captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this editiond for sa, december 19: a second covid-19 vaccine wins approval as new cases and hospitalizations continue to surge; a historic first for president-elect bides cabinet; and in our signaturefiegment, thght over abortion rights in poland. next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation. charles rosenblum.

we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today.al muf america financial group, retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service teaf can helpd one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular additional support has been proved by: and by the corporation for ri public broadcasting, ate corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to yourio pbs stfrom viewers le you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. a second coronavirus vaccine is approved, and millions of doses are expected to be shipped out ststing tomorrow as infecti rise and hospitals in many

states report intensive care units are near capacity. the food and drug administration approved moderna's ccine late last night. today, the general leading the federal government's vaccine distribution program said the moderna vaccine will be shipped out to 3,700 locations. >> boxes are being packed and loaded today. trucks will begin rolling out tomorrow from fedex and u.p.s., delivering vaccines and kits to the american people across the united states. >> sreenivasan: the moderna vaccine is stored in standard rsfreemaking it easier to distribute than the pfizer vaccine, which has to ship in super-chilled contaihers. innited kingdom, a new variant of the coronavirus isad spg rapidly, and today prime minister boris johnson areas in britain'seastions for including london. he urged all residents to stay home for the upcoming christmas holiday. >> it is with a very heart i must tell you we cannot continue with christmas as

planned.>> sreenivasan: the vars turned up in several other countries, and mutations are not unusual. british officials say this variant does not appear to be deadlier, but it does spread in the u.s., cases of coronavirus infections and deaths from covid-19-d causes are at record-high levels. according to the "new yo" timee country recorded an all-time high single-day number yesterday.es, more than 251,000 despite the growing crisis, congress has not yet reached agreement on covid-19 reli funding. last night, president trump signed a 48-ho extension the house and senate passed that keeps the government open until dnight tomorrow. the senate met today as negotiations continued. the house is set tmeet tomorrow at noon. for more on how and when the covid-19 vaccines are being distributed, propublica reporter caroline chen joins us from new york city. caroline, we've all heard that

when you look at this across the country, right now what is the general g order, if there is one who is supposed to be getting it first, and who are we excting to get it in the next few weeks? risk healthcare workers first, and then long-term care facility residents next.and then, that'so be the next month or so. then we will move into sort of the next, much bigger bucket of both older-than-65 and essential aworkers. that determined by the states. >> sreenivasan: decreasing the transmission and infection rates in long-term car facilities should bring down our overall death rates that we're seeing continue to rise. >> something like 40% of the covid deaths have come from the long-term care facilities. so, this is such a huge priority to get that popuretion taken f, to reduce transmission there, to reduce deaths there because they're just so high- risk, and we just have not been able to stop transmission there.

so, this is a huge rollout happening through cvs and walgreens. you know, not only is it, you know, cvs and walgreens bringing all tse vaccines to the residents, but also they have to make sure that they get consent from all the residents, you know, to make sure that they understand what they're getting. and if, you know, there's a resident who is unable to give consent, that they have to go find their family member or their health care proxy and get consent from their health proxy. now really is the hard part: getting through the logistics tt geo people. anything else coming down the pipeline that should increase the availability of different types of vaccines? >> yeah, so the next one that would be upcoming-- and this would not be immediately in january,hout, you know, fully coming up sometime soon in 2021-- would be johnson & johnson's vaccine. the-- the big difference with johnson & johnson' avaccine is itne-shot vaccine, so that would make it a lot more convenie.

sure it gets through phase-three trials, that it is effective, that it is safe-- but it will provide this third option that hopefully is a little more coenenient. >> sasan: and just for people's background, if they have a family member who gets a vaccine, that doesn't mean we could just walk around without issks around them. >> yeah, so s a great question, and one that we justve don't 100% answer to yet, and people ask why. you know, this-- you know, isn't a vaccine supposed to protect me anmake me immune? so, what we know right now, as of this moment from the trials, is, does the vaccine prevent me from covid sickness? and that's because that's what they measured in the trial so far. these trials, the pfizer and moderna trials are actuall ongoing, and they'll actually track the people in the trialson asas they can for two years because they want to know, did they have any side effectsoi long o? and they're still measuring and gathering data. so, that's really important to know that we're going to frntinue to get informatio

