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Blinken and Lavrov Meet over Russia-Ukraine Crisis; Brazil Carnival Parades Delayed until April over COVID-19; Life Returning to Normal in South Africa Despite Omicron; Saudi-Led Coalition Denies Targeting Yemeni Detention Center; The Science behind a Volcano's Fury; U.S. Embassy in Ukraine Says 100 Tons of Lethal Aid Have Arrived; CDC Studies Show Booster Best Protection against Omicron; Beijing's Extraordinary Efforts to Keep COVID-19 Away before Olympics; Influential Buddhist Monk and Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hanh Dies at 95. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired January 22, 2022 - 03:00 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 (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers, all around the world, I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate your company.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, face to face, high stakes talks between the U.S. and Russia, aimed at de-escalating the standoff over Ukraine. We tell you how those talks went.
Empty hospital wards in South Africa. What the world might learn from them, as Omicron eases.
And inside the Beijing Olympic bubble: see the strict measures in place, meant to try to keep COVID out.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: The U.S. and Russia, agreeing to keep talking for now. Amid growing fears, Moscow may be preparing to invade Ukraine. U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov met for 90 minutes in Geneva on Friday, to discuss the crisis.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Kiev, saying, 100 tons of, quote, "lethal aid" arrived in the country, including ammunition for the frontline defenders. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now on the high stakes meeting in Geneva.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With Russian forces continuing their build up near Ukraine's border and the U.S. warning that Moscow could quickly send significantly more forces to the area, there was a sense of urgency to the meeting between U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The secretary of state saying the U.S. made clear a further invasion of Ukraine would have severe consequences.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This was not negotiation but a candid exchange of concerns and ideas. I made clear to Minister Lavrov that there are certain issues and fundamental principles that the United States and our partners and allies are committed to defend.
That includes those that would impede the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people to write their own future. There is no trade space there. None.
PLEITGEN: The meeting came just after new satellite images seemed to show the Russian troop build-up progressing, with forces now stationed less than 10 miles from the Ukrainian border well within striking distance.
Both Russia and the U.S. say Washington will provide written answers to Moscow next week, replying to Moscow's security demands including that Ukraine never become a member of NATO. Blinken has recently called that demand a, quote, "absolute non-starter."
While Russia claims it has never threatened Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies say the danger of an escalation is real. Russia's foreign minister with an angry response when I asked him.
(on camera): How big do you think right now the threat of war is in Europe through some sort of miscalculation with obviously such a large force gathering around Ukraine?
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I think that the State Department also needs to analyze how fair CNN is in presenting its information and the accuracy of the facts that are represented. Antony Blinken repeated his position on the right to choose alliances.
I asked how America is going to fulfill its obligation, which was approved at the highest level in the framework of the OSCE.
Along with the right to choose alliances, the obligation does not strengthen anyone's security at the expense of infringing on the security of others. He promised to explain how the United States treats the fulfillment of this obligation. As I told you, this is not the end of our dialogue.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): While both the U.S. and Russia say there will be further talks, Russia's military build-up goes on. Moscow saying it has now forward deployed sophisticated S-400 anti-aircraft missiles to Belarus, Moscow says for upcoming military drills.
Both sides also raise the prospect of a possible top-level meeting between President Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin in the near future, the U.S. saying such a meeting could happen if it were both necessary and productive -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Geneva, Switzerland.
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HOLMES: David Sanger is a CNN political national security analyst and a White House and national security correspondent for "The New York Times."
Good to see you.
Just briefly, what is your read on where these talks have gone?
Do you see that off ramp detentions yet?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Not necessarily, Michael. It is a little hard to read. One way to read it is that the Russians, still, are planning to do what they were always planning to do, to make some kind of military move or a symmetric move.
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SANGER: But they are not ready yet. So they are filling the time by conducting these negotiations, seeming to be in a real discussion with the United States and NATO.
And then, at some point, when they are ready, they will say that they haven't gotten satisfactory responses to their demands.
The other way to read it is, really, they are interested to see whether or not putting this many troops on the border will get them something.
HOLMES: Sergey Lavrov made the point that, freedom of choice, he said, referring to Ukraine and presumably, other nations in the neighborhood, should, quote, "not be achieved at the expense of the security of other countries."
That raises the point. Russia has long, opposed encroachment on its periphery. Places once part of the Soviet Union. Really, a strategic buffer territory back then.
Are those valid concerns?
