a new ray of hope. the u.k. approves the oxford astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine. the country's health secretary predicts a path out of the pandemic by spring. sounding the alarm. the u.s. president-elect joe biden says the president's vaccine plans are falling short. and an historic vote. scenes of celebration and disappointment as argentina moves to legalize abortion. hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm isa suarez.

"cnn newsroom" starts right now. this is cnn breaking news. it is 9 a.m. here in london and we start this hour with breaking news out of the u.k. where the government says regulators have approved the oxford astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine. it becomes the second vaccine authorized for use here in the u.k. the british prime minister is celebrating the approval. it is truly fantastic news and a triumph for british science that the oxford astrazeneca vaccine has been approved for use. we will work to vaccinate as many people as possible. cnn's phil black joins me here in london with the latest. finally, the good news. tell me about the vaccine and when they expect it to be rolled out. >> reporter: so very quickly, they expect it to roll out with deliveries in the next day or

two and vaccines next week. what's so exciting about this vaccine is that it is logistically convenient. it doesn't need to be kept at deep cold storage temperatures as the pfizer vaccine does, for example. it can effectively be kept in the fridge, which means that it can be moved around and stored relatively easily. rolled out more widely. so you start to get it to more people and that happens at a much faster rate than has been possible up until now. trying to maximize that potential the government has also announced a shift in tactics. instead of trying to get two doses of vaccines to people as quickly as possible. the plan now is to delay the second dose of the vaccine but to prioritize rolling it out to as many people as possible as the vaccine stock becomes available. the logic there is although you are not giving the maximum possible immunity to specific people as quickly as possible,

you are more broadly building up a level of protection and immunity across the population. therefore, that will hopefully allow that level of immunity, the staff to get ahead of the level of transmissions and that can all happen a little fast er >> phil, there have been questions for some time about the efficacy and whether it can be effective against this new strain that we've been seeing in the u.k. what are you hearing about this? >> so the end result, the initial phase three trial results from oxford university and astrazeneca are different but the kiev if i ka si figure that's key to the u.k. and it matches the dosing regimen here, two full doses results in an effectiveness at 62%. that is 62% of trial

participants who receive that dosage did not develop symptomatic covid-19 infection 14 days or later after receiving the second dose. crucially, no one received -- no one suffered severe infection that required hospital treatment. so that's the key figure. there is some confusion because over the course of the trial there was a mistake which meant that a small number of the trial participants got a dosage that was weaker. when they got to the end that particular subset was found to be the better protected with an efficacy of 90%. because of that they believe they have stumbled upon a potential sweet spot for dosage. now what they need to do is prove those results more broadly. we're talking about something over 2,000 people. they need to prove with further study and trials that, yes, that half dose initially somehow

resulted in even greater protection. because at the moment they don't know why that would be the case. the u.k. has adopted using the bulk of the data to go with two full doses. they believe that will make a significant difference in terms of slowing the transmission of the disease. >> phil black in london. thank you very much, phil. i want to bring in now lawrence young, the virologist of molecular oncology. thank you very much for joining us. let's start with the breaking news out of the u.k. how much is this vaccine a game changer? >> well, it really is. it's a ray of hope during a very difficult time in the united kingdom. the benefit is, one, the u.k. government had ordered 100 million doses and the second is the logistics.

it's much easier to roll out because it doesn't require ultracold temperatures for storage. it's a good news day given everything else we're going through at the moment. >> do we know, professor, whether it's effective against this new strain given the number of cases we have seen two days in a row, record cases out of the u.k. and how much that new strain is behind that increase, that surge in the numbers? how effective is it against the new strain? >> it's likely that the surge in cases is because this new, more trans sis middlebury strain is replacing all other varieties and variants of the virus. we know from looking at the changes in that virus and where the mutations are, that it is extremely likely that the vaccines that are all being developed at the moment including the pfizer biontech vaccines already being rolled out in the u.k. and this -- and the new astrazeneca oxford

