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Connect the World
Head Of NHS Pays Tribute To Staff As Vaccine Rolls Out; U.S. FDA: Data Shows Efficacy And Safety Of Pfizer Vaccine; Some Patients Found With Traces Of Nickel And Lead In Blood; CNN Goes Inside Iranian Hospital Battling Surge; All-Women Mission To Arctic; Martin Kenyan: There Is No Point In Dying Now. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired December 08, 2020 - 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)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Britain becomes the first western nation to begin inoculating people against Coronavirus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Across the whole of the UK this morning, that is happening in all of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and in England
people are having the vaccine for the first time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best thing that's ever happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is a chance to say a huge thank you to the researchers, the scientists, the volunteers who took part in the vaccine
trials.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: But it was one small jab for Maggie and one giant leap for the rest of us. We begin with a landmark
moment in the Coronavirus pandemic the very first people in the western world outside of clinical trials have been receiving vaccinations against
COVID-19.
You are looking at the picture across parts of the UK today making medical history after giving emergency approval to the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine now
being rolled out to those who need it most, and this was the first person of all, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan leading the way for so many others in
this pandemic. When asked how she felt getting the brand-new jab, she said if she can do it, anyone can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGARET KEENAN, FIRST IN UK TO RECEIVE APPROVED COVID-19 VACCINE: I can't really answer the question yet. It's just really - I don't know what to
say. It's overwhelming being the first really. I say go for it because it's free and the best thing that's ever happened at the moment so do, please go
for it. That's all I say, you know. If I can do it, well so can you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Here we go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't that bad, was it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lovely. Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Another inspiring moment right there as a jubilant 98-year-old jack got the jab as did a man called William Shakespere. Some people on
Twitter called the moment the taming of the flu. Shakespeare suggested that for all of the huge challenges and risks in this pandemic this vaccine for
some at least could mean all's well that ends well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM SHAKESPERE, ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO RECEIVE PFIZER-BIONTECH VACCINE: It can make a difference to our lives from now on, couldn't it? It
started changing our lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, it's not just the elderly or vulnerable who are receiving this vaccine, front line workers are also eligible such as those working in
British care homes which have sadly been hit so hard by this virus. Here are a couple of voices from one NHS trust.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm - I work in a care home in Wimbledon. I've just come to St. Gorges to get my COVID vaccine. I think it's very
important to protect myself, to protect the residents that I work with and even my family and anybody else that I meet outside in the shops and the
streets. It's a quick, painless jab. It doesn't take long quick trip to St. George's Hospital. It's been fantastic, doesn't hurt and I highly recommend
it for anybody that's eligible for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello I'm at St. George's today and I've just had my vaccine which I'm so privileged I feel to have given that COVID has had so
many devastating effects on people, and I really don't think people should be afraid of the vaccine. They should go for it. There's absolutely nothing
to it. It's such an exciting day. Everything is very professional and done professionally. And I would just urge people to have the vaccine and not
think about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, this makes Britain's entire health service the first to commandeer a mass COVID vaccination program using the Pfizer BioNTech
vaccine. Earlier this year a major study in the U.S. said health care workers are uniquely susceptible because of their close proximity to
patients with the virus.
[11:05:00]
ANDERSON: It also found that black and brown workers were disproportionately hit. The Head of Britain's NHS said none of today's
celebrations would be possible at all were it not for those health heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON STEVENS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NHS: Today is a chance to say a huge thank you to the researchers, the scientists, the volunteers who took part in the
vaccine trials, the regulators who independently checked the safety and the efficacy of the vaccine.
But above all too staff across the health service that are pulling out all the stops whether that's the nurses, the therapists, the doctors, the
support staff for what is going to be the biggest vaccination campaign in our history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Salma Abdelaziz is outside one of London's biggest hospitals and Salma, a shot in the arm for the UK today.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: That's absolutely right, Becky. I mean, you're just sharing some of the very many stories that have been
circulating on social media, on people's phones, on telephone to wake up to this news this morning, Becky.
It's heartwarming and a huge step for UK but it is a huge step for everyone across the west that is looking here now to set a precedent. And let's just
take a pause for a moment and remember the significance of what's happening here today, that officials are calling V-day.
