we asked experts your questions every day at 3:00 to get answers in real time. today, we kick off asian american pacific islander heritage month with a new star- studded psa. we will talk with the hollywood veteran behind this video and behind american idol ll thjo, who is thmost 10st dinting herd immunity and

vaccines. let's bring in ucsf disease specialist, thanks for joining us to start the week. >> thanks for having me on. >> i think i will start with the good news, there is good news, bad news. big headline, the fda expects to authorize emergency use of the the pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds this week, so, can you tell us at what they say, and cannot age group actually get those shots in arms? >> typically after the fda gives , there is a little bit of a delay, just like some crossing of teas, so, the ac ip has to sign off on it. but the states have to sign off, there is a group of states that , in our area, that have come together as a safeguard measure.

it is kind of an automatic sign of, but usually, it would be a day. there are already stocks of the vexing, unfortunately, we know not as many people are rushing to get vaccines anymore. i'd don't think there will be any problems with supply. >> do you think, it sounds like maybe a couple weeks, two, three weeks -- >> i think, yeah, once it is approved, we have already seen this in detail, which looks great, in terms of arms of kids under 16, i would say it would be days >> okay, okay. >> potentially, as long, you know, it will require, i think we have already gotten experts with 16-year-olds, parents have to go with the kid, which is different from 18-year-olds and above.

i think pharmacies, etc., are already primed for a younger age group. >> i wonder if you are satisfied enough with the trials that have been done to feel okay about this. do you think enough has been done? >> for the 12 to 16-year-olds? >> would you say, yep, go ahead, got it. >> i would be very comfortable if i had a 12-year-old to go and get it right now. the two things we look at in data are efficacy and safety, again, we have had experience with this vaccine for a while now, to look at both of those measures in terms of a younger age group. i think we don't have as many outcome data, because we don't want to wait for this age group to get covid-19, we do have a lot of immunological data, and we have shown that this age group actually has doubled immune response as young adults, and there wasn't really any safety signal to worry about, most of the bad stuff is,

it occurs in the first two months, that trial detail in the 12 to 16-year-olds is beyond two months. >> that is reassuring. young people are some of the biggest drivers. if they can get the vaccines, that will be helpful. the other headline, i said it was going to be good news wsre part, experts now believe reaching herd immunity is unlikely in the u.s., that was the headline in the new york times, dr. chin-hong, do you think that? >> yes, but i think herd immunity, i mean, mind or a philosophy in some, you think about herd immunity like measles, we are not going to get there until the whole world has access to the vaccine, because people can come very easily, as we have seen with measles outbreaks in disneyland from people who were not immunized outside of the country, primarily.

until that happens, it is no surprise we can't really have herd immunity. we will have regional, probably, impact, like we have in the bay area, things are going to be opening up a lot more, but, we are not going to have that sort of trouble where, unless we are sideload rest of the world. that is kind of where it is coming from. it doesn't mean that progress isn't going to continue to be made. it is just that, you will see it in regional bubbles, and then, at some point, in two or three years, the world. >> how about just the percentage, right? i know this is shifting all the time in terms of what we need to get t-shirt immunity, because we have the variance changing the picture, but before we were hearing 70%, dr. fauci even said that, but now 80%? why? >> the more transmissible something is, the more people need to be henchmen or the

force field to protect people who either couldn't get immunized or couldn't get a response, even if they were immunized. for example, in measles, we need almost 100% of people to get vaccinated, because it is so transmissible. you have measles, you are in a room, leave the room, something gets in the room, they can get measles. it is much more transmissible. in the old days, when covid-19 was just the covid-19 we knew, it was 70%, now with other versions, like the uk variant, 77% more transmissible, we are thinking that is where that number 85% arises from. if that makes any sense. >> i want to fold in some questions, here is one from, who says how do you feel that the vaccine could affect kids developmentally as they seem to affect women's hormonal response

, so, could it affect their hormones, the children's as well? >> the big take-home point about the vaccine's efficacy on these side effects on hormone levels, at one point, is that these are all very temporary, and transient, what we call transient. it is much, even though it is hard to imagine, much harder to shake off if you get infected, because those happen for much longer, and they are not reversible. so, there is a lot we don't know, but there is a ton we do know in terms of how reversible many of these things are. >> daniel has a question, too, is there info yet on how long people have the protection, the immunity from covid-19 after recovering from getting covid-

