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An Announcement from a U.S. Drug Company; Category 5 Hurricane in Central America; The History and Future of Ice Cream
Aired November 17, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Here to deliver 10 minutes of news, features and some pretty "punacceptable" puns. I`m Carl Azuz. It`s good to see you
this Tuesday. We`re starting with some medical news that has never been reported before according to the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary.
There are not one but two vaccines that are showing hopeful data from Phase 3 trials less than a year after a global pandemic began. Let`s break that
down. Phase 3 trials are when vaccines are tested on thousands of people for safety and effectiveness after they`ve been tested on smaller groups in
Phases 1 and 2. Less than a year is significant because medical officials say no vaccine has ever been developed in less than four years.
And many take 10 years or more before they make it to your doctor`s office. It`s been one week since the U.S. drug company Pfizer announced its corona
virus vaccine appeared to be 90 percent effective, at least in early data from a Phase 3 trial. Now, another U.S. drug company named Moderna says
it`s COVID vaccine appears to be almost 95 percent effective again in early data from a Phase 3 trial. If these vaccines are proven safe and approved
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, medical officials say the country could be issuing them by the end of the year. They`d be available first to
high risk groups like healthcare workers and the elderly. The rest of the population could likely get vaccinated next spring.
What`s unknown is how many people will trust the shots and whether they`ll actually stop the spread of COVID-19? America has recorded more than 1
million new positive tests in less than a week. It`s the fastest time that`s happened. To try and slow the spread, different states are taking
different steps from requiring residents to wear masks to going back to online learning in school, to reducing the number allowed inside
restaurants and businesses, to restricting gatherings and church services. With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, some states are advising
Americans not to get together with family and friends and there is a backlash. Some critics are accusing governments of taking away their
freedoms. More than 99 percent of people who catch corona virus are estimated to survive it and the challenge to contain the disease extends
worldwide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Japan wants to show the world that it can host the Olympics in the middle of a pandemic. Thirty-two gymnasts from Japan, the
U.S., Russia and China plus 2,000 social distanced fans gathered at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium earlier this month in Tokyo for one the first
international sporting competitions since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It`s a glimpse of what Tokyo may do for the Olympic games scheduled for
next summer. For athletes, this was a competition like no other. Masks, temperature checks, daily COVID tests leading up to the competition, two
weeks quarantine in their home countries before arriving on charter planes to Tokyo. The Chinese delegation even arrived in full hazmat suits. Yul
Moldauer, one of the six American gymnasts who competed, said it was strange but unique experience.
YUL MOLDAUER, U.S. GYMNAST: It was stressful but it was very special. We hadn`t competed in what, nine months or more. So just to be able to be
back in the venue, back in front of a crowd and back with other world class athletes. You know, it was just amazing to feel like an athlete again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For gymnast, M.G. Fraser (ph), this was her first time outside of the U.S. But her only views of Japan were through the
hotel or bus windows.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because of this competition, it not only gives me hope that there can be another season. It makes me feel like we can. We
all stayed very safe and because of the bubble that we were all in it gave us less of a chance of contracting the virus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But this was a small scale event. It`s unclear how Japan can scale these COVID measures for the Olympics which typically has
hundreds of events, more than 10,000 competitors and millions of spectators. The President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas
Bach is in Japan for his first visit since the pandemic began.
THOMAS BACH, PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: This makes us all so very, very confident that we can have spectators then in the Olympic
stadium (ph) next year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meanwhile, Japan is dealing with a third wave of COVID-19 cases. As infections reach record highs of more than 1,000 a day.
One health expert says Japan needs to strengthen its contact tracing and testing measures, warning that there could be a resurgence as Japan relaxes
its border restrictions at a time when cases in the U.S. and Europe continue to rise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: As we produced this show last night, Hurricane Iota was bearing down on Central America and forecasters said it could be catastrophic.
Yesterday afternoon, Iota was a Category 5 storm. The strongest classification of hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 160 miles per
hour and it was headed for the coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras. Two countries that were hit by Hurricane Eta on November 3rd. They`re still
recovering from that deadly storm and now like that system, Iota is threatening to bring a dangerous storm surge, a rise in seawater levels
blown ashore, as well as rains that could cause flash flooding, river flooding and mudslides. Iota is the 30th named storm of the Atlantic
hurricane season. That`s a record but it`s the only one this year that`s reached Category 5 strength.
10 Second Trivia. What is the origin of ice cream, you scream, we all scream for ice scream? 1920s` novelty song, F. Scott Fitzgerald novel,
college football cheer or J.N. Barrie play. What became the popular phrase in American culture started as a lighthearted tune of the 1920s.
The origins of ice cream itself are less clear. Historians believe it dates back to medieval China when milk was mixed with other ingredients
before being frozen in pools of ice. A form of sorbet had become a popular dessert in Europe by the later 1600s and Americans dating back to George
Washington enjoyed the cool confection. The basic ingredients of cream, milk and sugar have remained pretty steady through the recent decades. But
the way it`s been served and shopped for continues to evolve in 2020.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trucks. Corner shop freezers. The grocery aisle. Places where we`re used to grabbing an ice cream. But when the COVID-19
pandemic hit, many people stopped visiting them. That was a problem for the world`s largest ice cream brands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I suppose as an ice cream brand, we`re a bit messianic. We believe that, you know, people want it. We just got to find a way to
get it to them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unilever`s answer, home delivery. Unilever is the corporate home to some of the world`s best known ice cream brands. In Q2
it saw online food and refreshment sales grow 139 percent over last years. Unilever says home delivery of ice cream drove that increase during the
pandemic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could see consumer behavior evolve from, you know, I need to survive to actually I need to be happy while I`m (inaudible) or
surviving at home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To make deliveries possible, the company partners with local services like Grub Hub, Uber Eats, Door Dash and even Domino`s
Pizza in several major cities across the globe. By tapping into its existing network of freezers and retailers and restaurants, Unilever claims
it can have ice cream on customer`s doorsteps in 30 minutes. Unilever first piloted its ice cream now service back in 2016 but it isn`t the only
company to have tried ice ct ream on demand. Several ice cream makers including Baskin Robbins and Haagen-Dazs use independent delivery services
to get their desserts direct to customers. Haagen-Dazs also trialed its own ice cream delivery app in 2018. Unilever believes the demand for
delivery won`t go away once the pandemic subsides.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you become an internet shopper, you stay an internet shopper. That does change the fundamentals of how we work as a business.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there`s one obstacle that`s marked ice cream makers since the industry`s earliest days. How do you sale the icy delight
when it`s cold outside? Unilever thought that home delivery and marketing to the living room sofa was the way ahead. But as customers search for
their favorite scoops online, it looks like a pandemic could get Unilever closer to the goal it`s been working towards for a century. Ice cream all
year around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Disney is looking for ways to make the robots at its theme parks more interactive. Unfortunately critics say, one of the robots looks like
this. It doesn`t have skin, at least at this point, but it does look pretty lifelike in a creepy, unfinished sort of way. And it`s been
programmed along with its realistic eye movements to respond to the people around it. Of course, not all people will want to stay around it. As it
stares "cyborgs" into you with heartless "mechaneyes".
An unnerving "liplessness" around its "skeleteeth" that would make humans want to express themselves by expressly moving to more attractive
attractions. It`s a small world after all. We live on an awesome planet. Why become "Frozen" every after in an "icy stare" that make "Peter Pan"
want to take flight? I`m Carl Azuz and before we leave we "disneed" to recognize our viewers at the Royal Air Force Base in Feltwell England,
United Kingdom. Shout out to the Hedgehogs. That`s all for CNN.
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