tv ABC7 News Getting Answers ABC April 30, 2021 3:00pm-3:30pm PDT
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building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc7 news. hi there, i'm kristen sze pick me up into the daily program, getting answers pick we are asking your questions every day 3:00 to get answers for you in real time picturing us right now, abc7 news special correspondent dr. alok patel pick dr. patel, the most important thing first, how is your adorable, wonderful, smart baby girl? >> kristen, she is doing lovely pictures become quite the connoisseur of breastmilk, she is growing rapidly pick she is taking a nap right now and cannot call macon on video arance a bit of diva already, t waiting. okay, we will wait for her, dr. joe tell. tell. tell.
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dr. patel. >> it's the most incredible week already pick i have so many photos and it's been a whole eight days. >> fantastic. in the meantime, while she is napping, we hope, tell us about covid and all things related to the vaccines, two truths and a lie. >> that's how we roll. let's do round one, kicking it off to tell me which one is not true. a, india is the world's biggest producer of vaccines and has only vaccinated 9% of its population or is it b, vaccination cards will soon include invisible watermark to prevent forgery. or is it c, more than 40% of americans or 100 million people are now fully vaccinatedfully vd one is not true? >> okay, audience, especially those of you on facebook, you know i'll need your help. i'm going to rule out a because i think that's true. i know india is one of the biggest producers of vaccines correct i don't know if 9% is exactly right, but i will say
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that's true. i'm also going to say c is true because i think in fact more than 30% of us, you know, have been vaccinated, i think i've seen on the dashboard. so, you know, i'm going to say b is the lie here. i have one person, gregory young, agreeing with me. i haven't heard anything yet about vaccination cards meeting that invisible watermark to prevent forgery. a slew of bees, flood of b's, except one c. so let's just go with b. that's the lie. >> you and all the astute viewers are correct. i want to say i wish you weren't correct, because i wish there was some way people would be able to afford those cards, but b is not true. a, you're exactly right. india is a major, major supplier of all the raw materials and vaccines and sadly, because of a lot of purchasing political issues and some things we can get into right now, india is not able to actually vaccinate their own publishing at the rate they want to or need to and we are
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unfortunately seeing the effects of that. it's almost becoming as many people call it a cautionary tale. c is actually good news. that is true, that number, even though the average number of vaccines going to arms every day has dropped below the 3 million mark, we still made really great progress, over 30% of americans, more than 100 million people vaccinated. that is something we can celebrate. b, actually come on these threads, like these far right groups online have actually been sending out templates from state public health department of the vaccine cards, and showing their members how to forge them in the event there is a vaccine mandate, or you require proof of vaccination to get into a business or get your kid back to school or whatever it may may may may may may may so, you know, the cdc has come out and just asked states to stop sharing those templates. >> i want to ask, you mentioned india and the situation there is pretty dire. u.s. is restricting travel to india, strings tuesday, may 4th, is this the right move
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right now? >> i think it is a necessary move, unfortunately. one may actually be able to argue, it happened a little bit too late, and i don't want to say that we should have done it preemptively, but this has been really raging in india for a few weeks now. we know what's happening, there's a couple of areas in india that scientists have their eyes on, although did you know testing is not up to speed with where it should be? listen, remember, when i said 30% of americans, that is a good thing. there still a lot of people in this country who are not protected, including everyone the vaccine isn't currently eligible for. there is some immunity out there, but we are not in a place where we can completely say, hey, run free, covid running wild or introduce another source of it. it is sad, it's tragic, it's heartbreaking. ideal for everyone out there who has family or friends in india. unfortunately, we have to get this under control on a global scale. >> yeah, just by the way, that rule does not apply to u.s. citizens and permanent residents, or their children and their parents. okay, i want to move on to vaccines now, a lot of interest
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in this. what you know about the bay area man who had blood clots after receiving the johnson & johnson vaccine? and i asked you this with the caution that we don't want to over blow it, like make it bigger than it we are telling a counter narrative about the vaccines, and how good they are in general, and how low these cases are and how rare they are. >> kristen, i appreciate the way you set that up, because we want to make sure that we are paying respect to the factual situations and we're also just being realistic to people. we know that johnson & johnson vaccine has been given out in the millions, and when you actually look at it as a population, it's a relatively rare event to have his blood clots. ucsf put out a statement talking about this patient, a 30-year-old male. i can't speak to any previous medications or medical conditions which may have caused this, but as far as i last read, there are doctors at ucsf, the case of the vaccine -induced blood clot that double- sided headache, thrombosis. and from what i've read, he
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could've presented lower back pain, after about two weeks, after getting the shot, based on his clinical symptoms, they were able to give him the diagnosis, treat him, and he is making full recovery. at the end of the day, the ucsf doctors and public health officials nationwide were very clear in saying, hey, we are documenting these cases and looking at them on an individual basis. the benefits of getting the vaccine far outweigh the potential risks. even still, it is important for people if they have questions, for increased medical condition, blood clotting disorders, whatever it may be, to talk with their doctors before getting the shot. >> and i ask you of the cdc's brief pause on the johnson & johnson vaccine dampened people's willingness to get that shot? >> it did both come in my opinion. i hope we have the right narrative here. it definitely added some more hesitance to the johnson & johnson vaccine, and it pushed more people, at least from what i've heard, and trying to seek out moderna or pfizer. the pause, in essence, actually proved that our system works. and that if there are any
