because of health conditions or other reasons.

[03:25:00]

HAYHOE: Those are the people who are most affected by these disasters. And as climate changes, we see that they're also the ones that are

most affected, whether they live in a flood plain, because those are where the most affordable houses are, whether they are disproportionately affected by or exposed to air pollution, which a new study just found kills 8 million people around the world every year.

Air pollution from burning fossil fuels alone, the poorest and the most vulnerable are the first to suffer. And that is why preparing is a job for all of us. Cities, water districts, counties, states, provinces, departments, federal and governmental agencies, businesses, churches, places of worship, schools, everyone has a role to play.

And looking at their community and saying who is vulnerable and what can we do to prepare, to help?

CURNOW: Yes, it certainly is a lesson; what happened in Texas could happen anywhere. Our thoughts do go out to everybody.

And you are in Texas, how have you been?

HAYHOE: I have been incredibly fortunate to have the power on. But our university has had rolling blackouts and I have many colleagues that have been in dire situations over the past week.

CURNOW: Our thoughts and much love to you all, thank you.

Katharine Hayhoe, atmospheric scientist, thank you very much for being here and sharing your expertise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: More now on the climate crisis. The U.N. released a new climate change report. Among the sobering findings in the lengthy document, species and ecosystems are vanishing faster than ever. At the current rate, global warming will reach 1.5 degrees Celsius around 2040 and earlier.

Scientists predict global warming will go from bad to worse. And in a quarter of the world, so-called disease burden or death and loss of health stems from environment related risks, such as exposure to toxic waste and pollution, as we heard there.

And the report says governments could play a major role in protecting the planet as the world reemerges from the pandemic by prioritizing environmental policies as they restart their economies.

You are watching CNN.

Brutal winter weather over much of the U.S. has also delayed vaccine shipments and getting doses into arms. We'll tell you what the government is doing to make up for lost time in the U.S.

And South Africa is rolling out its vaccine program, starting with health workers. We talk to a disease expert that explains why such a race to vaccinate people before the variants gets out of control. (MUSIC PLAYING)

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CURNOW: Welcome back. To all of our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN.

So severe winter storms have delayed efforts to get more Americans vaccinated against COVID. There's now a backlog of millions of vaccine doses, waiting to be shipped. And many states are postponing vaccination appointments. White House officials say deliveries will be ramped up to compensate. Polo Sandoval has more from New York.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a month after reaching 400,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, the U.S. is closing in on half a million people dead from the virus.

Yes, the latest numbers do show a continuing five-week decline in the nation's new cases as well as decline in hospitalizations and deaths. But there's a caveat. The CDC warning it's unclear how much the decrease is due to recent weather closing some testing sites.

And there's a sharp spike in cases at the University of Maryland. School officials are ordering all students living to sequester in place until next Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty much expected when you see that the fact that students are returning back to campus.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Despite the positive signs elsewhere, the director of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation thinks we may not achieve herd immunity until next winter. This despite recent reports suggesting we may get there next month.

DR. CHRISTOPHER MURRAY, INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION: We know COVID's really seasonal. So when the next winter rolls around, we need to have a much higher level of protection to stop COVID in its tracks than we're likely to achieve.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): This week weather-related shipping delays are fueling discussions about whether or not the administering of second doses should be delayed, allowing for more first-round shots for Americans.

The White House maintains that is still too risky, given the data about the vaccines. Dr. Paul Offit told CNN's Jake Tapper yesterday he agrees.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, U.S. FDA VACCINE ADVISER: It is clear that this is a two-dose vaccine that you're going to have longer, better, more complete immunity with that second dose.

And I worry, if people wait a long time for that second dose, I'm not saying you can't wait, say, six weeks between dose one and dose two. But if you're waiting months and months, you're going to have this false notion that you're protected.

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SANDOVAL (voice-over): Many states getting vaccination efforts back on track. In Maryland officials are using a mobile vaccination unit to make up for lost ground. In the city of Minneapolis, health officials are making additional efforts, such as partnering with local organizations and churches to reach communities hardest hit by pandemic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best thing I can say to anyone is, if it's available, take it and just pray that it works for you and you stay safe.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Along with vaccinations, the U.S. needs to prioritize testing, thinks Kathleen Sebelius. She is a former head of Health and Human Services.

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, FORMER DIRECTOR, HHS: Focus on both testing that we need to identify who has the disease and then the serology tests that will tell us more about antibodies and what kind of variant is circulating. But we need both tests and we need them very quickly.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

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CURNOW: COVID variants have certainly become a major variable in defeating the disease. Health experts are pressing for faster vaccinations before they have a chance to spread and reverse progress. Over the past few days South Africa began giving health care workers the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot. And they're happy to be getting it.

