county health officials across california are sitting down with blue shield to hash out how the vaccine will be allocated. but the bay area will be last to transition to the health care provider's model. some people at the oakland coliseum vaccination site have been able to get in and out in under 30 minutes without an appointment. there's a little utilized way to access the site that officials want you to know about. and more businesses reopened in san francisco today including indoor dining. but we found some diners and restaurant owners who are worried it's still too soon. >> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. you have to make sure we maintain momentum in vaccinating people and that we don't disrupt the current progress that we have. >> today bay area health officials met with blue shield officials to hash out

transitioning to the health care provider's vaccine management system. the major concern, will it slow things down? good evening. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. thank you for joining us. the ceo says they hope to not disrupt distribution. but the plan for each county will not be the same. >> abc 7 news reporter stephanie sierra joins us live from the newsroom to explain. stephanie. >> reporter: well, ama and dan, it's important to note all counties will still be receiving vaccine while this transition is taking place. the key difference here is which counties will have the opportunity to qualify for more first. now, we talked to blue shield ceo paul markovich exclusively yesterday and we still had more questions and wanted to dig in more. over the next few weeks all nine bay area counties will be phased into blue shield's vaccination network. solano and sonoma county are first, making the transition in wave two on march 7th. the seven other bay area counties transition last in wave three on march 14th, partly due

to having lower rates of covid cases. >> we're vaccinating people in the right sequence. >> reporter: blue shield ceo paul markovich explains the company is using an algorithm that determines dose allocation for counties and providers based on infection rates and vulnerable demographic areas. >> what is the infection rate for covid-19 as a percentage of the population? what's the death rate for covid-19 as a percentage of the population? what percentage of the population lives in the lowest quartile healthy places indices tracks? because we know they're at the highest risk. >> reporter: markovich pointed out the company does not have the authority to determine how much vaccine allocation goes to certain providers but will make informed recommendations to the state. >> then they decide whether to take that recommendation or adjust it. >> reporter: ultimately more vaccine doses will be allotted to counties or providers with a larger eligible population. so will counties that have already vaccinated a majority of their 65-plus population receive

less? it's unclear. but blue shield says the formula is dynamic and will change. >> so at some point in the future, for example, we hope to have vaccinated most if not all of the people over the age of 65. so you're not going to have that be a part of the formula anymore in the future. so it's going to shift and change. >> reporter: the insurance giant vowed to have 3 million doses administered per week by march 1st. but markovich says the state is only receiving half that amount. the constraint continuing to be supply. markovich added in order for california to receive the maximum allotment of doses there needs to be accurate data and inventory cherkz to make sure the incoming supply can meet the demand. that's why the company is implementing what's called a performance management system that will keep tabs on which doses are going to counties and providers and how many of those doses are being administered. stephanie sierra, abc 7 news. >> all right, stephanie, thank

you so much. and fema says there's a way to fast-track the vaccine process at the oakland coliseum if you're willing to walk some. the best part, you might not even need an appointment. eligible people are getting vaccinated quickly by using the walk-up access point at the coliseum bart station and avoiding the line of cars waiting at the driveup entrance off 66th avenue. abc 7 news reporter laura anthony's live at the coliseum to show us how this works. sounds promising, laura. >> reporter: yes, ama, it is for those who are eligible. we have to make sure that people understand that. this is a very busy place. 8,000 vaccines per day they're administering here at the coliseum. if you're in a car, you could wait several hours. but fema wants you to know there's an option where there's no line. though he arrived on an ac transit bus -- >> i'm just going to gitd your temperature real fast. >> reporter: -- essential worker kevin auer is technically a walk-up at the oakland coliseum mass vaccination site.

>> any questions for me? >> no questions. >> reporter: it's a process that went very quickly. >> through these double doors. >> waving aught right here. >> are you feeling sick today? >> no. >> have you ever had a positive covid-19 test? >> no. >> reporter: the one and only access point for walk-ups is the pedestrian bridge from the coliseum bart station. so far it's an option that has been underutilized by those currently eligible for a covid vaccine. >> we have wanted it to get out that this is a resource. you don't have to drive your car, you can take public transportation, you can use the bart services or you can drive your car and park at the bart coliseum station. walk over the pedestrian bridge. >> reporter: ac transit is also running a special vaccine shuttle with pickups at eastmont transit center and coliseum park that drops people off. >> how are you doing today? >> reporter: -- at the vaccine tents. for kevin auer the whole process took less than a half hour. including the 15-minute observation period. >> i would do the walk-up.

