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Ukrainian Americans Waiting To Open Their Homes To Family Members; Lawyer Leads Humanitarian Relief Efforts In Odessa, Ukraine; Berlin Police: "Up To 30,000 People" Attend Anti-War Protest; Pfizer CEO: Fourth Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Needed. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired March 14, 2022 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:30:55]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of Ukrainians have fled Ukraine already for neighboring countries and further afield. Now Ukrainian Americans are calling on President Biden to allow their loved ones to come here to the U.S. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us now. Priscilla, I wonder what the options are here including the possibility of tourist visas.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN IMMIGRATION REPORTER: Well, the bottom line is it's very limited. Today, we're going to hear New York Representative Tom Swayze asked for the Biden administration to grant tourist visas. But this is very tricky, because it is a process for Ukrainians to even get those visas. They have to apply, they have to go to a consulate, they obviously can't do that in Ukraine, they have to go to a U.S. consulate in neighboring countries, then they have to get approval.
And in that approval, they have to show and provide proof that they are only coming to the United States for a short period of time and then plan to return to their origin country. And as you know, it is very uncertain whether they will ever be able to go back to Ukraine.
And so just by all of those steps, tourist visas are quite limited in them getting that. Now, I did talk to an immigration attorney this morning with Ukrainian clients, it is happening. But ultimately refugee advocates say this is not a long term solution. What we should be doing is expediting the refugee resettlement process which can take years so that Ukrainians with family the United States can come to the U.S. in a short period of time.
SCIUTTO: So as I watch this, though, I remember planes of thousands of Afghans coming into this country, right, and there was a resettlement process. There was a whole process there. Can you not duplicate that for Ukrainians?
ALVAREZ: I've talked to administration officials about that. And the reality is that they're just not expecting an onslaught of refugees the way that it was for Afghanistan at this moment because neighboring countries are opening up to Ukrainians -- SCIUTTO: That's right.
ALVAREZ: -- and many are going to Europe. But those calls are just getting --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ALVAREZ: -- more and more intense as they hope to bring them here.
SCIUTTO: Yes, those countries around Ukraine being extremely generous and hospitable with these refugees. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks very much.
Well, two people have died, nearly a dozen people injured in the shelling of Ukrainian city right on the Black Sea. The city of Mykolaiv has seen fierce fighting as Russian forces move along the Black Sea that the fear now, Erica, is a full on amphibious invasion.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely. Today, both bridges into the city destroyed to prevent Russian forces from entering. One of those bridges led west to the key port city of Odessa.
Joining us now, Inga Kordynovska, head of the Humanitarian Volunteer Center in Odessa. Inga, good to have you with us this morning. So you you started this center shortly after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia began. You wanted to get this relief project in place. What are your most immediate needs? Is it food? is it medicine? What are you trying to stockpile here to be ready?
INGA KORDYNOVSKA, COORDINATOR, ODESSA HUMANITARIAN VOLUNTEER CENTER: We need the most of course food because in one week, I suppose we have a humanitarian crisis here because the refugees from Mykolaiv, from Kherson, from Morocco will come to Odessa. It also together with our local people and also we need our often monitoring goods like water, like biscuits, like blankets, like powerbanks, magazine (ph) everything that we can give to our local people.
SCIUTTO: How about the safety of the local people? Because I spoke in Ukraine to Ukrainian local leaders who said that humanitarian corridors, apartment buildings, hospitals, deliberately targeted by Russian forces. Are your aid stations and supply lines targeted by the Russian military?
KORDYNOVSKA: It's very difficult to talk about safety when you live in a country where every day you are under the bomb attack. And also unfortunately, Russian soldiers reach all commitments and all humanitarian corridors and humanitarian missions when we tried to help Kherson, Mykolaiv, Mariupol. They just killed people and all humanitarian missions. Can't read reach to those who needed.
[10:35:02]
And it's very great disaster really because we know that a lot of people in Mariupol are under -- without nothing for living and we can't help them because all humanitarian corridors destroy by Russia soldiers, and they just kill volunteers and destroys this transport with humanitarian goods. And really now it's a big catastrophe and some citizen have weighed.