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concerns about safety or adverse side effects, this is actually catching them and there is a responsible pause to say, let's take a quick look and make sure everything is totally safe. it's ironic laziness, they should get me people more confidence in the process and it's been double, triple, quadruple check by public health officials and scientists across the country. >> i want to show folks a picture you posted on social media, on instagram. you got a lot of responses and comments, all right? okay, here it is. you are seen holding a sign, wearing a mask is not child abuse. and you have a certain look on your face. so tell us, what is the back story here? what are you responding to? >> okay, kristen, i will explain to you why i've been getting heinous threats and angry comments and gm's for the past three days nonstop. so basically,
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post and the response to it is all based on something we heard earlier this week from tucker carlson on fox news. after the cdc came out with the recommendations about wearing masks outdoors, there was frustration and confusion and tucker carlson actually said, he was frustrated. he said if somebody sees a child wearing a mask, that is child abuse, and if you see that, it is your response ability to report this child abuse by calling cps or the police. now the reason why this infuriated so many physicians, parents, public health officials alike, is twofold. number one, there are a lot of children out there who are able to safely tolerate and wear a mask. when i say that, safely, i mean they are not touching the math. they don't have underlying medical conditions or sensory issues that would preclude them from being able to comfortably wear a mask. it's an individual conversation for parents, especially those kids that are between the ages of like 5 to 10. this does not qualify something you call cps or the police for. and i challenge people to actually go and talk to a pediatrician or a social worker who has actually seen real child abuse that warrants a cps investigation. instantly not on the same spectrum peer question, when i posted this, the responses were indicative of people who were
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just frustrated with this pandemic pick people who are so done with it. parents who are just everything that has happened to their kids and they are really taking it out and they are very angry. the last point i will make, which i think is illuminating for anyone out there involved in communication, a lot of people messaged me and said, we don't watch the news. we don't listen to anything we read for medical authorities. we don't trust the cdc. we don't trust the w.h.o. so they are getting their information from social media, their friends, family, whoever they trust. so we have to be more cognizant of that, how we are reaching, how we are really hearing and having a dialogue with people out there who may not want to get the shot, may not want to wear masks or say we are done, we are not following restrictions anymore. >> dr. patel, don't worry. we will play another round of to truth and a lie. we will also put you some scenarios,
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talks right now, not only from the united states, from several countries. the vaccines and the raw materials. as far as second doses, we will talk about more we come back to td, we hope those are still given to people. >> all right, coming back on camera. we're back with abc7 new special correspondent, dr. alok patel. let's getting started with another round of two truths and a lie. wait, i've got to get my thinking cap, i didn't bring the cap, i will need your help. >> all right, tell me which one is not true, is it a, 20% of people, according to a new survey, believe they are protected after only one dose of the vaccine, or b, a private school spread the theory that vaccinated people posed a health risk to others, because of shedding. or is it c, menstruation changes were tracked in the vaccine trials and none were actually recorded, which one is not true? >> oh, okay, i will say b is
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true, we reported on the florida private school, i think that was saying hey, if you got vaccinated, yes, you could shed onto others. >> i just gave it away, by the way. >> what? >> yeah, i gave that one away with my book. >> that's all right. folks, which when you think it is? help me out. i read something about menstruation to contact one of my colleagues did a really good story on that. so i should know better, but i will say the truth is okay, letter a is true, see is the lie. c is the lie, final answer. and i think our viewers are half and half on c and a, it's a guess, what you think you mark what is it? >> i need to make these harder. you are to go for two today. c is in fact the lie. a is a new survey that came out, it was reported in the new england journal of medicine. 20% of people saying hey, i'm probably protected after the first dose. this is in light of millions of shots or i'm sorry, second shots not being administered as people are showing up for their
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second shot. b, he reported on it, we'll know about it and we can talk more about this. this issue with people actually do believe, you know, being around them and who is vaccinated can actually mess with your reproductive sysrepros or your health in general, that is completely false. you are not shedding any virus at all, not any live, contagious virus if you are vaccinated. that needs to be debunked. c is important to talk about. it wasn't clearly tracked. there are surveys of women reporting having changes in their menstruation cycle, and they are reporting to their obs. i'm not an ob or a kind dr.. i did talk to some who are, they mentioned, hey, it is possible, because of the changes in your body, the stress in your body. so in any inflammatory, it can affect your menstruation cycle, it is totally normal, it should resolve and if you have questions, chat with your healthcare professional about it. >> i wanted to address 20% of people think you are adequately after the first dose. the pfizer vaccine, it's like, you know, you are talking about
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going from 80% to 60% to 90% effectiveness, that's a huge difference. >> absolutely picklutely pickluy we see the numerical difference in the efficacy, but we also know your antibody response can be up to 10 times after you get the second shot. your second shot is also going to give you that cellular immunity, that is that long- term protective immunity that will remember, despite protein, and also, you know, kristen, when we talk about how long the antibody response is going to last, we reported hey, it lasts after six months, we don't know how long it lasts if you only get one shot. we need to make sure we are really communicating with people that both shots are necessary. >> even has a question, why is it you have to sit down for a few minutes after you get the vaccine? >> it's usually a protective measure. we want people to sit down and just chill for 15 minutes, to look for any of those really adverse, rare side effects, and glasses, fainting, things like that. is a cautionary step, everyone should be doing it.
