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Desperation Grows Outside Kabul Airport As Deadline Nears; Security Threats Prompt Warnings To Leave Airport; China Slams U.S. Intel Report On Origin Of COVID-19 Origin; U.S. Officials: 19,000 People Evacuated On Tuesday; Troops From U.S., Other Countries Begin Leaving Kabul; Iceland Becomes Case Study For Herd Immunity. Aired 12- 12:45a ET

Aired August 26, 2021 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:18]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause. Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Multiple security warnings to clear the area around Kabul's airport because of a possible terror attack, leaving many to choose between staying and risk dying at the hands of ISIS-K or leave and risk dying later, at the hands of the Taliban.

WHO investigators warn time is running out to find the origins of the coronavirus in China. Soon evidence from the earliest days of the outbreak will be gone forever.

In Iceland where COVID infections have surged and hospital admissions have not, so far this year, the virus has claimed one life. A textbook case of what happens when the vaccination rate is almost 90 percent.

We begin in Afghanistan where new security warnings have been issued by the U.S., the U.K. and Australia all urging their citizens to stay away from Kabul's airport.

The U.K. Foreign Office cited a high threat of terrorist attack. And a U.S. defense official tells CNN the group known as ISIS-K wants to create mayhem at the airport where huge crowds have gathered, hoping for a flight out of the country.

But this security warning comes with the window closing fast on evacuations. Flights are expected to end in a few days. A few days after that, by this Tuesday, the U.S. military scheduled to complete a total drawdown and that will mean tens of thousands of Afghans who assisted U.S. forces and their families will likely be left behind, their faith in the hands of the Taliban.

U.S. Secretary of State says in the past 11 days, his massive airlift has flown more than 82,000 people out of Kabul. 19,000 in just the past day.

Antony Blinken would not comment about a U.S. diplomatic presence in Afghanistan after the military drawdown but he did make this promise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Let me be crystal clear about this, there is no deadline on our work to help any remaining American citizens who decide they want to leave to do so along with the many Afghans who have stood by us over these many years and want to leave and have been unable to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just how that could happen once the U.S. military presence is gone is anyone's guess. Right now, with almost 6,000 troops on the ground and F-18 fighter jets in the skies above, the U.S. controls nothing beyond the perimeter of Kabul's airport. And that is where the desperation and the danger is only increasing by the hour.

CNN's Sam Kiley is there.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the closing moments of America's longest war, a desperate legacy.

A day after the Taliban announced that they would stop Afghans getting into Kabul airport. These are the scenes at its walls.

They wade through sewage and breathtaking heat, waving their documents desperate for escape.

Beyond these barriers, plane after plane carrying thousands to freedom. But here there is fast fading hope that they will get to safety before America and its allies leave in a few days' time.

The process taking an added urgency with what U.S. intelligence have described as a very specific threat against crowds gathering outside the airport.

We've also had a number of reports of Afghans stuck in pockets around the town, desperately sending out signals to Americans to try to get them out particularly people who've been working with the United States.

We've heard from one group whose identity we're keeping secret, they really fear that they will not survive the coming days if they can't get to this airport.

19,000 people have been evacuated the last 24 hours. But with the Taliban blocking refugees from getting to the airport, the numbers here are down. There will be a day, maybe two before the military effort will have to focus on its own withdrawal.

Amid detailed threats from ISIS-K who sources tell CNN have the capacity and plans to commit atrocities against desperate Afghan crowds. Such fears are now behind those who are boarding on the plane relief.

Mohammed Yusufzai is a U.S. citizen. So, with his family of six, he was able to make it through the Taliban blocks.

MOHAMMED YUSUFZAI, U.S. CITIZEN: Nobody wants to leave home easily. But there are a lot of challenging around.

KILEY: Landing in Doha, a muted joy. Now they're safe, but on a long journey into the unknown. Sam Kiley, CNN Kabul International Airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Anna Coren has covered Afghanistan for years. She recently returned from Kabul. She joins us now live from Hong Kong.

ISIS-K which seems to be a relatively small terror group created by what, dissident members of the Pakistani Taliban. What else do we know about them? And what else we know about this hostile attack on the airport?

