this is bbc news. i'm kasia madera with the latest headlines this is bbc news. for viewers in the uk i'm kasia madera with and around the world. the latest headlines for viewers in the uk in an exclusive interview with this channel, the man leading the american fight against the coronavirus, and around the world. dr anthony fauci, sets the record straight on what he thinks about the uk's decision to approve the new pfizer the us doctor has apologised coronavirus vaccine. for appearing to criticise the i have a great deal ukfor for appearing to criticise the of confidence in what the uk uk for the speed at which the does, both scientifically and vaccine. doctor fosse has they from a regulatory standpoint. had every confidence in the uk if i somehow came and had only meant to highlight across differently, the difference between the i apologise for that. countries to processes. doctor the first doses of the newly—approved pfizer doughty is due to meetjoe vaccine have arrived in the uk. biden transition team to the roll—out begins next week. california issues stay—at—home discuss the incoming administrations response to the orders for when hospitals pandemic. mr biden has said that he would ask americans to approach breaking point as new covid cases threaten wear a mask for 100 days in to overwhelm them. order to curtail the spread of the virus. the first doses of the virus. the first doses of the newly approved pfizer vaccine have arrived in the uk joe biden says he will ask and they've been taken to a americans to wear masks for his secret location from where they

will be distributed to first 100 days in office to hospitals across the country. first phase of the roller curtail the spread of programme is expected to begin coronavirus. on tuesday next week. hello and welcome whether you're watching in the uk or around the world. we start with an apology from america's top infectious diseases expert dr anthony fauci after he criticised uk regulators over their rapid approval of a new coronavirus vaccine. britain on wednesday became the first country in the world to approve the pfizer—biontech vaccine for mass use. speaking earlier to cbs, dr fauci said the uk was not as rigorous as the us in its vaccine approval process. but when he spoke to my colleagues earlier on this channel, dr fauci backtracked. first of all, there really has been a misunderstanding and for that, i am sorry and i apologise for that. i do have great faith in both

the scientific community and the regulatory community in the uk, and anyone who knows me and my relationship with that over literally decades know that's the case. the point i was really trying to make, i did not make it well, which is why i welcome to the opportunity to get on your show and say it came out wrong. in the united states, there is such a considerable amount of tension of pushing back on the credibility of the safety and efficacy that if we in the united states had done it as quickly as the uk did it, and that's nojudgement on the way uk did it. and even though my statement did come across looking that way, if we had a, for example, approved it yesterday or tomorrow, there likely would have been pushed back on and already scrutinising society that has really, i think

in the united states, too much scepticism about the process. so, when we have conversations, and ijust had a recent conversation with the uk station, the first thing they said was we beat you to it, we won the race. and i wanted to get the point, this is not a race where there is one winner and one good one and one bad one. it's a bunch of companies and a bunch of countries trying as best as possible to get vaccines to their citizens as quickly as they could possibly... we are trying to do that in the united states, but our process is one that takes more time then than was taken with the uk, and that is just the reality. i did not mean to imply any sloppiness, even though it came out that way. so, if it did, ijust want to set the record straight. i have a great deal of confidence in what the uk

does, both scientifically and from a regulatory standpoint. if i somehow came across differently, i apologise for that. professor stephen evans, a professor at the london school of hygiene & tropical medicine, listened to dr fauci's apology. this is his reaction. well, he's a great man. he's a great scientist and he's a champion of truth, as you say on your bbc news logo. he is somebody who i have respected for as long as... i don't know him personally and i really respect him for the way he has responded. i think that is exactly what most of us in the uk thought. that is that the fda's way of doing things, they are doing it as quickly as is right for them and the uk process has been able in these special circumstances to move more rapidly.

not because of brexit, not because we're out of the eu, but simply because of the particular circumstances that we face now. and i think that this pandemic has amplified so many things, both good and bad. dr fauci's spoke to us just as the first doses of the newly—approved pfizer vaccine arrived in the uk. they've been taken to a secret location from where they'll be distributed to hospitals across the country over the next few days. the first phase of the roll—out programme is expected to begin on tuesday. the total number of britons who have died with the virus has now passed 60,000. here's our health editor, hugh pym. he was the soulmate to my grandmother, he was my best friend. he put a smile on anyone's faces he met and he brought sunshine on the rainy days. 0livia remembers happier times

with her granddad, gary. he died in hospital with covid. he did have underlying health issues, but he was just 61. his funeral was on tuesday. before he passed away, we were able to say goodbye on facetime. and as much as it was lovely we were able to say goodbye that way, i just wish we were able to hold his hand and let him know it was ok. mickey died last month, after being diagnosed with covid. his family say he'll be much missed in the community. he wasn't in bad health leading up to contracting covid. his daughter—in—law anna said he was a local bristol legend. the speed of it, the shock of it has left us all absolutely devastated. we're reeling from it. we can't believe it's happened. he was larger than life and i always say i thought he would outlive all of us. all this a reminder of the cruel reality of covid and why vaccine doses

