kristen: today, hundred penodayd one is live but first, pfizer has been synonymous with the covid vaccine but today they announced they have a pill to treat covid that is highly effective. this as the vaccination campaign for five to 11-year-olds kicks into high gear. joining us is the chair

department of medicine, great to have you. >> thank you. kristen: apparently the pfizer drug has proven so effective in a clinical trial they are ending it >> early. >>-- ending it. >> that's correct, have data that is so good that it appears they don't need to continue, that is what happened. we heard about a drug that is very similar that was 50% effective in venting hospitalizations and deaths, this turns out to be 90% effective. that gets near the game changer range. kristen: how does it work and at what point in an infection would a patient to get? -- >> the first point is get vaccinated and if you are

eligible get a booster. as they prevent you from getting covid and from getting sick. these pills are if you have covid and it gets diagnosed quickly and you start on them, they decrease the chances that you will get very sick. you may be familiar with a drug called tamiflu that we give to people who have the flu, it's like that. it is a pill you start taking when you know you do have covid. the key is early in the course before you are very sick so it depends on people getting access -- first feeling ill and testing themselves, and calling the doctor, getting a prescription and getting on the medication quickly. it is not approved yet but if it is as effective as it appears to be, we can expect it will be available in the next month or so. kristen: before the approval of the merck one? >> that is moving quickly to, so i'm expecting both of these will

-- too, some expect them both will get authorization in the next month or two. we did see more data on it, but if it turns out it is as safe as that drug appeared to be, which was nine, then we can expect and emergency authorization in the next number of weeks. kristen: how big of a deal do you think these pills that look effective at treatment and preventing the most serious outcomes, you add that to vaccinations, does this get us to the point where it is not the end game but moving toward an endemic, where a lot of people are not going to be dying of covid anymore? >> it is possible. it depends whether people take it, get it and have access to it. we would be at the endgame if 90% of people who could get the vaccine had gotten vaccinated and they have not.

so there is a bit of mileage between the approval of medicine and people actually getting and taking it. but i do think this is an important piece. it is a piece that says if someone is at high risk of a bad outcome, because they get vaccinated -- did not get vaccinated or they had a breakthrough case, if they can rapidly get on a pill that would gush if pfizer holds up prevents nine out of 10 bad outcomes, you get to the point where virtually all the cases will be mild, either because of vaccination or because even if you have not been vaccinated and you should, and you get on this pill very quickly, that will also prevent most cases of severe covid and death. kristen: but as you said, being treated for covid is not as good as just not getting covid and that is where the vaccine

conversation comes back. as we know, vaccinations for five to 11-year-olds are getting underway in the bay area. national polls show only a third of parents plan to get the shot for their little ones, is not the case in the bay area, a point it's a hard to come by. you have any tips? >> i don't. i wish i had tips. the mean tip is to try multiple places and be patient. it is not an emergency, it's 18 months into this, if it takes a few weeks it is not a big deal. act as safely as you have been and recognize that the first shot, though helpful, does not work as well against alta as it did in the old days. although you would like to get the first shot quickly, it really is after you've gotten the second shot that you are truly safe. but the main tip is to get your kid vaccinated. the benefits are real and the safety is very -- very very

high. kristen: you tweeted some thing significant, you said this is it, today's covid situation is a version of the one we will live with for the next one to two years. explain that. >> when i look at the forces of good and the forces of bad, they sort of belt. i think we are seeing places like the bay area that continue to do very well, but we are seeing in california, which has done well, the beginning of an uptick. nationally, the cases were coming down you to flee now plateaued. in europe, -- beautifully and now have plateaued. in europe, they plateaued, in the u.k. they are higher than the u.s.. it is a lot of data points but if you combine what -- all of it, what we are seeing is forces to combat covid, vaccines and

mandates are helping, they seem to be working, five to 11-year-olds adding vaccinated oral good. -- are all good. these new oral antiviral medicines are good. immunity from vaccination and from natural infection wanes. the people who got will get boosters, the ones who got it from natural infection when it wanes they will be vulnerable again. there may be people who don't take the oral agent or don't have access to a test. either all of in, i think we are in the state that we will be in the next couple of years, which means we will have to get used to this uncomfortable equilibrium we find ourselves in. kristen: given that you think this is it, what rules, policies and mandates do you think we should be dropping if any are changing? >> it depends where you are.

