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FDA Authorizes First Pill To Treat COVID-19 In U.S.; Study: Boosters Offer Increased Protection Against Omicron; Biden Indicates He'll Seek Re-election If Trump Runs; China Locks Down 13M People In Xi'an After Spike In Cases; China Admits Winter Olympics Could Bring COVID Cases; Top Researcher: South Africa Has Passed Omicron Peak; Third Day Of Deliberations Ends Without A Verdict; U.S. Travel Numbers Near Pre-Pandemic Levels. Aired 4-4:30am ET

Aired December 23, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

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[04:00:31]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London. And just ahead right here on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Long testing lines across the country have already begun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Half a billion tests bought by the U.S. government will be distributed for free.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm pretty worried that the surge that we're going to see in the coming weeks is going to be worse than the surge that we saw last winter.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Consider gathering with family and friends who are also practicing similar proper prevention measures.

SOARES (voice-over): President Biden denies he bungled the response to COVID testing as cases surge and the holidays loom. There is optimism in South Africa, though, its COVID cases drop suggesting the Omicron outbreaks may have peak. We're live in the region for you this hour.

And despite the surge in COVID cases, Americans are hitting the roads and crowding airports are near pre-pandemic levels. We have your holiday travel and weather covered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from London. This is CNN Newsroom with Isa Soares. SOARES: Welcome everyone. It is Thursday, December 23rd. We'll begin with some positive news in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. There's a new pill that could be a real game changer. The FDA has authorized Pfizer's antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 in the United States. And the White House says thousands will be available in a matter of weeks and many more by this summer.

CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen explains why this is such a big deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: There are a lot of people who are remaining unvaccinated. I wish they were going to get vaccinated, but we know that there's some people who are just not going to do it. Somehow these people are ready to take treatments if they get infected, even if they won't get the vaccine, which is not understandable.

But still these people are the ones who are most likely to get ill to overwhelm our hospitals. And if they can get a pill that removes them from the hospital, that will help to save their life, but also will help to remove the strain on our healthcare system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, of course, this comes as the Omicron variance sweeps across all 50 states. As you can see, they're all in red. And Puerto Rico in just over three weeks since it was first reported in the United States, but South Africa where it was initially detected, if you remember, appears to have passed the peak of its Omicron outbreak.

And a top epidemiologist in the country says that could be due to immunity through vaccinations as well as natural infection. We'll have a live report of course from the region in just a few minutes.

Also, a new study from Denmark shows COVID-19 boosters offer a significant increase in protection against Omicron. While two other studies suggest a reduced risk of COVID-19 hospitalizations when infected with Omicron compared to Delta.

And, of course, those glimmers of hope come as the U.S. enjoys a new surge of COVID cases and a major shortage of tests Americans are waiting in long lines, as you can see there, to get tested in the run up to the holidays, in hopes of course, of safely celebrating with their loved ones. On Wednesday, the U.S. President was asked if the lack of available test marks a failure by his administration.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has his response.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Biden acknowledging in a new interview that his administration has struggled to keep up with the Omicron variant of the COVID 19 pandemic, clearly marking this surge in cases here in the U.S. He said simply nothing has been good enough.

He was defensive in one hand on an ABC News interview, but also try to really explain why no one could have foreseen this rapid surge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: No, I don't think it's a failure. I think it's -- you could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, a month ago. I've ordered 500 billion of the pills, 500 million pills --excuse me, 500 million test kits that are going to be available to be sent to every home in America if anybody wants them. But the answer is yes, I wish I had thought about ordering a 500 billion pills two months ago before COVID hit here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: But, in fact, many experts said you could see this coming. So there are questions of why more tests were not ready. Now there are going to be about 500 billion at home tests mailed in the month of January. But the question is, will that be too late?

[04:05:04]

Now the President also seems to struggle between the idea of pills and tests, so a bit of confusion there on that part. But no doubt, he said, and wanted to stress that this year at the holidays, certainly different than a year ago because of vaccinations. This is not like the March of 2020, the beginning of the pandemic. He said the country is an entirely different place. The world, of course, is as well.

