>> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. hi, there. i'm kristen sze. welcome to our daily program called "getting answers." we ask questions every day at tlour to get answers in realtime. today we're asking a san jose state business proveser to explain the sudden surge in the stock prices of gamestop, tootsie roll and bed bath and beyond. should you get involved in but first we're devoting two segments today to the latest and covid-19, vaccines, variants, masks, tiers, equity. whatever you have questions on, just post them on the facebook live stream top joining us now to answer questions and mine is ucsf infection out disease specialist is dr. chin honk.

>> thanks for having me on kristen. >> absolutely so much to talk about. let's talk about vaccine news. biden administration announced 200 million more doses from pfizer and moderna. how big of a deal is this? does that mean every american will be vaccinated by, you know, summer? what's the time line? what's the effect? >> i'm thinking early summer now as the time when most americans would have the opportunity to get vaccinated. whether or not everyone takes up the opportunity is another question in that time frame. and not only do we have moderna and pfizer onboard. of course next week j & j is presenting clinical results. and we have novavax in the wings as well. and astrazenica proved in the uk and other countries is also a serious contender. they already paid for the doses anyway. >> johnson & johnson. that's the one that doesn't need to be supercold and only one shot, right?

>> yeah, one stop shopping. i love j & j. the idea is appealing. >> so you think by summer, by the end of summer every american who wants one should be able to get a vaccine and be protected. >>? >> jae, so the messaging was interesting. 100 days, 100 million doses. 100 days mask wearing. people think that the biden administration a little bold. which was interesting, because, you know, instead of sort of like setting way high expectations like everybody get vaccinated by -- in one month, i think setting realistic expectations and then exceeding them has been the strategy. >> okay. you know, getting the doses is one thing. getting the vaccine, right? there is the manufacturing, but also the distributing if you will, and then the actual administering. talk about where we have hiccups or possible delays still in the process. >> yes, so california is amongst

the worst in the states in the country currently for the percentage of vaccines allocated to the states that reached the arms of the people living here. and a lot of people have various thoughts about what went wrong or what's going wrong. i think there's been, you know, one can talk about not having enough transparency, people pointing fingers at each other, having way complex criteriaen and then having complex infrastructure of counties, administration, the fedding were bringing in some. and we have the most populous state. so i think a lot of fingers pointing. but it's still really unclear why we don't have the percentage vaccinated that should have of the vaccines that we have. >> i know. hey, we have a lot of viewer responses on this. tom barton says what's being done to enable people over 75 to get the vaccine without going through so many hoops? that's the million dollar question, isn't it.

debra has a question. debra goodman. she says why can't we have tevt doses to see if high risk patients. wait a couple weeks and proceed to get the vaccine if we have not reacted. >> it's a good thought. but i'm worried that would just increase more delays. at our rate right now we'd be vaccinating californians way into next year to really account for delays. i think to debra's concern, though, it's -- it's totally valid. but we've had recent data from the cdc and mmwr showing that those incidents was, you know, widely publicized, quite rare. no one has died. they usually occur within 10 minutes. that's why we have folks at the minimums of 15 minutes appear and 30 minutes observation if you had a serious allergy history. >> there is a lot of fear about side effects or what could happen after the vaccine.

there is so much misinformation out there. i know because my mom forwards is to me every day. and i said, no mommy talked to peter that's not what happened. what do you say to say to people about one in how many an reaction if you will. >> so one million people. one million people. how many people are going to get serious adverse affect from the pfizer vaccine, 11 in one million. 11 million how many people from the moderna vaccine. 3.5 or 2.5. so in really small numbers. no one has died. pretty much everyone gets it within 10 minutes. and everyone has been resuscitated. but the big point is, even in people with severe, severe, severe allergies, when they got it, nothing happened. because the chance is so small. >> statistically it's like being out there and struck by lightning. what about that southern

california x-ray technician who died after getting his second vaccine dose? is that coincidence. >> once you rule out the vaccine to a big population, you're going to have people die, you know, whether or not they've been getting the vaccine owner. and that's happened in the trials as well. and they made sure it wasn't linked to the vaccine. there was one case in brazil. very rare occurrences from the timing perspective. i look at two things when i look at deaths. one is it plausible? is like some immune thing going on that caused the person to die? and do people with the vaccine have higher chance of having that thing versus people who didn't get the vaccine? so right now there isn't any evidence. and i -- knowing about the the vaccine, i would be shocked if it was associated with the death. but the deg of dying from covid is so much higher than the potential death which we have evidence of from the vaccine.