Should the West be moving its influence closer to Russia's border?
SANGER: You can, certainly, say that Russia has some legitimate security concerns. They feel more nervous as NATO moves east or has moved east. And they don't believe it when NATO says, largely, it is just a defensive alliance.
At the same time, if you take Mr. Lavrov's argument at face value, what he is, essentially saying, is that the citizens of a nation do not have the freedom to pick their own allies and pick to what camp they want to be in or if they want to be in a camp at all. So if we had flipped this the other way and said that Russia couldn't
make that choice, they would be saying that we are interfering in their internal affairs, a phrase you hear frequently from them.
HOLMES: Absolutely, if Russia's actions have been what some might call coercive diplomacy and a full invasion isn't something that Putin wants to get mired in because Afghanistan, what could perhaps a partial incursion look like?
How far could Russia go?
Perhaps move forces and hardware into the Donbas, a claim to be protecting Russia passport holders and speakers and then hold a Crimea style referendum perhaps?
SANGER: They could do that; that would basically be expanding the territory that they took in 2014.
They could expand it considerably and take everything that is east of the Dnieper River and that would essentially cut the country in half but give a largely Russian speaking section, put that under Russian influence and leave the rest of Ukraine to see if it can survive on its own.
A third possibility is that they take a series of asymmetric steps, that don't involve going over the border at all. You heard President Biden refer to some of those at his news conference the other day, when he talked about cyberattacks, when he talked about efforts to destabilize the government.
And interesting question of how we would react to that. And of course, that's what the White House later said the president was referring to when he said that it all depended on what kind of military action or non-military action that Russia took.
HOLMES: The funny thing is, that Putin might be worried about that buffer. But would his actions, if he does partially invade or take some action, run the risk of driving European countries, currently not members of NATO -- Finland, Sweden -- to seriously consider joining the organization and therefore have the advantage of NATO's Article 5 commitment to mutual aid?
SANGER: Absolutely and the irony is that Finland and Sweden, as established democracies, would probably get into NATO pretty easily if they wanted to; whereas Ukraine, as President Biden said the other day, at his news conference, is unlikely to become a new member anytime in coming years, given their own problems with anti-democratic steps, with corruption and so forth.
So the great irony here would be if Russia's actions ended up expanding NATO.
HOLMES: Yes, exactly. Great analysis as always, David Sanger. Really appreciate it, thank you.
SANGER: Great to be with you, Michael. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Brazil's two largest cities are postponing their colorful Carnival parades until the end of April.
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HOLMES: Officials in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo say it's due to an increase in Omicron driven COVID cases across the country. Ireland, meanwhile, is lifting the majority of its COVID restrictions. Bars, night clubs and restaurants are now able to operate during normal trading hours without the need for social distancing or COVID passes.
And finally, the Constitutional Council of France has approved a vaccine passport, passed by the French general assembly last week. Anyone over the age of 16 will need proof of full vaccination to visit restaurants and bars, as well as to take long distance public transport between regions.
Let's discuss all of this now with our Nada Bashir, there in London.
Across Europe, more and more restrictions being eased.
NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely, Michael, as you mentioned, Ireland marks the latest of European countries, easing their COVID restrictions. The prime minister saying the country has weathered the storm of the Omicron variant although we can expect to see some measures still in place, over the next weeks, including mask-wearing in shops and on public transport.
And some regulations on international travel but we're also seeing other countries like France setting out their plans for gradual easing of restrictions from the beginning of February. We can expect to see measures including cultural and sporting venues now allowing members of the public to access those venues without a limit on the number of people attending.
And crucially without the requirement of a COVID pass. There will be further measures introduced in mid February, on bars, restaurants and cinemas, for example.
The government has also scrapped its outdoor mask wearing mandate. They've said that people don't have to work from home anymore, although they are encouraging it in certain places where it is possible.
So while we're still seeing high figures in terms of numbers of new cases, some positive signs from hospitalizations and ICU admissions, pushing these European leaders to take a look at easing those restrictions over the coming months. Michael.
HOLMES: Real quick, tell us more about the new vaccine regulations, the mandate in Austria, the COVID pass in France?
BASHIR: That's right. Well, France is easing those restrictions, they are tightening regulations on vaccines, the vaccine pass. It was a source of some controversy, coming into force on Monday.
We'll see citizens required to prove that they have had the vaccine in order to access a wide range of everyday public venues -- cinemas, restaurants, bars, even, as you mentioned, for long distance travel within the country.
