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London Cancels Trafalgar Square New Year's Party; German Planning New Limits on Private Gatherings; Region Including Rome Considering Vaccine Mandate; Chinese Tennis Start Denies Making Sexual Assault Claim; Turkey's Lira Struggling Amid Erdogan Interest Rate Cuts. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired December 21, 2021 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:50]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, the era of Omicron, the new variant of the coronavirus, now dominant across the United States detected in about 90 countries. And once again fear and uncertainty take hold.

The sudden reappearance of Chinese Tennis Peng Shuai, and not at all suspicious denial of sexual abuse allegations, which has done little to end concerns of her safety.

Life as a hostage in Haiti. New details on what the now free 17 missionaries endured while being held captive by a criminal gang.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: In less than three weeks, Omicron has gone from first being detected in the U.S. to now the dominant strain, accounting for more than 73% of new infections according to the CDC. Early indications are that Omicron is at least twice as contagious as the Delta variant, and officials are once again imposing restrictions and closures across Europe. Many cities New Year's Eve celebrations have been canceled, including London, where Mayor Sadiq Khan says infections are at record levels and people's health must be protected.

Next week, Germany plans to limit private gatherings to 10 people who are either fully vaccinated or have recently recovered from COVID.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translation): A decision is now being prepared with a minister President which is to be taken Tuesday. It will certainly likely reduce private contacts, including those of vaccinated persons a little more and certain other individualized things.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: In parts of the U.K., Omicron cases are now doubling every few days even among the vaccinated and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not ruling out further restrictions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The situation is extremely difficult and the arguments either were very, very finely balanced because we've got cases of Omicron surging across the country now, we've got hospitalizations, rising quite steeply in London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In a moment, we'll hear from CNN's Nada Bashir in London. But first, we'll begin this hour with Senior International Correspondent, Ben Wedeman reporting in close to Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: European countries are pulling out the stops to try to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. Officials here in Italy's Lazio region where Roma is located are considering a vaccine mandate, hoping to avoid a new wave of COVID cases as other parts of Europe shut down.

Denmark is reporting a doubling of Omicron cases every two days and the government has had to reintroduce measures people thought were a thing of the past. The Netherlands has ordered all non-essential shops to close. Officials in the Netherlands are worried that the National Health Service could become overwhelmed with new cases by January. While public holiday festivities in Paris and Rome have been canceled. It's shaping up to be a grim holiday season in Europe. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN reporting from north of Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, with just days to go until Christmas, there are growing concerns over the rising number of new coronavirus cases being reported across the U.K. and pressure is mounting on the government to take urgent action to stem the spread of the Omicron variant.

On Monday, the U.K. reported more than 91,000 new coronavirus cases. That's the second highest daily total in the country since the beginning of the pandemic and among those new cases more than 8000 confirmed to be the Omicron variant. The government has so far introduced its Plan B measures that includes wearing face masks and shops and on public transport and encouraging everyone to work from home unless they have to go into their workplaces. But there are calls for the government to take tougher measures. And on Monday, the prime minister met with his cabinet ministers in Downing Street to discuss the COVID response and to get an update on those figures and on the analysis of those rising cases and while no further restrictions are being introduced at this stage, the Prime Minister did say that the government would consider taking further action, if necessary.

[01:05:19]

JOHNSON: We agreed that we should keep the data from now on under constant review, keep following it, hour by hour. And unfortunately, I must say to people, we will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public and to protect public health, to protect our NHS. And we won't hesitate to take that action.

BASHIR: And really protecting the NHS. The country's national health service is a key concern here. The government's own scientific advisors rang the alarm bells over the weekend, warning that England could be seeing something like 3000 daily hospital admissions in the new year if urgent action isn't taken, and the head of the NHS himself warning that the health service is now on a war footing. So, there's a real sense of urgency to avoid putting that immense pressure on the health service that we saw last year.

