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Quest Means Business
India Sets Global Daily Case Record For Fifth Straight Day; Qatar Airways Retools Passenger Planes Into Cargo Carriers; Japan Struggles With Surge Three Months Ahead Of Olympics; Venezuela Receives 80,000 Doses Of Sputnik V Vaccine; Russia Suspends Activities At Navalny's Political Offices. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired April 26, 2021 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:15]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: On hour left of trading, 60 minutes on the market before the closing bell on Wall Street and we've got
early gains in the Dow and they melted away. If you look at the board, you will see sort of a gentle decline or a consistent decline throughout the
morning. And in the afternoon, losses in red on the screen.
That's the way the main market looks and these are the main events.
The White House says it will share its vaccine stockpile with the rest of the world as India waits in desperate need for oxygen.
Airlines shares are up after Europe says it will welcome American visitors in 2021.
And Latin America snapping up Russia's Sputnik vaccine. I will speak to the company that funded it.
We are live in New York, start of a new week together. It is Monday, it is April 26th. I'm Richard Quest. And I mean business.
Good evening. We begin tonight as the Biden administration says help is on way for India. President Biden has spoken to the Indian Prime Minister on
the same day that the White House announced it will soon start sharing its vaccine supply with the rest of the world.
In India's case, that help can't come soon enough. COVID cases are now out of control, and hospitals are tweeting S.O.S. messages as intensive care
unit beds and oxygen are running desperately short, in some cases have run out.
President Biden spoke to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi a short while ago and the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is meeting with
American CEOs to discuss how to share medical supplies.
For now, Washington is to offer raw materials by lifting the embargo that it put in place from the Domestic Production Act to help India make it is
on vaccines.
And Silicon Valley, an industry with incredibly close business ties to India is also to step up. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai says his company is
providing $18 million in relief whilst Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella has pledged the company's resources, technology and voice.
Kaitlan is with me at the White House, Ivan is in Hong Kong. To you, Kaitlan, the President up until just Friday was very hesitant. He did not
say that they would give out the vaccine. Now, he is saying they will give out the vaccine or they will let some of the vaccines, 10 million of the
vaccines go once they have received U.S. safety approval.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it is not really clear how long that's going to take. What we heard from Jen Psaki,
the Press Secretary earlier was about 10 million doses could be ready in the coming weeks pending that review. But they don't actually think they
are going to get to that 50 million or 60 million number to distribute until later on this year, maybe May or June.
This is what the White House is predicting right now, and of course, this all hinges on that F.D.A. review.
So, this is a little bit trickier than it just sounds on its face. But I do think it is progress that world leaders will welcome given they have pushed
Biden repeatedly to share vaccines and help them ramp up their own vaccinations in their own countries especially given this AstraZeneca
vaccine is one in the U.S. that has not gotten approval. None of those doses that are ready to be released and sent out have actually been
released or sent out because, of course, of that F.D.A. review.
So, that still raises a big question about when that is actually going to happen. But one thing the White House is now making clear is they don't
believe they need AstraZeneca available in the U.S. to help vaccinate Americans so they are preparing to send it the other countries.
QUEST: Ivan, similar to calls to Newcastle, sending vaccines to India, since it is such a large manufacturer, indeed of AstraZeneca, but that's
what is going to happen. But the more immediate issue, Ivan Watson, is oxygen, PPE, the basics of keeping people alive.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oxygen, medicine, hospital beds. I mean, we have been hearing and seeing about Indians with
their loved ones gasping for air, taking their loved ones around from hospital to hospital desperate to just try to find a hospital bed and a
hospital with supplies to treat them.
And it is not just those desperate people, it is the hospitals themselves who have had to make desperate appeals on social media for basic supplies
like oxygen. I'll show you an example, a number of hours ago, one private hospital chain published this tweet saying basically S.O.S. that they had
more than a hundred COVID patients that need oxygen and that their supplies were running out. They only had a number of hours of supplies left.
They subsequently tweeted that a shipment of oxygen had been stopped at some kind of a checkpoint. Fortunately, in this hospital's case, they
ultimately received the supplies they needed.
[15:05:23]
WATSON: But this is just one example of many that we see daily, published by hospitals. Now, the government has announced that it is going to try to
create more than 500 generation plants for oxygen around the country. The military has announced, it is going to try to release oxygen supplies.
We've had senior officials in the Health Ministry announcing that enough oxygen actually is being made but it is in the transport and the logistics
that there are log jams right now, which does raise the point, if foreign countries like the U.S., Ireland for example, offering aid, the U.K. even
Pakistan if they try to send in aid, the problem does seem to be on the ground with distribution. That's where a lot of the log jam is.
