>> building ater bayter bayter y moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc7. kristen: you are watching "news getting answers." we ask experts every day at 3:00 to get you answers. this springboards off our reporting to build a better bay area through fair housing. we explore a so-called love letter when making an offer on a home. disney launched a replacement to the fast pass called the genie plus service. is? it worth your money? ? a blogger will give you the scoop. plus, for more on mixing booster

shots and natural immunity versus vaccine immunity, we have the latest facts and information. joining us is a doctor from u >> always a pleasure. kristen:ids,arents, listen w hing to drop the mask in class, may be are thinking after five-year-olds to 11-year-olds get vaccinated, forget about it. here is a statement from the department just released. california is reaffirming its approach to covid-19 prevention and containment in school and will maintain the universal indoor mask mandate in k-12 schools and will continue to monitor conditions through the winter. what do you think? guest: it is a good idea, though disappointing. cold weather will kids.

we don't know where the uptick will be. with winter comes more respiratory viruses as well. officials want to keep schools in session, so it makes sense. kristen: let's take a look at today's updated cdc covid transmission. this surprised me. california is back to the orange tier, which means significant transmission. only three other states are in orange, hawaii, but louisiana and florida. hawaii has been cautious, but louisiana and especially florida have taken a different path, keeping everything open, few restrictions, avoiding mask and vaccine mandates. how do you explain this? guest: they all got to the destination through different ways. the most important comparisons, florida and california, lots of mask mandates in california, none in florida.

death rates, per 100,000 in the delta surging california, 12 per 100,000. the bay area, less than one per 100,000. in florida, 70 per 100,000. if you look at lives lost, california, 4000 in a state that is bigger than florida, and florida, 14,000. you get to the same destination, but thousands more died. kristen: the toll was heavier in florida. for those who survived in florida, are they in as good of shape as california, going forward? guest: similar vaccination rates, but everybody got infected already. similar to california, vaccine plus natural immunity equals community immunity, therefore, california and florida look similar, from a virus

perspective. kristen: some workers are asking that recovery from covid be a substitute for vaccine proved to stay on their jobs, for companies that have mandates. let's put aside politics and look at the evidence. how does natural immunity compared to the immunity you get from the vaccine? guest: natural immunity is a great thing, i love it, as an not -- as a natural disease doctor. it does not protect you from future things. one is a case in brazil. they got hit in the beginning of the pandemic and again from the delta because they were not protected by natural immunity. look at the case of kentucky. last year they followed everyone who got infected. if you were vaccinated, you were two times less likely to be infected with the delta than if you were not vaccinated.

reinfection is a thing. it is not like covid where you think about the same virus all the time, it is a shape shifter. for future insurance, a vaccine gives you more protection because it gives you antibodies against the entirety of the spike protein in an mrna vaccine. with a natural immunity, you are just getting antibodies to the thing it just saw, whatever variant it was looking at at the moment. kristen: not asking you to weigh in on whether to except natural immunity as a policy, but if it were, how would you measure that? is there an antibody test or some test that would show that? guest: yes, there are two types of antibody tests. one shows if you got the vaccine and another against the overall had covid before and have evidence of that.

but we don't know how long it lasts. people have very different spectrums of responses. some have no symptoms, some have heavy symptoms. your strength of antibody response relates to your exposure to covid. it is more reliable than a vaccine. natural infection is not as reliable and there is a 1000 fold difference to those exposed and naturally. it is tough to say everyone who got a natural infection would have an antibody response. we are seeing measurable antibodies. it is difficult to prove for all people. it could be for some people. kristen: i also want to talk about the other big topic, boosters. the pfizer booster was approved, but now the fda approved

boosters for those who got moderna and johnson & johnson. it is suggesting the same so -- shot, but allowing mixing and matching. which study suggests is more potent. i would like to take the few minutes we have to talk about what you would do and why. carol wants to know, i got the j&j in april, what should i get for my booster? dr. chin-hong: i think she should definitely get a booster. most people thought the j&j should be a two shot anyway. if i were carol, i would get an mrna vaccine. it is easier to get. the data from the nih shows a remarkable antibody response. if she decided to get another j&j, that would be fine, as well. kristen: if you got pfizer

