>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. >> good afternoon i am liz you're watching "news getting answers" live here on abc 7's, -- seven this really ask experts to get answers in real-time. we are talking about the return to the workplace, getting employees backed into the office is key to rebounding the economy. we have partnered with a global sourcing company sequoia to see what it looks like. delay after delay, even more delays could be on the horizon for centrix -- san francisco's central subway project. first, big news today the fda has clear the way for some

americans to receive an added layer of protection against covid, adults 50 and up can receive a second booster shot. here's a talk to us about this is the infectious disease specialist, dr. monica. when we talked about this last week you had mixed feelings about this second booster, do think they're making the right decision? >> i think they are right to approve it for immunocompromised, it was true since may, this is a reiteration of that. they say it is older adults, i am -- i agree with that. the question is, what is a lower limit it can be used? sweden is 70, only the u.s. has gone down this low to the age of 50 as the lower bound for who needs it. the one problem with doing that, they did not actually consult, the fda or cdc with their

advisory committees. the white house has already told us we have enough wristers for over 65 and above while waiting for congressional funding. i am worried if you five euros get it when and 80 euros -- a 55-year-old can get it when an 85-year-old needs it. >> my question is should everyone over 50 get the second booster? >> there was a steady that we talked about last time that showed us health care workers up to the age of 65 and what the fourth shot did to them in israel. israel approved the fourth shot for over 60 and health care workers. it was public -- published last week, showing there was no benefit in terms of vaccine effectiveness in terms of getting the fourth shot over the third. there is no difference in the

viral load. we do not have the data that is needed unless you are 65. >> sometimes these ages seem arbitrary, why 50? i feel like there is a 45-year-old who is high risk who could benefit from it as well. why these arbitrary numbers in ages? >> i think it is because the u.s. is not firmly settled on a covid strategy. there is a way to think about covid prevention that is preventing severe disease and the second id is -- idea is preventing all cases. in the u.k. in europe they prevent severe disease whereas china does covid lockdowns not wanting cases. those two are extremes in the u.s. does not wear the -- nowhere they want to go. they want to prevent cases, that is what we had mask mandates up

to february 24, and may giving a lot of people boosters. at some point it will be unsustainable to prevent cases. >> let's say, for people who do feel they want to get that fourth shot now. they are over 50 and eligible, early on people were mixing and matching vaccines. maybe her first two are moderna then you got a pfizer booster. is it ok to mix the boosters? >> i think, is not only ok, but it makes sense to me to be mix them. pfizer covers a certain part of the spike protein, during a covers a different part of the spike protein. you will get more exposure along the spike protein if you mix them. i would mix them. >> how much time should someone way between the third and fourth shot? >> in traditional vax analogy it is really six months.

what the fbi said, -- fda said was four months. if you can way i would wait six months. >> do you think the news today is a sign that eventually orth boosters will be open to everyone -- fourth roosters be open to everybody. >> there are two questions, one is additional covid funding. speaker pelosi took out of the budget because of what is going on with ukraine, if you do not buy doses for the public, insurance can pay for it, you are leaving out uninsured people. to open up to everybody have to secure congressional funding and the white house wrote a piece is morning, to say please, please give us covid funding to get us through this next tied. >> to clarify if you are over 50

you are qualified for this fourth shot, will be covered by your insurance? >> right now they are essentially saying, it is a very clear distinction. they did not say recommend. they said you have permission. yes, right now you can get paid for, because we do have doses in the pharmacies and i do not think everyone 50 and above will get it. i want to make sure that those that are much older please get it first. >> i think your point, the fact that it is being offered, but not formally recommended will add a lot of confusion for people even though we've gone through two years of this back-and-forth. >> i will tell you what i'm most worried about this decision. if you look at the third booster campaign, we have 40% of americans with a third shot. compared with 60% in denmark and hiring the u.k.. the way we roll out additional

booster shots without advisory committees, with everyone saying different things, this is a public health mess. it will so distrust into the american public. germany, sweden, u.k., canada strategy give us a specific age cut off, say will pay it, that is a strategy. >> let's say a healthy six-year-old, not considered high risk, would you recommend they get the fourth booster? >> between 60 and 65 is a gray zone. there was a study in israel that shows over 60 benefited. if you are over 60 i do not see any harm in it. is that 50 to 60 that will just

make your antibodies go right back up and then come back down. >> a lot of gray space that we have become used to in the past couple of years. let's talk about ba-2, covid-19, spring break, a lot of people gathering how concerned are you that it will lead to a big spike in cases? >> there are three cases -- it is more trances -- transmissible, 50% of the strain is now ba-2 and we are not seeing a big rising cases for most of the country and boston wastewater is staying flat. we saw a lot of ba-2, and is hard to do after getting ba-1. it does not evade the immune system. you have to distinguish antibodies from cellular immunity. it does not evade cellular

immunity because it is not more virulent than ba-1. >> in about 30 seconds, dr. anthony fauci said people should be prepared for some covid restrictions to return like indoor masking and places, do you agree? >> i do not, because cdc has linked indoor masking to hospitalization rates. those rates have been lower than july 2021 and we are doing great with immunity. both vaccination and immunity is keeping vax -- cases low. we are really beating the covid virus. >> equate ray to and -- a great way to end this. coming up next, after two years of the pandemic employees are finally bringing workers to the office, what will it look like?

