i wouldn't haved ed administere on myself if i didn't think it was safe. >> health officials say it won't be available for the general public for months. those receiving the vaccine need to keep wearing masks because experts are not sure if the vaccine will keep people from transmitting the virus. to abc news 7 news reporter luz pena where the first vaccinations are about to get underway in contra costa county. luz? >> reporter: kristen, a very historic day as you can see, those are the medical professionals right behind us about to get vaccinated. we have about ten medical professionals that will get vaccinated in the next hour. you see right here is the medical director of this hospital will be the first one to get vaccinated here in contra costa county. we know this county received 9,750 covid-19 vaccines and right now we're about to see the first one, the first person get vaccinated. i want you to stay with me to see the first person getting vaccinated here in contra costa

county a very monumental day. here we go. here we go. the professionals have been waiting for this moment. we were talking about how grueling it's been to go through these circumstances and the pandemic after nine months he is going to get vaccinated. here we go. >> i'm always ready.

>> all right. >> woo! [ applause ] >> reporter: there it is. we want to show you what is happening right around us. the excitement of everybody in this room. the first person in contra costa just got vaccinated and the director of this hospital. monumental day. many doctors saying that it's been a grueling nine months and this is giving them hope as we continue live here in martinez, luz pena, a brbc 7 news. >> thank you. there it is. the first one. the vaccine comes as icu availability continues to drop across the state. this is real concern. now the bay area slightly is over 15% but both southern california and the san joaquin valley are under 2%. today, people have been hospitalized with covid-19. 14,283 patients, more than

32,000 new cases were reported in just the last 24 hours. the 14-day test positivity rate now up to 10.6%. that's the highest number we've seen since april. for a second consecutive day, governor gavin newsom held a press conference about covid-19. it had a bit of hope tinged with reality as the state continues to prepare for the worst. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman live in the newsroom now with the governor's message today. wayne? >> good afternoon, larry. it's getting to the point with the press conferences they are theme at times and the distribution of this vaccine. >> it's starting to take shape, a bit of a fly wheel. >> reporter: on a day california received tens of thousands more pfizer vaccine doses, governor gavin newsom peppered a press conference with a simple message. >> there is light at the end of the tunnel but we're still in the tunnel. >> reporter: he said that again

and again. >> light at the end of the tunnel. >> reporter: specifically the governor restated that california remains in the mi did,di dst of a third wave surge. >> we haven't seen positivity rate that high since the very first few weeks. >> reporter: from 6.9% two weeks ago to 10.6% now. covid hospital admissions have increased by 54% in the last two weeks. >> 142 lives were lost to this deadly disease. again, i want to remind folks, this is not the flu. this is not something to be, you know, trifle with. this is a deadly disease. >> reporter: intensive care capacity is not so much an issue of beds but staffing. the government has not asked for a return out naval ship "mercy" he wants those people and looking overseas to recruit more. modelling shows no semblance of normalcy in hospitals for at least two months the governor

said. one reason the state debuted a psa campaign in 13 languages with a simple message. >> sometimes i just close my eyes and i'm like hug you one last time. >> reporter: powerful and true. >> light at the end of the tunnel, still in the tunnel. >> reporter: so now the big question, when will vaccinations begin to make a dent in the pandem pandemic. he said by the end of this month he hopes to see 2.1 million californians vaccinated. in the newsroom, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> wayne, thank you. an icu nurse at an l.a. hospital was the first person to get the vaccine in california. helen works at kizer in east hollywood. she joined us today on the 3:00 p.m. show gettingitially want tt the vaccine but changed her mind after doing research. >> now that i have the first dose of the vaccine, it will

take a bit for my body to develop that immunity and get me but it definitely starting to ease a little more of those fears and anxiety as we go throughout the day. i'm excited and hopeful for what is to come. >> cordova said it felt like getting the flu shot and says she's experiencing a little expected soreness in her arm but no other side effects. moderna ease covid-19 vaccine is next to be considered for emergency use authorization in the u.s. for people aged 18 and older. the fda released a briefing document ahead of the meeting thursday confirming the effectiveness at 94.5%. the document details the safety profile of the vaccine as favorable with no specific concerns. it appears americans are slowly warming up to the idea of getting the vaccine. 71% of those surveyed by the kizer family foundation say they

