>> 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 experts everyday your questions at 3:00 together answers in realtime. today we talk with special correspondent dr. alok patel. get questions ready. we have a round of two truths and a lie ready to go. we'll answer all covid-19 questions. first i had a conversation today with the state'sop health officer who hails from the bay area. dr. tomas aragon. governor newsom appointed director of the california department of public health. here is our conversation about

vaccines, distribution and who is is next. >> monday 4 million more californians will be eligible for the vaccine. 16 and over. transit workers and janitors. are you getting the supply and distribution up so it won't end in more people frustrated because they are eligible but can't get an appointment. >> one thing to realize is that becoming eligible doesn't mean that you're automatically going to have an appointment the very next day. it means that as the vaccine supply does start increasing people will -- we will be able to vaccinate more and plor folks. and we realize -- we're told that by early april, the vaccine supply is going to be increasing significantly. we anticipate that becoming easier as each week passes. >> okay. so when can people in that group start signing up? can they now, this weekend? or do they have to wait until monday. >> yeah, so one of the reasons we wanted to get this information out is one of the most efficient ways for people

to be notified is going to be through the health system. their health systems through the electronic medical records can identify in a very efficient way these are the highest risk people who should be vaccinated. they can reach out to them and let them know they are eligible. if it's a system that has a vaccine, for example, some ch our health systems and distributing and giving vaccinations they can prioritize those populations if nev appointments. that's one way. the other way is we want people to know if they're not sure neck go ahead and contact their doctor or contact the local health department. >> okay. so based on her vaccine availability -- i know you said starting april there will be a lot more availability -- do you know how many appointments might realistically be released in the first couple of weeks? >> i know that right now we're doing about 1.2 million doses per week. that's going to be going up to over 4 million doses per week. and with the new johnson & johnson vaccine, which is the

one and done, you don't have to come back for a return appointment. that will really open up appointment slots. because, you know, the two series vaccine really takes up two appointment slots. with the johnson & johnson it's just one shot and you're done. >> before we get to that, though, i want to ask you again about you know when we relax the rules or increase more eligibility starting monday, you did update the rules to say vaccination sites won't require anyone who is disabled or sick to have to show proof in order to get the vaccine. so i'm wondering if you're concerned there might be fraud and what safe guard there is against that. >> yeah, we're calling it a self-edit station. yeah, of course we are concerned that some people may try to jump the line. and we're trying to sort of -- we're trying to balance the challenges of how do we get people vaccinated. we realize for us to do -- for us to do verification was going to be an additional road block both in terms of just the

logistics of getting verification for millions of people. and that in a few weeks the vaccine supply would be so big that verification wouldn't be necessary. so we felt it was just easier for us after talking to a lot of different stakeholders to go to a self-edit station approach. >> so after this next group, who will it be next, adults 50 and over? all adults or maybe more sectors like those originally in 1 c like communication and government? >> so the -- the current plan is before president biden's announcement is that we were going to move to just a pure age-based approach. just so era go systemically down each age. that is the quickest easiest way to vaccinate folks. it's the easiest. everybody understands age. and that one is much easier to implement. that's our current plan. we'll have to take into account what president biden is saying and see if we can meet that goal as well.

>> is your best guess 50 to 64 next. >> that's a good guess. we haven't specifically sat down and done that interval. we are sort of looking at we take -- right now we're looking to see what's on our plate. but that's a good -- that's probably a good guess, 50 to 64 is a good sbravl. >> when do you think that eligibility will be expanded to that group? end of april? >> you know, it's actual too soon to tell. i think we're looking at the pace that people are getting vaccinated, looking at the supply. we have analysts who are actually projecting all this out. and we're going to be seeing how many people are getting vaccinated. that really helps us determine when we'll make the next announcement. >> so president biden yesterday also said enough vaccine for every adult american by the end of may. so the supply is one thing. but are you confident california's infrastructure is now ready to make that happen? as you know, when it was first starting a lot of people talked

about the slow inconsistent pace. but what about now? >> yeah, so the way -- our strategy is to assume that the vaccine supply is going to increase dramatically and that we're going to have all the systems in place. and one of the things the governor decided to do, which we were very supportive of, and that is we brought on a third party administrator. you may have heard about blue shield. blue shield has the experience of managing a large network of providers. and this is what -- this is their expertise. and so they're really going to help us manage the health systems, the pharmacies, the clinics, the health departments, all the different distribution sites, because we're going to have thousands of distribution sites. and so we need -- we needed somebody who can help us do that. blue shield is playing that important role for us. >> but, dr., are you worried that some counties such as santa clara county vocal about saying

