as your own man, what is your decision? garvey is wrong for california. but garvey's surging in the polls. fox news says garvey would be a boost to republican control of the senate. stop garvey. adam schiff for senate. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. meet the congressional candidates one week before super tuesday. we'll meet one of the contenders of the east bay congressional seat being vacated by barbara lee. and all eyes and noses on the infamous corpse flower ready to bloom in san francisco. why all the excitement? we'll take you live to the california academy of sciences. but first, the alabama ivf case's national impact. the growing threat of measles in

california, and norovirus outbreaks in the bay area. there's a whole lot of health news you need to know about. you are watching, getting answers. i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. bay area health officials are watching an alarming surge in norovirus cases. what is driving the spread of this stomach bug? here to talk more about that. other major medical headlines and has just completed trip to alabama to study the effects of racism on health care. ucsf infectious diseases specialist doctor peter chin-hong. doctor chin-hong, nice to have you on the show. >> thanks for having me on, kristen. >> there's so much to talk about. i want to start with norovirus because it hits closest to home. how many cases have we seen locally and when did this start? >> yeah, so we gathered typical surge uh- every winter. but of course people kind of forgot about it because in the early part of the pandemic, i'd say in the first uh- two years or so, we virtually had no cases. um, but, um, we've been having just

making up for lost time essentially by having i would say, thousands of cases in the area. many of them are uncounted because they don't come to the hospital. but other measures are looking at, uh, waste water as well as the percentage of tests that clinicians are sending coming back positive. um, really indicate that it's spiking. so 12% in west coast, um, of those cases, which is really high. >> okay. okay so let's talk about why do people catch it. what are the symptoms and how do they prevent it. >> yeah. so you catch it. really. it's a gut bug. so by vomiting or by diarrhea and, um, by surfaces when, when that's contaminate. uh, the vomiting is very projectile ill. um, how do you prevent it? do you prevent it by washing your hands? not with hand sanitizer, but with soap and water washing surfaces with bleach, washing your fruits and vegetables, and particularly

shellfish? uh staying home when you're sick and if you prepare food, uh, not preparing food for at least two days after you have symptoms. >> all right. good advice. we also want to talk about measles because i think those cases are also on the rise. right. i'm going to put up a cdc graph and you can see so far 35 cases. this year i think in 15 states, uh, including california. is this a concerning number or is this just pretty much on par? >> no, it's hugely concerning. and in 2000, we actually eliminated measles in the united states. believe it or not. now we're seeing, uh, a concerning uptick. and of course, it's not just about measles. it's about other childhood, uh, diseases that we thought we had controlled and what the measles really illustrates is that people are just not getting vaccines in the same way or for their kids as they've done before, because the population is more vulnerable.

>> can we just put that graph back up? because this was interesting to me, and i know that after the pandemic, a lot of people started thinking, i just don't want to get any vaccines or give my kids any vaccines. but why did this peak in 2019 for measles? because that was before the pandemic, right? and before people started rethinking vaccines. yeah >> so i mean, uh, the uptick in measles has been going on for a long time. uh, and you're right, uh, it started before the pandemic. the pandemic amplified it. and, uh, it's not just a us problem. it's uh, all around the world. um, and in fact, in this, this year, there have been about 40,000 cases in europe. so most of the cases early on were imported into the united states. and when you have a low vaccine community, uh, it kind of just spreads like wildfire. if you remember, even before 2019, when there was an outbreak i in disneyland, uh, in anaheim and people went up to marin and other communities where they were lower vaccine rates, and

they spread like that. >> okay. so can you not get this? if you were just vaccinated as a kid and if so, and if that's the way to do it, what's the schedule for getting the vaccination? >> the schedule is basically it's part of mmr. you get it at 12 months and then you get a booster, uh, a few months later, um, if you get one, you get about 93% protection. if you get two shots, it's about 97, um, talk to your clinician. if you just got one and you wanted to have some more protection, but people who are immune compromised, uh, etc, are more vulnerable when the rest of us, uh, don't get vaccines. and of course, babies under the age of one year who can't really be vaccinated because they don't have a strong enough i immune system to respond, are going to be vulnerable because they rely on the rest of the population in protecting them. and that's really the concept of immunity, which really works for measles. >> all right. let's keep measles under control here, people. um,

okay. i want to move to on ivf because that's been in the news. alabama supreme court ruling of course, equating embryos with children. it's kind of upended the whole ivf process there. several facilities are halting the process. alabama lawmakers today are scrambling to pass a law that would clarify that embryos have the potential to become life, but they are not until they've been implanted and deemed viable. can you explain, doctor chin-hong, why facilities don't want to do these treatments without that clarity? >> they don't want to do the treatments because of liability. uh, because it is very common to, um, fertilize more than one egg per couple trying to, uh, have a child. uh, if they're not able to do that, um, you know, outside of the facility because of several reasons. number one, um, you know, not all implantation works. so you want to have maybe 2 or 3 at the same time. number two, some families have a history of genetic