before and it did not get your booster already, which would you get? dr. chin-hong: i would get either pfizer or moderna. to me it is the same vaccine, different companies. the only reason moderna looked better is that there was a four week interval. length of time between shots is better for immune response rather than the company who made the vaccine. the other thing about moderna, it was a higher dose initially, but the booster will be a half dose. nevertheless, either would suffice. kristen: you may have answered my question, if you got moderna before, would you get another shot of moderna, or does the benefit of mixing outweigh the benefit of moderna's greater effectiveness for some people? dr. chin-hong: i would say you

should get any that is available. i know moderna is the darling of many people. if you like moderna, stick with team moderna. if you are looking at the drugstore in your neighborhood and they only have pfizer, i would be super happy with that. kristen: are side effects of the booster shot similar to the second shot? dr. chin-hong: so far from the data, the side effect profile is the same if not better. your immune system has not seen it for a while. it is one after another in the beginning was why the second shot seemed to have more side effects. now it is several months after. in general, people are tolerating it pretty well. some are having mild side effects. kristen: do you have time for one more? dr. chin-hong: let's do it. kristen: it seems regulators may authorize a booster for a larger group, extending the age to 40

and over without medical conditions. what is the justification? is there a new data suggesting over 40's are seeing waning immunity as much as older folks? dr. chin-hong: no, everyone is still well protected against severe disease, hospitalization, and death. many vaccines are given in threes. i think the focus is prevention of infection, which will be more robust if you get a booster. if you want to get a booster and are eligible, go ahead. it will be very safe. people should run out and get additional shots, those who are immune compromised. kristen: what is more important to get first, the flu shot or the booster? dr. chin-hong: the flu shot. but you can get both at the same time. kristen: thank you for squeezing all that information in.

we appreciate it, talk to you soon. dr. chin-hong: goodbye. kristen: we will shift gears. how would you feel if somebody wrote a love letter about your house that you are trying to sell? is there a problem with that and why is this trending through a different lens?

kristen: when you buy a buy a ba in competitive markets like the bay area, with multiple offers the norm, homebuyers have been encouraged to write what is called a love letter, explaining why they love this home and why the sellers should accept their bid. it is now related to housing discrimination, an issue we have been reporting on extensively in

building a better bear -- better bay area. we have a southern california housing-based expert and author of "buy your first home today." are you muted? there we go. >> great to be here with you. kristen: glad you are here. what are love letters, who writes them and what did they typically include? >> love letters written by the buyer and given to the buyer's agent to give to the seller, are laced with a lot of personal information. an example would be, we want to fire your home because it is within two blocks of the church we want to attend. right there that tells you you can't have that because fair housing says there is a protected class against religion. or they may say, we love the

staircase, we could see our children coming down at christmas time and opening their gifts in your beautiful living room. all these things the letters are personal indications of exactly what the people that want to buy the home are about on a personal level. most all of it violates fair housing. kristen: i understand it is a fairly new recommendation by the california association of realtors to say let's fade this out, but laws have not changed. it has always been against the law to discriminate based on religion, gender, race. what has changed in the past year that these are becoming increasingly less popular? >> i think the things that have changed primarily, buyersuyersus do not get accepted, they wonder, why didn't it get accepted?

did they make a judgment bas j on something outside of fair housing? we have not had situations where the potential buyers that lost in the offer came in and sued the seller, but it is possible they could do that, based on fair housing. oregon said, we will letters. it put a spotlight on all the letters being done now. kristen: it is coming out a time when there are other discrimination issues revolved around housing. our race and editing reporter has done a lot of reporting on the appraisals they get. i wonder if you have seen lawsuits that you could share that are cautionary tales based on the love letter? >> at this point, i have not had a lot of them. it is the new spotlight being put on it, but there have been

definite feelings. on ier listed t, they were onld talking about wanting to get their offer accepted and said, we are going to sue the seller if we don't get our offer accepted. the seller has to be careful making sure they are within guidelines to say, if i am going to accepted this offer, i need to do it based on fair housing. kristen: would you tell the seller, don't even look at the letters? >> a lot of times i would. they can do that through the multiple listing sergeant. if -- service. i would say, don't take the letters. in the mls they get permission from the seller to say, is it ok if we say buyer letters not accepted? that is all they have to do. kristen: even one race, gender,

age,r othertected uts fa t oer thing sotimes reae letters that can work agae buye? >> if they are careful not to put in the personal information, no. especially if they leave out the picture. the main thing is the detail, what they love about the home. they are saying they want these love letters and want to keep them going. the facts are, there is too much spotlight on it right now and it is not in the best interest of the real estate community to have it. however, that does not mean the letter can come from the buyer's agent saying, i love the energy home that you have got, the windowpanes and the fact they don't have to have high electricity costs. a lot of times they will say, we love the backyard so much we are buying the backyard and will throw in the house.