The President clearly, though, trying to take command of this, which has certainly eluded him. But also in that ABC News interview, David Muir asked the President about his own re-election prospects. Did he plan to run for re-election? Watch what he says when he talks about President Trump.

BIDEN: Yes. But look, I'm a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I'm in the health I'm in now, I'm in good health, then, in fact, I would run again.

DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: And if that means a rematch against Donald Trump?

BIDEN: You're trying to tempt me now. Sure. Why would I not run against Donald Trump as a nominee? That would increase the prospect of running?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So certainly, that of course, is many years to come. The challenges now facing this White House are much more severe on the pandemic, trying to contain this. Of course, the President's political fortunes are deeply tied into all of this. But clearly heading into the holidays, the White House on edge during this Christmas, certainly ending this year in a complicated step again with the pandemic.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

SOARES: Thank you, Jeff.

Well the U.S. Vice President's office may also be on edge after a staff member who spent much of Tuesday with Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID. Now that staff member is reportedly vaccinated, boosted and symptom free. Vice President Harris tests are negative on Wednesday, and will be tested again on Friday and Monday in line, of course, with CDC guidance.

Now, New York is once again a hotspot with the coronavirus with the state reporting its highest daily total new cases on Wednesday as you can see that. Up nearly 24 percent from its last record set just days earlier. New data shows nearly 60 percent of new states and new cases are concentrated in New York City as well as surrounding areas.

Now in response, the city is stepping up its testing operations performing around 170,000 COVID tests a day and that is a new record. New York Senator Chuck Schumer is requesting 100 additional mobile testing sites from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It originally offered six, but Schumer says that just won't do.

And 11 area hospitals will also limit visitors due to recent outbreak saying it's the best, of course, move until cases get under control. REF (ph) court cases unfortunately mean canceled events. The NBA postponed a sixth games since Sunday due to COVID-19. This time, between the Brooklyn Nets and the Portland Trailblazers, the Nets didn't have enough illegible players to play in the game.

Broadway is also taking a hit with 12 shows including "Hamilton," "The Lion King" and "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", canceling performances due to outbreaks. Many of the shows will close for at least a week before performances resumed. And theaters just reopened, of course, September after an 18 month hiatus due to the pandemic. So we all know -- we can imagine what they're going through.

Now, the COVID search is impacting colleges and universities in the United States as well. Duke University joins a growing list of schools requiring students, employees to get booster shots by January. At least five other colleges and universities have issued COVID-19 booster mandates for students.

Meantime, some colleges have already moved the last days of their fall semester online, while others are adjusting their spring semester delaying reopening or moving to virtual learning due, of course, to concerns over the Omicron variant.

Now that is in the United States. Let's look internationally. China is imposing a major COVID lockdown on the fourth city and this one appears to be the biggest yet. In Xi'an, some 30 million people are now being forced to stay home.

And just like in Wuhan last year, if you remember, transportation to and from the city has been suspended. Mass testing as you can see is already underway. Schools and many public facilities have been shut down with only essential services like supermarkets and hospitals staying open.

Selina Wang is tracking the story for us from Tokyo. And Selina, this is a huge undertaking but, of course, not the major -- the first time, a major city has been placed on the lockdown in China. What does this mean in theory for those who will be under lockdown?

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Isa, for weeks now, authorities in Xi'an have been trying to contain this cluster of cases since December 9th. The city has reported more than 200 COVID-19 cases which, by international standards and comparing it to outbreaks we're seeing in other parts of the world, it sounds like a small number of cases.

[04:10:08]

But in China where they are pursuing this zero-COVID strategy, they are responding by locking down Xi'an and its 13 million residents. So residents are largely banned from leaving their homes but one person, one designated person from each household can go out once every two days to get groceries.

And local authorities are saying the only other time they can leave is for medical emergencies or what they're calling, quote, urgent and necessary works. Now as you say, this is the fourth time a major Chinese city has gone into lockdown. The first one was back in early 2020 when Wuhan ground zero of the pandemic went to lockdown, but Xi'an where we are seeing this extreme measures.

