>> moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc seven news. >> the online here and you are watching getting answers life on abc seven, who live, and wherever you stream. we are asking experts your questions every day at 3:00 to get you answers in real time. we have a jampacked show, including talking to a doctor who wrote an article called paying the price for choosing not to be vaccinated. we explore the cost behind vaccines and not getting vaccinated. first, we have gotten a lot of comments from concerned parents on both sides of the topic of getting their kids to return to school. some say kids should not be back, others say it has been long enough, not to mention lots of chatter around masks and

vaccines. there is a lot to get to, we put together a mini panel on the discussion. joining us now is dr. naomi bardak and - - - - - - - - - - joining us reginald mosley a father of three from oakland and heidi sarah 10 a mother and special education teacher at access sf usd. thank you for joining us. don't forget, if you happen to be watching on facebook live, now is the time to get your questions in about kids going back to school. i do want to start with you, reginald. you had challenges with distance-learning and your kids, tell us what the process has been like the past 16 or 18 months. >> it has been difficult. i started out placing the kids in one room, they would bother each other.

i split them upfrom one room tot was not easy. one thing people don't think about is the family dynamic. as parents, we play at the teachers, they give our kids something to do they come home and complain and we are the positive role models. blame the teacher, we work through the process when they are at home, they blame the parent. that changes the relationship between the parent and child. there is a bit going on. >> reginald, we spoke earlier today about the concerns you have when it comes to our -- are we slipping back into a lockdown scenario if these schools end up having to go that route. can you join us -- can you ask your doctor some of the concerns of psychological -- psychological issues might face if they have to go back to doing distance-learning customer >> yes. with the children doing distance-learning, on their free time when they're in school they like to be on the computers.

when they are on home, they try to sneak off and do something noneducational all the time. when they are with the teacher, they get the process going, they see their schoolmates and play off of that. my concern is the screen time they get and their inability to concentrate on school itself. how does that play off if we have to go back to zoom? what are the concerns the medical field is recommending to the school districts? >> i think it is a lot of your personal experience really reflects what we saw throughout the pandemic. which is, one can spend a lot of time in front of screens and a lot of time at home in the hybrid or distance learning, that seems to be associated with not moving enough, having mental and emotional distress, not wanting enough. things that it looks like you are saying that's similar to the

feelings you guys see it home, that is what i saw at home. that is why there has been such an emphasis on how can we do school safely using all those letters that keep peaceful safe? and well enable us during delta as the numbers go up and we are looking to understand what does this mean for us as a community? we are able to say we have a lairs that are effective that we can use this year to help keep schools open. that is where we have been working for many months to prepare and help support schools and families and help support students to stay in school. >> that is encouraging. i want to transition to heidi, we spoke about how seriously you took the lockdown and that you were a bit nervous about taking your kids back to school. what are you concerned about western mark and what would you like to address? >> in the spring, we were extremely concerned and it was a

hard decision for us to send her back to in person's preschool. we ultimately did it because my husband and i pull the special education teachers did not know if we could be called back in any moment. one of my concerns is, how do i explain to my daughter who is worried because she is unvaccinated at five years old. how do i explain to her, that the systems are set up to be safe and that she does not need to be as worried as she might be? >> for younger kids, i think it is helpful -- you can explain to them the idea of the swiss cheese model, which is sometimes even as an image is a five-year-old they can understand it. that is you have a piece of -- slices of swiss cheese. if you turn the slices, even if one layer if you can get through the whole of one layer, there is a another layer there and another layer, and that is how we keep our schools safe. and what are those lairs

question mark first, they are vaccines. the adults in her life are getting vaccinated, her teachers are getting vaccinated. then there is masking, the masks you are in school and her friends are learning in school, there is also keep her safe. ventilation, making sure the air is flowing well, lots of schools are focused on that. staying home one second, handwashing which i am sure she is good at. and, some testing. some schools are using testing, so helping her anticipate if her school is doing testing and reginald, if your kids -- explained to them what that might be like. most schools are using the front of the nose test which is a lot easier. helping her understand what will it look like when she walks onto campus, and how all of those lairs work together. >> i love that metaphor. >> i was just about to chime in and say i have never heard that.

it is easy to understand to understand -- as a child. dr., he mentioned masks. a major issue across the country is masking and kids. some people have claimed it cuts off oxygen, does not allow a child's brain to develop. can you address this? and what you can do to ease children's fears or hesitations about keeping a mask on for a long. of time? >> there is no science that has shown that low oxygen levels with masks occur. they looked at it in kids, adults, the oxygen levels, carbon dioxide levels, and the science does not bear out that anybody has lower levels of oxygen or has increased levels of co2. that is to encourage people, science is not showing that is happening.