[00:05:11]

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, John, from the experts that I have spoken to, ISIS-K threat is a real threat.

In fact, this academic who I met in Kabul said that he's surprised that there haven't been attacks already by ISIS-K Khorasan. That is the threat that this organization poses.

So, when the embassy initially, you know, put out that warning firstly on the weekend, there was a lot of cynicism. You know, is this a way that the Americans are trying to get the crowds, you know, to leave the airport? It would seem that is not the case that these are real threats.

And obviously, that is something pressing for President Biden, because he knows that if there was to be a terror attack amongst these thousands of people who are still crammed outside the airport that this disaster would then move to an absolute calamity.

I mean, this is already, you know, an absolute nightmare for the U.S. government what has been unfolding in Kabul in Afghanistan, but a terror attack outside the airport staged by ISIS would just, you know, be the absolute worst.

So, this is obviously something that President Biden wants to avoid. That is why they are basically moving from evacuations in to draw down.

John, I have been inundated with messages from Afghans stuck in Kabul, pleading for help. I was on the phone last night with a 30-year-old man who worked for a company funded by the embassy by the U.S. State Department. They were told that evacuations would happen for their staff on the seventh of August, those promises have been made every single day.

And they are 180 -- there are 128 staff and their families are still stuck in Kabul. This man was sobbing on the phone, he was pleading for help.

And then, just moments ago, John, I got another message from a woman, a young mother asking me is there any way that I can help get her and her child out. And let me read to you what she wrote to me, now that the Taliban are in control of her reality, she said, "Since the regime change, all my world is three rooms of my home, sometimes I become so tired, I feel I can't breathe easily.

I feel there is not enough oxygen in the house. I feel oxygen has left us and left Afghanistan. Now these three rooms are my shopping markets, ice cream shop, my office that I used to go to before. Now I just go from room to room to help my heavy heart."

I get emotional, John, because these are people who are trapped. You know, they know they can't leave. They know they can't get out of Kabul. They know they have been abandoned by America and the international community.

VAUSE: Anna, thank you. Anna Coren live for us in Hong Kong.

Robert Grenier was the CIA Station Chief in Islamabad on 9/11. In the weeks, which followed, he put together the plan for the war in Afghanistan, and then directed the CIA's operation to drive the Taliban and Al-Qaeda out of southern Afghanistan. He joins us this hour from Washington.

Mr. Grenier, thank you for your time.

ROBERT GRENIER, FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF, ISLAMABAD: You're very welcome.

VAUSE: So, the possibility now of a terror attack on Kabul's airport, that seems to be a real threat since this evacuation began. There were thousands of people who gathered outside the perimeter, with the only security being provided by the Taliban. It's a soft target for this group known as ISIS-K, for any group really. And ISIS-K has carried out dozens of attacks this year in Afghanistan. It would seem this new intelligence or these new warnings are just confirming, which should have been obvious.

GRENIER: Well, yes, you're right. It's a very soft target. And so, one will always, you know, be concerned about the possibility of a terrorist attack.

I viewed some of the early reports with some skepticism. But people who are in a much better position to know seem to be taking this very seriously indeed. And it sounds as though there's some fairly specific threat information because as we understand, the word has gone out to individuals, Americans, Green Card holders and some others with whom the embassy is in direct communication, telling them to stay away from certain specific gates. So, that sounds like a specific threat to me.

VAUSE: Yes, it's also telling people essentially give up your only hope of getting out of the country.

GRENIER: Well, perhaps now they have been able to launch some extraction operations from out beyond the airport perimeter.

And, of course, I don't know what appears at some of these, at least, would have been done with some coordination with the Taliban. All things equal, one would prefer to be coordinating with the Taliban and that sort of thing.

[00:10:07]

GRENIER: And so, I suspect that there may be some other locations from which American citizens and Green Card holders in particular might be picked up.

But obviously, if they have to close the gates, that is not a good thing with time running down.

VAUSE: Yes, and in recent days, there has been this surge in the number of evacuated out of Kabul. Is it possible that every single person has undergone some kind of security check that we know their background, their history? We know we've got the right people getting out of the country?

