course. >> let this grim era of demonization in america begin to end, here and now! ♪ bri i want to welcome our viewers, in the united states, and all around the world. live, from hong kong, i'm anna cornyn. just ahead, on cnn "newsroom." days before christmas, the discovery of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus has placed the uk on lockdown. we will have the latest for you. we could be just hours away from a rollout of a second vaccine in the united states. what's next? and how will the drug be

distributed? and we are learning more about a heated exchange in the oval office. one of president trump's allies, actually, says the president could use martial law to overturn the u.s. election. we are covering major developments in the coronavirus pandemic for you. unfolding, on each side of the atlantic. while viewed together, they show how complex and fluid the situation remains, and how hope often goes hand in hand with hardship, these days. in the u.s., a second vaccine is set for delivery. the cdc director just needs to give the moderna vaccine the final, green light. it comes during some of the d k darkest days in the pandemic in the country. in the uk, the prime minister has put parts of england, including london, on a strict,

two-week lockdown. it's because of a new variant of the virus that he says is up to 70% more infectious. boxes of the moderna vaccine are already being packed and loaded, and officials say trucks should start rolling out on sunday. that means americans could start receiving the vaccine, come monday. cnn's pete muntean spent the day at a facility in mississippi. >> reporter: the moderna vaccine shipments start on sunday, and it all begins right here. this is a mckesson facility. that is the company distributing the vaccine for moderna and it is a bit of a strategic spot. not too far from memphis, that's the head of fedex. it and ups will be shipping 3,000 locations across the country. this rollout, about four times larger than the pfizer rollout last week. and operation warp speed is actually apologizing to states, that did not get as much vaccine that they initially hoped. here is what they said. >> it was my fault.

i gave guidance. i am the one that approved the forecast sheets. i am the one that approved the allocations, right? there is no problem with the process. there is no problem with the pfizer vaccine. there is no problem with the moderna vaccine. right. it was a planning error, and i am responsible. >> now, the moderna vaccine has a bit of an advantage over the pfizer vaccine. it does not need to be as cold. in fact, a regular freezer works just fine for storing this version of the vaccine. 6 million doses will go out, on sunday, and it all begins, right here. pete muntean, olive branch, mississippi. with more than 1.8 million coronavirus cases and rising, california has a crisis on its hands. the state's health department recorded more than 43,000 new cases, and more than 270 new deaths, saturday. while things are particularly bad in los angeles county, which

one doctor says, is quickly becoming the pandemic's epicenter. hospitals are at breaking point with thousands of patients who are sicker than ever. another doctor tells us what he is seeing. >> this is, by far, the worst that it's been in the past nine months. no matter how hard we try to get patients to better, to stabilize them. and hopefully, we get patients home. it seems like, there is another four patients who are sicker, waiting for that same bed. >> right now, we need la to turn into a ghost town, again. that's what we need so that we can try to save as many people, and heal as many souls. >> well, dr. marc morocco is an emergency room physician at the regan ucla emergency medical center and joins us from los angeles. doctor, great to have you with us. tell us about what you are witnessing. >> well, the first thing i want to say is this wave is not the kind of wave that californians are used to surfing, right? so, the first thing all of your

viewers, and all the viewers across cnn's universe should know is that this is not a time to panic. the things that you do in the next three to four weeks really matter, and can really help us begin to knock the top off of this wave. so, all the things you have heard about. avoiding travel. avoiding groups. masking. handwashing. social distancing. that's really important. we are -- during this time that's so difficult for us by this new vaccine and the other vaccines that are in the pipeline, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. but we cannot give up, now. we never expected to win this war, in one battle. and now, we're in a real battle and we need your help. >> doctor, we heard from the previous physician, who said he wants la to turn into a ghost town. i mean, obviously, you want people to stay at home. not to interact. >> that's correct. we want you to minimize -- i tell people to think of it this way. you want to protect your family and yourself, first. and to do that, you want to

minimize your interaction with the virus. we know that the virus, communicable virus that's hard to understand is everywhere, in ways that we couldn't even imagine back in march and april. the numbers that we projected are so much higher that the safest thing for you to do is to stay at home so that we can be ready and available, and have beds open to treat you if you have a car accident, a stroke, a heart attack, or if your covid gets so bad that you need a ventilator, an icu bed, or aggressive treatment. >> we know there is a critical shortage of icu beds. hospitals are at breaking points. there is talk of field hospitals being set up, in certain areas. will the health system be able to cope, as cases rise? >> well, los angeles county is a very large and very diverse community of hospitals. from great, university hospitals to small, community hospitals. and every single one i know of, every emergency physician, every nurse, every respiratory therapist, we've been preparing for this since before thanksgiving.

