from politics to flash from causing people to being tired this is what. welcome to the 77 percent. this weekend on d w. this is d w news and these are our top stories outgoing u.s. president donald trump has vetoed a major military spending bill that had passed congress with broad bipartisan support mr trump had previously criticized the 740 $1000000000.00 national defense authorization act seen it would benefit china congress members could now move to override the president's veto. the scuffles broke out between police and truck drivers stranded outside the british port of dover thousands of trucks have been

waiting for days to cross into france british authorities started testing the drivers for covert 19 those with negative test results can enter france but authorities warned it could take days to deal with the backlog. gunmen have killed more than 100 people in attacking ethiopia's western been sangam let's region that's according to the state run human rights commission the identity of the attackers is unknown is the latest episode of unrest in ethiopia following a deadly conflict in the teeth in t.v. . this is g.w. news from berlin follow us on twitter and instagram a t w news or visit our website w dot com. or . call. another day another record coronavirus death toll here in germany and of course around the world on today show

we'll take a closer look at the situation here and we'll meet one of the doctors whose votes influenced america's food and drug administration to approve 2 coronavirus vaccines in record time i'm phil gayle and this is the day. we are in the most decisive phase of the fed them. these are difficult times for many people in germany but if you aren't careful germany will become the problem child if europe therefore we must take action. there is also cause for optimism vaccination is to wipe out of it. and we will get bad. we will overcome this crisis we have to succeed and we will succeed.

also on the day the human volunteers willing to get infected in the search for new drugs against corona virus but i think for me the benefits of challenge trials so outweigh the risks and i have to take the risks on. for more vaccines more quickly . welcome to the day germany has reported its highest daily coronavirus death toll figures released by the country's disease control agency on friday show that 962 people died from or with the virus within a 24 hour period overall the total number of deaths attributed to the virus now stands at nearly $28000.00 and the takers in the eastern german state of saxony say kraemer toria their reaching capacity.

they've been working round the clock at mice incriminatory him the coronavirus means they've had to deal with many more bodies this year. and this is it would coffins have covered 19 victims inside with a safety precautions in place it's nearly impossible to have direct contact with the dead and cannot come. kermit turin's here in the state of saxony maximum capacity about half the coffins have a coronavirus stick a highly infectious the state premier is warning residents the next 10 weeks will be the most difficult. and. there will be a 3rd wave the question is how high. and everyone who is dealing with this is war had that how much higher than the current peak it will climb. the number of new infections might last be leveling out to people in mice and what answers from their

late is just kind of great there were no clear rules no one is going outside anymore people are infecting their own families some people are following all the rules and others a coming up with their own theories they say there is no corona virus. but every day there are more coffins in the criminal containing the bodies of covered 19 victims. who has infections increased some parts of germany are affected worse than others the 1st hot spot. in the far west of the country in the town of heinz bag that outbreak was attributed to regional conall celebrations was a huge rolls to a close d.w. has been back to heinz back to be flanked on the impact the pond has had. as a priest marcus ponds has guided many people from heinsberg through this difficult year. a very exhausting year it took a lot of strength about 4 years you can already see how it is weighing on people.

he stopped his and i think we've really been burdened by all the economic consequences and repercussions by the whole situation. and people have fallen ill and died which is the worst kind of burden of stock is. the situation is not easy for him either speck a small almost everyone knows everyone always had to bury people he knew who had died of corona. experience when corona hit us back in february and the numbers began to rise in the hinds back district all the numbers very quickly became names and faces so you know all the families you know the people who are affected that was very challenging and. in february hunchback was confronted with one of the 1st major outbreaks of the coronavirus in germany and in fact a couple had attended a kind of a party soon after the high spec became the epicenter of the pandemic. for many

residents this was a very difficult time. almost often was it because one was really very affected and especially since the 1st infected people and when my own acquaintances and we experienced it 1st hand that the virus kind of addressed it affects us all spoke we have to feel a. certain pov on who cries among our relatives and acquaintances some people have fallen ill and one lady has even died that was an eye opener for us to tap but the dominant in my social cohesion and hines back has become much better. but in the beginning the whole situation was really bad because everyone pointed their fingers at us from a all being over to feel all the interest. that time priest marcus also witnessed how people from high spec were ostracized people were insulted cos were vandalized