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ISMAEL MOTALA, MEDICAL OFFICER: I think it's about time we get a vaccination because it's the only way out of this pandemic. Otherwise we're going to sit with the problem for a long time. Let's hope it works.

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CURNOW: So I want to bring Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, the cochair of the South African Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID.

Lovely to see you. Thank you so much for joining me. It's great news, health workers starting to get vaccinated.

[03:35:00]

CURNOW: No doubt a huge relief for many.

DR. SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, SOUTH AFRICA'S MINISTERIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON COVID-19: Good day, Robyn. Good day to all of the viewers.

Yes, indeed. It's been an amazing celebration here. It's been a long time coming. And I think for us this particular event marks a change, a shift in our overall strategy in that now we're not only using nonpharmaceutical behavioral interventions but combining it with biological interventions and giving us a pathway now to protection.

CURNOW: Why has then the South African government given away its AstraZeneca vaccines, despite the fact some scientists have suggested, yes, maybe it won't be as effective against the variant found in South Africa but it certainly prevents real illness or death?

Why give it away then?

KARIM: The South African national vaccine plan calls for a diversity of candidates. We don't want to go with just one or two. We want to go with many candidates just in case there's manufacturing problems or whatever. The initial selection process looked at the data on AstraZeneca and showed it was 70 percent effective.

There was some concern about the lack of data in the elderly but there was overall support for the vaccine.

However, a few weeks ago, a study done by AstraZeneca in South Africa, a small study with young people mainly, showed the vaccine was not as effective against mild and moderate disease.

Now the problem is you've got a vaccine that's 70 percent efficacious, is now 22 percent efficacious for mild and moderate disease. And we don't know whether that reduction in efficacy also applies to severe disease and hospitalization, which is our goal.

And so now we have uncertainty. In the midst of uncertainty, of course, there are many opinions. There will be, in fact, very forcefully held opinions on both sides of the argument. But the reality is there is no data.

And so we felt it was important that, if we're going to roll this out, it's going to be rolled out in a way that we can measure its efficacy -- we don't want to end up vaccinating a million people and learning only then that it doesn't work against severe disease.

So a step to rollout was what was proposed. The government has been looking at that and a few alternatives as to what to do with the current million doses of AstraZeneca that it has.

CURNOW: OK.

And what do you make then also of the suggestion that potentially over 50 percent of the South African population has already been infected?

Is that good news for herd immunity in fighting off a winter wave for example? Or do you still think the worst is yet to come?

KARIM: Unfortunately, it's not always good news. But at one level, it certainly means we've had very high levels of exposure. It should be pointed out that these surveys, especially the ones done by discovery, are done in the wealthy 14 percent of our population.

So they exclude rural people. They exclude poor people. And they are skewed in terms of racial composition. So you can't really extrapolate without a lot of caveats in that case.

So let's just go on the basis it's probably a skewed estimate and probably an overestimate. If that's the case, we probably have around maybe up to 40 percent, maybe up to 50 percent of South Africans exposed. That's not enough for herd immunity.

But for us the big concern that we saw from our first wave is that those individuals who got infected in our first wave were not protected from the variant we had in South Africa in the second wave.

They were at risk of getting the new variant just as much as somebody who'd never been infected in the first wave. So having natural protection does not necessarily mean that it's a pathway to herd immunity.

CURNOW: Doctor, always good to speak to you. Thanks so much for answering of our questions and for all the hard work you've been doing. Appreciate it, sir.

KARIM: Pleasure. Thank you, Robyn.

CURNOW: The U.K.'s road map to easing coronavirus measures is set to be unveiled Monday. Prime minister Boris Johnson is finalizing the details. The country entered its third national lockdown in early January.

Mr. Johnson has said reopening schools is a priority. This is all thanks to the success of the U.K.'s vaccine rollout. It's hoped every adult in the country can get a first dose of the vaccine by the end of July.

Meanwhile, the country has already administered 15 million shots, the third highest vaccination rate in the world. Salma Abdelaziz is in London with more on all of that.

Hi, Salma.

[03:40:00]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Robyn. Yes, everyone here waking up to this really exciting news that I'm sure everyone would be very keen to hear, that all adults should get their vaccine by the end of July. That's moving the date forward.

It had originally been by autumn, so that's coming even earlier than expected. All adults over 50 now have been told they'll get their vaccination by May. Now being told they could get it by mid-April.

The prime minister saying he wants to see this country go further and faster with its vaccination program, despite the fact it's already one of the top in the world when it comes to immunization speeds.

All of this, of course, good news ahead of what is going to be tough news from the prime minister on Monday. Yes, vaccines are rolling out but that does not mean restrictions can be eased. And that will be the prime minister's message tomorrow.

