In this weekend. The 41yearold, just 41 years old, died less than two weeks after publicly revealing his coronavirus diagnosis. Also breaking overnight, another Coronavirus Vaccine just got approval in the uk. The British Health secretary says that the first doses of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine will be given on monday. This vaccine, crucially much cheaper and easier to store than the two approved so far here in the u. S. Officials say it could be a game changer for getting people vaccinationed not just in the uk, but around the world. And the uk has enough doses for its entire population already. Its more transmissable, because weve already in a surge, in the middle of a surge during the outbreak. Reporter youre absolutely right. The idea of a more transmissible virus, this is the last thing we need in a country that has done a terrible job at getting the spread of this virus under control. Colorado Health Officials announcing they found the first known case of this covid19 variant, first discovered in the united kingdom, more transmissible, more contagious, significantly more than the original strain. This was found in a man in his 20s in elbert county, colorado, and there is now a second suspected case in a man in the same county, elbert county. Both men were working at a small assisted living facility in simla, serving in nonclinical roles. Were just getting this information in. Neither of these men were residents of the county and they were only working at that facility because there had been a previous outbreak of covid19 about 2 and a half weeks ago. The county Health Department has dispatched a Rapid Response team to the facility to test residents and staff and we know that the state Health Department is in touch with the cdc about these cases. But the frightening prospect of a more contagious version of this virus comes really at the worst possible time. As you said, were within a surge and doctors have been warning about a surge upon a surge upon a surge and were posting staggering, recordbreaking numbers. We saw yesterday more than 3,700 people die of covidrelated complications and nearly 125,000 people hospitalized. Both of those are records. And were now looking at almost a month where hospitalizations have been over 100,000. And the other scare thought is that we are now just a few days away of a grim milestone of 350,000 people dying from covid in america, which is just an unimaginable figure. Alisyn . Athena, thank you very much for all of that new reporting. Joining us now is rick bright, hes the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and medical authority. Hes now a member of the president elect joe bidens coronavirus advisory board. Rick, all the breaking news this morning is really unsettling. Hearing that that uk variant is now here in the u. S. , how could it not be . But hearing that its affecti i this young man in his 20s in colorado with no known travel history suggests its already here, theres already community spread. How concerned should people be this morning . Good morning. Thanks for having me on this morning. You know, this is really concerning news. It is not a surprise at this point that the virus isnt already in the United States. Its been spreading in the uk and other areas since at least september, weve learned. Whats really concerning is that its taken so long to detect it in the United States. It tells us once again if youre not testing for something, youre not going to find. It and now that we tried to intensify our testing, of course, its here. We need to really bolster our genomic Surveillance Systems in the United States to watch for these types of variants. Its also really concerning that this virus, were learning from our scientists in the uk, is more transmissible. That means its easier to spread. Its easier for people to get infected by this virus so what we need to do more than anything, is each of us, we know now what to do to prevent infection. If each of us were to wear our masks more and social distancing and washing our hands and keeping those crowds small and dont travel right now, i can tell you, everyone in america listened to me, you do not want to get infected by this virus. And you can prevent yourself from getting infected by wearing your mask. Please help us control the spread. We spoke with doctor Richard Haseltine in the last hour, who spoke of the experience of france recently with this variant. France imposing a nationwide travel lockdown. And he said, reducing the spread of this by a factor of 20. I wonder, do you agree with him that this country has to enact some sort of lockdown travel restriction to get a handle on this early . You know, we should look at every possible option to control the spread of the virus. First and foremost, each of us take personal responsibility in reducing the spread by wearing our mask and social distancing. I know the federal level and i know the state level and the local levels have a number of additional options to further reduce the spread and they should be considering all of those options at this point, as we try to better understand how to control this virus. Rick, professor haseltine told us Something Else that really got our attention. And hes steeped in this. He has