hi there. i'm kristen sze. welcome to our daily program called "getting answers" we're asking experts your questions every day at 3:00 to get answers for you in real time. today we'll talk to jackie spear about the recently agreed to covid-19 relief bill. later, a skilled nursing facility in san francisco is getting the covid 1 vaccine right now, so we'll take you live there for the injection. first, here are the latest numbers when it comes to icu availability and the numbers are not good. southern california and san joaquin remain. greater san francisco improved.

they are locked into stay-at-home order for the three-week duration. the bay area improved to 13.7%. nowhere california is at nearly 29%. joining us is dr. grace lee, medical officer for practice and innovation. dr. lee, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> the stay at home today governor newsom says will likely be extended. he floated they'll be using a projection one month out from the region when the region would exit the stay at home. for us, that would be january 8th is that reasonable, given the data? i wonder how too you project one month out? >> well, i certainly trust our state and local health officials who have be tracking this closely. this is a hard decision to make

for all our communities for a multitude of reasons. it's one that's so important as our hospitals are filling up. we wonder about health care capacity. we anticipate that as the numbers are going up in this context and worried frankly about travel and interaction outside the household. as much as we can do to ensure that people aren't getting sick from covid-19 infection, aren't coming into the hospital extremely illinois or suffering severe kmi indication of covid-19. all that we can do to prevent and mitigate the spread is going to be important for us in this particular time period, particularly as we're waiting for more and more vaccines to become available. >> there's concern about this new strain found in the uk? is that really alarming? is it more contagious, is it deadlier or what? >> there's a lot we still need to learn about it. they're thinking quickly about this. it's hard to know in this

context. the question i've been requested most frequently, what can we expect in terms of efficacy and i know that at least of the last open public aci committee, advisory committee on practices. moderna made a statement that specifically they were taking a hook to make sure some of the syrup in their experimental studies were able to fight the virus. is it going to change transmissability, is it going to impact at all efficacy? our hope is no but i hope we'll have more information coming soon. >> do we know if it's more resistant to therapeutics? >> that's a great question. i have not seen that data but many of us will be looking into that. unfortunately i know there is ongoing surveillance to ensure

that we can quickly detect if and when the strain arrives. we hope that spread will be mitigated and we won't see it here but as with all things infection deas wise, we have to be prepared. >> the state has not seen this new strain in california and they're monitoring closely, he said. he said they're considering travel restrictions for people coming from the uk. do you think that would be helpful and immediately needed? >> it's a great question. i think it really depends on what we're finding many terms of transmissability and the data we're seeing from the uk, but i will defer to my colleagues in public health to be able comment on that more effectively. >> if we're not sure, why not do it, right? that's what a lot of the european airports are doing. >> in terms of thinking about the effectiveness of travel bans, i think again it will

depend on our understanding of whether or not this is a meaning flip different virus in any way clinically and in terms of transmissability but i anticipate we'll learn more soon to provide more information once that happens. >> it is so alarming right now. i want to ask you about vaccine distributions. last friday there were protests at stanford over the fact that a lot of medical residents didn't get the vaccine and that some administers were getting them, even though they work from home. has that changed at stanford. what's happening now? >> i can't speak for stanford as a whole but i can say my experience at stanford. i have seen our leadership really articulate how important the work force is to us. every individual contributes to our mission of care to patients, you're a important member of this team. an interpreter, environmental

worker, foodservices worker, or a volunteer. everyone comes into our organization with a sense of purpose. i'll say that vaccine allocation is hard for all of us. it's happening at the national level, state, county, and local levels. none of the decision making is easy. stanford really adopted the principles that were put forth by acip, promoting equity and reducing deparrot. it's important to remember that the risk of infection is not just the risk in the workplace. it's also a risk in the community we live in. i am grateful that stan fod has had enough vaccines to vaccine the spire work force. i think we'll get there in several weeks. other groups are awaiting the availability. >> totally. that's why the cdc advisory panel, they're voting on the second group and the third group. give us a quick summary of whato

they're doing now? kind of tell us what the groups entail and who's after that. >> thanks for that question. so yes, they deliberated on it this weekend and focused in on thinking about ways to provide access to safe and effective vaccines for the entire u.s. population. phase 1 includes front line essential workers and individuals 75 and older. the thinking or rational behind that is both to reduce the risk of infection to those who really are needed to help us serve critical functions in society as well as to reduce the morbidity and mortality due to covid-19 infecti infection. again, our hope is that we will have enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone in the u.s. who wants a vaccine. this is to ensure that in the early phases we can maximize the benefits and mitigate the