>> right. here is a question from daniel on facebook. he wants to know, do you think the general population will be getting the johnson & johnson one shot vaccine that we were talking about in what a few weeks? a couple ch months? what. >> so j & j hasn't -- they've been below in production. but i think it will be gradually phased out. so a few million in february. more in march. but we're going to have a lot more pfizer and moderna on hand. so i think most of the population will still see pfizer and moderna. and j & j start he trickling. >> didn't a rival company. pharmaceutical company agree to start making the vaccines? that's incredible. >> i think it was sonofi in france. but, yes, i'm not sure. they were taking the formula. and it will be interesting to see how the biden administration takes the defense act to ramp up vaccinations. because if you have the recipe, kind of anybody can do it. not anyone.

>> sure. >> but if you have the facilities. >> right. >> maybe that can solve the problem. >> we can stop manufacturing other things and just devote our attention to this. you know, supplies, as you know, have been going up and down with the vaccine. many clinics even locally have been cancelling appointments. what does this mean for people who can't get the second shots, even though they're due, they've gotten the first one and there is a time frame? >> so there is a -- what the people did in the study answer and then there is the biological answer. so what they did in the study, i think everyone knows if you get the pfizer one and the study did three weeks later for the second shot. and the three weeks later was kind of an interesting thing by itself. you know, they chose not four weeks, not for any real amazing reason. it's just that they wanted to get it approved faster. so, like, three weeks is going to be faster than four weeks. so notice pfizer was the first off the block. biologically, it -- and then the cdc says now we can extend it two weeks later and it will be

okay. but biologically we know that -- and even people in the trials, if they had just gotten one shot and for natural infection, that immunity probably lasts many months. if push comes to shove and you miss the first one or went out of the country and couldn't get it, i would still get the second one. because the second one is not saying you're zero if you just got the first one. it's just saying i'm giving you an insurance policy, sort of it will last longer. we call that a primer. >> good info there. we have more to talk about, doctor, the variants and the governor's new distribution eligibility plan and you want to join us on facebook live right now

seconds. >> all right. we're back with infectious decease dr. peter chin honk who is taking a water break right now because it's a lot of talking. and he is back with us, which we so appreciate. he was so busy answering your questions on facebook live. i want to talk about the variants. there are different ones popping up now. there was one the originated in the uk, south africa, brazil and california. did the vaccines work as well against them? did they need to be modified? >> yes, so there is good news and bad news. the -- it's generally good news that we know so far. i know there's been a lot of controversy. but i would be shocked if the vaccines don't work. and we have some data so far that the vaccines do work against the uk variant for sure. that's -- that one is easy. from both pfizer and moderna and from the south african variant it was lower number of

neutralizing antibiotico antibodies produced >> okay. >> in general we wouldn't expect a huge change that the vaccine wouldn't work for a few years. that's my guest. but we'll be monitoring that closely. >> the vaccine can be tweaked the way they are designed. >> yes. oh yes. >> okay. >> this vaccine is amazing. the mrna because it's like cutti cutting piecing. you have the code for virus. vi. cut and paste that code. >> you make the new messenger rna and that code goes in the cells and makes the new antibodies. they could make the vaccine or booster in a matter of weeks but then you have to do production and distribution. >> i did hear moderna is testing a booster for the variant. how do you do a booster, though when most people haven't gotten the first shot? >> yeah, they are just making a

different -- you know, they call it a booster but it's really just a different vaccine. >> got it. >> that's tweaked a little bit. but i wouldn't want people to worry that the vaccines don't work. >> got it. alex want to know is there a vaccine we have to get? or is this a vaccine -- these i should say, ones that we'll have to get every year, like of of a flu shot? or other types of vaccines that you need multiples of? >> that's a great question. i think for most people -- well certainly it's not like influenza. we need a flu shot every year because influenza is multiple because it changes and rearranges. in covid, it's just one basic spike protein that's pretty similar every time. so you make antibodies against it. you don't have to get a new vaccine with a new message every year. but the question is how long the immunity lasts. and people think it will last a few years at least. >> real quick question