vaccine will be effective because the body's immune system mounts a very profound and broad response to the virus and these small changes will not affect that immune response. >> right. but having -- what you've just said to me, if we take -- if governments take a long time, let's say, to actually vaccinate the population, is there a change -- is there a fear within the scientific community here, professor, that perhaps the mutations will keep occurring and that will make it harder for vaccines to actually try to be effective? is there a fear of that? >> yes, there is. that's a very good point. one, we've got to vaccinate and stamp out the virus. we know the virus is changing and we know the virus will continue to change and will change in response to the vaccination. so whilst this vaccine program is so important,what we've got

to do immediately is continue with the harsh restrictions. because whatever happens with the virus in terms of changing, it will still transmit in the same way. and wearing facemasks, being very careful about hand and face hygiene, social distancing, being careful in crowded spaces and the need for ventilation inside. all of that will prevent the spread of any variant. what's important, we'll hear about this today in terms of further restrictions in the u.k., is people take notice of this. even with these variants we can stop transmission. >> professor, we had -- you heard correspondent phil black at the top of the show in the last few minutes saying potentially the vaccination plan is to try to vaccinate the first round, as many people as possible. then vaccinate the second round.

is that to build strong immune system? what can you tell us? >> we know all vaccines work best if you give two doses. there's a priming dose that alerts the body's immune system and then the boosting dose. the time between the two is very variable. what we know from the data coming out of most of the vaccines being developed, but particularly the astrazeneca vaccine, is the first dose does give you quite a proportion of protection so that you get an immediate protection and given the need to roll this out to as many people as possible, it makes sense in the first round to get as many people vaccinated with the prime vaccine and then up to 12 weeks later you've got a margin of three weeks before you need to give a second dose. this is a very sensible dose maturing to get as many as

possible. >> right. very briefly, professor. i'm hearing from the health secretary, matt hancock, who has said in the last few minutes that the u.k. will be out of this by the spring. how realistic is this do you think? >> that's really optimistic. the issue here is one of logistics. getting this vaccine rolled out to the entire population, certainly the most vulnerable, is going to take time. i'd love to think we could do this by the spring. i anticipate it being a little later. we've got to get all of the organizational, logistical pieces in place whilst we know we're still under pressure. >> professor lawrence young, i appreciate you taking time to speak to us here this morning. thank you, sir. now in the u.s. the number of coronavirus cases is accelerating rapidly as we near the end of 2020.

on tuesday more than 3700 covid-related deaths were reported. that's a new record for a single day. more than 330,000 people have died in the u.s. since the pandemic started. meantime, the new coronavirus variant first found in the u.k. has been detected in the u.s. health officials say a man in colorado was still infected. president trump's vaccine and distribution plan, cnn's m.j. lee has that part. >> things are going to get worse before they get better. >> reporter: as the covid-19 pandemic continues to grip the nation, joe biden slamming the vaccine distribution currently underway on president trump's watch. >> president trump's plan is falling behind, far behind. a few weeks ago the trump administration suggested that 20 million americans could be vaccinated by the end of december. with only a few days left in

december we've only vaccinated a few million so far. if he continues to move as it is now, it's going to take years, not months, to vaccinate the american people. >> reporter: the president-elect laying out his own plan for administering 100 million vaccine shots by the end of his first 100 days in office. >> i've directed my team to prepare a much more aggressive effort with more federal involvement and leadership to get things back on track. we're going to work to set up vaccination sites and send mobile units to hard reached communities -- hard to reach communities. >> reporter: biden has proposed a nationwide mask mandate. >> i'm going to be asking the american people to wear a mask for the first 200 days. >> every single person put aside masks being a political statement or not. we know it works. >> reporter: this as the biden

transition team and the department of defense continue to clash. biden accusing the dod of obstruction. >> we just aren't getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. it's nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility. >> reporter: a dod spokesperson saying there have been plenty of meetings in past weeks but as of monday, no formal transition meetings have take ken place since the 16th. >> my job is to protect the american people, in a world where threats are constantly evolving and the adversaries are constantly adapting. >> reporter: what biden advisers have told cnn that they're concerned that a lack of cooperation from the trump administration could lead to

national security implications extending into the biden presidency. as between those, there are three for sometime this week, two about covid-19 and one about cyber security. m.j. lee, wilmington, delaware, cnn. president trump is responding to joe biden's criticism of the slovak seen rollout n. a speech the president blames state governments for not getting the vaccines out soon enough. the president also criticized biden for the handle of the swine contract. >> in 2005 he praised the handling of the swine flu. democrats and trump want to

increase the payments. a new republican maneuver threatens to kill that bill. plus, a landmark moment for women's rights in argentina. huge crowds for a historic announcement. stay with us. oils for fragrance day after daday,up to 60 days air wick scented oils. connect to nature.

