welcome to cnn. i'm robyn curnow. great to have you along this hour. coming up on the show -- >> today i can say we've taken one more giant step for delivering on that promise that help is on the way. >> joe biden gets a big, big win in the u.s. senate. now he needs the house of representatives to sign off on the new version of his covid relief plan. >>. >> pope francis meets with kurdish leaders as he brings his message of peace and unity to iraq. meghan and harry reveal what

life is like inside and outside the royal family. the latest on their much-anticipated interview with oprah winfrey. great to have you along. we begin with u.s. politics. after a marathon overnight session, the u.s. senate passed president joe biden's monumental first piece of legislation. his nearly $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill. >> the yeas are 50. the nays are 49. the bill as amended is passed. >> the president pushed for bipartisan support but failed to get it. not a single republican senator voted for the bill. you wouldn't know it as mr. biden is forging ahead. >> this plan will get checks out the door starting this month to the american people who so

desperately need the help, many of whom are lying in bed at night staring at the ceiling wondering, will i lose my job, if i haven't already? will i lose my insurance? will i lose my home? >> now the bill heads back to the house for a final sign-off before it hits the president desk for signature. here's jessica dean. >> reporter: the senate passing this massive covid relief bill along party lines 50-49. it passes a major hurdle. we now anticipate it goes over to the house where they plan to vote on the changes made on tuesday, then it goes to president biden's desk. president biden pledging that families will begin to receive those stimulus payments as soon as this month. and this is a massive bill. in addition to those $1,400 payments, it also has money in it for reopening schools, for unemployment benefits, for state and local governments, as well as vaccines and vaccine distribution, child tax credits

are in here. it is a big bill that touches so many pieces of the american economy. here is majority leader chuck schumer on that partisan vote. >> now that we're in the majority, they don't seem to want to work with us. but we're going to get it done anyway. we prefer them to work with us, we want them to work with us. maybe they'll change their minds after this. but we're going to get it done regardless, because america needs it and that's what we did. we didn't stop, we didn't let anything get in our way. >> reporter: again, democrats staying unified to get this bill passed. at one point the democratic senator from west virginia, senator joe manchin, it looked hike they might lose him to a republican amendment on unemployment benefits. it stalled out on the floor for nearly 12 hours as they worked that out. then senators were here overnight into saturday morning before they ultimately passed this bill. now it goes back to the house on tuesday, then over to president biden.

>> president biden promised on the campaign trail he would pull off this financial feat for americans. you remember that. arlette saenz has more on mr. biden's reaction. >> reporter: president biden assured americans that help is on the way, after the senate passed that $1.9 trillion covid relief package. the president speakingt the white house, detailed exactly what is in that measure. everything from the $1,400 stimulus check to enhanced unemployment benefits. white house officials have said the president and vice president plan on spending some time selling this package to the american people so they know exactly what they will be receiving. during the campaign and leading into the white house, president biden insisted he would try to get bipartisan support for this measure. but not one republican decided to vote for it on saturday. our colleague joe johns asked

the president about that at the white house. >> you didn't get a single republican vote. what went wrong the last 24 hours, including senator manchin telling you about the next four years? >> it's going to be good, i'm going to succeed, we're going to succeed moving forward. look. the american people strongly support what we're doing. that's the key here. and that's going to continue to seep down through the public. including from our republican friends. there's a lot of republicans who came very close, they've got a lot pressure on them. i still haven't given up on getting their support. >> reporter: since there were changes to the bill in the senate, it moves back to the house. and the white house is hoping the president will be able to sign the bill before unemployment benefits run out on march 14th. but bottom line here, president biden is now one stepcloser to

providing the direct relief he promised to americans and netting his first major legislative accomplishment as president. arlette saenz, cnn, the white house. shortly after that senate passed the bill, joe biden received congratulations from his former boss tweeting, elections matter and we're seeing why, congratulations to the biden administration and the american people on a covid relief bill that will improve the lives of families across the country. cnn political analyst sabrina sidiki joins us from the white house. let's talk through this broadly. is this joe biden's first big political win? >> reporter: i think without question this is president biden's first major legislative victory. now this came on a strict party line vote, as expected. not a single. voted for this bill. but the end result was still the same, which was the $1.9

