next at 5:00, finding an appointment. millions of californians eligible to get a vaccine starting today. but, the goal is proving difficult to achieve. plus, who's going to be eligible next, and why could be weeks before we know the answer. also this evening, the tentative deal to open schools in oakland. who could go back by the end of the month. new hope for families in need, one mother's story plan t make a difference for her kids instead of just making ends meet. holding a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc7 news. today, millions of californians became eligible for the covid-19 vaccine. people with severe health conditions and disabilities are now able to sign up.

but, they are inundating a system straining under the weight of limited supply. and confusion about the process. with that, we say good evening and thank you so much for joining us. i am the on. >> limited appointments filled up so fast, those eligible are struggling to secure a spot. stephanie sierra has been following the process closely and is in the newsroom with the latest on this. >> we have been helping viewers try to schedule appointments all day and there were thousands of available early this morning but by noon, it was hard to find any appointments in nearly every bay area county. >> i called my doctors office and they said we don't have any so stop calling. >> kelly is struggling with lymphoma and her son is autistic and struggling with. cannot find an appointment the bay area. >> no availability in the area. >> multi is in a similar situation.

>> congratulations, you are eligible. >> he has made 12 attempts to secure an appointment but no luck within a 50 mile radius. starting at 6:00 a.m., abc7 checked appointment availability in every bay area county. most locations that pop up our pharmacies. we got the same notice nearly every time. no availability. please try a different search or check back later. the only location we could briefly make an appointment was in fairfield. >> it should not be difficult for them. >> opening up the high risk phase at once is not the most effective strategy every. >> he make it more impediments in the way of getting people the most risk of getting vaccinated. >> majority of appointment would not be immediately available due to supply constraints. the mosque only center has a capacity to minister of to 15,000 shots per day. but, san francisco as a whole is averaging 5000 shots per day

. >> i hope that changes quickly, they have been opening up appointments in a daily cases, appointment made available tonight, tomorrow morning. >> in the meantime, it's the luck of the draw for millions eligible who are just hoping for a cancellation. >> most county health departments control 30% of the vaccine that comes in. the remaining 70% is allocated from the state and federal government to help get providers like kaiser permanente and sutter health. if you cannot get an appointment at a county run site, contact your healthcare provider. keep checking the pharmacies, or keep refreshing the my turn site. abc7 news. >> good advice, thank you. millions are not eligible for vaccinations, it may be another month until the state announces the next group can set sign up for an appointment. laura anthony has that part of

our coverage. >> there are increasing signs from state health officials that california will not move to the next group of covid vaccine eligibility for at least one month. that means california over 50 or those working in jobs deemed essential may have to wait weeks longer to get the first dose of protection. >> we will be looking at supply. we have analyst who are actually projecting all of this out and we will be seeing how many people are getting vaccinated. that really helps us determine when we will make the next announcement. >> in the meantime, california will toggle target those eligible. vaccine distribution is lacking. for californians between 50 and 65, hoping to become eligible soon it appears vaccine sites may be closed to them for now. when states like texas, indiana, and ohio have already moved to age 50. >> and other california we have been abiding by everything,

social distancing and masks and i have not seen any hissy fits. so, i feel like, i hate to be behind in the vaccines when we have done everything we should have done all along. >> california does not make the next group eligible for another month, that begs the question, will the state be ready to deliver vaccine to all adults by may 1st? the target date announced by president biden. >> the real question is, when will there be enough vaccine to open up to the general population. i think it is going to be close to may sometime, i don't know if we know the exact date. >> laura anthony, abc7 news. a short time ago, sonoma county announced 31% of people 16 or older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. the county started following relaxed covid rules yesterday when i moved up into the right ear. the number of adjusted cases of

6.8 for every 100,000 residents. the lowest number in the past nine months. the counties test positivity rate is 2.5%. over and east bay, oakland schools will begin reopening for some in-person learning as early as march 30th for the youngest students. it comes as the school district and union reach an agreement which they say was based on science and safety. here is abc7 news reporter, lynn does. >> reporter: just like other school district have done, oakland unified will start the reopening process with the youngest learners. pre-k through second grade along with priority students will start on march 30th. on april 19th, third through fifth graders will return. >> this is something a lot of our families told us that they want so we are very excited to really start that process in a very short period of time. >> reporter: they had to fill out a 50 cabana form where 54 said the child will return.