More than 60,000 people have lost their lives in the UK due to Coronavirus, and that's mainly been people over 65. This is a virus that has kept
families apart, that has shut down businesses and the that has torn lives and livelihoods and now finally a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's
all being led by some of the oldest people in this population, grandmothers and grandfathers, people that we can look at now and say we can finally
visit our relatives. Normalcy is coming. Just wait a little longer. Becky?
ANDERSON: That's right. Maggie, of course, the name on everybody's lips today. Tell us about her.
ABDELAZIZ: Maggie as her friends call her and her family calls her, a mother of a son and daughter. She has absolutely led the way a trailblazer
who showed up, an early riser rather who showed up at 6:30 this morning to get her jab. She's wearing her Christmas sweater. There's a penguin on it
and it says Merry Christmas to everyone.
She's turning 91 next week, and she said this is the best early birthday present I can get and that's because she's been feeling lonely, Becky. She
says as many elderly people have been, she's been on her own during this pandemic largely, has to keep at home, keep safe and now finally she can
begin to look towards normalcy.
So she does need, just as everyone does need two vaccinations, 21 days apart, so it will still be a month, but hopefully by the New Year Maggie
can resume normal life. Becky?
ANDERSON: Have a listen to what the British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab had to say earlier on today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: If you look at this Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, it was German-U.S. research project manufactured in
Belgium and we distributing in the UK and I think that gives you a sense to which this is not just an international challenge but the solutions are
going to be international.
We've also been working internationally with GAVY summit, the so-called Co- Vac facility both of which really all about making sure we can get an equitable distribution around the world particularly to the most vulnerable
people in the most vulnerable countries because we recognize a global pandemic because a global solution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And Salma Dominic Raab there pointing out that the UK is working to ensure a global solution which is so important at this point.
ABDELAZIZ: That's absolutely right, Becky, and the subtext here is what's happening in the backdrop. What's happening in the backdrop is that the UK
is right now negotiating its exit out of the EU. That is going to take place at end of the month.
That is a hard deadline, and we don't know yet if there will be a deal or there won't be a deal but we do know that whatever happens it will affect
trade with the outside world. It will affect how imports coming to this country. It will ultimately affect how modes of this vaccine enter the UK.
And you do here Dominic Raab there trying to reassure the public saying there are other modes of transportation to try to prioritize the vaccine.
We also understand that the military may potentially be used to transport the vaccine but there is a sense here that the clock is ticking.
Remember, we only have 800,000 doses here in the UK. There's many, many more that have been ordered. 40 million doses for the rest of the country.
How are those going to come in? How quickly? Officials say they are going to be able to bring them in at speed, as they are made in the factory in
Belgium they will be brought to the UK and given to people as quickly as possible.
[11:10:00]
ABDELAZIZ: But all of that is, of course, now under question as we wait to see whether or not Britain is able to make a deal. Becky?
ANDERSON: Salma Abdelaziz. So we started this show by introducing Maggie Kennan patient "A". Let's just hear from the nurse who administered that
first jab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAY PARSONS, FIRST NURSE TO DELIVER APPROVED COVID-19 VACCINE: To be honest while I was doing, it going through the emotions of what we do as a policy
anyway, step by step, we've done it so many times and hundreds of times, it comes in naturally I think it's the after effect of the interview and
everyone being in here and then asking how it feels and that's when it kind of felt overwhelming.
And obviously making history and it's good. I think it can only be good, and I think we're promoting something that's possibly, I don't know,
history, and I think it's just to stop the devastation real, and that's what I want to kind of happen. So if anyone has the vaccine they will get
it, they won't pass it on, they will protect their family and their community, and for me that's really important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Making sense and just doing her job. Well, the Prime Minister who as we mentioned met people at St. Thomas' hospital or Tommy's as it's known
locally in London is hailing today's progress but insists that the UK is not out of the woods yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Across the whole of the UK this morning that is happening in all of Scotland and Northern Ireland and Wales
and in England people are having the vaccine for the first time, and it will gradually make a huge, huge difference, but I stress gradually
because, you know, we're not there yet. We haven't defeated this virus yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, of course, this is a story which extends far beyond the British capital. Max Foster is in Cardiff that's the Capital of Wales,
where it's also been a very busy day, and people of Wales will be celebrating today given that there has been alarming spike there and
authorities in the country now considering COVID regulations and lockdowns once again. Describe the mood where you are, Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, people are out and about as you can see but this all closes down very quickly at 6:00, and most of the places
here are actually closed. A real sense that there's a real threat here but buoyancy that Salma was describing equally applying to Wales it is a
slightly different system here.