But despite these warnings, the government hasn't at this stage announced the new restrictions. Although the Prime Minister and his deputy Dominic Raab haven't gone so far as to rule out the possibility of another lockdown over Christmas, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid warning that the doubling rate of the Omicron is concerning. Although he has hailed the vaccine booster campaign, as a success, the country has seen a significant uptake in the number of people going out to get the third jab of the vaccine. So, there is some hope there but really, as cases continue to rise, there are concerns that the situation could spiral out of control. Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And now Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, she is the Chief Clinical Officer at Providence Health System. It's good to see you, thank you for being with us.

AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM: Thanks for having me, John.

VAUSE: OK, so the bottom line seems to be without a booster, vaccines are pretty much ineffective at preventing infection. Protection from severe illness is diminished to certain degrees depending on the vaccine. But with a booster shot, we get up to that 90% effective level at preventing your serious illness, hospital admission as well as death. But this is where we are right now around the world with booster shots. Nowhere, does the rate exceed 20% Europe and the U.S. around 18%, Asia less than 4%, Africa 0.5%. Overall, the world population less than 6% have received a booster shot. So, you know, in terms of hospital admissions, maxing out ICUs and just death any reason to believe that next few weeks will not be the worst we've seen the pandemic so far?

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Well, we know that the - without a booster shot. So, if you only had two of the vaccines, the first one and the original booster, right, the two shots that we know you are definitely at risk for getting sick from the Omicron variant. But we don't know what the risk of hospitalization is, that will those

initial two shots prevent you from hospitalization, we hope so, we believe that there is probably some residual protection, even though you still get the infection not dying from it is still a benefit. So that's what part of this problem is that you're just hearing from abroad. That because we don't know as much about how this new wave of infections that's very, very rapidly spreading is going to impact the hospitalization rates. We have to act before we have data. And that's why people with the rapid spread of this virus are shutting everything down. Before we know whether or not those initial two shots are actually going to keep people from going into the hospital, getting sick enough to actually need hospital care.

VAUSE: It seems safe to say that there will be a surge in the number of patients seeking treatment at some point. And with that comes an impact on frontline health workers, I want you to listen to Professor Michael Osterholm from the University of Michigan, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: The other thing that I think is the perfect storm phenomena here is that come middle of January, this viral blizzard that I've talked about, we're going to see 20%, 30% of healthcare workers getting affected, who will then be off of work in a healthcare system right now that has already stretched to the point of breaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, what are your expectations there at Providence? What preparations are you making at the hospitals? How concerned are you for your doctors and nurses?

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Well, we are making sure everybody has access to get that third shot and really, we should consider people fully vaccinated after they get the third vaccine at this point like that fully vaccinated means that you got that booster so we're doing everything we can to get our workforce boosted. And we're doing what we have to do to make sure that we create beds. So right now, we still have - because there's not enough beds in nursing homes for example, we have people sitting in hospitals because they can't get into a nursing home, because there's no staff at the nursing home, we have such a staffing shortage in healthcare right now. We're trying to get people moved to where they need to be so that we can have those beds open, because at the moment with the lumpy way that COVID tends to roll through countries in waves, our hospitals on the West Coast are a little less overwhelmed than they are in the middle of the country. But we know the wave is coming our way. So, we have to be ready for it.

[01:10:22]

VAUSE: OK, and this could be the wave. And this is my math, so forgive me if it's wrong. But you're the peak of the pandemic in January this year, the U.S. are 250,000 infections daily, that was the peak number. OK, the hospitalization rate for Delta was 2.2% that meant 5700 people are billed for COVID symptoms on that day of 250,000. So do the math, it just extrapolates itself out. So, if Omicron is twice as infectious as Delta, double that number, so the peak would be 11,400 potential admissions in one day, increase it by a third, because vaccines are less effective. And if you have that same hospitalization rate, you can get 15,000 people being admitted one day across this country. That's one day in the coming weeks. I know there are a lot of variables here. But you know, this is a potential tsunami coming your way. But we can still change how this ends, right? We can write this ending. We can determine how this ends if we change our behavior.

