berlin. the head of the german vaccine maker says his company his company's drug will work against the new varied coronavirus identified in the u.k.. if necessary, he says his company could build especially tailored vaccine in just six weeks. also on the program, believe inside for truck drivers stranded in southern england by a blockade. they will be allowed to cross

into france provided they test negative for covid-19. tensions between the eu and russia increase again over the russian opposition leader -- the death of russian opposition leader alexey navalny. the country is planning on rolling out a vaccine early next year. a front-line worker says he cannot wait much longer. i am phil gayle. welcome to the program. biontech says it is confident that is widely approved vaccine will work against the new strain of the virus in britain. >> the vaccine is about to be

rolled out across the european union. but the rapid spread of a new variant of the coronavirus in britain has sparked concerns. biontechand phizer researchers say that they are confident there virus will work against these new strains. >> this means that 99% of it is still the same. we know the new response induced by our vaccine is a -- attacking this protein on multiple sides. >> so far, there have not been any major problems with inoculations already being administered in britain, canada and the u.s., article workers have reported relatively few side effects. following the eu approval of the biontech phizer vaccine, many

citizens are eager to be vaccinated. >> we will be able to reach sufficient vaccine doses and immunity rate in the range of 60 to 70%. that could help us to control the pandemic before next week. >> biontech is already planning on expanding production capacity. vaccine for all of europe is only manufactured at thpfizer plant. many are hoping that life will soon return to normal without masks and without fear. that should be possible if the goal of humanizing 60 or 70% of the population is obtained. phil: this is all looking optimistic. let's see if our correspondent,

and infectious disease specialist rains on this parade. let's start with this new covid variance discovered in the u.k. and south africa, how worried are you in the u.s. about this? >> we are looking at the information but at this time, personally speaking, i am not very worried. i know three things about the variance. there have been many variants described over the course of the pandemic that have also been pren to be intentionally increasing transmissibility potential. the three things i know is that other protections still work. it is not likely to be associat with an increase in mortality. i do not think that it will have any impact on the efficacy of the vaccine.

phil: the good news continues. we see that joe biden and dr. anthony fauci received their job -- jabs in front of the camera. w is it proceeding? it is pretty good considering we don't have a national health information system. we have about half a million people vaccinated last week with the pfizer vaccine and with the approval of the moderna mra -- mn ra vaccine, we think that we can have 100 million americans immunized, primarily in health care field, the front lines the nursing home population and subpopulation of essential workers. >> that is your first wave, the

essential workers. we see rights and marches against just wearing masks in the united states. how are you persuading the population to take these new injections. >> we think that with new leadership and the formation of the covid task force and with interviews with members of president trump's in a circle, others getting the immunization, that would send a signal to others that might have been skeptical. a lot of what still needs to be done, there has been a lot of mistrust of the government during the pandemic. there has been fear that the vaccines have had und@@

influence during an election year. all of that needs to be dealt with before most of the population embraces it. phil: a quick word on the two vaccines that have been authorized for use in the united states, our health services targeting either demographics? >> yes, after the nursing home population, that is a balance between keeping the people healthy, who can take care of this and those who can have increased mortality and deaths, the group that will be about 75 who have comorbid conditions -- above 75 as a nod to not going down lower, this is one option that we could have taken together with essential workers. those in the agricultural

business, those with teachers, they would all be in that second wave after nursing home and health care providers. >> thank you for talking to us. phil: countries of the european union begin the coronavirus inoculation programs next week. germany, france and italy will roll out the pfizer vaccine after the christmas holiday. in germany, elderly residents will be amongst the first to receive the shot if they wanted. >> they arrived by ambulance. although it is hardly an emergency. they have come to the retirement home to tell people what is going on with the vaccine. >> i will educate you today about the covid vaccinations. this could be --

today, they have the obligatory doctors talk. >> i said i will do it so i am not resisting. yes, that is also important. we don't want you to die of covid or go into the icu and be miserable but we want you not to get sick from the virus. who gets vaccinated first? that is a government decision. to start with, it is mostly people over 80 and health care workers. the government has secured about 56 million vaccine doses in its initial order. that is not enough say the critics, adding that the vaccine procurement is a planning disaster. the prime minister wants things to move faster. >> we will take what comes and vaccinate as many as possible. we need a lot of the vaccine. it is good there was a last-minute order last weekend. it has been established that