They are prioritizing frontline health and social workers as opposed to the over 80s they will, of course, move on to the over 80s, but I was at the
vaccination center where those workers were being vaccinated today, they were taking it in stride as their business, of course, but they are hugely
excited that the system appears to be working pretty effectively.
Here is one health worker who I spoke to moments after he was vaccinated. He was pretty chilled out but excited, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: What was the experience like any other injections?
JONATHAN HOLMAN, RECEIVED PFIZER VACCINE IN CARDIFF, WALES: Similar to having other vaccinations?
FOSTER: Were you nervous at all beforehand?
HOLMAN: Not particularly no.
FOSTER: Do you feel like you're part of history?
HOLMAN: Yes.
FOSTER: Are you excited by that?
HOLMAN: Yes.
FOSTER: Why is that?
HOLMAN: It's a new possibility, a possibility not to pass on infection to patients.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Certainly, a real sense Becky of a turning point, that's what a lot of NHS managers are talking about here in Wales today but not complacency.
One thing I did notice if but go behind the scenes of these vaccination centers, as we do, we saw a team of pharmacists having to work, and they
are describing that this is very unusual for them.
The pharmacists have to be brought in because this vaccine doesn't come ready made. You have to mix it up on site and they had pharmacists there to
do that. It does show the scale of the problem as you try to move it out from the central hubs into smaller locations, the care homes and the
doctors' surgeries which ultimately are where most of the vaccines are going to go out. The next phase of this is going to be a huge, huge
challenge.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Max, appreciate it. Thank you. Max is in Cardiff for you this evening. Meanwhile, away from the UK and to the U.S. where a
government panel will decide whether to approve the Pfizer vaccine meeting on Thursday they released a document just hours ago that confirms many of
the reported details about the vaccine's efficacy and safety record.
Pfizer's vaccine trial only looked at the effectiveness of two doses of the drug but the FDA document says there may be some level of Coronavirus
protection that happens after just one dose of the vaccine.
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: Well, the U.S. officials are optimistic that the country will be doing widespread vaccinations very soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still think widely available by spring?
ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Oh, yes, by the second quarter of next year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That means I or anyone watching this in the U.S., any adult in the U.S. will be able to get it by spring?
AZAR: Yes, second quarter of next year, my expectation is that next year we return to normalcy in our lives thanks to the incredible work of Operation
Warp Speed and these vaccines as well as the therapeutics to take care of people who--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So packed college football stadiums and NFL stadiums next fall.
AZAR: That is my hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We've been reporting on the elated mood in the UK. That couldn't be further away from the current reality in the United States. America just
suffered its deadliest week since April. More than 15,000 deaths in the last seven days at the top of this hour we connected you to Maggie who was
given the first vaccine in the UK.
And now I want to connect you to another woman, Erika Becerra, the 38-year- old was eight months pregnant when she was diagnosed with the Coronavirus three weeks ago in the states. She wasn't getting better about so doctors
induced labor, and on November the 15th she gave birth to Diego, a healthy little baby boy but Erika never got to hold him.
She went on to a ventilator moments after delivery, and she died last week leaving behind Diego, her 1-year-old daughter and her husband. Erika one of
nearly 284,000 Americans who will not be home for the holidays and she didn't have any underlying health issues she was just pregnant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIGUEL AVILEZ, ERIKA BECERRA'S BROTHER: She followed every rule in the book, and, you know, she still - she still ended up catching it and - and
it's sad, you know, like you've got a lot of people that don't understand what's going on. They all think it's a joke. They all think it's a joke
until you know it happens to them or one of their family members, and--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, 102,000 Americans are in the hospital today another new record and that's before we fully feel the effects of holiday gatherings
and a surge that is expected in the coming weeks. Well, California is one of the states being hardest hit right now.
An average of almost 25,000 new cases of COVID discovered in California every day, and the number of people in hospital has jumped by 72 percent in
just the past two weeks. Dan Simon is watching the strain on California's hospital systems from San Francisco. Dan?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Becky, that 72 percent number is the reason why San Francisco and the rest of the bay area have gone under
this new modified lockdown. We're not quite seeing the surge in terms what have they are seeing in Los Angeles, but nonetheless this is a preemptive
measure to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed but, of course, these new restrictions having a dramatic impact on the local
economy.
