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 coronavirus hospitalizations and

icu cases. the governor says he may have to bring back the u.s.n.s. mercy hospital ship and go overseas to recruit additional staff to handle the growing workload. and to further demonstrate the gravity of the situation, the governor says the state has ordered 5,000 additional body bags and distributed them down to southern california which is, of course, a grim sign. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman is in the news room with the latest. >> good evening, dan. those are sobering numbers. it's get together the point with governor newsom and the press conferences, they tend to be thematic at times. today he had good news about distributing the vaccine. >> it's starting to take shape, a bit of a fly wheel. >> on a day when california received tens of thousands more pfizer vaccine doses and distributed them to 24 more locations, governor gavin newsom peppered a press conference with a simple message. >> there's light at the end of the tunnel. we're still in the tunnel. >> he said that again and again.

>> light at the end of the tunnel. >> specifically the governor restated that california remains in the midst of a third wave surge with the worst still ahead of us, possibly peaking in two weeks. >> we haven't seen a positivity rate that high since the very first few weeks. >> from 6.9% two weeks ago to 10.6% now. covid-19 hospital admissions increased by 54% in the last two weeks. >> 142 lives were lost to this deadly disease. again, i want to remind folks, it's not the flu. this is not something something to be rifled with. >> intensive care capacity is not so much an issue of beds but staffing for patients. the governor wants some of those people and looking overseas to recruit more. modeling shows no semblance of normal see 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, dad, i wish i could hug you one last time. >> powerful and true. >> light at the end of the tunnel, still in the tunnel. >> we still have to wonder when will the vaccinations begin to make a dent in this pandemic? it's going to be a long time. when they say two months, these hospitals could be filled for four to six weeks. the governor did say by the end of the month he hopes to see 2.1 million californians vaccinated. wayne freedman, abc 7 news. now today could be the beginning of the end of the pandemic for the bay area with the first round of vaccinations in our part of the state. abc 7 news reporter luz pena joins us in martinez with more on this story. >> reporter: deon, an emotional day here in the bay.

-- the first group in contra costa county, they tell me today is emotional. after nine grueling months of covid, hope has arrived. >> literally gives me chills because medical science has never done anything like this, the human race hasn't done anything like it, to identify the virus, synchronize the vaccine, test it and have it safe. >> reporter: medical workers breathe a sigh of relief as they get the first doses of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine. >> getting the covid vaccine shot, that tells me that in 21 days i will get the second shot and i'll be more protected. >> reporter: in contra costa county, 9,750 doses arrived today. the plan is to distribute them between eight medical facilities in the county. also making history at

zuckerberg san francisco general hospital, five medical workers were vaccinated today. dr. gomez was the first in line. >> i trust the fda's evaluation process. i trust the experts we have at this hospital, who have seen the data, have looked at it and we all believe this is a safe vaccine. i wouldn't have administered it on myself if i didn't think it was safe. >> reporter: dr. gomez is the hospital's medical director of critical care. on his mind, all the critically ill covid-19 patients he's treated for months. >> we have suffered loss. we have seen patients who have had to go through this process alone. that is a very difficult thing to deal with. >> reporter: san francisco is expecting over 12,500 doses of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine this week. mayor breed urging the public to not see this announcement as a reason to let our guard down. >> we won't be able to fully get the amount of doses to cover

everyone until anywhere between sometime next year, in the spring maybe even. we still have some time where we've got to go through this process and ask people to be patient, but also continue to wear a mask. >> reporter: contra costa county has the equipment to store 30,000 doses of the pfizer and covid vaccine, projected to receive more doses in the weeks to come. live in martinez, luz pena, abc 7 news. >> something we should point out. maybe you notice her shot is a little different. she's reporting from her phone for safety purposes. in the south bay the plan is to vac nate nursing home workers first. abc 7 news reporter chris nguyen says it comes as the surge is getting worse, putting the strain on hospitals. >> reporter: as the first phase of the covid-19 vaccination plan begins to take shape, this picture shows the first delivery to san jose tuesday morning. more than 5,600 doses that will