abnormalities. so these, uh, fertilized embryos are tested for genetic abnormalities. number three, uh, people having chemotherapy or cancer treatment sometimes store their eggs. and have them fertilized for the future. uh, so they usually do more than one, uh, in that case. and then number four, uh, the whole reason why, uh, your, your, you know, only implanting one at a time is that, uh, you know, we are trying to get away from having multiple births, which was the pattern in the past. and that's why it will become much more expensive if people just did it sequentially. not to mention emotional and other financial costs. so these are multiple reasons why, you know, clinics are going to be hesitant because again, if you're are, uh, have to you know, discard the, the others which happens or donate it to other families. um, um, it's, it's going to be expensive. and

then number two, i think parents or people are worried because if you consider it, uh, child abuse, because, uh, somebody isn't, you know, is neglecting the that fertilized embryo out there that that implanted embryo they might be given to somebody else. uh, if, you know, if you consider it the same in terms of civil rights. right, right. >> wow. okay. um, well, we can probably do a whole show on that, but we do want to move on for now. but i'm sure we'll continue to talk about this as the impact continues to be felt. uh, speaking of alabama, i know you just got back from that state. it was a joint ucsf glide san francisco mission. what was that mission? >> uh, so the mission is really, uh, to really understand the roots of, uh, healthcare disparities by going to the source, uh, the place where the civil rights movement began to understand and the history of, uh, incarceration, of lynching, of, um, of, you know,

enslavement, uh, so that you understand health disparities so you can, you know, do do something about it, be active, uh, and therefore treat the people in the bay area. uh more equitably. uh, have a, you know, an emboldened, uh, you know, you know, motivation to, to have health justice, uh, essentially, i know you've been fighting for that for a long time, but walking across the edmund pettus bridge, i think that's what we saw in the video there. >> right. um, how did that make you feel? did that change things for you? it did. >> um, you know, you think you can understand what is happening in our nation's history just by reading about it or talking to people? but unless you go to the source and, and really walk the steps of the, uh, those early pioneers of walk, you really don't understand. and, uh, what people have gone through to really, uh, get to this point and why healthcare disparities continue even in the bay area, even in california, it was very

emotional. um, i would say that, um, you know, many people cried, uh, it it was very powerful. not only to walk the walk, so to speak, but also to hear stories of people who did the walk themselves and to hear what, how their family suffered and how they were persecuted. >> well, doctor peter chin-hong, thank you for coming on to share that story with us and to give us the latest on the health news front. really appreciate it. >> thanks so much, kristen. >> coming up next, the race for california's 12th congressional district, representing a large part of the east bay, as we look ahead to super tuesday, we'll meet one of the candidates

that's the san francisco chronicle endorsing democrat katie porter for senate over all other options. porter is "easily the most impressive candidate." "known for her grilling of corporate executives." with "deep policy knowledge." katie porter's housing plan has "bipartisan-friendly ideas to bring homebuilding costs down." and the chronicle praises "her ideas to end soft corruption in politics." let's shake up the senate. with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message.

there are two high profile congressional seats in the bay area up for grabs. so this week, getting answers will have conversations with some of the leading candidates. longtime east bay congresswoman barbara lee is not running for reelection in california's 12th congressional district since she's competing for the senate seat left open by the late dianne feinstein. this opens up this seat for the first time in 26 years. the district includes oakland, berkeley, emeryville, albany, piedmont, san leandro, and alameda. the top two finishers in the primary will face off in november. we asked each of the three candidates who have reported receiving campaign donations to join us, and two of them accepted our invitation to come on the show. so joining us live now is doctor jennifer tran , ethnic studies professor at cal state east bay and president of the oakland vietnamese chamber of commerce. doctor tran, thanks for your time. thank you for having me, christine. yeah, we want to welcome you to the show. look,

we just gave out two of your titles, but that doesn't tell the whole story. tell us a little about yourself. your life story. where did it begin? >> um. my life story. always like many other, uh, individuals , begins with our ancestors and my family came here as refugees after the vietnam war. and resettled in oakland, where i was born and raised. >> all right. and gone to school here, like always. wanted to be here and talk about what else you've done here leading up to this moment when you decided to enter the race? >> absolutely, absolutely. i was just i was just saying in terms of, um, how i arrived to the east bay, my family continues to be here and, and i went to both oakland public schools as well as, uh, bishop o'dowd throughout my time here in the east bay, my parents saved up their money to open a nail salon on 40th and telegraph for 15 years. and so i've been able to grow up and experience the diversity of our

