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U.K. Study Says Booster Shots Can Restore Protection against Omicron; South Africa Divided over Vaccine Mandates; Threat of Russian Invasion to Dominate G7. Aired 12-12:15a ET
Aired December 11, 2021 - 00:00 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 AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello, everyone, I am Michael Holmes.
Coming up here, vaccines verses Omicron. A new study warns two doses of the COVID shot are insufficient against the latest variant.
Millions in the path of a dangerous storm. A dozen reports of tornadoes.
The bromance between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump seems to be over after the former president curses out the ex-Israeli leader.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: New studies are shedding light on the Omicron variant. The U.K. Health Security Agency says vaccines are significantly less effective against the new strain, but it says protection can be restored with a booster shot.
While the study is yet to be peer reviewed. It found a third dose of Pfizer vaccine increased protection to 70 percent. Officials are urging the public to roll up their sleeves as they warn the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading across the country.
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DR. SUSAN HOPKINS, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER, U.K. HEALTH SECURITY AGENCY: Now after two doses of vaccines, particularly more than three months after your second dose, there is a much-reduced vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic mild infection in the community.
What that means is that people who've had two doses more than three months ago are likely to get infection and transmit infection.
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HOLMES: New evidence emerging from South Africa where one epidemiologist say there are no red flags yet about Omicron severity and cases have been milder. However, he says new data suggests the variant does spread more easily.
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SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, SOUTH AFRICAN COVID-19 ADVISORY COMMITTEE: We now have two weeks of data now that shows that its doubling time faster than what we saw with the Delta variant or the Beta variant. So, there is stronger evidence that it's highly transmissible. It's not definite but it's certainly a strong indication.
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HOLMES: In South Africa, the lack of interest in getting a jab is forcing officials to consider tougher actions to get more shots into arms. CNN's Larry Madowo more with Johannesburg.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A procession of hearses drives through Soweto. No, it's not a funeral. They're just trying to scare people into getting vaccinated. Even death will not convince some South Africans to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the government is trying to control us by using this vaccine.
MADOWO (voice-over): The South African government says it has enough vaccines. But vaccine hesitancy that has been bubbling under the surface has spilled into the open.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young people, we won't take it, unless we have more information.
MADOWO (voice-over): As South Africa enters its fourth wave of the pandemic. The country is considering making vaccines mandatory. More than 90,000 deaths and the fear of another hard lockdown has won some people over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't be stuck like that. We are like locked in a cage. We can't do anything. Can't be living like this, man.
Why not?
Why not?
We're isolated today because you don't want to vaccinate.
MADOWO (voice-over): South Africa plans to fully vaccinate at least 70 percent of the adult population by the end of the year. But the current rate is only about 38 percent and time is running out.
MADOWO: There's spirited public debate in South Africa about getting vaccine mandates and vaccine passports and those have been some of the loud in the public sphere.
But whether they like them or not, they're popping up across the nation.
MADOWO (voice-over): Some of South Africa's largest companies have announced vaccine mandates for their staff: get vaccinated, face testing or risk getting fired. Influential members of the business, trade union and civil society community support restrictions on the unvaccinated.
LISA SEITEL, NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LABOUR COUNCIL: There is now a much stronger call to strengthen our existing provisions in legislation and regulation for it to be mandatory in workplaces.
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SEITEL: Entry into big events, like soccer matches, cultural events and so on, only vaccinated people should have entrance into that.
MADOWO (voice-over): The University of the Witwatersrand or Wits is among the growing list of institutions that will require students and staff to be fully vaccinated so it can restart some in-person classes in the first part of 2022 after nearly two years online.
PROF. ZEBLON VILAKAZI, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND: Universities by themselves are going to get after young people and they're the potential superspreader. But there is broad support by the community that it was bold and took decisive leadership action in helping the country get to the next side of COVID.
MADOWO (voice-over): But student leaders oppose the school's vaccine mandate.