trillion coronavirus relief package that president biden campaigned on and said would be his priority as soon as he took office. and he is saying that some of these benefits, in particular another round of stimulus checks to the tune of $1,400, are going to go out to americans starting this month itself. so i think while this is just one of the pray others since he took office, it is certainly a big victory for the white house because it was really vital for them to pass this relief package and for it to not really change in a substantive way from what they had proposed. as i said, the price tag, $1.9 trillion, exactly what biden had proposed and what he campaigned on. >> and there's talk about some of the details, it's notable what didn't change, but also how this could impact ordinary americans. even the americans who didn't vote for him. >> reporter: you know, there are a number of provisions in this bill that the white house had said were really necessary given

the toll that the pandemic has had on people's day-to-day lives. so this legislation extends unemployment benefits, roughly $300 in weekly payments through september. in addition to the $1,400 stimulus checks, there is also an expansion of a child tax credit. then there's funding for vaccine distribution and school reopenings, state and local governments. so a lot of what biden said would be necessary building blocks as his administration tries to lift people out of the pandemic. he has, however, said that there will be need for a stimulus, another big piece of legislation, to try and revitalize the economy. so in some ways people can look at this as a two-step process. he's certainly cleared one major hurdle, but she was clear in his remarks today there are other challenges ahead and this is really just the beginning. >> economists and a lot of

politicians had a lot of debate about whether this is too big or too little in terms of a stimulus. it's certainly going to be a history-judging move. how much of biden's experience and past experience, particularly his involvement in the 2008 crisis and what he learned from that, how have those lessons played into how he's played this game? >> reporter: well, it's really interesting because president biden had said that he would try and work with republicans to craft some kind of compromise. but as we pointed out, not a single republican voted for this bill in the end. that doesn't mean there wasn't an earnest attempt at negotiations, which i think were born from president biden's 36-year career in the senate. but republicans in their counteroffer only proposed roughly $600 billion, a fraction of the $1.9 billion biden was

seeking. the white house pointed out this had support from across the country, polling showed it had support from a majority of americans. i think that was a bit of politicking to say, it may not look bipartisan in washington but it is bipartisan across the country in terms of at least perceptions with respect to the american public and key stakeholders in various industries. i think some of that is that experience and how do you message this, how do you sell this to the american people? of course, it's only just passed one hurdle. the house still has to adopt the senate version for it to become law, to go to biden's desk. then in the coming weeks and month to months, we'll get more of a sense of how this bill is going to be received by the american people. >> sabrina sudiki, thanks so much. the pope speaking about victims of war. the latest on the pontiff's historic trip to iraq. plus we'll soon know what harry and meghan told oprah winfrey. live to london for the latest on

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after this, a christian town in iraq devastated by isis. it's the latest stop on a trip meant to reassure the country's shrinking christian community and to expand dialogue with other religions. earlier on, the pope prayed for victims of conflict in mosul. isis controlled that city for more than two years. all the pontiff's events on sunday are taking place under heavy security, of course. i want to bring in our ben wedeman in erbil, iraq. ben, looking at these images that we've seen in the last hour or so of the pope speaking to people in mosul, what are your thoughts? because it wasn't, seems like, that long ago that we remember images from mosul when al baghdadi declared a caliphate there. >> reporter: yes. when you consider it was just seven years ago, it's an incredible change. dramatic change, in fact. i was here in the fall of 2014

when people, hundreds of thousands of people had fled from mosul. muslims and christians and yazidis and others. in the direction of erbil, for safety. there were refugee camps in public parks with pem of various religions who had taken refuge here. it was also in the summer of 2014 that abu bakr baghdadi himself called on his followers to conquer rome. of course, now to see the pope, who came from rome, giving a sermon in mosul itself is almost difficult for many people to digest. and it's always important to stress that, yes, the pope is the leader of the roman catholic church. but his visit here really, for many people, represents a good news story. a feel-good story for iraqis who so long have become accustomed to awful stories of war and