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: We can. If everybody gets that booster. But I also want to put out there, John, like I don't want to scare everybody under the sun from thinking that, you know, the world is coming, and Armageddon is on our way. We are at very high risk, we have tools to stop this pandemic, go get the vaccine, don't gather in a huge crowd, wear a mask. If you do -- if you are going to gather for the holidays, for example, do those antigen tests before you sit down for a meal where you have to actually take off your mask and, you know, have a conversation with other people.

So, we have things in our tool chest today that we didn't have last year at this time. And we should be using those tools. So, we're not at the whim of this virus but rather we're in control of our own lives. And that's my hope for 2022.

VAUSE: I certainly hope you are correct. I hope you're right. And I hope we do actually get this under control. I don't know. Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, thank you.

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Always a pleasure.

VAUSE: Ever since the pandemic began, Denmark has been at the forefront in controlling the coronavirus. There's never been more than 5000 daily infections, never more than 1000 COVID patients in hospital, the vaccination rate is among the highest in the world. And now as they prepare for Omicron, the outlook is dire. Here's CNN Scott McLean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The gates of the famous Christmas Festival at the Tivoli Amusement Park are closed for the season. The rides are shut down and the staff have all gone home. It's all thanks to a massive surge in COVID infections that is already dwarfed the previous peak. New modeling published this weekend shows that if left unchecked, infections in Denmark could be 10 times that number, followed by a record high hospital admission by Christmas and well beyond in the new year.

Troels Lillebaek is the epidemiologist in charge of managing the risk of new variants in Denmark, a country blessed with more than three quarters of its population double vaccinated. But Danes are quickly discovering that two shots are no match for the new more infectious variant. And the booster shot programs simply cannot keep up. Denmark has among the highest rates of testing and sequencing in the world and has reams of data at its fingertips. And while there are some early indications that the Omicron variant could be less severe than Delta, they don't know how much less severe.

TROELS LILLEBAEK, EPIDEMIOLOGIST, DANISH STATE SERUM INSTITUTE: It doesn't really matter whether Omicron is half as dangerous as Delta or as dangerous as Delta because if many, many 1000s or 10s of 1000s are testing positive the same day, then the strain or the hospital system will be high anyway.

MCLEAN: Danish lawmakers weren't willing to wait and see. Instead, they've shut elementary schools, museums and theaters, put curfews on bars and restaurants, mandated masks, indoors and COVID passports on some public transit. The ghosts of lockdowns passed now the Christmas present. But Lillebaek is optimistic that decision has helped avert the worst-case scenario.

(On camera): It sounds to me like without the restrictions it would be absolute chaos?

LILLEBAEK: I think that's a high risk that if we were just, you know, leaving everything open doing nothing, I think that would be extremely difficult situation, yeah.

MCLEAN: You wouldn't advise any country to do nothing?

LILLEBAEK: You don't want to end up in a situation where you're too late at doing what's necessary.

MCLEAN (voice-over): And while many European governments are facing protests over tightening restrictions, in Denmark, they've been so broadly accepted that some Danes support even tighter rules according to this researcher.

MICHAEL BANG PETERSEN, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, AARHUS UNIVERSITY: When we directly ask citizens whether they cannot cope with any more restrictions, there's only 10% who says that they cannot do that. So, there's no real sign of fatigue yet.

MCLEAN: It sounds like Danes are rule followers?

[01:15:00]

PETERSEN: To a larger extent we are all followers, but it is not sort of blind obedience it is because we feel that we have been explained why we need to do it and what we need to do it. And what we need to do.

MCLEAN: As research found Americans followed COVID rules to a lesser extent than Danes. But Omicron won't hit the U.S. any less hard.

PETERSEN: I think that we will be facing very tough times across the world with Omicron. And the only thing that we can hope of is then that that the severity of the disease will be mild enough that the health systems are not being overwhelmed.

MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Still to come, tennis star Peng Shuai suddenly denies ever accusing a retired Chinese communist leader of sexual assault. But there are still concerns that Beijing is not letting her speak freely concerns about the safety.

Plus, the wrongheaded economic policies of the Turkish president setting inflation sky high, the Lira plummeting, and he's determined to stay the course.

