tv ABC7 News 500PM ABC December 14, 2020 5:00pm-5:31pm PST
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next at 5:00, shipments of the coronavirus vaccine to bay area counties begins. but one county says its supply is being delayed. a southern california nurse expressing her feelings about being among the very first to get the vaccine. seniors are among those getting priority for the vaccine. the question is, are they inclined to take it? jockeying for position. farm workers explain why they should be at the front line for the vaccine. people are getting vaccine injected into their arms. i mean, that is an historic, unprecedented achievement. >> that is dr. anthony fauci describing today's vaccine rollout coast to coast.
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the jabs to people's dell teodosic started early in new york and then hit california by noon. with that, we saw good evening and thank you so much for joining us. i'm dion lim. >> and i'm larry beil. the vaccine comes as the country today marked a gut-wrenching 300,000 deaths from covid-19. in california more than 21,000 people have now died. that's equivalent of the population of the east bay city of albany. today dr. fauci says the covid-19 vaccines should be wildly available to most americans by the beginning of april, and that masks will still be needed likely into the fall of next year. and even with today's injections, people are not yet protected. the pfizer vaccine takes two doses to achieve 95% effectiveness. marin county was supposed to receive the pfizer vaccine today, but now has to wait. abc7 news reporter melanie woodrow live in the newsroom with the latest. >> marin county found out about the update yesterday. three of the local hospitals were prepared to begin
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vaccinating staff starting tomorrow. they now will have to wait until thursday instead. nearly 2,000 doses of the pfizer covid-19 vaccine expected to arrive in marin county today will instead arrive on wednesday. >> we have been slated to be among the first, and that was exciting. now we're not quite as, you know, near the front of the line, but, again, you know, 48 hours over the long term doesn't make a big difference, and it might give the teams a bit longer to really be even more prepared. >> marin county public health officer matt willis says the county has been at the top of the list to receive the vaccine due to its ultra-cold storage availability. as soon as the county received the news, they got on a call with their local hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. >> they had planned to start vaccinating staff tomorrow, tuesday. that will now start on thursday, which puts them into the weekend. >> all skilled nursing facility staff will be vaccinated by
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monday. >> in some ways, these adjustments are expected. it's such a large operation with so many moving parts. >> willis says marin was not the only county whose plan was revised. >> the main thing is we have a vaccine that's safe and effective. seems like it's actually working. >> marin county is also expecting 300 doses of the moderna vaccine in addition to another 2,000 doses of the pfizer vaccine. in the newsroom, melanie woodrow, abc7 news. >> we appreciate that update. four different locations in california received a total of 33,000 doses today. that includes san francisco general hospital, st. joseph, and the inevitably medical center in san diego. governor newsom says this is a day to celebrate. abc7 news reporter luz peña joins us live with more about this momentous day.
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luz? >> dion, this is a historic day. the pfizer covid-19 vaccine was developed in 11 months. this is a record. but today as distribution begins in california, governor newsom made it clear it is not the time to let our guard down. the end of this pandemic is in sight. governor newsom calling today -- >> a day where we can lay claim to the fresh air of progress versus that stale air of normalcy. but nonetheless, as was stated, when we to be sober and mindful about the moment we are in. >> the first batch of pfizer's vaccine was delivered to four locations across the state, a total of 33,150 doses. the first person in line to get vaccinated was helen cordoba in l.a. >> feeling great, i'm excited, i'm hopeful. and i really encourage everyone to consider receiving the vaccine so that we can start putting an end to this pandemic.
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>> the state is still waiting to reach its 327,000 doses committed by pfizer. as the virus spreads rapidly across california, governor newsom stressed this is not the time to relax. >> today we received as many doses in the entire state of california as there were new cases in the state of california, over 33,000 new cases recorded today averaging 31,000 new cases. >> freezers at hospitals across the state are on standby to receive their batch. governor newsom announcing 24 new locations will be next on tuesday and five more on wednesday. his hope for moderna to obtain authorization soon and for distribution to intensify. >> following up after pfizer with an additional 672,600 doses potentially within a week or so.