terrorism and economic decline and civil unrest. so it makes a huge difference for people to watch these images. and for once turn on the tv and smile. >> yeah, it's very powerful. and of course, the feeling behind it is one of outreach and reconciliation. and certainly the world needs more of that wherever you are, not just in iraq. but let's just talk about the primary message in many ways and the symbolism here is that after the war in iraq, and then of course isis, the christian community in iraq was really decimated, wasn't it? so many left iraq, not feeling safe there, christians felt they'd been persecuted. do you think this trip will heal wounds, will offer an option of return, even? >> reporter: well, i think it's hard to say. certainly these last few days in iraq have been happy ones for many iraqis because of the images they're seeing.

but of course, once the pope leaves, it's back to reality. back to the reality of a spike in covid cases here. the reality of an economy in crisis because of the fall in demand of oil. a country where corruption is endemic and there have been frequent street protests against the ruling elite who don't seem to be able to get a grip on the situation, get a grip on their moral compass, and put an end to corruption. but briefly, people are enjoying this change of tone. now pope francis, once he's finished with mosul, he will be going to a town that all the inhabitants fled from in the summer of 2014 when isis was rampaging across the plains of

northern iraq. now they've gone back. but isis left a lasting scar on this town. here's our report. >> isis was here, and here, and here. ♪e mostly christian town of this town ended over four years ago. services have resumed at the church of the immaculate conception. rituals conducted for centuries once again part of the rhythm of daily life. almost all the town's inhabitants fled before the onslaught of isis. the joy of return clouded by the shock of what was left of their homes. "you can't imagine, it was empty, destroyed, they left nothing," she says. in april 2017, shortly after liberation, we attended the first mass in this scorched and

vandalized cathedral. this church has been repaired since then, but still damaged is the confidence of this ancient community that it will be able to live and prosper in this land. pope francis is scheduled to hold prayers here. father amari yako will show the pope some of the damage isis left behind. he worries decades of trauma have left a deep, still-raw wound. "iraq is in a dark tunnel," he says. "there are challenges caused by wars, by the terrorism still present in this areas, by economic problems and by the corruption so widespread in iraq." johannes' two daughters gave and up left. one to sweden, the other to australia. the visit of pope francis, he hopes, will spark a change of hearts and minds.

"maybe there will be love and peace," he tells me, "maybe it will soften and melt frozen hearts." the sun shines once more here as townspeople busy themselves preparing for the pope. hoping darkness will not descend upon them yet again. and pope francis' final event here in northern iraq, where it will be mass at a stadium here in erbil to be attended by up to 10,000 people. the authorities say they will somehow be socially distanced. >> with that message, and also with this trip that has really gone across the width and we hadth of iraq the last few days, the pope's outreach, how has it mattered to nonchristians and

noncatholics, for that matter? >> reporter: he is consistently stressing the fact that he's well aware that over the years -- and of course, when we're talking about the suffering of iraq, we're talking about the last more than 40 years. the iran/iraq war, the kuwait war, the american sanctions which were devastating for ordinary iraqis, the american invasion, the mess that it brought, then isis, the isis war. and he's made it clear, he understands muslims, whether shia, sunni, yazidis, other minorities, as well as christians, have suffered. and really, yesterday the focus of his activities, first meeting with the grand ayatollah al sistani, then the interfaith event in the biblical city of ur, really stressed the unity of the people of iraq within the context of the abrahamic

tradition, the tradition of abraham, the mono theistic religions. he really has made sure this is a balanced message of his trip, that he's well aware of the suffering of all iraqis. he's interested, as the head of the catholic church, in the christian community and the response of ordinary iraqis has been very positive. yesterday the top-trending hashtag on twitter in iraq was #thehistoricmeeting. that was referring to the meeting between grand ayatollah al sistani and franz. it really is having an impact far broader than the christian community. keeping in mind, of course, that this is a country of 40 million people. and the christians make up maybe 300,000.