Previously, under the vaccine pass, you could have proof that you had a negative COVID test in order to access these venues. That won't be allowed anymore. You will have to prove that you have the vaccine.
So that's been a real source of debate, even protests in France.
In Austria, they've gone a step further, they are now mandating vaccines for all those over the age of 18, from February. It's a drastic move but it's one that's been hailed by the German government, the chancellor saying that he would like to see similar measures in Germany. Michael.
HOLMES: All right, thank you, Nada Bashir there in London. Appreciate it.
South Africa, like most places, still has a problem with the coronavirus but scientists say the Omicron impact has been blunted by an aggressive vaccination campaign. And while another variant may yet emerge, CNN's David McKenzie reports that hopeful South Africans are already returning to a more normal life.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even in the height of Omicron, no one was in this ward for COVID.
DR. RICHARD FRIEDLAND CEO, NETCARE: That's quite correct.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): When the Omicron variant was discovered in South Africa, Dr Richard Friedland prepared his hospital for a rush of COVID-19 patients. A rush that never came.
FRIEDLAND: We never stopped elective surgery. We never closed our coffee shops. We never stopped visitors coming into the hospital.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): This after three brutal waves of COVID each more severe than the last pummeled this country. Charities built field boards just to cope.
FRIEDLAND: This is a hospital of over 440 beds and 80 percent of our beds were dedicated to COVID patients.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): But when the highly transmissible Omicron variant hit, Friedland says hospitals and deaths decoupled from spiking infections.
FRIEDLAND: I think in the fourth wave, we've seen a totally different picture. In fact, we've seen a far more milder and moderate version of COVID-19.
MCKENZIE (on-camera): As the wave eases off in South Africa of Omicron, what comes next?
FRIEDLAND: Globally, we've really got to try to find the sweet spot.
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FRIEDLAND: And by that, I mean, trying to find a way that societies can begin to function again, normally.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): In Soweto's Vilakazi Street, South Africans aren't just functioning. They're thriving.
PALESA MAKGHWATHI, SOWETO RESIDENT: Well, I'm very excited because I'm still alive.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Scientists here believe that the high levels of prior infection and substantial vaccination rates around 40 percent of adults are fully vaccinated, significantly softened Omicron's impact. Early indications are that the variant itself may be less deadly.
(on-camera): How do you feel about this year?
MBATI MBULI, SOWETO RESIDENT: I think now, it's going to be better now. Probably COVID just ending.
MCKENZIE (on-camera): Are people being overly optimistic about where we are right now?
FRIEDLAND: Certainly, that's a scenario that we can potentially contemplate. But equally on the other side of the spectrum is a scenario that says this variant is replaced by something far more virulent.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): A year after our first visit to his biosafety level three lab in Durban, Alex Sigal and his team are still working to answer those critical questions.
ALEX SIGAL, VIROLOGIST, AFRICA HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE: It just goes like wildfire. But it's not -- it doesn't cause as severe of a disease.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): The latest research shows that in a lab setting, Omicron infections can protect against the more virulent Delta variant. Sigal says vaccines are still critical to avoid severe illness and death.
(on-camera): In a year's time from now, what kind of discussion do you think we'll be having about COVID?
SIGAL: There's a good chance we'll be standing here and discussing the next variants. And maybe the virus is going to surprise us again. But in my opinion, we know more now than we did a year ago. And in a year's time, we'll be in even better shape.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Scientists just don't know if Omicron is COVID- 19's end game. But many do hope, like all of us, that the worst is behind us, not in front -- David McKenzie, CNN, Durban, South Africa. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Tonga, working to get back on its feet, after a catastrophic volcano eruption and tsunami. Next up, key equipment to ease water shortages reaches the nation.
And then we get into the volcano science, to explain why the eruption was so massive.
Also, still to come, scores of people dead after more violence breaks out in wartorn Yemen. We will have the latest from the region, when we come back.
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HOLMES: The Saudi-led coalition fighting against Iranian backed Houthi rivals, in Yemen is denying claims it targeted a detention center in a deadly airstrike on Friday. Aid groups say scores of people were killed during that strike, including many migrants.
The Saudis say, allegations that they targeted the detention camp are, quote, "baseless and unfounded." We have video of what happened after another reported Saudi-led airstrike, in Yemen, on the same day. We must warn you, what you are about to see may be disturbing.