will either get the vaccine or likely to get it. that's up from 63% in september. the survey found that black americans, people living in rural areas and republicans are more hesitant about getting the shots. they are not hesitant at contra costa regional medical center in martinez. this is where luz is standing by as we show more people who are getting the first inoculations there in contra costa county. they have been moving at a good clip. a couple minutes ago you saw the first one, the cheers and now they are just getting more people in there and it'ses becoming, i don't want to say routine. it certainly still has a novelty factor and excitement factor but here is another gentleman, front line health care worker in the wave 1 a so to speak as set forth by the public health department to be the first to get the pfizer vaccines. the very first ones in fornorth california and here in contra

costa county in the regional medical center, more shots being given out right now. >> as the supply of vaccines increases, commercial airlines say they're 3re paprepared to h accelerate immunizatioimmunizat. david louie went behind the scenes looking how united airlines is geared up at sfo well as across the country. >> reporter: the prospect of needing to move more vaccines across the country has commercial airlines prepared. united handled five charter flights to transport pfizer's vaccine from a european lab to chicago late last month prior to the fda's authorized use. the cold storage needs, the airline is given faa permission to carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice. that's five times more than normal. >> it's about keeping everyone safe whether it's the pilots flying the aircraft or the ramp personnel who then have to open up the belly of the aircraft to remove the product.

dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and it's giving off the gas so that's what we have to be careful of. >> reporter: the need for dry ice isn't as critical for other vaccines that don't require the storage temperatures. with airline travel down and flight scheduled reduced, a 77 can carry 1 million doses. regular passenger planes have space as needed to transport vaccines. united says it has 80 facilities in the global network certified to handle temperature controlled products. all cargo personnel are trained to handle dangerous goods. the airline routinely carries other types of vaccines. >> there is the yearly flu vaccine campaigns that happen every year. we're involved in that. it not anything new. a higher profile. >> david louie, abc 7 news. now, all this week we're giving you in depth coverage of the vaccine. coming up at 4:30. it here. the shots are here. now what? at 5:00 we'll hear from

participants in the u.s. and at 6:00 michael finney will dive into the cost of this vaccine. on friday, our special hour-long town hall with a national panel of medical leaders. bad for business, restaurants, gyms, hotels, the businesses forced to close their doors for good because of the pandemic. not just t.p., the other items running low this holiday season. holiday favorites, what toy do you remember from your childhood? a walk down memory lane. i'm spencer christian, there is a storm coming our way. i'll have all the details on its arrival in my accuweather ernest hemingway wrote the old man and the sea at 52 satchel paige was still dominating batters at 59. celia cruz was still winning grammys at 77 john wheeler illuminated our ideas of the universe at 70 and roger crouch was 56 when he first went into space

your best is yet to come i have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. because i can still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it like it's supposed to. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. and i only need to take it once a week. plus, it lowers the risk of cardiovascular events. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it,

you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain, and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. i have it within me to lower my a1c. ask your doctor about trulicity.

in the east bay a first violation carries a $250 fine. a second one cost $400. a third would cost a business $1,000. one super visor suggested increasing them up to $20,000 to really send a message. the board held a public discussion today but didn't take action. many small businesses have been hanging on through 2020. it's been rough with the pandemic, smoke and fires and political unrest. as abc 7 news reporter leslie brinkley shows us, for some it's the end of the road. >> 2020 has been one heck of a

year. >> reporter: anasa yoga, the mats, the furnishings, the a34r50i yeappl appliances are being liquidated. they tried offering online classes. a go fund me raised $18,000 that helped but in november, vandals broke the front plate glass windows and a shootout in front, that was the last straw. now they can't even sell the business. >> who wants to lease or purchase a new business, a oyog studio for themselves in the middle of a pandemic. >> reporter: they are closing for good at the end of the week. >> it will be very sad for the bay area, the local and small businesses go out of business. i think the really critical thing will be is there going to pbe another ppp-like bill but a better one coming down from the federal government because that seems to be the need of the