like these are so important. some have been brought into the uk on eurotunnel from the manufacturer pfizer's plant in belgium. phase one of the roll—out will start next week, and health leaders are encouraged. if we can get through the phase one and it's a highly effective vaccine and there is very, very high uptake, then we could, in theory, take out 99% of hospitalisations and deaths. some major hospitals, like this one, have been designated as vaccine centres. it's understood that the policy in england will require them to prioritise patients who are 80 or over, for example those coming in for appointments. nhs staff and care home workers will be invited in for theirjabs. the first minister said scotland's vaccinations would start on tuesday. that will be a significant landmark in our collective struggle against the virus and although we still have

difficult months ahead, the awareness that vaccination is starting will, i'm sure, make many of us feel more hopeful as we enter the christmas period. for the families of mickey and gary, there are mixed feelings after news that the vaccine is about to become a reality. he was only 61. maybe he could have had longer, and i can't look at the vaccine knowing we couldn't save him. it's too late for him. you know, i can only implore everybody that is offered the vaccine to take it, because you do not want to find yourself, or a precious loved family member like mickey, in a similar situation. the vaccine is on its way. military and nhs staff have been setting up specialist hubs, like this one at ashton gate stadium in bristol, but the wider population may have to wait a little while to get their chance to have it. hugh pym, bbc news. hard on the heels of the uk's

approval of the pfizer vaccine, other countries are now accelerating their inoculation plans. france said it would ensure free covid—19 vaccinations for all. prime ministerjean castex said he had earmarked some 1.5 billion euros to cover the cost. portugal also plans to vaccinate people free of charge. the country wants 10% of the population inoculated during the first phase of vaccinations starting next month. in canada, health authorities have indicated they could approve the pfizer coronavirus vaccine within the next week, allowing distribution to start in early 2021. the united states has recorded its highest ever daily death toll from coronavirus, more than 2,800 people in a single day. 100,000 people are in hospital being treated for the disease in a country which already has the highest global death toll. the governor of california has announced plans for stay—at—home orders in areas where intensive care

units are filling up. gavin newsom gave a stark update on the state's figures. the hospitalisations now have increased 86% just in the last 1a days. and icu admissions, 67% over a similar period of time. we've seen death rate increase significantly over the course of the last number of weeks. just take a look at the slide. a month ago on november 2, we reported tragic loss 01:14 lives related to this pandemic. in the last 2a hours similar to the previous 2a hours we've reported back to back days with 113 deaths. just in the last 1a days close to 1000 californians have lost their lives due to covid—19.

so long has more. we heard gavin newsom setting out those grim figures and why he's had to ta ke grim figures and why he's had to take this divisive action. —— decisive action. what he stopped short of was imposing a state—wide lockdown. what he's done is put in place regional stay—at—home orders in places where intensive care units and more than 85 —— are more than 85% full. there is some limited relief, perhaps too strong a word, that there is not a state—wide lockdown, but people really resigned to the fact that this has to take place. those figures are grim and the fear is here that they're only going to get worse. it was thanksgiving here last week, one of the most important holidays of the year. those figures, this hospital admissions, don't yet reflect the travel and the gatherings that took place exactly a week ago. we're accepting —— expecting to see the impact this coming weekend. we've been speaking to some people who

have been out and about in los angeles today, and here there was an emergency urge order last night. most people we spoke to her very alarmed about that last night when you look at the first few pages, it showed that perhaps you weren't able to leave your house on foot, by a car or public transport. when you look at the list of exceptions, it's not quite as severe. people are saying they understand the reasons why these restrictions have been put in place. they don't welcome them. some of them think they're necessary, others think they are over—the—top, but even those who thought they were necessary we re who thought they were necessary were out and about, so not eve ryo ne were out and about, so not everyone is staying at home perhaps when they could.|j guess given that we're waiting to see the impact of thanksgiving and the movement they are, of do we have any evidence that these restrictions are indeed slowing the spread of the virus? know, andi the spread of the virus? know, and i think in terms of the restrictions that were announced a little earlier

today haven't come into effect yet. the lockdown order announced last night has only beenin announced last night has only been in operation for a few hours, although it's not that different to what was put in place earlier this week. at the short answer to your question is no, there is no evidence. what we see at the moment is all the figures surging here in california. they are currently recruiting an average case rate of more than double what it was a month ago, so extremely worrying and when we heard from gavin newsom earlier today, he said we are at a tipping point. if they don't take decisive action, they are in danger of the hospitals being overwhelmed in the coming weeks, and that really is the fear. hence we seen really is the fear. hence we seen those new restrictions today that a stay—at—home order will come into place in those areas where the intensive care units are more than 85% full, and that's not just units are more than 85% full, and that's notjust it. most businesses here in california are gradually working towards opening their doors, even to a limited capacity, they will have to close them once more.