worked on these kind of immunological or virus things for decades. And he said that he thinks that the Trump Administration invested too heavily in the new technology, the messenger rna, the new vaccine and that the oldschool vaccines that other countries are still using are possibly just as effective and that its time to buy some of those from other countries. Do you think that and do you think president elect biden shares that view . You know, theres over 250 different approaches to try to make a vaccine for this coronavirus. And the United States government invested in those candidates that were moving most rapidly to respond most quickly. They also have invested in additional studies and a number of other investors have across the United States and across the world in a number of different vaccine platforms. We understand, its going to take more than one vaccine, more than one type of vaccine to get this virus under control. And im encouraged to see that those efforts are still ongoing, still being supported. And i dont think anything is off the table about the different types of vaccines to invest in. Right now, we need to focus on the vaccines that we have authorized in the United States and scaling up production of those and getting those vaccines distributed and providing the support downstream for the Health Care Systems to bring on the staff and training to get people to administer the vaccines and building and earning trust across america so people will want to take the vaccine. That is where we need to focus our efforts right now to get the virus under control. Vice president president elect, rather, biden, has criticized the rollout so far. And this is not just politics. Its in the numbers. Lets look at the administrations promises and whats actually happened. In september, the promise was 100 million doses by the end of 2020. Then in november, it was 40 million doses. Then it was 20 million by december. Today, 2. 1 million. A fraction. And i wonder what this is exposing in your view. Real issues in this countrys ability to get it out, to the people who need this most and quickly. And what needs to be done about that . You know, as someone whos worked in Vaccine Distribution and development for many years, this is not a surprise. We know how hard it is to get this job done. Weve tried to do in 2009 and 10, responding to an influenza pandemic. What this reveals a failure of the plan, a failure to have a National Strategy to vaccinate individuals across the country. A failure to communicate. A failure to coordinate, and a failure to be honest and transparent with americans about the complexities and the timelines for this vaccine. All of that erodes trust and the confidence that people have in the entire system, let alone in the vaccine. We have a lot of work to do and president elect biden said that he will move heaven and earth to make sure that we do Everything Possible to get the vaccine into the arms of americans in every pocket of our country. And thats what were going to focus on after january 20th, to make sure were rolling out a strategy, endtoend, dpa, to get supplies and vaccines produced. Communication, coordination, to get the vaccine distributed. Education, resources to support the administration and the health care workers. And communication, education, to build confidence in people to get the vaccine. We have a lot of work to do. And president elect biden and his team have a plan and a blueprint to roll out on day one. And they want to administer 100 million doses of the vaccine in the first 100 days and i believe well get the job done. Rick, until that happens, there any way to beef up and get better access to the therapeutics that we currently have . And the reason that i ask is because Congressmanelect Luke Letlow died. He was 41 years old. He had no Underlying Health conditions, according to his doctor. He was sick for two weeks or less. And he was trying to fight it out at home, as all of us are told to do, until our oxygen gets so low that we go to the hospital, unless and tell me if im missing something here, rick, but if youre President Trump or youre President Trumps friends, you get to go to the hospital right away, like Rudy Giuliani did. And then you get the regeneron antibody coke tacktaiocktail, a remdesivir right away. And guess what, you walk out of the hospital after just a few days. I mean, Rudy Giuliani is not an essential worker, but he got those therapeutics. And if other people could get the therapeutics earlier, wouldnt that save lives . It would absolutely save lives. Again, this has highlighted a number of Critical Issues that we need to fix quickly. We have vaccines sitting in the freezer not being administered. We have therapeutics sitting in the freezer and refrigerators and warehouses not being administered. We have such disparities in access to those vaccines and therapeutics. Youre absolutely right. My heart goes out to the congressmanelect and his family, but my heart also goes out to the 3,700 other people who died in our country yesterday and are dying every single day and dont have access to these lifesaving medicines and dont have information on how to get them and their hospital staffs dont have access to these medicines or the staff to administer these medicines. We have to fix the Racial Disparities and the access, the problems with access to these therapeutics and vaccines and the testing and every other problem that we have to address this pandemic. We need to do that urgently. Rick, you have your work cut out for you, as does president elect biden in 21 days. Thank you very much for all of the information. So Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell may sink efforts to give americans those 2,000 stimulus checks. Well tell you what hes up to, next. Get ready our most popular battery is now even more powerful. 