initially go to staff members at skilled nursing facilities countywide. hospitals will get a separate allocation later in the week. >> this is probably the most hopeful i have been since the beginning of the pandemic. >> reporter: dr.' van maldonado says the vaccine is encouraging, but the community should do its part by way of mask wearing and social distancing especially with christmas coming up. >> it's a small price to pay given that we think we'll start to have real progress towards getting population herd immunity. >> reporter: as of tuesday morning, at least 558 people were in the hospital with covid-19 in santa clara county. stanford health care is stepping up by offering support to regional medical providers and ready to take in additional patients if needed. >> being a health care worker and seeing it firsthand, covid is real and it's like nothing i've ever seen before. >> reporter: county health officials believe that only one in eight covid-19 infections has been reported, meaning it's

possible that with 50,000 or so known cases countywide, the total infection rate could be closer to 400,000 in santa clara county alone since the start of the pandemic. >> i'm really concerned this surge is not going to get better, only get worse. >> reporter: in the south bay, chris nguyen, abc 7 news. the fda authorized a coronavirus test that people can buy without a prescription. results are immediate. the cost is about $30 and will be available by january. this is video provided by the company. moderna's covid-19 vaccine is next to be used for people ages 18 and older. the fda released a briefing document ahead of its meeting on thursday confirming the vaccine's efficacy against covid-19 is 94.5%. it also details the safety profile as favorable with no specific concerns.

as covid-19 vaccinations get under way here and across the country, it's more important than ever to answer questions about the vaccines including potential side effects. all this week abc 7 is devoting resources to vaccine watch coverage, a crucial part, of course, of building a better bay area. today we look at how the vaccines might actually affect you. abc 7 news reporter kate larsen introduces you to people who have already received the shot. >> more than 100,000 people around the world have been injected in trials for covid vaccines being considered by the u.s. participants in the trial have reported similar reactions to the different vaccine products. pfizer's analysis indicates that about 25 to 50% of participants experienced some degree of side effects. while 10% to 15% had a more serious reaction. >> i had chills, nausea, headache, some fatigue. that just kind of got worse and worse as the night went on. >> reporter: kristen choi is a nursing professional who published a firsthand account of the symptoms she experienced

after a second injection in a phase three pfizer trial including a 104.9 degree fever. >> at that point i suspected i got the active vaccine. i took some tylenol and the fever started to come down considerably. >> reporter: choi's reaction is why hospitals plan to stagger vaccine doses among staff so not everyone feels lousy on the same day. >> that wouldn't have been a day i could have gone to work. >> reporter: these two doctors participated in the pfizer trials and had mild to moderate reactions. they both believe they got the vaccine because they've since tested positive for covid antibodies. >> i had a little discomfort in my shoulder. other than that, a no-brainer. i was totally fine. >> just feeling a little funny. nothing that frightened me. it said to me we're going to get through this. >> the younger you are, the more likely you are to have side

effects because your immune system is strong and responding to the vaccine which is likely why choi who is 28 had a more intense reaction than horowitz who is 65. >> these vaccines are i'm immunogenic. if you're having symptoms after a vaccine your body is responding incredibly well. efficacy remains quite high in the older population. that's all good news. >> reporter: dr. grace lee is a pediatric infectious disease specialist and sits on california's scientific safety review committee for vaccines. she addressed concerns about the two patients in the uk who had anaphylactic symptoms after they received the pfizer vaccine last week. both had a history of allergic reactions. >> it may be that they had an allergy to a component of the vaccine. i wouldn't expect this vaccine would be more allergic or cause more reaction than any others at this time.

it typically will happen within a few hours. >> reporter: what's more likely is vaccine recipients will have shoulder pain or minor symptoms 12 to 24 hours after injections. symptoms manifest more often after the second dose. even though some side effects may be similar to the virus, you cannot actually contract covid-19 from the vaccines. bay area residents i've spoken to in stanford's johnson & johnson trial have reported zero to moderate side effects. these two volunteered for the trial and have no symptoms but have reason to believe they may have gotten the vaccine. >> my teenage son got covid and tested positive multiple times. we had to take care of him and we tested negative multiple times. >> from moderna, fatigue, headaches and muscle pain are the most common side effects. >> my stomach felt awful. my head was killing me.

