getti . >> 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 answerless." we get answers for you in realtime. today we find out more about vice-president kamala harris's chinese name. yup, she has one and we'll talk to the san francisco woman and longtime friend of the vice-president who came up with the name. but first covid-19 continues to be a top story. joining us to answer my questions and your is abc 7 news special correspondent tp dr. patel. good to see you. >> good to see you,en. everything is gwe. >>ye well. we have a lot of learning to do today. let's kick off with learning more about the new variants.

two truths appear a lie. put on the thinking caps. let's go. >> let's do it. i'm glad we are starting the show with this. you ei know kristen relies on you. tell me which one is not true. number one or maybe the if says a on the screen pmt a, south carolina now has two cases of the covid-19 variant, b 1351, the one originally spotted in south africa. b. the vaccine may have diminished effectiveness against new virus variants. something that we're looking at. or c, the brazil appear uk variants are better at infecting children for unknown reasons. which unis not true? >> i did hear that south carolina has two confirmed cases of the variant. so that's not it. i think i've heard the vaccine may have diminished effectiveness -- not proven, don't know for sure but since moderna is doing a booster by

the logic of deduction i'm saying not that. i will go with c, the brazil and uk variants are better at infecting children for unknown reason. i'm not sure and a lot of the viewers say a. so, you know, people think a is the lie. and some people say c, which is what i'm going to guess. what is it? >> c is the lie. and, you know, i respect how looked at the wording to piece that out. we'll run through them quickly. we have now identified two strains of that variant which was originally found in south africa and south carolina. and as people know, that it may be more widespread than that. what's kind of concerning is that neither person who had the variant had any it's something people are watching alongside the other variants. regarding b, it's possible, especially with that variant, that they may have diminished effectiveness against the vaccine. moderna put out a statement about this. but remember diminished effectiveness doesn't mean the vaccine doesn't work.

there is a possibility in the future the vaccines may need be tweaked or a booster shot created to fight off variants or changes that happen. c is important. there is reports all over the place of increased infections in children and increased reports of the rare yet sowers inflammatory syndrome. but this may be a function of the fact that more cases overall and not necessarily because of the variant. scientists are looking at it. >> going back to the choice b, about the vaccine maybe being less effective against the variants. wasn't there a new study about pfizer, the vaccine that came ai the variants?as >> there was. and like i mentioned earlier, both pfizer and moderna have put out statements essentially showing the vaccines work against the variant. what i'm specifically referring to is that the variant found in south africa. >> okay. >> that variant in labs has been shown to kind of not be effective against antibodies. there are other treatments that people are worried that may

be -- the brazil variant may be able to switch around itself and infect people. it's something people need to watch closely. >> thanks for voting everybody and helping. the astrazenica i don't think we have it approved here. and i don't know the time line. but i heard the german committee recommended against giving that to people over 65. what's that about? >> to be honest, i haven't heard that either. that's something i'll dive into. this is an important undertone you're talking about. even the vaccines are approved, the data has to be closely looked at. but one thing that everyone is keeping the fingers crossed for is when we see the data at the end of the month that they may be able to move the process in a quick fashion. because that's one shot, which could be a game changer for distribution. >> absolutely. one shot would be great. all right. a lot of misinformation out there on social media platforms. i know we have done that tleet the tweet when you seeomhingat .

you found another one. >> it's not like i found one out of the blue. they're all over the place. >> okay. >> this segment of what we call the delete that tweet, i saw this comment earlier replying around saying the covid-19 shot will alter my dna and this is cussing concern. now, i want to tell everyone here off the top, the covid-19 vaccines approved in the united states, moderna and pfizer will not alter dna. but i understand the confusion because we are talking about genetics. kristen, i'm giving everyone a quick analogy. let's say dna is a cook book. it's a cook book on the shelf. you tear out a page and you have a recipe. that's the mrna and that in our cells is no in the nuclear lease. it leaves the nuke leeious. in the same way if you tear out a recipe. it's not going back in the cook book and change the book. it will not change the book.