. about bashing by a kind spec'd. rushing became an expression and it really hurts because nobody is responsible for it in the 1st place even the one who was identified as the 1st one who was infected nobody can be blamed for that he just does it in defeats yet is. that it was stuff in the meantime hines back like all of germany isn't locked down again it has not yet reemerged as a hot spot but marcus palms knows that corona is far from over. the united states has announced the purchase of another 100000000 doses of the bound tech pfizer vaccine the consignment should arrive by july and will allow the u.s. to have vaccinate to up to 200000000 people it's currently hoped that $20000000.00 will be vaccinated by the end of this month the u.s. has moved faster than many countries in certifying vaccines

a giving the green light to 2 so far off from tech 5 and from medan is the governor of georgia welcoming the news. side. before the. soonest we are mourning. this fact the morning. it will be if you want to. write off those forms you all are all day tomorrow hear more from day one. now around the world these vaccines have been authorized for using wreck or times that's months instead of years so let's meet dr levy he's director of the precision vaccines program at the boston children's hospital is also a member of the advisory panel that recommended the u.s. food and drug administration approved 2 vaccines from bound tech pfizer and from

madonna welcome to t.w. can you explain to us in layman's terms how it was possible to approve these drugs so quickly without cutting corners. thank you for that you know typically vaccine development across history if we look at all the vaccines that have been developed across human history typically took 10 to 20 years you know obviously that was not a timeline that was acceptable given this terrible pandemic and the daily death toll that your viewers were just hearing about luckily a technology called messenger r.n.a. or m r n a technology had been maturing has been worked on for 10 years and when the pandemic hit some months ago companies such as pfizer bio and tech and modernity were positioned to leverage this technology and rapidly get clinical studies up and running that said there was a very vigorous process a rigorous process i sat on the approval committee i looked at all the briefing documents that data that safety data and efficacy data for the vaccine were

provided and independently analyzed by the united states food and drug administration or f.d.a. and independently analyzed and reviewed by the committee of experts on the vaccine advisory committee that i served on and we voted overwhelmingly in favor of recommending to f.d.a. to issue these emergency use authorizations given this terrible pandemic i reviewed the safety data it was rigorous and provided all the information we would ask for regarding vaccine safety and you said it was an overwhelming vote but not unanimous well what were the concerns of the holdouts had. thank you for the 1st vote of the 1st of vaccine was pfizer i believe the vote was 17 in favor of vs for those who didn't vote in favor obviously should best speak for themselves but the discussion the concern had been about inclusion of 16 and 17 year olds in the in

the recommendation i voted in favor bearing in mind that there was some safety data provided in this age group but some others took the position that since younger individuals are less likely to develop severe. that maybe the benefit risk wasn't as strong but there was no particular safety signal right or safety concerns senior 17 year olds and it's my view as a pediatrician that eventually a potential solution here for the world is to establish safety of these coronavirus vaccines in children i mean most of vaccines in the world are given during childhood most of the world's infrastructure for delivering vaccines is in childhood as parents know and so obviously we need the studies to show safety in the younger age groups studies are now ongoing but i believe in the long run that will be part of the solution here and so the u.s. f.d.a. has now approved these to cover vaccines is one more likely to be more suitable for a particular demographic whole situation than the other. thank you for that the

pfizer bio antec got an emergency use authorization or in usa for 16 years and up so for the 16 and 17 year olds the pfizer vaccine will be the one was for 18 years and both companies are now going to do studies in younger individuals for example 5 years to years of age we're going to learn more as you know there are some differences in terms of how these vaccines have to be stored the pfizer vaccine is delicate it needs to be in deep freeze negative 80 degree celcius that's possible but expensive these are expensive freezer systems that exist in sophisticated bio medical centers but don't exist across the globe right the majority no one negative 20 degrees celsius for your viewers that's approximately the temperature of your home freezer that's a little more practical but still neither of these vaccines are great and 95 percent efficacy that's a great number they're safe but they're likely not going to be the global answer in resource poor countries where that kind of freezer infrastructure doesn't exist ok

let's talk about the rollout of this vaccination program because as i understand it each state will ogunnaike its own distribution and vaccination program but so does this mean that they will have to compete to full supplies so who will regulate that . right so there is a process through operation warp speed with general perna from the u.s. military who is leading that effort that federal effort in court a nation with the food and drug administration the centers for disease control c.d.c. and as you allude to the local state governments and so vaccines are distributed to each state in the u.s. and then those states will set guidelines in consultation with c.d.c. about priority groups such as high risk health care workers and elderly in long term facilities i mean infectious disease consultant i see patients in the hospital and therefore i received my pfizer vaccine last 30. day and on the 7th of january i'll be receiving my 2nd dose. we have