remember, we could see this coming. we tried to warn people to be good. but as one person said, we kind of blew through a stop sign in our car through thanksgiving. and now, we are seeing the numbers that we expected. so, lots of preparation has happened. we're really hoping that we don't have to use those extra beds, those extra facilities. that we'll be able to see, just maybe as soon as monday or tuesday, the first indications that this surge is leveling off. in the uk, the discovery of a variant of the virus believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than earlier versions is extremely alarming. i mean, your thoughts on this mutation? and whether you expect to see something similar in the united states. >> well, mutations of this kind of virus are very common. there have been over 2,000 of them, already, since the beginning of the pandemic. and i would say, again, don't panic. we don't think, and the folks who are studying this virus in the uk and worldwide, don't think that this mutation is going to have any effect on two important things. on whether or not the virus is affected by the vaccine or

whether it causes more severe disease. you might get it more easily but they haven't proved that it's causal, yet. so, stay tuned. it's like predicting the end score in a baseball game in the third inning. we're just not there, yet. >> yeah. do we know if the current vaccines will work on this variant or future variants, for that matter? >> well, of course, we don't know that, yet. but, there's no reason, based on the design of the vaccines and our knowledge of the genome of the -- of the -- of the spike protein, that the vaccines target, to think that this single mutation -- remember, the vaccines are looking for a pattern -- a pattern -- think of them as fingerprints on the spike protein. the mutation is one, tiny part of one bit of a fingerprint. and so, this vaccine, the second vaccine, and the third vaccines you have coming should all be as effective as we thought they were, before the mutation was known. >> dr. mark morocco, joining us from los angeles, thank you so much for your insights and your time. >> you're welcome.

thanks. don't panic. hang in there. >> we won't. thank you. british prime minister boris johnson has essentially cancelled christmas for millions of people in england. they've been put under severe, tier-four restrictions for two weeks, which effectively amount to a lockdown. nonessential shops and businesses will have to stay shut. people can meet, only one other person from another household, outdoors. and residents are being told not to travel out of their region. england isn't the only place clamping down, ahead of the holidays. salman bin abdulaziz has more on the situation, across europe. >> reporter: europe's nightmare, before christmas. last-minute coronavirus restrictions, forcing travelers to unpack their bags and families to cancel plans. authorities in some european countries are scrambling to contain a rise in infections, with warnings of a third wave next year. in england, an 11th-hour u-turn on coronavirus restrictions,

amid fears of a new strain of coronavirus. prime minister boris johnson says it could be up to 70% more transmissible. >> given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, the potential risk it poses, it is, with a very heavy heart, i must tell you, we cannot continue with christmas as planned. >> reporter: tier-four rules go into effect on sunday in london and other affected parts of england. forcing residents to stay home, unless necessary. all nonessential shops to close. and crucially, travel in and out is banned. the british government, also, finally fe finally heeding advice from health experts to call off a five-day easing over the christmas period. italy, sweden, austria, all announcing tough, new restrictions to curb social gatherings during the festive season. italian prime minister will put into force a nationwide lockdown during the holidays.

>> translator: it is not an easy decision. it is a painful decision to strengthen the regime of measures necessary for upcoming holidays and to better protect ourselves. >> reporter: and in austria, a third lockdown set to begin december 26th. the government there says residents can celebrate christmas but must stay at home for new year's eve. sweden, a country that has, so far, resisted pandemic measures, will enforce its toughest rules, yet. recommending face masks on crowded transport. and from december 24th, alcohol sales must end at 8:00 p.m. the prime minister, pleading with the public to exercise caution. >> translator: do not let there be an outbreak during christmas. do not meet relatives over christmas dinner. celebrate only with those closest to you. >> reporter: the question, now, is one of compliance. will people scrap holiday gatherings? or are these moves too little, too late, to contain the virus? salman bin abdulaziz, cnn, london.