hour. >> reporter: it wouldn't come in time to rescue tot tank. they will close up in january after 11 years. >> the thing that people aren't keeping tabs on is that consumer behavior changed. so small business has suffered because people are relying on online shoppig so it's really important if, you know, for people who are watching this if they want specific businesses or services still around after covid, the important part is you have to act now to support them. they can't wait until the new year. >> reporter: in the east i'm leslie brinkley. the board of supervisors minutes ago in fact unanimously passed an emergency ordinance that would prevent the city from

forcing those people to leave contin jenlt gent. it's estimated 2,000 homeless are living in hotels. a new essential services hub opened in san francisco's bay view neighborhood today. the launch was announced via zoom. this is a video played. that hub will provide residents access to covid-19 testing, financial subsides and access to food and other basic needs. they hit hard. they have some of the highest covid-19 case numbers in the city. meanwhile in hayward, holiday meal boxes were handed out to students and families in need. the district has been giving out meals for breakfast and lunch since the pandemic began. food boxes were available to any hayward unified families on a first come, first serve basis. now to today's unusually high tide that caught one person by surprise. the chp spotted this car trapped

by radio road near the bay bridge toll plaza. oakland firefighters showed up to investigate when they spotted a man asleep in the backside oblivious to the situation. the firefighters woke the man up but he wasn't able to leave until about three hours later when the tide finally those were high tides. >> they were. we have elevated wave heights along the beaches and a beach hazard statement. rough surf and the risk of sneaker waves. bear that in mind if you're near the coastline. looking out over san francisco on partly cloudy skies. it's 56 here in the city and mountain view upper 50s at oakland, san jose and morgan hill 54 at half moon bay and the view from emeryville looking westward. you can see clouds getting thicker in the western sky now. it 60 up north.

54 napa, 59, mid 50s fairfield, cncord and livermore and the view from our rooftop camera looking across the embarcaderem. clouds will increase overnight. the next storm arrives late tomorrow continuing into thursday morning and then a dry pattern will follow into next week. the approaching storm ranks one on the abc 7 storm impact scale. so rain will spread from north to south as our rainfall often does. heaviest late tomorrow night into early thursday morning. large and dangerous surf will accompany the storm. you can see the storm at sea kicking up the unsteady and rough surf and here is our forecast animation starting at midnight tonight, early tomorrow we may see a few trickles of light rain moving through but not much will happen until later in the afternoon and evening and tomorrow night after 8:00, we get a wave, a surge of moderate to heavy rain moving through, sweeping through as a matter of fact after midnight.

looks like the bulk of the rain will be out of the bay area before 5:00 a.m. thursday, the official start of the general start of the morning commute. however, although the heaviest rain will be gone, there will be wet pavement with slippery spots and probably some pooling of water left behind. so commuters should bear that in mind. in the sierra, a winter weather advisory from 9:00 tomorrow night, 10:00 thursday morning. we expect three to evseven inch there. overnight tonight look for increase in clouds, low temperatures ranging from upper 30s in the inland valleys to low and mid 40s. highs tomorrow upper 50s on the cost and high 60 along the bay shoreline and upper 50s to lower 60s in the inland areas tomorrow. here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. again, the heaviest rain will be tomorrow night into early thursday morning. we'll get partial clearing late thursday and then starting on friday, we have a stretch of

bright, mainly sunny days and quite mild saturday, sunday and monday. the winter solstice occurs at 2:02 a.m. pacific standard time on monday. get ready for a mile start to winter. larry and kristen? >> spencer, thank you so much. the deadlines are here and so are the long lines. what you need to know if you have plans to go to the post office this week. tackling misinformation. i'm 7 on your side michael finney. ticktock tries ♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun