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HOLMES (voice-over): The attack on a telecom building, in the port city of Hodeida, that led to absolute chaos, as you can see, in the video. Three children were killed in the strike. U.N. secretary- general Antonio Guterres is calling on all sides to de-escalate.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: What we need is to stop this vicious circle, in which things keep escalating, one after the other. What we need is to have, as we have been proposing from long ago, a cease-fire, together with the opening of harbor and airports.
And then, the beginning of a serious dialogue among the parties. This escalation needs to stop.
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HOLMES: On Friday, thousands of people took to the streets of Yemen's capital, to protest the latest round of violence.
U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces have reportedly thwarted an ISIS attack, on a Syrian prison. The head of the SDF says ISIS tried to organize a jailbreak in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Thursday. A car bomb, exploding outside of the prison, followed by the terror group attacking the building from the outside.
At the same time, dozens of militants staged a riot inside the prison, to create a scene of chaos. The SDF says at least 28 ISIS fighters, killed during the clashes.
More lifesaving water is now making its way to residents on Tonga's main island, after New Zealand navy ship delivered water desalination equipment, on Friday. Drinking water has been scarce since a massive volcano eruption and tsunami ravaged the nation a week ago, polluting many water sources.
Relief for one family, meanwhile, Tonga's best known Olympiad, Pita Taufatofua, says that his dad finally made his way back home on Friday. He was nowhere to be found since right after the eruption. The Olympian now saying his father spent several days volunteering with first responders on a Tongan navy boat.
Scientists say the Tonga eruption was likely the world's biggest in more than three decades, the volcano creating an ash cloud big enough to be seen from space and sending tsunami waves across the Pacific.
But why was it so big?
Bianca Nobilo explains the science behind the eruption.
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BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This week, the world watched and waited to learn more about the destruction caused and aid needed in Tonga.
But just why do volcanoes actually erupt?
That's a question I want to unpack with you.
Volcanic eruptions have devastated communities for centuries, killing tens of thousands of people around the world. And with about 1,500 volcanoes on Earth, it's no wonder we worry about these mountains of molten rock.
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NOBILO: But why do they erupt?
More than 80 percent of the Earth's surface above and below sea level is volcanic. And deep below the Earth, tectonic plates are always moving. Most volcanic activity occurs where these plates collide. Deep within the Earth, it's so hot that rocks slowly melt and become magma.
Because the flowing substance is lighter than the rock around it, it rises. And then when the tectonic plates shift, the magma rises even higher and some of it pushes through cracks in the Earth's surface like vents and fissures and reaches the surface where it's then called lava. What kind of eruption the volcano will have depends on the properties of the magma. Thin and running magma means that gas trying to escape can do so easily when this happens the lava will flow out of the volcano. We've seen this why Hawaii's volcanoes. Because the lava flows slowly, people can get away quickly and it rarely results in victims.
But thick and sticky magma is an entirely different story. There's less room for gases to escape, so pressure mounts. Gas gets trapped in the magma which then explodes at the surface.
This is called an explosive eruption and we've seen at recently at the volcanic eruptions in Tonga and previously at Mount St. Helens in the U.S.
Explosive volcanic eruptions can be dangerous and deadly. Lava, ash, debris can destroy everything in their path. In some cases, these eruptions have buried entire communities like Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii and Mt. Pelee in Martinique.
About 500 volcanoes have erupted since we started keeping records, many around the Ring of Fire, which goes from New Zealand all the way around to South America, where the most subduction zones and plate movements are.
All volcanic activity is closely monitored by scientists around the world. Tracking active volcanoes can be unpredictable but in many, not all cases, experts can usually see warning signs and alert the public before an eruption.
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HOLMES: Bianca Nobilo there.
When we come back, growing tension, a face-to-face meeting and questions over whether high stakes talks about Ukraine are doing any good. We will have a report from Moscow, just ahead.
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HOLMES: The top Russian and American diplomats have agreed to keep working to reduce tension over Ukraine. No big breakthroughs coming out of their 90-minute meeting on Friday. And a senior Ukrainian official, questioning, whether any progress was made.
He suggested that ongoing diplomacy could be a stalling tactic by Moscow, giving its military more time to prepare for an invasion. It is believed Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops along the countries' shared border. However, the Ukrainian foreign minister welcomed the prospect of
ongoing talks, which he says could mitigate the threat of renewed aggression.