the netherlands says it is banning all flights from the uk, effective today. that's because of that new virus variant that experts say is more contagious. the dutch government says the ban will remain in place, until the new year. officials say the same variant was found in the netherlands, in early december. investigators are looking into whether there are any other, related cases. a white house meeting on the u.s. election takes a heated turn, after desperate and dangerous ideas are floated to overturn the results. plus, the u.s. president speaks for the first time about the suspected, russian cyberattack. but, instead of blaming the kremlin, he claims another country may have been involved. ♪ ♪ light it up like dynamite ♪ (this is ah)

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tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. choose the longest lasting thiaa battery...son (music) energizer ultimate lithium backed by science. matched by no one. welcome back. u.s. lawmakers are now one step closer to a deal on a new, covid-relief package. after a deadlock over how much power the federal reserve should have over the economy, congress has reached a compromise. and is now drafting the language of the bill. senate minority leader, chuck schumer, says it looks like both houses of congress could vote on the measure, on sunday. and we are learning that president donald trump is still looking for ways to hold onto

power. sources tell cnn there was a contentious meeting at the white house, friday, where staff argued over highly controversial ideas to overturn the election. cnn's jeremy diamond has the details. >> reporter: while president trump isn't just publicly refusing to accept results of the 2020 election, he is also privately, still, grasping for ideas and ways to possibly overturn the results of the 2020 election. sources telling cnn that those ideas were floated during an oval-office meeting that the president held on friday that grew heated and ugly, at times, according to our sources. as two people, two allies of the president, pushed some really deranged ideas about overturning the results of the election. those two people are sydney powell, the -- the attorney who was part of the president's legal team and who has been pushing these deranged conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, including suggesting that the deceased venezuelan leader, hugo chavez,

was behind rigging the election. as well as, michael flynn, who pleaded guilty of counts to lying to federal investigators before he was, ultimately, pardoned by the president of the united states. according to our sources, the president discussed the possibility of naming powell as a special counsel to investigate voter-fraud allegations in the 2020 election. and he also discussed this idea brought forward by michael flynn just a few days ago. >> in the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take military capabilities and he could place them in those states and basically run an election in each of those states. it's not unprecedented. i mean, there is people out there talking about martial law like it's something we've never done. martial law has been instituted 64 -- 64 times. >> now, to be clear, there is no indication that the president is going to be imposing martial law in the united states to rerun the 2020 election, as flynn suggested but obviously just the

fact that this was an idea being discussed in the oval office with the president of the united states. a president who is refusing to accept the results of a democratic election. certainly, is alarming. and it -- it -- it generated quite a bit of pushback from several of the president's advisers inside the white house, including, we're told, the white house chief of staff, mark meadows, as well as the white house counsel, pat cipollone. both of them, really pushing back on some of these more outlandish ideas about overturning results of the election. in fact, our sources telling us, at times, this meeting devolved into quite a shouting match. now, as the president is still hyping up these claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. trying to overturn the results of a democratic election. he is also downplaying an attack on the u.s. government. this cyberattack this u.s. government officials believe to -- was conducted by russian-intelligence services. the president, tweeting on saturday, that the cyberhack is far greater in the fake-news media than in actuality.

and he goes onto say while russia is the priority whenever something happens, he said he is also discussing the possibility that it could be china that is behind this attack. but that notion is really pushed back on by members of the president's own administration. in fact, it was the secretary of state, mike pompeo, who on friday, said it was very likely that russia was, indeed, behind this attack. we're told that white house officials were, in fact, drafting a statement on friday to ascribe blame for the cyberhack to russia. and now, it seems, that we know why that statement, ultimately, was not released. jeremy diamond, cnn, the white house. cnn national security analyst, samantha joins us now. samantha, let's begin with the apparent-russian hack. the largest hack in american history which, we should point out, is still on going. tell us about the scale of this attack and what's at threat. >> well, we don't, yet, know the full scale of this attack.

there is no ability to do damage control, until the u.s. government understands the full scope of the damage. at this point, despite what president trump says, these attacks are still ongoing. that means that the fbi, department of homeland security, and director of national intelligence, are working to identify the full scale and scope of compromised entities. in terms of what russia got from this operation, we know, at a minimum, that putin scored major pr points once this attack became public. the world now knows that u.s. cyberdefenses were not able to accurately detect and avert this attack. the world now knows our intelligence community did not detect this attack, in its planning and execution stages and that is a huge victory for putin because he's been peddling the narrative that the u.s. is weak. in terms of what else russia got, anna, it certainly appears they were able to monitor, at a minimum, u.s. government e-mail communications.

