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Connect the World
Kamala Harris: Trump Phone Call Was "Bold Abuse Of Power"; Trump To Georgia Officials: "Find" Votes To Overturn Results; Israel's Vaccination Campaign Outpacing Larger Countries; U.K. Begins Rollout Of Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine; Former U.K. Chief Scientific Adviser Calls For National Lockdown; Geishas Take Economic Hit From Pandemic. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 04, 2021 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: So what are we going to do here, folks? I need only 11,000 votes. Fellows, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Have you all heard about that recorded conversation? Well, it was certainly the voice of
desperation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had hundreds of hundreds of people that were dead that voted. We found two. That's an example of he has bad data.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's really going to affect our election. I'm still shocked that a member of the Republican Party would tape a
sitting president and then leak that.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Sixteen -- that is the number of days that President Trump has left in office. The battle for the White
House, of course, ended long ago, but that hasn't stopped him using every second he has left to harp on his election fraud narrative.
The most startling example of all, a recorded one-hour phone call over the weekend with the Georgia Secretary of State where the president demanded
election officials find votes to give him just enough to win a state they lost to Joe Biden, a last-ditch desperate attempt to try to swing in his
favor an election that Donald Trump lost.
But a call apparently months in the making, a source telling CNN the president tried to contact the Georgia Secretary of State 18 times between
Election Day and Saturday, the day of the call well, Joe Johns now with the astonishing details that has critics questioning if the outgoing president
broke the law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The stunning recording of President Trump in his own words pressuring the Georgia
Secretary of State to overturn the election results in a phone call.
TRUMP: So, look, all I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes which is one more than we have because we won the state and flipping the
state is a great testament to our country because, you know, this - there's just - it's a testament that they can admit to a mistake or whatever you
want to call it. If it was a mistake, I don't know. A lot of people think it wasn't a mistake.
JOHNS (voice over): For an hour Trump repeated baseless claims of voter fraud and attacked Brad Raffensperger for refusing to say Trump won the
contest in Georgia that he lost.
TRUMP: And the people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry and there's nothing wrong with saying that you recalculated because
the 2,236 absentee ballots, I mean, they're all exact numbers that were done by accounting firms, law firms, et cetera, and even if you cut them in
half, cut them in half and cut them in half again it's more votes than we need.
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R-GA), SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is the data that you have wrong.
JOHNS (voice over): Raffensperger, a Republican and Trump supporter, has overseen multiple recounts and audits of the election in Georgia, each one
reaffirming President-Elect Joe Biden's victory.
RAFFENSPERGER: Mr. President, the problem that you have with social media, people can say--
TRUMP: No, this isn't social - this is trump media. It's not social media. It's really not. It's not social media. I don't care about social, but I
couldn't care less. Social media is big tech. Big tech is on your side. I don't even know why you have a side because you should want to have an
accurate election and you're a Republican.
REFFENSPERGER: We believe we do have an accurate election.
JOHNS (voice over): The president's conversation after weeks of slamming Georgia election officials.
TRUMP: There's no way I lost Georgia. There's no way. We won by hundreds of thousands of votes. I'm just going by small numbers when you add them up
there are many times the 11,000 but I won that state by hundreds of thousands of votes.
JOHNS (voice over): In reality Biden won Georgia but nearly 12,000 votes. Biden's senior adviser saying the tape shows irrefutable proof of a
president pressuring and threatening an official of his own party to get him to rescind a state's law full certified vote count and fabricate
another in its place.
[11:05:00]
JOHNS (voice over): And at a drive-in rally ahead of Georgia's Senate runoff race.
HARRIS: Hey, Savannah.
JOHNS (voice over): Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris weighed in on the audio.
HARRIS: Well, it was certainly the voice of desperation, most certainly that, and it was a bald faced, bold abuse of power by the President of the
United States.
JOHNS (voice over): Trump is set to head to Georgia later today for campaign events supporting the two Republican candidates, Senators Kelly
Loeffler and David Perdue. This one day before end of the voting that will determine whether Democrats take control of the Senate. Capitol Hill
democrats and some Republicans outraged by the president's efforts.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): It has all the elements of a criminal action, because you have the president trying to illegally change the results of an
election by essentially threatening the Secretary of State and others here.