communities across the east bay. and now, uh, i have returned after pursuing and completing my phd from usc and teach at cal state east bay, where i have the privilege to teach the requirement for ethnic studies for all of our students for graduate an. and over the years, i have really worked with, uh, worked with a variety of community leaders to make sure that we have robust and vibrant communities and the challenges that we have faced have really led me to jump into this race to make sure that we have an opportunity to have a voice in this very important seat. >> all right. i mean, you talk about wanting to make a difference in some of the issues. what do you think are the biggest ones? and i just want to start by, you know, housing affordability is obviously a key one in the east bay. right what would you push for in congress to improve it? what are your ideas that you bring to the table here?

>> yes. well, i have, uh, i understand that deeply as someone who is a renter in this race and also working with students who say that housing affordability is the top priority for them and win them in my first 100 days in congress, i would be introducing a bipartisan bill into the house called the modern cities act, which will tackle public safety, housing, uh, small businesses as well as government transparency in terms of, uh, housing affordability. we will be expanding our housing vouchers to our communities because over 80% of folks who are on the brink of displacement need less than $1,000 to prevent that from happening. and in addition to that, we need to ensure that our most vulnerable communities are receiving shelter and also the care that they need. so at the congress level, we can definitely codify housing as a rights to ensure that this can be the case for not just residents in the east bay. in california district 12, but

across our major metropolitan cities across the country and what would you advocate for on the federal level to improve public safety and reduce crime? >> something else that your district is struggling with? >> absolutely. i mean, as a as a as a small business leader, i experience a lot of stories day and night with small businesses experiencing robbery, assaults and including my own, my own family members. last year, three of my uncles and aunts experienced a home invasion. and so this issue is very deep to my heart. and everyone who really just wants to stay here and stay rooted. the second part of the modern cities act that i just mentioned right now is going to address public safety by nationalizing and standardizing police departments so that we can be able to meet the ratio that's necessary to ensure that there is a quick response time and so within that, we will again set a national standard for our police departments per

1000 residents currently, oakland is at 1.6 for 1000, compared to the 2.5 that the national. we will be integrating mental health into our police departments across the country and as well as, uh, requiring requiring training for, uh, working with diverse communities as well. but i believe that this comprehensive strategy will allow us to get to the needs that our communities are really struggling with and i served on the community policing advisory board for oakland, and we need to reestablish our police departments into dignified institutions of public service. again doctor tran, i really want my conversations this week with the candidates to focus on the candidates themselves, and not so much on their opponents, but i do want to bring up that you're kind of the outsider here. >> you don't have the key endorsements in this race. all the party leaders, uh, you know, endorsed somebody else in this race. um, what qualifications or skills do you think you bring to

the table as an outsider, that you want voters to consider? >> yes. thank you for this question. it's a time in which we see not, um, nonconventional leaders stepping in to serve across the country at this moment. um, aside from being someone who's deeply rooted in the east bay and actually born in this district, i bring the local post to the seat. that's absolutely necessary in washington, d.c, to make policies that will impact our communities. i believe that this is a time in which folks are not just tired of the status quo, but also distrustful of folks who have been handpicked for us. this is this is a seat that hasn't been opened in 25 years. now 26 years and folks want to know that one on, there's an election that's going to be competitive and it's going to be democratic, in which debates are going to happen. that allows us to stand on our track records and we will also have an opportunity to think about which which leaders are going to

actually bring the dialog that's necessary within our country and our districts at this moment. who is going to actually stand for and fight for accountability, not just for police, not just for crime, but political corruption as well. and i believe that as as an urban planner, as a small business leader, through the chamber of commerce, i've worked in and also an educator, i bring diverse experiences that are absolutely lacking in this seat at this moment. >> doctor jennifer tran, thank you for coming on the show to talk about yourself a little bit. really appreciate it. >> thank you very much. people need to know this election, march 5th. please go out there and vote and tell your friends and family, thank you very much. >> more to meet the candidate. chats on getting answers all this week. top contenders for the hotly contested south bay and east bay congressional seats will be joining us, so please tune in all week before you vote next tuesday. all right. up next, corpse flower countdown. the famously stinky flower is expected to bloom any day now at the cal academy of sciences. we'll take you there. live next

