next at 5:00, the cdc rolling out guidelines for reopening schools. what doctors here think of the plan. how will it impact the bay area. what three different districts are doing right now. and right now cvs offering vaccines. getting a shot is not as easy as walking through the pharmacy door. and the vaccine pecking order. the millions of californians that can get the vaccine starting next month. businesses struggling to stay afloat despite a lot of people outside of their door. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure feature. this is abc 7 news. >> we begin with the cdc's new blueprint for reopening schools,

something that school districts have been asking for for a long time. they say masks and social distancing are strongly advises but teacher vax in this cases are not required. >> thank you for joining us, it is very important to note that the cdc's guidance is just that. it cannot force schools to reopen. in fact the cdc was careful to say they're not calling for a mandate that all schools reopen. at least one local doctor says the cdc's self-proclaimed science based approach doesn't follow the science. >> after promises from the biden administration to open 50% of the schools by his 100th day in office, the cdc is laying out the deadline. >> the president will not rest until the schools are reopened. >> five key mitigation

strategies need to be followed like correct use of masks, hand washing, clin facilities, and use of diagnostic contact tracing. >> the safest way to open school social security to ensure there is as little disease as possible in the community. >> the cdc outlined four c outlc cod cod coded reopening zones. it will decide whether or not they can offer in -person instruction. blue and yellow is lower transmission. orange and red is virtual only instruction for middle and high schools. >> that was a big disappointment. >> an e.r. doctor disagrees. >> our latest studies show that schools can be operated safely regardless of the amount of covid circulating in the community. >> noble who leads the usf covid emergency response team spent months researching covid transmission in schools

including two major studies in north carolina and wisconsin. >> people were back in school when positivity rates were up to 40% and they were still just seven school based transmissions over a three-month period. >> the cdc encourages vaccinating and weekly testing for staff. in the meantime, if new covid variants push transmission past the red zone guidance subject to change. education of course is a very big part of our effort to build a better bay area. for school districts here the cdc guidelines really just reinforce what many of them are doing to get their kids back into the classroom. laura anthony has that part of our coverage. >> for bay area school driks the new cdc guidelines provide little new information but certainly an affirmation of what many are doing, to bring students back in person. >> with this information today is that it really does reaffirm

ta we' that we're on the right track already. >> the cdc's five key directoror are already an integral part of any reopening plan and they're already in action in some districts which brought some students back this week. >> i want to acknowledge there is a lot of anxiety from parents and teachers but we believe based on what we put into the mitigation layers that we're confident that they're safe. >> they recommend testing and teacher vaccinations as supplemental mitigation levels that you can do, additional layers of mitigation in addition to the five primary layers and we're doing weekly testing. >> even with the cdc guidelines, most local districts will continue to act independently of one another. for instance while oakland and

fr san francisco public schools have yet to set opening dates, they provide that the district can finalize a agreement with their labor unions. >> the teachers want to be back and are afraid to be back in large measure. >> laura anthony, abc there is now a way to track the reopening status through an interactive map. deep blue means in-person learning is in place. light through is hybrid, yellow is distance learning only, white is no status available. you can look up schools by district name or click on the map. the state will add other data to the map including outbreaks. in just a month health care providers can offer vaccinations to people 16 and up in the highest risk group. california's health and human

services committee set the faze to 1c starting march 15th. it is people 16 to 64 degrees and people with underlying health conditions. a weak immune system is also factored in. >> abc 7 news was at oakland today where they're setting up for mass vaccinations. they will open on tuesday and the go el is to administer about 6,000 doses a day and gradually increase from there. it will open to anyone that is eligible under the county guidelines. bart is offering free rides for those that get their shot at the coliseum site. and today new partners join the battle to get americans vaccinated. cvs and inoculate people as well. it was easy for people able to

get appointments, but others felt frustrated. >> here is the good news, you have a computer at your fingertips. now the bad, so do a lot of other people. >> are you patient? >> not really. >> we found maria >> are you disheartened? >> yes. frustrated. >> welcome to the reality where some cliches still have merit. >> it's one of those things where the early bird gets the worm. >> at the cvs this morning >> i got up yesterday morning at 5:00. >> i had computers and two ipads on. >> cvs had more than 100 locations across the state and they hope to give 82,000 shots a week. as for how the process went

today people say smoothly. >> i envisioned being in, you know, inline in a big complex like a fairgrounds, waiting in a car -- >> not at all. people walked in, they registered, they received their shots, no complaints. >> the process could not have been smoother, it was perfect. >> it was good news for those of us still waiting. >> call tomorrow, keep trying. >> in the north bay, wayne friedman, abc 7 news. >> in the south bay, san jose is home to the alarmelargest popul of asian americans in the area. we have more on the struggle of minority business owners during the pandemic and they're hoping the start of the lunar new year will be a starting point. >> business appears to be thriving inside one of the largest malls in america.

a closer look reveals empty store fronts and few peek spending. >> it's hard to see businesses are suffering and the new year -- it's just not the same any more due to covid and all of this. it is tough. >> in previous years thousands from throughout northern california would come to san jose's district to usher in the lunar new year. overtime grand century mall has become an unofficial gathering place. but now business owners say they're barely hanging on. >> we see a lot of people in the new year, a lot of people, very happy. >> sales at angel down. eurasia delight has been a staple, and the owner is happy to see some regulars, but worries about what the next few

months will bring. >> we're available and we open every day. >> many businesses like the ones at grand century mall have been uniquely impacted by the covid-19 crisis. reports of anti-asian violence made national headlines, not enough was said about the cultural barriers that owners are getting when asking for help. >> the pain is felt not just in that a biusiness is closed, tes the result of a person's life, maybe decades of investment, that is now gone. >> the american dream is gone for some of these entrepreneurs, the community can play a role to help preserve it. >> we're all in it together and hopefully people will come out and support the local business and the vietnamese community. >> a channel to mobilize as many try to start anew. abc 7 news. >> a lot more to come here this

friday. you know the saying if it seems too good to be true it probably is. we have more on what you need to know about that, next. >> medical experts answering your questions about the covid-19 vaccine.