yeah. i'm amazed. it went quick and there was no wait. i think i waited 60 seconds. to get checked in and that was it. >> thank you. >> reporter: the hope is many others will follow in kevin auer's footsteps. now, i'm told that it is best to make an appointment. the gentleman we profiled did not have one, but just to make sure you get your shot you should probably go ahead and make an appointment on that myturn.ca.gov website. and the other thing is there's been confusion about where this site is located. it's at the coliseum but you can only access it from the coliseum bart station, that pedestrian bridge, or through that ac transit shut that will they're running right here to the site. live in oakland, laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> okay, laura, thank you. the san francisco unified school district has received 2,600 qr codes from the state to help get teachers vaccinated.

those qr codes can be used to make vaccine appointments. the state issued them today after sf unified was initially denied access. that's because the teachers union still has not reached a deal with the school district. supervisor hillary rhonin says even once the first wave of teachers is vaccinated she estimates it will take five weeks to reopen classrooms after a deal is finalized. johnson & johnson's ceo says his company's vaccine could be available for children by september. he the announcement today during an interview with "washington post" live. >> is it possible that vaccines would be available for children under 18 by september when parents want them to go back to school or are we really thinking, should we be thinking more about the end of the year? >> i think it's likely it will occur right in that timeline. the good news is that the fda is already working with companies to establish the clear

regulatory guidelines so that the appropriate data can be collected. >> alex gorseky says one benefit of the j&j vaccine is this type of vaccine has been used in younger age groups before. the company announced last week it plans o'study the vaccine in adolescents starting with children 12 to 18 years old. as part of our effort to build a better bay area we are continuing to track the economic impact of the pandemic and it's huge as you know. five of the bay area's nine counties are now officially open for indoor activities as part of the less restrictive red tier. san francisco, napa and santa clara join the tier today. people in those counties don't have to eat or exercise out anymore. but abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield found out that in san francisco new habits die hard. >> reporter: roxann's cafe in san francisco's lower knob hill happily welcomed the breakfast crowd inside today and plans to now start bringing back the 14 employees that had to be let go

because of the shutdown. >> i'm really excited. i'm hoping for -- like to see light at the end of the tunnels. >> reporter: this couple visiting from san diego was delighted to eat inside today after a cold dinner outside. >> it was awful. last night was cold and we went to pier 39 to eat and i'm very surprised today that we got to eat inside. it's more normalizing and it's better. i don't know. i'm just glad things are getting back to normal. >> nothing beats inside dining. people want to chat. they want to feel at home. and of course nobody wants to eat on the street. >> reporter: but people were still out on the street this morning in north beach. cafe greco is still not ready to open its indoor dining room. employees say the owner will probably wait until the next reopening tier. and this loyal group of friends who come here every morning is fine with that. >> i prefer outdoor dining because i think there's just better ventilation than there is

inside. >> reporter: everyone in this group has been vaccinated but they all told us they still don't feel ready to eat inside and hope these outdoor options will become permanent. >> i think the city has been transformed by the parklets. i think it's added to a variety of opportunities and hope that continues. >> interpreter: the owner here at roxann's agrees these parklets have a certain charm to them and they're expensive. he says he spent $22,000 on this. he says he'd be willing to keep it but he thinks it's probably up to the city because keep in mind these take up metered parking spaces. in san francisco amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> that is a very good point. two other bay area counties are hoping to move out of the purple tier to the red tier soon. solano county's health director says the county could be eligible as soon as next week. the county's positivity rate has dipped to 2.6%. contra costa county public health officials estimate that county will be eligible within two to three weeks' time.