Cities across China in response to just a handful of cases are using lockdowns and mass testing to try to contain those localized flare ups. And of course, Isa, with the Beijing Winter Olympics, now less than 45 days away, the stakes here are heightened. China's borders have been largely closed off since early on in the pandemic and soon they will be dealing with thousands of athletes and participants coming into Beijing from all around the world.

At a press conference just today, the Beijing organizing committee said though that they are going to be able to keep any possible cases in the Olympic bubble away from the rest of the population. These protocols, COVID restrictions that we are going to see at these winter games are set to be the most elaborate and stringent, yet set to be more strict than what we saw at the Tokyo Games.

Olympic participants are going to be in this strict bubble away from the rest of the population and for any unvaccinated participants. It said they would have to quarantine for 21 days upon arrival.

SOARES: Wow. And Selina, very briefly, do we know how long this lockdown will last for?

WANG: We don't know yet how long this lockdown is going to last for. But as I mentioned, this is a strategy that we have seen in other areas. For instance, in Dongsheng, in response to just one new COVID- 19 case, they went into a quasi-lockdown. So we could expect these measures to persist until we see these cases come down significantly. Isa? SOARES: Selina Wang for us in Tokyo. Thanks very much, Selina. Great to see you.

Now as we mentioned at the top of the show, if you remember, top scientific expert in South Africa says the country has past the peak of its Omicron outbreak. You can see on the map, South Africa is one of the few countries on the continent where cases are down compared to last week. They have fallen by more than 20 percent.

The head of the South African Medical Association says this fourth wave was deeper but much shorter than previous waves. Hospital admissions and deaths have also been, thankfully, significantly lower.

Let's get more on this encouraging statement. Larry Madowo joins us now from Nairobi, Kenya. And Larry, finally, we have some positive news of sorts to bring. Talk us through what the scientific researchers have found and how it compares to previous variants here.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Isa. Scientists in South Africa think this is a really positive sign, which is -- we need this bit of good news and the kind of --

SOARES: Yes.

LARRY: -- pandemic we've heard, right? So here's the thing, the scientists say that they believe South Africa is now past the peak of the Omicron wave. Now, to be clear, this peak was much steeper, according to one expert speaking to CNN, but it was significantly shorter.

What does that mean? It means that it took about half the time compared to previous waves to get to its peak. So if you compared to the Beta variant or the Delta variant, it took a much longer time. But this peak, this Omicron variant peaks much faster, but it didn't last long.

So one of the reasons for this is because we're seeing case numbers drop in Gauteng province, which is includes the city of Johannesburg, which was the epicenter of this Omicron wave. About 70 percent of cases were just in this one province. And now they've seen a consistent drop in that.

The other reason, according to another expert speaking to CNN, is because of population immunity, that is natural infection and vaccination numbers going up. So these are both positive signs. Because it spreads so fast within the community, more people got infected and then had some form of immunity, and that's why it didn't spread as quickly as people feared.

So this is also another positive sign. It said that for the rest of the world, they're trying to figure out how will Omicron behave in their own countries. If the South African example is unable to go by, it means that it might be less severe, so fewer people in hospital and fewer people dying.

SOARES: Yes, and we all closely all monitoring, of course, everything that's unfolding in South Africa. Larry Madowo with some good news for us this morning. Thanks very much, Larry.

We have this just into CNN. Authorities are on the scene of what they're calling a major industrial accident at an ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas. You can see there. That is just to the east of Houston.

Initial reports that some type of explosion happen inside the plant and we've just got an video it shows a raging fires was plumes of smoke, as you can see there on your screen.

[04:15:01]

It's not clear, of course, at this stage what caused the accident. The Sheriff's Office says some injuries are reported and it's recommending people avoid the area. Of course, if you're just joining us, authorities on the scene of what they're calling a major industrial accident in an ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas.

We'll stay on top of the story and bring you more details as soon as it comes in to CNN.

Now, today is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season. Coming up, just how many people are expected to pass through U.S. ports -- airports? And officials in Minnesota are preparing for protest but jurors may be struggling to reach a verdict in a former police officer's manslaughter trial.