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VAUSE: Jury deliberations in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislane Maxwell will resume in a few hours. Prosecuting closing arguments Monday focused on Maxwell's relationship with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein claim she manipulated vulnerable girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. The defense insisted Maxwell's association with Epstein was not criminal and attempted to discredit the testimony of his victims by questioning their motives. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty. She faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

A court in Egypt has sentenced three prominent human rights activists to several years in prison. Among them Alaa Abdel Fattah, one of the best-known faces of Egypt's pro-democracy movement in 2011. Human Rights Watch says the three men were charged with spreading false news and undermining national security, charges regularly used against political dissidents in Egypt.

Lawyers were not allowed to present arguments during the trial, which came all the two years after the men were arrested during a wave of anti-government protests and a crackdown on dissent.

It was just an incredible coincidence at disappearing last November, within hours of accusing a former senior member of China's leadership of sexual assault, as international concern over her welfare continue to grow, Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai suddenly reemerge is in public. Just happens to give an interview to a very pro-Beijing newspaper just happens to walk back all those allegations and says she's doing just fine. Nothing to see here. For many, including the Women's Tennis Association that just doesn't ring true. Here's CNN's Will Ripley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Peng Shuai.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the sidelines of a skiing competition in Shanghai, Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai breaks her silence, speaking to international media for the first time since her explosive allegations.

[01:20:04]

Are you taking a vide, Peng asks? Yes, says the reporter from a Singapore newspaper known for pro-Beijing coverage. The only overseas Chinese language newspaper allowed in the mainland. Are you free to go as you please, the reporter asks, is anyone monitoring you? Peng replies, why would anyone monitor me? I've always been free. Peng's freedom has been in question for weeks. Ever since she disappeared in early November. She accused a retired Communist Party leader of sexual assault and accusation Peng apparently now denies.

PENG SHUAI, TENNIS PLAYER, TWO TIME GRAND SLAM DOUBLES CHAMPION (through translation): I want to emphasize one thing that is very important that I have never spoken or written about anyone sexually assaulting me, this point is very important to be emphasized clearly. In terms of the Weibo posts, first of all, it's my personal privacy. There possibly has been a lot of misunderstanding.

RIPLEY: That November 2nd post erased within minutes from Chinese social media. The story censored on China's internet, ignored by state media inside the country. Outside state media reporters tweeting ferociously for weeks trying to discredit concerns over Peng's well- being, now saying the outside world should respect her denial.

And a statement to CNN, the Women's Tennis Association says these appearances do not alleviate or address the WTA's significant concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion. The WTA made similar comments last month when Chinese state media released these videos of Peng, videos WTA CEO Steve Simon told out front, were just as unconvincing as emails from the tennis star supposedly walking back her claims. The WTA suspending all tournaments in China indefinitely, putting a lucrative 10-year deal on the line.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, SPORTS COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: The WTA knows Peng, Peng Shuai knows the WTA why in the world with all these interviews, is she not talking to the one group of people that desperately want to hear from her?

RIPLEY: In her international interview, Peng says she's very grateful to the International Olympic Committee, very happy to have video calls from them. The IOC accused of sports washing, releasing just one image of two calls with the three-time Olympian issuing statements claiming she's fine. The IOC telling CNN, we will continue our quiet diplomacy. CNN's repeated requests for comment from Peng and the Chinese government, unanswered.

IOC President Thomas Bach, planning to meet with Peng next month before the opening ceremonies of the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Retired Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, the man Peng accused of sexual assault, the former Chinese face of the games, now just weeks away.

(On camera) The WTA is not backing down here. They are continuing to call for a full, fair and transparent investigation without censorship or coercion. Former tennis great Chris Evert summed up the feelings of a lot of people on Twitter when she said watching that new interview, it's just unsettling. Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In the Philippines, the death toll from Super Typhoon Rai has claimed to at least 375 nearly 60 people remain missing. The storm made landfall Thursday in the East, traveled west causing widespread damage. The death toll is expected to climb further as search and rescue operations continue in the hours and the days to come.