HILL: You touch on some of these horrific experiences that people have had. What are you hearing from the people who have made it from Mariupol, for example, who have made it into Odessa? What are they telling you about what it was like for them to get to Odessa in some sort of what must be like relative safety versus being back in Mariupol?
KORDYNOVSKA: People invest in now I understand that we depend on those what happened on our border of fire. It's on a Mykolaiv district, here there is now we stopped the Russian invasion. And everything depends on our army on those line now. Our safety, our people will be be -- we under the Russian occupation or not, we don't know.
And really, here in Odessa, we are in safety position, if we talk about safety during the war. But while our regular army, our territorial defenses can stop Russian army on the line in the Mykolaiv district, here we are under under safety, yes. In peaceful conditions if we try to compare it with other regions, but mostly people are also some afraid, some -- a lot of people are really leave CT every day. And after that every next bomb attack, a lot of people decided to go away because it's really dangerous to be here.
And really, some of them decided to stop here because they say, I don't have money to go away. Or, for example --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KORDYNOVSKA: -- what I would do abroad, or for example, if some families was in Ukraine, it's forbidden for my aunts to go out Ukraine.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KORDYNOVSKA: And so some -- so family decided that they can't go without his husband, because -- his father because, for example, two little children and from others will be very difficult without father to earn money because you need to look at the children to care about them and who will earn money, we don't know. And that's why as a result of problem here in Odessa, and --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KORDYNOVSKA: -- meanwhile, our problems is not a problem when we compare it with such disaster in Kherson and Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Inga, obviously, people want to be safe, they want to live, they want to get away from the fighting. Do you worry at all that it's intentional by Russia to try to force residents out? In other words, preparing to make an occupation easier for them? The fewer Ukrainians around.
KORDYNOVSKA: Yes, we suppose that Russia do everything for this. And really, we also understand that they're one of the main goals is to become -- to make us -- to force us to be afraid. And of course, if you ever day sleep there's a bomb attack and to even know woke you up or not. Of course, a lot of people one day become two narrows (ph) and say, no I can't live anymore in such conditions and I go away.
But mostly, now Ukraine and people really become very anger. The first some days we were -- was really full of fear but now we full of anger. And we say how one guy decided to destroy our lives, our country, everything that we love so more. And that's why now will feel a lot of anger and a lot of stay here to fight with Russian army anyway they can. It's not only territorial defenses and regular army, it's also me, it's all humans --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KORDYNOVSKA: -- who decided to stay here to help as a volunteer, to try to support economical situation in the city because we are great, great managers. We are great professionals in other skills, in different fields, sorry. And that's why we can use our expertise to protect our city.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KORDYNOVSKA: ... because really, we I also think that everybody wants to do everything they can and now a lot of people also decide to do everything they can to support our Ukraine in so difficult time.
HILL: And we are certainly seeing that play out every day by people like you, Inga, with all of the work that you are doing. Inga Kordynovska, thank you for joining us today. Please stay safe.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
KORDYNOVSKA: Thank you for (INAUDIBLE).
[10:40:00]
HILL: Still ahead here at large, crowds of demonstrators gathering across Europe in support of Ukraine calling for an end to Russia's ongoing violent invasion. Let's take a look at some of those events ahead.
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SCIUTTO: Over the weekend, large crowds gathered in cities across Europe to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In Germany, police say up to 30,000 people attended an anti-war rally in Berlin, with similar smaller protests taking place across the country.
[10:45:05]
Joining us now with more, CNN Europe Editor Nina dos Santos. So these anti-war protests really seem to be building momentum across Europe, Nina?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR: Yes. That's why we've been having them every weekend across major European cities ever since, of course, that invasion of Ukraine began at the end of February, Jim and Erica. The -- about 25,000 people turned up to listen to the Pope on his traditional Sunday, midday address, decry the barbarism of killing innocent children and Ukrainian citizens.