So I certainly think it merits a good work whether or not people decide to actually prosecute at some point, that's a separate issue.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): It's disgusting and quite honestly, it's going to be interesting, you know, all these members of congress have now come
out and said they're going to object to the election. I don't know how you can do that right now with a clear conscience, because this is so
obviously, beyond the pale is probably not even the way to describe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Joe Johns reporting there. And you can read for yourself the full transcript of that call. Make of it what you will. It's on CNN
digital, that's cnn.com. Well, this morning we have heard from the man at the other end of that have phone line. Listen to what Georgia Secretary of
State Brad Raffensperger told ABC's "Good Morning America."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFFENSPERGER: I never believed it was appropriate to speak to the president. But he pushed out like he had his staff push us and wanted a
call. The challenge that we have first of all we're in a litigation mode with the president's team against the State of Georgia, and whenever you
say anything then you does have to have their advisers out there and have their advisers there with lawyers and so I just preferred not to talk to
someone while we're in litigation.
Let the lawyers handle it. But we took the call and we had a conversation. He didn't - he did most of the talking, we did most of the listening but I
did want to make my points that the data that he has is just plain wrong. We've - you know, he had hundreds of hundreds of people that said they were
dead that voted. We found two that's an example of that just he has bad data.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, sources confirmed to CNN that between the presidential election and Saturday's phone call between Donald Trump and the Georgia
Secretary of State the White House had tried 18 times to call the Secretary's Office, "The Washington Post" first reported that detail.
Well, that phone call has thrown a wrench as Joe Johns mentioned in his report in the Georgia Senate runoff elections. Two Senate seats are up for
grabs, and the results will determine who controls the U.S. Senate, the upper chamber.
Earlier an absentee voting ended last week and the state's data shows a record number of more than 3 million out of about 5.5 million registered
voters have already cast their ballots. President Trump and President-Elect Joe Biden will descend on Georgia in the coming hours for the final hours
for a final last-minute push. Let's just bring in Dianne Gallagher she is live from the Georgia's Secretary of State's Office. Dianne?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, and Vice President Mike Pence is actually on his way to Georgia as well in this last-minute push to
try and get Republicans in the State of Georgia out to vote mentioned those more than 3 million votes that have already been cast in the State of
Georgia.
Well, here's the thing. You can't read too much into, it but right now Democrats are feeling rather good and that's because a larger number of
registered Democrats have cast ballots already in this election. They've been working hard to get out the vote as was evidenced again by Vice
President-Elect Kamala Harris who was here in Georgia yesterday.
President-Elect Joe Biden will be here today in the sort of like dueling rallies with President Trump in the northeastern part of the state. Again,
his goal is supposed to be to get out the vote for those two Republican Senate candidates, but there is concern amongst Republicans here in the
State of Georgia that instead it's just going to be the president rattling off grievances about losing the State of Georgia when it came to the
Presidential Election in November.
Of course, that phone call that we heard, that your listeners and viewers got a chance to listen to part of earlier sounded more like an internet
poster going with every single conspiracy theory that's been put out there and debunked about this election, and the concern is if that's what the
president is going to do for an hour plus tonight.
[11:10:00]
GALLAGHER: Well, Georgia Republicans including the Republican Lieutenant Governor have said that's not going to do much to convince Republicans that
they should vote. So there is incredible concern from the party and this sort of internal civil war that seems to be breaking out, not just in
Washington amongst lawmakers but here in the state as well.
You're seeing lines being drawn within the Republican Party. Those who are supporting the president and those who are sort of calling it like it is
and concerned about the future once Trump leaves office. Now, that phone call is just sort of the latest in this battle between the Republican
Secretary of State and President Trump in the State of Georgia.
They have repeatedly come out almost as this live fact check when the president spouts these conspiracy theories which is, again, reporting is
indicated that that phone call was recorded and was told not to be released unless the president had provoked the Secretary of State. Of course, there
were tweets from the president before that phone call was released.
Now, Becky, we don't know what the president is going to say tonight? We do know that Republicans need immense turnout tomorrow if they have any chance
at winning in - winning the Senate and continuing to keep control of the Senate.
ANDERSON: Yes. I'm going to talk to CNN's John Avlon about just how important this race is to the kind of wider U.S. political picture? But in
Georgia, Dianne, a huge amount of money has been spent on attack ads. Is there a sense on the ground that this is history in the making, as it were?
GALLAGHER: It's definitely history in the making. You can feel that here. I can tell you even when I was leaving this morning people are excited about
the fact that, hey, we might play a role in reshaping the country potentially or in providing checks and balances.
People who Republicans in this state are concerned that if President-Elect Biden once he is - has sworn into office if he has democratically
controlled Senate and Democratic controlled House that any their interests are simply just going to be sort of protest interests, that nothing is
going to be able to happen, that there is not going to be any sense of checks and balance of course Democrats.