from porter said her cuss-a first shot. they're recalling that lot exactly. so now she is skeptical about getting the second one. what do you think? >> i think it's going to be fine. there are two main reactions. the one that has been publicized, which is the severe allergic reactions, you usually get those within 10 minutes, et cetera, low bull pen, swell up everywhere. very rare. the other reactions might be bothersome but again they go away in most people. and sure they may not feel great. but, again, the joy you feel of not going to be exposed and being -- getting sick from covid and potentially dying should hopefully make up for the -- the discomfort in some people. >> lots of questions about what about children? when can they get the vaccine? certainly we know the first two were not previously tested for children under 16. >> so right now both pfizer and

moderna are doingsides in kids under 16 and 18 respectively. any may not need to wait for kids to actually get covid compared to people who didn't get covid in the vaccine place bo. they may go for the surrogate marker immune response. because we know in adults that immune response correlates to eventual efficacy. we may get a result faster for fda approval than -- fdua than people would expect. >> all right. we have time for maybe two questions. so governor newsom has you know this week announced kind of a change in the distribution, right? so after we get through this one e1 b 1, phase 1 b tier one, very confusing including everyone over 6 a and then professions like teaching and food workers. after that it's age-based. explain to us, you know, what that means and who is left out, if you will? >> yes, so i think a lot of people are worried about the

next tier, which is, you know, including essential workers like bus drivers, or, you know, b.a.r.t. drivers, or people who are still going to be in contact with folks, immunocompromised individuals, people with diabetes or transplant videos or people with other problems? and then what about from an equity lens are you reaching communities of color regardless of age because they have had -- borne the brunt of covid infections and deaths. these are all questions. but i think what the governor is trying to do is make up for the lack ever speed. it doesn't mean that people won't get it it's just that let's just work on what we have and get it out as fast as possible. because i think what's being stuck up right now is just people can't figure out how to contact different groups and how to profit that somebody is part of a group. and that's keeping progress. and that's why you have people camping out at drug stores now

to get leftovers. >> yeah, no, and it is a race against time. because it does mu tate, right? i want to ask you about masking. this will be be probably our last question today. but a lot of people talking about how can we up the masking game because we have the variants that are more virileant, more potent, perhaps more deadly. we don't know. dr. fauci just said it makes common sense to double mask. but there are other experts we talked to who say that, you know, one good mask is much better than two not so good masks? what's your opinion on that. >> i'm also a pragmatist. i'm afraid that if you say double mask for everyone people are going to check out. i mean, it's going to -- depending on what mask you double mask on you may feel very suffocated. to me a good mask well fitted that you would wear for a while is more important than trying to pile on layers. if you could do the layers, more power to you. the places where i think you might want to think about being

more protected, just a few, occupations where you go into people's homes appear they have poor ventilation. for sure. and occupations like being a baker, or being in a kitchen where you, like, with not really sure about the ventilation and you're going to be there a while. that's different from you going outdoors in golden gate park like a zillion feet from someone. >> doctor, good talking to you. stay safe. >> thaunk, you to kristen. coming up next the st. croix stock for gamestop has the country talking. we'll break down what's going on what it means for the future of wall

>> coming back in ten seconds. all right. you probably heard that the stock market has been going a little crazy. gamestop, a brick and mortar chain selling video games is suddenly surging. we mean surging. a month ago trading at about $20 per share. two days ago under $80. today nearly $350 a share.

so what is happening? and should you- look at that. look at that. that's crazy. should you have anything to do with us? here onto tepp help us understand what's going on is assistant professor of the business school at san jose state, matthew faulconer, professor faulconer thanks for your time. >> hey, thank you for having me. happy to be here. >> yeah, okay. gamestop. its stories have been in shopping malls forever. people aren't shopping for games in malls anymore. it's losing money. its future doesn't look rosy. help us understand, give us the briefest easiest way to understand how and why in stock is suddenly shooting into the stratosphere. >> ignoring the fundamentals and what's happening in the last two days is a concept of a short squeeze. there is a lot of money pooled together in big firms that shorted the stock. which means they're essentially thinking it's going down. and if it does they'd make money. what happens is in reddit, a bunch of investors got together and said we could perform what you call a short squeeze.