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>> what about this rumor going around, can you clarify? if you get more side effects on the first shot, does that mean you maybe already had covid? >> possibly. there is no definitive rule here. as i have talked with abc producers and anchors and yourself, everyone has a different response to the different vaccines in different doses. what this question is referring to is that there are some reports and some small studies out there showing if you had covid in the past, you may be more likely to have side effects after the first dose. so just swelling of your lymph nodes for example, or the really bad side effects other people have after their second dose, you know it's possible that the covid infection itself kind of primed your immune system, and then the first dose of the shot is what kind of builds that immune response, that we would normally get the second dose. long story short, it's possible, but i wouldn't count that as a rule in saying like, i got side effects for my first shot, i must've got covid in
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the past. >> and i ask you a question? you saw president biden's speech to congress, and use of a set up, right, and how chambers were very few lawmakers in that room, and they were very far apart, spread out, with masks on. while some applauded that set up, and the president, others said that he actually was soact cautious, overly so, he missed an opportunity to send a message that vaccines are the path to normalcy. that it's an incentive to get a vaccine, so you don't have to do things like that anymore. how do you weigh this? >> i actually lean more towards thinking that it may have been too cautious. you know, right now, when we look at people who are hesitant to get the vaccine, and i say vaccine hesitancy, i'm not saying anti-vaccination. the people that that kind of want to get it, i'm unsure. if they don't see a path forward, if they don't see, you know, this new behavior model saying like hey, we got the vaccine, we can take our masks off around other vaccinated
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members, people are saying, what's the point? what my doing this for, if i don't have to get the vaccine and you are telling me i still have to wear a mask, i still can go and live my life normally, then i don't see a reason to go and get the vaccine. so i think it's important for us to model that behavior, model actually what the science shows. so to a degree a, i do agree doesn't abide missed a chance. hopefully as we move forward, we have new mask recommendations and will start to see people like understanding the clear difference between protection if you are vaccinated, versus if you are not. >> all right, so that leads us to monica's question, before we get into some of mine, regarding a rapidfire round of light, would you do this if you are vaccinated? she wants to know, why are so many medical professionals actually not vaccinated? i don't know if that's what you are seeing amongst your colleagues, but that is her question. >> way to put me on the spot there. so this, unfortunately, is not unheard of. it's not only with the covid-19
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vaccine, we have seen it happen with other vaccines. we have seen this happen annually with the flu shot. when we say healthcare professionals and we look at the surveys, they encompass physicians, technicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, you know, people working in all spectrums of healthcare, and there are certain groups who are little bit get the actual vaccine. i have heard a multitude of different reasons on why you don't want to get it. i will tell you anecdotally, the overwhelming majority of physicians or anyone who's actually seen the effects of covid-19, who has worked in the covid unit, went out and got the shot. i will tell you that straight up. that is what i have seen. that is what we reported. if there is someone who works in healthcare but doesn't actually see patients, and, you know, they don't want to get the shot, they may have the same reason as the other vaccine hesitant americans. >> okay, dr. patel, from alex here, do you think the reopening of disneyland today will increase covid spread? we reported on that, 25% capacity, what you think?