that is a big intelligence advantage. and if they had access to unclassified e-mail addresses, they could use those in future, phishing operations, for example. we don't know if they were able to go in and disrupt any operations and fully assessing the scale of the damage is going to take months, if not years. >> yeah. this is believed to have begun, back in march. but was only detected a few weeks ago. you have described this as a failure, of epic proportions. i mean, what does this say about america's national-security apparatus? >> well, it certainly says that the perpetrators of this attack, believed to be the russia cozy bear group or advanced persistent threat 29, which has deep ties to russian external intelligence service, has highly advanced and sophisticated capabilities that were able to trick u.s. cyberdefenses, and were able to avoid detection by the u.s. intelligence community. russia is a sophisticated adversary. and this time around, whether

it's because we were distracted, focused on other priorities like securing elections and covid-19. it is clear that russia is a serious adversary, and needs to be confronted with a really well-informed strategy. that's something president trump has never been capable of but, which i think, president-elect biden is working on, as we speak. >> what's to say that there are other hacks undetected, taking place, as we speak? >> well, that certainly can be the case. we do know that this russian attack is ongoing. so, we don't know who else is being compromised, as we speak. but, this whole episode really bolsters the case for passing a key piece of legislation in the united states. the national defense authorization act. trump is threatening to veto it. it is currently sitting on his desk. that legislation, ndaa, would give u.s. authorities the ability to go in and hunt for hacks. they don't currently have that authorization. that could be critically important, in identifying other

hacks at an earlier point, rather than learning about them from a private-security firm, like we did in the case of this russian hack. i think that would be a very helpful step in trying to weed out other intrusions into our most private places. >> some would say that the russian government has been empowered, after four years of trump. i mean, how does the iss-- the biden administration respond to this? and i guess, could this lead to cyberwar? >> well, trump seems to be moon lighting as putin's publicist these last four years. but at this point, i think he is probably tuning trump out. instead, he's likely paying more attention to the president-elect's strategy. biden is reportedly already working on a cost imposition strategy. he's floated potential, financial repercussions. probably, sanctions. i think there is a strong case for getting other countries onboard with those sanctions because the -- the russians compromised entities in at least

seven other countries. there is, also, the possibility of closing russian consulates in the united states and kicking out diplomats. that would hamstring russia's ability to advance its interests here in the homeland. and biden may also consider striking russian government entities, for example, to avoid an escalatory, cyberwar. biden would be well advised to couple any cyberattack with a credible, diplomatic message about an off-ramp, and trying to get to -- and trying to get to a cyber ceasefire. unlike trump, i think putin believes what biden said is actually true. biden has more credibility than trump and overall, biden, in my experience working with him for four years, he develops well-informed strategies. he doesn't shoot from the hip. so, i think we have a better chance of mitigating russian threats once biden is sworn into office. >> samantha, let's pivot to the inner workings of the white house, and those reports of a

screaming match breaking out in the oval office among trump aides and lawyer, sydney powell, and former national security adviser, michael flynn. what more are you learning? >> well, just from reading the headlines, which frankly, this all sounds like something out of page six. it certainly appears that the wheels are coming off. trump is surrounding himself with sycophants, who are frankly spouting nonsense. we are learning that aides are increasingly alarmed about trump's behavior. yet, those same aides aren't quitting. they are just speaking with reporters. it is likely that president trump will continue to rant and rave, until he's kicked out of the oval office, on january 20th. but at this point, everything does appear to be on track for the next president of the united states to be sworn in on january 20th. and we have to keep an eye out for what damage trump tries to do, between now and then. but, writ large, i think we have to put these ranting and ravings in context. and focus, instead, on the peaceful transfer of power,

which appears to be, mostly, going forward. >> the fact that president trump is entertaining the ideas of enforcing martial law and launching a special counsel to investigate baseless, voter-fraud allegations, which have all been thrown out by the courts. i mean, is there something more sinister at play here? >> well, certainly, i think that trump would like to do anything to stay in power. but in terms of entertaining nonsense, and dangerous -- dangerous ideas and conspiracy theories. i mean, anna, what else is new? he's been doing this, his entire presidency. fortunately, i think that there are existing checks on what would amount to be highly unlawful and autocratic behavior by the outgoing president. senate marnjority leader mcconnl has already congratulated president-elect biden. i think that congress would not go along with trump trying to do something illegal, at this point, with respect to martial law. and we, also, have to remember