i love that example. ? a myth flying out vaccine may reduce effectiveness? >> this is an interesting kind of intellectual debate among scientists and physicians. what the thought is -- until we know more it's probably safe not to take the ibuprofen or tylenol before getting the shot. but the naught is getting anti-inflammatory or pain reducer like tylenol may limit your immune systems ability to mount an strong antibody response. there is early data suggesting this is possible. if you are taking tylenol or or ibuprofen or a steroid it's safe to keep taking it. but for the rest us don't take a bunch of medications because you are worried about adverse reaction or fever. get the shot and later on see how you feel and if you need something to get through the

night or get over chills. it's fine to take it. but i would recommend against taking ibuprofen or tilen off before the vaccine. >> this breaks my heart. this is from carol chang. she place please can you answer my question. when and where can i get my vaccine shot? i live in alameda. i have a son going to kidney dialysis. and i am 71 years old. >> carol, that breaks my heart too. and you know, i hope you are doing well. i hope your son is also. what breaks my heart is that carol and so many people like her are even having to ask the question. and this is something that i hope is addressed with, you know, the rolling out of like my turn california. and the new communication and new transparency and the plan in general we saw announced by dr. ghaliy a couple days ago. i hope when we get the third party administer and get more doses out there that people in all counties know where to go to get the vaccine.

she be eligle b. she is 71. >> even though the state says 65 appear over. different counties are doing ff uniformity soon. >> absolutely. >> karen has a question more silly. tu get the first shot, pfizer or moderna and then you goat actually then the johnson & johnson becomes available which we think might be a month or so can you get the johnson & johnson shot? or do you have to wait for the others to become availab seeit isn't any think why you would get moderna or pfizer and then swiv over and get johnson & johnson. there isn't any indication for that to happen. it's based on the data, the you get the second does of pfizer or moderna. or if you are in the later group you get the one vaccine. i would not mix and match.

i don't know if you'll get the option to attempt that. >> i see a lot of people expressing a preference for the johnson & johnson because it is one shot. >> i think that's -- i think that's common sense. that's reality. and that is one thing that's possibly going to be an important feature when it comes to distribution. if that's one shot it might be easier to get it out there. but that doesn't take away from the abt fact that pfizer and moderna vaccines are incredibly effective at 94, 95%. yes it kind of sucks to get two shots. we worry about people getting back on time to get the second shot. a one-shot vaccine solves both >> d he life stream if you want to join us now. now that

guidance on the ground level. >> okay. back on air. perfect timing. and we are back with our special correspondent dr. patel. dr. patel, president biden today signed more executive orders. one relates to health care and reopening of affordable care act enrollment. let's get to our second round of two truths and a lie. >> let's do it. here we go. tell me which one is not true. number one, the department of health and human services is set to reopen enrollment on federal affordable care act exchange between february 15th and may 15th. b, according to the kaiser family foundation, nearly 2 million people will be able to get free or subsidized care because of the new enrollment period or c, the biden administration ends the global gag rule ending access to are

you productive health care. >> go ahead and put in your answers. >> you know i jump around between 1, 2, ab, c. daniel sataro is going with what i'm going with, b, justin and lockman, both sayb, because i dihe those were the da february5th anday 15th. and i do know that the biden administration really wanted to be able to work on access to reproductive health care and make sure that, you know, people can talk it, including the pill and things like that. so i'm going to guess, b, like with the viewers, most of them. b is the lie. >> you are all correct. b is not true. in fact, according to the kaiser family foundation, 9 million people will be able to get free or subsidized health care from this increased time period where they can enroll. i think the really important thing for anyone out there, anyone viewing who may be part of the 9 million to know is when the dates are happening but know