And really people of color here in the State of Georgia feel like maybe our voices are finally having a chance to be heard. We're showing what our
political influences in this state, and really in this region. The south has been written off by so many people.
Of course, Stacey Abrams who lost the Governor's race in 2018 but went on to found essentially a voting rights organization, fair fight action, she's
been credited with getting out the vote, making sure that people are aware of their rights and making sure that people are aware of when to vote and
what to do in that situation?
And that these are essentially the fruits of her labor over the past two years that maybe we may be seeing here.
ANDERSON: And the demographics in the state have changed significantly over the years and many experts will tell you that the demographics have swung
towards democrats as well.
GALLAGHER: Yes.
ANDERSON: All right, thank you for that Dianne Gallagher on the story for you. CNN's John Avlon as I promised next. He says the president's phone
call shows he has the ethics of a mob boss and a conspiracy theorist grasp of facts. John live for us in New York never want to sit on the fence.
Thank you, sir, for your - for your thoughts.
If either of these Senate runoffs actually see - swing in the way of the Republicans, it will give the party a continued majority in the upper
chamber. What impact will all of this have on Biden's Presidency?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The impact is massive. I mean, this is really for control of the Senate, and I think it's important to
understand that a lot of voters, independent voters, might look at a distance and say, look, divided government is good because it's checks and
balances.
You just heard Dianne Gallagher refer to that. That was true 50, 40, even 30 years ago. That's demonstrably not true now. Unfortunately, divided
government in America in our era means dysfunctional government. Why, because there's a policy of obstruction and demonization rather than a
pattern of working constructively across the aisle.
Now whatever happens, the good news, "Is that Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell have a long history together". Biden remains defiantly optimistic that he
can reason with Republicans and find common ground. That's what, of course, democracy is based upon.
But the divided government has been so dysfunctional in recent years because the party in power has dedicated itself to the destruction of the
president, the obstruction of policy.
[11:15:00]
AVLON: And this is a time particularly with COVID and so many massive challenges where we need a functioning government that can go big, and the
reality is the that if the - if the Democrats win both seats, this rare double-barrel runoff, that there will be a 50/50 split with Vice President-
Elect Kamala Harris serving as the tiebreaker.
There is enough red state Democrats that there's no chance that it will mean a rubber stamp for far left policies even remotely. What it will mean
is this power will go back to the center of the chamber which would be a healthy thing in my view for democracy.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Let's have a quick chat about this tape that we heard over the weekend and we've been reporting on today. Vice President-
Elect Kamala Harris had this to say have a listen?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Have you all heard about that recorded conversation? Well, it was certainly the voice of desperation most certainly that. And it was a bald,
bald faced, bold abuse of power by the President of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Quick reality checks here, John. Was this an abuse of power?
AVLON: Yes, of course it was. No question about it. This is a call that's going to live in infamy in the annals of presidential history. We have a
president in his own words pressuring an election official in a state he lost of his own party to try to reverse the election, to find votes and
just enough to have him win.
You saw all the hallmarks of Donald Trump, the full con man press trying to cite fictitious alternative facts, trying to create a sense of
inevitability, putting vague threats on the table, more direct threats on the table. This is fundamentally anti-Democratic little "D" and it he was
caught in his own words.
It hurts Republicans who have been will to go to the mat for his frankly because it exposes them. He has been talking about election fraud and he
has been talking about voter fraud the most concrete examples of election fraud we have, have been emanating from the Oval Office and from his mouth.
ANDERSON: I just want our viewers to have a listen to Georgia's Governor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): I haven't listened to the tape. I would just say all those things to me right now are distractions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Distractions are Donald Trump, they are his best game. Could this work in his favor?
AVLON: No. Well, the reason I'm laughing so hard is when Republicans are confronted with something that's absolutely beyond the pale and excusable
from Donald Trump, they always say they haven't seen the tape. Kelly Loeffler, the Republican incumbent who is running for reelection tomorrow
said four years after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape when she was asked about it saying I never actually listened to it.
That's basically admitting that she's got nothing. What's extraordinary there is Governor Brian Kemp has been attacked by Donald Trump
relentlessly. Trump has called on him to resign but Kemp is still trying to walk this fine line. This tape is not a distract.
This tape is material evidence of a president trying to undermine democracy and that is about as serious as it gets, and it cannot create confidence
for voters given that the Republican Senators have tried to hug Donald Trump tight and avoid criticizing him at all costs.