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Developing this morning, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has introduced legislation that combines increased stimulus checks with two of President Trumps pet peeves that have nothing to do with helping americans in need. Democrats call this a poison pill. Joining us now, cnn political director David Chalian and niamalika henderson. This awesome duo post the cnn podcast, politically sound, which is fantastic. Thanks, alisyn. Okay, what is Mitch Mcconnell doing, david . We had Toluse Olorunnipa on last hour, one of our analysts, who floated a really interesting, i thought, take on it. Which is that mcconnells playing the president. Mcconnell is actually depriving trump from being able to put his signature on those 2,000 checks to americans. Why is he doing that . I dont know if i would describe it exactly the same way as playing the president. I think its pretty clear, Mitch Mcconnells singular goal here is to get the president s signature on the bill that was sent to his desk with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the house and the senate, and thats what he got sunday night when the president agreed to sign it. When the president did that, he said, i have all of these other issues that ive looked into it. And hes like, yeah, yeah, just get your signature on that bill. So i think that will be sure to take up your agenda items is sort of the approach that Mitch Mcconnell is taking this week. He clearly doesnt want to split his own party. And hes started to see some splits emerge among republicans, right . Some of them would be in favor of that 2,000 stimulus check, the increase up to 2,000. Some would not be. And that would divide his own party. And so he was not looking to do that at all. Especially right before the Georgia Senate runoff, when he wants a totally unified effort. You see there a few of the senators on your screen that indicated that they were in support of that. And so instead, he combined it all, knowing one way to keep republicans unified, put these other things in there. They can support those things, knowing that the democrats will not at all, and it wont pass. Niamalika, im sure folks watching at home right now are entertained to hear about machinations, keeping the Republican Caucus together. I mean, the country is on fire right now in this outbreak. 3,700 people died in a day. Its going up. Theres a new variant here, which is more transmissable. Were talking about a surge within a surge. And meanwhile, of a failing rollout of the vaccine. Its failing. Its not meeting even a fraction of this administrations goals by the end of this month. Has that pierced is that piercing the bubble on capitol hill . What are they doing about it . You know, no, in many ways. And then you have this news of this congressmanelect, 41 years old, who we were talking about last segment who died from the coronavirus. So even with all of that, even with the horrible news about coronavirus, the uptick in cases, the uptick in deaths, the capacity in some of these hospitals at a limit in the icu wards, for instance. None of this really seems to be piercing congress in terms of what they want to do. If youre Mitch Mcconnell, you feel like you have done what you needed to do, by passing the relief bill, the 600 that will go out to folks who are really scraping to get by. Some of them facing reveviction. Some of them having to goed to to food lines because they dont have enough food for their families. And that is the reality that americans phraare facing right and its only going to get worse. The death toll will continue to go up. This vaccine rollout hasnt been what this administration promised. It was supposed to be 20 million by the end of the year. I think its about 2 million at this point. So you saw biden come out yesterday and really try to light a fire under this current administration. That, of course, not working either, because this administration is essentially saying, well, listen, its all up to the states, which is where theyve been all along on this, which is why its gone in such a disastrous way. Just to build on that, david, were used to the president being checked out at this point on coronavirus. He shut down travel from china in february and has tried to hang his hat on that ever since. After he did that, he said, well, its going to magically go away. So nothing has happened on a National Basis that would change the course, the horrible, tragic course of this, basically, since then. But he has been on the golf course this week for 15 hours, that we know of. And the idea that there can be no national plan, there can be no National