that calling up the military would involve getting the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to follow seemingly illegal orders. so, there are checks on the president's final throws. but it's still worrisome that any u.s. president would entertain ideas like this. >> yeah, it's time he let this one go. samantha, thank you. appreciate your time. >> coming up. israel's prime minister rolling up his sleeve. we will talk about the country's efforts to roll out the coronavirus vaccine. that's next. coronavirus vaccines are coming to most of europe, in the next few weeks. just ahead, we will see what health experts are doing to convince the skeptics to get their shots. you can earn an r.n.-to-b.s.n. in nine months and under $10,00000. capella ununiversity. don't just learn. learn smarter.

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. you are watching cnn "newsroom." i'm anna coren. israel is kicking off vaccination efforts. prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, was the first in the country to get the shot. he says he chose to do it on live television to set a personal example. he is urging israelis to get vaccinated, as soon as possible. the country has reported more than 372,000 cases, and more than 3,000 deaths. well, elliot gotkin joins us now. elliot, how are a majority of israelis feeling about this vaccine? >> there was a poll in leading newspapers, this week, saying just under two-thirds of israelis were planning to get

vaccinated. so obviously, they are trying to encourage more people to do so. and here, at this hospital, as you can see, health workers receiving their vaccines. we saw, before, the head of the hospital, the finance minister, and israel's former chief rabbi, also, being vaccinated. in fact, they came out to pumping music and a dj. felt a bit like a party. but, of course, a very serious message here, which is that the vaccinations have arrived. and they hope this will be firing the starting gun, if you like, on what they hope will be the end of the pandemic. last night, of course, we saw prime minister benjamin netanyahu, receiving his first covid jab, live, on national television. and he spoke about it afterwards in somewhat grandiose terms. >> that was a small jab for a man, a huge step for the health of us all. may this be successful. go out and get vaccinated. >> and, of course, there -- there are two reasons why netanyahu did this live on television. i think the first message is very clear.

just like vice president mike pence. to try and lead by example, and encourage as many israelis as possible to follow his lead. and -- and -- and to get vaccinated. the other reason is political. netanyahu made himself the face of israel's fate against the coronavirus pandemic. and while that was going low, when cases were pushed very low. but when the economy reopened and cases surged to among the highest in the world on a per-capita basis, he came with quite a bit of criticism. netanyahu, hoping to be the face of a successful rollout of a vaccine, that he will undo some of that damage, and boost his popularity. and not a moment too soon for him because if israel didn't have enough to worry about right now, this week, if parliament doesn't vote for the budget, israelis could find themselves hurdling toward their fourth elections in the space of two years, early next year. anna. >> elliot gotkin joining us, thank you for the update. countries across the

continent are fighting skepticism from those who aren't sure they want the shots. cnn's melissa bell reports from paris. >> reporter: with infection rates in france and other european countries out of control, hope is just around the corner. with the eu to start its vaccination campaign on december 27th. but it may not be that easy. >> well, i think vaccination is a question of trust. and this is why, in spain, we are spending a lot of time and energy in building trust with the citizens. >> reporter: hence, the tv campaign to convince the reluctant. with polls showing only 41% of spaniards currently intending to get the vaccine. in italy, the figure is just 32%. authorities there, going with a commercial to attract people to where the vaccines will be dispensed. >> experts say 70% of the population need either to have

recovered from infection or have been vaccinated for herd immunity to kick in. earlier this month, only one in two people here in france said they were willing to get the vaccine. and that's something that's really repeated across the european union. in fact, europeans were amongst the most vaccine skeptical on earth, before the pandemic. and the pandemic doesn't seem to have changed that. >> it has made worse tensions between people. people are afraid and when you are afraid, most of the time, you get quite extreme. >> reporter: across europe, skepticism not only of vaccines but of governments these past months by far-right partiesment also, by mistakes made by several governments early on in the pandemic. >> the beginning of this year, all of us didn't know nothing about the virus. we, in that moment, any power, any know-how, any capability to fight with -- with it.

