>> 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're asking experts everyday your questions at 3:00 to get answers for you in realtime. today we are excited to talk with an employee at ada's cafe tp. serves delicious food and that's not all. it employs people with disability. we'll talk with the executive director of the california intersclavtic federation, c.i.f. after health officials loosened rules allowing youth sports to

continue. dr. alok patel will be part of the conversation. but first he gets us caught up on the latest covid-19 developments. if you are watching on facebook live, post your questions and we'll try to get them answered. here is dr. patel. >> here i am. >> i know. so much happened in the first few days. he we learn best when we put on the thinking caps together. let's kick it off with two truths and a. >> rock 'n' roll. you know the job. tell me which one is not true. starting off the bat, i'm saying a, according to the cdc there are nearly 1,600 reported covid cases caused by variants. or is it b, two women dressed up as grantees to try and get vaccinated in florida. or c, pfizer is expected to release vaccine safety data on 12 to 17-year-olds in early summer. which one is not true? >> oh, dr. patel, you know why

this is tricky, because i feel there is a kernel of truth in each one. it's a matter of having read the details very closely. >> that's the sign of a good question writer, just so you know. >> it is. i'm glad you weren't designing the sats when i took them. i'm ruling out b. because i know women dressed up the a elderly women to get vaccinated. i'll bank on that being two women. i think there are about 1,600 reported covid-19 cases with regard to the variant. that could be wrong -- so people are saying a on facebook live. oh, boy, okay, maybe i was wrong about the 1,600. pfizer is expected to release vaccine safety data. i know they're looking at younger kids. i don't know the time line. it's a toss up between a and c for me. but i'm going to say c is the lie. >> you are correct. c is the lie. and i respect for deductionive

analysis there kristen. running through them quickly. a is trickyec there was a headline sayingashe b 11 variant originating in britain. but if you add in brazil and south africa unfortunately we are at 1,600 and climbing. there is probably more out there. regarding b, kind of a -- i don't know to say hilarious. but a looney story. out of a movie. but the two women dressed up in bonnets and gloves in florida. raises a red flag. but it's an important headline. but gives people an idea of vaccine fraud. and it's happening all over the d ace. be -- well -- will probably be released in early fall, not early summer. but there hasn't been a definitive date. because without kids it's hard to get to herd immunity without

vaccinating kids. >> couldn't agree with that more. i want to ask you, the variants are a worry, yes. but new cases down in california and across the country, same thing with test positivity. in fact in california now at 3% positivity down from 10% about a month ago. can we take this good news at face value if you will? or could the numbers be deceptive. >> i've always been one to say we should have cautious optimism. i think it's okay to celebrate we've been in locked down for so long and holy seeing a result from it. one air of caution i would give people, is you mentioned we are seeing a rise in variants. as the rise in variants increases we could be at increased risks of getting new surges, a third or fourth wave which sounds horrendous. also we are seeing a halt in vaccine administration because of weather across the country. >> yeah. >> we're cautiously optimistic. we can't ruin the great work we have done. >> right now, who is eligible

>> you know i h the fact thatause transparent. but i 100% understand why it's so confuseding. according to public health websites, the eligibility is health care and front line works and people above 65. in had the bay area that changes february 24th as educators, child care, working in emergency services aen including agriculture become eligible and that changes again in march. i think it's important that people know when they're available, eligible in their specific counties. >> right, you can sign up for the alerts. that is starting to be a good way to keep informed. here is a great question from karen. karen says, my husband is due for his second vaccine. i have not received mine yet. and am wsh sure i will get the live virus. i think she is trying to say could his vaccine given the live

virus and then i'll get it bach are because i vant gotten vaccinated >> i'll give two answers here. number one, what karen should know and everyone else should know is this is not a live virus. -- a live vaccines. there are vaccines out there which do contain a live virus. this doesn't. the pfizer and moderna vaccine for covid contains a piece of rna. you are getting covid-19 from the vaccine. it's impossible. your body is getting a blueprint. but the other thing underlined in the question is can someone getting vaccinated pass on coronavirus? it's possible. but as data is coming out, it looks like it's more and more probable that with the vaccine is not only protecting people from having symptoms it's reducing transmission as well. regardless, karen, your husband should take aer lly youetou part answers daniel's question. but i'm going to ask, are they discovering when you are vaccinated you are not likely to transmit the virus?