and oakland mayor libby schaaf told us today that she's optimistic alameda county will go red next week. and if you want to see what's open where you live we have an interactive county map on our website, abc7news.com. stay with us. stanford doctors are racing to find out why some covid patients have long-term symptoms. you're going to meet one of the 100 test patients desperate for answers. and drew tuma's going to have our accuweather forecast coming up for you as well. find out what's in store. and a record number of flights were delayed last year as travel was of course way down during the pandemic. but new d

doctors at stanford are tackling a side of the covid crisis that stayed somewhat on the sidelines and in the

shadows. its victims are not counted in the headlines but rather linger in a frustrating cycle of long-term symptoms. and researchers are racing to find out why. >> did you used to when you were commercing? >> reporter: rick st. john is trying to help doctors at stanford crack an ongoing mystery of the covid virus, why some patients are still experiencing symptoms months after being infected. the group known as long haulers. >> i would start to feel better and then i would get worse. and then i would feel a little better and then i would get worse. >> reporter: especially frustrating for an avid skier and runner who found himself out of breath with recurring bouts of fatigue. >> headaches, fatigue, na i had brain fog. >> we were surprised as to how many people continue to have symptoms many months into, you know, after their diagnosis. >> reporter: for months dr. a aruna subramanian and a growing team at stanford have been studying roughly 100 long haul

patients putting them through a dizzying battery of tests including strength. >> and go and release. >> reporter: breathing. >> in and out nice and easy. >> reporter: movement. >> in about 30 seconds i'm going to tell you to stop. >> reporter: and lung condition. >> go ahead take in a breath. >> reporter: the study known as ire sis casting a wide net for a reason. while the majority of patients were never hospitalized they're reporting ongoing feelings like fatigue, memory loss or brain fog often affecting their daily lives. >> we are finding that their memory and attention span, their recall ability, all of that is really down. >> reporter: along with brain and urological testing the group has also zeroed in on possible immune system disruptions and they're investigating drugs like steroids that might help. while answers haven't come yet dr. subramanian now says the syndrome has the full attention of the national institutes of health which is expected to ramp up nunding for nationwide studies. for many, many patients like rick a breakthrough can't come soon enough. >> you know, i'm kind of at the

point where i'm out of good ideas. >> it's been a challenging time for rick and so many others. doctors say a number of the patients they're following were deemed essential workers and may have contracted covid helping others. this only has to researchers' determination to find some answers. and we know they will. they're working very hard on it. let's transition and talk a little about the weather. and ama, some rain, much-needed rain is on the way. >> reporter: yeah. it feels a little cooler, perhaps more on the coast. drew, what's happening lately? >> it does. the appetizer before we get? rain by the end of the week. me at southern cali could rains right now. live doppler 7 along with satellites, southern california needs rain too. so this is a very welcome sight with a storm moving onshore. for us that storm just increased the cloud cover across the bay area. what we are watching, though, there is a cold front that will

be approaching on friday and that will bring us some rain, a return to a weather pattern we expect in early march. i'll show you the tam cam right now. the fog rolling in along the coast. elsewhere away from the coast we do have fairly sunny skies at this hour. if your allergies are acting up like mine are acting up right now, you can blame trees. tree poll zen at moderate levels. the main offenders are ash, juniper and alder trees. with that onshore flow it certainly feels cooler compared to yesterday 50 in half moon bay, 53 in the city. we're at 59 in oakland but you go to the south bay it's a little bit more sunshine. 60 in san jose. 61 in concord. 69, though, in cloverdale. overnight tonight the blend of stars and clouds out there. numbers in their mid 30s to mid 40s over the next 12 hours. we will have a beach hazard stemt going into effect as that storm approaches from the west. it will bring an active ocean current. so we do expect a northwest swell about 8 to 11 feet through

friday morning. so rip current will be pretty dangerous along our coastline. highs on our thursday will start with some morning cloud cover. i do anticipate the afternoon being brighter than it is today. numbers a little bit warmer tomorrow, mainly in the low if not mid 60s across the bay area. then the storm impact scale, level 1 storm we're tracking friday night into saturday morning and mainly light rain creating slick roadway conditions. future weather, hour by hour for much of the daylight hours on friday the rain is pretty much confined to the north bay. once that sun goes down that rain moves south working through san francisco, oakland by about 11:00 p.m. moving to the south bay as well. early in the morning we're already starting to see the tail end of that storm move through. and then as you wake up saturday morning it's pretty much out of here. the weekend's going to turn out pretty dry. we do expect about a quarter of an inch of rainfall with this storm. so it's not a high-impact storm but it's a return to weather pattern we really do need. here's the accuweather seven-day

forecast. clouds and sun on your thursday. there's that light rain late friday into early saturday. the weekend, much of it looks dry and then dan and ama, rain returns for much of next week. it's a nice pattern change we