they are not joining it now because their system works fine the way it is? >> yeah, no, the way that we're approaching it we're focusing on the whole state. every county will be getting -- every county will be getting the vaccines. and any -- there is a transition period here. and there is some negotiation going back and forth. but at the end of the day every county will get vaccines. and we're working with a third party administrator to make sure it gets to the providers who are going to be able to vaccinate the most vulnerable populations. i think what you find with this virus because it's mutating that all of us at some point in the future will need a booster. i think it's probably -- that's -- i think that's probably what's going to happen in the future we'll need a booster. and so it's all of us will be receiving a second shot at some point. >> new data shows 38% of californians have tested -- have antibodies either through exposure or having recovered. tell us what you notice about the bay area and what that suggests about how we have

fared. >> the bay -- the average across the state is about 38%. . in some parts of the state up to 50%. in the bay area i believe it's probably closer to 30%. it's going to be -- it's going to be lower. and that's because the bay area has been more successful at preventing transmission. and so the fact that we have that much zero prevailens does give us some confidence that with the vaccine contributing to that that we're -- we're going to be in a better position in terms of controlling of pandemic a all right. with my apologies if i may just one last question. and that is really. >> sure. >> i'm thinking back to when we first met last year in february. so 13 months ago which feels like forever ago, you came to the station to talk to us about in new thing called the coronavirus. and then you showed our kate larson, my colleague how to wash hands properly fl the bathroom a th o toldou tn that months later the u.s. would be

at 530,000 deaths, you know, i'm sure you wouldn't have believed it. but i would like to end on a positive note, which is to talk to us about, you know, what we can look forward to, what we have done right and what is your message to us, as we face go through the most critical period now. >> yeah, and that was a very interesting -- what you just described. and i would say that we have learned a tremendous amount about this virus. this is an airborne virus. we have to pay attention to activities indoors. and the other -- the other thing for us to realize that is very historic is we have a vaccine. so we're -- you know, if we had not had a vaccine we would be going through this year after year at least two to three years. the fact we have a vaccine is phenomenal. people ask who me, what is the best vaccine to take. and my response is the best vaccine is the first one that gets in your arm. that's the most important thing. that's how we're getting out of

this pandemic so i can come and -- i can come back to the studio and you can interview me in person. >> that sounds fabulous. it is a date. thank you so much dr. thomas aragon former san francisco public health officer and now california's public director. thank you. appreciate your time and insight. >> thank you. >> bye-bye. all right. lots of lessons learned. lots of optimism as well as well as the vaccine should be ramping up in terms of production and distribution in the next month. all right when we come back, dr. alock a patel will be joining us. submit questions on facebook live and we have a lot to cover

>> covid-19 continues to be in the front of everyone's mind as

we continue to ramp up vaccines. monitor variants and work to reopen the state. dr. who comes to the front of our minds is always t dr. alok patel our special correspondent joining us to end the week. hey, dr. patel. >> kristen, good to see you. >> i see you have a bigger smile than usual because we all got optimism that we needed last night president biden gave americans dates, dates for the first time really, right. end of may for all adults to have doses. and july 4th to be in a place where we can have small gatherings. exciting but is it realistic? >> you know, i think the former, the date of -- i'm sorry, the latter in may when we have vaccines. that's a quantitative goal. i think we can get there. we will doses and people can look forward to that. july 4th when i heard that i was optimistic, kited but at the same time i also thought, whoa, that's giving me a little bit of anxiety because i hope we make that.