Meanwhile, a major shipment of what is being called security assistance from the U.S. has arrived in Ukraine. The embassy in Kiev says it includes close to 100 tons of lethal aid for Ukraine's frontline defenders, as they put it. CNN's Nic Robertson has been closely following the latest talks from the Russian capital and has our report.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Secretary of State Antony Blinken describing the meeting as frank and substantial; Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, saying that it was open and useful.
Both men saying that it allowed each other to see exactly what the other side was thinking. Sergey Lavrov saying that the United States' Antony Blinken kept pushing about Russia's troop buildup and the need to de-escalate.
But Russia, Lavrov said, had got something that they really had been wanting and that is the guarantee of a written response from the United States.
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SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Our American colleagues, again, tried to bring this issue to the forefront of the problems on the Russian-Ukrainian border as the main issue.
They tried to present de-escalation as the main thing. They repeated this like a mantra. In the end, we agreed that next week we will receive written answers to all of our proposals.
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ROBERTSON: That written response is exactly what Russia has been pressing for, for over a month now from the United States. But it is not going to deliver the answers that they want. Secretary of state Blinken saying very clearly that United States and NATO re not about to give into Russia's demand that Ukraine be denied access for NATO.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This was not negotiation but a candid exchange of concerns and ideas. I made it clear to Minister Lavrov that there are certain issues and fundamental principles that the United States and our partners and our allies are committed to defend.
That includes those that would impede the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people to write their own future. There is no trade space there. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So for now, at least, it does seem as if the diplomatic track is on and continues. But in parallel to that -- and clearly of some concern to Secretary Blinken -- the Russian military buildup close to the borders of Ukraine, that continues.
And that gives a lot of concern to Blinken. However, both men indicating that the likelihood that they will meet again, ministerial level meetings to continue, is the expectation. And the potential, both of them saying, that their presidents could get involved.
For now, they go back to the capitals, to report back to President Putin in Moscow, to report back to President Biden in the United States. And the indications are a potential, no date set yet but a potential, that President Biden and President Putin could speak to each other again on the subject.
The diplomacy continues and so does the military buildup -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Still to come, on the program, new studies provide the strongest case yet for getting a booster shot.
But they also raise another question, what defines fully vaccinated?
Plus, Beijing, now a well fortified city. We will see how it is going to great lengths to keep COVID out while letting athletes in from around the world. We will be right back.
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HOLMES: Three new studies from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control back up what experts have been saying for months: get your booster. The reports show adults who got boosters had the protection against COVID related hospitalizations as well as against emergency room and urgent care visits.
Among the findings, booster shots were 90 percent were effective at preventing hospitalization as opposed to two shots which were only 57 percent effective. Pretty clear evidence there.
Also getting boosted was 82 percent effective at preventing a trip to the ER or urgent care center rather than 38 percent if it had been at least 6 months since the second shot.
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HOLMES: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is a board certified internal medicine specialist and viral researcher, joining me now.
Doctor, the thing about these studies on boosters, they are definitive and well researched and broadbased.
The news couldn't be clearer when it comes to effectiveness, right?
Walk us through the findings.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST AND VIRAL RESEARCHER: You are absolutely right. I think one of the critiques of those who haven't really looked at the information say, oh, there's not enough data, not enough research.
These studies that came out today, really, encompass millions of visits, with hundreds of thousands of people.
For example, it showed that, if you are boosted, the hospitalization prevention is 90 percent if you had those 3 shots; whereas, if you only had 2 shots, it is only approximately 57 percent protection.
I think that's incredible, you are almost twice as protected from going to the hospital if you have had three shots. You're three times as protected from going to the emergency room if you have had the 3 shots, as opposed to just the 2.
So there's no doubt, having the 3 shots absolutely up to now is the most maximal way you can protect yourself from getting seriously ill from coronavirus.
HOLMES: Yes and specifically Omicron, too. The fact is, in the U.S., at least, less than half of those eligible have gotten a booster.
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HOLMES: And I found this incredible, only a quarter of eligible U.S. population is vaccinated and boosted.
How has the messaging failed and what needs to change?
RODRIGUEZ: I think this is about the only reason they should say "fully vaccinated," is that people think -- it's almost like having a turbocharged car. You have a good car; if you want something extra, you turbocharge it, you boost it.
This seems to imply to many people that the booster will give you that little bit extra. That is where the messaging could be better. If you want to be completely and maximally protected against this virus, you need to have, without a shadow of a doubt, three vaccinations.
