♪ announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc7 news. kristen: you are watching getting answers. asked experts experts every day at 3:00 to get answers in real-time. today, the work of one person who benefited all workers in california. we talk with the producer of a song for caesar. why not learn about the impact women have made in san francisco with a walking tour? we will show you. first, the omicron subvariant is picking up steam. how concerned should we be. the dharna applied to the fda for approval of a fourth vaccine

shot for all adults. is it needed? joining us now is happy friday. thank you for joining us. dr. patel: happy friday to you. kristen: there is a lot to cover. two truths and a and a and a ana we play. shall we start? dr. patel: we shall. headlines. everyone knows how to play. tell us which one of these is not true. i am getting tricky on one of them, just saying. here we go. ba.2 has been tripling in prevalence every two weeks according to the cdc, or pfizer is seeking approval of a fourth shot for people over 65. moderna is doing the same. or is it

so stealth anymore? which one is not true? kristen: before i answer. i don't want to ruin the fun for our facebook viewers who like to give their choices before we reveal. one person says a is alive. not a bad guess. another says c, but another doctor says b. i am not swayed by that -- maybe a little bit, but i was going to say b was alive. that doctor just changed to a. thank you. i'm still sticking with b. , right? dr. patel: you are correct. there was recent data about the prevalence of the subvariant is increasing and this may become

the dominant variant in the next few months. 25% in this country that positive tests are from ba.2. b is alive. it's for all adults, not just those with underlying medical illness. c is also true, when omicron was being detected, it had that drop out, so scientists could say there is a different signal that is omicron, but now because all the cases are omicron, you can tell the difference in the pcr tests. it is confusing, but the name omicron is a thing of the past. kristen: not stealthy at all. i embedded the answer in my set up, saying the dharna axing -- moderna asking for that fourth vaccine shot. thank you. that was helpful. let's explore that more.

moderna's premise for a fourth shot, why? wasn't the booster doing a good enough job protecting us? is it needed? dr. patel: it was. it still is. the data shows it is greatly protective against hospitalizations. the data used support by force shot in other countries, israel misleading -- sweden -- israel, sweden, there is waning immunity. it drops. again, that is after six months. there is not a lot of data to show a fourth dose is needed to protect against hospitalizations with the new surge. they only data being presented as a force shot can boost antibody levels, and it is safe. that does not tell us the entire picture, so it is that with two

-- moderna. pfizer seems more in line with other countries now. kristen: they're asking for over 65s? people who could use a immunity boost who are at risk? dr. patel: it is. you will hear a lot of headlines comparing the u.k. to what could happen here. here is the reality. in the u.k., above 65, there is a 90% booster rate. in the u.s., it is about 65%. people have to go get it. people are saying we need a fourth booster, why don't we focus on getting the other third who don't yet have their third shot fully vaccinated. kristen: i see what your saying. the bigger pickup would be to get more people to get their vaccines come original series, and getting their first boosters. you mentioned u.k.. let's talk about that.

using a big uptick in ba.2, the subvariant cases. that is growing here as well, what 20%? if it is more transmissible than omicron, is there evidence it is more potent? dr. patel: not yet. fortunately we don't have evidence to say this is a more verlander strain -- vera lynch strain that will cause people to be hospitalized more. we talked about this. with omicron, if you have a large population, it will lead to more severe illness, more people getting sick so it's something we have to pay attention to when you have a trifecta of a transmissible variant, waning immunity, and restrictions being lifted across the country. that is a danger set up. kristen: if it is more transmissible, more virulent,

could it be good from a virus evolution standpoint? dr. patel: i'd like where you are going. from a virus evolution standpoint, if the virus just wants to survive, then yes, in terms of not actually damaging its hosts as much, that's what a virus wants to do. as a population level, we have a great level of immunity in the u.s., between vaccine and naturally acquired immunity. if you discount that, treatments and vaccines out there, this should give everyone comfort, saying if we do see a huge uptick in cases, which we might, we will not see the same severity we did in december when omicron first came around. kristen: ok. on the white house level, i am seeing testing, a vital part of this, funding is being discontinued, and even some doctors are criticizing. what is happening? dr. patel: what is happening is

unfortunately that mantra, we are over covid, tired of covid, that is spreading into policy and public health funding. when the 22.5 megan dollars -- $22.5 million was being discussed, we saw the white house warning antivirals could run out in june and august and we no might not have the same capacity for testing. the people most at risk for those without health insurance. right now, this is free, so that could be jeopardized. i am not trying to get into politics, but one argument is one side saying we need more transparency where the money is going. you look at it from the other lens, people have trepidation because we may see an uptick of cases, in addition to lifting restrictions, waning immunity, and we may run out of