after some months, we are fully in power. >> reporter: but even though the vaccines that will soon be available in europe have been tested, found to be effective, and found to be safe. skepticism goes deeper than you might think. >> that's something that we -- we tend to forget is it's not -- doctors are actually not so different from the general public. a lot of them are hesitant. >> reporter: it's europe's moment, tweeted the president of the european commission, to announce the start of the eu's vaccination campaign. from december 27th, the first europeans will be able to get vaccinated. the question is how many will choose to do so? melissa bell, cnn, paris. one-third of african-americans are hesitant to get the covid-19 vaccine. that's according to a recent study. it just so happens the nation's surgeon general is african-american. dr. jerome adams is using his position and his personal influence to get more black americans to get the shot. he got his, on friday.

while, at the same time, adams says he understands the fear and reluctance. >> to truly promote confidence in these vaccines, we must start by acknowledging this history of mistreatment and exploitation of minorities by the medical community and the government. but then, we need to explain and demonstrate all that has been done to correct and address these wrongs. >> ronald peters is the chairman of the alpha phi alpha covid-19 international task force. he joins us now from texas. ronald, great to have you with us. >> pleasure. >> there is deep mistrust in vaccines among the african-american community. roughly, one in three are apprehensive about taking the covid-19 vaccine. why is this? and -- and give us a bit of the backstory, please. >> well, it's a cause-and-effect relationship to everything. so, they're trying to get us to get a vaccine. but the reality is this didn't

just start a couple years ago. this started, you know, since the antebellum period. since we came, you know, off of the boats. and, when you look at what was done to us, you know, they call it darwinism, where you have one race that's superior, intellectually, as well as some of the things that they did to us during that time as slaves. using our ancestors as medical projects. looking at the different organs and teaching medical students off of our ancestors. native americans, and most importantly, poor people, of all races. it's so sad that, now, they say, hey, we should trust when the country has an unbroken history of h of eugenics. >> that has obviously been engrained into the black community, throughout the generations. remind us about that study. and how damaging it was. >> well, like i said, it's so

many different studies. but that's the one that really sticks out because it went to 1972. and, you know, i was born then. this is not like this went on back in slavery. this is like when you had the music that we listen to now. and so, when you look at, you know, unfortunately, people getting, you know, a pill, a placebo bill, f placebo pill for a syphilis study. and, you know, they have three different stages of syphilis where a person can lose their mind during the third stage. and they just want to examine us, knowing they're not giving treatment. you know, here, we have six vaccines. just telling them take the vaccine, take the vaccine. that's like telling someone to eat a steak but you don't want steak no more. you want a filet mignon.

but for the poor people and for all people, most importantly. >> ronald, how do the -- the -- the authorities, the big pharmaceuticals, how do they gain people's trust? >> well, number one, you know, we've had a very segregated, stratified experience. most of us, sadly enough, in the world, with race, you know, and culture. and the way to gain our trust is, number one, to give us the information on all of the vaccines. you know, not just take a vaccine but we have to assess them. with people that are from our cultures. people who are from our communities. to make sure that they're efficacious. you know, we have been stratified by race. we have the national medical association, which is just a group of african-american, you know, from all different

disciplines of medicine, with virologists that can look at this information. >> the u.s. surgeon general, jerome adams, obviously, an african-american. he had the vaccine on live tv. do more people, like him, high-profile, black americans, need to be out there, advocating the safety of -- of this vaccine? >> well, yeah. we -- let me -- let me be very clear. we want the vaccine. but again, america has six different contracts. we have moderna. you have the pfizer. which are efficacious. but what about the other studies? you know, are we going to get the ones that are -- haven't been proven, yet? are less efficacious? are the poor people going to get that? those are the thins that i want to assess. so, before we go ahead and say we want the vaccine, we have to have people from the community, that are virologists, from our community, from the national

medical association and so forth, to assess the efficacy of all of the vaccines. instead of just saying, hey, take the vaccine. because, of course, that's the one that's 95% efficacious. but what about the others that are going to come, in weeks? >> ronald peters, we appreciate your time. thank you so much for sharing. >> we appreciate you. and on behalf of my general president, we appreciate the time. >> some of the medical supplies used to fight the pandemic in the u.s. are made in mexico. now, some mexican workers say they're risking their lives to help keep americans safe. hear their stories, just ahead. a lotta folks ask me how to

