this is abc7 news. hi. you are watching getting answers live on abc7, hulu live and wherever you stream. we ask experts your questions every day at three to get answers for you in realtime. first we nttota u ng newhaeng right now in martinez. look at this. sky 7 is overhead. this is two alarm fire. it's a structure fire that extended to the yard. you can see active firefighting happening right now. it's on arthur road near central avenue. a lot of that area charred. the

contra costa said if neighbors don't feel safe they did self evacuate. there are evacuations in the immediate area. this fire is currently contained with in the structure and the yard. you definitely don't want to interfere with the firefighting and you see a lot is still smoldering. we will watch this and bring you any new developments as they happen. meantime let's start our program talking about vaccine hesitation. a majority of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. about two thirds a little more than that now but there is still plenty of unvaccinated people out there. what is holding them back a new survey from the new york times does a deep dive into this topic and we are happy to have a doctor here with us today. he sits on the california vaccine advisory committee and jones us live. good to see you. >> nice to see you. thank you. of course this is a really important issue. thank you for talking about it. >> let's break this down. i thought this was very interesting. they broke down -- the people

who haven't gotten the vaccine or are sitting, they are in different categories. you should your people who are excited, but ofare kind of wait or not getting it, 9% in california consider themselves watchful, kind of waiting to see what happens next. 6% are cost anxious, 3% are system distrusters and 11% are skeptics. explain what each those categories means and then walk us through how do you breakthrough and kind of reach them >> one of the -- we spent billions and billions of dollars creating a vaccine. at the same time we could have been explaining the vaccine. we didn't do it. so, a lot of people were just concerned because this vaccine came about so fast that i think -- so you have a group of people who just

are concerned and fearful because of how quick we developed this vaccine. there's also a lot of social media with mints and honestly lies about what the impact of the vaccine is. you know i think when you put all that together you have most of those groups that you mentioned. >> all right. the question is, you know, are you in a position of influencing policy and public awareness campaigns. how do you get to each of those groups in i imagine the approach has to be different and you need all of them. >> well i will tell you what concerns me the most is we have not gotten to black and brown communities. to the degree that we need to. we need to realize that the highest number of deaths from coronavirus in california have been in latinos, and blacks and those populations are the least

vaccinated. what is takes is annal out effort to work with communities, clergy, those that people trust and also making sure we are getting the information to folk who haven't been vaccinated. finally, making it easiy for them. there cannot be any roadblocks in the way because people have their own skepticism to worry about. if you make it more difficult you are going to have problems getting everybody vaccinated. we -- i have to tell you, especially when you look at the number of latinos who have died in california from coronavirus. not to be doing annum out effort to get that population vaccinated is doing a lot of people a disservice. we really have a lot of work

yet to do. >> are those numbers even though we would like them to be lower, the number of people who are watchful or cost anxious or distrusters or skeptics. is that still lower of the population, much lower in california compared to most other states in. >> i think we have improved a lot here in california and there's a lot of improvements from -- i will tell you. five months ago, six months ago those numbers were much higher. 50, 60%, 70% in some populations were skeptical of the vaccine. we really armang a difference terms improvccine confid those numbers have improved a yoso i wa whatis it on as advisory committee you know we know that on june 15th we are fully reopening, taking away the capacity limits. we are also making it so that

unless your county says so you no locker have to wear a mark inside if you are fully vaccinated. what kinds of things are you trying to come up with between now and then that would take away fear and confusion that we are already starting to see >> that's a great question. i think we are continuing to reach out to groups that represent those who are still skeptical. i think we really -- this is not going to stop. we have to keep pressing forward and, you know, you do mention the june 15th. i will tell you one thing. there's a message people need to realize. if you are not vaccinated. you are at risk of getting the virus. are you also at risk of transmitting the virus to your loved ones. if you have older loved ones who are not vaccinated and you are not vaccinated, those are the folk who could still die during this

pandemic. that is a profound issue. >> some people who are hesitating point to look there are people who get coronavirus and, you know, get sick. maybe not severely but still do after getting the vaccine. we are hear that some of the yankees organization baseball team had some breakthrough cases after getting the johnson and johnson vaccine. how would you address that >> getting vaccinated doesn't mean you cannot get the virus. what it does mean is that if you are vaccinated and you get the virus it's very likely you are not going going to even have symptoms or if you do they will be mild. getting the vaccine reduces your risk of dying from this virus. it also reduces the chance that you will pass on the virus to an older loved one or someone who has health issues. those are the folks who die from this virus. >> i want to talk about the

kids because 12 to week ago sta surprising to me. i guess not surprising. it's california that i toy two thirds of them have gotten their first shot. people wanted th aut the under right i know that's not going to happen until later this year. give us a sense of when you think they will start to get them and how will the age group be broken up six months to 12 is a huge category. if depends on what the studies show. i heard today that i think we could be looking at the fall before we have the data on the younger kids. it's very likely it may start at school age. i don't know if it'll go down to infants. depending on the data. a lot depends on the date a.ly also point out kids are remarkable. there are so many people who are like, you know, can we get kids to wear mask, do this kids are amazing. they jump in. they wear their masks. they get the vaccine.