Meanwhile, we had some senior officials at a briefing, Richard, they were trying to urge the public not to panic, to calm down that's putting more
strain on the system, kind of hard to say that to people who are desperate to find medicine or oxygen for their dying loved ones -- Richard.
QUEST: Kaitlan, at the White House, in the U.S. now, there is -- we are getting to a point where there is likely to be a surplus of vaccines. The
numbers suggest that the hardened cases won't be vaccinated come what may, and that creates an entire set of problems for the administration.
COLLINS: Yes, and it is not even just those who are vaccine hesitant, there are now new reports that eight percent of people who have been vaccinated
are not going back for their second shot.
if they've got that Pfizer and Moderna, there is a new "New York Times" report that says about eight percent, so about five million of those didn't
go back to get their second shot, so that of course is also raising concerns for the White House because they need people to get that second
shot to make sure they have that 80 to 90 percent efficacy that they have been touting against severe disease in those studies.
And so I think that they are not only now combatting vaccine hesitancy, they are also talking about those people who aren't following up on those
second shots as well.
And so, I think when you hear from President Biden on Wednesday, that is going to be his first big address to Congress marking his first 100 days in
office, they also are going to recognize and basically concede that the next 100 next, when it comes to getting people vaccinated is going to be a
lot tougher than it was in his first 100.
QUEST: Ivan -- thank you, Kaitlan. Kaitlan Collins at the White House. We will let you continue with your duties.
Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. The embarrassment of the Indian situation. Now, they are not the first country that has got a second or third wave wrong.
Every major country, the U.K. has, the U.S. did over Christmas, but the ramifications here seem to be way more serious than elsewhere.
WATSON: The scale of the numbers. India keeps breaking, terribly breaking these global records with its daily new cases of COVID.
Today, Monday, more than 350,000 new cases, and we have heard from a top scientist at the World Health Organization estimating that there could be
20 or 30 times more COVID cases in the country, and the testing simply isn't keeping track of it, which also, there are some serious suspicions
that the mortality rates where you have close to 3,000 people dying a day now might actually be considerably higher as well, and you're talking about
A country with 1.3 billion people in it.
So, the numbers could be vastly larger. Some people say this could be due to new variants that are more contagious, but there is also the missed
opportunity. And the fact that the government seem to be taking a victory lap just a couple of weeks ago with the Health Minister of the country
suggesting that India was in the endgame of the pandemic just six weeks ago.
Less than two weeks ago, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was attending campaign rallies with thousands of people in the audience. You had
religious festivals under way, and now, people can't find oxygen as their loved ones are gasping for air.
It's a terrible, terrible situation right now and crisis for the country.
QUEST: Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Ivan, thank you.
India has plenty of resources though and it leads nations in vaccine production, but seemingly, none of that prevented it from becoming the
epicenter, the latest one, of the pandemic.
[15:10:08]
QUEST: The country reported more than 350,000 new cases on Monday, and despite making COVID vaccines in country, its own inoculation campaign
appears to be failing. Less than two percent is fully vaccinated, well, behind the U.S. and Europe.
Ravi Agrawal is editor-in-chief of "Foreign Policy" and CNN's former New Delhi Bureau Chief. Were you surprised -- knowing the country as you do,
were you surprised that this second wave was allowed to overwhelm and take over?
RAVI AGRAWAL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "FOREIGN POLICY": Well, the answer is yes and no, Richard. I was not surprised that there was a second wave. What I
was surprised by was the complacency that had set in across the country over the last couple of months that allowed the second wave to be as bad as
it is.
And of course, it could easily get a lot worse than what we are seeing right now and that's keeping in mind that the numbers we have could easily
be the tip of the iceberg, as Ivan just mentioned both in terms of the number of cases and the number of deaths, they could be orders of magnitude
higher across the country.
And the complacency took many shapes and forms. I mean, one of course was this sense of Indian exceptionalism, this notion that Indians somehow were
relatively immune in large part because the case load last year was as low as it was.
The sense that India has youthful demographics. The median age of Indians is 28, which means they are mostly young and therefore less likely to be
impacted. But what we are seeing with this new wave is that it is affecting everyone, young and old, and it is tearing through cities and even now,
rural parts of the country.
And in large part, this is down to the fact that people have been allowed to congregate in large numbers. There's a big Hindu festival called the
Kumbh Mela where millions congregated to dip into the Ganges, the Holy Indian River.
QUEST: Okay.
AGRAWAL: There have been cricket matches with tens of thousands in attendance. There have been electoral rallies, almost held unfettered
especially in the State of West Bengal in the east.
All of that put together, Richard, to answer your question, has been surprising that it has been allowed to go on this way.