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a new round of stimulus payments has started to go out to people. paper checks will start going out in the mail later today. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell blocked an effort by democrats to increase the $600 payments to $2,000. instead the republican leader introduced legislation to combine that measure with unrelated wants from the president. phil mattingly explains. >> the big wild card going into the week was how was mitch mcconnell going to manage the president's request for $2,000 direct payments up from $600 payments for the covid package? how was he going to manage the house passing the bill?

what about the two republican senators from georgia in tight runoffs supporting the policy? he tipped his hand a little bit in his initial remarks on tuesday. >> those are the three important subjects the president has linked together to bring these three priorities into focus. >> reporter: and then later in the day it became clear what he meant. mcconnell introducing his own legislation. in that legislation, an increase from $600 to $2,000 but also two other provisions, two other provisions president trump himself demanded in exchange for signing that covid relief and government spending bill earlier in the week. that would be online liability protection, repeal of section 230 as well as a voter fraud commission even though there is no evidence of mass voter fraud anywhere in the country. what that means, what the

proposal is is a poison pill. they will not vote for that proposal and repeal section 230. they want an up or down vote on the stand alone house bill. that is something while on the table isn't likely to be pursued. what does that leave mcconnell with? he has a ticking clock and the congress doms close in a couple of days. he wants to ensure there is a crucial defense bill. he will succeed on that. what happens with the stimulus checks? mcconnell has an alternative the democrats won't vote for and americans looking for the checks, wanting the checks, seeing if $2,000 is an option? well, if that's the case, this day wasn't exactly a good day towards progressive and getting an outcome when it comes to the checks. still time. we'll have to see how things go.

phil mattingly, cnn, capitol hill. earlier i spoke to professor robert gucci about the stimulus negotiations. i asked him about the republican maneuver to tie several things together. here's what he said. >> some of this was a negotiation to get donald trump to sign the first bill, right? to provide $600 to americans and stop the government from shutting down a among lots of other funding budget line items here. so these are taking a look at some of donald trump's issues having to do with social media and holding them accountable in his eyes to the content that they spread, which he thinks led to him losing the election and being anticonservative and what it supports and deems as being big news and other concerns. it's the 2,000 number of wanting

larger checks to go into american bank accounts. >> i understand, correct me if i'm wrong, professor, the move by mitch mcconnell doesn't necessarily guarantee that he will bring up the bill for a vote, but if he does, is this just a game of political chess likely to kill off all of the three measures altogether? >> well, what we're also seeing that's playing into this is the january 5th senate race in georg georgia, so a lot of this is trying to curry favor with the american voters. that decision is going to show who's going to hold control in the u.s. senate. even though there are lots of complexities and in general what looks like dismay on capitol hill, there's also an understanding that we need to have voters go to the polls and make decisions that would influence a senate hold under a biden presidency.

so one of the main issues here is how do we get those voters to go to the poll and secure it. what they're doing at the same time is having voters concerned and this goes to the normalcy of predonald trump which fits to donald trump's rhetoric over time that government can't get anything done. so, you know, even though he sat on that bill for five days and delayed a lot of things and added concerns about whether people would get unemployment benefits or whatnot in the first bill, he's actually proving a point in his own kind of bizarre way of running politics that government is its own enemy at times and certainly isn't necessarily thinking about the average american who could use that money but also who's looking to the government for some sort of certainty, particularly now in the middle of a pandemic.