We are in the Marina District in San Francisco, and a lot of retail shops here, of course, normally busy during the holiday shopping season. They
have to reduce their in-store capacity to 20 percent, but I have to tell you, Becky, it's really the restaurants that are going to be hit very hard.
I have to show you something behind me. This is what you're seeing all throughout San Francisco. The restaurants really have done a remarkable job
adapting to the times and you see all of these outdoor spaces throughout the city but guess what, they are all going to be sitting empty for the
foreseeable future.
It's now delivery and takeout only, so these outdoor spaces, they are just going to be sitting idle for now. In terms of the other closures that we're
seeing bars, hair salons, museums, movie theaters, playgrounds, indoor recreational facilities, it's now basically the most restrictive measures
that we've seen since last spring. Becky?
ANDERSON: Amazing. Thank you. Well, meantime, two sources tell CNN that President-Elect Joe Biden will nominate Retired Army General Lloyd Austin
as his Defense Secretary. If the Senate confirms him, Austin will be first black Pentagon Chief he would be commanding U.S. troops around the world
juggling priorities and deterring Iran, North Korea, ISIS and tackling challenges posed by Russia and by China. Well, this just coming into CNN
from our region.
Hanan Ashrawi has resigned from the PLO's Executive Committee. That is according to sources familiar with her decision. The source adds Ashrawi
has written a letter to President Abbas and given him a few weeks to decide whether he accepts her decision.
We understand Dr. Ashrawi who you will have seen regularly on this show believes that the PLO needs to bring in a younger generation into senior
positions and engage in a process of internal reform.
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: Her decision comes just a few weeks critically after the Palestinian authority announced it was restoring full ties with Israel,
including security coordination. That move has drawn considerable criticism from many Palestinians. Well, coming up--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most bitter day was when I had a 47-year-old mother of three here he says she didn't respond to treatment. When she died, that
was the most terrible, bitter day for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We're inside a hospital ward inside Iran workers are in a patient-by-patient battle against COVID-19 amid shortages blamed on U.S.
sanctions. And what has made hundreds of people sick in India? Well, we may have some clues. We're going to connect you to New Delhi and the search for
answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, here's a look at love in the time of the Coronavirus. A couple in Northern India exchanging their vows even though the bride had
tested positive for the virus just hours before. You can see they weren't going to let that positive result stop them from going ahead with the
wedding ceremony, albeit scaled down, and they were dressed quite untraditionally in full protective gear. The wedding took place in a
quarantine center where the bride had been admitted.
Well, India has the world's second highest number of Coronavirus cases after the United States. Nearly 10 million with over 140,000 lives lost.
Now officials say the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine could be approved for emergency use within a week saying a deal is already in place
to start producing and distributing the vaccine within the country.
And there's something else making hundreds sick in Southeastern India. We're just getting clues about what that could be? Authorities now say they
have found traces of lead and nickel in blood samples from a number of the patients.
More than 500 people, including children, have been sent to hospital just in the past few days. One person has died. Well, health officials are
baffled by all of this. CNN's Vedika Sud following this for us from New Delhi what do we know so far?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to be with you, Becky. What we do know is that yes, you're right, as you mentioned there are traces of metal in
the blood samples that were sent to the premier medical institute in New Delhi by the State of Andra Pradesh where this incident has taken place.
Now what we also know is that the first case was report on Saturday after which there have been over 500 such cases of a mysterious disease that's
struck so many of Andra Pradesh's people.
[11:25:00]
SUD: Now, we've spoken to health officials. They are still baffled. They really don't know the reason behind this disease that has affected so many,
but what they are saying is that they have tested the water, the common source of water for these people that's not contaminated.
Now they are sending another 20 samples to the same premiere institute in Delhi. First they sent ten and they came back positive for metal elements
like lead and nickel like you mentioned so they are sending another 20 samples to the same institute to ascertain whether they also be coming back
with traces of metal.
Also, milk products as well as food are being tested at this point. Water has been ruled out as a reason for contamination and a reason for this
disease at this point in time. Andra Pradesh is also one of the worst affected states when it comes to COVID-19. It has over 800,000 cases
already and now with the mysterious disease that medical officials aren't able to assert reason for is also baffling them at this point.