QUEST: But the ability of the Prime Minister to almost say in his speech yesterday, in his address to the nation, his radio address, the nation is
suffering, the nation is in trouble -- it's almost like, it wasn't me, Gov, don't blame -- don't look at me. It's not my fault.
AGRAWAL: Yes. There is some of that. I don't know whether the people are going to buy that. I mean, it is worth keeping in mind that Narendra Modi
is an immensely popular politician. He is among the most popular world leaders anywhere, and we've seen this through repeated elections.
This time, however, there really is a widespread sort of rising surge of anger across the country because people are being impacted, and these are
all people who thought they had the virus under control. They trusted the government, and now they are beginning to fell let down.
So I am not so sure how people will believe that unless things get better very quickly. And that, too, is unlikely to happen because, as we know from
other parts of the world, deaths rates usually catch up with cases in a couple of week. That could be worse.
QUEST: Ravi, thank you. We will talk more. Thank you, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
And in a mobilization effort reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, the airlines are now pitching in to deliver desperately needed supplies.
Qatar Airways tells me it is carrying a 20-foot oxygen tank on board a charter flight from Europe to Doha where it will be filled and then sent to
India by sea. Cargo has been the backbone of many airlines' success such as it is over the course of the pandemic.
I got exclusive access last month to the cargo headquarters at Qatar Airlines. Freight is the unsung hero of aviation during the pandemic. It
has become a pillar of airline strategy.
The planes that you and I flew on before the virus hit are now being used to ferry medical supplies around the world.
I have a special look at how it all works from Doha to your doorstep.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice over): The cabin is full, the hull loaded. The only thing missing are the passengers, and for Qatar Airways, this is this is part of
the new normal.
The story is fairly simple. The world has stopped traveling in 2020, but the world has not stopped trading.
[15:15:02]
GUILLAUME HALLEUX, CHIEF OFFICER OF CARGO, QATAR AIRWAYS: My name is Guillaume Halleux, I am the Chief Officer of Cargo for Qatar Airways.
When the pandemic hit, clearly, the business model that we were operating was no longer valid. The business model of Qatar Airways was 60 cargo
flights per day and close to 600 passenger flights per day. Those passenger flights almost disappeared almost overnight.
QUEST (voice over): Empty departure lounges meant largely empty planes. For all the airlines, this has been the worst crisis in history. Qatar Airways
is trying to make the best of a very difficult job, and the crisis became an opportunity for cargo.
HALLEUX: Hi, guys.
We are in the perishable business. What we sell is weight and volume on one aircraft that will depart no matter what. If it is not full, it will still
depart, right. Once that aircraft has taken off, the ability to sell that volume and weight is gone forever.
QUEST (voice over): Rather than ground its entire fleet of passenger jets, Qatar kept them flying. For instance, from April last year, it flew between
Doha and Australia with only freight on board.
HALLEUX: Before COVID, 66 percent of the world's cargo was traveling on passenger flights. You might not see it, but when you traveled as a
passenger and you looked through the window, you see those containers being loaded. You believe those are your luggage. Most of them are actually
cargo.
QUEST (voice over): The planes were carrying everything from medical supplies and PPE to food and fresh produce. These cargo flights kept
products moving even when people couldn't.
And as the pandemic persisted, the airline took things further. It converted its passenger planes to cargo carriers.
HALLEUX: So, we call them mini freighters. As you can see, mini freighters is a passenger airplane. From the outside, it is very easy to notice.
Passenger planes have windows. Cargo flights have no windows. And so we have removed the seats.
In our industry, everything is extremely regulated. You cannot just decide to remove the seats and fly. For example, we had to remove the oxygen
bottles and the masks because there is no passengers on board.
We had to put a cabin crew on board because there is -- what if there is a fire?
QUEST (voice over): Filling planes with people is tricky enough. When you want to fill those same cabins with freight, it's an entirely different
jigsaw puzzle and one that also includes convincing the regulators that it is safe and all this new cargo won't suddenly shift.
HALLEUX: The devil hides in the details. In order to maximize and optimally load that main deck here, these are the racks where is the seats used to be
attached to, right, so this is part of the structure of the aircraft. We have to use that where it is. We can't change it.
So, you start from here and you go here. That's your central section. The job -- a job well done by the cargo team is to identify shipments with
dimensions that are compatible with the space available here.
So look at that. One, two, three, four, matching almost perfectly the width that is available.
QUEST (voice over): For the airline's chief executive, the experiment has paid dividends in very difficult times.
Akbar Al Baker told me, Qatar Airways is now the world's number one carrier for cargo.
AKBAR AL BAKER, CEO, QATAR AIRWAYS: Actually, it has been extremely significant because we have nearly doubled the capacity that we were
carrying before the pandemic.