This is a dysfunctional democracy right now because of Donald Trump, and Republicans who have had the spine to stand up to him like Brad
Raffensperger, like Mitt Romney, like Adam Kinzinger like Ben Sasse they deserve our thanks because much more of the Republicans hangs on their
courage than it should.
We're still a strong constitutional democracy against the president's best efforts, but those Republicans who have been spineless and enabled him and
plan to apparently try to vote to delay certification of the election tomorrow are contributing to this crisis. They are contributing to the
confusion over the election that they say they want to clear up.
ANDERSON: 16 days and counting, sir Inauguration Day.
AVLON: That's going to be a long time.
ANDERSON: January the 20th. They say a week is a long time in politics.
AVLON: It is.
ANDERSON: That was coin some time ago, that phrase. Thank you, sir.
AVLON: Thanks Becky.
ANDERSON: CNN is covering what is an all-important election in the State of Georgia all day on Tuesday. Do tune in for special coverage right here on
CNN. You'll be able to watch wherever you are in the world. Coming up next- -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can go visit my grandchildren in the U.S
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can now live without problems.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: People in Israel are lining up for one of the world's most ambitious vaccination programs, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson soon takes
to primetime TV likely laying out yet a new set of Coronavirus guidelines to a wary population. The details are just ahead.
[11:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, we are all watching as country around the world roll out their Coronavirus vaccination programs. Some like the EU and the U.S.,
somewhat fumbling through the rollout and some making progress and leaps and bounds where indeed, of course, these vaccination programs exist.
There are many parts of the world where they simply don't at this point. Well, so far Israel has administered more than one million doses of the
Pfizer vaccine. That's over 10 percent of its population, and its daily vaccination rate per capita is more than ten times the numbers we are
seeing, for example, in the UK and the U.S. CNN's Elliott Gotkine has more.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A pop-up vaccination center in Tel Aviv's Main Square, a sure sign that Israel has no intention of slowing
down its turbocharged campaign to be free from COVID-19.
Since opening on Thursday thousands of people have streamed through what is one of the city's biggest makeshift vaccination centers? All they have to
do is present proof of their appointment. They fill in a health declaration form and then they're shown to one of these booths where they receive the
first dose of the Coronavirus vaccine.
After that there are to come here a waiting area for just 15 minute to ensure there's no adverse reaction and then they go on their merry way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the ticket to freedom.
GOTKINE (voice over): A sight from the needle, everyone was thrilled at this first step towards a return to normality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I can go visit my grandchildren in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can now live without problems.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel free, freedom.
GOTKINE (voice over): So what's the secret? For Israel's Health Minister there are three main reasons.
YULI EDELSTEIN, ISRAELI HEALTH MINISTER: We got prepared very early understanding that we're a very small country and companies would rather
sell the vaccine to huge countries once they're successful. Second was my immediate decision not to put all the eggs in one basket, realizing that we
still at that stage didn't know who will be successful and who will be the front-runner in the end?
And the third was I would say a very active support of Prime Minister Netanyahu who was very instrumental in bringing the vaccines early to
Israel.
GOTKINE (voice over): For this expert Israel's robust health care system, a dearth of anti-vaccers and the countries unique security challenges all
helped.
NADAV DAVIDOVITCH, DIRECTOR. SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY: We have a very strong tradition of vaccination with very few
people actually resisting, very strong public health care system. They have excellent access to the patients with computerized medical records and also
because Israelis, unfortunately, in the state of emergencies many times, we have in the past decades many drills dealing with biological threats
including massive vaccinations all of this together creating a perfect atmosphere of doing this campaign.
[11:25:00]
GOTKINE (voice over): Against this backdrop, Coronavirus cases are again surging, a tightened lockdown could be on the cards. For this young mother
though the end is in sight although not in an at-risk group or over 60. She says her village found itself with surplus doses about to spoil so rather
than net any go to waste her local health center offered her vaccination even as she was feeding her baby. Unbelievable, she said. Elliott Gotkine,
CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Sam Kiley is in Jerusalem and he joins me now. That's the story with the vaccinations and the rollout of this program. What's
story on cases and restrictions in Israel, Sam?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Benjamin Netanyahu and indeed his Health Minister are both pressing for a greater level of
restrictions, effectively a lockdown extending for a week, ten days or even up to two weeks and that would include sending children, school children
home from school and going back to those dark days when Israel was locked down like so many other nations around the world at the beginning of the
pandemic.