a quick word as well about the situation in britain where scientists have now identified it seems to corona virus variants that are more transmissible than the one we've almost become used to what's going on in the u.k. i ave unlucky of a cat less so perhaps conducting better testing. yes so there's more to be learned about that i think part of it as you allude to is that the british are probably the best in the world at the genetic testing of the virus they're doing a lot of it and they're doing it well and so they're picking up this nuance that as the virus spreads its genetic material you know changes and so variants have been detected there are reports that these variants may may spread more easily between individuals that suspected i don't think it's quite proven yet but that suspected we don't know yet if they cause more severe disease maybe not and sometimes in general among viruses if they spread better sometimes they cause less disease and then of course the bigger question is will the current crop of coronavirus vaccines

protect against these variants of the short answer is we think the answer is yes thankfully but again we have to keep an eye on this and we don't have all the data we want to have we're going to have to keep an eye on coronavirus variance across the globe not just in britain and we're going to have to keep track of vaccine efficacy how well does the vaccine prevent cova disease in different parts of the globe and match it up with the viral strains that are circulating a very clear thank you for joining us dr dr levy from the f.d.a. advisory panel thank you an honor to be on your show. who is close it's been a year since the 1st cases of corona virus were reported and scientists are still trying to work out exactly how the virus behaves the speedy development of vaccines is good news for most of us not so much for researchers who are trying to map the infection process mass immunity of course is going to make the head jumps haga

that's why one british research companies hoping to launch a study using human volunteers who are willing to get infected u.w. shot at chelsea before it's. but just 18 years old allister's volunteering to do what many of his but find unimaginable he wants to be deliberately infected with the coronavirus he's campaigning to take part in a human challenge trial to test facts seems to cope with 19. chance charles have the potential to do an awful lot of good for an awful lot of people with. a significant a minimal risk myself and well it's a risk you know docs and nurses take on pretty much every day like on the on the frontlines of the pandemic and have been doing for quite a while now in traditional vaccine trials volunteers may never be exposed to the virus in a challenge trial scientists hope to study infected volunteers in clinical condition

this isn't rooms like this one but we could be about to see a wall of bust volunteers deliberately infected with the virus of course is. now well it is what we quarantined here for up to 2 weeks with safety measures in place like trace insistence to stop the bharath from spreading child services company h b they already runs challenge chiles in the u.k. but they have to be approved for 19 we have all the moonshee quip and the expect to see jesus cross trawlers of course to make the trial as safe as possible scientists would 1st establish the smallest dose of the virus it takes to become infected. and the pet will be put just inside the nostril and very slowly just putting small droplets. of of forests into the knows it would offer a unique opportunity to examine the virus in its very early stages because these trials being set up primarily to test vaccines but there be

a lot of learning benefits that will come out of these trials as well not just about how the force interacts with the immune system in the human body that would be plenty and really important to be able to improve vaccines and improve therapies but also about the disease course itself about of our lives how quickly it replicates how quickly can be clear from the body all these can really help the management of patients there and forward with vaccines already being rolled out h.p.v. says challenge child and now more important than ever warning that traditional vaccine trials will become harder as more of this immunized. is that actual vaccine candidates but don't solve all the answers to the world's problem of vaccines so we're going to need a way of testing the next generation roxanne's challenge studies will still be able to be used to test very effectively the vaccine is working because they can be conducted irrespective of how much is going on the community. these trials need ethical and regulatory approval with

a decision hinges on key ethical concerns you want to select group of people who are very healthily they are low risk group they are truly volunteers so there's no pressure put on them or no. rivalry in terms. of people to do something that there really are. only 18 to 30 s. would be eligible and volunteers will have to be carefully screened before they are approved but not all risk can be eliminated for the long term consequences way significantly. oh my mind that definitely definitely something to consider as part of making an informed decision about whether you know i want to participate in the challenge struck by i think for me the benefits of challenge trials so outweigh the risks and i have to take the risks on. for more vaccines more quickly. alister isn't alone tens of thousands around the world that expressed interest in challenge child in the hope that the risk of the few will benefit the many.