What we also know at this point is that mostly men have been affected by this more than women, and also children have been affected by this. When
you talk about the age groups, the age group of 16 to 30 have been affected the most after which it's 31 to 45 and then young children under the age of
16, so this has affected all age groups, and that's the worry.
Will thereby more cases in the coming days or will this be capped at 500 plus cases at this time? More tests are being conduct and we're hoping for
more results as the state administration has told CNN tomorrow so we'll be back with you with more for you, Becky, once we know what really could be
the reason behind this disease that the state officials are still investigating.
ANDERSON: Sure. Well, do get us whatever you have when you get it. Thank you for that. Still ahead on "Connect the World".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relief is scarce for the 750 who have died from the Coronavirus in these corridors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I want to get you to the heart of the Coronavirus outbreak in Iran the country dealing with a new surge amidst stinging U.S. sanctions
and Turkey wasting no time in the race for the vaccine. Why it's shifted its trials into high gear?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: Across the whole of the UK this morning, that is happening in all of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, in England, people are having the
vaccine for the first time, and it will gradually make a huge, huge difference, but I stress gradually because, you know, we're not there yet.
We haven't defeated this virus yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, optimistic but cautious on what is a really encouraging day as Britain becomes the first
western country to start vaccinating people for the Coronavirus outside of clinical trials, and the very first to get jabbed, Maggie Keenan, a
grandmother just day shy of her 91st birthday.
Well, Maggie got her shot at the hospital in Coventry in England with others vaccinated across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The
first batch of what is the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will reach 400,000 people.
Why don't you come with me to a phase three trial right here in the Middle East? Turkey agreeing to administer phase three trials for one of China's
13 vaccine candidates. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh went to a hospital in Istanbul where people are getting their shots and spoke to one doctor as he
received his second dose.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Turkey is facing a vicious wave of the Coronavirus, and while the government is trying to control the spread with
new restrictions and measures, it's also preparing to vaccinate its population.
Turkey's developing its own vaccines. One potential they say could be ready in April 2021, but they are not wasting any time. Their vaccine of choice
right now is one of the candidate Chinese vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech. Phase III human trials for this vaccine are taking place in
different facilities in Turkey including this hospital here in Istanbul. Thousands of health care workers and other volunteers are participating in
the trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: So one of those volunteers is Dr. Sedat Altin. Doctor, this is your second dose. You got your first one two weeks ago. How have you been
feeling?
DR. SEDAT ALTIN, CHIEF PHYSICIAN, YEDIKULE CHEST DISEASES RESEARCH HOSPITAL: I am feeling very well. I am vaccinated for active vaccine.
KARADSHEH: Any side effects?
DR. ALTIN: No side effects.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: And Dr. Altin is overseeing the trials that's taking place in this hospital, and so far he says the results of Phase I and II have been
promising, and while Phase III trials taking place Turkey has already pre- ordered 50 million dozes of this vaccine, enough for 25 million people, and they say they are going to start rolling out the vaccine this month. Jomana
Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.
ANDERSON: Well, from Istanbul to Tehran in Iran where there's really no vaccine hope. It feels like it's on another planet from say Britain right
now. Let me set the scene for you. In Iran they have reported more than a million Coronavirus cases and 50,000 people have lost their lives, those
are awful numbers. They are in fact even larger.
They are likely far more people sick and far more who have died than we actually we know than we might ever know. With some rare and incredible
access CNN's Nick Paton Walsh takes us inside a hospital there. Have a look at this.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: A bleak winter outside as was Tehran's summer and spring before it. Relief is scarce. Over 750
have died from Coronavirus in these corridors another, a young woman as we arrived.
Just turning the corner marks the start of the ICU here. Two dead is a good day, four average and nine bad, doctors say. Iran's heroism in the pandemic
a little fierce as they are doing it under the maximum pressure of the Trump Administration sanctions they are as proud of what they have done
with this equipment as they are angry that it's all that they have.
One of the hardest hit countries in the Middle East by the Coronavirus, they are suffering, they say, so much more acute because of the impact of
sanctions led by the United States. Khalif doesn't look it but is much better.