Strategy, its all up to the states from here, and were seeing how that is failing, obviously, president elect joe biden has a very different take and a very different approach to all of this. But i mean, what hes being handed 21 days from now, i just dont know how hes going to be able to turn all of that around. Yeah, well, every week since the election in november, alisyn, what youve seen is joe biden come out and talk about the covid crisis, front zmand center with the American People. Hes actually trying to fill the leadership vacuum left by donald trump that youre describing that hes checked out. So each day, one day every week, at least, hes come out, whether its sort of announcing his team or what he calls sort of talking straight from the shoulder to the American People on this notion that we are in for darker days ahead before we are in for brighter days ahead. Hes trying to level set expectations, talk about his first hundredday plan, constantly urge people to wear masks. He is trying to fill that vacuum that donald trump has left here. And i think you are right to note that three weeks from now, when joe biden is inaugurated, its not a light switch, that all of a sudden the covid crisis is just going to be a totally different problem and its going to be on its way out. No. Thats what joe biden is trying to prepare the American People for, is that this is still a long road ahead. Not made easier by the president , who is currently in the oval office. So you have these sins of omission here, right . But you have active blocking of the biden transmission. We had new reporting last night with myself and my colleagues, mj lee and kevin liptack, that the department of defense is withholding Key Information from the biden transmission thing on several things, troop deployments in war zones, the military budget, but also details about the ongoing russia hack. This is dereliction of duty, with real consequences for national security. How is this happening . And real consequences for every american. I think if you look at the way that donald trump has behaved, where its clear that he wont be the next president , he wants joe biden to fail. He wants to hobble his administration, whether it comes to national security, whether it comes to his understanding of covid and the vaccine rollout, that is what he wants. And its terrible for every american, because joe bidens success means american success. It means american safety, it means Americans Health and wellbeing is being looked after if joe biden is successful in tackling these huge, huge issues. As you said, america is on fire. Were in a desperate place as citizens and as a country. Because it would be much more helpful if this outgoing president was being helpful instead of trying to hobble this incoming president , because he cant accept that he lost. And so its a real tragic situation. Niamalika, david, thank you both very much. Great to talk to you. So there are some major developments in two highprofile Racial Justice cases. We bring you the latest on the deadly shooting investigations of Breonna Taylor and tamir rice. Thats next. Ny who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100 online. Now weve created a brandnew way for you to sell your car. Whether its a year old or a few years old. We wanna buy your car. So go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. And our techno wizardry calculates your cars value and gives you a real offer in seconds. When youre ready, well come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, thats it. So ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. We have two major developments on highprofile cases of Deadly Police shootings involving black americans. The Louisville Police officer who shot and killed Breonna Taylor, whose death set off a wave of protests across america, was notified he will be fired by the police chief, as will a second officer. At the same time, two cleveland Police Officers will avoid federal criminal charges for their role in the killing of 12yearold tamir rice in ohio back in 2014. Cnns Jason Carroll has the latest on both of these cases. Jason . Reporter a lot of developments overnight, alisyn. I want to start with the Significant Development involving the Breonna Taylor case. You touched on it, late last night. Attorneys for two louisville metro Police Officers confirmed the department does intend to try to fire them. Thats according to their attorneys. Detective joshua james who obtained that noknock warrant and detective cosgrove who fired the fatal shot that night received pretermination letters yesterday. The letter from the interim police chief says in part, your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the department. I cannot tolerate this type of conduct or untruthfulness by any member of the Louisville Metro Police department. James attorney telling cnn that his client is being made a scapegoat and called the investigation into the officers a fiasco. T a police hearing on the matter is scheduled for tomorrow. And none of the officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor were ever charged directly in connection with her death. And in a separate case late yesterday, the department of justice announced there is not enough evidence to