We converted most of our passenger aircraft that was completely grounded in the onset of the pandemic to utilize those airplanes to carry cargo.
QUEST (on camera): Do you think this will remain this cargo, I mean, or will it fall back, do you think?
AK BAKER: No, I think that we will start converting the airlines back from cargo to passengers because once the growth starts, we will need the
passenger aircraft.
QUEST (voice over): Soon enough, these planes will revert to once again being filled with passengers rather than palettes. The lessons learned will
last well beyond the pandemic.
HALLEUX: With COVID, cargo has become obviously the lifeline of Qatar Airways and the airfreight industry has become the lifeline of the aviation
world.
QUEST (voice over): In the airline industry's darkest days, that part of aviation that's often seen as the Cinderella bit, cargo, proved to be the
bell of the ball.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Fascinating. Now, still to come, Ursula von der Leyen says vaccinated Americans will soon be able to visit the E.U. We will ask the
President of the World Travel and Tourism for her reaction, in a moment.
And vaccine diplomacy, China and Russia step in where the west has failed to deliver.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:17:37]
QUEST: The Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay continued over the weekend. The route was lined with spectators. Organizers there say parts of the relay
will be taken off public roads next week because of COVID concerns.
Japan has declared its third state of emergency in Tokyo and Osaka and is planning to ramp up vaccinations as infections rise once more.
CNN's Selina Wang reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Tokyo Olympics are just three months away, but Japan is far from ready. The country is struggling
to contain a fourth wave of COVID-19 driven by more contagious variants.
The Prime Minister has just declared another state of emergency in Tokyo and other prefectures. Japan may be one of the most technologically
advanced countries on the planet, but it has struggled to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine.
Japan has fully vaccinated less than one percent of its 126 million people. The slowest of G-7 countries. Only 17 percent of healthcare workers have
received two shots. Just 0.1 percent of senior citizens have had a single dose.
WANG (on camera): Do you think the Olympics should be cancelled?
KENJI SHIBUYA, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION HEALTH, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: I think it is time to reconsider it and eventually cancel it.
WANG: If you had to predict when Japan's population will be fully vaccinated. I mean, how long is it going to be?
SHIBUYA: Given the current pace, it would take, you know, 10 years or something.
WANG (voice over): Officials have blamed European export curbs for the delay, but red tape, poor planning, and vaccine hesitancy have also held
the country back.
A key reason is Japan's slow approval process. The country requires additional domestic clinical trials of new vaccines, so far it's only
approved Pfizer's.
Officials say the cautiousness is necessary. Japan has one of the lowest rates of vaccine confidence in the world driven by a series of vaccine
scandals over the past 50 years.
A key lawmaker said vaccinations for people over 65, which only started this month, may not be finished until end of this year or next. The
Japanese Olympic hopefuls, the slow rollout is leading to mounting anxiety.
Seventy-three-year-old Kimie Bessho is vying to be in her fifth summer Paralympic Games, a competition she says she's risking her life for.
[15:25:05]
WANG (voice over): "I'm prepared to die under these circumstances," she tells me. But I don't want to die of COVID.
The qualifiers for Paralympic table tennis are just weeks away in Slovenia. Bessho says she has called her local health center many times. They say
they still have no plans to provide vaccines.
Despite public opposition to the games in Japan, officials have projected unwavering confidence.
I express my determination to realize the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games as a symbol of global unity this summer and President Biden once
again expressed his support, he said.
The question is what kind of symbol the Olympics will be if Japan is unable to protect its citizens.
Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And a look at the markets. Remember what I showed you at the beginning of the program, how there were gains in the morning, literally
just all the way down, right way through the day.
The day began -- the Dow began the session higher and then went up. It is off the worst of the day. It may even go positive before all is said and
done.
Investors are watching for numbers on earnings from Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft and Exxon, all to report.
As you and I continue together, a global scramble for vaccine continues and some are sending a message, if you don't want to send us vaccine, we will
turn to those who will. The CEO of the Russian Fund that's happy to oblige, in a moment. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Travel stocks are up as it seems vaccinated Americans could soon go on holiday to the E.U. Look at the airline stocks, up the most. United,
Delta, IAG, Lufthansa are all trending higher. Lufthansa up four percent.
The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen told "The Times" the E.U. will open its borders to Americans who have received doses of
vaccines approved by the E.M.A. That's all three in this country.
Ursula von der Leyen says this could happen as soon as this summer. It is a recommendation not a rule. It leaves it up to the countries.
Gloria Guevara is the CEO and President of the WTTC. She joins me now from Cancun in Mexico where the group is holding its Global Summit. Gloria, good
to see you.
There is obviously welcome news that the E.U. may open up. You obviously hope, it is going to be sooner rather than later.