>> daniel, we slowly are learning more and more hints that that might be the case. you know, astrazenica put out a study a couple weeks ago showing people getting pcr samples of the virus after getting the shot showed lower and lower amounts of virus in their blood stream. that's great news. showing the virus is not only protective but also prevents transmission. the reason why the cdc change the quarantine glinds for individuals vaccinated, if you are less likely to get symptoms of covid-19 you are less likely to be able to have the most contagious mechanism of spreading it. coughing, sneezing and so forth. i'm cautiously optimistic we'll see data in the near future that it does reduce transmission. >> carol cheng wants to know when will alameda county get with it for kidney dialysis patients? her son is a dialysis patient. didn't the governor just make it leitpealealt

if they're not 65? >> they did. but from the last i've heard that's not going into effect until the beginning of march. and i think it's an important -- very important question, because there are a lot of people out there who are between the ages of 16, youngest approved age up to 64 who have underlying mcclain conditions who are concerned about this. i think it's important to keep in close contact with physicians. but it's important that health care professional check everyone out there to make sure there is transparency and integrity in the next rollout. >> president biden today visited a pfizer plant in michigan. and pfizer has asked the fda to approve storing its vaccine at higher temperatures. instead of ultra, ultracold temperatures. how come they're able to ask for that now? and is that significant? >> it's -- first of all it's very significant because if we can store the pfizer vaccine at around 5 degrees fahrenheit for two weeks that expands the

number of places that can hold the vaccine. we can get it to rural communities. it's an interesting question, kristen why this request is coming out now. i actually read pfizer's letter to the fda asking for the emergency use thorax for the higher temperatures. there is nothing in there indicating why they're asking now. but my educated guess is it takes time for them to see if it's viable for two weeks. or three weeks or four weeks, et cetera. that's my guess, they didn't want to rush into it when we were unsure about the vaccine supply. but i'm glad we're looking at it now. >> this one from my mother. she asked me, is it true that pfizer's vaccine may only produce one third of the antibodies when i faced with the variant from south africa? is it. >> i need to give a shoutout to your mom as for asking the astute question and paying attention to science. it's true the vaccines we have right now are less effective against the south african variant. i believe she is talking about the headline that came occupant

able to produce antibodies by two-thirds. this was done in a lab. it's hard to predict real world. but the message is clear, the south african variant is stronger against our vaccines which is why vaccine manufacturers are tweaking the recipe to fight the south african variant. while the rest vs do whatever we can to keep the virus from let replicating. >> can i assure her even if it is true in the -- in the real world you only get a third of the antibodies with the south african vaern that doesn't mean you're likely to get ill, seriously ill. >> it doesn't necessarily mean that. remember, from the trials qb against the south african variant there was still a very, very high percentage of keeping people away from the hospital, death or severe illness. great are than 80%. we still need to do what we can to get the shots. don't go away. you'll be sticking around the next conversation about

>> the mr. noccetti how are you. >> i'm good. how are you. >> get the conversation started without me. you guys don't need me. just go np ron noccetti and dr. patel you've met. that's great because to talk about outdoor youth sports. they got the greenlight to resume in counties where case rates below a certain level. all counties except sool soonlo should qualify. joining us now you saw them dr. patel but also the executive director of the california intersclavtic federation, ron noccetti. ron i'm starting with you. the governor's long awaited

decision today, how do you feel about it is it? >> well it's exciting for the entire cf community. our student athletes have been off the court, field, out of the pools and off tracks since last march. it's been a long time. we're appreciate of governor newsom and the california department of public health for efforts in moving us forward and getting our student athletes back to play. >> which sports are we talking about, the ones most affected by the updated guidelines? >> right now it's our outdoor sports. >> football. >> and the biggest move of all was allowing sports like water polo, football, outdoor contact sports, soccer, et cetera that were in the orange tier, this gives them a start without having to get all the way into the red tier. regardless of tier now you can start, as you said at 14 cases or fewer per 100,000. it opened the door for many rts sporpts to start sooner. >> is there a testing component for student athletes. >> there is. that was one of the concerns.