already reeling from the impact of covid—19. meanwhile, people cling onto the hope that a vaccine could hopefully be on the horizon soon. yes, indeed. sophie long there from los angeles. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... as vaccines begin to be rolled out around the world, we will be asking what does that mean it -- be asking what does that mean it —— when does that mean life will be back to normal? it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i'm feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippy cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles.

at 11:00 this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle and then a miner from calais was shaking hands and exchanging flags with his opposite number from dover. this is bbc news. the latest headlines... the us doctor leading the fight against coronavirus has apologised for appearing to question the speed with which britain approved a vaccine. the first doses of the newly—approved pfizer vaccine have arrived in the uk. the roll—out begins next week.

those first doses of the vaccine have now arrived in the uk. but it may well be many months yet before any resemblance of normal life returns. scientists say we will be living with restrictions on our lives for some time to come. 0ur science editor david shukman looks at the new vaccines and the way ahead. a gloomy afternoon, though at least there's now a pathway out of the pandemic, with the prospect of the first vaccine to keep people safe. so, what questions remain unanswered? well, the first is, how long will immunity last after you have been vaccinated? well, that's still not clear. studies show that the injections, three weeks apart, massively reduce the severity of the disease, but scientists don't know if that protection keeps going. we have no clear idea at the moment about how long natural immunity, so immunity following the infection with the virus, or indeed immunity that's been generated through vaccination, how long it will last.

we would certainly hope it will last several months, if not years. so, it's possible we'll an annual vaccination, as with the winter flu. all this has to be worked out. next, will the vaccine stop the spread of the virus? if you've had the vaccine, you could still carry the virus without knowing and maybe pass it to people around you if they've yet to have theirjabs. that's because the vaccine will be injected into the arm to create antibodies to fight the effects of the disease. but the virus itself may still be present in the nose and throat. so, it's possible that someone vaccinated may be able to infect others. no one can yet be sure. it could be that the vaccination could allow the virus to carry on replicating in the nose but not actually causing symptoms, and that could mean that, actually, you can still be a vector, despite having been vaccinated and despite being personally protected.

then there's the question of how many people need to have the vaccine. the more infectious the virus, the more it matters to get a high proportion of the population vaccinated — at least 90% for measles, more like 66% for covid. the more people who can receive the vaccine and get it, the less the virus has a chance to spread in the community, and therefore we minimise the risk to those vulnerable people in whom the vaccine doesn't really work as well as it might. so, getting the vaccine once it's available is something you can really do to help protect other people, as well as protecting yourself. so, everything hinges on making sure as many people as possible say yes to the vaccine, and until they've had it to keep following the guidance about staying safe. david shukman, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news.

president—electjoe biden has asked anthony pouncey to stay asked anthony pouncey to stay as chief medical adviser —— and lethality. —— fauci. and his interview with cnn, the president elect also said he would ask americans to wear masks for his first 100 days in office. let's cost over to washington. what was the president elect cnn? essentially when it came to doctor fauci, he trusts him and just what a core part of his tea m just what a core part of his team he will be. doctor fauci has kind of seen himself sidelined up it in donald trump's administration perhaps because of some of the things he was saying on coronavirus that the president doesn't agree with. that doesn't seem like it will be the case injoe biden's administration. i was

very interested that he said he will take the vaccine if doctor 0uchi says it will be safe, kind of making him the gold standard —— doctor fauci. also the hundred days a mask wearing, telling americans that it won't be forever. it's just for a short while. really echoing the message that doctor faucihas echoing the message that doctor fauci has been doing himself. three former presidents, 0bama, george w. bush and president clinton have all said they will ta ke clinton have all said they will take a vaccine in public to increase public confidence in vaccines. we've just had a story that's come out that said 50% of americans say they will ta ke 50% of americans say they will take a vaccine but not so many people want to be first, on under 40% you need 70% for that crucial herd immunity. hearing a president—elect encouraging americans to wear masks, a very