solar-powered vehicles have been a dream for over half a century but this could be the year we see a mass produced one coming off a california assembly line. abc 7 news reporter david louie shows us a vehicle of the future. >> reporter: 8,000 people have already put down deposits to get one of these solar powered vehicles from aptera that hopes to be in production by year's end. >> i think the very idea that you could get any free mileage from the sun on your vehicle is something that really resonates with people. >> reporter: the three-wheeler can transport two people using a sol ar ray that can be supplemented with additional panels on the hood and rear hatch to extend range up to 1,000 miles. >> they're thinner, they're less dppsive, they're able to be bent in multiple akees and put onto

the vehicle itself. so the technology for solar today is just perfect for a vehicle like ours. >> reporter: the batmobile-like profile was designed to reduce wind resistance, which impacts range. instead of steal the body is a composite of carbon, kevlar and hemp. composites are used in racing cars such as formula one to provide strength and safety. >> we instantly get that better fuel economy because we aren't pushing so much air and because we're using a super efficient powertrain and lightweight components we get 1,000 miles per charge. >> reporter: price is another key factor to keep it affordable. depending on features the range is expected to be from 26,000 to $46,000. john young is reservation holder number 29. >> this is a vehicle that demonstrates the kind of future that i want to live in. so it's a future of efficient use of resources, efficient use of energy, clean driving at the street level. >> reporter: the aptera can be plugged in driving long distances or when it's cloudy. a factory is being built in san diego. the co-founders believe sales of

2,000 vehicles per year are viable with a goal of ten times that many, especially as it develops a full fleet of models. >> people lose their minds kind of when they see a spaceship floating down the road. because our wheels are covered, at first glance it does look like the aptera is flying. >> reporter: david louie, abc 7 news. the state is alert king patients about a fee that should not be showing up on your medical bill. and 7 on your side's michael finney is here with details on what we should watch out for, michael. >> reporter: dan, this is some information information. california's attorney general says we should be on the lookout for health care providers charging a covid fee. now, that's a charge tacked on to your bill to cover the cost of cleaning, disinfecting and personal protective equipment. attorney general xavier becerra says that's not allowed under medicare, medical and dentiacal. if you're covered by one of

those and are charged a covid fee, you should report it to the agency. and if you have private insurance you might want to check with your provider to see if they allow their providers to charge that fee. a record number of airline flights were on time last year, but with less than half the usual takeoffs the record might not be quite as impressive as first seems. 84 1/2% of u.s. airlines were on time in 2020 compared to 2019. that's almost 79% of flights were on time in 2019. a department of transportation report also tracked complaints to airlines. and get this, there were six times more complaints last year than there were in 2019. the majority, you can guess it, it's about refunds for canceled flights. the stationery store the paper source has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. the chicago-based company is planning to close 11 of its 58

stores, then sell the company at auction in april. there's no word yet which stores will close. the temporary closing of stores during the beginning of the pandemic was tough for the company, especially the loss of sales during easter and mother's day last year. wedding invitations also took a huge hit. so dan, the pandemic's economic hit just keeps growing and it keeps showing up in places we don't even think about. stigs erry stores, for instance. >> yeah. so true, michael. all right. thank you very much. san francisco's deyoung museum is reopening this weekend with a brand new

finally here, san francisco's de young museum is reopening on saturday with a new exhibit. >> the picasso display includes 100 paintings, sculptures and drawings exploring the connections between 20th century artist alexander calder and pablo picasso. >> on our social media that's the number one question every time we post something, everyone's asking when are you opening, can i come see frida? we're thrilled to be able to get the museums back open and get people inside. >> that frida kahlo exhibit is still on display. visitors are encouraged to

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tonight, several developing tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the new threat against the u.s. capitol. the capitol police issuing a bulletin about a possible militia plot to storm the capitol as early as tomorrow. the house now scrapping its thursday session amid the warning. what we're learning tonight. as just today, the commanding general of the d.c. national guard testified that he waited 3 hours, 19 minutes before being allowed to send forces in to help in the middle of the riots at the capitol. rachel scott live on the hill tonight. new york governor andrew cuomo for the first time in front of the cameras in days apologizing, but says he will not resign, after three women have accused him of misconduct, saying "i now understand that i acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. i deeply apologize." adding, "i feel embarrassed by it." reaction alrea c