but again we're appreciative of the move made by the governor and the cdph in that they require testing on a weekly basis for the sports of water polo and football. in they are between 17 and 14 cases. but we wanted to make sure when we return all the student athletes have the opportunity to play. thanks though the governor and cdph for providing free testing that's going to happen. >> okay. excellent. dr. patel, what do you think? i know you looked at this. do you think the framework is pretty safe. >> i do think it's pretty safe. i have to agree with mr. noccetti and everyone else advocating for return to play. people were doing it following the guidelines of science but also advocating for children. we've heard numerous stories in the past two months as the narrative came to mainstream media about coaches coming out and parents talking about how it was hard to keep student athletes engaged and hard to keep track of them. and there was an increase -- and

some high risk behavior in some kids who otherwise were out there on the football field or the soccer field. i also then heard from quizzed all over the country who were worried about college prospects here. and the one question we had to ask is when we look at outbreaks related to a high school sport, where are the outbreaks happening? is this something -- i talked to coach walsh about who was a bid advocate for let them play. we have to give a shout out to him later. but the outbreaks were remoted to off sport parties, training sessions in the gym, lorm, bus rides. those are other places where mitigation measures can come into play and keep kids safe. but i think it's safe enough for kids to get back out there on the field and actually practicing as long as everyone is on the same paige payment. and i agree as well that we make sure we have equitable access to tests out there. the fact of the matter is that a lot of the of the country is playing sports again. even in california we had plenty

of families going to arizona, montana and playing in tournaments and coming back. why don't we do it in a universal and safe way? >> kayo can i say how happy i am the show connecting people. i know patrick walsh knows ron well as well. ron, let me ask you this. will the bay area county public health officers necessarily greenlight it? because we have a situation where the state says this is okay. as locals you can decide. have you been in touch with the bay area counties and know the direction they are taking? a lot of people are wondering about santa clara county in particular which has been more stringent every step of the way. >> we local cifs office has handled that. the santa claus collar office that's our central section. and dave grisham has been in touch with them frequently. we've been asked all along to trust the health experts at the department of education. now we are asking our counties to also work in conjunction with

them. we have to tuft the experts. and i know the county is working closely with them. but let's get the kids back out there. the doctor is absolutely right. we see this more in social settings. our idea is let's remove them from the social settings and put them back in structured settings like sports and other activities at school sites where we will do as safe a job as possible. >> can i ask you a question as a volleyball mom? it's an indoor sport for sure. it was in the same tier as football. return when in orange. nlht.all has gotten the t vleyball hn't gten a reprieve. you know, it's less contact, actual contact if you will. but it's indoors. is there still negotiations going on on behalf of those sports, like volleyball. >> absolutely. in fact, my daughter is a first-year teacher and volleyball coach in the sacramento area. i heard loud and clear from her this morning that we need to get the indoors sports out there.

i think you heard the governor say in the press conference that indoor sports on the sidelines and he is putting together a task force to work on getting them back as well. we're continuing to advocate for that as the case rates continue to decline. >> dr. patel, you know, whether it's volleyball or football, which will now start. what is the key to playing these sports safely, minimizing transmission? what do you think? >> well i think we highlighted it. and the key is safety is first of all everyone has to be on the same page. there is an element of the honor system, even though we are asking to test the student athletesive week, people have to be very responsible about it when it comes to socialization, you know, whether indoor dinners, locker room, et cetera. one other quick note to get in, we need to to watch the variant out there. b 117. and see is that actually more infectious or contagious in children as well. ithn es wrestling team.with the

keep an eye on that. if students are responsible they can get the outdoor sports akabao back. >> cif director ron noccetti and dr. alock pa patel thank you. >> thank you. >> team kids. >> coming up next a local that employs people with disability. need your help. we'll talk about that