At the moment the restrictions are pretty severe. You can't travel more than kilometer from your home or you can't attend a gathering of more than
ten people in your own home and trade and entertainment, establishments that are closed and restaurants for example open only for deliveries.
So it would be a tightening and issue really for the government, Becky, is that they don't want the rapid spread of COVID-19 to overwhelm the very
rapid vaccination program that they have been carrying out here. It's gone well, but it is at risk from the fast expansion of the level of infection
here in Israel. Becky?
ANDERSON: Sam, that's the story on COVID, and thank you for that. While I've got you, I do want to focus on one other issue, and that is the
tensions currently in this region. We have just learned that Iran has seized a South Korean tanker. These are new images just coming into CNN.
What do we know about that, and how does this play into this wider narrative, if you will?
KILEY: Well, we have seen these sieges of relatively small ships by Iran in the past that don't relate necessarily to the geopolitical tensions that
are so tightly reflected in that very tight Strait of Hormuz. This was the South Korean chemical tanker heading for Fujairah.
We've seen other vessels attacked been mysterious sea mine explosions in the past also heading to Fujairah that's in the United Arab Emirates where
you're based, Becky. But at the same time the South Koreans and Iranians are in the middle of a complex wrangle about repayment of some monies that
the South Koreans owe to the Iranians.
We don't know and we've not been able to obtain any kind of information from Iran whether the two are connected, but it does come at a time of
extreme tension. Renewed tension I should say really in that region. A few days ago there was a vessel off the Coast of Iraq where a land mine -
sorry, a sea mine was disabled.
It was sitting at Ankara about 20 kilometers off the Coast of Iraq, and, of course, as I mentioned, we've seen these attacks on tankers in the past.
"The Nimitz," the U.S. Aircraft Carrier that had been told to return to base has actually now been told to continue to linger in that area because
from the U.S. perspective they are saying that they are seeing out of the Pentagon using their surveillance techniques.
And indeed the sailors and ships that they have on sight an increase of activity of the Iranian navy. This all coming around the anniversary of the
killing, the extra judicial killing of General Soleimani, the Head of the Quds force of the Iranian revolutionary guard core in Iraq last year on the
3rd of January.
There had been expectations that there might be increased attacks or revenge attacks carried out. The Iranians are saying, still hinting that
something may follow but suggesting that it may not be as obvious as a conflict in the Gulf but there are no doubts that there is extreme tension
there at this stage, Becky, reflected again with the seizure of this chemical tanker which may not actually be part of that story.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Good point. Thank you, Sam. Sam Kylie is in Jerusalem for you. We are here in Abu Dhabi in the Gulf, and we are just
getting some information in on what was or is one of the largest hacks ever?
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: A senior American source telling CNN that more than 250 governments and private networks in the U.S. and indeed elsewhere were hit
in this attack which Washington blames on Russia. Top experts who are advising the government say that the scope of this attack will take months
to years to fully understand. More on that as we get it we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, health officials in the United Kingdom are calling it a milestone in this now yearlong global pandemic. Just hours ago, this the
first patient getting the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against the Coronavirus, 82-year-old Brian Pinker, a dialysis patient who was the first
to get the protection at Oxford's Churchill Hospital.
But the reality amid that milestone quite frankly is chaos. A new variant of the virus in the UK seemingly out of control cases rising extremely
quickly ambulances are lining up for hours to hand over patients and hospitals, well, are at an absolute breaking point and that's why three-
quarters of England is currently under tier four restrictions this hour, and it could see further clampdowns this evening.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson expected to speak in just over three hours from now. I'll be talking in a moment to David King, a Former British
Government Chief Scientific Adviser who is calling for a full nationwide lockdown.
Firstly, let's get a further look at how this Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was rolled out today from CNN's Salma Abdelaziz.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: A moment of national pride. A vaccines created by Britain's very own Oxford University goes into the arms of those
who need it the most. The roll out of the inoculation developed alongside AstraZeneca started with 82-year-old Brian Pinker who can soon safely
celebrate his 48th wedding anniversary.
This third recipient was Professor Andrew Pollard, one of the Chief Scientists behind the revolutionary vaccine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW POLLARD, VACCINE SCIENTIST: I think this is a real critical moment. We are at the point of being overwhelmed by this disease.
ABDELZIZ (voice over): The UK's Health Secretary calling this a pivotal moment in the nation's bitter battle to defeat COVID-19.