support criminal charges against the two officers involved in the shooting of tamir rice. Rice was killed by two cleveland Police Officers back in 2014, who mistook a toy gun the 12yearold was playing with in a park for a real gun. According to a statement from the doj, federal prosecutors could not prove that rices Constitutional Rights were violated or that the officers obstructed justice. That Statement Reads in part, an officer is permitted to use deadly force when he reasonably believes that the suspect posed an imminent threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others. Late last night, i did speak to an attorney for the rice family, who called the doj decision, quote, an outrageous miscarriage of justice. He went on to say, its a tremendous blow to the rice family, especially rices mother, who he says is now beside herself with grief and disappointment. Jim . Goodness, that poor family. Jason carroll, thanks very much. Joining me now to discuss, cnn Law Enforcement analyst, charles ramsey. He is the former Police Commissioner in both philadelphia and washington, d. C. Also with us, legal analyst joey jackson, criminal defense attorney. Thanks to both of you this morning. Listen, the three of us and others on this broadcast and others have discussed this issue multiple times over the past several years. You look at these cases, a 12yearold with a toy gun, shot dead. Nothing coming off it. You see the Breonna Taylor shooting. There is one charge pending for wanton endangerment for one of the officers who fired through a wall there. But otherwise, the penalty is getting fired. Joey jackson, is this a problem with the law as it stands or the application of the law in these series of cases . Good morning, to you, jim. The problem is that there are multiple problems. Lets start with tamir rice. Were talking about going into 2021. This occurred in 2014. What is the situation with a Justice Department that takes six or more years to render a determination . If it happened in 2014, a grand jury made a decision not to prosecute in 2015. There was a civil settlement in 2016. Doesnt the family deserve more with respect to transparency, as it relates to the investigation . With respect to an actual investigation that is attendant to the facts and to the law, and that can render a timely decision, so they can have some measure of decency and have some measure, that theyre not going to get to closure, but just in a resolution of the case. And so we have to do a much better job in a system with regard to informing families and communities and with regard to making proper determinations quickly. As it relates to the other issue, i think its a critical first step and a very good first step that a department is doing what an attorney general would not do. Now, they cant charge criminally, but they certainly can charge as it relates to administratively, and violations for a job. And its a good first step for a chief, well hear from the chief momentarily, heavily is the head that wears the crown. And to make the decision that says, therell be accountability when you kill skmn thomeone and will come with the loss of your job. And thats a critical first step as it relates to the kentucky matter involving Breonna Taylor, to which no one has been held accountable. Charles ramsey, you led Police Departments in philly and washington, d. C. I know, i speak to cops a lot, ive got cops in my family, the job of policing is tough. But when you look at cases like these, do officers need the degree of Legal Protection that they have here . Because it is its not impossible, but it is really damn hard to get a cop charged with a use of force that appears to be excessive in these cases. What protection do police need and is the Legal Protection excessive at this point in your view . Well, thats certainly a matter for debate, when you speak to Police Officers, they certainly want to maintain protection. I think people should know that if an officer is really acting outside of policy, outside of color of law, that they are subject to be pursued and charged criminally and so forth. But there do need to be some level of protection. The question is, how much protection do officers really need. I agree with joey on the tamir rice case. It took far too long for them to come to this conclusion. That just rubbed salt in the wound, as far as im concerned. I understand the rationale they had with no evidence to move forward with the charge, but theres no excuse for it to take this long. As far as the Breonna Taylor case goes, officer james, my understanding is he lied in a search warrant. He made a statement, which was a criminal statement in terms of a postal inspector having stated that packages were still being delivered to that residents. Turns out, it was another Police Officer that said that, not a postal inspector. Thats critical. I agree that determination is appropriate. Im not sure about cosgrove. Obviously, the interim chief would know more than i know, because shes reviewed the case file. However, remember, he was one of the two officers that went into the department. Officer mattingly was shot, the first shot was fired from inside the department. They returned fire, and unfortunately and tragically, Breonna Taylor was killed, but