GLORIA GUEVARA, CEO AND PRESIDENT, WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURISM COUNCIL: Absolutely, Richard. We are hosting the first international event here in
Cancun in the Palace Resort where we have 600 people participating physically and thousands and thousands online.
So we are very happy with the news yesterday while we were discussing exactly the best road map to open international mobility and restart travel
between the U.S. and Europe and of course the other regions of the world. That was very encouraging and great news because this is exactly what we
have been asking.
So there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we are very happy with the news.
[15:30:17]
QUEST: The call has always been that there needs to be coordination. Is this the sort of action that you're talking about that you wish to see?
GUEVARA: Absolutely. We had to -- they -- for instance, the Greek minister, we have more than 20 governments here represented and the Greek minister
was sharing with us his view and the steps that they have made in order to move towards this objective. The same with Portugal, as you know, they have
the presidency of the E.U. Spain also is here, has been very supportive. So that party nation that we have champions, from the private sector with
governments is paying off.
So we are very happy, we hope that this is going to help. We see the E.U. moving faster than some other regions with the green digital pass and their
announcements of the vaccination. Americans, they can travel to Europe. And of course, you can also travel with a negative COVID test or the
antibodies, that is going to have clear rules. And that's what we have been asking, Richard, very clear rules certainty.
As, you know, that's what's needed for these mobility protocol and the coordination. It is crucial among countries. So, we're very glad of the
announcement that was made.
QUEST: How does it work in practice, though, because I've got a little piece of cardboard, little card that sort of says, I've been vaccinated,
and it's got a couple of stickers on it. I don't want to be turning up with the Mexican authorities or whenever that border opens up. And they sort of
say, well, what's this? We don't recognize it.
GUEVARA: That is a great question, Richard. In the case of Europe, as you know, we have centralized systems for health. So, I was vaccinated in the
U.K. and I have my certificate, and then the NHS, eventually will make that digital. And that will happen all over Europe.
In the case of the U.S. more complicated and we're working with the U.S. government and our members, the CEOs are very engaged with the Biden
ministration because we have to figure it out how do you make that little paper that you have digital or how do we -- in other words, translate that
so that we don't have fake certificates.
And it is clear, there is a process in the works. And we hope that in the next couple of weeks, it's going to be very clear, so that everyone is
going to be ready for this summit. But that's a very important challenge where you're highlighting.
QUEST: So finally, you're -- at your summit meeting in Cancun, now the industry comes into this meeting sort of bereft and sort of in deep crisis.
The feeling that summer 2021, if not good, at least, might be acceptable, at least might start to repair some of the damage?
GUEVARA: Absolutely. Let me tell you in -- for instance, in this part of the world, the bookings right now are better than 2019 which is impressive,
OK? At the same time, we have 112 speakers and say a lot of leaders around the world and worth finding the path forward. Let's remember that last
year, 62 million jobs were lost globally. And we're hoping to bring those jobs back before the end of next year.
So it is crucial to work together. Now, we are showing to the world how meetings and big events can happen with the right protocols. We have tested
everyone before coming here. We have mask, we have sanitizer, we have the distance. It's interesting to see the chair to the next chair is more than
a meter and a half, almost two meters.
Everyone is following the protocols. And we're documenting this case as the first international event of the platform for the recovery from Cancun so
that we can show to the world that we can coexist with the virus.
And we can resume travel and have this balance that would allow us to bring back the millions of livelihoods impacted in our sector.
QUEST: Laurie, good to see you. Good luck with the conference and the summit. I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Now Venezuela says it's received 80,000 more doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. The Health Minister there says the country is now secured nearly
900,000 vaccine doses from either Russia or China. It's recently extended lockdown measures in response to a second wave.
Russia and China filling a void left by Western producers who focused on domestic and regional markets. According to the Oxford University based
online publication, our world in data, 30 countries are now administering the Sputnik V vaccine many in Latin America.
Some are only using the vaccine, that is the only vaccine in use. Kirill Dmitriev is the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund which helped
finance and he joins me now. Kirill, it is good to see you. The -- you're joining me from Moscow. The cynics say that Russia is using this vaccine as
a geopolitical tool. It's using it as a way to curry favor with those countries that can get Pfizer, Moderna or the others.
KIRILL DMITRIEV, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: Well, Richard cynics are wrong because Sputnik V is registered in 61
countries, three billion people live there.
[15:35:06]
DMITRIEV: And the real world data not only shows that it's 97.6 percent effective but actually data from Hungary, from Mexico, from Argentina shows
it's the safest and most efficient vaccine. And this is specific real world data that is being used. So Sputnik is one of the best vaccines and we are
definitely using it to save lives. Save lives in Russia, save lives in other countries as well.