MATT HANCOCK, U.K. HEALTH SECRETARY: I'm incredibly proud of the British science that's got us to this place. We've been working for a year to get
this vaccine ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ (on camera): The vaccinations happening behind me here are not the only firsts. The UK will also be the first country to try a delayed
dosing strategy. Patients will get the first injection and wait up to three months for the second one.
[11:35:00]
ABDELAZIZ (on camera): Health officials here say that initial doze should protect against significant illness and keep people from ending up in
hospital, but it's a controversial plan that's divided the medical community.
The policy allows up to twice as many people to get vaccinated. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says tens of millions could be shielded from the
worst of the illness by spring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We've got a new variant that is requiring extra special vigilance, and - and we will do everything we can
to - to keep the virus under control.
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): That variant has caused an unprecedented wave of COVID-19 cases, worse than at any point during this pandemic. It's an
ambitious and some say risky approach to vaccinations, but the urgency is necessary.
With this more infectious strain of COVID-19 spreading rapidly through the population, a bold battle plan may be the only way to win. Salma Abdulaziz,
CNN, London.
ANDERSON: Well, my next guest supports a bold battle plan, calling for a national lockdown. David King is a Former Chief Scientific Adviser to the
British government and he joins us now Cambridge, England to make his case.
We are sir, expecting to hear from the Prime Minister tonight, and it is likely, experts say, that he will actually announce a national lockdown.
You've been calling for that for some time. Why? And if that's what is announced tonight, how long do you believe the country should be in a
national lockdown?
DAVID KING, FORMER U.K. GOVERNMENT CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER: We need a national lockdown very urgently and we've been calling for this as you've
indicated for some time simply because especially with this new variant of the disease, which is spreading much more rapidly, perhaps 50 percent more
rapidly than the last variant.
We are seeing London and the Southeast taking off very, very rapidly where this particular variant began. And, of course, the variant is right across
the United Kingdom now, and we need a lockdown right across the country to bring it back under control because we don't have any other control
measures in place.
The government has been unable to get a test trace isolate and support system into practice and the only other mechanism is full lockdown.
ANDERSON: And the latest polling that I have seen actually shows, and this is sort of over the past couple of weeks, actually shows a significant
majority of the English population actually do support a national lockdown. Scotland has just imposed one.
Of course, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland accept really to England in the way that they respond to this pandemic. Should there be better unity do
you believe, over these restrictions?
KING: There should be better unity across the United Kingdom. We are after all an Island nation and - island in this we can manage the epidemic for
example the way that the people of New Zealand have managed there instead of which we've really not understood at the decision-making level the need
to separate out those who have the disease and those who have been contact with them from the rest of the population.
If you do that and you do it successfully, the epidemic runs out because it has nowhere to go, but also you keep the rest of the population going to
work and so the economy isn't damaged. That simple message has still not been understood.
So as we go into lockdown tonight I would be very surprised but really delighted if we heard the Prime Minister saying we have ignored the
importance of the - and the severity of the disease spread if we don't manage the lockdown alongside an end strategy.
And to mark the end point of the new lockdown it would be in my view only when all of the new cases of the disease are picked up by testing and all
of the people who have the disease have been in touch are separated from the rest of us. That's the point at which you remove the lockdown--
ANDERSON: Just how concerned are you about the new variant.
KING: Oh, I think the good news about the new variant is that it doesn't seem to be more virulent. However--
ANDERSON: More contagious though.
KING: It is much more contagious, but I just want to say the virulence of the COVID-19 virus is often underestimated. It's not only the death rates.
[11:40:00]
KING: We have seen 80,000 deaths directly from COVID-19 but also the way the hospitals have been overwhelmed by these cases means that all of the
other very urgent operations that have been needed now hospitals, for example, for cancer have a had to be delayed and there's been a further
range of deaths as a result of that.
So it has been disastrous, and then, of course, we have long COVID people who have been suffering, really suffering badly and probably terminally
COVID-19 so it's a pretty dreadful disease.
ANDERSON: You were formerly the government's chief scientific adviser. On a scale of one to ten, how do you rate the government's response to this
pandemic?
KING: Is one the lowest number I can choose, that's it. I mean, I quite honestly could not quite believe that while, for example, in Greece in
February they were sending ships and planes out, many of them, to China to pick up all the equipment they needed for their hospitals and to pick up
the testing and tracing process and understanding how to do the testing?
All of that done in the month of February, and then on March the 3rd the - the Greek government decided to announce to the public that we're going
into a lockdown and I'm handing it over to my chief adviser for this pandemic.