GRENIER: I'm not there. But I would say absolutely not. You know, just from the insight that I've had speaking to some people on the ground, trying as best as I can to help some people get out.

And some people I know, have fortunately been able to get out. But it seems like it's utter chaos. I know of the some cases that I know of directly were individuals who were certainly not on any evacuation list wouldn't probably not have qualified once they managed to get into the airport was shoved onto airplanes and flown out.

So, I think to do any kind of a careful screening under these circumstances, one understands that there might have been 19,000 people flown out in the last 24 hours. That is -- that's frankly, incredible.

And so, no, I think the answer to your question is no, there's no way you can properly screen these people.

VAUSE: Well, the threat from ISIS-K, it seems to highlight beyond the situation inside Afghanistan right now with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda on one side of this bitter rival, ISIS-K on the other. And then, add into the mix with thousands of foreign fighters affiliated with all of those three groups arriving in recent months.

A former Afghan security official was quoted as saying Afghanistan is like Las Vegas for terrorists right now, they're coming from all around the world.

So, where do you see all of this heading in the coming months?

GRENIER: Well, you know, I think in terrorism, as in other endeavors, nothing succeeds like success. And so, you're right, this is seen in jihadist circles around the globe as a great success.

And I think we're already beginning to see people rushing now to Afghanistan, believing that this will be a safe haven for them.

Now, we've had assurances from the Taliban that they will not allow that. I as a professional in this area, with some experience in that area don't believe that for a moment, others don't. But we would certainly hope to be pleasantly surprised.

VAUSE: Is there any chance that these intra-Afghan talks once which are taking place among the Taliban, the former President Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah, will they actually end with any chance of a government beyond just made up of the Taliban, will be a broader government by any possibility? Or the other question to ask is, why would the Taliban actually, you know, engage any kind of power sharing arrangement?

GRENIER: Yes, well, I think that there is some objective motivation for the Taliban, to try to have a more broadly-based government, there are still a lot of opposition to them in Afghanistan as we know. There are a number of leading figures who would like to come to some sort of an accommodation with the Taliban, that might work to the Taliban's political benefit.

However, from what I've been able to gather so far, these talks do not appear to be fruitful. Knowing something about the Taliban mentality, I don't think that they will want to share power, they will certainly only share power on their terms. I thought that perhaps they would have some sort of a nominal sure made up with non-Taliban members, members of other ethnic groups, etcetera.

At least just to show some sort of a face to the world, thus far, that doesn't seem to be gaining any traction. So, I'm rather pessimistic about that as well.

VAUSE: I just want to finish off with a statement from the U.S. Secretary of State on Wednesday, he said, there's no deadline for helping American citizens and Afghan allies to leave the country. The only deadline is for an end to those military flights.

How does that actually happen in any kind of meaningful way? I mean, this seems to be part of sort of the ongoing gaslighting, which we've heard, you know, from the Biden administration since this began.

GRENIER: Well, I'm not sure exactly what the Secretary of State means. But I think it is certain that for months and perhaps years, Afghans who have not been able to make their way out of Kabul and of course, you know, it's a very small slice of the country.

There are many others who are similarly vulnerable in many other parts of the country. And I think that those people, many of them will be making their way out of Afghanistan overland and trying to apply for some sort of Special Immigrant Visa from there.

So, I think somewhat as we saw with Vietnamese getting out of Southeast Asia slowly over many years, I think we may see something similar occurring in Afghanistan.

VAUSE: Sir, thank you very much for being with us. Robert Grenier, we really appreciate your time.

GRENIER: Most welcome.

VAUSE: Still to come, it seems a three-month review by the U.S. on the origins of the coronavirus has only angered China and has bought us no closer to learning exactly how the virus originated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:17:17]

VAUSE: The Australian state of New South Wales has recorded more than a thousand new COVID cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number in any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began.

A lockdown in New South Wales will now be extended by two weeks until at least September 10th due to ongoing concerns about community transmission.

COVID cases in Australia have surged in recent months because of the Delta variant.