these protective supplies guaranteed to us. kristen: ok, that is concerning. dr. patel: it's a lot. kristen: you mentioned antivirals, i read about the pfizer antiviral, and generics will be produced, even the normally when you have a new drug, company's have a patent. what is happening there? dr. patel: this is great news in terms of getting equitable distribution of postal world. basically, there is an organization in europe that looks at these patents, and they essentially granted the right for 35 companies to create a generic version of the antiviral and 95 countries, so we will get access to 50% of the world, access said this antiviral pill from pfizer shown to prevent hospitalizations by 90%. that sounds great. some issues. we need it now, not in a year or two. also, that is 50% the world, a large part is missing, namely

sub-saharan africa and latin america. kristen: i want to turn to kids for little bit. those under five are waiting for a vaccine to be approved. parents are confused right now. most schools here no longer require masks. i see your question. i cannot get to that individually, but i know you're are concerned about protecting infants and toddlers. so i want to give you a minute i'm a dr. patel, about the things you want to say to parents. dr. patel: the most important thing is that i completely understand the fear and the anxiety. it almost feels like parents, especially those with high risk children, are awaiting into uncharted territory. all the leaders of protection we have been relying on still work. and take reassurance in the bay area that we have a high vaccination rate and responsible public around us, and you should feel empowered to chat with daycare's, schools, and look at

the protections they have in place, because unfortunately, we don't have a vaccine available for kids under five, and we will not possibly for a month or two, so we have to keep them protected, open dialogue, testing, masking was tolerated, and we also have high protection in the bay area. kristen: that's great. is that an arizona state pin? dr. patel: this uofa. all the way, baby. ncaa march madness. kristen: i got it. i got it. have a great weekend. dr. patel: thank you. kristen: we will be right back with abel sanchez, san francisco film maker, with the documentary that looks at the life of cesar chavez in a way that has never been done

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a new documentary film presents a unique view of a song for cesar, telling the story of those who dedicated themselves to the movement, rights and protections for farmworkers. abel sanchez cowrote the title song with carlos santana's brother. ♪ >> did not know who we were. we were seeking identity. -- we did not know who we were. we were seeking identity. cesar chavez davis. kristen: it opens today. joining us to talk about it live is abel sanchez.

thank you for joining us. congratulations on the film. abel: thank you. thank you so much. leisure to be here with you. kristen: tell me what inspired you to make it. abel: my inspiration came from working with the cesar chavez family on a stamp campaign prior to writing the song. it kind of felt like he was still with me when i was in the studio recording in this song came about. we -- and this song came about. we were inspired. the words came out of the spirit, if you will come in next thing you know, we had a song that involved into people saying while, this great, you should put some footage to it. so that kind of went into went n documentary, a full documentary, and that is how it started. the inspiration came without

attention, as my good friend my angela told me -- maya angelou told me. she told me. that is interesting, because that is how it happened with me. yeah. kristen: this is unique. there have been many stories told of cesar chavez, but this is looking through the eyes of famous musicians and artists who supported him. tell us about some of these artists. abel: that was the story. we started realizing what is different about our approach to the documentary, and we realized how important music and the arts became to ac movement possible in many ways. [indiscernible]

there was this beautiful movement helping workers. kristen: and i -- abel: [indiscernible] kristen: all right. i am so sorry. we are having some signal issues. i will have to say thank you so much, and i do hope people check out the film, the song for cesar . it is amazing. there is so much there. carlos santana, who at his concerts allowed petitioners, for example, for the cesar chavez state holiday to gather signatures they are because they so believed in what he was doing to really give farmworkers their right to unionize, to get protections. there is so much there. so again, the film's song for cesar, and i hope you get a chance to check it out. coming up next, you can take a walking tour to learn about how

women

kristen: welcome back. it is women's history month. today, a closer look at the impact women have made and continue to make in san francisco. you can learn about how women have shaped our city through a walking tour. joining us live with the details is the senior vice president of the travel company that promotes the san francisco region as a top local destination. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. happy to be here today. kristen: i can't wait to hear about it. what is the big idea? >> the big idea is san francisco has long been filled with innovators and people who are trail blazers, and many are women. for women's history month, we decided to curate a self-guided walking transit tour to points

of interest throughout the city influenced by very important women in san francisco. kristen: that is a great idea, right? i mean, i have lived here most of my life, and i see few landmarks named after women, yet we know women have made a big impact on the city. >> absolutely. the walking tour starts at the tower named for lily hitchcock -- it was erected to pay a module to the firefighters -- to pay a large -- to pay honor to t t firefighters, of the tower was built in named for a very influential woman in san francisco. kristen: got it. where is the next stop? abel: the julie morgan ballroom -- >> the julie morgan ballroom -- jillian morgan ballroom.