these trials. so, at this point in time, they're able to say, what was its effect on covid sickness? so, that means symptomatic illness that they-- you know, somebody felt bad, they d a fever, they had covid symptoms, and then they went and got a test. so, is it possible that you could have the vaccine and then pick up the coronavirus? it's hanging out in your nose. you don't have symptoms. you wouldn't be positive on a test. and, you know, you wouldn't get sick, but you could still pass it on to someonelse. that's still something that hasn't been totally proven. now, i have talked to a lot of scientists, and they say, "you know, it's so effective at preventing sickness, it's actually quite likely that it will also prevent transmission. but we just haven't 100% proved this yet in a trial, so i can't tell someone, 'i promise you that you the coronavirus.'"mit they are trying to gather data on this, and moderna's triol actually hascted a little bit of data that looks positive,

but this is not yet a signed-and-sealed answer at this point in time. i hope that they're going to continue to answer these questions as the trials keepou going, and, ofe, we all want to know this. but again, until aot of people have t vaccine, until we have, you know, as a country more herd immunity, until the scientists gather more data, i think we just can't afford at this point to be, like, "we're going to let our guard down and do whatever we want." so, if you get a vaccine, i think, you know, you also don't know who else has gotten a vaccine. we want to keep encouraging,od also modeling ehavior for our neighbors until this pandemic is over. so, i think that's why everybody is encouraging, you know, even if you've gotten a vaccine, you want to keep wearing a mask at this point. again, science evolves. we lrn more as we go. so, this is-- uld be a case get more data, public healthwe guidance might change. >> sreenivasan: caroline chen of propublica, than so much. >> thank you for having me. >> sreenivasan: for more on the

anew covid-19 vaccines an longer conversation with caroline chen, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: secretary of state mike pompeo bled russia for the widespread cyberattack on federal agencies and u.s. companies in a rio interview ate yesterday. speaking on the "mark levin show," pompeo said the government is still working through the breach but that it was "pretty clearly"us a russian inn. pompeo is the first trump administration official publicly link the ongoing hack to russia. u.s. officials belieween march and june, 18,000 organizations were compromised after using a popular network management software that was infected with malicious code. russia denies being behind the hack. in wilmington, delaware, today, president-elect joe biden called threat of our time" as hetial publicly introduced his envy ironment and eneam. it was a day of firsts. s we will ensure that the decisi interior will once again be driven by science.

>> sreenivasan: congresswoman tapped to lead theiorxico was department. if confirmed, she will become head the agency. american to michael regan was nominated to lead the environmental protecon agency. he currently heads north carolina's department of environmental quality ird will be the black man to lead the e.p.a. if confirmed. lude formerees i michigan governor jennifer granho for secretary of energy, and brenda mallo who served in the obama administration to lead the council on environmental quality, a first for a black woman. for more on the announcementvef representaeb haaland to president-elect joe biden's cabinet, i'm joineby julian brave noisecat, vice prent of policy and strategy for data for progress, a progressive thi tank. >> sreenivasan: julie, t besid fact that this is the first native-american in a cabinet-level position, why is this so significant for so many native communities? >> i think congresswoman , aland said it best when

she said thau know, th moment is profound because a prior secretary of interior described his job as to, quote, xterminate -- civil lies or exteusrminat and us being native people." when you think about the weight of that history and what thidepartment has done, i get goosebumps just thinking about what this means.: >> sreenivas tribal communities were in states likerizona, but throughout the country, there was a fair amount ofbi rtisan voting by members of tribes. momontana or south dakota or a western state with a large native populatio you'll see that the reservations are little islands of blue in giant oceans of red. because of that, tribal leaders have had to cultivate relationships across the aisle with republicans fo many generations, are actually

very affective at working with repubcan party leaders. >> sreenivasan: and there are members ofes tribal communisking for the department of interior to start to return some lands back to them. >> absolutely. i think there is this growing movement for land return for native peopl and, of course, the policies implemented by the next secretary of congresswoman haaly once she is nominated and confmed, will help advance that vision. at the same time, i think she will be leaned on meet the administration's climate and environmental goals. you know, pubc land are, right now, open to leasing, which isng and something that biden has promised to end. and there is also, of course, a need to build renewable energy on public land and te preser environment,nd many of those programs will run through hopefully soon