kids have been shockingly successful at wearing masks, i know that i as a pediatrician, i was like no kid will ever wear wear a mask that long. they are actually really good at it and particularly good at it in schools. because these schools create routines and they see their peers doing it and they do it together. generally speaking, it is a good and simple layer, particularly compared to other things that are more complicated for schools to implant. it is such a key tool we have been using throughout the pandemic and is still something we will continue to use. >> heidi, this reminded me. as a teacher and a parent, you have a unique perspective. something he said to me earlier, is it important that students and young people can sense and feed off of your own emotions when it comes to covid? can you express your concern around that? and maybe this is something that

the doctor can address. >> i think our students and the children feed off of our energy. if we show a lot of anxiety, and are nervous and don't have faith in the system, our children and students won't. i think it is important for us as parents and educators to be calm and to be open, seeing as this is an opportunity to shake things up. how can we find creative ways to get outside and be in more fresh air? we are not going back to the school year we had and 2019, it will look different. sosososososo resilience for the youth in san francisco to show we can come back and be stronger than ever. it is a chance to rebuild, we envision what is education looking like? and go from there. it is important that we are constantly looking -- the

students in kids are looking to us as role models and that we are setting a positive example for them. which is not always easy. it's important we try. >> we only have a bout a minute and a half, reginald i want to get to you. you told me that you have concerns about the unvaccinated, especially because your three kids are under that age where they are not eligible yet. do you have any questions for the doctor on going forward and vaccines for younger children? >> yes, not necessarily on the vaccine part. we seem to be concentrating on the physical side of the medical issues taking place. not the mental side. mentally, our family's a children's are dealing with this and what does the medical field have on suggestions on what we can do to help our children cope mentally with what is going on. the in school, the out of school, not being a social as they would like to be. they want to be social, how do we cope with that?

>> such an important question. there are -- i would keep things as physically safe and then there is the mental and emotional piece. it is what we saw last year that it was so hard for kids. these schools are actually doing a tremendous job. there are $25 billion coming from state and federal resources to support schools overall. a lot of those dollars are focusing on how to support emotional and mental health in schools. i know os ud has a little mental health program that talks a lot about how do we even have these conversations in our school setting about covid? and how do we allow kids to have -- you get those skills about how to out loud about our emotions? so it is not just come to school, sit down, learn your stuff. let's talk about it and feel our feelings, because you cannot learn until you have felt your feelings and put them aside and

feel you have been heard. the schools are doing it and i would encourage families at home , you are probably already doing that at home. talk to your kids about what they are feeling. the thing we don't want to do as parents is be like you only have to feel positive things. we should let our kids talk about negative feelings and help them think about the good things that will be happening also and make sure we hear and support those anxieties or frustrations. >> yes, thank you. >> i have enjoyed this conversation so much having all three of you here. if you can stay with us, we will take a quick break. hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. -what, you mean-- -mhm. -just like that. -wow. so sudden.

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everybody. we are back with dr. bar bar br well as reginald a father of three and sarah a mother and special educator. we have been talking about safety and concerns bringing kids back to school. i want to ask you, heidi,eidi, have had a lot of concern about coronavirus injured child. he told me you were isolated in oregon at the beginning of the pandemic. do you have any questions for dr. -- the doctor when it comes to getting kids in that mindset that it is ok and what their boundaries could be? >> sure. having been -- my doctor went from one extreme, living in the country in her grandmother's

house where we would not see anyone for the whole week with the exception of the grocery store. she had a lot of anxiety and fears. when she saw people with masks over their noises or no masks, she would pull back and get anxious. being exposed after public preschool has helped. what kind of words of wisdom or advice could i give to her other than i love the swiss cheese metaphor, but making her feel really secure about the numbers and transmission rates among kids in the age group. >> i think it is probably helpful to -- one thing i find can be helpful is the idea that we are all in it together. it means so much to kids who are young that -- they understand

that. they connect with the idea of helping each other. helping her feel like the entire community is working to make sure schools stay safe. so many people have gotten vaccinated and san francisco, so many people -- her own family members. feeling like she has a sense or people have her back. and then to giving her the tools if you feel like someone has her mast down that she doesn't have to be silent, she can go to the teacher. when she is asking so want to put the mask back up, giving her those tools are probably the most helpful things. >> dr., we have talked so much with the kids. i want to get to an adult question because the big news coming out of the covid world today is that cdc advisory panel approved a booster shot for immunocompromised people. there is no proof needed, it

pretty much you attest yourself. do you anticipate issues down the road? >> maybe there are a couple things to think about, i don't think we will have supply issues. i think people who feel like they need the booster either they will talk to their doctor ahead of time and figure out if they needed and they will go, i think generally speaking most people are in it to help out the community. i don't think it will cause long-term health issues for anyone who feels like they need a booster if they are immuno compromised. the cdc looks at the data carefully before making a recommendation. that would be a low risk of anyone having issues. >> on that note, one will boosters be authorized for everyone was marked and when