>> ben wedeman, thank you so much. the coronavirus vaccine rollout here in the u.s. is certainly picking up steam. the centers for disease control and prevention say almost 3 million doses were administered since it last published its figures on friday. the total now stands at 88 million. and more people now say they are willing to get vaccinated. a new kaiser family foundation poll found 55% of americans want to get a shot as soon as possible or have already gotten their first dose, up from 34% in december. then also embattled venezuelan president nicholas maduro received his first dose of russia's sputnik v vaccine on saturday. he posted this video to his twitter account and can be heard saying "it hurt" after getting a shot. he blamed international sanctions for interfering with the country's ability to buy vaccines but that didn't stop him from, quote, guaranteeing

vaccines for all venezuelans. in mexico the vaccine rollout is under way but not everyone is ready or willing to get the shot. some people there believe vaccines can do more harm than good, as rafael roman reports. >> reporter: in this town located in southern mexico's highlands, life goes on as it always has. young people mingle downtown. men shake hands and talk business around the main square. women gather to weave traditional rugs. there may be a global pandemic going on, but in eldama, population 7,000, seemingly no one wears a mask. lopez, the town mayor, one of several local officials who proudly claim that no one here has been infected by the coronavirus. health officials are unable to confirm the claim. he credits traditional medicine for the low impact of covid-19 on the town.

"we asked our grandparents and great parents for guidance and that helped us a lot, but there may be other, more powerful reasons. the small, rural, isolated community located in the impoverished state of chiapas. few outsiders visit and its residents rarely travel may better explain why the town seems to have been spared by the pandemic. aldama and other indigenous towns in chiapas' central eye hands have laid headlines, because most residents say they will refuse any vaccine regardless of its origin. tomas lopes perez, town secretary, told cnn that people here, including himself, strongly believe vaccines can do more harm than good. "since we don't really know what vaccines are made of, we believe that they contain the covid-19 virus and that's the main reason

why people don't want to get vaccinated," lopez said. there are 421 municipalities in mexico, 17% of the total which, because of their indigenous origin, rule themselves, much like native american reservations do in the united states. and there seems to be a growing movement in these communities to reject covid-19 vaccines, just when the country has launched its massive vaccination plan. "there's a lot of misinformation and rumors" the mexican president said in february, asking people not to pay attention to what he called distortions and trust the vaccines. but the president also made it clear no one will be vaccinated against their will. if aldama reflects the way people in similar communities feel, this could pose a significant challenge for mexico's effort to inoculate its people.

a family bracing for a big day. oprah's much-anticipated interview with harry and meghan will air hours after the queen speaks to her country. a live report on all of this next. a toilet paper was a good idea, but now you've flushed it all. and it's building up in your septic tank. but monthly usage of rid-x is scientifically proven to break down waste. maintain your septic tank with rid-x.

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it's 31 minutes past the hour. welcome back to all our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm robyn curnow. you're watching cnn. just hours from now the british monarchy will be on full, full display. queen elizabeth and other senior members of the royal family will take part in this year's commonwealth day of service. the queen is expected to talk about unity. later sunday, oprah winfrey's

highly anticipated interview with harry and meghan will be broadcast around the world. meanwhile, prince philip remains in a london hospital following a heart procedure earlier on week. joining us from outside that hospital in london is cnn's anna stewart. it certainly is going to be a very, very busy day. >> reporter: a busy day which follows on from a very busy couple of weeks. as you said, prince philip here in hospital. he will be for a number of days, recovering from a procedure he had to do with a heart condition. the queen celebrating the commonwealth, one of the most important days in the royal calendar, she will be joined by all senior members of the royal family. unlike normal years when they gather at westminster, they can't due to the pandemic so there will be a tv show broadcast with preordered messages from them all. that is being somewhat eclipsed by what we will get on cbs later this eveninging, a two-hour interview with oprah winfrey, meghan and prince harry.