China has already lashed out at a U.S. intelligence report into the origins of the coronavirus even before it was made public. Beijing labeled the 90-day review of intelligence as politically motivated and accused the U.S. of blaming its own pandemic failures on China.

This report could be declassified in the coming days, but sources say it's inconclusive on both origin theories. Did it leaked from a lab or jumped from a bat?

CNN's David Culver has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A 90-day deep dive into a trove of U.S. intelligence, the focus to find the origins of COVID-19. As that work came to a close, it seems no apparent smoking gun evidence surface to prove one side over another according to one source.

The intelligence community review focusing on two possible origins, either the virus started in and leaked from a Wuhan lab or that it emerged naturally.

One thing that is certain:

STANLEY PERLMAN, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DISTINGUISHED CHAIR: I don't think anyone would disagree that the major first amplification occurred in Wuhan.

CULVER: CNN was in Wuhan just before the lockdown as the virus was rapidly spreading. Initially, the one on seafood market was believed to be the epicenter.

Security told us at the time to leave as soon as we stepped out to record.

This past January, a year after the outbreak began, a WHO field team was granted access to the market. This is video shot by the head of that international mission as he and the team walked through the now shuttered market. In a TV2 Danish documentary released this month, they stumbled upon a space that suggested people might have also been living inside the market leading up to the outbreak.

PETER BEN EMBAREK, LEAD INVESTIGATOR FOR WHO MISSION (through translator): If these rooms were used as living quarters, that would mean that people were in contact with what was at the market, including the virus and perhaps live animals more intensely.

CULVER: Possibly supporting a natural origins theory that the virus went from animals to humans, but the WHO team also revealed to TV2, tense negotiations with their Chinese counterparts, who they say at first resisted any mention of a possible lab leak into WHO's findings and also say their Chinese counterparts later insisted the lab leak theory was extremely unlikely.

But that conclusion has since been met with heavy skepticism among U.S. politicians who remain skeptical given the Chinese government's lack of transparency.

25 miles from the Huanan market is the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its biosafety level four or BSL-4 lab. The Trump administration alleged for months that this is where the virus really started. But U.S. officials never provided evidence to the public.

[00:20:11]

CULVER: CNN spoke with a source directly involved with the construction of the BSL-4, using their insight along with information published by the Chinese before the outbreak. Here's what we know.

Planning and construction at the BSL-4 started in 2003 and 2018, it officially became operational. It's located on the sprawling fenced in Wuhan Institute of Virology campus. The building containing the lab sits separate. Four levels make up the structure.

At the top, a sophisticated air purification system, at the bottom and underneath the lab, decontamination equipment that allows for safe sewage disposal.

Level two, this is where the research takes place. There are separate entrances and exits, along with dedicated dissection rooms by restored facilities and multiple labs for distinct animal and cellular level research.

French engineers helped in the planning and the construction. But one source tells us the Chinese were initially resistant and adding some basic safety features due to the high cost of some equipment such as multiple chemical decontamination showers, but that they eventually relented adding out.

GERALD T. KEUSCH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES LABORATORIES: You had a first-class facility, high class biologists and well-trained staff. You put all of that together and you'd say, well, I can't exclude a lab accident. It doesn't seem likely. CULVER: It also does not rule out the possibility of a leak from another lab in Wuhan. We drove by it last year.

There you can see right here. This is Wuhan Center for Disease Control. This is one of the labs within Wuhan. And of course, not too far from the market either.

Located just a couple of blocks from the Huanan Seafood market. In fact, inside, lower level biosafety labs that likewise involved with the study of bats and coronaviruses.

Still, there is one thing lacking in the search for an origin, that is full transparency from and collaboration with the Chinese.

Instead, China's launched a relentless propaganda campaign, a constant barrage of digital articles with sarcastic cartoons, T.V. reports, documentaries, even a rap song.

It's aimed to sow doubt and deflect blame when it comes to the origins of COVID-19. And we've seen a constant rehashing of old conspiracy theories primarily that the virus started in this lab, Fort Detrick in the United States, the home of the U.S. Army's Biological Laboratory.