keep in mind they also are at less risk of transmitting the virus. that said, if we are going to beat this thing we have to get everybody vaccinated. >> all right. i think that's the final message to end this on. thank you so much for your time skin sight today. good seeing you. >> thank you so much as well. up next on getting answers how would you feel if california became it's own independent country that is actually the goal, the platform of one of the newest california governor candidates. the man behind is it is joining us live. we are

>>welcome the latest sign of ho

circus like the governor recall is is he coming another candidate is throwing his hat into the ring. it's the man who grabbed headlines four years ago for california to withdraw from the union and become it's own country. joining us today is the former leader of the cal exit movement. how are you >> great. thank you for having me on the program. >> yeah. you just launched your campaign. your platform is different to say the least. what exactly are you running on >> very simple plan. the plan is to become governor and declare california an independent country. >> so, a vote for you is a vote for leaving the united states >> exactly. that's exactly what this campaign is about. it'll be the first time in history that the people of california will actually have a chance to vote for leave independence from the united states by voting for me for governor. >> and what is your pitch for why that would put california in a better position

>> so many of the california problems. if you talk about problems budget issues, financial issues, homelessness, a lot of them sprout from the fact that california is a donor state and we are losing tens of hundreds of becomes of dollars every year that get funneled from california to washington dc and then redistributed to other states. we are sponsoring paying for the other states in this union and we believe that it's time for a national divorce from those 49 other states and for california to spread its wings and become independent. >> it's true we get back 80- cents for every dollar paid on federal taxes. economists agree that a lot of our successes also come from sharing united states resources, right including financial, military, and natural resources. you really are saying we don't need that >> the thing is that it's not succession from planet earth. we will still work with our brothers in the american side of the border. they are our brothers and sisters and cousins and

family. we aren't talking about a campaign of hate toward america. we are just saying that california could stand up on its own, be a independent country and then we can work with the americans on a host of issues and sign international trade deal that will let us continue to share resources. >> all right. you know, the message still is, from california to the united states we can't co exist with you because we are different. isn't that causing the hate, saying we are different so we are just going to leave you >> it's kind of like that but you know we like to kind of say its like a situation where we have a bad situation in a marriage where a lot of people after they get divorced can have cordial relations with each a. we want to get out of the disfunctional household that is the united states. we want to get out of each other's hair. we don't want to have conservatives telling california how to live and we don't think they want us telling them how to live. we take the position that

through independence we can get out of each other's hair and live peacefully. >> that's not really a policy position though. what is your position on things like pandemic recovery promoting businesses and fixing jobs and crimes and homelessness >> i believe we need to get the government out of the way of businesses so they can do their work in california. we want to attract businesses back to california. we are sick and tired of seeing the people and the businesses in california leaving our state. we believe through independence we can attract them back. >> speaking of leaving the state. a governor should live in his or her own state and be deeply connected to -- and be aware of the issues. you are aren't here. are you doing this interview with us from russia where have you been living for a few years. why would california trust you to run the state if you aren't even here >> sure. i do currently live in moscow. i'm a kindergarten teacher. i run the california culture center and embassy that

we opened up to represent california values here. so that question would be like saying to an american ambassador that after serving as an ambassador in a foreign country they wouldn't be eligible or able to come back to america and run for president. i have been living here. that's true. i live in moscow now. my family is here. i just recently welcomed a new child into the world. i'm representing california values in moscow. we have a permanent exhibit in a building here in moscow where we exhibit california history and culture and in doing so i live here in mosco. >> i'm not sure everybody cease the ambassador analogy but okay. what do you say to those who believe your work is designed to weaken the united states as a country and benefit rival russia or benefit republicans because since california leans so heavy democratic you would take it out of the formula and republicans would win presidential elections more easy. >> yeah there's a lot in that question. if you -- look at the last one

first of all. if we look at the history of american electoral college the last tame california made a difference was in the 1800's. if you look at the last presidential election. if california wasn't in the formula did joe biden did win he did because he won by more than the number of california votes. if you look at the trump election did he still win he won because he didn't win california but he still would have won. obama also, if you look at all the elections up since about 185 # 6, 1860 somewhere in that neighborhood. i forget the year in the 1800's the last time that california shifted the election from one candidate to the other. >> all right. well, despite that it's pretty clear from the senate hearings on russian interference that twitter did say that russian trolls we supporting the cal exit hash tag. are you saying there's no

russian support here for absolu there's not any run yanks support. this campaign was created in california when i lived in california. it's president now is mark who is a natural born from california and the people who support the campaign in california are california residents. this idea that russia could get behind the campaign for california independence is nonsense. more than a third of california residents support the idea of cal exit without any does on the issue and another 15 to 20% are willing to look at the idea. the problem is this. this is the issue. america has its problems. they weren't created by rushy. this idea that russia is behind some kind of campaign to make america fall apart is not rushy. that's america. americans are responsible for that. it's our problem and our fault as americans that we can't get along with each other