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here is a holiday tradition that's unfortunately remaining in tact this year, standing in line at the post office. this socially distanced group waited their turn at the branch at 18th and diamond in san francisco. they did heed the post office's guidance if they wanted their ground delivery packages to make it to the destination by christmas, they needed to get them out by today. the same goes for fedex, home delivery and fedex ground for usps first close service for mail and packages, you need to get it in by friday. which takes us to consumer news and 7 on your side michael finney and based on what you're about to tell us, michael, i have bad news. my package to you might be late. >> oh, what a surprise. what a surprise. [ laughter ] >> all those people standing in

line were doing the right thing because if you're doing your christmas shopping online or mailing gifts out, things are getting right down to the wire. today is the deadline. if you want to use ground shipping from ups, fedex or the postal service, have the package arrive before christmas. friday is the deadline for two-day shipping and next monday is the deadline for next day delivery. the federal trade commission ordered major social media platforms and retailers to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers personal information. that includes facebook, twitter, youtu youtube, tiktok and amazon and wants to know how companies determine which ads are shown and how their practices affect children and teenagers. tiktok is hoping to stop the spread of misinformation in an

update rolling out. tiktok is adding vaccine information to the information hub. it will provide links to verified information when users search hashtags. the app will introduce a vaccine tag to detect related posts and display banners urging users to learn more about covid-19 vaccines. and larry, you know, gift cards you can send them by email so you won't have to be late this year. >> that's interesting news. i'll take that under consideration, michael. appreciate that. [ laughter ] >> but i want to make sure i get just the right thing for the man who has everything, so i'm going to think about it but i do appreciate that. thank you, michael. [ laughter ] >> taking away larry's excuses one by one, i love it. the monarch butterfly won't receive protection from

endangered spes sees. the population has fallen enough to qualify it for endangered but other species with higher priority have to go first. they propose to list it in 2024 unless the situation improves. the long wait to get your vaccine shot, what you need to know as you countdown to actually getting it. plus, seniors, they're near the top of the list

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we are at a crucial point in the covid-19 pandemic now that a

vaccine is finally in use. we're deg nigsignating what you to know. as it rollouts, kate larson has a look what the next few months might look like for many of us as we wait our turn for the shot. >> reporter: for the time being, it feels like booking reservations with 100 million callers on hold with you so when and where are you likely to get a covid-19 vaccine and which one will be available? the answer according to stanford infectious disease expert dr. moldonado starts with what we do know. >> health care workers, essential workers, high risk conditions over 65, all of that stuff and then i think it's really going to be up to the governors' task force. >> reporter: as deliveries reach california, governor newsom's team is fine tuning distribution plans prioritizing which hospital workers get the first doses as well as elderly residents in various levels of

care facilities and turning to broader numbers. >> the state then immediately asks the counties, give us your profile, at risk people, what's your positivity rate, how many doses do you think you can start off with and how do you think you'll phase it in? >> reporter: if you're in the early group you'll most likely get the pfizer vaccine similar to moderna. another from as tra sevtrazenec follow. all require two doses from three weeks to a month apart. another clinical trial is from johnson & johnson and could require just a single dose. >> that would represent a major step. so much easier to deploy a single-dose vaccine than twice, two-dose vaccines. >> reporter: especially considering the volume. the federal government reached agreements with major drug chains, cvs and walgreens and hospitals may handle the early portion of the leoad and

discussions similar to the tents used for early virus testing. how long will the lines be? arthur ryan gold says that's harder to calculate. >> only based partly on projections of how many doses of vaccines we presume will be available for use. number one. number two, we don't know the percentage of people that won't be interested in vaccination. >> reporter: some people may want to wait for a specific vaccine if they feel more confident it's right for them and no definitive word how long the immunity will last and the issue of cost. most health insurance plans are expected to pick upmost if not all expense but during the campaign, president elect biden went further saying the vaccine should be made available free of charge. perhaps, one more reason to stay on the line. kate larson, abc 7 news. >> and what about after you've had the vaccine? doctors are recommending that you continue to wear your mask until the virus is under

control. that's because while the vaccine will likely prevent you from getting very sick, researchers are still in the sure if vaccinated patients can still carry enough of the virus in their system to transmit it to others. let's get to vaccine distribution and a particular seniors. joining me is director of the age self-program at ucsf. thank you for your time this afternoon. obviously, big week. health care workers first in line and we get to the seniors. what will distribution look like for them? >> it's going to verily a little bit nationally and locally but in san francisco, the next group is seniors in congregate the first shipments we won't have enough for everybody so it will go to people in skilled nursing facilities first. depending on numbers, it may go to staff before residents. >> okay. how would people be notified? >> so facilities will be