Though there is no evidence the virus originated here, that has not stopped the Chinese from trying to push their version of a lab leak theory. China has essentially shut the door on future visits by the WHO.

Chinese officials believe the origins investigation has become politically manipulated by the U.S. crushing any potential of a bilateral source tracing effort.

KEUSCH: The longer it takes, the more difficult it's going to be to get a complete picture of what happened. Maybe never, it may be too late.

David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Pfizer is seeking approval from U.S. regulators for their booster shot of its COVID vaccine, hoping to have the submission completed by the end of this week. This comes just days after Pfizer's two shot vaccine was fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Meantime, Johnson & Johnson says a booster shot for its one dose of vaccine greatly increases immune response appears to be most effective six to eight months after the initial injection.

Delta Airlines is not forcing its U.S. employees to get vaccinated unless they are new hires. But (INAUDIBLE) clear that if they refuse, it will cost them.

The 25 percent of staff who are unvaccinated will pay an extra $200 a month for company health insurance that comes from November. That's the offset soaring hospital costs. Delta says it has paid on average $50,000 to each COVID patients hospital stay.

Unvaccinated employees will also be subject to weekly COVID tests starting next month. Delta's CEO spoke to CNN's Jim Sciutto about this new policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED BASTIAN, DELTA CEO: Well, first and foremost, every company has to make its own decision for its culture, its people, what works according to its values. Delta is one of the highest vaccination rates of any company I'm aware, already using voluntary measures.

And I think these added voluntary steps short of mandating a vaccine are going to get us as close to 100 percent as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The United has imposed a vaccine mandate on staff. United CEO says there has been some pushback, but it's mostly supported by the employees there.

In a matter of hours now, the Israeli Prime Minister will have his first face to face talks with the U.S. president. Naftali Bennett is expected to press Joe Biden on issues like Iran and push for a regional coalition to counter Iranian aggression.

Israel also wants there to be no return to any nuclear deal with the Iranians. But there's no evidence the Biden administration is willing to rule out diplomacy.

[00:25:05]

VAUSE: Bennett met with the Pentagon chief and top U.S. diplomat on Wednesday, laying the groundwork to establish a positive report with Israel's closest ally, the United States.

Still ahead, as America's Afghan allies beg for help evacuating the country, one veteran is stepping up but it says it's been a series of dead ends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Fears of a potential terror attack on Kabul's airports have prompted warnings from the U.S., U.K. and the Australians to their citizens to move away from the area.

The U.S. defense official tells CNN the concerns are based on a very specific threat stream from an ISIS offshoot known as ISIS-K.

Intelligence reports say the group is capable of planning and carrying out multiple attacks meant to create mayhem at the airport. Thousands of Afghans are crowded around the bases perimeter, hoping for a flight out of the country before the U.S. military mission ends next week. The U.S. Secretary of State address critics on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: I take responsibility. I know the president has said he takes responsibility. And I know all of my colleagues across government feel the same way. And I can tell you that there will be plenty of time to look back at the last six or seven months, to look back at the last 20 years. And to look to see what we might have done differently. What we might have done sooner, what we might have done more effectively.

But I have to tell you that right now, my entire focus is on the mission at hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, as that mission at hand continues to wind down, there are questions about how many Americans are still in need of evacuation. And whether Americans Afghans allies have any hope of getting out at all.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports now from Doha, Qatar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was the day that felt like the beginning of the end. U.S. troops and Australian battalions, Canadians and Turkish had started leaving.

In the morning, a thousand evacuees on the base, but by afternoon, 10 said the Pentagon. The pace of departures apparently a little slower in the morning, but a stunning 19,000 taken off in the last 24-hour period, capping a remarkable three days.

A source said SIV applicants were struggling to get in. Under the walls, these appalling scenes showed the impossible task of picking one from the crowd.

[00:30:06]

Outside the airport, Taliban blocked some, beating this man. So it is a horrific gauntlet for the Taliban. Then on to the gates and walls. And then onto an airfield, where the task is soon to rapidly turn from evacuation to withdrawal.