We'll bring both the stories after a very short break.

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SOARES: Now authorities in Minnesota preparing for possible protests as jury deliberations continue in the manslaughter trial of former Police Officer Kim Potter. There is still no verdict and deliberations will resume in the coming hours.

Omar Jimenez reports there are signs the jury is struggling to reach an agreement.

[04:20:01]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jury in the Kim Potter trial ended their deliberations Wednesday right at the 24-hour mark over the course of the past three days and still no verdict. We got an indication that they may be having trouble getting to a consensus after one of two questions was asked to the judge on Tuesday. That question simply asked what happens if we can't reach a consensus.

And now moving forward, we're running right into Christmas Eve and Christmas on the horizon. And this judge has indicated she would not keep these jurors over Christmas Eve and Christmas. Meaning, if they can't come to a decision before then, we would just start up again the week of December 27th.

Now, the crux of what they are trying to figure out and get to a consensus on is whether former Officer Kim Potter was justified in her shooting and killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. She has claimed she meant to reach for her taser, but instead grabbed her gun before shooting and killing Wright.

Prosecutors have argued the mere claim that she says she meant to grab her Taser shows that even she, at the time, didn't think that deadly force was needed. The defense, however, has argued if Wright had just complied, none of this would have happened. But of course, this is what the jury is trying to decide. And at least, over three days and 24 hours total of deliberations, still no verdict.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Minneapolis.

SOARES: And those deliberations Omar was just referring to will resume, of course, later this morning. The attorney for Daunte Wright's family says he's not discouraged by the jury's question about what happens if they can't reach an agreement. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF STORMS, WRIGHT FAMILY ATTORNEY: That's not an unusual question early on in deliberations, which that was. You know, when you start to get really nervous as a lawyer, is when you start getting notes from the jury that lead you to believe there's just no chance that this jury is going to be able to reach a resolution.

So given the stage that that came, you know, I think that, you know, my advice is always, to clients in this situation, not to read too much into that at this point, particularly given that the other two questions show us that the jury was likely carefully analyzing impeachments evidence and evidence related to a critical theory of the case, the physical construction of the gun. So that shows us that we have an active, intelligence and working jury at this point.

So personally, I think it benefits the prosecution because those of us who have observed both weapons, touch both weapons, know how both weapons operate. You know, we're hopeful the jury is going to see what, you know, what we heard explained through expert testimony and what we can see with our own eyes. You know, it's negligence, culpably negligent, it's reckless, and if not more, to say you made a simple mistake and confusing those weapons that shouldn't happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And of course, we will continue to follow the story as we have from day one and bringing the latest developments.

Now the jury in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has adjourned for the Christmas holiday, with a warning from the judge to be cautious of the COVID surge. They deliberated for two days without reaching a verdict. A British socialite is accused of luring young teenage girls to be sexually abused by her former boyfriend and associate Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty.

Now, new figures show the U.S. economy did slightly better than initially thought in the third quarter of the year. GDP grew at 2.3 percent rates. Still, inflation, which we've been talking about here on the show is a major concern.

Passports are the latest item to be hit with prices going up by $20, and starting Monday. The State Department said in a tweet, the increased fees, you can see there, is necessary to ensure we continue to produce one of the most secure travel and identity documents in the world. So, as one example, for an adult renewing by mail, the cost will go from $110 to $130 as of next week.

Now many travelers are dusting off their passports this holiday weekend. Travel has been picking up despite COVID concerns. And today is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season. CNN's Pete Muntean has that for you.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Air travel numbers are so close to what we saw back in 2019. In fact, the TSA screened 1.98 million people at airports across the country on Tuesday. That number 99 percent of the same day back in 2019 shy by only about 2,300 people. This just barely ends a five-day streak where we saw numbers higher than 2 million people at airports each day.

You know, the TSA says Thursday will be one of the busiest days of the holiday season for air travel. And that really kicks up a huge streak of numbers. They say a total of 20 million people between December 23rd and January 3rd.