QUEST: What about India? I know there's an agreement or there's an agreement being put in place, the manufacturer in India. Is their plans to
send more to India at the moment because of the crisis?
DMITRIEV: Definitely. And the first doses will arrive on May 1st. And also India will be one of our key manufacturing hubs. We actually have reached
agreement to produce our vaccine Western nations. And 20 producers will be producing this including seven in India and we are working very closely
with the Indian government. We believe that mutations is really a danger to all of the nations.
And we should work together Russia, India, U.S., England, E.U. work together to fight this pandemic. And this is the only solution to really
find the mutations that are emerging.
QUEST: The Europeans are looking at during the safety analysis of the vaccine. Do you think -- and be blunt, Kirill, do you think that they would
not grant authority or they would not admit it in large numbers theory on political grounds?
DMITRIEV: Well, we are sad to see that politics does play a role. And we see some European Commission bureaucrat says that we don't want Russian
vaccine. And for us, it's very interesting to Hungary release date, as it shows Sputnik, as by far the most efficient and safest vaccine, out of the
fives of Hungary is using and Hungary's E.U. members. So we hope politics doesn't play a role but of course it does. So we'll have to see European
medical agency inspectors already in Russia right now.
DMITRIEV: Let me ask you about Alexei Navalny which of course, you'll be familiar with the criticisms that once again, this is the full force and
throttle of the Russian administration for which one can read President Putin being levied against one man who now it would seem his organization
is about to be outlawed, for the simple reason of opposing the president.
DMITRIEV: Well, Richard, and again, I'd like to stick to vaccines. And I believe that some of the efforts to try to paint Russian vaccine and black
collars is to mix it with politics. So again, politics, we believe should be completely separate.
And we should all be saving lives despite of difficult political pressures. And we feel there is a campaign against Russian vaccine, the part of the
campaign is U.S. health department officially published in its annual report is let it work to not let Sputnik V into Brazil.
And we believe that it's not ethical to do things like this, and country should not undermine other vaccines, not try to paint them in political
colors. We should all work together to save lives.
QUEST: I mean, I hear what you say, Kirill, but isn't that sort of we should all just get on? You know, we're all men and women of the world. And
the reality is that you do use the weapons that your disposal and, you know, the U.S. has done it with its vaccines or will be. The AstraZeneca
has done it in a sense. China's certainly curried favor around the world using its vaccine.
DMITRIEV: Well, and I think, Richard, we all a little bit underestimates the danger of mutations. We believe in real is this notion immunity for
global community. And we believe U.S. should should recognize soon that when Russia is vaccinating other nations is good. And Russia is happy when
U.S. is vaccinating in other nations because mutations are really dangerous and only together we can defeat them.
So really, we are -- for all of the vaccines in the world, all of them play an important role. And we should all work together. And this is all the way
forward.
QUEST: How much do you estimate the fund has bought into Sputnik V? And how -- what's your next step with it? Because as it goes around the world and
is marketed around the world, where do you take it next?
DMITRIEV: Well, we bought several 100 million into it, which is, of course, much less than some of the big pharma companies. We expect an important
decision on Brazil this week. And then Sputnik Light is a very important product for us.
It's just one-shot vaccines that we will be launching in the next couple of weeks. So, we also are very clear that we can only, you know, produce
around 700 million people in the world this year. So, we'll be just one solution but one of many vaccines available to many countries.
QUEST: Kirill, it is good to see you, sir. I hope you and family well. Thank you for joining us tonight. And allow me to remind you to tune in
CNN's newest show, a good friend and One World with Zain Asher. It's at noon, Eastern, 5:00 London, 6:00 in Johannesburg. That's QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS for the moment.
[10:40:07]
QUEST: I'll be back at the top of the hour. You and I will make a dash for the closing bell. Up next Living Golf.
SHANE O'DONOGHUE, PRESENTER, LIVING GOLF (voice-over): With 10 major victories to her name and an incredible 72 LPGA Tour wins. Annika Sorenstam
is perhaps the most recognizable figure in the history of the ladies' game. Since retiring from the sport in 2008, the Swede has used the platform that
golf has given her to create opportunities for others through the Annika Foundation.
(on camera): Annika, it's great to have you on Living Golf once again. Firstly, can you tell us about the Annika foundation and what you've set
out to achieve?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM, 10-TIME MAJOR WINNER: I'll be happy to do that. Thank you. Well, first of all, we're in our 13th year. It's amazing how time
flies, you know, this started as an idea of just giving back to the game of golf and, you know, say thank you for the opportunities that I, you know,
been able to experience and do and I wanted to give that same opportunity to young girls around the world.