Some of the last troops to leave America's longest war in circumstances the president said were, quote, "inevitable," yet must surely have been, a little at least, avoidable.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Doha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Jeff Trammell is a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He's been trying to help his old interpreter and friend, and his family, get out of Kabul. So far, it has been a frustrating exercise, to say the least. Jeff, thank you for being with us.

JEFFERY TRAMMELL, U.S. ARMY VETERAN: Thank you so much for having me.

VAUSE: OK, we'll not name the man you're trying to help get out of Kabul, but he is married, three daughters. He worked alongside U.S. troops for two or three years.

Now, right now, the family has been camped outside Kabul airport. That's been the case since last week. But what's the latest now on their location, especially without warning of a possible terror attack in the airport vicinity.

TRAMMELL: Well, they're still in hiding. They're away from that vicinity, where -- that immediate area where that threat is. But they' re still in hiding in Kabul. And we are trying everything we can to get them into the gates, into the airport there.

VAUSE: We'll get to that in a moment, but this warning from the U.S. embassy saying all American citizens and others should move away from the airport gates immediately, that seems like a bit of a Sophie's choice. Stay and risk being killed, or leave and risk being left behind. How do they make that choice?

TRAMMELL: It's -- it is a very difficult choice. It's not the best choice about that threat. I mean, even without the threat, being in front of the gate is -- is incredibly difficult. These choices we have had to make time and time again. Because he's been beaten in front of the gates. His children have been trampled in front of the gates. The Taliban have tried to snatch him up at least once in front of the gates.

VAUSE: When you talk to him, what does he tell you about this level of frustration? What does he say about his family and how, you know -- how they're coping through this, which you know, is so close but yet so far?

TRAMMELL: I mean, it -- it is extreme frustration. And I don't know how to put it into words. You have to remember, this is a man who, even when we're in Afghanistan, you know, my first time, and you know, we're getting actively shot that, frequently. He always had joy in his voice. And he's always been a happy person.

But now, with the situation of people trying to get in, trying to get any one to look at his paperwork, you can hear that joy just seep out of his voice. And he -- he just doesn't sound like the normal, happy person that he always sounded like.

VAUSE: This is a lot more than just a dream to resettle. This is a question, in many cases, of life or death. Right? Because if he stays behind, what happens?

TRAMMELL: I'm not going to get graphic into what's going to happen. But I do know what will happen. First off, he will be killed, most likely in an absolutely barbaric faction. His children, they will probably not be killed, because they're girls.

But they will most likely be sold off. And they will be in forced marriages with members of the Taliban. Most likely, his wife will be killed in a very barbaric fashion.

This is -- the best way to explain it is this is worse than the Middle Ages. This is the full dark ages of what they're about to experience. And if he does not get out, those repercussions to him and his family are going to be extraordinarily horrible.

VAUSE: So obviously, the stakes are incredibly high here. Everyone knows what's happening. Have you had any kind of assistance from U.S. officials, from the U.S. government in trying to make this happen?

TRAMMELL: There's so much help going around. But in terms of, like, the people that I need help from, which are the State Department and the president's office, no. We're just not getting anything.

I've emailed -- you know, everything I can think of. And we're not even getting a response. And, you know, my interpreter, he's not getting a response either. And he has the case number with him.

[00:35:12]

So I'm getting a lot of -- a lot of people who want to help. But I'm not getting it from the right people.

VAUSE: Five lives it stake right now, mom and dad, three kids. Jeff, we wish you very, very -- all the very best, and we hope you are successful. Good luck.

TRAMMELL: Can I just say one last thing?

VAUSE: Sure.

TRAMMELL: What is happening, and what is about to happen, is a humanitarian crisis. It is going to be a massacre.

And people often watch movies and documentaries and say, how could this have happened? We are letting this happen. And we have all the power and the ability to stop it. All we have to do is make our mind up and take all of this power that we have and do the right thing. That's all we need to do, is do the right thing.

Tell the Taliban to stay away. We are staying until we get these people out, and that is the right thing to do.

VAUSE: Well said. Thanks for being with us, Jeff. We appreciate it.

TRAMMELL: Thank you very much.