because if we don't we could see a bit of pushback we have seen in the past year every time an expectation doesn't meet reality there is mistrust. people lose that stamina. i hope we do everything we can to be able to celebrate a fabulous outdoors, crowded fourth of july picnic. >> even a smaller one, but with, you know a few groups which i think president biden was trying to emphasize as well. without further ado. >> yes. >> everybody is waiting for two truthsen a a lie if you're on facebook help me because you know i need help. >> i have faith in you this time. >> okay. >> i think you're coming through. let's do round one. we're focused on the vaccine getting into people's arms. so tell me which one is not true. a. at the current pace 70% of the u.s. population could be flv vaccinated around the end of july. or is it b? cdc guidance for vaccinated individuals will include travel guidance once 25% of americans

have vaccinated. or is it c? according to a pbs poll 30% of americans do not plan to get vaccinated. and in that poll they also show that 49% of republican men do not plan to get vaccinated. which one is not true. >> okay. leave that up there. so our viewers consider this and i work my way through it. viewers on facebook. i'm seeing cp somebody says c is the lie. i don't mean to get a little arrogant but dr. patel i think i know this one. it's not a. >> you're confident. >> yes i'm confident. >> a is in fact true. that's not the law. cbs -- i'm sorry pbs poll about 30% of americans don't plan to get vaccinated i definitely heard that. i'm ruling that out. so even though our viewers are all over the place,ed spread out in responses. i'm going to say b is the lie. cdc guidance for vaksited

individuals will include travel guidance once 25% are vaccinated. >> b is the lie. b is the lie. i say that i didn't come up with b out of thin air. there was debate back and forth about whether or not the cdc was too harsh regarding travel restrictions when releasing guidelines. and there is some talk when americans -- when we get more americans vaccinated maybe around 20 to 30% they would loosen up travel restrictions. right now only 10% of people have those. people need to remember if you are vaccinated you may still transmit the virus. we don't have the davt yet. that's why people are asking everyone to not travel for no wreen. regarding a. that is obviously good news we could get 70% of the population fully vaccinated by july. 85% by september. here is the important note you alluded to this earlier in the previous interview we could reach herd immunity sooner because that's not including natural immunity. and also if we ramp up our national vaccine distribution and more people get the vaccine

every day we'll get there sooner as well. regarding c. you know, i -- that's just -- it's disheartening that so many people still have questions and reservations about the vaccine. but when i saw that nearly 50% of republican men don't want to get the vaccine it showed me two things. number one, politics still plays a big part right now in our scientific response and president president trump i really wish would have publicized him getting the vaccine and send a message of kpvrt to supporters. >> right. okay. well let's talk about it. the fact that we can even say perhaps 70% of americans will have had the vaccines by the end of july, partly relies on the ramping up of the johnson & johnson vaccine. 100 million doses. guess what you only need the one dose. that's good. i asked california's public health officer what to do about members of the public who still view it as the second class vaccine. you know, dr. aragon are trying to erase the perception because they see it as the low

maintenance game change are vaccine. what do you tell people saying no, i'd rather wait if that's what it means. >> when i talk to people about this -- and i talk to a lot of people about it because people have the perception. i try to frame the clinical trial in which johnson & johnson vaccine succeeded it. the clinical trial came later. johnson & johnson was up against more variants and still came out with impressive numbers. people see the 72% and say that's so much lower than the 94, 95%. but that's 72% against symptomatic illness even a minor cough. but a year ago if we asked people what do you want to get vaccinated against they would say severe hospitalizations or death. and johnson & johnson vaccine is nearly 100% effective at presenting death. that's what we all want. if everyone clabots and everyone gets whatever shot they can, that mutual protection will raise it more and get to herd immunity faster. people should definitely get whatever shot they can as soon as they can. and we'll get to those -- get

out of this faster. >> that does lead me to a viewer question though. they wrote us and said i've been hesitant with getting the vaccine. i'm very, very afraid of needles. i can't shake the feeling of the use of needles. i'm afraid if i decide to come for a vaccine that i will back away due to my anxiety. ooh. all right. if someone feels that way, what can they do? >> well, i think the medical term for in tripanph tripanph reel. let eye of people avoid vaccines or donating blood because they don't want needles around them. what people should keep in mind is the greater good is so important. and i respect someone saying i want the vaccine but i'm afraid of needles. try a distraction. trip bringing someone with you. you can even try techniques lying coughing. you can try to laugh or have a conversation on another topic as

you get the shot. and try to avoid looking at the shot, asking a lot of questions about the actual needle and building up anxiety. if you have extreme case of this phobia, exposure therapy may help. it may help to actually look at pictures of needles, even if cartoon images videos whatever you ease yourself into it. but i have -- i have faith that you'll get there. >> wow. all right. knows are good techniques and i hadn't thought of them. another mental image is maybe picturing yourself hugging your loved one. whoever that is. >> that's the greater good. yeah. >> all right. dr. aloek patel, i promtzed viewers we would answer questions. that's wha

vaccine. if there is any concern about your exposure safety measures matter. >> coming back. and we're back with our special correspondent dr. aloek patel. before we get to questions let's do another round of two truths and a lie we can learn the latest about what's going on with covid-19 and the vaccines. we're ready. >> kristen smoked the first one. round two. tell me which one is not true.