Fast forward right now we have seven global tournaments. So 78 players, girls ages 12 to 18 get a chance to compete and, you know, we wanted to
spoil these young girls, we wanted to treat them, we wanted to make sure that we created the best golf tournaments they possibly could be for them
to inspire them, but also educate them, you know, our tagline is more than golf.
O'DONOGHUE: With the attention that the Sorenstam name draws, the events have provided a pathway for players from around world to build a career in
the sport.
[10:45:3]
SORENSTAM: It's been great. I mean, some of the stories we have is, you know, we have young players coming from countries where they don't have a
lot of golf, special in that college golf. So we become a recruiting spot for a lot of college coaches and several of these players. I mean, we have
a young player from South Africa. And she played really, really well. She ended up actually losing in the playoff but so she finished second.
But I think the biggest trophy she got was she got a scholarship and one of the best colleges in America. And to me, that's just -- that summarizes it
all, that says it all. And that's really what we're trying to do just open doors.
O'DONOGHUE: How important is it for you to try and provide the opportunities that you have to the next generation of players?
SORENSTAM: I know what it's like to be a young girl and growing up and you're thinking about all these different sports. Where are the
opportunities? Where can I go? And, you know, golf is an amazing platform for them. So we just want to highlight that and give them the chance to,
you know, if you've practice, if you play, if you participate, look at the places you can go.
I'm super, super lucky to be where I am today with my life and what I've achieved through golf and how can I help somebody else to do that? Whether
they turn professional or not, it's -- you know, we're not necessarily a feeding station for the LPGA. On the contrary, we want to make sure that
these young women turn out to be great young wingman for the community.
O'DONOGHUE: With a global pandemic wreaking havoc on professional sport over the past 12 months, the Annika Foundation Crisis Relief Fund was
introduced to help players for whom the loss of income from tournament play could have proved devastating.
SORENSTAM: What started obviously with the COVID and the situation for a lot of female professionals and especially the Symetra Tour which is the
development through the LPGA. When you look at Symetra too many of them but I want to say over 140 of them have played in one or more Annika
invitationals and our initiative. So we said how can we continue to inspire them?
How can we continue to help them along the journey because especially now, these are tough times for some of these young professionals where they are,
you know, trying to make it on tour and now they have no tournaments, you have no sponsors, you have nothing, you know, it could be very --
obviously, it's hurting many of them. We wanted to keep that dream alive because, you know, it's a big part of what we do, our foundation, our
mission is to, you know, to continue to grow women's golf.
O'DONOGHUE: We had a really exciting start to major season earlier this month, Annika, with the ANA inspiration and Patty Tavatanakit picking off
her maiden major title as a rookie. What did you make of her performance?
SORENSTAM: There's a few things that stood out for me. First of all, I mean, she's just, you know, really new to the tour, new to the game. And
she's had some success on Symetra Tour. But it's a big gap to go from Symetra then just LPGA and then jump into a major like she did. But she
drove it beautifully. And she drove it really far. I mean, she just made that course look really short and which is not than (INAUDIBLE)
I thought she handled her herself very well. It was fun to watch. I'm very impressed. And I think we're going to see quite a bit of Patty the next few
years to come.
O'DONOGHUE: And I can imagine you can empathize with what Patty must be experiencing right now. Back in 1995, as a young player claiming your first
major when at the U.S. Open. What do you remember of how that first wind changed your career?
SORENSTAM: It changed my life. It changed my, you know, my mindset, it just -- a lot of things were very different. I mean, I get home and I had a lot
of messages on my answering machine and all of a sudden I was invited here and there and it was just a big life changing moment. So I can imagine
what, you know, Patty's going through and so I learned a lot and I'm sure she would learn a lot too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:02]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I've lost everything I knew about my own life and when I became an amputee. I didn't think a passive sport would be available
for me again.
O'DONOGHUE: It's been said that a soldier is often defined by what they can endure, rather than what they can inflict. And for thousands of soldiers
around the world, the cost of war is something that becomes part of their daily lives, long after conflicts have ceased. The On Course Foundation
formed in 2009 is using golf to help rebuild the lives of injured veterans in the U.S. and U.K.
JOHN SIMPSON, FOUNDER, ON COURSE FOUNDATION: What it all came about really when I was asked, I was playing golf one day, if I would speak at Headley
Court, which is the British military rehabilitation center. And really, when I went in there, and saw what I saw and the numbers of people in there
and that was in 2009. I know what golf had done for me and I'm disabled, and I realized that golf is the only game that I know of, that you can play
on a level playing field with able-bodied people.
O'DONOGHUE: John Simpson had a hugely successful career in the golf industry, managing the likes of Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Vijay Singh. He
now uses his contacts and experience to help provide opportunities for veterans in the game.