[04:25:02]

You know, AAA reminds us that the vast majority of people will drive 100 million people it projects (ph) driving 50 miles or more. That number off only about 7 percent from what figures were back before the pandemic.

Airlines still insist that traveling by air is safe because of heavily filtered air on board and the federal transportation mask mandate still in place until March 18th, 2022. And the TSA and the FAA have announced a new partnership where if you defied that rule, you could lose your TSA pre-check for good.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

SOARES: Thank you, Pete. Now, new travel restrictions across Europe don't appear to be slowing things down. CNN's Anna Stewart is live for us from the very latest. And Anna, you know, we're seeing people traveling when COVID cases continue to surge in the U.K. and indeed across Europe. And despite all the COVID testing, all the paperwork and the headaches, correct?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely extraordinary, isn't it? Given the whole world as a new patchwork of travel bans and travel restrictions demand is definitely there. And we're getting some fresh numbers in terms of international travel from OAG, which is a global travel data provider. And they are showing that there is enough demand certainly for airlines to operate. They're scheduled, at least to the end of the year. And actually, Isa, since the beginning of December, there's only globally been a 2.8 percent reduction in terms of seats, which is really low if you consider that's just that windows just before the Omicron variant was discovered.

Now, once we've all had our Christmas puddings and probably drank far too much champagne on New Year's Eve, unfortunately, the picture looks a bit more bleak as we go into 2022. And already we are seeing some airlines beginning to drop their capacity for the coming months.

For instance, Ryanair, which is the low-cost carrier here has slashed their January traffic forecast by a third. They've also doubled their annual loss forecasts. So good news for airlines just the next few days, people do want to travel. They want to see their family and friends. But I think after Christmas once they're back home, those suitcases are going away to the loft and going to gather some dust for the next few months.

SOARES: Anna, just before you leave us, give us a -- give our viewers a taste really of what any advice or tips you think would help when traveling.

STEWART: Yes, because everyone, of course, wants to keep safe and you also want to keep moving through those airports as quickly as you can. Certainly, there are things you can do to reduce your exposure. First off, of course, masks. They are mandated by most airlines.

But what kind of mask you use, not only protects others but which one reduces your exposure as well. So you have the cloth masks, you will have surgical, but you might want to pick a respirator masks like an N95. On top of that, vaccination passports is already on your phone. Is your phone charged? Do you have a charger?

Do you maybe want to print it out if you're someone that loses your phone like me in airports frequently? And always worth bringing extra tests with you for your travel so that you can test yourself maybe with a rapid antigen before you meet with different people over the holidays. And travel insurance, Isa, absolutely critical at the moment.

COVID travel insurance, check that you have it. Because if you test positive while you are away, that holiday could be a little bit longer and a lot more expensive. Isa?

SOARES: Very good tips right there from Anna Stewart. Thanks very much, Anna.

Well, here it is. Almost Christmas and many in the U.S. are turning on the air conditioners instead of fireplaces. Record high temperatures are predicted right across southern part of the country.

Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin joins me now. And Tyler, for your promising are some snow, what happened here?

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, Isa, let me start off by saying where the hot conditions will be, it will be over here across the southeast. And that's where we'll have decent travel weather in the next few days.

But out west, that's where we're locked in this pattern, this very nasty winter weather pattern, which is going to lead to cold conditions out there and the heavy snowfall. As a result, any impacts that we see out west will be because of that system coming ashore. And we are looking at major to extreme impacts out there.

So if we encounter any airport delays, it's going to be across California going on up into the Pacific Northwest. Then as you start pushing out to the east where that bubble of heat is located, it looks kind of good for flying. It's also looking pretty good for any ground travel as well.

However, there is a little fly in the proverbial ointment up here across the Great Lakes where we have some minor delays possible because of a system pushing over. Eventually, we see the record heat build-up a little farther to the north and east and it encompasses more of the East Coast, while the snow producer out west continues to push east as well.

This will also impact our travel too on Christmas Eve and going into Christmas Day. So the major two extreme travel impacts that are basically bottled across California Pacific Northwest for today will sort of migrate to the east once we get into Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We're also looking at, in addition to all of this snow and rainfall across the west --