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>> governor newsom also said he's hoping to obtain 2.1 million doses by the end of 2020. in the newsroom, luz peña, abc7 news. >> luz, thank you. we learned that santa clara expects its first vaccine shipment tomorrow. it'll go to staff members at long-term care facilities. contra costa county will start vaccinations tomorrow going to frontline health care workers and zuckerberg san francisco general hospital will start vaccinations tomorrow as well after getting its first batch today. after the frontline health care workers and seniors in nursing homes, the vaccine will go to those others living in group settings. abc7 news reporter laura anthony joining us from walnut creek with a look at potential hurdles. laura? >> hi, larry. this is one of those group settings, a congregant setting, byron park is the name of this community. they will be among the next group to get that first dose of
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vaccine. the big question, though, will they feel comfortable taking it? >> whenever they bring it, i'll take it. >> she says without hesitation she'll take the new covid-19 vaccine. the 89-year-old lives at walnut creek's byron park, a senior community that has assisted and independent living. >> it's going to be administered comparable to our annual flu clinics. cvs, we've partnered with them. >> pleasant hill's choice in aging serves a different senior population. those not living inside a nursing home, skilled nursing facility, or senior community like byron park. many of them home alone. >> we are going to work together to ensure we have a massive public media campaign, not twitter, not facebook, not necessarily through their text messages, but really looking at where do they get their news and information from? >> others worry a glitch could happen when it's time to
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administer the vaccine to individual seniors. >> for people who are living in ko congregant living facilities, i would say i want to talk to my son or daughter or spouse about whether i should do this. and it is very difficult for those people to have that kind of conversation right now. >> she'll do her part to put her friends and neighbors at ease. >> there are some who have said they hate shots. so i have heard that the needles are very sharp. so that means it shouldn't hurt that much. >> now, no exact time line yet when she and her fellow residents at byron park will receive the first dose of vaccine, but we did hear late from contra costa county that they will be vaccinating that first group of frontline responders tomorrow afternoon.
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live in walnut creek, laura anthony, abc7 news. >> a situation we will continue to follow. laura, thanks to you. well, as vaccinations get under way, so do lobbying efforts for those who want to give a higher priority to workers in certain jobs. one such group is the state's 800,000 farm workers. abc7 news reporter david louie asked advocates to explain their reasoning. >> the covid-19 infection rate among farm workers is staggering. in the salinas valley a a a a by uc berkeley found they have three times more infection than general population. >> they have been impacted significantly and certainly in ensuring we protect them through vaccination is incredibly important. >> as chair of the assembly agriculture committee, he and other state lawmakers have made an appeal to governor newsom. national groups have written to president trump and
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president-elect biden over concerns of a disruption in the food supply chain. with individual states setting their vaccine priorities, one of them, michigan, has given agriculture workers the same priority as teachers, police and firefighters. >> when you look at the way farm workers live in intergenerational housing, this impacts their families. and so certainly it threatens these communities. >> even if priority is given, farm workers told uc researchers only half would get vaccinated. the other half worried about side effects or didn't trust the government. in the meantime, an effort is under way to include all food-related workers. >> getting that food to the groceries and having a safe supply chain for transportation, those folks are important. >> human health and the health of california's $50 billion agriculture economy are at stake. we reached out to governor newsom's office, but there's been no response. david louie, abc7 news. a push is under way to get
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teachers near the front of the priority line for the covid-19 vaccine . a committee of san francisco county supervisors today advanced a resolution urging the state to prioritize public school staff members. supervisor hillary ronan says state officials have failed to provide resources to allow our schools to reopen. >> it is time for governor newsom to prioritize public education in a real, substantial way for the first time during this public health crisis. >> city officials say it's still unclear where teachers actually will fall on the state's ranking of essential workers for vaccinations. that is expected to be decided in the coming weeks. new details now from the state on youth sports and adult recreational sports during the pandemic. the department of public health says competition will not be allowed in california until at least january 25th. they say competitions have been associated with multiple outbreaks. that date will be reassessed by
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january 4th based on disease transmission trends. be sure to download our abc7 app and enable push alerts so the latest vaccine news gets to you whenever it breaks sent directly to your phone. we have more coverage on all of this in a special edition "20/20" tonight looking at the safety of the vaccine tonight at 10:00 on abc7. well, it is the logistical mission of the century. coming up, the incredible choreography to make sure we get the vaccine. and california targets amazon over the safety of its workforce during the pandemic. 7 on your side's michael
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it was certainly no easy feat getting it there. abc7 news anchor jobina fortson shows us how it was done. >> pfizer has been training to distribute its vaccine since march. it's the biggest logistical operation in u.s. history. how does it work? within 24 hours of the fda's green light, 2.9 million doses of the vaccine were shipped out the door to all 50 states and eight territories. 2.8 million will be shipped to the same locations in three weeks for the second dose. 500,000 doses will be held in reserve as a backup. remember that slogan what can brown do for you? in this case, bring a covid-19 vaccine because u.p.s. and fedex are getting the job done by air and ground. in many ways, it's like getting regular mail. a big truck pulls up to drop it off at your local hospital and somebody signs for it. >> i've been waiting for this signature for nine months. >> that just happens to be the governor of colorado signing for the package. so obviously it's not entirely like regular mail.