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so you don't wait for life. you live it. throughout the pandemic, we have been sharing stories about the world's frontline workers. in mexico, there are factory

workers who make some of the essential products and supplies that doctors need to save lives. but now, some mexicans say they feel like they are putting themselves at risk to keep others safe. cnn's matt rivers has their story. >> reporter: medical supplies, now, more than ever, essential products. though, some are not made in the u.s., but here, just south of the border wall, in tijuana, mexico. there, a sprawling landscape of factories employ hundreds of thousands of mexicans in low-wage jobs. they make billions of dollars worth of u.s.-bound exports each year, including medical supplies. maria has a job making oxygen-level readers in a factory she doesn't want to name publicly. she got sick, in early november. my son was crying, outside the clinic, waiting for news, she says. tearing up as she remembers the

post-diagnosis moment. it was horrible. maria alana recovered from covid-19. she thinks she got it at the factory, though she is adamant the factory follows covid-safety protocols. some of her colleagues were not so lucky. she says they just gave us some stats and told us 12 people have died of covid. multiple co-workers confirm that number to cnn, though the company didn't respond to our questions. for decades, workers have said poor-labor conditions are rampant and some workers say a pandemic has only made things worse. the next day, we hide this worker's identity because, what she has to say about her employer, another factory, making u.s.-bound medical supplies, could get her fired. we asked, do you think the bosses care more about health or production? definitely, the production, no doubt, she says. we're nothing but pawns. she says her work environment is cramped. no social distancing, limited mask wearing, bosses indifferent

to employee health. she says we were all in close contact with some colleagues who just got covid and were still working. now, the janitor is sick, coughing, and the bosses know it but she is still working, too. to start, base-annual salaries are often less than $4,000 a year here. and sick or not, if workers don't go to work, many don't get paid, and might even get fired. at a local advocacy group, margo interviews workers all the time with similar stories. she says americans should know some of their essential products come at a cost. so, what she is saying is that there were conditions, bad conditions, before, here in mexico. but the covid pandemic has only made them worse, made them more intense, than they were before. tijuana is in baja, california, the mexican state, where 17 of every 100 patients diagnosed with covid have died. the government says it doesn't specifically track the deaths of

workers from covid-19 but activists tell us they have counted at least 500. some some of them are now purchased in this nearby cemetery. this covid victim's coffin is wrapped in protective plastic, laid to rest in a swiftly dug grave. his family joins a growing list of those saying final good-byes. he's saying since halloween he's seen the number of bodies with covid here in the cemetery go up. nearly all of these graves have been dug in the last month, in large part due to covid-19. as another funeral goes on to our left, the truly depressing thing is all of this land behind me has been newly designated and plowed to receive more graves because officials think that many more bodies are still to come. yet despite the severity of mexico's pandemic, so many have to keep working, making critical products for other countries.

"it bothers me a lot. some americans don't think about anything but themselves, but we're the ones running the risk and that bothers me." every night thousands of workers like these stream out of local factories. some having spent their shifts making products for the u.s. who knows how many of them are sick? matt rivers, cnn, tijuana, mexico. stay with cnn, we'll be back after the break. ♪ come on! ♪ over here! ♪

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some seasonal cheer from the staff of an elderly care home near paris. thanks to covid-19 measures, residents are expecting far few visitors over the christmas period, so the staff here decided to have a little dancing and singing party for those who won't be able to see their loved ones this christmas. with christmas less than a week away, how can santa deliver presents to boy s s and girls w coronavirus spreading? early saturday many children asked dr. anthony fauci that

very question on cnn's covid town hall for families. >> will santa be able to visit me in coronavirus this season? what if he can't go to anyone's house or near his reindeer? >> well, i have to say, i took care of that for you. because i was worried that you'd all be upset. so what i did a little while ago, i took a trip up there to the north pole. i went there, and i vaccinated santa claus myself. i measured his level of immunity. and he is good to go. he can come down the chimney, he can leave the presents, he can leave, and you have nothing to worry about. >> dr. anthony fauci certainly has been a busy man this year. that wraps up this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm anna coren. thanks so much for your company. international viewers, "living golf." if you're joining us from the united states, i'll be back with united states, i'll be back with more news.

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live from hong kong, i'm anna coren. you're watching "cnn newsroom." major developments in the coronavirus pandemic unfolding on each side of the atlantic. viewed together, they show how complex and fluid the situation remains and how hope often goes hand in hand with hardships these days. in the u.s., a second vaccine is set for delivery. the cdc director just needs to give the moderna vaccine the final green light. it comes during some of the darkest days of the pandemic in the country. in the uk, the prime minister has put parts of england,