10. welcome back. aid aire's cafe in palo alto is not your typical cafe it's a non-profit that employs people disabilities. but like many businesses the pandemic has taken a devastating toll on a special place. now they are holding an auction to keep the doors open and you can help. joining us to talk about this, the founder of ada's cafe, kathleen foley hughes and

employee jeremy teeter. kathleen and jeremy, welcome. >> thank you. thanks. >> thanks. >> as i said, jeremy great to see your face. can't wait for you to come back to work. >> oh, yes. >> i can see there is so much excitement there because, kathleen, you just reopened, so happy to hear. how long were you closed. >> we opened and closed three different times. so it's been -- it's been a bit of a roller coaster. you know, we care about our community. we care about our employees. we don't want anyone to get sick. but -- so it's necessitated us being open and closed some of the time. so it's been a struggle. >> kathleen, i appreciate you having abc 7 on on the monitor behind you. i see that up there look, when you were forced to close, many people in the community were so sad because you're not just a cafe. explain what you do as a non-profit and your mission. >> thank you. thanks. so we're a social enterprise.

we're a business with a mission. and our mission is tolete and disabilities. and others experiencing barriers to employment. so we are a wonderful group of people that love food and care for one another, and care about our community. so we are a special place. >> yup. and in fact your own son charlie works at the cafe. >> he is right here. >> i thought that was you. but with the mask i conbe sure. >> the masked man. >> right. it's so great to see. i don't know if you to take t t what hei aid's te mn >> what does m t your mask of it's okay. what --

>> is it about the people? >> it's about the people. >> all right the people is what you like. okay i'm going to see if jeremy thinks the same. jeremy, what do you do at ada's cafe. >> i have to serving other people. and caring for other people. >> okay. soway what kind of skills have you learned working there? >> doing running the cash register, and doing different things. >> um-hum. >> and making sandwiches. >> oh, awesome. so, kathleen, you've had to lay off some employees. and i know you're barely hanging on betwe lease, training, catering business being down because of no parties. but thankfully you have good friends in the community who are holding an auction for you, hoping to raise a $250,000. tell us about the auction. >> two friends of

started the online auction at ada's cafe, better world.org. and there is lts loss of amazing contributions, events, people have donated meetings, events, dippers, amazing artwork, pieces of furniture and jewelry. it's pretty amazing. -- i'm sorry. >> no it's okay. i just want to ask the producer to scroll that. because i saw some of the items like catered, cookies, meal prepared by the staff. show me the cookies. jeremy are you helping to prepare the cookies? if so, i'm all about it. >> yes, yes. >> is it hard making the cookies? what is the trick to pla them o? >> we work -- work together. >> oh, of course.

yes working together is superimportant. let me just ask you also, kathleen? why is this so expensive, if you will, the training do you and the community folks you bring in to make this all work? >> i think any- put out a really good product. but we have a collaborative role work environment. and, you know, so there is always, you know, kind of a buddy system. and that's expensive. >> that is. >> it works. >> it totally works than that's why you've been so special since 2014. check out ada's cafe website

or check out the auction if you can't go there in person.

all right. that's going to do it for now. thank you for joining us on this interactive show "getting answers" today we'll be here every weekday tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. after the power disaster, now the water emergency in million people forced to boil their water. the long lines today for bottled water, the empty shelves at grocery stores. pipes in homes bursting across the state. at least 60 people dying now in these storm, including a 11-year-old boy found dead in his bed. it's not just texas. the ice storm crippling power and water systems in jackson, mississippi tonight. the unfolding emergency there. another frigid night sophomore when does texas, most of the nation warm up? rob marciano timing this out. the storms slowing vaccinations across the country and what authorities said

today -- how quickly they believe they'll be able to catch