notified by the city and they're also going to be working with walgreens and cvs. there is a federal partnership, so they've been in touch with most long term care facilities. a few have opted out of that partnership and all of l.a. county opted out so there are slightly different approaches in different places. in the city, we're looking to get ahead of the timeline for walgreens and cvs which might mean the vaccination of some staff in long term care facilities prior to the rollout by cvs and walgreens. >> let's say i'm not in a long term care facility but randomly living my life somewhere. how would i get the information at that point? through cvs and walgreens? >> not so much. if you're an older adult not living in a you're lower down the list and we don't know where those people

will come yet because if you look at the federal level, the acip and the national academies have different lists so one of them goes to the older adults and people with chronic condition after health care workers and the other goes to essential workers and to older adults. at the state level, the decision is still in process and then local jurisdictions can make decisions over and above that. so i think people need to be paying attention for when their group number is up. if people are parts of a health system, the health system will inform them. most of the health system ucsf, kizer are thinking to use electronic medical records. for people not on the electronic record, now is a good time to have help from family members or to call into the clinic and get yourself on a list so that you can receive a phone call. >> okay. should seniors in particular have any more concerns about getting this vaccine? >> oh, i would say yes and no.

seniors were included in trials and that's huge progress. but they were a relatively smaller percentage. it only went up to age 85 and we're living in a time where lots of people are in their later 80s, 90s and 100s. there weren't too many subgroup analysis. this is good and bad in the sense that actually in the pfizer trial for which we have the most data, it looked like people had the samefective nls, meaning it worked as well but they probably didn't include frail people so the people who are the oldest old are more frail, we're not sure what will happen. >> so are you concerned that too many people, elderly people will say i'm not sure about this? for whatever reason and whatever preexisting conditions they may have and just say, i don't want to take this shot. >> yeah, i think for people of

all ages. everything we'd ideally like to know we don't know. the data looks good, better than most people looking at numbers. it looks better. it appears safe in the short term and the impact of this virus on our lives directly if you're an older person that gets it and your chance of death is crazy high and indirectly through this lockdown create a tremendous incentive. there is one other thing in the trials which is that the older people had slightly lower responses and it's actually when your immune system is responding to a vaccine. people say i got that shot and it gave me the disease. it's not possible to get covid from the vaccine and if you feel sick, that's actually a good sign. that means your immune system is doing its job. >> interesting and really important information. doctor, appreciate your time and your info. thanks for joining us from ucsf. >> thanks for having me.

>> all right. to stay up to date on vaccine information and to watch any of these stories that you see this week again, all you have to do is go to abc7news.com/vaccine. also, make sure that you download the abc 7 news app and get the latest developments on your mobile device and get that any time you want. holiday travel. will people listen to the

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and dan and spencer joining us. even though we have a vaccine, officials are reminding people don't let your guard down and don't travel this christmas. the warnings are working in part. aaa predict as 30% drop in holiday travel. it's expecting 34 million fewer people will travel between christmas and the knnew year. 3 million people are expected to fly over the holidays but that's down 60% from last year but 81 million are expected to travel by car. so i kind of feel like we're in this loop, we're stuck in a time warp here because spencer, 81 people traveling by car is not traveling. i mean, that's -- so we saw what happened in thanksgiving and the cases are spiking and we'll get the same thing, christmas. i feel like this is going to happen. >> yeah. yeah, i'm afraid it will. you know, this is a time to be hopeful but not a time to let our guard down. all the advice we're hearing from the medical experts is

correct. i've just cancelled my travel plans for christmas. i was going to go to the east coast to visit my adorable grandsons. i won't take the risk. i'll wait for vaccines are readily available and i'll visit more frequently next year. >> tough decisions. i know how much you adore those kids. it occurs to me this is an extremely dangerous time in the pandemic. while it is encouraging that we have a vaccine, for most of us on this screen, it's going to be months before we can even get it and there is a false sense of security that some may have that we're almost done, we're almost out of the woods. we can't let our guard down now. the vaccine is here and arriving but it is still a long way from giving us the immunity we need. >> uh-huh. city officials in paris have been fined for putting too many women in leadership positions. you heard me. the fine is 90,000 euros, about