And his chief adviser, somebody who has been educated in Britain, gave all of the news and they were in and out of the lockdown very quickly and in
the summer managed to open their doors to travelers in the summer. We didn't go down that route. We went into lockdowns when our hospitals were
overwhelmed and then we came out of the lockdown without a functioning test, trace, isolate system. So it's almost unbelievably bad.
ANDERSON: Look, today's been a day to applaud the researchers at Oxford for the AstraZeneca vaccine, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, saying that
they have enough doses of that plus the Pfizer vaccine to get everybody in the country vaccinated with these two doses. Sir, you've probably forgotten
more about science and vaccines and know more about this pandemic that most of us will ever know. How long is it going to take to get it under control?
KING: Right, so what - what you have just mentioned is what the Prime Minister is saying, but we don't have the vaccine manufacturing capability
here in the UK so we're having to import the - even though it was developed here in the UK we're having to import it from those countries that are
manufacturing it.
I don't know what supply chain is looking like? There is a big demand for the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine as there is for other vaccines that have
been approved. And I don't know what the numbers are going to be like over the coming months?
But there is another problem, and that is the rolling out vaccination to 50 million people of and by the way, Becky, we'll need to vaccinate probably
80 percent, 85 percent of the population before we get what we are terming herd immunity.
And the reason quite simply is there's so much virus about that the previous estimate of 60 percent is just far too low. So we need to
vaccinate 50 million people, and managing that in a short period of time, I mean, quite honestly, it would be surprising if we could manage that by
this summer.
And so having another six months run-in, it's an awfully long lockdown unless, and I suspect that this is what will happen. When the more
vulnerable people, those over 80, et cetera, have been vaccinated, I think the government will lift the lockdown procedures.
And of course, the virus will run rampant, but there is a further worry, that as we vaccinate, and there's a lot of virus around we get another
mutation because those that are vaccinated will be killing off the virus but that gives the opportunity for a mutation which isn't killed off by the
vaccine to run rampant again. That's the real worry. So I don't think we're out of the woods yet.
ANDERSON: Well, pessimistic view but one from a man who knows his stuff. Thank you, sir, for joining us tonight. The government's Former Chief
Scientific Adviser in the UK.
Well, still to come, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout falling short in the U.S. and indeed in parts of Europe as the number of deaths and hospitalizations
soars. We're covering that next.
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: Plus - in fact, we're going to take a short break we'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, the United States has just reached a critical milestone in its COVID vaccine rollout Monday marks 21 days since Pfizer vaccinations
began across the nation. Those Americans who received their first shot on December the 14th are now eligible for their second dose.
The highly anticipated rollout has fallen short of earlier predictions. About 4.2 million Americans have been vaccinated so far. That's well below
the 20 million promised by the end of last year, 2020, and it's a similar story in parts of Europe with nations like France and Finland reporting
delays in actually receiving the vaccine.
Well, our reporters following the story from both the U.S. and Europe for you. Let's start with Alexandra Field who is in Hartford, Connecticut,
where front line health workers are receiving their second doze of the Pfizer vaccine. What are you - what are you hearing where you are?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, even amid what has been this sluggish rollout across the United States, we are seeing this
important milestone being achieved now. These doses have arrived for workers who initially got the first dose of the vaccine three weeks ago.
They are now eligible for the second doze.
We're going to tract shipments around the country, see if distribution is keeping pace with expectations, but here in Hartford, Hartford Health Care
says they did in fact receive a second dose for every person who is scheduled to receive one now so they kicked off the second doses with some
ten frontline hospital workers.
These are people who, of course, have been on the front lines working closely with COVID patient for nearly a year now. We spoke to one of the
doctors after she received her second dose. She described getting the first dose as a feeling of excitement.
She describes getting the second dose as a feeling of relief. She felt it was important to do this on camera because she wants to continue to send
the message out that these vaccines are safe and effective and that the public should follow the medical community's lead in taking these vaccines.
She says she remains concerned about hesitancy but she hopes that as the weeks go on and people see that people are safely able to get these shots,
more and more people will be interested in getting them. As for the pace of the rollout, we've seen nationwide in the last 72 hours a significant
uptick in the administration of doses.
We can hope that that pace continues to hold. To give you an example here in Hartford on day one of vaccinations, 21 days ago, they administered
about 20 doses. Today they say they have the capacity to do 2,000 doses a day. That would get them closer to their goal more quickly, of course.
Becky?