the steps you need to do, go to health care.gov and find a plan working bet best for you. education and the tune are really important when it comes to signing up for health coverage. i'm happy to see that. is very important for people to understand this gag rule or the mexico policy as banning u.s. funding to foreign abortion care. now, the issue here is that those companies were doing things like child care, vaccines, skoornt exception, post abortion care. limiting funding on them studies have shown that abortions increased opinion. and caused a lot of other des rimts when it comes to the care of women, children and members of the lgbt community. this is an important step but i think people should pay attention to it and read about it. >> absolutely. i wonder if the picture is improving in california. dr. patel, because i looked at

the seven-day and 14-day positivity rates. but we have in o f california, second most ever in a single day. where are we headed. >> hopefully we saw a plateau which was a part from all the rise in cases over the wint we talked about since last april, the hospitalizations and deaths are going to lag after the rise in actual cases and number ch positive tests. it's not surprising we continue to see a high number of hospitalizations and deaths after we report on a really big increase or surge in cases. and, you know, i don't think we should be pessimistic. was this the third wave we're coming out of? possibly. but here is the reality. we have a setup for fourth wave. and a setup is the fact that there are variants out there. there is quarantine fatigue. and there is a possibility that we won't get vaccines out as fast as we want to. the important thing is that all

three can be reversed. people can still do what they know they need to do. we are on the plan to get 19.5 million vaccinated a day rather than 1 million we talked about last week. as long as people know hey, we have the tools to prevent the fourth wave we really can. >> some question questions from viewers, want to get in as many as possible. stephanie wants to know if you have a weakened immune system o absolutely 100% talk to the health care professional about that. it depends on the underlying condition. but as of right now there are no contra indications for people with underlying medical conditions to avoid getting the vaccine. in plain english you can still most likely get the shot. but check in with the doctor. >> if you're allergic to tana flu can you get the vaccine. >> you can. tama flu is a generic name. it's not found inside the actual vaccine either one approved.

you're safe to get it. >> daniel wants to know, will you have to go through your provider insurance at this point to get the vaccine? or could you goaccinaon in whats on where you get the shot from. but the important thing to know is that you should be paying for it. insurance providers should be covering the shot for free. and that includes medicare. and if you're uninsured you will still be able to get the shot for free but it might change where you actually go to get it. >> okay, grant wants to know, how long do antibodies last after you get covid-19? >> after you a get the infection? previous studies on other -- >> i'm guessing that's what he means. >> we'll just say it's based off the infection. it's an important question because a lot of people talk about flarl immunity. based on her previous studies from coronaviruss those antibodies can last a year or two years. the issue is we don't nope the

level of protection that actually lives you. we know you have a different level of antibodies if you have a very ser of and probably a lower levelf us why aren't more hospitals using the mono treatments? it's better than no hope. did i see something about the effectiveness. >> mono cloenl antibodies are effective. but when we talk about which hospitals are and aren't doing it, there are a lot of questions about resources and which hospitals are able to do it. but more importantly they are only approved for certain cases. it depends on your level of symptoms, when you presented and all that. it's not just if you have covid-19 or you're ill that you automatically get mono cloenl antibodies. >> okay. hey, look, we are just about out of time.

but i want to ask you for your final tlaut before we wrap up the segment today. >> my final thought. >> yup. >> well, fine, my final thought is -- i'm pushing this down. i'm going to say i really hope -- i'm sitting and waxing poetic about everyone doing the safe thing. because everyone knows what we have to do. but i hope we have a focused and directed conversation about safely reopening schools and make sure we license to parents, teachers, the teachers union. and while we're atting and also talking about youth athletics and what can we do and when going our young kids, teenagers in california back out on the soccerfield, footballfield, playing basketball where playing for mental health, opportunities, everything. we need a a broader conversation about this. >> we do. the cdc yesterday saying available evidence seems to show that schools can be safe if precautions are taken. hopefully that kick-starts the conversation with regard to that. >> imagine that. >> imagine that. dr. partal always great talking with you and learning from you.