more vaccine doses are needed. the government has secured 30 million additional doses directly from the manufacturer. it may take a while before they arrive. things must move quickly. according to the minister of health, there will be more supplies in january. i am confident that we will have enough vaccine to vaccinate as much as possible. those who don't live in retirement homes are to be vaccinated in vaccination centers. how many doses will end up where is still unclear. >> the government is still responsible for the vaccine procurement and has signed the vaccine accordingly. we can only vaccinate with what we have and also with what gets delivered. only those who made an appointment at the center will receive a vaccination. in the future, this will be done through a central system via the full number of medical on care service.

this will be clearing who the mobile vaccination team can vaccinate. they meet with family doctors, relatives and guardians. it is extra work at an already busy time. >> that is a lot of work, we have 50 residents and we must make sure that we have all the information on time. when the vaccination team arrives, we can get started right away. but the hopehathings are getting better keeps the staff going. phil: the french government says truck drivers and other travelers who have been stranded in southern england by coronavirus -- a coronavirus blockade can cross back into france as long as they test negative for covid-19. thousands of lorries have been stuck. there have been reports of concern over this new variant of the virus that emerged in the

u.k.. britain said it will take two or three days to process the current cues of lorries. let's get word from john larson. this has been a complete nightmare for both countries. john: yes, it has. but i think for some of the vy numerous french nationals who have made britain their home -- according to the french embassy, about 50,000 french nationals -- those people are going to be able to return home. phil: clearly, french authorities have been very worried aut this mutation. john: yes, they have been extreme concerned. people here are very worried

about the really rapid spread of this disease. even if there is a reassuring side to the stories, what we are seeing is that people are not having worst consequences for theimedical conditions. i mention they could go back to the situation where hospitals i east of the country have been overwhelmed by the number of cases. phil: this was originally a 48 hour ban. there has been this level of cooperation and goodwill on both sides despite major differences over brexit. john: yes, it is true. it seems when it comes down to

it, the french and the british are capable of reaching a decision. this having been said, there may be some people in the -- united kingdom saying that they are letting the french nationals into the country after having this test, why not us? this is a big national preference that has been decided by macron and his government. we hope that later on this evening, we will be seeing yet another gesture of goodwill. we are hoping that the transport workers and lori drivers will be allowed to move back and forth under the channel in a way they were last time.

we hope they can get the green light and start traveling using the rather more rapid and -- the rapid test that is known as the lateral flow test. it is a pcr tests that they will have to be taking. -- test that they will have to be ting. phil: these five death -- doctors and health workers have been killed in her -- a roadside blast. the taliban say they were not involved. new oil exploration in the arctic. judges ruled that this would not violate the constitutional guarantee of a healthy environment.

theyaid this wld lead to climate protection commitments. the fallout after the poisoning of the russian opposition leader, alexey navalny has intensified. he is never a bird and he has published a recording andas -- a recoing of -- a recording in which he duped an operative into releasing information. >> moscow continues to reject all accusations that they poisoned election only. he was dealt the death innervation on a flight in russia. he was transferred to the hospital in berlin where he

recovered. russia's domestic intelligence agency, the fsb was responsible according to sources. navalny poses -- claims that he posed as a government emoyee and called one of the agents involved within revealed details about what happened. the plane made an emergency landing. the situation did not develop to our advantage. had the planeeen ableo fly for longer, britain would have turned out differently. >> some are not surprised that moscow has retaliated. >> it is an arm of russia -- it is due to the sanctionshat european union put on pressure. pressure is not cooperating with what happened with navalny's poisoning.