in north america. so this campaign is about is -- not only about california independence but keeping the peace in north america by allowing us to separate like we said national divorce. let's have a national divorce from the other 49 states and keep the peace in north america. >> united states supreme court has said that's states have no constitutional right to secede. join us from rushy. joining the recall election. >> i could just point out the supreme court didn't say that. she said this a state can secede with the consent of the states. as governor i will reach out to the other states, we need a majority of them to get the consent of the other states, declare california independent and move forward. >> we will get the constitutional lawyers to join us next someli bigodaliste about to join us. they were both born in san jose and went to santa clara university which just won a national championship. they will be joining us live next taking a short break on the air i am robert strickler.

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thclara university

women's soccer team pulled off a major upset over the weekend beating florida state to capture the national title. they did it in such dramatic fashion. on penalty kicks. boom. does that look familiar a championship penalty kick to the right side of the net. yes, it should because a former santa clara university alum did the same thing 22 years ago to clench the world cup for the women's national soccer team. one the most iconic moments in sports history. look who has joined us, also someone who came out of santa clara university program and a great program. major part in the school's first ever national hit, right and a two time gold medalist. allie wagner. hi. >> hi. i have my kids somewhere float around if you saw them in the background. nice to see you. thank you for having me. >> of course. i get the working mom thing. it is totally fine if they want

to talk about, you know, how exciting it was. you were at the game. you know, being there as someone who was part of that program in the past and now sharing young crop on and seeing them win. how is that like for you >> i honestly, it was one of the best moments of my career actually because i don't know if you know this now but i'm in broadcasting. for all these games i'm the one that is doing the announcing and i have to kind of quell my emotions. to be in the stand and be able to be a true fan and feel it and experience it, it was great and i almost didn't make the trip so i'm so glad i did and supported my fel and was a part of something that is really hard to do in women's football and the college game. >> especially being the 11 seed. to take the tournament that fast is just -- crazy. i won't even ask you how the party was afterwards because you probably can't talk about that anywhere near your kids.

i want to ask you women's soccer. specifically the united states women's team has really been able to breakthrough more than any other women's sports on a main stream basis. why is that >> you know i think investment is something at comes first to my mind with that. i think the united states soccer federation, even though i know there's a lot of, you know -- lawsuits and stuff that goes on still against united states soccer in terms of equal pay. they are the first ones to get behind women's football and fund it and i think that is why you saw our program kind of start to get out in the forefront and never really look back because of the mentality that we had. if you looked from generation to generation, the thing that set us apart is we are good footballers and players but we know how to win and we don't accept losing. there's something with the confidence of that gets passed on that, you know, from generation to generation, from each world cup squad, each olympic squad to the next one that our federation and group has really embraced i think

that's one of the biggest differences. the rest of the world is catching up and so it's really on us to get involved in our league and start promoting at the club level so we continue to grow as footballers and not just rely on that mentality. >> yeah. i want to talk about equality in this sport too. meghan broughinterms of equal pay for women who are in the professional side of it. you know what needs to be done to actually make this reality >> you know i mean i don't think it's a single answer. this is going to be like a multiheaded approach that you are going to have to start to deal with it of course. its going to our federation directly. going to the clubs directly and having that conversation and looking for those organizations to step up. it's also continuing to grow your brand as individuals, as clubs and so there is that recognition of marketing. it's getting these corporations to step up and start to fund it and sponsor it because the reality is now

that there is morin vestment coming in. the recognition is that women's football can be profitable, companies are lining up to support this and suddenly everybody knows we have teams scattered about this country. that we need one here in the bay area. we have such a rich tradition of football. i'm starting to see the athlete that can't be going in the direct federation. its going to corporations and it's starting to ultimately help these people recognize it's not just, you know, it's smart business. >> is there something in the water in san jose seems like a lot of great soccer stars come out of there. >> yeah. i don't know if it's in the water but i think it in the culture. first santa clara and then we did win that first national championship. now stanford won it. this year santa

again. you have a hot bed of here. it's our players. players that are coming out of this area and making it on it's about -- you know, i think the combination of access to resources. the quality of coaching we have. >> you know what, right behind you someone is getting in to the car. i see that door opening. let's take a quick commer

. thank you for joining us

interactive show getting answers. that was exciting to talk to allie wagner who came out of santa clara brother broncos. we bron tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. 423 days since new york city shut down, tonight, the mask mandate lifted. new york state following other states as they enact the new cdc guidelines, vaccinated americans can go without masks indoors and outdoors. but across the country tonight, the flash points. the tense moments over masks. and today, the cdc director pressed on capitol hill about the new mask guidance. how she answered. all eyes on the hill tonight. will they work together to get answers? lawmakers voting on whether to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the deadly attack on the capitol, to try to

prevent it from ever happening again. today, mitch mcconnell joining kevin mccarthy and pressuring republicans to vote no. and the congressman who