thank you so much.e u >> thank you. coming up next, folks, what's behind a name? we'll talk to the local woman who gave vice-president

seconds. all right. di kw vi-psident e. an tre's a good story h shet . name. mmsi on the status of here, kri >> yeah, great to see you. >> i got my dad -- >> oh, sorry. didn't mean to interrupt. that's how we roll because we have known each other so long. but you and vice-president harris have known each other just as long for san francisco politics. you first suggested to her she needed a chinese name. how did that come about. >> well in the halls of city hall where i was a legislative aid i saw the chinese language

reporters working hard, knew the ballots were in chinese and spanish. i said kamala get you good chinese name. me being a fourth generous on on mom's side. said get my dad to do it. he was good at language. and he was retired at the time a and was executive secretary for the chinese companies. we decided to do a big rollout and introduce her to chinatown with a good chinese name. >> that was when she was running for d.a. in san francisco. >> correct. >> what is that name. hits let's unveil. >> in canton ease it's in manned ryan. it's kujin lee. we thought. >> yes. >> yes. but can he we thought in san francisco where they're still predominantly canton ease speakers. we wanted something like kamala

in cantoness. >> lee is beautiful and poetic but what does it mean. >> so the surname my dad chose is the surname he or hu hu hu there are variations but the one he chose was successful or congratulatory. like a brocade like an intricate tap evidentiary. at first when i suggested the name to kamala. she didn't want beauty in her name because she thought it was super bowl. >> i said it's like an elaborate brocade or opera a woman of substance with beauty. she accepted the name. i said by the way that's the third character of my own name. we are sisters from here on out. >> oh, my gosh, that's so cool. then you named doug emhoff, the second gentleman too, right. >> i did. ran into him at one of the conventions. i wasn't sure he got the name because in passing after she decided she was going to launch her presidential campaign, at

one meeting he said, by the way, i want a chinese name too. and i want dragon in it. they said doug that's oh is to stereotypical. because bruce is known as little dragon, his nickname. >> sure. >> i thought about it. and when i choose names i go by the off and on etics. i don't want something that sounds bad, eebl a bad name. >> i ended naming. ymdu. >> du means what i know long is the dragon what's the du part. >> the particular du that i chose is actually ethical. so he is ethical dragon is what acall him. and that's the translation. >> wow, you're as good as my mother in giving out names. that's awesome. are chinese news outlines use

the names now for them? >> they are. and actually i didn't know if doug got the chinese name. i was so excited when it resurfaced when kamala was nominated to be the vice presidential nominee. and han lee a reporter for world journal he called me he said by the way does the potential second gentleman have a chinese name. i said well i gave him this. and -- and so that was it. auhe it on world journal. and it became world news. >> oh, my gosh. amazing. by the way we have a picture of you and d.a. kamala harris now of course adam vice-president. and when you said you need a good chinese name. that's important any politician especially in san francisco, isn't it. >> yes, and actually throughout california because many other jurisdictions have multilingual ballots. >> so that a requirement that they have the chinese name on the ballot? >> it's not a requirement. and a lot of registrars will give what's called translitter

eighted names. that's based more on off and on etics and doesn't have good meaning. i'm a little superstitious. i grew up with my maternal grandmother who is from the old country. she was the immigrant. i learned about grandma's superstitions and voodoo stuff. and i also consult a chinese geomancer. master wysesun. i kind of select names through him. >> we're out of time on air. let's continue on facebook live where we reveal governor newsom's chinese name. but you picked a an

>> thanks, kristen. see you soon. thank for joining us on this

interactive show "getting answers." today we got answers on covid tonight, the coronavirus and the new variant. this time, from south africa. now detected here in the u.s. this is the variant dr.au hasa a it? ces of that var discovered in south carolina. neither patient had traveled nor do they have any connection to each other. dr. fauci and dr. jha, we hear from them both tonight. what you need to know. and on thehots going unused? the cdc tonight now reporting 13 states have used less than half of the amid the pandemic, president biden signing a new executive action today, reopening the enrollment period for obamacare, to help struggling