As you said, there, there were other protests in places like Florence. And also in Berlin where 30,000 people took to the streets. I have to say that is quite a bit less than the 100,000 figure that we saw at the start of the invasion of Ukraine about two weeks ago. But as you can see, it's still a sustained effort to try and make sure that people take to the streets and decry what is happening. Here's a snapshot of what one protester told us.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People do not stop even when you could think that this is completely helpless and senseless to fight. They still fight and they could win, even in this situation. So after that, I'm proud that I'm Ukrainian.
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DOS SANTOS: Now these types of scenes, and as you could see, that individual was Ukrainian, but obviously, in Germany and able to exercise his right to free speech, people inside Ukraine, obviously facing a perilous situation and desperate to secure their security before having a chance to speak out, maybe speaking out from behind closed doors, and so on and so forth. As, of course, their country is under siege.
This all comes in contrast to what is going on in Russia. We saw 850 arrests across 37 cities in Russia, when people took to the streets of St. Petersburg and Moscow. In total, nearly 15,000 people have been detained, but trying to speak out against this wall. (Jim and Erica).
HILL: Yes, really tells me something to when you hear those numbers, and you see people continuing to take to the streets in Russia to protest. Nina dos Santos, appreciate it. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Well, coming up, the CEO of Pfizer says that a fourth dose of its vaccine will be needed to fend off another wave of COVID-19. We'll have details of what that means for all of us coming up.
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[10:52:08]
SCIUTTO: Other than a scratchy throat, former President Barack Obama says that he is feeling fine after revealing that he had tested positive for COVID-19. In a Facebook post on Sunday, he noted that his wife former First Lady Michelle Obama tested negative and they both were grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted.
According to a person close to the Obamas, the former president tested positive here in Washington, D.C. after spending much of the winter in his home state of Hawaii.
HILL: New this morning, Pfizer CEO now says a fourth dose of its coronavirus vaccine will be needed to fend off another wave of COVID- 19. Pfizer is currently working on a vaccine that was specifically protect against Omicron and other variants of the virus that causes COVID 19.
Joining us now, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. So two questions. Number one, this isn't necessarily a bad thing that we may need a booster. And then also, do we have any sense of timing as to when Pfizer could submit this data on a potential fourth dose?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So Erica, I'm going to answer your second question first, which is that we don't know the timing in the past, when Pfizer has done something like this. It's a matter of a few weeks before they submit data to the FDA.
To answer your first question, I would say it's not a bad thing at all. I know people grumble, oh, are we going to have to get a shot twice a year or whatever? The reality is, maybe we will. Is it the worst thing in the world that when you go to, you know, CVS, or Walgreens to get your shampoo and toothpaste that every six months, you have to roll up your sleeves and get a booster and you're protected against COVID. And we don't have to go into lockdown like we did before.
Is that really such a bad thing? That doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me if the data is there. And that's an if, because right now Pfizer is not giving us any data. They say they're going to submit data in support of a fourth dose to the FDA. At some point, this is about as specific as CEO Albert Bourla got. Let's take a listen.
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ALBERT BOURLA, PFIZER CEO: It is necessary for boost right now over the protection what you're getting from the fair, it is good enough. Actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths, is not that good against infections, but doesn't last very long.
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COHEN: Now it's interesting because, of course, what Bourla is saying is very reflective actually of what's happened in Israel, which for many weeks now has been offering fourth shots. Let's take a look at the Israeli data. It is only for people 60 and older and I'll get to that in a second. But it's more than 400,000 people ages 60 and older. They found that a fourth dose more than triples the protection against serious illness and doubles the protection against infection.
Now some people will say, that's great. Some people will say, well then just give a fourth dose to older people. Why are we even considering doing a fourth dose for -- or why consider doing a fourth dose to everyone? Other people would say, well look if it did well for people 60 and plus, that's important.
[10:55:06]
Some people will say the only data that's important is whether it protects you from illness or death. Others will say look, if it keeps you from getting infected, that's important too, because then you won't infect other people. Erica, Jim?
SCIUTTO: A lot to ask. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much. And thanks so much to all of you for joining us today. I'm Jim Sciutto.
HILL: And I'm Erica Hill. Stay with us. At This Hour starts after a quick break.
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