Erdogan nomics (ph), the personal economic beliefs of Turkey's president appear to be a textbook example of how to create an economy. Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes cutting interest rates can contain soaring inflation. And on Sunday, he also cited Islamic teachings and the "religious command" to explain his unconventional approach. The Turkish Lira rallied on Monday, but that was only after hitting a record low earlier in the day. (Inaudible) impacting so many across Turkey from CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: People on a day- to-day basis are having to make very tough decisions in terms of what they can actually buy, whether it's to fill their fridge or whether it's gifts for their children for the new year. They are also trying to understand many of them what this strategy by Turkish president Egypt type Erdogan is actually going to bring it to them.

President Erdogan has repeatedly been going against the advice of the business community, of advisors, of those who are watching financial markets and refusing to increase interest rates. Quite the contrary, he has repeatedly been lowering them saying that Turkey's economic crisis is part of some larger foreign conspiracy. And that Turkey is capable of keeping not just its interest rates low but its economy alive. Here's what he said over the weekend.

[01:25:12]

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translation): Sooner or later, just as we lowered inflation all the way to 4% when I came to power, we will lower it again, we will make it fall again. But I will not let my citizens, my people be crushed under interest rates.

DAMON: Of course, the big question is, is that if this strategy is even successful, what will the damage to the population be by the time it actually even reaches that point, and many will say that this is such a big gamble that the President is taking. Sure, on the one hand exports have increased simply because products are cheaper for those who are buying them for the overseas market, for those who are using a foreign currency to purchase Turkish exports. But when it comes to domestic consumption that has gone down, and even businesses we're exporting aren't necessarily making any more money because the cost of production and of importing the materials that they need, well, that has also continued to increase.

And most days, Turks are just watching the Lira ping pong all over it to such a degree that it would give you whiplash before dropping almost on a daily basis to a new low. And many will say that this is not something, a situation that they want to see their country in. Obviously, it's not a situation that they themselves want to be in. But right now, the president is holding firm to this current strategy. Arwa Damon, CNN Istanbul. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, what does the era of Omicron mean for a pandemic weary world? What precautions are needed to avoid catching and spreading the highly contagious variant, more on that when we come back.

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VAUSE: The World Health Organization has added its voice to a growing list of governments and public health groups, worrying that Omicron potentially increases the risks associated with holiday gatherings and suggests maybe it's best to scrap those plans. Whether it's Omicron or Delta infections in many countries are soaring ahead of the year. Despite that no sign holiday travel is slowing. In fact, data from the U.S. shows the number of airline passengers has returned to close to pre-pandemic levels. The head of the WHO had a stark reminder, Monday, warning it's better to cancel an event than to cancel a life.

[01:29:21]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: There can be no doubt that increased social mixing over the holiday period in many countries will lead to increased cases, overwhelmed health systems and more deaths.

All of us are sick of this pandemic. All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal. The fastest way to do this is for all of us, leaders and individuals, to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect ourselves and others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: New Zealand is pushing back plans for a phased border reopening. Many New Zealanders have been enjoying a return to normal life. But because of tough pandemic restrictions, as well as a high vaccination rate, now, many visitors from overseas will have to wait before being allowed into the country.

Entry restrictions were set to ease next month but that's now on hold until at least the end of February. New Zealand is also tweaking quarantine rules, reducing how long the wait between getting a booster.

In the United States, holiday plans could be upended for a second year. Omicron accounts for 73 percent of new coronavirus cases.

And on Monday, the U.S. recorded its first known omicron death, a man in the Houston, Texas area. Meantime the variant's staggering rise has U.S. health care workers bracing for a brutal winter.

CNN's Amara Walker has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Health officials are bracing for a wave of coronavirus infections around the country.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It is going to be a tough few weeks to months as we get deeper into the winter.

WALKER: Familiar scenes from the peak of the pandemic, playing out. Some schools, returning to virtual learning. The Rockettes and Broadway canceling shows. And the NBA, NFL and NHL postponing some games.