>> you know, we are seeing, i think it's fair to say, a feud within the republican party. we've seen several republicans supporting the expanded stimulus payments that many of us believe are not sound economic policy. how real of a feud is there within the republican party? >> well, this has been something that's been boiling up from not just pre-election but certainly during the election about where they're going to land on if the election itself was valid, legitimate, and if donald trump lost the election. certainly, you know, republicans have been struggling a long time now for four or five years now to figure out where they stand in terms of what some consider turmoil on capitol hill but some might also see as policies that are making america better if we were to use donald trump's sort of rhetoric here. so this kind of feud within the party is a real thing that's

been brewing for a couple of years, certainly got a big punch during the election. this is kind of the first time that it's come before congress that they've had to make a decision, put a vote down on a piece of paper, make a stand and speak to their constituencies about who they are, what the republican party is, where it's going forward. quite frankly, where they are now when people are looking for how they're going to pay rent, how they're going to put food on the table. it's not a good look for republicans to be blocking this even though there are a lot of other political pieces at play here. really does for the american people come down to how do i make rent? how do i not get evicted and these others take a second seat. >> meanwhile, we have a

president saying unless republicans have a death wish. thank you very much fof your time, sir. >> thank you. an historic milestone in the u.k. as regulators approve a second coronavirus vaccine. more on this coming up next. l'. finish quantum with activeblblu technology, cleans without pre-rinsing. swswitch to finish anand skip the rinse to save water. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell yr policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to

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this is cnn breaking news. it is 9:30 here in london. we have been keeping a close eye on our top story as the british government says regulators have now approved the oxford astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine. it's the second vaccine authorized for use in the u.k.

british prime minister boris johnson tweeted this is truly fantastic news and a triumph for science that the oxford astrazeneca vaccine has been approved for use. we will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible. we have the latest on the vaccine. selma, after two days in a row of record covid numbers that you and i have been sussing, this is really a dose of good news finally. talk to us about what we know about this vaccine and crucially the vaccination plan. >> reporter: isa, it's definitely a ray of light in what has been a very terrible bout of bad news. covid-19 literally plaguing london and a lot of affected areas, particularly this variant. matt hancock when he was announcing this today was triumphant saying this was a victory for british scientists. this will bring the end of the pandemic sooner.

what's the rollout plan? it could be rolled out on january 4st. on monday you could see the first people receiving their jabs here. a lot of excitement to watch that all happen, but there is something we are waiting for people to figure out. they say what's that winning format? it's time, isa. they're going to prioritize giving the first jab, the first dose as quickly to as many people as they can and wait on the second dose. potentially up to three months. why do that? the scientists and researchers say two weeks after you get that first jab you already have your sort of protection, your shield from covid-19 kick in. and that they have not seen anyone hospitalized with covid-19 during trials after that first jab. so now that is a priority. that relieves the pressure on the health care system by giving

as many people as much time as possible for the vaccine. we'll have more and more people protected. >> we heard, selma, in the last hour from matt hancock who said they want to have it done by spring. a virologist i spoke to said that's probably too optimistic. take a listen to what the health secretary said in the last few minutes. >> we have enough of this vaccine on order to vaccinate the whole population. we have 100 million doses on order, add that to the 30 million doses of pfizer and that's confident we cannot -- this vaccine has not been tried on children. >> reporter: that's the health secretary giving us an idea on

what the vaccination plan you were talking about will take place and we'll know more details in the coming hours. do we know, selma, whether this vaccine is effective with this new strain? >> reporter: well, the health secretary says as far as they know it is effective against this new strain. i'll tell you why he's sort of touting it as something that could brianne end sooner although experts might say that's a bit optimistic. that's because it is so much easier to transport. it is logistically easier. it doesn't need the special refrigeration technology. this can be held in a normal fridge. the fridge at my home or your home. so potentially what this means is that now these vaccines can go into care homes, nursing homes and be more accessible to the people who need the vaccines, isa. >> it's much cheaper.