ANDERSON: Yes, Alexandra, thank you for that. Jim is in Paris. Jim, I know that we are looking at a relatively slow pace when it comes to the delivery
of vaccines there. What's the government been saying?
[11:50:00]
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, President Macron is wrapping knuckles even as we speak Becky in fact he has
called an unscheduled meeting this afternoon with his Prime Minister and his Health Minister to talk about exactly why the pace has been so slow
here?
Over the weekend he reportedly told advisers that the pace seemed to be that of a leisurely stroll on a Sunday afternoon with the family. He said
it's got to be much faster than that. Just to give you an example, over in Germany by the 1st of January they had administered 236,000 doses of the
Pfizer vaccine which has been available now for just over a week.
Here in France they have administered by the 1st of January 516 only doses, so, of course, there's been a lot of discussion all throughout the weekend
and during day today about why there hasn't been more administered? Some say its supply problems. There's also a thought that French Bureaucracy had
a lot to do with it.
Apparently the health authorities issued a 45-page protocol just because the vaccine campaign was supposed to start that kind of had confused the
situation about whether or not people had given proper consentient to advice to authorize the vaccination. So it's a lot of people pointing
fingers in all directions. But the Health Minister says it's supposed to speed up very quickly over the next few days Becky.
ANDERSON: It needs to. Jim thank you for that Jim is in Paris for you. Well, the Coronavirus pandemic leaving almost no profession unaffected
including some that may never have occurred to you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For about $100 per hour people can invite a geisha for a casual conversation at a counter bar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All those conversations have been few and very far between lately. Japan's geishas in a struggle for their professional survival as
COVID cases surge. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We'll connect you to Japan now where one traditional profession is taking a hard hit from the pandemic. We are talking about geishas a
fading vocation even before the Coronavirus, but with the economic impact of the pandemic customers are now, it seems even harder to find. Selina
Wang has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's an iconic Japanese image, the geisha. During the pandemic the century's old profession is struggling
to survive. Kuiko has been a geisha for a decade in Tokyo's Akasaki (ph) district. During Japans' state of emergency in the spring she had almost no
work. She says business is still less than half of pre-pandemic levels.
KOIKU, PRACTICING GEISHA: The scariest part is that we don't know when this is going to end. If the situation continues for a long time, I do not know
how long we can survive for?
WANG (voice over): Geishas are hired as upscale entertainment for banquets, celebrations and events, famous for their beauty and wit. They spend their
lives perfecting that traditional Japanese dance, music and arts. Daily preparation is also an art applying white makeup, painting the face,
perfecting the wig, tying the elaborate kimono.
[11:55:00]
WANG (voice over): This one cost more than $10,000. There are hours of dance rehearsals and then nights entertaining clients, often ending work
past 2:00 am. Dining with a geisha can cost thousands of dollars, but COVID has slashed spending, gatherings have been cancelled.
Even before COVID, Geishas were in decline with an aging clientele. 80- year-old Ikuko, a practicing Geisha in Head of the Akasaka Geisha Association remembers working in the area 50 years ago when there were 400
Geishas. She says today there are just 21.
IKUKO, HEAD OF AKASAKA GEISHA ASSOCIATION: We are struggling for survival. What we can do is train constantly to be prepared to perform at any moment.
WAN (voice over): COVID precautions make intimate conversations difficult. Holding fans in front of their faces when speaking, dancing at least two
meters away from clients. Japan's daily COVID cases continue to reach record highs as the government urges people to dine in small groups.
The owner of the 350-year-old restaurant where Ikuko and Koiko perform says another prolonged state of emergency will kill his business. In Tokyo
Fukugawa district Sayuki Japan's first western Geisha is finding new ways to survive inquests over zoom.
SAYUKI, JAPAN'S FIRST WESTERN GEISHA: In many ways we're doing a lot of new things that are very revolutionary in the Geisha world.
WANG (voice over): She's also trying to reach new customers like this 20- year-old college student for about $100 per hour. People can invite a Geisha for a casual conversation at a counter bar. Koiko and her colleagues
are sticking to tradition for themselves and the craftsmen that make their kimonos, wigs, combs and instruments.
KOIKU: The banquets protect the job of Japanese craftsmen our role is to pass the traditional culture to the next generation.
WANG (voice over): As she waits for the COVID-19 to pass, Koiku says all she can do now is practice and perfect her art. Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Practice makes perfect, as they say. It's a joy to be back with you with what was our first CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, Becky Anderson of
2021. Thanks for joining us. Do take care wherever you are watching in the world and do stay safe. Good night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