and almost a year since this pandemic began it was at the end of 2019 that china alerted the w.h.o. of a new pneumonia like illness in the city of what followed was an unprecedented response to contain the deadly outbreak the city and its population of 11000000 was sealed off from the outside world in one of the harshest lockdowns in history new coronavirus claimed more than 4000 lives in blue hand and it spread rapidly and overwhelmed medical staff but china's response was also rapid new hospitals sprang up within weeks nearly a year of life in return to normality the city's outside china can only dream of shops are open people are out and about and confidence in the communist party is high but there are the sad thing voices. it is almost as if nothing had ever

happened here life is back to normal in the city where the coronavirus 1st emerged at the time the government reacted with one of the most severe lock downs in human history now old and young enjoy outdoor activities children are back in school with their grandparents waiting to pick them up. when i doubt side is might still have the virus that will hand people don't say oh it's because they govern well during lockdown. china has brought infection rates down to almost 0 in an exuberant exhibition the communist party celebrates victory in what it calls its war on the epidemic with tributes to soldiers and medics who work themselves with source during the outbreak but 1st and foremost the party celebrates self and the general secretary xi jinping was hailed as the man who led the country to victory. on a bit of donnegan whole henschel i'm very moved by this exhibition i feel that the

people who buy a province the government and all its organizations have shouldered a lot and what. this is hala china wants people to see its reaction to the disease and how many people do see it indeed but there are other voices in this city. john high is one of them he is on his way to the municipal government. but isn't this the people's government taking pictures is not allowed. to look at the country by music i think they should change their name from the people's government of one hand to the bureaucrats government of mohan. john hi normally lives in the southern city of shenzhen but returned home to one han in january when his father broke his hip the elderly man received free treatment at a military hospital this was where he caught cold it and later died.

john high says his father would still be alive if the earth or eighty's in one han had not covered up the early stages of the outbreak he is trying to file a case in court against the government. i've been very upset since i came back to 100. years or so i'm sad and angry at the same time we go food that's my current state of mind body. and soul that i can't stand all this propaganda about the achievements in the fight against cove it was out of all the people who died the innocent people who left this world have never been paid proper respect. to walk with her in the war and government has never apologized. i don't know you go. the way that i wish it.

but few people speak publicly about their grievances many others appear to have put the experience behind them night life is back on the streets especially young people enjoy their newly returned free there's. almost nothing else what do you feel energized we've stored up energy for almost half a year i've been exercising and taking care of my health every day i feel healthier and more alive than ever before you know what do you. think i don't feel the need to rest it all my feelings we had a rest that was way too long there's no excitement a high note email reading young life but many places in the words 'd to struggle with the pen dammit the city where it all began is moving on. a course in turkey has sentence one of the country's most high profile journalist more than 27 years in jail on espionage and terror related charges john. is against

a john don't die scent on an article he wrote in 2015 for opposition newspaper jump on it when he was editor in chief he presented compelling evidence that turkey's intelligence service illegally sent weapons to syria mr dunbar fled to them 4 years ago and is unlikely to serve any sentence. b.t.w. spoke with him and asked him if he was surprised at the length of the sentence unfortunately not surprising because from the beginning it was the kind of bench. of government it was me. on was promising to. give the most. possible price for this new story which was a true story. so they wanted to punish me because of this true story at the same time try to intimidate the other journalists into icky who dared

to touch that kind of sets the issues i've already spent some time in jail because of this new story i was shot at into a key i think to exile. my efforts were confiscated and you know i propose a mall most of the prices so. i don't think that that's new one new punishment would change anything in my life so i will keep on reporting from germany towards turkey. john don't die i'm not was the day as ever the conversation continues online you'll find us on twitter out in dublin new still get the day i would.

think. is a master of the art of confrontation and this is wrong for measuring of furball combat doesn't mean you're going to see some docs flying the undisputed champion of tofu with your goal talk to try to frighten people or so 5 everybody understand that it's such a beautiful picture the conflict zone can join to sebastian as he holds the powerful to account just as a big failure whichever way you like to spin the conflict zone. next.

christmas time you can hear it in dozens of languages. now countries all over the world. come to disarm come from and how did it become such a part of christmas. song for the world cyber 9. 145 minutes on d w. in these challenging times it's especially important to us to wish you a happy and healthy. current of ours has kept us apart from family and friends always. easy to feel. during this holiday season we. were here with you we will keep you informed on plan for someone to remind you we're all

honest to god we wish you happy holidays merry christmas everyone of a very merry festive season merry christmas and stacy happy holidays everyone happy holidays to your city everybody's even when it's nice it be. here to brazil everything is ok for you preparing for the military to intervene we have a military government brazil is in the news these days for all the wrong reasons allegations of high level corruption uncontrolled illegal logging and far as raging in the amazon rain forest so that's the 3rd highest figure in the world for covert 19 infections.