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there's a lot of security here. >> we have a u.p.s. premier gold service. there's four radios in this label. this label will go on every single vaccine package and every dry ice package. this allows us to see the package as soon as it arrives in any of our locations. that is gps tracker that gives temperature, light exposure, and motion. so it gives us a lot of data. and pfizer is also providing data from their own packages. >> the u.s. marshal service is doing the vaccine transport security on the roads. in the air, the faa is giving all planes with vaccine on board priority clearances. >> there will be no higher priority shipments in our network than these vaccine shipments. they will have the highest priority of anything we carry. >> a pfizer control tower is monitoring the boxes of vaccine 24/7 the this is not only to keep up with the location, but to make sure the vaccine stays super cold, minus 70 degrees celsius to be exact, which, by the way, is colder than winter
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in antarctica. curious what suicide north side of the boxes looks like? yes, there are trays of viles for more than 300 freezers. each box can hold 5,000 doses. in the bay area, santa clara is getting the most doses of vaccine with more than 17,000. >> what a fascinating process. that was jobina fortson reporting. the state of california is taking legal steps to get amazon to hand over information about its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 7 on your side's michael finney join us now with the action today from the state's attorney general. michael, what is this all about? >> dion, here is the question. is amazon following the state coronavirus guidelines to protect its warehouse workers? california attorney general xavier becerra says he doesn't know because amazon is not handing over information that could answer that question. so today the attorney general
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filed a petition asking a judge to order amazon to comply with the state's ongoing investigation. becerra says the slow drip of information from the retailing giant is insufficient. >> if amazon can't next day deliver an 80-inch tv, it should be able to deliver to the department of justice the straightforward information we officially requested of them nearly four months ago. >> the ag wants to know which amazon facilities have the highest covid rates and if amazon has applied to any other investigations or lawsuits. we'll keep an eye on this and report back. >> all right. thank you, michael. now, take a look at all the smoke from the fourth floor of a high-rise apartment building in oakland. this is on 7th and add line not far from the west oakland a b.a.r.t. station. the fire department says lights on a christmas tree somehow sparked and ignited a fire.
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one resident suffered minor burns. firefighters also gave oxygen to a cat that was suffering from smoke inhalation before they took that animal to a shelter. if you went outside, you know the rain stopped and the sun finally came out. abc7 news meteorologist twto treat acute, non-low back stmuscle and joint pain doctors with topical nsaids first. a formulation they recommend can be found in salonpas. a formulation they recommend can be found in salonpas. salonpas. it's good medicine. hisamitsu. we're going to find the perfect tree. we're going skating. we're going to nana's. wherever you go this holiday, chevy can help you get there. which is why we're making our chevy... ...employee discount available to everyone.