we've had a lot of trailers ahead of this interview. all sorts of topics expected to be discussed. i think the most interesting will be whether or not the couple feel the royal family themselves let them down. also talk about how they felt about the british press, how they felt that impacted on their mental health. that's something they've spoken about before. perhaps issues to do with british racism. we expect prince harry to talk about his mother, princess diana, and draw parallels between how she was treated and how meghan has been treated. >> why is this interview such a big deal, and do you think that britons will be tuning in and eager to listen, or do you think they're preoccupied with pandemics and lockdowns and kids trying to go back to school? >> reporter: well, i can tell you they are all very keen to tune in, but they can't this evening because it won't broadcast in the uk for another day. most people here will have to wait until monday evening. we'll get lots of information out in the newspapers accessing

it from the u.s. why is it significant? this is an outsider who's joined the royal firm, who's tippally going to speak about it. that is the perspective we rarely get. when we do, we tend to get bombshell insights. we've drawn parallels between this interview with the one princess diana gave to the bbc in 1995 with martin bashir where she said there were three people in the marriage. similar to the duke and duchess of windsor in the interview they gave to the bbc in 1970. that was the king that be a debated for the love of wallis simpson. this is the perspective you rarely get. part of the intrigue of the royal family is the fact that you get a polished exterior, you don't see behind that veil. it's so rarely lifted. we'll get a peek in a few hours. >> okay, thanks so much, anna stewart in london. so cbs is reportedly paying at least $7 million for this interview. that's according to "the wall street journal," which also reported the duke and duchess

are not being paid to talk to oprah winfrey. the tv network is said to be asking roughly $320,000 for 30 seconds of special time. that's about twice the normal rate. princess diana's former private secretary and chief of staff spoke with cnn about the current rift in the royal family. patrick jefferson says public opinion on the matter could be shifting. >> interestingly in the uk, yes, there's a traditional conservative element who i think particularly regret the way in which harry and meghan have handled their communications with the queen. but there is growing support for them, perhaps more among the young. a recent poll showed 50% of those surveyed thought that harry and meghan had been unfairly treated by the british media. so it's by no means clear cut. there is sympathy on both sides. and i think there is a recognition that there is a lot of blame to go around. >> the british tabloids and media have been criticized for

racist and sexist coverage of the duchess, sparking conversations among strong supporters of the monarchy and others who identify with her and even had a personal connection with her. >> reporter: it's been months since acar met meghan markle but he's still buzzing about it. >> she really is beautiful. >> reporter: after the surprise visit to his high school, the 16-year-old got curious. he spent weeks comparing news headlines about the duchess and came up with some really tough questions for his dad. >> i thought, what does this mean for me as a black person in britain? and i was resenting what i found. of the first person of color within the royal family, how she is treated by the british tabloids. >> how do you answer that as a parent? >> the last thing i want to do is say it's racism. because what you need to do, you

need to pull other plausible explanations out of the way. >> when you've pulled up the other explanations, have you found another one? >> sadly, no. >> prince harry saw it that way too. he accused some in the press of undertones of racism and sexism against his wife. a charge many in the british media denied. in the royal palace, beefed-up social media operations to combat a rise in racist abuse during the duchess' pregnancy. last year the couple asked if they could be part-time royals, pursue financial independence and space, but still continue to represent the monarchy. royal historian kate williams says the palace told them it was not an option. you're either in or you're out. >> harry and meghan made the decision they would be entirely out of the royal family, and that really was because they'd felt so unprotected. >> i have come a long way.

>> reporter: diane abbott knows the challenges of breaking barriers at an elite institution. she became britain's first female black member of parliament in 1987. >> sadly, racism is as real for me now as it was 33 years ago. >> what does it mean to be the first woman of color in any institution that's historically white? >> in one sense it's clear privilege. in another sense, you are a fo focus. it's a combination of misogyny and racism. and meghan came into that in spades. it was almost as if they felt, as a woman of color, she didn't really belong in the british royal family. >> reporter: now in the u.s. meghan markle voiced her support for the anti-racism movement. >> you know what, we're going to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt. because when the foundation is broken, so are we.