$110,000 because of a rule one gender should not account for more than 60% of people appointed to management positions. it was repealed last year but the fine is actually for 2018, the year before when 11 women and five men were appointed at city hall. mayor ann hildago is the first ever woman to serve as mayor of paris because the lag in france is very great. a little more context to this. even though they hired way more women, more than the 60% a lotted or whatever in 2018, that still did not bring the overall balance to 50/50. men still held 52% of the top jobs in city hall and paris. so now, two years later, they're going to fine them for that. >> so 52% two years ago? that's getting closer, at least. >> even though they hired all those women, more than --

>> still brought it to 50 -- >> still more men. >> all i have to say about this is [speaking foreign language]. >> [speaking foreign language]. >> yes, spencer, i definitely don't want to criticize any count country's laws but it seemed like misplaced priorities there. >> oh, i agree with you. i think you're spot on there. it's still out of balance, isn't it? >> yes, indeed. >> it seems kind of strange to me. yeah. >> yeah, i'm happy to criticize somebody else's laws. i think -- [ laughter ] >> we'd be better off in general if there were more women in charge of things. just look at the last four years. please. >> i agree with that. >> yeah. >> just in time for christmas. [ laughter ] >> yes. put kristen in charge of everything. >> i wouldn't go that far. [ laughter ] >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> just kidding. a new shoe for the sneaker head in your life if you're looking for gift ideas.

new nike kobe 6s, got a wow out of dan. the kobe 6 grinch sneakers. they are an updated version of the ones that the late kobe bryant wore when the lakers played christmas 2010 against lebron james playing for the heat. they are set to be released by nike on christmas eve. i'm here for anything kobe bryant. he's part of 2020, just crushing he's gone. but dan, would you take those out for a stroll or out in the backyard to shoot some hoops? >> i like them. i saw kobe bryant appearing in a christmas movie the other day and it's a reminder gosh, he's gone. hits you in the face. i'm not a big fan for spending a fortune on sneakers or tennis shoes but you look like you would be safe at dusk for oncoming cars. vibrant. >> vibranvibrant. >> little glow for sure. >> all right. well, we'll get you a pair for

christmas, dan. we're ten days from christmas and today we're going to look at some of our holiday traditions. today it's about toys this year the hot gift appears to be the new playstation 5. in the past toys like cabbage patch kids, rubik's cubes and beanie babies topped the list so we'll look at the toys, we, the four of us remember from our childhood starting with you, dan. you actually brought something in, right? >> i did. in 1967 one of the hottest toys for little boys was one of my cherished toys and i actually found it again when we cleaned out my mother's house after she sadly passed away three or four years ago and i saved it. mattel made this in 1967. spencer, you may remember this, larry, you, too. captain laser. remember this? you push these buttons with batteries and a ray gun and his chest lit up and his eyes did a funky move. it doesn't work anymore because the battery compartment is broken but it's in good shape.

captain laser. this was my favorite toy and i was glad to retrieve it from my mom's house and sits on a shelf in my study. >> that's one of my favorite toys of all time. >> toys were a lot -- go ahead. >> yeah, this was like -- this was like playstation 3 back then. you know, this thing. kids would -- >> dan, my new nickname for you is going to be captain laser. you may regret pulling out captain blazer because -- >> oh, man. [ laughter ] >> i want captain laser trending on twitter. [ laughter ] >> in the next 15 minutes. i want captain laser, dan ashley, i want the two to be synonymous. >> if this thing worked, i would be shooting you right now, larry. >> that has sentimental values for you, dan, but i wonder if it's a collectible. >> i looked the other day on ebay and ones in good condition are selling for $150 or something. >> all right. >> for me, i had the fisher price little people. what about you, larry and spencer? >> i remember that. that was fun.