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our in san francisco. that's about to be very stinky. the corpse flower at the california academy of sciences is expected to bloom any moment now, experts say. yesterday was the first day that the flower, named mirage, didn't grow any taller. a sign it's about to bloom. so you have to ask fast if you want to see it. or should we say, smell it? joining us live now with more on the corpse flower countdown is tim wong, senior biologist at steinhart aquarium, inside the cal academy of sciences. hey, tim, is that the flower next to you? >> yeah, this is mirage. yeah, right here in our osha rainforest of the world exhibit. >> hi, mirage. okay, so that is the given name. how did you guys come up with that name? mirage >> well, as this plant comes out of a period of dormancy, it puts up one bud and sometimes that might look like a leaf or a flower. and typically we don't really actually know what it is

until it's maybe like 20 or 30in tall. so we were all thinking it was a leaf until the very last second that it truly revealed it was a flower named mirage. >> ah, okay. and mirage is on the verge of blooming right as i look at it. ah there signs like, can we tell how is it supposed to look when it starts to bloom and stink up the joint? >> yeah. so every day we're taking measurements with our bloom to track the change in growth. changes in color, some of the things that we're looking at, we're looking at a little bit of maroon pigment development on the inside of the space here. and on the day or afternoon of blooming. we should expect that this part of the flower will start to creep open, eventually reaching about three feet in diameter. so when do you think that's going to start to happen? yeah. so that's the million dollar question right now. we're currently in the blooming window expected between today and thursday, may uh- only really the corpse flower mirage really knows. but we're expecting sometime in that

period. >> okay. now when it does start to bloom and i have been to one such corpse flower blooming before. um i don't know. i guess i thought it was kind of like stinky, like, you know, old meat people have also said gym socks, different things. how do you experience it? >> well, um, i actually experience it kind of similarly, those are definitely some of the different fragrance notes that you might pick up on. people smell different things, smells subjective, but the smell should really be the most intense at night when the bloom is really peaking. and both the bloom when it opens and that smell will last about one day. so once it blooms, definitely come check it out the afternoon that it starts to open and even the following morning you should get some of those notes of smell as well. okay but why does it smell like that? >> there's got to be a good scientific, nature based reason. how does it benefit? it >> yeah, there definitely is. so for the corpse flower, they're pollinated by carrion flies and

carrion beetles. things that feed on rotten flesh out in the rainforest of western sumatra. and this plant is actually able to trick those insects into thinking. also, something that's rotting flesh. so they fly into the flower. when it opens, they'll actually pick up some pollen and then hopefully within the next day they would then fly into another flower. so it's its pollination strategy. >> aha. okay. by the way, people , you're looking at the live stream that's available right now. so you're watching tim talking to me by the flower. yeah. and this is available on your youtube channel. so you know, you can watch it. and as it starts to open up, you can run out there, get tickets. is this the only one in the bay area? >> um, there are actually multiple plants at different botanical institutions, including the conservatory of flowers and other university is, uh, this one here is pretty significant for us because this is the only corpse flower plant that we have, and this is the first time that we've had a bloom here at the california academy of sciences. it's also

unusual in that this bloom is happening in the middle of winter, where most most greenhouses and conservatories would have these blooming in the summertime. >> oh, right. of course. right. but you have that rainforest right there. so i guess if people miss it this time, i hope they don't. but if they do, what is the next opportunity you think for them to see it again? yeah >> so, um, if mirage finishes flowering this time, it might go into a period of dormancy of well-deserved rest, and it might grow a leaf for another 1 to 3 years. and so if mirage comes back to us as a bloom, it may be about 2 to 3 years from now. >> whoa. okay, so i'm not very patient, so i don't want to wait another 2 or 3 years. so hopefully we'll catch mirage this time. um, tim wong, thank you so much for joining us. really appreciate it. thank you so much. all right. so the countdown continues. but meantime, abc7 news is streaming 24 over seven. get the abc7 bay area app and join us whenever you want. wherever you are. we'll be rig

millions of hard working families. they're working harder than ever and they still can't make enough to get by to afford food and medicine to even keep a roof over their heads. we need to build more housing that's truly affordable. we need to address this terrible epidemic of homelessness. we need to invest in good paying jobs, union jobs and investments in our future. this, this is why i'm running for the us senate. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message.

what do i see in peter dixon? i see my husband... the father of our girls. i see a public servant. a man who served under secretary clinton in the state department... where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. i see a fighter, a tenacious problem-solver... who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. because he sees a better future for all of us. i'm peter dixon and i approved this message.

around the bay area. world news tonight with tonight, several breaking stories as we come on the air. president biden and donald trump both planning to travel to the border. also tonight, new questions after that nursing student was murdered. how was the suspect able to stay in this country? and the american couple missing in the caribbean, believed to be attacked on a boat. there is news coming in on potential suspects. >> it's breaking right now. first tonight, the crisis on the border. president biden planning to travel to the border. donald trump will be there on the same day. is president biden preparing to take action