the bay area remains in good shape but we have to be careful. if you let your guard down too soon cannot look at germany, cases are skyrocketing. if you let your guard down too soon it will come back to bite you. we want to be careful and cautious, but personally my rules to live by were different last year than they are now. partly because last year i said if i could just hold out and try to avoid getting covid, the cavalry is coming. there will be vaccines or antivirals. my attitude now is this may be the new normal. i am more willing to take a few risks that i would not have taken, i went to see james taylor at the chase center last friday and it was fabulous. if i knew three months from now vaccines would be here i would not have done it, i'm fully vaccinated, i've got my booster and if i'm not going to do it now, i'm probably saying i'm not

going to do it for the next two or three years, same with visiting relatives or the holidays. we know how to be careful, the importance of masks, if you are fully vaccinated and if you are eligible you got your booster. you are about as safe as you are going to be. it is a good time to take stock and say if i'm deciding this is not safe enough for me now, i'm probably making decisions for the next couple of years and that leads to different decisions. kristen: dr. wac go away. when we come back, we will talk about the kids, five to

kristen: abc 7 is holding a

hall at 4:30 p.m. about vaccines for little ones. kate larsen is hosting this town hall and is joining us now live to continue the conversation with the u.s. eff -- doctor. >> we are looking forward to dig deep into these questions and concerns that so many families have now that the pfizer vaccine is authorized for five to 11-year-olds. for the bay area we saw some of those vaccines get rolled out this week, but tomorrow, november 6 is when so many more clinics for these pediatric vaccines. and next week as well more of the supply rolls out. at 4:30, we will talk to dr. patel who is a pediatrician and hospitalist, we will also hear from and parsons, family sarah

-- family therapist. she will talk about the anxiety that families and kids are feeling now that these vaccines are available and we will hear from kimi watkins chart who is the director of the dutch tart who is the -- tart who is the director of the health apartment and the equity piece. how do they ensure the shot and in the correct and best information is available to everyone in the county. we are looking forward to that and dr. wac a group of parents this afternoon and one of the questions that was raised and i think it relates to your tweet about we may be in this situation for the next year or two where covid exists in our community, is masking in schools. as this five to 11-year-old age group vaccinated over the coming months and hopefully next year the under five will be

authorized, at what point do you think kids can take off their masks in school and other activities? >> when all of them are vaccinated. i think that is the key. if they are all vaccinated -- and there are a few moving points -- parts. you would like the rates of covid in the community to be low, and they are already fairly low, but if i could snap my fingers now and have all of the kids fully vaccinated, i would become double recommending they take the masks off in school. but until they are, you have the risk of kids bringing covid into class and is spreading it to others even though the other kids may be vaccinated, or are risks for breakthrough infections. vaccinated as quickly as we can and one of the rewards will be not only will kids be far safer and lower risk and lower risk of having to quarantine, cancel class, but one reward will be

being able to take the mask off. kristen: i know we are almost out of time but we can't let you go without saying congratulations, kate and i are very happy for you, we saw your tweet when the atlanta braves won the world series, you tweeted that your son read moneyball at age 12 and said is what i want to do for a job and now he has won the world series. >> it was not not only reading moneyball. we happened to be at the stadium when the first homerun went into the bay and his eyes looked like saucers, he was entranced by baseball. he said this is what i want to do, double majored in sports management and statistics and landed at the braves and its remarkable bay won the world series. very exciting. kristen: we've got another baseball guy coming up, hunter pence. >> much better choice.

kristen: perhaps he will make his way back to san francisco. thank you, we appreciate it. kate's town hall comes up a 4:30 this afternoon on abc 7 and everywhere you steam -- stream, you can send in your questions on our website and you can a

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kristen: san francisco giants legend buster posey is hanging up his catcher's gear having announced his retirement yesterday. he spent his entire career with the giants and 13 world series titles -- and won three world series titles. another person who played part of this, hunter pence, our favorite giant that we don't take sides. >> has a going, great to see you. kristen: what a season, amazing.

>> it was an incredible giants season, hundred seven wins, i had so much fun watching it, heartbroken with the way it finished but proud of them and thankful for the efforts they put in. >> and probably because of amazing it was, it felt right for buster posey to walk away but it hurts for all of giants fans. were you surprised to hear about his retirement? >> i was not completely shocked because he took the road so hard, missing watching his kids grow up, he is such a f f f community guide. his kids are getting older, he adopted young twins and he wants to be there for the wife and kids. you miss so much on the road.