VAUSE: So want to know what happens when almost 90 percent of a population has been vaccinated? Pretty much nothing, even as infections rise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How many people have died in this country during this wave from COVID?

DR. THOROLFUR GUDNASON, CHIEF EPIDEMIOLOGIST OF ICELAND: Zero.

TUCHMAN: Zero?

GUDNASON: Zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:38:39]

VAUSE: Another heat record for 2020. The American Meteorological Society says that last year was the hottest on record in Europe and the arctic. Average temperatures in Europe were 1.9 degrees Celsius higher than usual, and the increase was even worse in the arctic. More than 2 degrees above normal.

The concentration of global warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new high last year. That happened even though carbon dioxide emissions declined because of the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.

When COVID infections surged recently in Iceland, despite the country's high vaccination rate, it was fodder for the anti-vaxxers' proof, they yelled, vaccines don't work.

But oh, how they were wrong. Really, really wrong. We sent CNN's Gary Tuchman to Iceland to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Come to Iceland for the splendor and for vivid proof of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

(on camera): How many people have died in this country during this wave from COVID?

GUDNASON: Zero.

TUCHMAN: Zero?

GUDNASON: Zero.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Dr. Thorolfur Gudnason is Iceland's chief epidemiologist.

GUDNASON: I think the -- the widespread vaccination in Iceland has, for sure, prevented serious consequences of the infection.

DR. PALL MATTHIASSON, CEO, LANDSPITAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: I feel grateful, and I think it's -- it's a testimony to the -- this population. [00:40:01]

TUCHMAN: Dr. Pall Matthiasson is the CEO of the largest hospital in Iceland, Landspital National University Hospital. He says a nightmare scenario during this fourth and worst wave of COVID has been averted because of his fellow Icelanders.

MATTHIASSON: If it hadn't been for the vaccinations in our population, I think it would have been catastrophic.

TUCHMAN: Health officials say nobody has died from COVID in the small country since May. Thirty died before that, almost all before the vaccine was available. And just how vaccinated is this nation now?

DR. MAR KRISTJANSSON, INFECTIOUS DISEASE DEPARTMENT, LANDSPITAL HOSPITAL: If you look at the age bracket 16 years and older, it's about just above 90 percent. If you take from 12 and over, that's 84 percent.

TUCHMAN: Superlative percentages. Finding people in the U.S. who haven't gotten the vaccine is easy. Here, not so easy.

(on camera): Have you gotten vaccines?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, of course.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: Of course? Why do you say, "Of course"?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just because it's, like, our civic duty to get vaccinated.

TUCHMAN Your civic duty? Do you have friends who haven't gotten vaccinated?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): We go into this hospital's Gjorgaesludeild, the Icelandic word for intensive care unit, because the high number of vaccinations also means fewer patients, despite the surge of infections.

(on camera): Last year, before the COVID vaccines were available for the Icelandic public, there were typically between 65 and 75 COVID patients in this hospital. On this day, there are 18 COVID patients.

(voice-over): Some are very ill. Three of them are in the section of the ICU behind this black and yellow tape. But patient numbers do continue to drop.

DR. KRISTINN SIGVALDASON, INTENSIVE CARE PHYSICIAN: It was absolutely crazy last year. But it's more calm at the moment. There are fewer patients, and they get well sooner than they did in the first wave.

TUCHMAN: Notably, the U.S. State Department issued its most serious COVID advisory earlier this month, stating, Do not travel to Iceland.

Iceland's COVID surge is for real, but so is the sense of optimism.

KRISTJANSSON: I think we have sort of a proof of this principle that the vaccination is working wonders.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Reykjavik, Iceland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, three decades after creating one of the most recognizable album covers in rock music, the band Nirvana is actually being sued.

Nirvana's 1991 "Nevermind" album cover features a naked baby in a pool, swimming towards a dollar bill. That baby, now 30 years old and suing the band.

Spencer Elden claims the artwork is child pornography. Despite recreating the image several times during his adulthood, Elden claims he suffered lifelong damages from his involvement and is seeking $150,000 from each surviving band member, as well as a few others.

How about that?

I'm John Vause. Back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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