problems. >> when do you think children will get the vaccine? also, since we didn't see children really in the trials and the effect on them, how do we know it's safe for them? >> a great question. we're very much looking forward to having more data on children, so as you know, the pfizer/beopo tech vaccine including 16-year-olds in those trials, 16 and older. and 18 and older for moderna. we want to have more information on younger children and this is because it's so critical for us to be able to get our kids back in school and i anticipate that we will have future clinical trials available, i think both manufacturers have already announced that they are planning trials in young children going forward. the sooner we can get that data, the better. >> all right. and as the virus continues right

now, what have you seen in terms of children coming in being really ill. i'm asking this because i do know an 18-year-old, a friend of my daughter's, an athlete, otherwise healthy, got hit with this so hard, she could not breathe. is that actually happening to children? i think people would like to hear from a pediatrician. >> absolutely. i mean, so while young children don't often get as frequently sick as older adult patients, for the kids to actually have become hospitalized we have seep children become quite ill with infection. really, it's important for us to remember how to continue to prevent the spread. i think, you know, vaccines are going to be an incredibly important tool in our prevention tool kit. we're going to continue to need some masks and assure that there's social distancing in place and all the other measures that we have put into place as a community in order to mitigate spread, as much as we can do to

prevent unmess infection in children. until a vaccine is available, it's going to be incredibly important. >> all right. thank you so much for your time and insight today. >> thank you for having me. >> coming up next, jackie spear will be joining us live to talk about the $900 billion relief bill and what it includes for you. is there a check

all right. it finally happened or it is happening. congress reached a deal. they have yet to vote but they agree on a relief plan long in the works. joining us to answer your

questions, if you have them, put them on facebook live, is congresswoman jackie spear. great to see you. >> thank you. great to be with you. >> you're voting soon on that package. do you have -- >> that's right, that's right. i have my phone here which allows me to communicate to my colleague who's voting for me by proxy. >> all signs point to approval in both houses, right. can you give us a sense of when it's going to go down or whether both chambers will vote on this and solidify a deal? >> a the house will vote first. then it will go to the senate. what's critical is we have to make sure the government doesn't shut down in the process, so most of this has to take place by midnight. we have a commitment that the president will sign it, which is helpful, of course, he's most excited about the fact that he

can have his signature on those checks once again. and it turned out was very persuasive to the voters during the november election. >> the $900 billion package includes $600 direct payment for most adults. can you shape who is eligible and who is not eligible for that? >> yes. so a family of four conceivably will receive $2400 because you'll also receive $600 per child. if you make over $150,000 as a couple, then you would be losing that benefit over time, because that -- between 75,000 a year to $99,000 a year per person, there is a reduction in the amount of the grant, so beyond that, unemployment benefits continue until the middle of match so that a $300 stipend that will be

provided each week in addition to what the state provides, so in california, the minimum will be close to $480 a week to a high of $700 per week. so that is some relief, but it doesn't come close. this is just a down payment in most of our estimations in terms of what needs to happen. there is more money for small businesses, ppp loans. you can get a second ppp loan. there's another almost $300 billion. there's other for education, other for broadband in rural areas. there's money for nutrition program, we mentioned the s.n.a.p. program, benefits provided to low-income families. and there are children who are food insecure in this country right now. it's almost like we're in a third world country. there is relief. it's not enough. >> a lot of people say great,

i'll take the 600 for sure but that is half of what they got in the first round. to you, is that enough, nine months into the pandemic with so many people not working? >> so you and i live in a high-cost area, and the rental rates are $3,000 a month on average. so $600 doesn't cut it. what's most disturbing about all of this is that because it's a reflection of our values, the republicans are put into a position, they're provide a hundred percent deductibility on what we used to call the three martini lunch. we're making sure there's muff for families and having spent our last saturday helping to provide food and toys for families in half moon bay who were desperate, the need here is

great. i'm confident that president biden, once he is sworn in, is going to make us look again at this process and hopefully there will be another stimulus. this, i see, as just a down payment on what would be normal. >> corporate taxes, that is a deal that had to get done to get the other things you wanted? >> that's right. compromise. >> that's right. what about student lope forgiveness? is there anything in the bill for that? >> there is -- of the $80 billion for education, there is about $20 billion that is going to be a human benefit for those in college, because they're expanding the pell grants, 1 money 5 million more pel grants available as a result of this. in terms of loan forgiveness, i'm not certain that there is any loan forgiveness.

there is the opportunity to fore stall payment during this period just as there is eviction. there is rental assistance. $2 500 set aside. >> of course, senate democratic leader chuck schumer did say this is just the beginning, the first step, a start and that more will happen after president-elect biden is sworn in. could you give us a look at some of the things coming down the pipeline soon? >> i think there's going to be a requirement that we look at the fact that the economy is not working for most americans. you mow, the 40 or 50 richest companies, the most profitable companies in the country have done really well during the pandemic, but they've also laid off a hundred thousand people.