HOLMES: Yes, I think it would probably help if they said, to be fully protected, you need the booster. You aren't fully vaccinated unless. But that is a messaging thing.
There are countries in Europe, right now, which require boosters in order to get a pass into various places. I was in France a couple of months ago, and the QR code pass was widely accepted. Do you think that should be introduced in the U.S.?
Would that be accepted?
RODRIGUEZ: This is where the tail is wagging the dog. To me, what should dictate policy, seriously, is not whether people should accept it. That's for politicians who want to get reelected.
The correct thing is to say, this is what works the best. Yes, I do think, you should require a third shot, in order to be fully vaccinated and go into certain places. That is why, I think, maybe the CDC held back, because so many airlines, places of eating and stadiums have now called being completely vaccinated two shots and it would take a lot to change that.
But (CROSSTALK) the right thing, not follow what is popular.
HOLMES: If somebody was boosted -- well, I was boosted in September -- when do you get a fourth shot, to maintain protection if it wanes after, 4 or 5 months?
RODRIGUEZ: That's a great question. I think that is one of the reasons they didn't say fully vaccinated because, in a few months, you may need yet another vaccine. And they may lose credibility.
They will say, a few months ago, you said we were fully vaccinated with 3, now you recommend 4. I wouldn't be so quick to jump and say it wanes in 4 months. I, myself, got my 3rd shot in late July or August. I checked my antibodies just a few weeks ago and they were above detectable.
So in my case at least, unless I have an asymptomatic infection somewhere -- and I know antibodies aren't the only form of protection but they were super elevated. So that is why I think they are holding off on saying 3 shots is fully vaccinated, because in 6 months, they may say, guess what, you need a fourth.
HOLMES: Exactly, which brings me to this in a way. We talked about the need to vaccinate the world, because variants thrive in conditions of rampant spread. Yet the numbers in many, particularly, poorer nations are depressingly low. In many ways the world has been lucky that Omicron causes less severe illness.
How worried are you about the next variant?
RODRIGUEZ: I'm very worried.
Why we think there won't be another variant?
It already probably exists. I don't know who brought this up but somebody said something that I have said for a while, is the fact that, now, we have a golden period, where Omicron, hopefully, will be over.
If we are going to do anything worthwhile, we need to vaccinate the world in the next 6 months. And it must be concerted. You can't just hodgepodge one country, one year and then another one. You will keep getting variants. It has to be a concerted effort.
If we have people on the moon, the world needs to unite to do this. There really is no other way, until this virus feeds its hunger, to survive this virus.
HOLMES: Amen. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, as always thank you so much.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you, sir.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: New COVID-19 cases popping up in Beijing, just as they are preparing to host the Winter Olympics. Ten new cases, on Saturday, meaning the city has seen at least 33 infections since the current outbreak began last week.
Nationwide, China reporting 23 local cases, plus, 40 imported ones. The Olympics, putting China zero COVID policy to the text, Beijing expecting about 11,000 athletes and other staff, many of, them from places where the Omicron variant, of course, is very much present.
Beijing is fighting that outbreak, with less than 2 weeks to go, before the Winter Olympics begin. The opening ceremony, set for Friday, February 4th. As China welcomes the world, Beijing looking more like a fortress in its effort to keep COVID from spreading during the Winter Games.
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HOLMES: It is not an Olympic bubble but, rather, an entirely separate living space, something that has never been seen before, at the global competition. David Culver, with more.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Traveling into Beijing may prove to be a tougher race than an Olympic competition. These Winter Games taking place in capital city that increasingly feels like a fortress. China determined to keep out any new cases of COVID-19 starting at the airport.
CULVER: This is the terminal that's going to be used by athletes, some of the Olympic personnel and media arriving into Beijing. They've got a wall up that keeps the general population away from everyone who is part of the Olympic arrivals.
CULVER (voice-over): Those coming in required to download this official app to monitor their health. Inputting their information starting 14 days before arriving in Beijing. While health surveillance and strict contact tracing is part of life for every one living in China, it's making visitors uneasy.
Cybersecurity researchers warn the app has serious encryption flaws. Potentially compromising personal health data. China dismisses concerns but Team USA and athletes from other countries are being advised to bring disposable burner phones instead of their personal ones.
From the airport, athletes and personnel will be taken into what organizers call the close loop system. Not one giant bubble so much as multiple bubbles connected by dedicated shuttles. Within the capital city, there are several hotels and venues plus the Olympic Village that are only for credentialed participants.