madam secretary haaland. >> sreenivasan: as you wrote a recent profi of her, what is the secret? what keeps her going and motivated? i really think when sh spoke toy about the resilience of her family, of her ancestors, i do believe that it's not the degrees or anything else like that, but it is really the lived experience of being a single mother on food stamps, you kw, someone whose grandparents were sent away to assimilationist boarding school, anshe starteda small salsa business on her reservation, somo eone salt of the earth, who went to standing rock people who were in the camps in the pipeline. i think it is those sorts of experiences at t end of the day, more so than anything else, that drive her and have brought her to this historic moment. >> sreenivasan: cabinet positions are prized.

competition behind the scenes. how did congresswoman this?d get to >> i think it is important to point out congresswoman haaland s never a shoe in for this job. it was just her first term in congress. unlike many of the other folks who have been putd forwd nominated for a cabinet position, she does not have a long-standing relationship with president-elect biden, which i think is verymportant to the president-elect. and despite those sort of concerns, and also concerns about the very house democratic majority, a very concerted and affective effort led by tribal leaders, environmentalists and progressive activists acting symptomaticly got her that is a testament to what an incredible leader she is.

folks like me, and fols who have strong beliefs aren't just going to go out there and advocate for. anyo >> thank you, julie brave noisecat. thank you so mh for joining us. >> sreenivasan: coca-cola is cutting 2,200 jobs globally, 1,200 of them in the u.s., as part of a broader restructuring plan. for the atlanta-based compan the cuts represent about 12% of its u.s. workforce. coca-cola made the announcement thursday after a decline inle sathis year amid the shutdown of restaurants, sporting venues and movie theaters during the covid-19 condemic. in october, mpany announced it would retire 200 brands, or half its portfolio. several bran were already discontinued this year, including odwalla, zico coconut water and da. >> sreenivasan: a maerr battle is uay over abortion rights in poland. the countrs constitutional

court, wse legitimacy is questioned in many quarters, has made it even harder for polish wo amen to grtions. the move set off mass demonstrations and has beenby condemnehe european parliament and human rights groups like amnesty international. as special correspondent malcolm brabant reports from the capital, warsaw, it's a fight for poland soul. ( crowd chanting in polish ) >> reporter: "we're not going to t you sleep," chant the demonstrators. their target is poland's right wing governing law and justice party, and, in particular,its arch conservive leader, jaroslav kaczynski, who most protestors believe is the puppet master behind the abortion crack down. ( crowd chanting in poli ) these are the biggest demonstrations that poland has seen since the collapse of communism more than 30 years ago. poland joined the european union in 2004, and, now, just 16 years later, what we're seeing here is poland moving away from core european values.

>> reporter: kasia bienkowska sported the symbol of the womes movement. so did emanuela zielinska. wo's a red lightning bolt to represenn's strike, as this slogan says. but the government claims its the insignia oadolf hitler's brutal s.s. corps. the women argue with placards like this that only kaczinski's government is being auoritarian by dictating control of their bodies. >> ( translated ): i feel terrible. i feel like someone ising mud at me. it shouldn't be like this in a ountry where i'm supposed feel free. i'm scared and disgusted with the governme. it's shameless what they do. it shouldn't be like this.

>> reporter: poland's bitter divide was apparent in parliament as jaroslav kaczynski confronted his opponents. >> ( translated ): first of all, take off those s.s. signs. and secondly, all those demonstrations which you have ansupportestill take part in, all those demonstrations cost many people their lives. you have blood on your hands. >> reporter: opposition onlawmakers red by telling kaczynski, "you'll end up in jail." ( crowd chanting in polish ) >> (e translated ): once rule of law returns, many of you will be in il. >> reporter: kaczynski's politics are rooted in poland's dominant faith, roman this slogan compares catheiic dogma as b as fundamentalist as islam's sharia law. ( church bells ringing ow church forged poland's