that is where the real estate professional representing the buyer has to step up and come up with a creative offer that will be front and center that the seller knows they will close. kristen: it is like you read my mind. i was going to post erica's question about how to differentiate yourself as a buyer without the traditional love letter? >> that is a great question. if there is a cash offer with 20% down and i am a first-time homebuyer that puts down 5%, how do i make my offer really strong to where it gets excepted above these other offers? we do that all the time. i come up against cash offers with my clients, yet we still get offers accepting 5% down. kristen: there are ways to do it without opening yourselves up to potential liability. think you for your time and insight. >> thank you.

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hello, colonial penn? kristen: disney just unveiled its long-awaited replacement for the fast pass, which allowed you to grab a times -- timeslot for popular rides. the new genie+ service has a cost, but disney says it is an improvement. what does it cover and is it worth your money? to answer your disneyland questions is gavin doyle, the bay area founder of mickeyv isit.com. gavin: it is great to be here with a fellow disney fan. kristen: i have been waiting for this genie+ like everyone else. no more fast passes or max passes, which allowed you to use an app.

now we have the genie+ service and lightning lanes. i am confused. tell us how it works. gavin: we just saw disney genie+ and lightning lane in walt disney world, florida. we have not had an official announcement date yet. the service is similar to max pass, the service where you could pay to control fast pass from your phone. they took the service offered here in disneyland and are now offering it in florida in walt disney world. there is now no longer a free option of fast pass. kristen: how much does it cost? gavin: walt disney world, $15. disney world -- disneyland, $20. kristen: which rides are covered?

we did a full screen to explain to our viewers, it is only 15 rides. can you explain the that disneyland? gavin: a lot of classic attractions included with the fast pass are included with disney genie+. i am seeing autopia, its world, start -- star tours. except for three exceptions. this is where it is different. you can always stand in the free standby line, but there is now also the lightning lane, where you can pay a fluctuating amount to access the huge new star wars attraction, it is an incredible experience. and the landing ride in our land, and web slingers, part of

the new avengers campus. this will be fluctuating prices. it will depend based on demand, day of the year, how many people they expect to get in. i think the reason they have not put it out yet is to see if people are willing to pay. we have been back and forth before on trying to get a boarding route web slingers and resistance. i will be content not having to wake at 7:00 a.m. and go through all those hoops. kristen: you have to get to the app, the virtual queue, from a place with good wi-fi, it is stressful. do you pay one price, or is it separate? gavin: each one is separate. of that list, resistance is the

one i am pumped. i am happy to use the lightning lane for rise to resistance. that could be a reason to go there in the morning. web slingers, they queue. three are a good reason to stay multiple days rather than purchasing access. if someone wants to see everything in one day or two, it gives a great ability to skip those lines. kristen: do you have to buy those in advance, or when you get to the park? gavin: you don't have to purchase them in advance, the you have the option to. as we talked about through my website, we have a travel partnership with a company that worked with disney for 30 years to help you find the cheapest prices on tickets at mickeyvis

it.com. you can add on disney genie+ once they are available. you will likely be able to add disney genie+. for walt disney world you can do that as well. kristen: real quickly, are all the attractions back at disneyland? i went there in may and there were some closures. gavin: everything is back except for seasonal closures. we are ramping into the christmas season. it is a great time to be at disneyland. kristen:

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or ask your agent about scan. kristen: thanks for joining us today. among the topics we covered, the fda approving boosters for moderna and at johnson &

johnson. much more on the local impact. i should say disney is the parent company of abc7. tonight, breaking news in the gabby petito case. the hunt for brian laundrie. and what authorities have now found. the fbi saying possibe human remains have been discovered at a nature park near brian laundrie's home in florida. authorities discovering personal items including a notebook and a backpack, too. and why his parents were at the search area this morning before the discovery. also, the major news coming in tonight on boosters. the fda now authorizing boosters for moderna and johnson & johnson. and saying it is safe for americans to mix and match boosters. the cdc expected to sign off and what we're also learning about preparations to vaccinate 28 million schoolchildren 5 to 11 as soon as the vaccine is authorized. the very difficult scene

playing out in court