she was the first licensed architect in the state of california. it is a beautiful piece. she is -- she was an architect in the state of california. it is a beautiful piece. kristen: i went to uc berkeley, so i know there are buildings she design there. i know the julian morgan ballroom is gorgeous and worth a visit. do you need to wait until there is a specific event? >> i believe you do need to wait for an event, but outside the ballroom, there is beautiful architecture, and gobert's. i went to uc berkeley as well. -- and go bears. i went to uc berkeley as well. kristen: all right. the next stop we need to talk about is a monument to the comfort women of world war ii, right? >> yes, it is in saint mary's square, and was built to honor the women who were basically

held captive in japanese brothels. it does feature statues of asian women to pay honor to those who had an extremely difficult time during world war ii. kristen: it was in the news certainly was that monument happen, and it does commemorate a terrible piece of our history we should not forget when the women were forced essentially to serve in brothels for soldiers. after that spot, -- stop, we turn to union square, the goddess of victory statue. i have seen it, but i never wondered what was the story behind it, so what is it? >> it was erected after our victory in the spanish-american war, and many people say it looks like an

francisco, well-known, and it is supposed to be the goddess nike, so it is about power and strength. kristen: ah, in the next stop is san francisco city hall. we have a female mayor. [laughter] we had mayor dianne feinstein, now senator dianne feinstein, so tell us why this is a worthy stop when you talk about the history of women in the city. >> you outlined it perfectly. kristen: sorry. >> that's ok. it is a beautiful building. it is all-inspiring, and it's open to the public to admire its beauty. we have two famous women, dianne feinstein, now senator, and only our second mayor, but african-american mayor, which is hugely important as well, so that's why we have that highlighted. kristen: these next two are cool.

i've never been and would love to, the women's building and the artist gallery. tell us about those spots. >> the san francisco women's building is in the mission district. it is breathtaking. it is covered in murals of powerful, strong women. it contains a cultural center that advocates for gender diversity and social justice, so it is very important. one of the things that is great to know about this tour, we are touching on different neighborhoods in san francisco, so it is wonderful to think about women who have influenced things in these are being honored throughout the city. kristen: indeed, you cover a lot of ground. next, nancy pelosi drive in golden gate park. house speaker. enough said. that is a wonderful place to ended. you end up in a beautiful place of natural beauty. so how much ground does it

cover, mileage-wise, and driving or walking? >> we encourage you to use public transit. i don't know exactly the mileage, but if you consider the fact that the city is seven by seven, 49 square miles, you could get a good walk in if you decide to walk the whole thing, and as mentioned, you would traverse their many different neighborhoods. kristen: i think you could put this together with a culinary tour, burning off the calories, then consume it. as you represent travel, is trouble coming back?are we seeing signs of life in tourism? >> we absolutely are. we are slower to recover than other cities. part of that is we were one of the first to close down because of the pandemic, and one of the last to open and lift restrictions, so that has impacted our tourism industry.

we were hit very hard by it, but there is demand, people dying to get out and travel, and san francisco is a bucket list destination. people have never been here, want to see the golden gate bridge, ride, cable car, so we want to promote the city and tell people we are open and welcome to all. we are starting to see, especially in the last month, pent up demand, a lot of bookings in the city. kristen: that is fantastic. the self-guided walking tour of women's history and san francisco, i want to take that. and you have other tours online, so hopefully folks will check it out. thank you so much.

thank you for joining us on this interactive show. we tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. for the first time, russia strikes in lviv, ukraine. just 40 miles from the poland border. verified video circulating on social media tonight showing the explosion near the airport in lviv. ukraine says the missiles came from russian aircraft, firing from the black sea. four missiles appearing to hit the target. two intercepted. lviv, ukraine, until now, had been a safe place for tens of thousands of refugees. one of their last stops in ukraine before getting out. tonight, russia's foreign minister and his new threat to the u.s. and the west, calling new military shipments legitimate targets. stark new images of a bombed out mariupol tonight and the staggering report on the humanitarian crisis. vladimir putin in public in moscow