is it a new research shows covid-19 antibodies can pass into breast milk even in the plants to protect babies. or b all covid-19 long haulers had severe symptoms when first infected. or c a clinic in virginia accidentally gave customers empty shots instead of covid-19 vaccines. >> keep that up there. >> which is not true. >> viewers on factual basis please give me your answer. i need help with this one. i'm going to say b sounds correct. that is not the lie. because i think people who are long haulers had severe symptoms. clinic in virginia, yeah, i can believe that, because you know, we also at the oakland coliseum had an accidental giving people smaller dose that you know -- it's not empty. but -- and then i just have heard a lot about how -- oh, i don't know, i'm going to look at -- take a peek see what

people say. we have a lot of bs. a few cs. i see a couple of a's here as well. no, you know what, i read that incorrectly. antibodies can pass into breast milk. oh, i don't know. okay i'm going to. >> i respect your thought process. i respect the thought process. >> people are saying bp i'm changing to b even though i don't think that's right. this was a good question because they all seem plausible. so b and i think that's wrong. >> b -- b is right. because it is incorrect. i'm not sure what direction you were going there. >> right. >> b is the right answer. kristen i'm glad we're talking about b. because we are now talking about the ends of the pandemic and with what could be coming next. our long haulers need to be a big subject of discussion. the study showed that up to 30% of people with symptoms after 60 days had no symptoms. >> oh. >> in the first ten days after testing positive for sars covid 2. the reason this is concerning we

unfortunately lost half a million americans to the disease. but so many tens of millions more have been infected ppd and we know that covid long haulers can be old, young, severe illness, mild illness, no symptoms. it's hard to qualify them. we don't have diagnosis strategiesing with management. there is long haulers right now having trouble getting disability for trying to say i have a condition. a is true. so it's important to know that. we're protecting our babies. and c is true as well which tells us people giving shots need the proper training and know what to look out for. >> that was a great round. we have less than two minutes and tons of questions. alex wants to know, do all the vaccines work the same? this kind of goes with brett's question which vaccine do you recommend the most? >> so the vaccines have different mechanism. i'm going quickly. we know that pfizer moderna vaccine are made on mrna vaccine different than johnson & johnson. and astrazenica which is a dna

based vaccine inside a viral shell. she do the same thing. incredible efficacy but different molecular mechanism. >> florent that says people get sick with the shots. can you address that comment? >> well what i can say is a couple of things here. i'm not sure if she is referring to people having symptoms or immune responses. which sometimes that could look like somebody is getting sick but we talked about this before on the show. that's a completely floral response. even fever, headaches, chills, et cetera, normal response. but also remember it is possible that you could get a vaccine and still go and get covid-19 when we say 95% effective that's still five people out of a hundred who could get sick. even if you were to get covid-19 after getting a shot based on everything we know you are more likely to have less severe illness. instead of in the hospital you may have a fever and common cold. >> real quickly shawn tell wants to know in 20 seconds can people who are vaksed walk with others who are vaccinated without

masks, no matter what the job might be. >> i would say based on the situation that does sound like it's safe. because it sounds like extension of the cdc guidelines. but i would absolutely make sure that everyone around you is in fact vaccinated. and there is no one unvaccinated who could be high risk or mixing of households. >> all right well dr. patel always great learning and chatting with you. don't go away because we'll finish the conversation on

have a good weekend. >> happy friday. thank you. >> thank you for joining us on today's interactive show getting answers." today we talked to dr. patel but also the state's state health h director. he is confident he well will have significant increase in

doses april. the next group after monday's64. d says tonight, we have breaking news as we come on the air. governor cuomo defiant today, still just moments ago tonight new york's senators schumer and gillibrand saying governor cuomo should resign. the governor today refusing to step down amid growing calls. more than a dozen member of new york's delegation calling for him to resign, including congressman jerry nadler and alexandria ocasio-cortez. it comes amid allegations from six women of misconduct, current and former staff. and tonight, that news just in from new york's senators --. stephanie ramos standing by. the headline from minneapolis tonight. the landmark