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>> it shouldn't, it shouldn't. based on what they are doing at disneyland, based on the precautionary measures, the 25%, the california guidelines, the safe, you know, six feet measures, it shouldn't actually propagate the spread. i think that's important for people to understand and lucy, hey, if we follow the right medication factors, you will not cause an outbreak while you are going to sleeping beauty's castle or hugging mickey mouse and playing with goofy, i don't know what people do at disneyland anymore, i haven't been in like 25 years. i hope it's an extreme and joyous occasion for families who do go and that we can see that hey, we can slowly reopen and we can do it safely. >> you can live vicariously through me when i go, okay? diane wants to know, she got the j&j shot, how long before the vaccine is working? full protection. >> yeah, if you mean in the short term, you should start to see, you won't see it, but your immune system will start to see good protection after about the 10 days to two weeks mark. as far as long-term immunity, that remains to be seen. that's being actively studied right now and the same weight as for moderna and pfizer shots.
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>> eating outdoors at a restaurant if vaccinated, is that okay? >> yes, if you are fully vaccinated around vaccinated individuals. >> what about indoor gathering of five friends, some of whom are not vaccinated, okay? if you are vaccinated? >> when you say okay, like showing up there or doing what? >> hanging out, indoors. >> so that is okay, but i would be very careful about having multiple on vaccinated people there. the vaccinated individuals should be safe. >> how about holding your friend's new baby? let's say it is baby you laura. >> baby alora was held recently by her fully vaccinated grandma. >> that is we, that is great. i'm so happy for your whole family. once again, congratulations and once again, thanks so much for your great information, dr. patel. >> baby alora also has antibodies herself, so that's an added bonus. >> through mom, right? fabulous. >> to mom. >> we will take a short break on air but
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okay. this next story is a fun one, you have to watch it. you know dr. fauci is so popular, he is an influencer. we are back. appearance by dr. anthony fauci in san francisco caught attention. a dr. fauci cardboard cutout, that is. he was spotted at the same place that made headlines for its vaccine playlist, which we talked about on this show, and that is the marcus mosque only center. joining us to talk about it, more vaccine news, san francisco department of emergency management, thanks so much for joining us, i got ask you, dr. fauci, we all know he's been a rock star, in terms of information to all of this, but now, at the mosque only center, and different sites now, vaccination sites, he's become a true influencer. >> he has, he has. is probably the most popular person at, in downtown san francisco right now, and definitely in the center. >> okay, so how did this cut out idea come about? when did you first start?
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>> to be honest, none of us know. which is kind of hard for the course with covid response, and we've talked to the folks at kaiser and kaiser permanente gets a lot of credit for the incredible operation that they are running at the south center. all we know is someone drugged income in the beginning, a cardboard cutout. it was incredibly popular, everyone wanted to get a selfie with him. i had a selfie with the original dr. fauci, the cutout in the beginning. then he just got beat up and so they ended up having to, so then they went and designed a new cutout that has a virus it. we have them throughout the mosque only center, and then we brought one over to the sf market site, which was one of our other sites, because we
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didn't want people who are getting their vaccine in other places not to have the opportunity to pay homage to our covid hero, dr. fauci. >> right, now that it's at multiple locations, i've got ask you, do you find that somehow it's, i don't know if it's an incentive, for people to want to get the vaccine, or encourage people to kind of spread the word, like what you think the bigger purposes? >> yeah, i think the beginning, very dark kind of times in the beginning of when we were dealing with covid, and we didn't have a lot of direction, let's say from our federal government, but we did have dr. fauci who is there. and in san francisco in particular, you know, we believe in science here. and data and facts. and he was kind of our guiding star when there wasn't a whole lot of other light. so i think that's part
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and also, you know, we live in instagram times, so people like to get their selfie on, and i think it's an incentive for, you know, to be able to go in and get your vaccine and then share it. it's a very found moment for a lot of people, and one in which they kind of are able to exhale for the first time in a very long time. so it just adds to the overall experience. >> yeah, try not to touch it too much as you take a photo with it, because then you might have to replace it more, but that's okay. maryellen, don't go away
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oh man... let's get you to this moment. is that it? yep, that's it. of relief... [joyfully laughs] protection... i just got vaccinated- i just got vaccinated! noah just got vaccinated... hope... so that we can get to all the other moments. let's get you to the exhale you didn't know you were waiting for. let's get it... together. so we can be together.
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appreciate it. for my thank you so much for joining us today on this interactive show, getting answers. today, we covered all the tonight, with america at a turning point in the pandemic, the u.s. issues a new travel ban on india. the white house acting on advice of the cdc, restricting travel for most non-u.s. citizens amid india's devastating surge of covid-19. more than 386,000 new cases and 3,500 deaths in the last 24 hours. the first u.s. planes carrying medical supplies arriving today. a variant spreading across india now found in at least two states here in the u.s. all of this comes as america reaches a major milestone. more than 100 million adults now fully vaccinated. horrific images coming in from overseas tonight. the deadly stampede in israel. dozens killed when mass panic breaks out at a religious festival.
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