CEBOLENKOSI KHUMALO, WITS STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Our responsibilities as leaders of society is to make sure our students, our people, are well informed in terms of rights. In fact, they have the right to choose to say can they be vaccinated or not.
MADOWO (voice-over): A recent study found support for COVID-19 mandates.
PROF. CARIN RUNCIMAN, UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG CENTRE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: What we found is half of the public support for vaccine mandates at workplaces and the introduction of vaccine passports, so vaccine passports to enter public spaces.
MADOWO (voice-over): So far from herd immunity, South Africa's vaccination rate is among the highest in Africa. The government and the private sector think they can do even better.
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HOLMES: CNN's Larry Madowo, reporting there.
Authorities in southern Lebanon are investigating an explosion at a Palestinian refugee camp.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES (voice-over): It happened on Friday in Tyre; local media and sources on the ground report no one was killed and there were no serious injuries. Details still unclear. The explosion happened when oxygen cylinders stored to treat COVID-19 patients ignited. Lebanese state media reported it took place at a Hamas warehouse filled with ammunition.
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HOLMES: It's been a dangerous night across the central U.S. More than 50 million people are at risk from a powerful storm system.
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HOLMES (voice-over): Have a look at the big reason for that there. You can see a tornado there. The dark is making it harder to see and more dangerous. In Arkansas, two people were killed, and 20 people trapped in a nursing home hit by the storm. Those trapped are now free.
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HOLMES: The looming threat of a Russian invasion in Ukraine is expected to dominate the G7 foreign ministers' meeting this weekend in Liverpool, England. On Friday, Russia's for ministry issued an ultimatum, demanding that NATO rescind their 2008 commitment of membership to Ukraine and Georgia.
NATO immediately rejecting that.
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JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Any sovereign independent nation of course has the right to choose its own path, including what kind of security arrangements it wants to be part of. So NATO's relationship with Ukraine will be decided by the 30 NATO allies and Ukraine, no one else.
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HOLMES: The G7 meeting followed President Biden's video call this week with the Russian leader. Mr. Biden warning Putin of severe economic repercussions if Ukraine is invaded. We'll have much more in this story in the hours ahead.
WikiLeaks found Julian Assange is one step closer to being extradited in the U.S.
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HOLMES (voice-over): His supporters rallying outside an appeals court in London as it overturned a lower court ruling that blocked his handover. The new decision was reached after the U.S. gave assurances for how Assange would be treated if he's extradited.
He's wanted on 18 espionage charges for his role in publishing a massive trove of U.S. classified information 11 years ago. His supporters, including his fiance, say he was doing legitimate work of a journalist.
STELLA MORIS, JULIAN ASSANGE'S FIANCEE: I urge everyone to come together and fight for Julian. He represents all our liberties and all our rights. His lawyers are intending to seek -- to appeal to the Supreme Court on this decision.
HOLMES (voice-over): Assange could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted of all the U.S. charges.
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HOLMES: There appears to be a falling out between former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former president Donald Trump. Interview published by Axios on Friday reveal Trump felt betrayed when Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Biden on winning the presidential election.
Trump said, "It was early, OK. Let's put it this way. He greeted him very early, earlier than most world leaders. I've not spoken to him since. Fuck him."
The interview was conducted by the Israeli journalist Barak Ravid in April for a new book. He appeared on CNN to talk about what those comments revealed.
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BARAK RAVID, ISRAELI JOURNALIST: As you were surprised in the U.S., just imagine what people here in Israel thought because, until today, everybody thought they were best friends, no daylight between them. And from now on, it's clear that this was bullshit.
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HOLMES: Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party has released a statement, saying "Former prime minister Netanyahu greatly appreciates president Trump's great contribution to the state of Israel and its security.
"He also greatly appreciated the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States and, therefore, it was important for him to congratulate the incoming president."
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm Michael Holmes. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" starts after the break. I'll see you a little later.