the officer was returning fire after being fired upon. So im not quite sure that what rationale was. Joey, as you know, following the killing of george floyd, there was an effort on the hill to come to agreement on some reform, right . Even sponsored by senator rick scott, senator anyway, it didnt go anywhere. We have another chance coming this year what change would you want to see as a lawyer to help prevent this going forward. I think theres a number of changes, jim. I think it starts first of all with the issue of accountability. It starts with procedures and protocols being in place that were followed when youre executing warrants so you know that the information is reliable and youre coming upon a scene having all indications that what youre relying upon is accurate and fair. It also begins with reforming and assessing whether or not the noknock issue is relevant and appropriate, right . They are dangerous. And of course, officers have a dangerous job. Theyre out there protecting and working with us and working for us every day. I get that. But you want them to work in an environment where theyre trusted and where theyre respected. And youre not going to be in youre lying in a warrant. It comes as it relates to reforms and transparency. Lets convey families with respect to whats happening with these investigations. Lets set a timeline so we can complete these investigations. Lets let people know whats going on with these investigations. Lets look at the grand jury process. And so we dont have to rely upon attorneys general telling us what happened, lets see what happened in the grand jury. There are a lot of reforms out there. Hopefully well be able to get it done, hopefully well be able to keep communities safe, and therell be some cooperative relationship of trust going forward. Joey, commissioner, thanks so much to both of you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, the coronavirus pandemic dominated 2020. A look back at how it all unfolded, thats next. 2020s done a new era has begun so keep pushing forward. Because this is twenty twenty won make a different future start different at godaddy. Com finding the right words can be tough. N it comes to autism, finding understanding doesnt have to be. We can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. Go to autismspeaks. Org. And a yoga mat, to stay zen now, im gonna just buy a bike for him rakuten cash back on the stuff all in my home. I shop on rakuten. Rakuten see every yikes. And even every awwwwwwww. Wait, where was i . Introducing self protection from xfinity. Designed to put you in control. With realtime notifications and a week of uninterrupted recording. All powered by reliable, secure wifi from xfinity. Gotta respect his determination. Its easy and affordable to get started. Get self protection for 10 a month. The biggest story of 2020 and perhaps of our future is the coronavirus pandemic. It is global and yet deeply personal for so many families. Cnns chief medical correspondent, dr. Sanjay gupta has tracked all of the developments on this virus from the very beginning. I have never covered a story of such magnitude. This story has impacted everyone across the globe. And when i first began reporting on it a year ago, i didnt suspect that we would be where we are today. Ive reported on pandemics before, outbreaks before, h1n1, ebola, but never has a virus taken hold of the planet in such a vicious and efficient way. At first, it was a story that just seemed so far away. Growing concerns across asia as the new coronavirus. Reporter and within weeks of those initial reports from china, the first confirmed case in the United States. On january 20th, samples were confirmed by the cdc. Reporter scientists immediately got to work on a vaccine. I have cautious optimism that we would be able to develop a vaccine against this and other coronaviruses. But little did we know just how efficient this Novel Coronavirus really was. In china, to accommodate the crush of patients, hospitals with a thousand plus beds were built in just days. And it was a warning for the rest of the world. We saw what happened in china. We hear about hospitals being filled to the brink dpop you anticipate that happening here . We certainly hope that we wont have to make tough decisions like that, but we have to be prepared to do so. Reporter it was heartbreaking and we quickly learned how the virus would take advantage of our behavior, how we traveled, how we gathered. But we were stymied in tracking this virus from the getgo. The cdcs initial test to diagnose covid19, faulty. It seems that cnns reporting is pointing to a larger problem. Whether all of this happened because of just a contamination problem or just a manufacturing problem or some combination. Reporter but we were our biggest obstacle. We thought that we could outsmart it. This is spreading and its going to spread, maybe, within communities. It may. It may. Does that worry you . That seems to be what worries the American People no, because were ready for it. It is what it is. Were ready for it. Were really prepared. As ive said, we have the greatest people in the world. Were very ready for it. We hope it doesnt spread. Theres a chance it doesnt spread, too. And theres a chance that it will. And