19? >> there is some information that people have antibodies for at least six months, if not, a little longer after natural infection. but there is a big range of about 1000 within people who get natural infection and immune response. you get a vaccine that is more predictable. >> we talked a little about how this is really a global pandemic and how there really isn't a safe pocket you can create, unless you are on an island. i interviewed the lieutenant commander werner of hawaii and he said he expects the islands to hit herd immunity defined as 70% by early july. so, why, can loosen restrictions, is it because they are an island that they can plan like that that we can't here in california? >> i love that example, because in hawaii, they can control their borders very strictly, by

most accounts, for disease coming in. they have the hawaii safe program, and you have to get tested before you get in, 72 hours, can't really get to that in many other places easily, and eventually, they're going to have this immune passport. because of that, it is much easier, when you have an outbreak on the island, to contact tracing and squash it. >> last question, that is, i am taking you to florida where the governor signed an executive order banning vaccine passports and invalidating any remaining local emergency orders. he and if you are still holding on the two local restrictions, quote, you really are saying you don't believe in the vaccines, you don't believe in the data. do you accept that argument to even a small extent, if vaccines are the key to normalcy?

what you think? >> i think having any of these kinds of rules of banning something, it is really shortsighted, we just don't have that evidence enough to say that one thing works e thin another. one thing isn't the magic bullet, one thing is that the panacea, we still need multiple inventions, we are not just using the vaccine as the only force field against the enemy of the virus. it is actually possible interventions we continue to make. >> dr. peter chin-hong, always great information. that is a little covid-19 stuffy he has behind him and this spice box kitchen book which has all sorts of great recipes good part of our good health in general, right? so, thank you for sharing today, really appreciate it. coming up next, a producer behind some of the most watched shows on television, including

a "american idol" will be joining us with her new star- studded public service announceme

this unplugged device is protecting our beautiful coastlines and more. put off chores and use less energy from 4 to 9 pm to help keep our state golden.

welcome back, mei is american pacific islander heritage month, and if you go to the movies this month at any amc theater, you will see a public service announcement. it takes the aapi hates we have seen lately into joining us to share this joyful video starring haley hollywood a listers is the veteran tv producer who oversaw the "american idol," and a whole lot more, but we don't have time to list them all, wenda fong. thanks for joining us.

>> thank you for having me, this is such an honor, and it is a thrill to be here and in front of your audience, so thank you for having me. >> the honor is ours. wenda is also cofounder of cape, the coalition of asian- pacific in entertainment, the largest for asian americans in the entertainment industry. aapi heritage month, you produced this awesome p a, let's go ahead and share that. >> community for asian pacific american heritage month. >> we are so many things. >> we are your neighbors. >> we are your friends. >> we worked out. >> we move to >> we keep you safe. >> really safe. >> if you don't know who we are, get to know s. >> asian-pacific, happy asian pacific american heritage

month. >> you are welcome! >> okay, so, anything that starts and ends with him is a winner, okay? >> absolutely, you got that right. >> tell me about the big idea, how you got it, how you executed it. >> for so many of us in the aapi community, this past year has been really painful and devastating with all of these asian hate crimes, incidents, and so many of my friends, colleagues, organizations, they have really stepped up and have done some wonderful things about calling attention to and stopping asian hate. i have been involved with these organizations, but i really thought about, what could i do personally? i thought, well, i am a

producer, i could produce a psa for asian pacific american heritage month, and it's really just came out of the pain and hurt of what has been happening. so, i contacted a good friend who is with governmental relations with amc theaters thinking, hot larger audience could we get across the united states to see this psa? amazingly, he greenlight it on the condition that i get an a- list director and i got the amazing fantastic john to, and the upcoming in the heights and soon to be -- >> a bay area favorite! >> he is, he is. he is about to direct a "wicked." >> it is a real who's who in front of the camera as well, right? tell me about all of the folks, you got them all in one place for one day? >> exactly, it is 21 people that we got into a 32nd psa, it was really important that we

have representatives from the aapi community, because we are more than 40 different ethnic groups that make up asian american pacific islanders. the amazing thing is everybody that i asked said yes. unfortunately, some people couldn't do it. lou diamond phillips, i would love to do it, but i am in new york, and i really want to make this a psa that was not zoom, it was something that was in person. it was really just a wonderful group of people who showed up on a saturday, many of them were working, in fact, randall parker left a shoot at 7:30 p.m., drove himself to our studio, and we shot him at 8:00 at night. >> it is really significant,

meaningful to everyone involved. the lines that stood out to me as i watched it are these, we are so many things, and yet to know s. why do you think those are the core messages you want moviegoers across america to consider? >> because, for those of us who are in major metropolitan areas such as all of your audience in the bay area, and in los angeles, we really wanted everyone to know that, as asian- pacific and american islanders, we are you, we are americans, and it really was a message that we wanted to put across to moviegoers who, of course, i there to be entertained, so, our message is a joyful, up date, positive message. >> you remain the only person of color and only woman to have produced the emmy awards, right?