[11:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHALIF FARAHANI, CORONAVIRUS PATIENT: One day I went today for an excursion outside in one of the parks, and there I think I got the Coronavirus. I'm
better than before. The sanctions are cruel upon America, cruelty, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: 300 medical staffs have died in Iran on this job, we're told, but like all numbers here, it is at the mercy of limited testing equipment and
exhaustion, but even in that numerical chaos, 10,000 officially died in November alone from COVID-19 and seem here to be getting younger, we're
told.
The most bitter day is when I had a 47-year-old mother of three here, he says. She didn't respond to treatment. When she died, that was the most
terrible bitter day for me. I could not save her. It stuck in my memory.
And if you have lost the fight, you often head south across the city to where there is both little and plenty of space in the cemetery economy and
scale. Every final home measured precisely even as the bodies arrive.
The Imams' prayers here caught in a loop of loss, reverberating into and over each other day in and day out, each of a dozen imams leading about 30
funerals a day. A woman's scream which would almost freeze everybody here almost lost.
Nobody wanted to talk, but the stories off camera were similar, diabetes, late 50s, Coronavirus the vulnerabilities that underpin the fond memories
of the departed and fuel each final tender ritual. Care is all around. These are tombs, not holes, and even the grim process of decay handled
meticulously.
The outside world may never see the full picture of Iran's battle with the same enemy we've all faced or appreciate how much more crippling a
deliberate tightening of sanctions made it. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Tehran.
ANDERSON: You saw there, quite clearly how American sanctions are being blamed for making life in Iran punishingly hard. It is to an almost
unimaginable degree. The government in D.C. would argue that it is necessary politically to contain what it would see as Iran's regional
ambitions, and America's national security.
But beneath it are the people that we have just met who are suffering, and that is global, even in America itself, which has incredibly high quality
health care, people are becoming overwhelmed. Ed Lavandera brings us the story of one traveling singing family from Texas who is worried that their
days performing might be over.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spiritually charged gospel revival is the Jones family calling, Pentecostal Preacher Fred Jones trained his children
early in the power of music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some dads want a basketball team. Your dad wanted a band.
SABRINA FREEMAN, JONES FAMILY SINGERS: He wanted a band, and he got a band.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Long ago Jones and his seven children started dazzling their small town Texas Church, but in the five years before the
Coronavirus pandemic the Jones family singers found a worldwide audience.
Touring hundreds of U.S. cities and nine countries, they are featured in an upcoming documentary "Jesus and the Jones."
BISHOP FRED JONES. SR., LEADER, JONES FAMILY SINGERS: It means literal lit world. It is our world. This is what we do. This is who we are.
LAVANDERA (voice over): The pandemic brought the Jones family high-flying gospel performances to a sudden halt. Keep the music alive the family
performed this virtual concert in late June. Fred Jones says he started feeling sick during the show. What will no one in the family knew at the
time is that many of them would leave the performance infected with COVID- 19.
Jones and four of his daughters got sick. About a week later the pastor and three daughters were rushed to the same hospital.
FREEMAN: For all of us to begin to get sick after my dad got sick, it was like what's going on?
LAVANDERA (voice over): It must be a surreal experience, you just seeing everybody in your family, boom, boom, boom going down.
[11:40:00]
FREEMAN: We are a close family anyway, but during that time we all pulled together.
LAVANDERA (voice over): The Jones sisters spent four days hospitalized, but their 71-year-old father was struggling to breathe and with a dangerously
high fever that left him delirious.
JONES SR.: They said I was saying stuff that made no sense. They would say we're going to pray. Don't pray for me. I don't want no prayer.
LAVANDERA (voice over): And you're a pastor.
JONES SR.: Yes, that's what I'm saying, and one of my friends told some of the others saying that ain't him. He's under attack.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Jones thought he had been in the hospital four days and wanted to go home.
JONES SR.: And they would say excuse me, Mr. Jones, but you've been here 14 days. Man that broke my heart. Time got away from me just that fast. All
right, then.
LAVANDERA (voice over): When Fred Jones returned to the healing hands of his family he had lost 30 pounds, was weak and emotional.
JONES SR.: I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you, too, daddy.
JONES SR.: I love y'all.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Sabrina Freeman says a faithful song written by her brother who died this summer of heart failure helped the family survive.
FREEMAN: He wrote a song "I can see the sunshine through all the rain." And that song really brought us to where we're at now.