>> the blame game continues as the kremlin denounces the claims as fake and insists the accusers have not produced any evidence that they were involved. phil: india aims to begin coronavirus vaccinations in early january. they look to inoculate around 300 million people by august. first in line will be elderly people and exhausted frontline health care workers. >> this 21-year-old has not taken a single day of leave from work in over five months now. he says he loves what he does but he had never thought it would put him on the frontline of finding a pandemic one day. they're working in a private pathology the bar terry in new delhi. this is to determine whether someone is covid positive. every day, they are collecting

swab samples. he understands that every day, his work puts him at risk of getting infected himself. >> i used to be quite scared when doing this test. there was a lot of fear. but then they got used to this. if i let fear take over, how will i do my job? the most important thing i have to take care of is that i should not get infected. if i am infected, i should not transmit to anyone. that is why the whole process -- from start to finish. >> they are struggling to control the spread of the virus. these health workers are likely to receive it on a priority basis as they are at a high risk

of contracting the virus due to regular exposure. state governments are preparing list of people across the country, identifying the health workers who would be the first ones to get the dose. he is not sure when he will get the vaccine and it will still take months to come. he has to ensure that he protects himself well at all times. >> if technicians like me get the vaccine, it will help us do our job. >> he understands the importance of his job. he says he is motivated by his desire to do his bit to help al with the pandemic. >> it gets quite tiring. i start monday at 8:00 in the morning and the world goes on till late. i don't even get the temp to have a sip of water on sundays. i have been suffering from dehydration the past three months because of that.

if it doesn't work >> while they hope -- >> he says he knows that he may be carrying out these tests for a long time. phil: to sports and fifa has filed a complaint against its former president and several of his associates. they have discovered evidence of the criminal mismanagement of hundreds of thousands of euros. his lawyer describes the accusations as baseless. he headed fifa for 22 years. he was suspended in 2015. empty football stadiums have become a common sight during the pandemic. the absence of supporters has dramatically changed.

but the people watching at home are a commencing substitute. dw went behind the scenes to see and hear the enhanced stadium experience. >> plane without actual fans in the stands, they know what buttons to push to make this experience from home sound as normal as possible. the enhanced audio operator can react to almost every action on the pitch with the tiny sound effect at his disposal. it is all done on this magic pad. >> goals, chances, penalties, you name it. >> we have this nice sample

here. i press this button here. >> sky germany had to dig deep into their archives to replicate the noises. each sound played is match specific because every team has its own unique sounds in the stadium. >>e had to remove referee whistles, and gnosis as well a interjections from coaches and players from the basic audio. >> the sound is then mixed with the live feed coming from the stadium. this is what it sounds like on live tv. and you can hear the disappointment at a mr. chance.

everything planned down to the smallest detail. >> sometimes we have to add residents to make a sound richer on a small team plays in a big stadium. >> sound on or sound off, fan noise is not everyone's cup of ca. but for fans watching delete from home during the pandemic, they can choose to bring the match day atmosphere into their living rooms, even if it is not quite the real thing. >> christmas in the holy land means low tourists and no social contact. >> santa is always here in december. israel and the palestinian territories are gripped by

coronavirus, the jerusalem santa hopes for a festive season. this is santa's house, the workplace of jerusalem st. nick. -- jerusalem's st. nick. the pandemic has changed everything in 2020. >> this is very hard for us with this crazy situation we have with covid-19. >> at the nursery school run by the daughters of charity, santa is to help decorate the christmas tree. due to the pandemic, he is unable to visit some schools or hospitals this year. he and the children try to keep their distance from one another but it is not always easy. >> you know who i am? >> santa clause. >> wel-- whoa!

>> even santa must flexible and take a detour or two. the direct road from jerusalem to bethlehem is blocked by the separation barrier and checkpoints. he visits a family he knows, the children are eagerly awaiting him. this time, he can only go as far as the door, not enter her apartment, safety comes first. dwin bethlehem, christmas is not being canceled, it will simply be celebrated differently, not as colorfully and above all, without any foreign visitors. >> i want to spread the word of

love and peace and be safe from bethlehem, from the ho ho holy land. >> evening is falling on the city. it is time to open the doors of santa's house. in spite of the pandemic, they aim to fill fill their duties as best as they can. phil: that is it, you're up-to-date. we will have more world news at the top of the hour. i will be back in a moment to take you through the day.

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deal has been reached to reopen borders with the u.k. tuesday at midnight, providing citizens about nations can provide proof. millions of doses of vaccine, distribution is due to start sunday. the kremlin