and if we start having the stock price go up, meaning we all buy, then those people that have shorted the stock are betting for it to go down are going to have to what we call cover the short position. which means they're going to have to start buying or they lose money and so what you're seeing a big pool of people buying the stock. and it's running up in the last two days, not a common instance of what we usually see. >> okay, so unless you are part of a hedge fund is everything fine with this? but they're losing the their shirts. because it's like david versus gol igt. if the little guy david is winning what's the problem here? explain that to us. >> i think the major problem we worry about in the future isn't so much what's going on right here with gamestop in terms of investors pooling money and energy together to invest in a stock, as some of them as you said at the beginning, the information that's passed. is the information on gamestop should be valued at $350 a

share? or is it being manipulated in a harmful manner and going to end up harming smaller vvrs along the way as it does big short-selling investment firms? >> explain that to us, right. because this is in part happening because of small investors on reddit passing information. and then robinhood, the investment app that doesn't charge you fees making it easy for people to trade like this. but tell me about the dangerous you see from what's happening here. >> i -- people -- people don't like volatile markets. markets don't like volatile markets the idea of moving and a chance for you to put in money and it go down is a scary thing. that concept is i think the biggest concern. but personally i don't see a lot wrong just as like a hedge fund pools money to invest in companies that if individuals pool their money to invest that is okay. i think it comes down to just like in politics, misinformation is a caution for anyone looking

to invest in gamestop at this point. it's it's to understand a bit more about as you mentioned at the beginning, the fundamentals of the company. what's it look like? what's it really doing. >> right that's highway do, right, the long-term term. what are some of the other stocks influenced recently like in? i know black behr, i think, etsy and even tootsie roll? what are some of the areas. >> i've seen amc as well. i guess there was a list of short sold stocks on the reddit thread. you see that happen in a couple other ones where they're trying to push the short sellers out. the people betting for it to go down. and those people have to buy to cover the downside and you get a lot of upside. >> the institutional investors are betting that those will go down then fundamentally those are fallout companies with rosy futures. but you can make money trading off of companies that don't have rosy futures. >> i would agree this is short-term -- this is short-term trading. but, look at gamestop, i

wouldn't argue their fundamentals in the past haven't been good. they've been on the decline. but a couple of board of directors, chewy founders who are moved to pet industry online are on the board of directors. that may fundamentally change the company in the outlook. however an 800% gain in two days is always a caution for anybody looking to invest at this point. >> yeah, well part of that i wonder how much is driven by influencers? right, we have this tweet we saw from elon musk of tesla. and we no he he has kind of a cult-like following. he tweeted a couple days ago. game stonk pmt tell me about the impact of this. >> i'm not sure if it'she -- any news is good news, whether good or bad. so it brought light to gamestop in another setting. and people started looking into the red itd and trying to learn about a short squeeze and have been jumping on the band wagon of those small investors trying to lead the way. and you see big investors from

silicon valley putting in as we saw today, social capital. he is on cnbc and he bought a lot of call options in gamestop and donating his profits. but he made a lot doing it and he is not a small investor. >> professor matthew fallinger, by the way you were recommended by my colleague david louie who interviewed you today. and he has h intepgt reports copping up at abc news at 5 and 5:00. we

and we're back. thank you so much for joining us on today's interactive show "getting answers." we answered a lot of questions when it comes to covid-19 vaccine as variant. we broke down what you are seeing with gamestop stock and

the battle between small investors and large firms. we'll be here every weekday for you at 3:00 on air and tonight, the vaccine shortage. what president biden's covid team is now saying, with january now the deadliest month of the pandemic here in the u.s. also tonight, as we come on, the new national terrorism bulletin issued today. first, the pandemic. more than 83,000 deaths in january alone now. new and dire projections for the weeks ahead. the images tonight from across the country. seniors 80 and older lining up for hours in the cold, hoping they'll be able to get a shot. what the president's covid team is now saying about how long anyone who wants a shot can get a shot. also developing tonight, the department of homeland security issuing that new national terrorism bulletin warning of violent extremists, saying they feel emboldened by the deadly riots at the capitol. what concerns