>> reporter: acar is still trying to understand the cracks in britain's foundation. >> i felt as if i wasn't accepted. meghan markle for me as a representative of people of color. and her presence within the uk had me feel as if i can get to these levels. >> reporter: the duchess is gone, but at a time of racial reckoning, the questions surrounding ing her departure a here to stay. >> for more news about the british royal family, we have a new service for you. cnn.com/royalnews to sign up for our weekly newsletter. it launches monday. sign up to get the first edition. more to come on cnn. protesters in myanmar practicing using shields to protect themselves from police. the latest on their fight for democracy ahead. plus pro-democracy movements in thailand, myanmar, and hong kong, all a common antagonist.

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police are firing rubber bullets at pro-democracy protesters in myanmar, the protesters hiding behind homemade shields. in other cities police are using tear gas on protesters but that's not stopping demonstrations which are taking place after a night of crackdowns. reuters reports security forces raided residential areas in yangon and made several arrests. we've seen large protest movements elsewhere in asia, like thailand and hong kong. authorities are cracking down on dissent there too. protesters are taking a hard look at china and its dominance in the region and blaming it for their lack of freedoms. nic robertson tells us about the fight for democracy in asia. a warning, some report does contain disturbing images.

>> reporter: myanmar to thailand to hong kong. across asia, democracy is under violent attack. myanmar citizens protesting the month-old military coup are getting the worst of it. derek mitchell was u.s. ambassador there until 2016. >> it's very bad. it's crossing a line. it's not as bad, you can say, as 1988 where there was massive killings in the streets. but that's just a matter of a slight degree. >> reporter: international condemnation has followed. >> we need an end to this indiscriminate violence. >> reporter: instead of listening, myanmar's military is doubling down on its aggression. so asia's youth are turning to themselves for help. an asian pro-democracy movement styling itself the milk tea alliance is reaching across borders. >> you're seeing it play out in realtime in places like hong kong, places like thailand, now seeing it spread to myanmar.

it's quite remarkable. they're now working in solidarity with one another. >> reporter: over the past year, it's grown from angry criticisms of china's communism party to coalescing around the unified need to challenge autocracies. its name is a poke at mainland china. the local style of regional milky teas, symbols of cultural identities that are distinct from their massive neighbor. >> it really gives china a lesson to learn, that they want to isolate hong kong people. we can always find ways to find more support. >> reporter: law, a hong kong activist, now an exile in the uk, sees the milk tea alliance as a potentially powerful weapon for myanmar's unarmed activists too. >> the military is afraid of the influence that the younger

generation brings to the global tension. >> reporter: in hong kong, month myanmar and thailand, activists share a three-fingered, "hunger games" type salute. it's a measure of the alliance's infancy the same day protests organized in australia, taiwan, hong kong, and thailand in support for myanmar's protests missed coverage because myanmar's military killings were so brutal, they dominated headlines. even so, the milk tea alliance may have a future. one that could be a worry for china's authoritarian leaders. >> i think china does feel that liberal activity anywhere can be problematic for them. which is why you see them trying to shape a world that's more illiberal. >> we really need a global response to the decline of democracy and to fight against

the rise of authoritarianism. so i guess that is a clue for us, for how we approach democracy in the future. >> reporter: for now, in myanmar, bullets, not words, rule the day. nic robertson, cnn, london. coming up, millions of people a day are receiving coronavirus vaccines. that includes a group getting attention for their muscular bodies. what the new viral sensation is being called after the break.

rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but for less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. it looks like now the u.s. could reach herd immunity by late summer thanks to coronavirus vaccines. that estimation is from a cnn analysis. paul vercammen shows us what it's like at one vaccinate site. >> reporter: six flags magic mountain, shots going into arms, covid-19 shots. at this park we may soon see seats going back into rides. california has cleared the way for theme parks to open up on april 1st, as well as sports stadiums and outdoor concert venues, if the county is in the

second most strict tier, red tier. all odds are these counties will be out of that tier or into that red tier, because the numbers have been plummeting in california. from above, can a theme park coexist with a vaccination site? officials seem to think they can work together after all, if they open up in the red tier, the theme parks can only have 15% capacity. at magic mountain we saw a lot of teachers get themselves a vaccine shot today. and they were understandably optimistic. >> it feels like there's a little bit of optimism here? >> yes, yes, i'd say so. there's light at the end of the tunnel. >> i still think people need to be really safe. and i think it's, like, a little bit soon, i feel like. i'm worried about that. i don't know. if it's okay with the cdc, i'm all right with it. >> reporter: as for professional sports, the stadiums would open at a 20% capacity of attendance if they're in that red tier.

then those tiers would loosen up over time as the covid-19 infections go down. as for the massive outdoor concert business in california, hollywood bowl among others celebrating these moves. they're waiting and seeing to see if they can indeed open. so the outdoor concerts open, but indoors, no. reporting from valencia, california, i'm paul vercammen. >> thanks, paul. the dalai lama received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on saturday. the 85-year-old exiled tibetan spiritual leader received the vaccine developed by oxford university and astra a zeneca. he's urging anyone who's eligible to get vaccinated as well. the dalai lama is among the latest public figures to get vaccinated and encourage others to same. there's a new category within that group dubbed "the hunky vaxxers." with a name like that the reason

why shouldn't come as a surprise as jeanne moos has the details. >> reporter: most american public figures have been demurely rolling up their sleeves, modestly exposing arms. even arnold joked -- >> put that needle down! >> reporter: elsewhere, shirts were going down. for instance, this south african doctor went viral, thanks to his impressive physique. meet the hunky vaxxers. astrophysicist kneel degrass tyson was welcomed into their ranks. >> getting the first dose. i didn't know one possible side effect of the shot was the gun show. >> that's left over from 40 years and 40 pounds ago when i used to be in shape. >> reporter: neal showed barely any skin compared to the french health minister. someone joked he was promoting vaccine uptake as part of "operation smolder." >> launch launching his new

fragrance, "the only thing is passion." >> reporter: and a skin-tight t-shirt earned him leering eyeball emojis. this photo attracted eyeballs as a reporter suggested, we need to talk about the greek prime minister's vaccine pose. very "putin on horseback," commented someone. not sure if they're needling putin or the greek prime minister. there's plenty of fanning and adjusting glasses for a better look. this british member of parliament dispensed with his entire shirt. at least when dolly parton got her shot -- >> that didn't hurt. >> reporter: she dressed for the occasion. >> with this peek-a-boo top -- >> reporter: dolly wasn't cut out to roll up sleeves as she crooned new lyrics to her song "jolene." ♪ vaccine vaccine vaccine once you're dead that's a bit too late ♪ >> reporter: it's not too hate for this idea.

okay, we are going to need a vaccine calendar. injecting a little beefcake while hoping covid's days are numbered. jeanne moos, cnn -- ♪ vaccine vaccine ♪ >> reporter: new york. >> thanks so much for joining me. i'm robyn curnow. i'm going to hand you over to my colleague kim. he'll be here in just a moment. continue to watch cnn. much more news after the break. ♪ vaccine vaccine vaccine vaccine i'm begging of you please don't hesitate ♪ ♪ vaccine vaccine vaccine vaccine cause once you're dead then that's a bit too late ♪

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the bill as amended is passed. >> one step closer to covid relief as u.s. president joe biden's even news stimulus package clears a partisan hurdle. we will tell you when americans should start receiving relieve checks. pope francis on the last leg of his historic trip to iraq, set to visit a church once destroyed by isis. plus, royal rumble. queen elizabeth will speak to her nation, then hours later it's harry and meghan's turn to open up with oprah. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to all of you watching here in the united states, canada and around the world, i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." ♪