$3, the price of your morning latte. we are expecting to hear about whether other parts of the country will go into the highest tier. 40% is the highest tier. also, selma, so many parents wondering whether schools will open next week? what are you hearing from government as to how they may move on that? >> reporter: isa, you know the score issue here has been one that's quite interesting and quite controversial. i can tell you that i was out of school just a couple of weeks ago on their last week before they went into their christmas break where they were rolling out a mass testing program for students. they were testing students for coronavirus at this school and i spoke to the principle, the head teacher of this school and she told me that although she is all for the mantra of keep schools open, she was finding it completely impractical to keep her school open. this is why. she had so many teachers

self-isolating because they were ill with coronavirus, she had so many students being isolated because they themselves had contact. you had this group of people to take a breath, step back, everybody could be remote learning. isa? >> especially when we hear from experts, selma, paps they aren't sufficient to combat it. thank you so much. good to see you. after months of negotiations, british lawmakers are getting ready to approve a post brexit deal. in the last hour the agreement was signed in brussels and now it's time for the british parliament to weigh in. you're looking at live pictures.

british prime minister boris johnson is set to open a debate. they will scrutinize it and that will happen throughout the day today. we'll stay on top of that story. still ahead, new covid numbers out of russia. why the country's coronavirus death toll may be much higher than previously thought. and argentina has taken a historic step for women's rights. why people filled the streets into the early morning hours next.

central croatia was hit by a powerful earthquake.

at least seven people were killed. just a short time ago, a landmark moment for women's rights in argentina. you see there, cheers ringing out through buenos aires after they passed an historic bill legalizing abortion. the bill galvanized activists on both sides of the debate. this is the birth place of pope francis. john, history being made in the last few hours of argentina. the first major country in latin america to legalize abortion. not a surprise because it's been many years in the making.

still a very divisive issue for people. >> reporter: oh, incredibly divisive. first of all, hello. happy holidays. the holidays turned sour for pope francis. he discovered this watershed moment. as you say, i think the pope probably saw this coming. the trend lines were turning. in 2010 when pope francis was still the archbishop of buenos aires, over his opposition he buenos aires became the firscou that legalized same-sex marriage. they have promoted this move. no real surprise. nevertheless, a sort of bitter pill for the pope to swallow, especially given that he had

engaged fairly energetically in this debate including writing to a group of four mothers, writing to a priest in the lower house in argentina insisting in his view this isn't a religious issue, this is a scientific one. the pope believes biological life begins at conception and therefore deserves protection. he pulled out all of the stop but that clearly was not enough to halt the action. also for the catholic church, how do we expect them to react? >> reporter: argentina has prided itself on being the most

european nation in latin america. what we're watching is latin america going the cultural route of western europe, that is a place where the catholic church once called the shots. set the social, political, cultural tone. increasingly it doesn't do that anymore and, therefore, the church is going to have to learn how to make its way in a society where the law doesn't reflect in all details catholic teaching. that's a transition that has unfolded very slowly and in fits and starts in europe. in some ways the church is still trying to figure it out. i think this is going to be a long term issue but i think today's situation clearly 4ri6 indicates it. >> thank you very much. reunited at last. after months of restrictions, parents are able to visit their children with severe medical issues as they receive their

detaid vaccines. details just ahead. robinhood believes now is the time to do money.

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russia's coronavirus death toll may be much higher than previously reported. new data shows there are nearly 230,000 more deaths than compared to the same time last

year. the deputy prime minister says a majority of them can be blamed on covid which would raise the actual death toll to 186,000. cnn's matthew chance joins us now with more. matthew, for some time i know there has been plenty of skepticism about the numbers coming out and what relates to covid. break it down for us. what's the reality on the ground? why is it taking so long to actually acknowledge these numbers? >> reporter: yeah, well, isa, we've known for a long time that the actual numbers of people who have been -- died with covid-19 are far greater than the official figures that have been put out on a daily basis from the monitoring centers in russia. that skepticism has been backed up by the social media video that we've seen coming out of russia, of overflowing morgues, bodies strewn everywhere simply

through a lack of space. through the crammed hospital wards. across the vast country. simply don't have enough room to take patients in. you know, the testimony of front line medical workers who have spoken to us about how many people are dying and how that doesn't represent the reality of the -- doesn't represent the reality of what's going on. the deputy prime minister acknowledging that of the excess deaths over the past 11 months, the duration of the pandemic, in the region of 229,000 people, 81% of that figure, she says, is related to covid-19. that would make it, she said, the actual death toll in russia, not 56,000, which is bad enough, which is what the official figure is, but more like, you know, 156,000, which would make it the third highest death toll in the world.