it did. By march 31st, the cdc counted 32 confirmed cases in the United States, but according to some estimates, there were already 28,000 cases or more around the country, invisible to our eyes, in part because our testing was behind, but also because 40 of all cases dont show any symptoms. The first images we really saw of the disease, an outbreak at the Life Care Center of kirkland. An elderly care facility in washington state. It made sense. Earlier studies had shown the disease was more severe and more deadly among people who were older and had underlying conditions. Soon, hospitals in new york were overrun. The line snaking through, getting longer as the day goes on, of people who were just trying to get tested, just trying to get care. Reporter and it wasnt just older people neegd beds. The hospital is on lockdown. Reporter we began hearing more and more stories like this. That was it. I never got to say i love you nothing. Reporter nicole buchanans husband, conrad, was just 39 years old, healthy, in the prime of his life. And just as puzzling, the long haulers, those experiencing symptoms for months, with no end in sight. Blood clots, seizures, tremors. Reporter but why do these symptoms linger in some people . Why are seemingly healthy young people dying . We still dont really know. For some, it could be their immune systems react too violently, resulting in a storm of inflammation, a cytokine storm. Others experts say the answers may be in our genes. But on top of that, this disease exacerbated and unmasked existing inequities. Africanamericans are dying at a rate nearly two and a half times higher than whites. Latinos and native americans are dying at a rate more than 1 1 2 times higher. What we do know is that the virus has remained fairly constant. But how we have reacted to it has made us our own worst enemies. By march 16th. The number of confirmed cases exploded to nearly 5,000 and we were worried. Weve made the decision to further toughen the guidelines and blunt the infection now. Reporter but we didnt stay shut down for longer. [ chanting usa ] we made masks political. Were not antimasks. Were not for masks. Were for choice. Reporter and young people became significant drivers of spread. Those are my friends over there. Obviously, theyre definitely no social distancing. Reporter now, half of all confirmed cases are under the age of 40. By june, our numbers had spiked. We are now having 40 plus thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. We hit more than 100,000 cases in a single day on november 1st and have continued to climb from there. As the weather has turned cold, weve come back indoors, fatigue has really set in, and after months of not seeing loved ones, many people are traveling and visiting with their families again. And thats a cause for alarm. Its small family gatherings. Family gatherings where people become more comfortable, they remove their face mask when they get together. And its just this silent epidemic that begins to transmit. Reporter as we hit the third and what is now the highest peak of this pandemic, the outlook is sadly grim. The number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have been on a meteoric rise. Hospitals are buckling and we are seeing scenes similar to what we saw in the spring in the northeast, except now, theyre all over the country. I have a hard time figuring out how to represent how weve done in this country, 250,000 people have died. Was this a failure in this country . Did you expect it to go this way . I always worry when we have an outcome that none of us want. Reporter the good news is that there are now treatments, drugs like remdesivir and monoclonal antibodies, the steroid dexamethasone and blood thinners to reduce clotting. And in part, helping to lower mortality rates. But most significantly, 11 months after the first case in the United States was confirmed, weve begun administering the first vaccines. A triumph for science and a triumph for humanity. Its done reporter a message i want to make sure everyone hears, which is why when it was my turn, i shared the moment and got vaccinated on camera. We are so close now to seeing the end of the pandemic. Seeing the vaccines roll out is a true light at the end of the. But we cant forget that we have some of our darkest days ahead still. I hate to say it but its true, to know on average more than two people will die every minute here in the United States from covid, its just jarring. We can bring an end to this pandemic, but the vaccines wont necessarily be a silver bullet, they may not rescue us from ourselves. We need to act ourselves. And we are only going to end this if we remember to wear a mask, be kind, and get vaccinated. Snoop sanjay gup sanjay gupta has been so helpful through all of these dark weeks. We appreciate him. The wait is over for some of the most vulnerable americans, details on how they are getting vaccinated now. Thats next. kids laughing upbeat tempo sanctuary music its the final days of the wish list sales event sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down, zero due at signing, and a complimentary first months payment. And a complimentary new projects means you need to hire. Gers. I need indeed. Indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. Claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed. Com home. Resso to help you remembermber commthat Liberty Mutualgia. Customizes your Home Insurance, heres one thatll really take you back. Wow whatd you get, ryan . Its customized Home Insurance from Liberty Mutual what does it do bud . It customizes our Home Insurance so we only pay for what we need and what did you get, mike . I got a bike. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. People with certain disabilities are more vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus, now vaccines are being distributed at a new york home for those with complex medical conditions, providing relief and more importantly hope to residents and staff there. Cnns gary tuchman has the story. Reporter in new york states cat skill mountains its a landmark day for these young people, all of them who have severe medical issues and comorbidities. Today is the day one, two, three. Awesome. Good job. Reporter they get the pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine. Thats awesome. Awesome, bud. Reporter this is the 1,500 acre center for discovery where hundreds of Vulnerable Children and adults with complex medical conditions live and visit for clinical treatments and educational, social, nutritional and recreational experiences. This 24yearold has cerebral palsy. Thats a beautiful hat. How do you know how to make a hat. I have no idea how to make a hat. You do. I do . I couldnt do it. Good job. Reporter for months the residents here were not able to see their parents and families in person because of covid. Now with proper precautions they can, and parents are with their children as they get their vaccines. Oh, my goodness. Good job. Wonderful. So good. That was great. R. J. Has severe autism, his mother says his grandfather died from covid in april. And i know that my dad would be so proud of how well r. J. Has done through this entire ordeal and particularly today, you saw how much of a trooper he was getting his shot. Reporter jodie also has profound autism and seizure disorders. Looks like a booboo. Yes, the bandaid is for a booboo. Reporter her mother says not being able to see jodie in person for months was excruciating. Just the thought that have for me has been the worst part of the pandemic. Getting the vaccine today, its the beginning of the end of that nightmare. Reporter although residents and employees here have tested positive for covid over these months, there have been no deaths. Credit is given to the diligence of the employees here, about 1,700 of them, and they, too, are getting the vaccine. Okay. Here we go, colleen. Ready . Reporter after all, its the employees who can bring the virus in. Their courage and their efforts just keep us moving forward, but we have to stay with it, you know, its not its not a mic drop yet. We still have to get through this. Ready . One, two, three. Reporter the parents visiting realize this frightening time is not over, but the relief on this day is palpable. It is so emotional. And he knew in his gut that this is something he wanted to do, i cant tell you how emotional it is to watch someone you were so worried about for so many months automatically see hope on the horizon. Reporter and her the hat maker we met earlier . Okay. A little pinch. Ready . Did you feel it . Not at all. All right. Good job. Reporter well, she says she is most grateful that she, too, has now been vaccinated. Gary tuchman, cnn, monticello, new york. So happy for them and their families. We do have a lot of breaking news this morning, lets get right to it. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is new day. John berman is off, jim sciutto joins me. Great to have you, jim. Good to be here. We do begin with several breaking headlines on the pandemic. Authorities discovering the first case of that new coronavirus variant that originated in the uk, they have discovered it in colorado. The patient is a man in his 20s with no known travel history. Cnn has learned a second suspected case of that is in colorado, it is currently being investigated. Both cases involve young men that work at an assisted living facility. This comes as the pandemic in the u. S. Is shattering more records for deaths and hospitalizations. More than 3,700 americans died just yesterday. Thats the highest number yet in a single day. And a Record Number of people, nearly 125,000, are now hospitalized with coronavirus. One of the latest victims is republican congressmanelect luke letlo of louisiana. The 41yearold was set to be sworn in this weekend. He died less than two weeks after revealing his diagnosis. Also breaking this morning, another Coronavirus Vaccine getting the green light. The uk has approved the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine, the first doses will be given there on monday. Crucially this vaccine is cheaper, a lot easier to store and transport than the two approved so far here in the u. S. Could be a game changer in the effort to vaccinate people in many countries, including this one. We begin our work with cnns athena jones on the news of the uk variant found here in the u. S. What seems to be key here, right, is these americans, they have it, but did not travel, which then indicates