>> i had -- >> my -- i guess my favorite toy for -- >> go ahead, spencer, go ahead. we're running out of time. >> my favorite toy from my childhood was probably my lionel train set i got when i was 9 years old. i loved trains. i got lots of memorable things but that was my favorite. >> i had some of those, too. they were fun. >> cool. that's why i'm so angry. banana seat bicycle with a big handlebar. >> butterfly handlebars, right? >> yeah, it was awesome and then the only thing missing was captain laser that i could put right in the front. [ laughter ] >> i thought you usually got a lump of coal for christmas, larry. [ laughter ] >> it was a big lump of coal, though. it was large. so i got -- made up in quantity. >> okay. >> that's it for the four at 4:00, captain laser. ever since you've been hanging out with jack there's something... different about you. ♪

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the holidays will be a little brighter for families thanks to the sharks foundation. the foundation teamed up with sap to provide a $45,000 grant to sponsor the distribution event at the middle school. the money was used to buy food, toys and gift cards for families in need. >> there is families that are literally having to choose between putting food on the table or presents under the tree and so the fact that we can

provide some relief and some comfort and those necessities but also presents as a perk is really important to us. >> roughly 200 under served households will benefit from the give away. the grant also funds a biweekly mobile food pantry at the school for a year. >> it's been a busy day for the folks at u.s. bank. they received a shipment of 150 backpacks and will fill them with school supplies. from there those are given to the united way to donate to low income families as part of the spark point program. all right. we're rapidly approaching the shortest day of the year and it's feeling pretty cold like the winter solstice is upoice ie >> here is what to expect before then. a storm is coming our way that ranks one on the storm impact scale. tomorrow night into thursday morning we'll have the heaviest,

steadiest most wide spread rainfall and large and rough and potentially dangerous surf, as well. here is the rack caccuweather seven-day forecast. rain will start but it won't be until late tomorrow night and in the wee hours of morning on thursday we get the wave of steady rain that sweeps through. partial clearing on thursday and a string of mainly sunny and mild day the leading into the beginning of winter which is next monday morning. 2:02 a.m. larry and kristen? >> all right. thank you, spencer. do you have your christmas tree yet? up next, why you might want to hurry up. the shortage across the country. dan is here what is coming up at 5:00. >> risks versus benefits. what we know about side effects from covid-19 vaccines. >> my stomach felt awful. >> i had a little bit of discomfort. >> why some people may be better able to tolerate the vaccine. we'll explore the questions around this. an in-depth look when deon

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. coming up tonight on abc 7 at 8:00, "the bachelorette" followed by "big sky" at 10:00 and abc 7 news at 11:00. demand for christmas trees is soaring. abc news reporter janai norman has tips on how to get a good tree now.

♪ o christmas tree >> the classic symbol of the holiday season. >> there it is. >> christmas trees, whether large and luscious and full of green needles or small and bare. >> it's not bad at all really. maybe it just needs a little love. >> but this year it's harder than ever to get your hands on one. >> where is your christmas spirit? >> the pandemic increasing freight costs of shipping trees as demand is at its peak, leaving some empty handed and pining for that perfect tree. >> we've been in quarantine and this is an activity that they can get out and do with their family. >> reporter: at boyd christmas tree farm in north carolina, darren nicholson says they've been sold out of trees for more than two weeks. >> if you've got them, it's like having gold. >> reporter: the reported shortage be garn long before the pandemic. >> typically seven to ten years

to grow a tree from a seedling that's about six inches tall to a tree ready for your home tochlt a grower has to make the decision almost ten years out. >> reporter: while supplies may seem low, the national christmas tree association assures us trees are available. >> some places might have run out, but we know there are trees out there. >> reporter: caring for your tree starts before you get it. you've got to make sure you're trimming the trunk as soon as you get the tree so it can get as much water as possible. keep it away from direct seat or sunlight. radiator or space heater should be a good distance away. these trees can take one to two liters a day. make sure they're getting lots of water. janai norman, abc news new york. >> the abc 7 news app has enhanced live video features, more customization and push alerts to get the news you want

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additional body bags. >> a grim stage as the surge intensi intensifies, what the governor plans to do now. the first vaccinations are under way in two bay area counties. the first doses have arrived in santa clara county and just in time. cases there are speaking as one hospital gets ready to accept patients from beyond its border. we'll look at the side effects from covid-19, the vaccine and why some people may be better able to tolerate them. building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc 7 news. good evening to you. thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley. >> i'm dion lim. we begin with several developments on the coronavirus vaccine. front line health care workers in san francisco and contra costa counties have begun to get vaccinated. governor newsom says he hopes to distribute 2 million doses by the end of this month. meanwhile the state is shattering records for