i want to honor how much he gave to all of the teammates, how wonderful his career was. i'm shouting for dust from the mountaintops hall of fame in five years because he was that big of an impact in so many lives and the organization as a whole. kristen: you answered my question about the hologram. your nickname was the reverend, and a lot of people think your biggest occupation to the team was hyping everybody up. what you think was his contribution? >> it was multinational multidimensional. as far as the numbers he was exceptional, hall of fame type of numbers, the seven-time all-star, the best at what he did. not only defensively and receiving also offensively, absolutely incredible. and as a catcher to get offense with the toll you take on your

body is next level. obviously the player on the field, but what he brought to the clubhouse was a superstar there was humble, did the right thing, cared about others and it set a standard within the clubhouse, the organization and the community. he led us all through his actions and i think that goes a long way. there is no way i think i'm a two-time world champion without buster posey, with his commitment to the team, humility, faith and hard work. he changed all of us and made everyone around him better, not only on the field but also great lessons for how to live a successful life and genuinely cared about everyone he came in contact with. as you see, in the community, all of his stuff, pediatric cancer foundations, i got to go with him one time. it does inspire you. kristen: he is amazing and you

and lexie have done so much for the community. we have good people on our baseball team in san francisco so we have been so lucky. you played for different teams, he was always on the giants but what were the differences playing against him is playing with him? how did your views about him change as you played with him? >> you definitely felt the competitiveness from him. when you say hello to a lot of catchers they will be friendly, cordial. i just a member, buster was younger than me even though he let me know that the whole time we played together how old i was, but i remember coming up to a young catcher saying have a good game and he looked at me and goes yeah. it gets under your skin. i realized all of that was somewhat intentional. he did not want to be too friendly with the other team, he did not want you to be too

comfortable because he wanted to support his pictures. his decisions, mannerisms and actions were thought out. he was such an intelligent guy and such an advantage having one of the wittiest people that you know calling the gameworking wie pictures. just an incredible, if did athleticism, and incredible reader and dutch leader and and -- leader and it raised my vieww of the game and how to go about things. kristen: a great season, i'm glad you had a chance to enjoy it as a fan. what else have you been up to other than rooting for the giants? we did see you in the booth doing some work for giants baseball. is that some think it will be full-time? >> i got to broadcast a game as well, maybe i will get to

broadcast some games, i don't know. we are into coffee, doing different things every month, this is gratitude grind. kristen: i think we have a picture of that from your tweet. gratitude grinds. >> it will be november since thanksgiving. we will have a five-minute gratitude journal, something i believe in, if you minutes in the morning and at night putting pen to paper, allowing yourself to take in all of the things you could be appreciative even if it is just sunshine, whatever. i love enjoy the coffee, it is something that is kind of meditation for me and my wife and a culture to spend time and share together. i love talking baseball, sharing the knowledge and what i learned, hopefully i get to broadcast, have some fun with greg and who knows, i got to be

on i don't know what i can say here so i will leave it at that. kristen: the mystery continues. you get nervous during broadcasting? >> not exactly. i love the game and i just talk the game. i have so much experience that it is fun for me to share some stories. i would not say i get nervous but i do want to do my best so i come in as prepared as possible and let it flow. kristen: your work ethic is legendary, it was true on the baseball field and true in the booth so it is fun to watch. if you ever go full time or you have some news you want to break, feel free to come to us and a lot of people are hoping you will eventually open a coffee shop here like you had in houston. >> that would be amazing. it is a lot of work, it took forever to get the first one up and running and we survived

covid, we built a wonderful community and made so many great relationships. hopefully you will be able to open one in san francisco at some point, but it is a lot of work and it takes a long time. it is something we do out of love and it is hard to find that with the right people. that would be awesome. i appreciate using that. kristen: the fact that you are talking of the possibility which means unlike buster, who is going back to georgia, which hurts us, you are not going anywhere? you are staying in san francisco? >> i bounce around a little bit because we have a lot of stuff to do, we still have our place in san francisco and is then most of our time there. we love inferences go. we will be involved there for sure. kristen: everyone is happy to hear that, especially the kids groups you've been involved with. last question. what is better, a esther hug or a lexie hug?

>> i love buster but 100% 100% % lexie hug is better but i will take both. kristen: my producer was saying something to me while you were wrapping that up but you definitely voted for the lexie hug, good answer, good husband, getting kicked out of the house. congratulations. >> i see you trying to throw the trap out there. kristen: i'm very happy for you. we will take this conversation over to facebook

kristen: thank you for joining us on this interactive show

getting answer, we talked to the doctor about pfizer's pill and kids in vaccines and we caught up with hunter pence and got his tonight, breaking news on several fronts as we come on the air. on capitol hill at this hour could president biden be on the vernal of a major victory in his domestic agenda? the push for a potential vote tonight. the vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill that would create hundreds of thousands of job, build roads and bridges and broadband, already passed by democrats and republicans in the senate. tonight house speaker nancy pelosi urging democrats in the house to vote yes on this tonight. with a procedural vote on the social spending bill, and a promise to move forward on that in the coming weeks, hoping to get progressives on board. we'll go live to rachel scott on

the hill tonight. also this evening,he