CULVER: The dedicated transport buses will be bringing the athletes, the personnel, the media through these gates. But for those of us who are residents outside, this is as close as we can get.
CULVER (voice-over): Then there are the mountain venues on the outskirts of Beijing, connected by a high-speed train and highways. All of them newly built for the Winter Games. So as to maintain the separation even the railcars are divided. And the close loop buses given specially marked lanes.
CULVER: It is so strict that officials have told residents if they see one of the vehicles that's part of the Olympic convoys get into a crash to stay away. They've actually got a specialized unit of medics to respond to those incidents. It's all to keep the virus from potentially spreading.
CULVER (voice-over): It also helps keep visiting journalists from leaving the capital city to other regions like Xinjiang or Tibet, to explore controversial topics. With the world's attention, the Olympics allows China to showcase its perceived superiority in containing the virus, especially compared with countries like the U.S.
But this will in many ways also be a tale of two cities. One curated for the Olympic arrivals and pre-selected groups of spectators, another that is the real Beijing.
Though some local Beijing residents are now in a bubble of their own, communities locked down after recent cases surfaced in city outside the Olympic boundaries. A mounting challenge for a country that's trying to keep COVID out and yet still stage a global sporting spectacle to wow the world.
CULVER: All of this, a real challenge for Chinese officials. To portray this is an open, welcoming, host city, when you are surrounded by barriers. We see more broadcasters and personnel, canceling plans to come here, in part, because the realization is starting to hit. China's zero COVID restrictions, are like nothing else in the world. If you contract the virus or government health officials say, you have been close to a confirmed case, there is no challenging them. They can and most likely will, put you in isolation. David Culver, CNN, Beijing.
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HOLMES: The world is saying goodbye to a prominent Buddhist monk. After the break, we take a look back at the life of Thich Nhat Hanh and his mission to spread peace around the world.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
Thich Nhat Hanh, a prominent Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist, has died. His Zen teaching organization, Plum Village, said he passed away peacefully, on Saturday morning, local time, at 95 years of age.
Often referred to as the father of mindfulness, the influential Vietnamese monk led an eventful life. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout with a look.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thich Nhat Hanh was a peace activist, spiritual leader and poet. The Vietnamese Buddhist monk, devoting his line to mindful meditation. His students called him Thay, which means teacher.
His key teaching, that, through mindfulness, we could learn to live happily in the present, that our experience of being in the moment is the only way to develop peace. A prolific writer, more than 100 pieces of his work, including memoirs, journals, children's books and poetry, have been published.
He gave numerous speeches all over the world, not just for adults but often to explain Buddhist ideas to children.
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THICH NHAT HANH, BUDDHIST TEACHER: When you look into a tea, what do you see?
I see a cloud. I see a cloud, floating in the tea. Yesterday, the tea was a cloud up in the sky. But today, it has become the tea in my glass. And when you look up at the blue sky, you don't see a cloud anymore. And you may say, oh, my cloud has died. In fact, it has not died. It has become the tea in Thay's cup.
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STOUT (voice-over): Revered around the world through his powerful messages, Thich Nhat Hanh is known for bringing Buddhism to the West.
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THICH: There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.
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STOUT (voice-over): He felt a spiritual calling at the age of 7.
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STOUT (voice-over): And by 16, he became a novice monk, becoming engaged in the movement to revitalize Vietnamese Buddhism, borrowing from Chinese, Japanese and Indian traditions.
In 1966, he traveled to the U.S. and Europe, where he spoke with leaders and pleaded for an end to the Vietnam War.
It was then that he met Martin Luther King Jr., who called him an apostle of peace and nonviolence and nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize one year later. His mission was controversial. Because he refused to take a side in the war, he was considered a trader and an enemy of both sides and was denied reentry into Vietnam.
He lived in exile, for the next five decades. He spent time in France, where, in 1982, he established Plum Village, one of the largest and most active Buddhist monasteries in the West.
He went on to open six monasteries, dozens of practice centers in the U.S. and Europe and over 1,000 local mindfulness practice communities. He also built a global community of over 700 monks and nuns, who, with his tens of thousands of students, continue to apply his teachings.
The world now mourns Thich Nhat HANHAM: , one of the world's most influential Buddhist teachers and spiritual leaders of our time.
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HOLMES: Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, spending part of your day with me. I am Michael Holmes. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, @HolmesCNN. Do stay with us. The news continues with Lynda Kinkade.