if there are so many people that still need the first set of shots. >> there is no data right now that suggests people need to have boosters. there are two new reasons for needing one. if people's immunity, their ability to fight the virus went down. they are there would be if there is a variant that comes up. we are on delta, we are working on other greek letters, epsilon and lambda. if there is a variant that comes out that the vaccine is not effective against their will be a type of booster meaning we wouldn't need a new vaccine that can fight that particular variant. there is no data that suggests we needed for other reason. for sure, everyone is watching carefully because we want to be able to act on it if we do see data that indicates people need a booster. >> we just scratch the session -- surface of all the questions we have.

we appreciate all of you for taking your time. thank you so much. >> you are most welcome. >> thank you. >> best of luck for the upcoming school year. coming up, we will take a closer look at the cost of being vaccinated and unvaccinated. we are taking a i'm so glad you're ok, sgt. houston. this is sam with usaa. do you see the tow truck? yes, thank you, that was fast.

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us. paying a price for choosing not to be vaccinated. that is the title of an article. it's a hot topic of discussion, it always is when we bring up anything about vaccines these days. joining us is dr. jacobson a professor of computer science. thank you so much for joining in with us today. let's get to it, what is the premise of this article?

>> we tried in insurance. what we wanted to do was explain that when people make personal choices, there are public consequences. in particular, not choosing to be vaccinated has public consequences. in particular, when it comes to insurance. health insurance, life insurance, it is changing the calculus risks and should that be insulated into a cost question mark that is what we try to get across. >> i always say getting vaccinated is a two-way way street. you do it for yourself, but all the others who happen to be around you. i am glad you mentioned the financial aspect. who is currently paying the medical bills for unvaccinated people who are hospitalized with covid? it goes into this gray area. i don't know if people are aware. >> everyone is paying.

health insurance providers are paying, ultimately it is coming out of the pockets of everyone. when premiums are set for insurance, nobody took into the account the fact that there were risks of dying and being treated from covid-19. this has changed that. as a result, employers who are paying insurance premiums and having employees pay some kind of sharing will realize the premiums will go higher and everyone will pay. what we want to try to get across is that someone should be paying for the choice, that is what we are advocating. that people consider the price -- possibility of adding surcharges to their health insurance cost and other cost when they make a choice that is personal but has public consequences. >> as soon i see bring in that added cost factor, people start getting concerned, perhaps they are up in arms so education is needed. something i noticed is that

covid care, that has highlighted the disparities in our communities. what if a person or their family is unable to pay? >> if this is a challenge. ultimately, the health system will provide the care. that means everybody else is ultimately absorbing the cost. this is a great opportunity for us as a society to look at the situation and realize that although we like to value our individual choices, when they have public consequences, we have think more broadly. otherwise, we are hurting our nation and neighbors and ultimately ourselves. >> that idea of thinking broadly, insurance currently pays for unvaccinated people who get hospitalized with covid, that is what i am assuming. is it possible for companies to change this? make some actionable change? >> by charging

avenue companies are thinking about. you can flip that in saying all the premiums will go higher and those vaccinated get a discount. a comes up to the same thing at the end of the day. ultimately, someone has to pay the price. surcharges of some sort will create that charge. >> we have time for one more question. i think this is interesting, you wrote an article yesterday about how emotion plays a big part on how people assess risk. what do you mean by that? >> one we have situations that are complex, the situation with the coronavirus is complex. we have multiple factors we take into play. what happens is, we end up getting overwhelmed. we end up focusing on one objective. some people focus on the

personal, some people focus on the population risk. some people focus on the cost issues. we choose that and that creates a disparity and dissection of the beliefs of the people and creates conflicts. we are seeing that right now, where a motion rather than data and logic and science is driving decisions. >> i can see that 100%, sometimes in the comments we get on facebook and our audience. dr. jacobson, such a pleasure having you. a fascinating article you wrote, thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> stay

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called getting answers. today we had a mini town hall talking about safety concerns as we return to the classroom. i am dion tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the cdc director signing off on the booster shot. a third shot now for some americans. the booster for immunocompromised people. what the cdc director, dr. rochelle walensky, said late today. what she added about boosters and everyone else. the u.s. now reporting an average of 114,000 new covid cases a day. tonight, the hospitals at a breaking point. dallas, for one, with no icu beds now for children. the other major headline tonight. the first of 3,000 u.s. troops being sent back into afghanistan are now in kabul. the taliban gaining ground. american troops expected to help remove personnel from the u.s. embassy. and tonight we have learned americans at the embassy have been told to destroy sensitive