the only thing that was not hurting was my hair follicles. >> these two participated in a phase three study in texas say it was all worth it. the second study they enrolled in shows susan has covid antibodies. >> i'm so glad i got this vaccination. i'm so glad that in the future i'm going to be safe. i can go to the grocery store now, i can go to restaurants. i can hug my grandkids and i don't have to worry. i feel so free now. >> reporter: kate larsen, abc 7 news. we have much more on this vaccine week at 6:00. "7 on your side's" michael finney dives in on the cost of the vaccine. on friday our hour-long town hall with a national panel of medical leaders. still ahead, the north bay church bucking stay-at-home

inflammation in your eye might be to blame.ck, looks like a great day for achy, burning eyes over-the-counter eye drops typically work by lubricating your eyes and may provide temporary relief. ha! these drops probably won't touch me. xiidra works differently, targeting inflammation that can cause dry eye disease. what is that? xiidra, noooo! it can provide lasting relief. xiidra is the only fda approved treatment specifically for the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. one drop in each eye, twice a day. don't use if you're allergic to xiidra. common side effects include eye irritation,

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a north bay church has been holding indoor services despite stay-at-home restrictions requiring religious gatherings be held outside. >> liz kreutz explains what the church is doing and their response. >> reporter: on the door of this spanish seventh day adventist church, a sign says for your health and ours, enter with a mask. it's a message that went unnoticed over the weekend when the church held large indoor services in direct violation of the county's stay-at-home order. this live streechl of saturday night's service on the facebook page shows nearly 20 church goers singing together maskless and not socially distanced. also during the service, a baptism. in another photo posted on facebook, you can see roughly 40 more attendees, most wearing masks and sitting apart. still the state's current guidelines for covid-19 say all religious services must be held

outdoors. >> was the town aware this was hatching? >> not until you came calling. >> reporter: town council member ford green said the town will issue a compliance order. >> it's the risk of having the potential for being a super spreader. the pastor of the church didn't respond to our question. a spokesperson tells abc 7 news they require all their chapters to abide by covid-19 restrictions. they say they have talked to the church and it will now abide by the order. they believe church leaders may have been confused by the changing guidelines. that's something we addressed with the county. >> it's true that it's especially hard to reach some of the smaller businesses in every sector, so there's likely folks that have been missed. >> reporter: marin county says this is the first report they've heard of a church violating guidelines. the next service is tomorrow night, presumably canceled. liz kreutz, abc 7 news. an electrical fire near a christmas tree is the likely cause of a house fire in san

jose. this happened on lick avenue near goodyear street. one firefighter suffered minor injuries and one resident was treated for smoke inhalation. this is the second day a christmas tree may be to blame for a fire. just yesterday we told you about the lights on the christmas tree somehow sparking this fire at a high-rise apartment building in oak lapd. one resident suffered minor burns. a reminder to be careful with christmas trees. still ahead, the next step for the sisters of aoung ♪ oh, oh, (announcer)®! ♪ once-weekly ozempic® is helping many people with type 2 diabetes like emily lower their blood sugar. a majority of adults who took ozempic®

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serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your doctor if you have diabetic retinopathy or vision changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, new at 5:00, charges are dropped against two sisters protests the death of their brother killed by a vallejo police officer in june. abc 7 news i-team reporter melody woodrow has the story you'll see only on abc 7. >> michelle and ashley say charges against them for this arrest have now been dressed.

>> so excited and happy that we're putting this behind us. >> one of those things that it took too long. at the end of the day, we're going to keep doing whatever we can to make sure my brother's story is known. >> reporter: the california highway patrol arrested 17 protesters including the sisters for protesting outside governor gavin newsom's home october 2nd, the four-month anniversary of their brother sean's death. june 2nd a vallejo police officer fired from the back seat of an unmarked vehicle hitting and killing month rosa outside a walgreens. police say he was crouched down in a half kneeling position, revealing what appeared to be the butt of a handgun. it turned out to be a hammer. the monterosa sisters wanted to meet with the governor. >> i'm always open to that. let me get the facts on the basis of the investigation. >> reporter: they say they haven't heard from him. >> the pressure doesn't stop. this is a long fight that we're