we're going to have to look long and hard at what we're doing for the average american. i believe there will be a hefty stimulus. i think there will be more for state and local government because there's nothing here in that regard. >> right. >> there needs to be more money for vaccines, put another down payment on vaccine purchases and for the actual distribution, there probably will be necessary more and more and more. >> state and local help. you fought for several months. i want to ask you, at 7 on your side, we reported on nearly one million california yaps who received an overpayment. does this have any relief or waiver for them in terms of having to give it back. many many cases, the money has been spent and people have nothing. >> yes. they've done a great job staying on them. some people haven't gotten money

that they should have. if the government makes the mistake, you can't then clau claw back that mountain. i think there's going to be some legislation relief in that as well. i'm confident that i'm -- but don't hold me to it. >> i know you're busy but we've been reporting on the massive hacking of government agencies, how extensive is it? who really was compromised? secretary pompeo says russia was behind it. the president does seem to be kproo dikting that. what do we know? >> well, there's all the evidence we need to ascribe this conduct to fcr, which is the foreign intelligence branch of the russian government. that's their former kgb. i think it's very clear that they have penetrated the networks. whether or not they are just occupying the networks or in fact been able to take control

of them is just -- should be bone chilling for all of us, because until we know the extent, we don't know how much of this has to be rebuilt and rebuilding these networks is going to take a lot of money, so this has been devastating blow. this is a cyber war and i think it is as close as you can come to calling out russia for the war-like conduct that they've endpajd in, and frankly, the fact that the president has said nothing is really despicable. >> i'm sure more will come out in the months and years ahead, really. but i want to end with this one question because i'm seeing several from the audience here on facebook. back to the stimulus. is there something in there for homeowners? >> homeowners as to mortgage? there's certainly money that if you're not able to pay your mortgage, you're going to give

you additional time to make that payment. of course, the problem there is a balloon that's going to be due later. so that's the extent of it. >> that's my interception that they meant mortgages. all right. congresswoman, thank you so much for all that information on the stimulus bill. we'll let you get to work on that. happy holidays to you. >> you as well. >> thanks. we'll take you inside a skilled nursing facility as they get

hi there. welcome back. we're waiting for our next guest, just to let you know. in the meantime up want to share with you the latest covid numbers and specifically the icu availability in california. governor gavin newsom. 98% of californians are under the stay-at-home order due to plunging icu numbers.

southern california and san joaquin are out of icu beds. there is surge capacity, so it's not like you'll be turned away but this is certainly a reason for alarm. this will impact our numbers here, because they share. so once one area is out, they'll ship patients to another areas. you can see the greater sacramento area, 16%. bay area creeping up closer to 14% availability. northern california as in the rural parts north of the bay area at 28.7%. i have to say that's a slight improvement, so when you trend in the improvement direction, a little more availability, that is good news. however, because the offensively case numbers are pretty bleak and these icu numbers are pretty bad, the governor floated today the idea that there will be an extension of the stay-at-home order. so depending on when your region

entered the -- for us it would be -- the first stay at home would end january 8, it was a three woke order once it kicked in. at that point they're going to project what's going to happen to us in this region a month out from that point, so projecting all the way from january into early february. if the numbers look bleak and the projections look bad, they would issue another stay-at-home order. they didn't say exactly how long the stay at home for that region would be, like the extension. it's going to be based on what their projections are. so it's very likely, given that christmas, people traveling this week and next week that the numbers by the time we get to that january 8 time to project for the next round, it may well be, then we may be facing another stay at home here in the bay area and elsewhere. certainly he mentioned already today in his briefing that san

joaquin valley is looking at another stay at home. governor newsom says this is possible. right.

all right. thank you so much for joining us today on "getting answers." we apologize we were not able to connect with our final guest but we talked to a feed triggs at stanford about the vaccine and the impact on children and of course the new strain out o of the uk which is very alarming. we talked with bay area representative jackie spear an the package she's about to vote

on and the senate a few hours later. it does contain the $600 check tonight, breaking news at this hour. congress racing to pass a stimulus deal. how soon will help arrive? and tonight, that growing concern over a new coronavirus variant. what we know so far. lawmakers set to vote on the $900 billion covid relief package, as millions of americans wait for help. those images of long lines at food banks. 885,000 new unemployment claims just last week. tonight, new reporting, the $600 direct payment and what a family of four can expect. jon karl standing by with late reporting tonight. also this evening, that alarming new covid mutation noticed in the uk. by some estimates, could this new variant spread as much as 70% more easily as what we've been seeing? many scientists saying more study is needed. but tonight, more than 40