JONES SR.: Thanks for everyone who worked so diligently.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Five months after getting sick Fred Jones struggles to breathe at times but he vows the Jones family singers will regain the
full power of their soulful rhythms and return to the stage. Ed Lavandera CNN, Manuel, Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World" we will be back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: "Call to Earth" is a call to action for the environment, to share solutions to critical issues like global warming, deforestation, plastic
waste. This week it's all about the arctic championing some of the extraordinary people working to protect the region's wildlife and
environment, and in today's report the first all women team to over-winter as it's known in the Arctic to highlight climate change. Have a look at
this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These two women have spent over 8,000 hours together in a small cabin in the Arctic with no electricity or running water.
[11:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILDE FALUN STROM, CO-FOUNDER, HEARTS IN THE ICE: The only neighbors that we have around us in miles and miles of polar bears and rain bear and polar
foxes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Their mission, to draw attention to climate change with their online platform "Hearts in the Ice". Both experienced
polar explorers Sunniva Sorby and Hilde Falun Strom left for the Arctic in September of 2019.
SUNNIVA SORBY, CO-FOUNDER, HEARTS IN THE ICE: We have been up here in - at a remote trapper's cabin called --.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Enduring months of total darkness, the sun finally rose in spring, and they became the first all-women team to over-
winter in the Arctic.
STROM: Today is March 9th. It's a full moon, and it's the first time that I see the sun since October.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The pair has been working as citizen scientists collecting data for organizations like the Norwegian Polar
Institute and NASA. Their days are spent sampling ice cores and monitoring wildlife, sometimes at very close range.
SORBY: We've had many polar bear meetings and encounters at the doorstep. We both had seen huge changes in the climate both in the Antarctic and up
here in the Arctic. We are at this tipping point now where not only we are able to see the visible changes around us, but we can create stories around
them to better understand who we are as people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): They have reached over 5,000 children through online educational forums, creating stories to inspire the next
generation.
STROM: We can tell you a little bit about polar bears and why the ice is important for them. The biggest polar bear that we had as a visitor was 600
kilos, almost as big as the hut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they were unable to return home in May as planned and extended their stay through the
summer, making it to town of - in Norway 140 kilo meters away to restock then after taking some time to see family in the fall Sorby and Falun Strom
decided to return to - in October for yet another winter.
STROM: I think we both feel it's more important than ever, so this gives us an opportunity to - to broaden our platform.
SORBY: With "Hearts in the Ice" we're just trying to provide a vehicle for which to share some ideas and inspiration and resources. We're not trying
to save the world, but we are trying to tell people that the world needs saving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The world needs saving. We'll continue showcasing inspirational stories like that as part of this initiative at CNN. Let us know what you
are doing to answer the call. Use the #calltoearth we're taking a very quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: I'm always hopeful, I'm very hopeful that I'm going to be honestly I think the situation at the moment is very tricky but you hopes to brings
a tunnel and I'll do my best to - to sort it out if we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:50:00]
ANDERSON: Hope springs eternal, yet the British Prime Minister is well aware that time is short. Good news is hard to come by for both sides who
have been trying to hammer out a Brexit trade deal. For the first time in months Boris Johnson will make the trip from London to Brussels this week
to see if he can break the deadlock.
Well, we haven't heard the exact day yet but we do know Mr. Johnson will face or meet face-to-face with the President of the European Commission
Ursula Von Der Leyen. For her part Von Der Leyen tweeted a joint statements saying "The conditions for an agreement are not there".
Well, sometimes it can feel as if these make-or-break talks are generating more heat than light. We are connecting now with CNN's Nic Robertson who is
getting a clearer view from London, face-to-face away from this virtual negotiating table. Are we or should we expect to see any steps forward at
this point, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yesterday, Becky, the mood music was dark. Today a little bit of that light has cracked in, and
the reason I say that and the reason that it's important the - the German Minister of European Affairs really emphasized in one of his comments today
the importance of trust, that this deal can be made and the European Union can trust the British government to enforce it.
And, of course, this is sort of coded language about a sub part of the withdrawal agreement, the Northern Ireland protocol and that is what the
Vice President of European Commission was talking about today with Michael one of the British Ministers about that sub part of it, and they have made
an agreement.