committed to. it's a lifetime fight for us. nothing is going to bring sean back. >> reporter: for the i-team, melody woodrow, abc 7 news. today's high tide caught one person by surprise in the east bay. the chp spotted this car trapped by several feet of water by the bay bridge toll plaza. when investigators showed up, they spotted a man in the back seat. he was not able to leave until hours later when the tide receded. at least there was

after dry skies today we are going to get hit with some rain again. >> we are and we need it desperately. sandhya pacelle is here with the forecast. >> we are expecting that rain by tomorrow afternoon evening in the north bay and spreading southward during the overnight hours. let me show you live doppler 7, the storm on our radar right now over the pacific, heading in our direction. as it gets here, there will be some brief downpours overnight tomorrow night going into

thursday morning. here is a look at live doppler 7. we have clouds right now. here is a look at what those storms are doing in the pacific, kicking up the surf. so we do have a risk of sneaker waves until 3:00 a.m. tomorrow. beach hazard statement is up. that becomes a high surf advisory 3:00 a.m. tomorrow until 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. the breakers in favored west-northwest facing beaches could be up to 25 feet. use caution, because the king tides will be slowly subsiding so we have the possibility of low lying flooding. east bay hills camera, a post guard shot, post sunset view. san francisco, oakland in the mid 50s along with san jose, half moon bay, 50 degrees. a stunning view from our san jose camera looking towards the shark tank. those temperatures in the low to mid 50s. if you're stepping out right now grab a sweater or a jacket. one last view from our golden gate bridge camera, a calm situation, no strong winds right now. next storm arrives tomorrow afternoon and evening. we're looking at brief downpours

into thursday morning. dry days this weekend going into early next week, possibly longer. mid 30s to upper 40s tomorrow morning. we will have quite a bit of fog and cloudiness around. not expecting it to be as cold tomorrow morning with all the extra clouds around. tomorrow afternoon the rain begins in the north bay and will work its way southward. temperatures will be anywhere from the 50s to the 60s. we have a level one storm coming our way tomorrow afternoon, evening, going into thursday morning. ahead of the storm not out of the question to see a spotty shower or two. rain spreads north to south. the heaviest will be during the overnight hours and large and dangerous surf will continue. let's look at the hour-by-hour forecast. 7:00 tomorrow morning, a few spots in the mendocino county area, we'll see a few showers going into 2:00 p.m. in the north bay. 10:00 p.m. is when the bulk of the energy gets there. 1:00 a.m., look at the oranges and yellows indicating moderate to heavy rain. thursday morning, scattered

showers and then it's done by the afternoon. as far as rainfall totals, most of you will fall from .25 to .75 inch category. winter weather advisory 9:00 p.m. tomorrow until 10:00 p.m. thursday expecting over a foot over the highest peaks. level one for wednesday night into thursday. and then we'll dry it out for the weekend. winter begins early monday morning. >> hard to believe winter just around the corner. thank you. coming up, the abc 7 news i-team tracks down $2 million in federal loans given to the highly acclaimed restaurant french laundry. how that compares to what other local restaurants received. plus, the coronavirus vaccine comes in at no cost, but there is a difference between paying for the vaccine, the medicine in that syringe and the syringe itself. "7 on your side's" michael finney looks into that on abc 7 news at 6:00. "world news tonight with

david muir" is next. >> we appreciate your time. ♪ ♪ digital transformation has failed to take off. because it hasn't removed the endless mundane work we all hate. ♪ ♪ automation can solve that by taking on repetitive tasks for us. unleash your potential. uipath. reboot work.

where can a healthier heart lead you?sto, 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. tonight, several developing headlines as we come on the air. now a second major vaccine. news tonight from the fda on moderna. what they've learned. could we have two vaccines approved by the end of the week? and the emergency unfolding tonight. hospitalizations in the u.s. breaking a new record. and in california, the emergency. they are running out of hospital beds. the state preparing an additional 60 morgue trucks. los angeles county alone with only about 100 icu beds available. icu nurses have been told they are now in, quote, disaster mode. and tonight, new york city's mayor warning of a possible shutdown in new york. tonight, vaccinations now rolling out across the u.s. the pfizer vaccine arriving at 425 additional locations. and tonight, now one day