historically tough abortion rules. his adulation to impose hisish will, permitting legalbortion only in three circumstances: risk to e health or life of the pregnant woman; severe or irreversible impairment of the fetus; pregnancy following rape or inces now, poland's highest court has outlawed the clause affecting justification for the majority of legal abortions. president andrej duda has suggested that parliament should pass a compromise. >> we are supporting the president's proposal. >> reporter: deputy government spokesman, radoslaw fogiel: >> in many cases, a severe lfunctn for the fetus also a danger to mother's lif toe idea of this-- of this proposal iake the-- the law as precise as possible e thin the ruling of the constitutional cat will

allow to protect mothefe in cases like this. >> reporter: activists claim the nererestrictions will force polish women to travel abroad to obtain abortions. we met anna urbanek warsaw hotel. she went to the netherlands to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. >> it would really, really way better if we could do this in our own country. i felt a bit weird before my - abortion, just before the medical procedure, because i was so happy that i'm going to stop being pregnant. and now, i thank god. quite normal. and no, i never regretted it. >> reporter: nalia broniarcyzk runs a non-profit that advises women on abortions a helps them fix terminations in other countries. their help line is now inundated. she's livid that wen are being forced to travel during the covid pandemic. >> this is, like, puttg us in

a position where we have to risk our health, our life. we have to lie to our partners, women don't tell to theirany families t because they are afraid ofma , and they are afraid that someone will judge them. i think that the situation shown that pold, it's a really, really bad country to live for women. >> abortion is a violation of basic human rights, especially the ght to life. every life should be protected, before and after birth. >> reporter: lawyer karolinawl ska is director of a well- funded pro-life foundation that opposes the protest movement. >> i think the ruling of the constitutional tribunal of poland is a great step towards full realization of human rights in our country and tis ruling could be also an inspiration for other countries

to protect human rights of everyone. ( announcement in polish ) >> reporter: the abortion ruling is the latest polish rejection of european union norms. the government's dismissal of critical juds and replacing them with party loyalists was the subject of this warsaw demonstration in july 2019. ( crowd chanting in polish ) the european commission then launchedisciplinary action against poland for underminingde the ndence of the judiciary. ( crowd chanting in polish ) at the same time, hard-line iscal authoritiewere establhing what they called ow.g.b.t.-free zones." ( crchanting in polish ) a pride march in the town of bialystok was attacked by a mob of right-wing poles. back in warsaw this week, prominent political scientist tman kuzniar was in no do what is happening.

>> reporter: baker tomek grabowski travelled 180 miles from krakow in southern poland to register his disgust with the law and justics jaroslav kaczinski. his t-shirt reads, "don't let the thief rule ove" >> there are two polands, and the split is more or less 50/50. there is a modern, open-minded, tolerantoland; and there is this backward-looking, clerical, authoritarian poland. and they are in clash for the last five years. it's the last moment for us to defend the european values, to stay in europe. >> reporter: members of the european parliament passed a resolution expressing solidarity frances fitzgerald from ireland: >> we in the european parliament support you, we salute you, and

we stand with you. poland, "pieklo kobiet"-- "women's hell"-- no more. >> reporter: but legal expert monika platek dispels the notion boat europe's highest court might veto theion law. >> european cot of human rights has no power to overtn the law. it can state that the situation that we have in our chuntry is a brg the convention of human rits, but it has no rights to tell "you have to ange the law." >> reporter: professor platek fears the abortion ban is part of a much more sinister strategy. >> it's like a battlefield, and they are checking how far they rights away from people.man arwomen e just first. >> reporter: these protests are evidence of growinturmoil within the european union. the imminent departure of moderation means that polandr

will move uphe european ladder and have a more powerful voice. the changing balance of influence is causing considerable unease across the continent. >> sreenivasan: we will have >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. for the latest news updates, i'm hari sreenivasnewshour. thanks for watching. stay healthy and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >>nd pbs newshour wees made possible by: and edgar wachenheim ii bernard and denise schwartz. ithe cheryl and milstein family. barbara hope zuckerbg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation.

charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of oday. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and iestments. additional support has been provided by: consumer ceular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. ank you. you're watching pbs.

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