every new crisis comes with scammers using your concerns to rip you off. the coronavirus is no different. while our health care workers risk their lives to save ours, theirs that qualify for the vaccine line up and conmen are trying to electronically pick our pockets. here are the most common scams. you're offered early access to the vaccine. no legitimate organization is doing that. you can get on a waiting list

for a fee. no one will reach out to you offering a place on the waiting list for money. >> an e-mail offers to have the vaccine shipped directly to you. that is simply not happening. hospitals and pharmacies are having a time getting their fair share. they could ask for money or information. if approached by a scamster the national consumer league says report it. >> if i was mugged on the street or someone stole my car, i would not blame myself, i would report it as a crime to the police. unfortunately when we're talking about fraud it is a crime that is historically under reported. people tend to blame themselves. they tend to be afraid of reporting it. >> remember they're good at their jobs and you're not the only one being approached or fooled.

>> the federal trade commission says you should ignore offers from people you don't know and never respond to calls, texts, or e-mails asking for payments for any reasons. >> we have our abc 7 vaccination team. they just recorded a town hall answering your questions about covid-19 vaccines. during that townhall which was really fascinating we covered everything from who can get it to whether or not you can infect someone even if you received your shot. >> just to reemphasize it. the vaccine, as far as we know today, does not prevent the spread from one person to another. i hope that we will learn it does, but we don't have that data now. that means we believe you can be vaccinated well and protected from becoming significantly ill or dieing but still transmit this virus to other people.

>> i know there is a lot of concern about the variants. >> there really is and i think some of it comes from these headlines that are very scare c y. variants are coming. rna viruss, which is coronavirus is an example, mutates every month, and it could mutate to a point where it is able to have more defense against our immean system. here is the important thing. they feel that the vaccines are still effective against the variants we're seeing right now. >> when can people in california expect some of the numbers to be widely released to we know who is getting this vaccine and whyy and how many folks need to get

it. >> that's right, we have been looking at that data and we want to make it public. i'm going to have to confirm because i don't have the latest in front of me, but i believe that data was going live today, so this is very timely and if not today, it will be likely early next week but we are looking at the databased on on n vaccine and ethnicity. >> what about the plan? >> i was hoping you would go to the pediatrician, but i will tell you that the vak seex tests, the trials, for the most part did not include children. one of them included children 17 and above and there are some on going studies now with children 12 and older. >> it was such a great

conversation today. we'll have more on roku, amazon fire tv, and other devices. >> we had a lovely day and we're having a lovely evening.

quite the site this morning. birds creating a really clear moment, the weather was just beautiful for it. fresh snow high up in the sierra tonight. reported more than a foot of snow, crews were hard at work known for the busy president's day get. so let's check on our forecast with abc 7 news meteorologist. i think more is coming, right? >> that's right, and more snow is coming for the mountains which is great news.

let me show you a live picture. we're seeing peeks of sun as it is getting san jose right now in half moon bay. a lovely view from san jose as well. the sun is about to set there. in case you're getting away hawaii airlines forecast, tomorrow partly cloudy. our local airports in the afternoon and as we check out other areas isolated showers for honolulu. new york city is 29, it will be cold and snowy. los angeles partly cloudy and 66 degrees. live doppler 7 right now not showing in the last 24 hours. we had 0.07 in the last half hour. con ford, oakland, three

quarters ofen inch there. golden gate bridge camera there. just another light system for the day. spotty light showers. under 0.15 of rain. it will be blustery in the afternoon hours. 1:30 in the morning. as go into 6:00 a.m., the north bay seeing spotty showers. some of you may get completely missed by this one. and really by noontime the showers are gone. rainfall totals, everybody in the

tonight. highest peaks there expecting up to ten inches of snow. so it is best to hold off. i think you will have an opportunity tomorrow in the evening to get out there if youu waiting for higher temperatures. a windy day with clouds linerring in the mid 50s to the mid 6 o 0s. morning afternoon, showers with a level one shower. showers leveling on monday and more opportunities for rain. the storm door is open. midweek we'll bring you so much >> ahead this evening, a look at how the bay area is celebrating

the lunar new year in the time of covid. >> disney lawnunch called imagine from home. connect right now to stream all of the

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as we all fight the coronavirus pandemic, california is mandating the use of face masks when out in public. please, wear because you care. san francisco city and community leader are celebrating the lunar new year during a scaled down event in china town this morning. fire crackers and lion dancers highlighting the chamber of commerce before small dignitaries on grant tv. long learned to play at usf in

the 1940s. they are working on a series of streamed events including this lion dance. here is wishes from some community members. >> happy new year! >> and this virtual celebration will continue be daily >> awesome, that was great, adapted like everyone does. "world news tonight with david muir" is next. >> thank you so much for watching, we'll see you again at 6:00.

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if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. tonight, late developments in the impeachment trial of former president trump. the defense presenting its case and resting after less than three hours. the former president's legal team calling this impeachment political vengeance. lawyers defending the former president's speech to supporters on january 6th when he told them to "fight like hell." the trump team playing a video of democrats using the word "fight." democrats pointing out, they never used those words in front of an angry mob ready to act. that this is hardly the same thing, they say. as we come on the air tonight, questions from both sides. among them, when did the president know the capitol had been breached, and what did he do to stop it? and after the democrats said the president had been told in a phone call that mike pence was in danger, senator mitt romney tonight asking, didsi