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ah, take a look at this glorious sunset from the pigeon point lighthouse. look at those colors. jane took this shot in pescadero. we appreciate you for sending it in. makes me feel so zen. as for what our skies will look like this week, abc7 news meteorologist sandhya patel joins us with more on that. sandhya, it's definitely feeling more like the holidays than it did last week. >> absolutely, dion, especially after that rain and we are seeing another storm that is developing that's going to head in our direction. i want to show you a lovely post-sunset view from our santa cruz camera. that picture was gorgeous, by
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the way. as you take a look here, waves are kicking up along the coastline, so definitely watch out. we have a high surf advisory until 7:00 p.m. tonight. wave height's currently 12 to 16 feet. it's a long period northwest swell. breakers could be as high as 25 feet. in addition to that, we have a coastal flood advisory for the king tides we normally experience around this time of year. that is in effect until 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. so the high tide is coming up. the king tide at 7 feet, just past 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. and then wednesday morning close to 7 feet. watch out for localized flooding, fems you're going to take a walk along the coast. be careful out there. live doppler 7 showing you the lack of rain, but that's going to be changing come wednesday afternoon, evening into thursday. temperatures right now in the 40s and the 50s, so it's getting cool outside. here's a live view from our emeryville camera. chilly inland overnight. clouds increase on tuesday. next storm arrives wednesday afternoon through thursday morning. we are looking at a dry pattern
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to follow into early next week and possibly even longer. so we'll take the rain that we can get. now, tomorrow is pretty much dry in the morning. we'll have a lot of clouds and some patchy fog. as we head into tomorrow evening, mendocino county could see a few light showers or sprinkles. and then pretty much that's it. we have to wait for wednesday before we see our rain here in the bay area. bundle up in the morning. numbers are going to be down near freezing in the north bay valleys, 30s, 40s for your temperatures. tomorrow afternoon, mid-50s to low 60s. so you might want to hang on to that extra layer as it is that time of year when it gets cool outside. level 1 system for wednesday night into thursday morning. heaviest will be overnight and we are expecting anywhere from a quarter to three or four times of -- 3/4 inches for most of you. wednesday evening is when the rain really gets going. 2:00 a.m. you'll notice yellow and orange, indicating heavier rainfall early thursday morning. and then the shift at 5:00 a.m.
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into the south and east bay pushes out of here. could be a few trailing showers, but most of the energy is pushing off to our south and east. rainfall totals about 0.16 inches in san jose to 0.74 in santa rosa. winter storm watch posted for the sierra, up to 16 inches for the highest peaks. hazardous travel expected. the accuweather seven-day forecast, level 1 for wednesday night into thursday. and then we have a dry pattern setting up for the weekend into early next week. dion and larry? >> all right. just in time. sandhya, thanks. sort time ago bay area for people with heart failure taking entresto,
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it may lead to a world of possibilities. entresto is a heart failure medicine prescribed by most cardiologists. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. heart failure can change the structure of your heart so it may not work as well. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. and with a healthier heart, there's no telling where life may take you. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure. entrust your heart to entresto.
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the bay area county hit hardest by the coronavirus has been santa clara. coming up on abc7 news at 6:00, hear the plan to get people vaccinated there starting tomorrow. the state says you should only travel if it is essential. that we put to the test. hear what hotels told us when we called trying to book a vacation. plus, michael finney will join us live because insurance companies are making a big push to change the way fire insurance rates are set. that is all coming up in half an
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hour on abc7 news at 6:00. finally tonight, we're honoring innovative and engaged community members who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic. >> this is really great to see. the santa clara county board of supervisors recognized more than 30 people and organizations during a virtual president's medal for exemplary service. >> in the midst of this disaster, it's been amazing to watch people where they've risen to the occasion and had the best of themselves come forward. >> the honorees were picked by a selection committee from nominations made up of community members. i love it with awards ceremonies are like that because it's the people that are serving that are making the choices. "world news tonight" with david muir is next. >> from all of us here at abc7,
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tonight, several breaking headlines as we come on the air. the first vaccinations for the coronavirus here in the u.s. the moment america has been waiting for. an icu nurse here in new york among the first in the u.s. to be vaccinated against the virus. you will hear from her tonight. images this evening from across the country. the front line workers rolling up their sleeves, from new york to connecticut, florida to texas. the biggest vaccination effort ever seen in the u.s. how many americans vaccinated by the end of january? when will most americans have access to a vaccine? and how long is the vaccine effective? dr. jha is here to answer your questions tonight. the first vaccinations come as the u.s. reports a grim new
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