The British government has decided on the basis of that conversation that they can remove these contentious clauses, so the light here is that some
of the doubt and mistrust that has been sown and perhaps it was o because it was negotiating tactic on the British side has been removed.
But I think let's refer to what Boris Johnson was saying earlier on today. While he's optimistic, it's not there yet. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: You've got to be optimistic. You've got to believe that there's the power of sweet reason to - to get this thing over the line, but I've
got to tell you, it's looking very, very difficult at the moment, and, you know, what we'll - we'll do our level best, but I would just say to
everybody, it will be good cheer and there are great options hate for our country on any view, but the key thing is on January the 1st, whatever
happens, there's going to be change and people need to get ready for that change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: This, of course, is a message for the British government to the British people but no one knows what that thank is going to be, and I think
if you listen to the words as we have been this afternoon of the man who essentially negotiated away with the British to get rid of those
contentious clauses the Vice President of the European Commission.
He said, look, that's one obstacle that's been removed that creates or makes the possibility for positive momentum, but let's not get carried
away. What his other words are essentially we still are a distance apart on those three key issues.
Fishing, you know, where, how much access European fishermen should have to British waters? That's contentious. The level playing field, how closely
British companies or the British government should sort of adhere to European Union regulations and not undercut European businesses?
The other thing that seems to be a really big sticking point as well is that the European Union and sort of the checks and balances on this wants a
situation where if the British say default on the issue of fish, then the European Union could put tariffs say on carmakers I'm choosing those
examples, but, you know, these are not ones that the European Union necessarily negotiating on.
But it gives an idea, this cross-referencing. If you default on one thing, then we could - we could give you main on another thing and this for the
British apparently is a very big issue to concede.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is on the story. Nic, this is complicated. You always help us to understand where we are and what is going on. It is
getting to the end of this Brexit process, I promise you, folks. Thank you, Nic.
Where are Mulder and Scully when you need them? This could be straight out of "The x-files." Those mysterious monoliths popping up again this time in
Britain of England's South Coast similar structures have appeared in a Romanian forest, on a California mountaintop and in the U.S. State of Utah
as you see here.
[11:55:00]
ANDERSON: They do not hang around long after disappearing shortly after they have arrived. What is going on? Well, Mt. Everest just got a bit
taller. That's what's going on there, well, at least on paper, that is. After years of debate China and Nepal have finally agreed on exactly how
high the world's highest peak is, 8,848.86 meters above sea level to be precise.
The peak sits on Nepal's border with Tibet and the Himalayan but until now Nepal hadn't gotten to weigh in about this. For about a century and a half
the world have based Everest's elevation on Britain's estimate and then later on India's survey then on a U.S. one in 2005 the Chinese came up with
their own, but Nepal didn't agree with them, and three years ago started its own studies.
Well, finally China and Nepal worked together to analyze the data and come up with what is this precise figure. Well, we are going to end tonight's
show where we began with utter euphoria and genuine hope on a day the British Health Minister calls the long-awaited light at the end of the
tunnel with the UK becoming the first western country to start a massive program to help protect people against the Coronavirus with a vaccine.
It's monumental, socially, culturally, scientifically, perhaps above all a process that often takes five years or even ten fast-tracked to success in
a matter of months. Well, the first person to get it Maggie Keenan, a 90- year-old grandma in England telling her fellow Brits that if she can get the shot, they should, too.
And a similar message coming from the second Brit to get vaccinated, none other than Mr. William Shakespeare, his name setting social media above
with tag lines like the taming of the flu and two gentlemen of Corona, some much-needed humor in all of what has been this long darkness.
We all know how grim the reality is in many places? We will always show you that, but for now we can smile. We can hope, and so on that I want to end
with Martin Kenyan in his 80s. He just got the vaccine, and he's got a good message for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN KENYAN, JUST RECEIVED COVID-19 VACCINE: There's no point in dying now when I've lived as long as this. I don't plan to anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's the spirit. Don't let your resolve weaken. Don't let your sticking to the guidelines slip. Don't let the lessons we've learned fade.
Do not go quietly into that good night as Dylan Thomas would have it. Let us rage, rage onwards and rage upwards through dying of this dark night.
Don't give up the fight, not for yourself but for everyone. I tell you every night and I'll tell you now stay well. Look after yourselves and look
after others. It is a very warm good night from Abu Dhabi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