>> given these numbers, these shocking numbers, matthew, how is the government even reacting? what is their assessment or their handling of the pandemic? >> reporter: i think the russians would give themselves a very high rating in the fact that they were the first in the world to register a vaccine. the sputnik vaccine was approved for use in the general public, even before phase 3 human trials had come to an end. they've been i think relatively slow in rolling that out given that it's been out there since august. they've had some problems in their production facilities, but they have been vaccinating vulnerable groups like front line medical workers, teachers, starting mass vaccinations now amongst the general public.

the russians would say they've done a relatively good job. when you add to that the lack of transparen transparency, i xi you has i th to take a different view. >> matthew chance for us in london. thank you. we'll take you to the u.s. where so far over 2 million americans have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. president-elect joe biden is criticizing the trump administration's rollout plans saying they're far behind their end of year goal to vaccinate 20 million people. while president trump has been shifting blame to individual states, biden is pledging to, quote, move heaven and earth once he's sworn in to get more americans vaccinated. an incoming republican congressman has died of covid-19. he was only 41 years old.

he had won a u.s. house seat in a runoff election and was set to take office on sunday. louisiana's governor said the flags will stay at half staff. now to new york where more than 11,000 new cases of covid-19 have been reported, but the vaccines are now providing some hope as well as relief. especially one facility that cares for those suffering from complex medical issues. we have the story for you. >> reporter: in new york state's cat skill mountains, it's a landmark day for these young people. four of them with severe medical issues and could -morbidities. today is the day -- >> 1, 2, 3. awesome. >> good job. >> -- they get the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. awesome, bud. >> this is the 1500 acre center

for discovery where hundreds of vulnerable children and adults live and visit for clinical treatments, educational, social, clinical and recreational experience. 24-year-old has cerebral palsy. >> how do you make a hat? >> you could. >> i couldn't do it. >> good job. >> reporter: for months the residents were not able to see their parents in person because of covid. now with proper precautions they can. parents are with their children as they get their vaccines. >> oh, my goodness. wonderful. so good. r.j. hasse veer autism. his mother says his grandfather died from covid in april. >> i know that my dad would be so proud of how well rj has done through this entire ordeal, and particularly today, you saw how much of a trooper he was getting

his shot. >> jody also has profound autism and seizure disorders. >> like a boo boo. >> reporter: her mother says not being able to see her for months has been excruciating. >> just the thought of that has been difficult. getting the vaccine is the beginning of the end of that nightmare. >> reporter: residents and employees have tested positive for covid, there have been no deaths. credit is given to the diligence of the employees here. about 1700 of them and they, too, are getting the vaccine. >> ready? >> reporter: after all, it's the employees who can bring the virus in. >> their courage and their efforts to keep us moving forward, but we have to stay with it. it's not a mike drop yet. we still have to get through this. >> 1, 2, 3. >> reporter: the parents visiting the frightening time is not over but the relief on this day is palpable.

>> it is so emotional. he knew in his gut that this is something that he wanted to do, i can't tell you how emotional it is to watch. someone you are so worried about for so many months, automatically you see hope on the horizon. >> remember the hat maker we met earlier? >> can you feel it? >> not at all. >> nice. good job. >> cadira says she is most grateful that she, too, has now been vaccinated. gary tuchman, cnn, monticello, new york. that's it for us. thanks very much for watching. i'm isa suarez. do stay with cnn as we continue to follow the breaking news out of the u.k. another coronavirus vaccine getting the green light. "early start" with christine romans is next. do stay right here with cnn.

welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "early start." we have reports from the u.k., delaware, nashville, capitol hill, moscow and paris as only "early start" and cnn can. i'm christine romans. wednesday, december 30th. 5 a.m. exactly in new york. we begin with the coronavirus pandemic and the darkest day yet for americans. more than 3,700 friends, family members, loved ones succumbing to the virus. that's a record. what is happening now is more