SAM STODDART, MILITARY VETERAN: I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. And about 5-1/2 half months into the tour, whilst leading a patrol I stood on
an improvised explosive device. I became aware of the On Course Foundation whilst I was at Hadley Court, I attended a one-day taster event. And I got
to sort of hit some golf balls. And this was that time when I was still in a wheelchair.
So, hitting golf balls from a wheelchair wasn't something I ever thought I'd be able to do. But somehow I managed to get a few good ones and from
there, the golf bug had bitten. It's very easy to get in a shell when you get injured and you think life sort of as, you know it's over. But getting
back out on the golf course meet the people. It's such a social sport. And I think that plays a bigger part than the sort of physical part of it.
O'DONOGHUE: As well as providing playing and social opportunities and creating partnerships with golf clubs the foundation also helps provide
work placements and employment opportunities for veterans, such as Vikrant Gurung, better known as G.
VIKRANT "G" GURUNG, MILITARY VETERAN: So one day I saw John Simpson, he was -- he was in Hadley coat. He was saying something about golf, saying rehab
to golf, and at first, I just thought like, what he's talking about is you can't play golf, you know, with one leg. So, at first they gave me the
workplace when in Callaway golf down in London, I worked with Callaway for nine months in marketing and now I'm just doing something else. It's like
been filming and video editing for all On Course Foundation, which is really great.
O'DONOGHUE: With events such as the Simpson Cup, a Ryder Cup style tournament played between veterans from the U.S. and U.K. The Foundation
has also helped nurture some exceptional talent.
MIKE BROWNE, MILITARY VETERAN: So basically in 2011, I broke my leg and got an infection. So yes, that sort of paid for my military career and stuff
like that. I did two years rehabilitation, around 22 operations just trying to save my leg, but it didn't work. That's when I sat down with my surgeon
on May the 1st 2013. And we came up with a plan, May the 7th my leg was amputated. So (INAUDIBLE) amputation.
I took out golf, I got my first handicap in 2014, March 28th as everybody does and I just worked out and I used that as a job like a purpose to get
up in the morning.
SIMPSON: He's worked like you can't imagine on the game -- on his game. Over the years got down to single figures very quickly. And now his turned
pro and he's playing on some of the Lesser tours in Europe. We've got a couple of course records already, won a tournament. I mean it's quite
extraordinary when it's got an above knee amputation. And we were just measuring his drive just now on the practice ground. It was a 300-yard
drive. Which is amazing with one leg I think.
O'DONOGHUE: The foundation has gone from strength to strength over the years with high-profile patrons including the great Arnold Palmer and
military veteran himself. And with the number of injured troops in the millions in the United States alone, the game of golf will continue to help
rebuild lives for many years to come.
[15:55:12]
BROWNE: I wouldn't change my life now. You know, I've met some amazing people, been to some amazing places as well through golf. Golf and the On
Course Foundation give me a life again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello. I'm Richard Quest. It's the dash to the closing bell and we are just two minutes away. A mix day for U.S. markets. The Dow started out
strong. You can see that the green, that it whittled away losing momentum and energy during the day. And now it is down. And those losses have really
accelerated. Look, the graph looks worse than the reality. We're off just at two points as we head to the close.
The NASDAQ and S&P both set to close higher. That gives you a better idea as to how things are going. Investors are holding out for a major batch of
earnings this week. Tesla reports after the bell. Travel stocks are up. A news that vaccinated Americans could soon go on holiday to the E.U. The
airline stocks are showing the best gains with United, Delta, IAG and Lufthansa, all higher. I spoke to the head of the World Travel and Tourism
Council earlier.
Gloria Guevara tells me she's finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to travel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUEVARA: We're very happy with the news yesterday while we were discussing exactly the best roadmap to open international mobility and restart travel
between the U.S. and Europe and of course the other regions of the world. That was very encouraging and great news because this is exactly what we
have been asking. So, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we're very happy with the news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Gloria Guevara, it's been a strong day for a bank and tech stocks if you take a look. American Express is leading the way. The turnoff is the
AmEx is number one, Boeing is up also sharply. The reason the market is low market -- Microsoft's up as well.
On the way to joining the $2 trillion club. Near the U.S. member is Apple and both report earnings later this week. If you look at the other end of
it, you see United Healthcare, Honeywell, Home Depot, there's a lot that's actually down.
And those that are down as you can see over one percent more are down than up. Which is why of course the Dow is up and the other markets are higher.
That's the way the markets look as trading comes to an end at the start of a new week. It is your dash to the bell.
I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the head, I hope it's profitable. The closing bell is ringing on Wall Street. "THE LEAD"
with Jake Tapper starts right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