DR. SAJU MATTHEW, PUBLIC HEALTH SPECALIST: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People is tired and sick of hearing this. But if you are unvaccinated, you are open to a lot of negative consequences from COVID. Not only long COVID, but severe illness, death and being in the ICU for weeks.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We are feeling the omicron wave especially hard right now, but we know it's going to be all over the country.

WALKER: New York state, breaking the highest single case COVID-19 case count for the 3rd consecutive day.

BLASIO: We expect a substantial number of cases and a quickly growing number of cases.

WALKER: De Blasio asking President Biden's White House to invoke the Defense Production Act because of a shortage of at-home tests and antibody treatments.

COVID-19 cases more than doubled just from the beginning to the end of last week in New York City leading to long lies for COVID tests.

DANIEL AVRUTSKY, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: We don't want to be standing in line where it's 30 degrees outside, waiting for a test.

WALKER: Health officials warn, it is too soon to say with certainty whether or not omicron causes milder disease. But they are certain of one thing. Omicron is extremely contagious.

The National Institutes of Health warning that even if the omicron variant has a somewhat lower risk of severity, there could potentially be up to a million cases a day in the near future.

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: It is clear that omicron is an extremely contagious variant that it doubles every 2 to 4 days. And you just have to look at the projections of what that means. And, yes we are in for a lot of cases of people getting infected with this virus.

WALKER: The pace of spread has health officials concerned that the omicron variant will overwhelm America's health system again. Across the country, ICU beds are already nearly 80 percent full.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: This maybe the most contagious virus that our civilization has faced in our lifetime.

WALKER: Health officials, continue to stress that getting boosted is now more important than ever. Moderna announcing today it's 50 microgram booster shot increases antibody levels against the omicron variant. A 100 microgram dose, the size of its first 2 shots, raises antibody levels even higher.

Moderna leaving it up to U.S. officials whether to change the size of the booster dose.

(on camera): Now Moderna's president said the biotech company is currently working on an omicron specific booster. And that clinical trials for that will begin in early 2022. But health officials here in the United States are stressing that the boosters that are currently available, offer all of us the best protection.

In Atlanta, Amara Walker, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me now, Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. He is also the author of "The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age". Welcome back. It's good to see you.

DR. ROBERT WACHTER, CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE -- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IN SAN FRANCISCO: Thank you Good to see you as well.

VAUSE: Ok. So as we begin this era of omicron, CDC guidelines on quarantining, for example, have not changed. But for a vaccinated person who tests positive for example and, you know, the symptoms are mild they don't need hospital treatment, but they self isolate at home, there is some suggestion that maybe they don't need to isolate for the entire 10 days. There's some research which indicates it may be -- could be as little as 5 days. What do we know about that?

[01:35:00]

DR. WACHTER: Yes, I think the CDC is now recommending that you can get by with 7 days if you have negative tests on day 6 and 7. I'm hoping that we will find that we can shorten that even more. And I'm thinking about it quite selfishly, working in a very big hospital.

And if we start having scores of nurses and doctors who have omicron, which is not unlikely, if they all have to be out for 7 to 10 days, I'm not sure we're going to be able to staff our hospitals to take care for patients.

So I think it's a real priority to figure out how, what is the shortest period of time we can get by with to be safe? I'm guessing it will turn out to be 5 days with negative test on days 4 and 5.

VAUSE: And when it comes to omicron, not all vaccines are created equal. It seems that from the research we have so far and, you know, there's still more work needs to be done. But the mRNA vaccines -- Pfizer, Moderna -- seem to stand up a lot better than the traditional ones like AstraZeneca and J&J.

DR. WACHTER: Correct. There doesn't seem to be any question about it. They stand up better against other viruses as well.

They stood up better against delta but for omicron it doesn't seem to be much doubt that if you can get your three shots of either Moderna, or Pfizer, you are in the best possible shape.

If you've got an AstraZeneca, or you've gotten a J&J. At least with J&J in the United States there is -- there are now strong recommendation that you go ahead and get by -- or Moderna on top of that. I'm not sure what they're doing in Europe with AstraZeneca.

But it seems likely that you're going to benefit from having an mRNA on top of that.