He's going to lay out a road map to ease rules but it will be slow and irreversible. Schools could reopen March 8th and after that we're looking at nonessential shops, the economy reopening.

And finally the hospitality industry, bars, hotels, pubs, restaurants. That will be the last to reopen. We already know one change in restrictions is going to happen at care homes March 8th. Care home residents can start having one regular visitor and they can hold hands, Robyn.

CURNOW: OK, well that says a lot about the year everyone's had, doesn't it?

CURNOW: Salma, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

So coming up here at CNN, Myanmar protesters refusing to cave to police violence. The latest on their fight to end a military coup. That story, we've been following it for three weeks now. More just ahead.

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CURNOW (voice-over): More pro-democracy protests in Myanmar today. It's the 16th consecutive day of rallies following the military coup and they follow the deadliest day of demonstrations so far. A volunteer emergency worker tells Reuters two people killed, 20 wounded Saturday when police opened fire on protesters.

World leaders are watching this with alarm and warning military leaders against a wider crack down on demonstrations.

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CURNOW: Well, Selina Wang joins me now from Tokyo with the latest on what's happening on the ground in Myanmar right now.

What can you tell us? SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Robyn. Well, again on the ground in Yangon there are large crowds. You can see protesters raising their hands with three finger salutes in defiance.

And in northern Myanmar there are motorbike protests underway. These protesters are not backing down despite the increasing violence. On Saturday in Mandalay police opened fire on protesters, leaving at least two dead and 20 injured. This is according to AFP and Reuters, citing emergency workers on the ground.

CNN confirmed live rounds as well as tear gas were used to disperse the protesters. We've obtained video where you can see protesters running away from the police, taking shelter wherever they can find space.

In another video you can see a person being taken away by medics. And this violence is happening after a young woman died on Friday, the first known casualty since these protests began. And she has really become a symbol of this movement, galvanizing protesters, who are risking arrest every day by their actions -- Robyn.

CURNOW: They're risking arrest. They're getting hit harder and harder back by military forces on the ground.

How long do you think they can sustain this, keep this momentum up?

WANG: Robyn, absolutely. Today marks the 16th straight day of protests but they are not backing down, despite this growing fear. We've spoken to many protesters who say that, by day they are fearlessly protesting. But by night, they are hiding, moving from house to house to avoid any arrest.

And many citizens have told CNN as well that they are terrified of being dragged from their beds late at night or during these early morning raids that are becoming more frequent since this military takeover.

A Burmese human rights organization says that more than 500 people have been arrested since February 1st. And this includes civilians, activists, journalists even monks, students as well as politicians. Take a listen to what a protester in Yangon had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We protested peacefully but people had to die. The junta wants to stop us from coming out onto the streets so they strongly respond to us. We, the people, won't accept their unfair oppression and we will continue to fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WANG: Robyn, many people protesting feel they are fighting for their future, even though these protests are largely dominated by young people. There are still many who are remember the days of brutal military rule. And they are not willing to give up this taste of democracy that they've already had -- Robyn. CURNOW: Well, that update we'll continue to monitor the story. Thank

you.

Still to come on CNN, the deep freeze paralyzing Texas is beginning to thaw but the crisis is not yet over.

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CURNOW: So we talk a lot these days about political division in the United States. But President Joe Biden is demonstrating that bipartisan friendships do exist, as Arlette Saenz now explains.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Biden made a surprise stop on Saturday to visit a longtime friend, former senator Bob Dole. He had announced earlier that he was recently diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. He'll begin treatment for that on Monday.

The president spent a little over an hour visiting With dole at the Watergate. The two men have a longtime relationship after serving decades together on Capitol Hill. Bob Dole is a Republican and Joe Biden a Democrat.

So the two forged this bipartisan relationship, sometimes being at odds with one another, but still forging that friendship during their time in the Senate. The president was asked how Bob Dole was doing. The president says he's doing well -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.

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CURNOW: Last weekend's bitter cold is easing in Texas.

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CURNOW: So the weather disaster in Texas brought hardship, of course, to the Lone Star State but also revealed the kindness of strangers. Take for instance, Chelsea Timmons, a grocery delivery driver. Her truck slid on ice in Texas and got stuck.

So two homeowners offered her shelter while she waited for a tow truck. That turned into a five-day wait. Chelsea baked the couple a coconut cake when they insisted she stay at their home.

Chelsea said, "That's not how I expected to spend Valentine's Day. We had a great dinner and I sat and I was fed and I thought it was going to be for just one night. But here I am day five." So for more information about how you can help winter storm victims in

Texas please do go to cnn.com/impact.

So that wraps up this hour of CNN. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @RobynCurnowCNN.