different message. doctor fauci is very pleased to have someone thatis is very pleased to have someone that is willing to take this message that he's been putting forward. we had the head of the cdc yesterday saying that look, we are facing a really difficult winter and many many more people could die. and it could all be mitigated by people wearing masks, so yes, i think the medical society will certainly be encouraged by the messaging from joe biden's team. in the uk, doctor anthony pouncey is a household name, eve ryo ne pouncey is a household name, everyone knows him now in terms of his presence, but he became rather unpopular given what he said it —— anthony fauci. he then came on our channel to apologise for that. quite a very humble and good of him to

do that, talk us through what happened. this was kind of interesting to watch play out. we saw ministers and secretaries of state and the uk saying how fantastic the uk was and that it was better than anyone else in the world. i was surprised to see doctor fauci responding to that getting involved in that kind of back and forth. as he said in the clip that you played earlier, in the programme saying when he was speaking to his uk counterparts, they were saying they got there first. it was unlike him to get involved in that, but yes, very gracious to come on the bbc and say look, i really didn't want to undermine confidence in the uk regulators at all. we just have a very different process. as always, really good to talk to you. thanks for bringing us up to date. pa nto panto season is upon us

despite... in some areas, the show simply cannot go on. thousands of people have had their tickets suddenly cancelled because further social distancing measures have meant theatres can't get as many people. beverly is rehearsing her big number. julian goes through his 12 days of christmas. for their show pantomime. a place many producers feel like they are currently living in. one minute seems oh yes we currently living in. one minute seems oh yes we can, currently living in. one minute seems oh yes we can, and the next it's oh no, you can't. because of the fortnightly review, it's the scariest thing. you can have a show that at the moment can't go ahead,

so at the moment can't go ahead, so you cancel, then the tears get reviewed and and you go, we could have done that show, we could have done that show, we could have done that show, we could have created... 0n the flip side, of a new that's in tier 2, you proceed, a fortnight goes by and they go up fortnight goes by and they go up to tier3 fortnight goes by and they go up to tier 3 and you have to close the show. it's a producing in the dark. there is no doubt the new rules and restrictions cause confusion, many of whom have had two shot shows before opening. even for a tear to theatre such as this one behind me, has been selling tickets for weeks. it finds most people live in tier 3 areas. the tickets have to be refunded and resold to people in tier2and refunded and resold to people in tier 2 and tier 1. it is a total nightmare if you are running the box office. the royal shakespeare company had a hit last christmas with the

aggress, but it had to this year. the town has relatively few public cases. we are really disappointed that we've been put into tier 3 here and have had to close the shows that we had to close the shows that we had prepared pre—and post—christmas, and we're sold out. while many theatres are unable to opening england, most remain shut in scotland and all are closed and wales and northern ireland. venue owners say they've invested heavily to make their auditory secure and they are safe spaces. the uk government said it had made progress by allowing some live performances and the vaccine roll—out should provide some normality. nice to see some shows will go on. lots more is a lwa ys shows will go on. lots more is always on our website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbckasiamadera. it will be lovely to hear from you. thanks for watching,

bye— bye. hello there. the weather is giving us a real taste of winter. some places have seen snow there is more in the forecast for friday for the real mix for rain sleet and snow for rain, sleet and snow falling from the sky, it will be cold, it will be windy. and this big area of low pressure is really dominating the weather across western europe. bands of wet weather spiralling around. pretty cold air being sucked down from the north. that combination of cold air and wet weather, that is why we are still seeing sleet and snow. across scotland, snow falling for a time to quite low levels could be a brief covering of snow through the central belt. and over high ground ten to 20 cm is possible. could be real travel problems

for the high level roots. for the high level routes, especially with ice in western scotland. ice possible in northern ireland as well as actually start but mainly dry. some showers are whales in the southwest. some showers for wales in the southwest. this band of rain could contain some sleet and wet snow over high ground across some parts of eastern england. these various bands of wet weather will just continue to circulate around our area of low pressure. most of the snow becoming confined to the highest ground. rain at lower levels. a lot of rain piling into eastern scotland, could cause one or two problems. something a little bit brighter towards the south. it will be windy with gusts around the coast. particularly out west the 50 mph or more and it will be cold. highs between 4 and 7 degrees. we will see further areas of wet weather with some sleet and snow mixed in over the hills as we go through friday night. but the weekend is a story of things very, very slowly calming down.

it will stay drier but cold. on saturday there will be showers around which could again contain sleet and snow over high ground particularly over the scottish mountains. more dry weather developing through the day. some spells of sunshine. it still can be chilly with temperatures of five or six or 7 degrees without the winds will fall a little later. those winds will continue to fall during saturday night and mist and fog around which could be quite slow to clear. it stays dull in some places. many spots will see sunshine just a few showers by this stage. 00:28:37,311 --> 2147483051:51:03,370 still feeling cold with 2147483051:51:03,370 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 highs of 4—7 degrees.