VAUSE: And once someone does actually go and gets a booster, get the booster, get the booster, get the booster, how long before it actually hits that high mark of protection? Is it a matter or days or weeks?

DR. WACHTER: Yes. Something in between. It seems like you've got a fair amount of protection after a week. Most of the studies have looked at two weeks and so if it were me, I would try to get mine as soon as possible because omicron is going to hit in a big way over the next week or two.

But certainly, you have a substantial amount of protection after a week, probably optimal after two.

VAUSE: And again, you know, all masks are not created equal, either. In Germany, the federal and state governments have introduced measures making medical masks, identified as surgical masks, KN95, FFP2 masks, mandatory in stores, and on a public transit.

That is unlikely to happen in the United States. it's unlikely to happen in a couple of countries around the world. But just as a general recommendation. If for those people who are sensible enough, responsible enough, to be wearing face masks, would you recommend the K 95 for them?

DR. WACHTER: Yes, I would. I think Omicron means, we have to up our game. This thing is so much more infectious than what we've been used to that you need the best possible immunization. That's why we're talking about boosters, and you need to wear the best possible mask we you're out and about. And that is a version of the N95, or the KN95.

Surgical mask, when I think of that, those are the thinner masks that we use in hospitals. Those are better than cloth, and if you only have access to that, I would wear a surgical mask. And on top of that a cloth mask.

That gives you very good protection. But the best protections and it's what I'm worrying out all the time when I'm going to indoor spaces, where I'm not sure, everyone's vaccinated is a version of the N95.

VAUSE: There is also doctors in Australia, looking at the fact that maybe omicron can linger in the air, it's a longer period of time compared to delta. Where are we at with that?

DR. WACHTER: Yes, it does -- certainly, there certainly have been reported cases of people who transmitted to another person in hotel room across the way, there have been some reports that someone left a space 10 or 15 minutes earlier and then someone was infected that.

The old rules, that it can only linger int eh air for just a moment. I think you're not operative with omicron. So again, I think it raises stakes of being as vaccinated if you can be and wearing a mask so even if I go into an elevator, I'm still -- and I'm all alone I'm still going to keep my mask on because I don't that someone didn't have omicron in the elevator a few minutes before me and there's now question that it can linger at least for a few minutes.

VAUSE: Very good advise, all of that. Thank you so much. Pastor Robert today we appreciate that and good luck to the coming week. .

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DR. Wachter: Thank you.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break.

When we come back, it wasn't a ransom payment, it was gone. Which led to the release of missionaries being held in Haiti.

That is with the Christian Bale ministry believes. Details, in moment.

[01:39:20]

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VAUSE: Christian Aid Ministries confirms the ransom was paid during negotiations with a criminal gang for the release of the last -- of 12 missionaries, the last of 17 being held in Haiti. But ultimately, they say it was God who helped them make a during night time escape.

Journalist Stefano Pozzebon has details.

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STEPHAN POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Christian Aid Ministries said that a ransom was paid in order to help secure the release of 17 North American missionaries that had been kidnapped more than two months ago in Haiti.

That is according to a press conference that the Ohio-based group gave on Monday. And the group has said the decision came after excruciating hours.

DAVID TROYER, GENERAL DIRECTOR, CHRISTIAN AID MINISTRIES: As you might expect, the taking of our workers, including women and children, pushed us to our knees as we sought God's direction. Recognizing the lives at stake and having a desire for non-nonviolent resolution, we grappled for many hours over the proper chords of action, many intense hours. POZZEBON: And in that news conference, a group also claimed that the

hostages had escaped after many days of waiting and no action on the part of the kidnappers.

Now Haitian authorities have not yet confirmed that a series of events, describing an escape and CNN has asked the Haitian authorities for further information about the sort of fancies around Hostages returning home.

Ransom kidnapping, is a lucrative business for criminal groups in H0aiti. Such as the one that kidnapped the missionaries. In the year so far, more than 900 ransom kidnappings have been reported, although, experts believe the number might be even higher, because not all the kidnappings are reported to the authorities.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, please stay with us "WORLD SPORT" starts after a very short break. See you tomorrow.

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