a percent do not respond. students returning will start in hybrid mode, meaning two days of in person and three days of distance learning. those teachers in the first wave will return on a voluntary basis. but, by april 14th, all teachers must be on campus. >> i do think a good number of teachers will show up. >> reporter: garcia is the teachers union lead negotiator. >> we would not put our members or community, we would not agree to something we thought was compromising folks safety. >> reporter: this teacher disagrees. >> there is no way we should be bringing young people together, staff together at sites until we have vaccinated everyone. ride the cdc has yet to say when and how children should get the vaccine. >> i'm sure everyone is resilient and going to do a great job. but, making sure they get a few months of a grade is better

than getting nothing. >> reporter: the agreement has to be ratified by teachers. they will begin voting this wednesday through sunday. the school board will also need to approve it. leanne melendez, abc7 news. meanwhile, the cdc says it is looking at research that shows three feet of social distancing with masks may be sufficient in schools. the head of the agency says the six-foot guidance is quote, among the biggest challenges that we were aware of for schools to safely reopen. with the massive covid relief bill, they hit the bill for voters, increasing the child tax credit to $3600 a year for every child under the age of six. and $3000 for kids up to the age of 17. unlike stimulus checks, the white house wants to make sure that these tax credits are permanent. as abc 7 news reporter wade

freeman explained that could have a big impact on bay area families. a complex could fit just about anywhere we find a typical american family for the times. and when we ask if the new child tax credit matters >> i'm one of those people, yes. >> a single mother of two behind on rent with distance learning sons, adjusting to covid. >> it's really weird. >> it's been more than tough. >> i have to think before making a stop. if i will buy this today, how about my bill, what am i going to do next month. >> it's not the same life it was before, let's put it this way. >> lana will be the first to tell you she did not expect to

be in the circumstances. she had a good job working in a medical clinic. after covid-19, it disappeared. a few thousand dollars a year she will get extra will make a big difference. >> it will help with food, wi- fi costs, it will help with rent. >> cheryl runs community services for their helping more kids and families than ever since the pandemic. potential life changers. >> this is 1000 more per child and 3600 for kids under six. that is a tremendous help to families. >> food on the table is literal in some cases. the differences that bills may make, a little less worry. >> we have hope. without hope we will not be able to live. thank god we have hope. externally wealthy people and how funny could face a new tax to ease the burden on lower and middle class families.

a group of democratic state lawmakers announced today a plan to create a 1% tax on households with a net worth over $50 million for the increases to 1.5% on wealth over $1 billion. it would impact 50 15,000 families and bringing billions of dollars a year. >> extreme wealth inequality exists out there and can be transformative. when i do $0.01 per dollar to reinvest in schools, transportation system, or homeless issues. >> if state lawmakers pass the measure it would go to voters next year as a wealth tax was proposed last year and died in assembly. still ahead, new concerns about one man who wants to be san jose's next police chief.

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police in union city are looking for help finding this missing 10-year-old girl. destiny zeno is autistic and possibly suffers from schizophrenia. police say she was seen about 8:00 this morning near comet circle which is close to contempo park. destiny is wearing a gray zip up jacket, acid washed jeans and a black bonnet. call union city police immediately if you have any information.

allegations are coming to light over one of the finalists for san jose police chief in a store you will see only on seven, i spoke with a former officer who's transgender but a letter she wrote to the city manager about deputy chief anthony mata and got a response from himself. >> i'm afraid for the transgender officers that are there. i'm afraid for the lgb officers that are there. in that they will not be respected. >> that fear she is expressing is towards deputy chief, one of four finalists for the chief of police position following the retirement of chief eddie garcia. >> that's frightening to me. >> julie served as an officer from 1981 to 2010 transitioned from male to female around 2001. she is the founder of the transgender community of police and sheriffs. a group the offers support to 6000 transgender law enforcement members across the country. something she needed during her time as an officer. >> a partner of mine stopped talking to me for several years. >> sources close to the process

tell me the city manager sikes is expected to choose his pick for chief tuesday morning. based off her dealings, while they both served in the department, julie penned this letter to sikes on friday expressing what she believes the appointment could be detrimental. >> he did not agree with what i was doing which was transitioning, it was against his personal beliefs. i sat down at about 1100 people and he was probably one of a handful that expressed that to my face. >> i reached out to san jose police who declined an in person or zoom interview but send me a statement from dc mata who calls the claims untrue saying in part quote, the information contained in the letter is being taken seriously and being looked into by the city. he goes on to say i am a firm levered that diversity in a workforce including sexual orientation, religion, race, gender and more is essential to good policing. julie believed the department has come a long way in accepting his lgbtq members

continues to document setbacks such as generate 31st letter she penned two internal affairs showing homophobic. in advance at the department, she would like to see someone other than dc mata as chief. >> there is a lot of change going on at the department. i think there's room for more change and i don't see chief motta moving towards that change. >> a spokesperson for the city manager's office told me despite this letter, they are on track to make the decision mid-to-late march. still had, the winds finally start to die down a bit. meteorologist will be along