>> actually, this past year, there was an african-american producer. >> excellent! i was just going to ask you if you think things are changing and you just proved my point. this really is the time, isn't it? >> it is, it is a really exciting time. i started in 1974, so, you can imagine the change that i have seen. in particular, the past few years, it really has been wonderful. having the support of the entertainment industry with other group that groups, you know, we are all here about equity, inclusion, diversity, and it just makes entertainment better. it serves our audience. just look at the united states. >> has the conversation changed a lot? as you produced shows like american idol, right? all those reality shows, did you have trouble finding asian american faces to put on tv?

and was there talk about maybe we shouldn't do that because maybe it is not mainstream enough? talk about what you had seen and if things have changed. >> i was fortunate to be with the alternate entertainment department, so, that is all the non-scripted, the reality shows, to live programming. it really was more, it was easier to cast people of color than for dramas or comedies, because people would just come up and auditioned. for example, "so you think you can dance?" we had some of the most diverse casts on television, dancers from all different genres, with the hip-hop movement, the aapi community in particular is the leaders in that genre. you know, it really is just a matter of who is willing to audition for a "american idol,"

a "master chef," >> why is that representation so important? >> oh my gosh, so, i am the cofounder of cape, the coalition of asians and pacific's and entertainment, we did videos called im. one of these videos was shown at a camp for korean americans in michigan. the majority of these young korean americans who attended this camp frankly our adoptees, their parents are not their adopted parents, they are not asian. they sent their children to learn about korean culture. i had heard this story from one of the parents who said that she was reduced to tears because when she saw her son looking at some of the celebrities we had tell their personal stories, he didn't realize that he could be that person, he had never seen himself before represented on

television or film. it was the first time he saw himself. if you see yourself, you can be that. i am sure, with your career, you have paved a pathway for those that have followed you as well. >> i am nothing compared to what so many others have done and what you have done, wenda fong, incredible, great video, go to an amc theater, watching movie, you will see

welcome back. this is the start of may and asian american pacific islander month, one of the most influential organizations of asian americans, cold cold house, is recognizing the most impactful asian americans of this past year. they just released their a 100 list, and you might recognize a few faces on that list. there's kamala harris, vice president, and oh, there is my

colleague, dion lim, right there in pink, congratulations. >> thank you so much, never in 1 million years did i ever expect to get to this recognition and nonetheless, the next two, s. >> great positioning. when did you find out and what was your reaction? i know you said you never thought, what did you think? >> i found out a month ago, to be honest with you, i had to read it two or three times, i thought, is this a scam, because look at the list of people who are owners. it really is quite an honor. >> congratulations, we are so proud. old house is the most influential nonprofit collective of asian and pacific islander founders, voices, leaders, and they have a big platform. about you, i'm going to embarrass you, gold has says, dion is passionate about

amplifying voices of color and lead the charge in shedding light on the heat and assaults targeting asian americans in the bay area, her work has resonated across the country inwhat ways do you difference? >> it was described to me by a law enforcement official, that the hate, the discrimination, xenophobia we have seen in the bay area is actually our area's dirty little secret, it has been going on for decades. i think the biggest achievement is the fact that people are paying attention, to be on this list with so many other that the wod tcngand tilittle l those uncomfortable conversations and getting comfortable with it, even in your everyday workplace, is so important, and that is happening. i always say, it feels like some days it is two steps ahead, and 10 steps back, but

at least we are moving forward. >> i've got to ask you, who do you admire most on that list? so many of them you admire, but >> talk about putting me on the spot! i have to say, i admire the people who fly under the radar, who do not have as much prominence, a be in hollywood, for example. even in the tech realm speaking of the bay area, gary tan of initialized has really led the charge and having conversations, thospee in posit are doing something, not just the representation you are seeing on an everyday basis, the people who are making the decisions that can't. >>

when a truck hit my car, the insurance company wasn't fair. i didn't know what my case was worth. so i called the barnes firm. i was hit by a car and needed help. i called the barnes firm, that was the best call i could've made. i'm rich barnes. it's hard for people to know how much their accident case is worth. let our injury attorneys help you get the best result possible.

♪ the barnes firm injury attorneys ♪ ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪

thank you for joining us on today pappas interactive show, getting answers. we will be here every weekday at 3:00. world news tonight is up next. i wi tonight, the major step forward from new york to florida, new jersey to california. the number of new covid cases in the dropping below 50,000 a day for the first time since last october. new york state and the new announcement tonight, what it means for restaurants, theaters and the subway in new york city. thousands of government workers in new york city returning to their offices today. florida's governor and what he declared today. and tonight, dr. jha on whether the u.s. will reach herd immunity. and what about the vaccines? will they be effective against the troubling variant in india? meantime, in india tonight, the u.s. travel ban going into effect a few hours from now. more than 400,000 new cases in a single day in india. more than 3,600 deaths.

and tonight, the