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s the ferocious sound of the wind, you can see the kite surfer speeding along and he just flies into the air and is the single backflip and lands right back on the water. probably the highlight of his day and you can really hear all of that wind, can't you? >> i have to say that always looks so fun, it looks exhausting to do that. that looks like a blast, doesn't it? i've always wanted to try.

>> it definitely looks like a blast. it's never too late you can get out there and start doing some kite surfing. all right let me show you the live doppler 7 and we'll talk about the wins in a moment. we still have a few showers showing up as we take you around the santa cruz mountains around santa cruz, davenport highway 181. it's been a wintry mix in that region and certainly on mt. hamilton they have been tracking snow over that region. it has been cold enough and we will continue to see all of this activity wind down in the next few hours. dust right now up to 33. it's a really chilly wind coming off the ocean. we have seen wind gusts anywhere from 35 to 50 miles an hour. they are slowly coming down. temperatures right now 40s and 50s. grab a coat or jacket before you go because we can feel that chill in the air. rainfall totals in the last 24 hours anywhere from a few hundredths of an inch to about half an inch in kentfield. 4/10 in santa rosa.

places up north did pick up over an inch of rain. here's a look at a live picture from our roof camera. you can see the trees and flags lowing in the wind. hour by hour we go, 6:00 tonight, winds will still be blowing along the coastline 30, 35 miles an hour, not out of the question as we head into 9:00 p.m., the winds begin to decrease and overnight they will continue to die down. as that happens we will notice the temperatures really tumble. cold enough for a freeze warning for parts of lake counties. tuesday. expecting those temperatures in the low to upper 20s. this is the time to protect any of those sensitive plants and don't forget about the pets and pipes. we have a frost advisory for the north bay. that's 3:00 to 9:00 it. 10:00 a.m. for solano counties, once again a reminder, especially with the

plans around this time of year that the could be some damage. temperatures in the morning, upper 20s to the low 40s. it will still feel like winter, so make sure you grab your heavy coats and jackets before you go. tomorrow afternoon it will be a little bit milder than today, but still going to be on the cool side. low 50s to low 60s, breezy and mainly sunny skies. here's a look at the seven-day forecast. cold and frosty mornings, st. patrick's day will be dry for any of you wanting to do outdoor activities. a level one system much-needed coming in wednesday with gusty conditions and showers lingering . another chance on monday. by the way, spring begins on saturday morning. we are still holding onto winter clearly for now. >> i still have a vision of dan doing kite surfing out there. i don't know if it will happen though. >> [ laughter ]. i can just see it. >> we will have the coast guard standing by to save me. >> [ laughter ] just in case.

>> to ensure that those at highest risk are able to get. >> the way to get there is to prioritize the highest risk. >> a vaccine watch, a bay area conversation. watch now wherever you stream. finally tonight, a six- month-old is making great progress after a heart operation never performed on someone so

small. >> this is so encouraging. ricky henderson of second mental county looking up at his mom jesse. he was born with down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. innocents were told he needed surgery right away so they turned to surgeon who pioneered the unique procedure right here in the u.s. >> only about two inches. >> i did not want his chest pain late baroque. breaking his poor bones at this age in the healing process would be more extensive and take a longer time. i would not be able to hold them for quite a while. >> we are glad to say the surgery will went perfectly. he is growing very nicely, right on track. what a sweetheart. world news tonight, we

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tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the major new arrests in the riots at the capitol. two suspects now charged with assaulting capital police officer brian sicknick, who died after the january 6th riot. federal prosecutors say the suspects used toxic chemicals on the officer and others, too. an image showing officer sicknick doubled over. and word of another suspect tonight arrested for allegedly attacking an officer, stealing his badge and then burying it in his backyard. pierre thomas standing by with late reporting. the coronavirus here in the authorities now poo what they believe are worrisome crowds, from texas to florida to georgia. the cdc director today urging caution, saying, quote, we're just starting to turn the corner. and pointing to the co