>> welcome back, one of the key pillars of building a better bay area is tracking how the pandemic changed the landscape of the workplace come as we transition to the endemic phase, companies are calling employees back to the office. abc 7 has partnered with sequoia, a people investing consulting confirm -- firm. joining us to talk about the key findings is the vice president of communications. thank you for joining us, we appreciate you being here. tell us about the overall findings from this survey, are companies prepare to bring people back? >> thank you for having me. we have been studying the impact

of the goebel pandemic since 2020 through a series of reports and surveys. this time around we asked for for denying employees about their -- we ask 459 employees about the return. most of the respondents are california technology-based midsized companies. lots of great findings. particularly around when people are planning to require their employees to come back to work. luz: we do have the results of one of those questions. you asked the companies when they enter require the employees to come back to the office. 37% undecided 24% say this spring. is there something that stood out to you the most about this? >> it is a bit surprising that in november only 6% said they

were returning in the spring and now it is 24%. what it tells us is that the world is opening back up and so other workplaces as well. companies are gearing up for a return. what is also interesting, there is not a lot of employees back in the workforce right now. we might see that shift. luz: 24% saying they plan to return this spring, 75% are undecided or not yet returning, there is a lot of workforce not going to the office. >> i think the omicron variant had a big factor in why employers are undecided. that kind of shut down the world again. we do know a lot of employers said they are undecided because they do not know what to expect with variance or subvariant. luz: how much of the great resignation and the fear that employees will quit if they have to come back to the office in

person, how much is it impacting the companies as they returned office? >> i think companies are paying attention to that. that is why they are creating more flecked -- flexible work arrangements. we have seen a huge spike in hybrid work arrangements. most employees areeqred toe in the o day, maybe a few days a week. companies are paying attention to that, employees needs, and adjusting workplace think -- requirements. luz: if you can talk about the survey you did in november, we had you on then, versus now. what are the big changes we see in companies really -- approaching the we opening? >> the biggest factor is when they are planning to require people to come back into the workplace. we are also seeing that hybrid work is here to stay. we did see a lot of employers say they are willing to allow their people to relocate to anywhere in the u.s..

we saw an increase in that this time around. we saw an increase in the type of hybrid work in variance -- environments. this time we are seeing more employers say employees can come in whenever they want to. we are also seeing a shift in that employers are trying to do business in new place -- space. the office is here to stay, is what we see, but also given that people are moving around and reshuffling, employers are paying attention that an opening offices in areas. luz: what did the findings show you about leasing? many of the companies say they are keeping their leases and have no plans to end their leases. >> that is absolute correct, we did ask that, as of the companies said they were not reducing their office leases. that is interesting, we thought

we saw and exodus in the san francisco bay area. that may be true, the physical workplaces here to stay. i think people will have more options and where they can go. we did see that employers are opening offices in new areas. that might give people more options of where they can work. the physical location will be around for a while. luz: given that the companies are not necessarily saying they will be 100% remote. they are keeping their leases and physical office structure. what will the workplace look like when people do return? will it feel different than pre-pandemic in the office? >> i think so. i think 6% said they have already returned to the office. when we will see as fewer people in the office at the same time. that is the hybrid work environment. you can pick and choose when you want to come into the office and you do not have to be in the office every day. everyone will not be in the office at the same time.

that will be the biggest shift. employers are also experimenting with more time off. company paid time off to give people a little bit of a break. what that environment looks like when you come into the workplace. i think we will see different work arrangements, there will be more camille space. not some -- communal space. not so many desks close together. i've heard companies creating office spaces more facebook -- social environment. connecting with people you're not seen in person almost two years. luz: one of the questions you asked about, is the possibility of companies moving to a four day week work week. >> this is one i was really surprised, we have been hearing about burnout and what ways to adapt to help employees reduce turnout. 91% said they are not planning

to adopt a four day work week. we have seen that adoption order experiment and other countries. so fall -- far all signs show a five day work week is here to stay. >> everyone wants that three day or four day work week, but not anytime soon. thank you for joining us, we are so excited you are here and we will have more pieces coming up digging into your survey. as i mentioned, abc 7 news reporter stephanie has dug into this topic as you will have stories on this today, tomorrow and

care coalition, it's so good to see you all! alright! let's brainstorm. any ideas for new members? i'd like to nominate alaska airlines. this neck pillow i'm dating says great things! a caring airline?! wait, those exist?! it says here they were the first airline to switch from plastic bottles to boxed water. they also hire a lot of people from caring professions. i'm seeing former teachers and nurses. it's settled! alaska airlines is officially in the running! round of applause!

luz: the standards focus on hyper local quality-of-life issues, aligned with abc 7's efforts to build a better bay

area. today we are focusing on the subway project. it has been delayed and going over budget several times. now we are learning about even more potential setbacks. joining us live to talk about this issue is the editor-in-chief of the san francisco standard, jonathan. it reminds me of the song, this is the song that never ends, this project is like the project that never ends. >> indeed it is, they have been working on it for a long time. 2010 was the original construction. luz: let's start by talking about how we got here. for those that are newer to the bay area, what is the central subway and what is the history of the project? it first began in 2010. >> it connects so much a chinatown, going under nob hill there. it connects the 3rd street near

to the chinatown station. it was a political negotiation that was related to the decision not to re-build a freeway after a and -- after an earthquake. chinatown was concerned about the lack of accessibility. so the central subway was supposed to be a solution to that. that deal was rocher between willie brown and the late rose pack, a chinatown community leader. luz: there're been many setbacks over the years can you talk about them? >> these projects are always very difficult. when you get into drilling deep tunnels there are all kinds of things that come up all the time in these projects. it is not unusual for them to be late and over budget. in this case, the delays have been repeated, the opening has been pushed back at least half a

dozen times or so over the years. cost continue to mount. clearly they have some technical issues that have been much more difficult than they anticipated. luz: fast forward to today, 2020 to three years past the initial completion date. why is it being delayed again? >> there is a federal monitor, most of the money is federal government money, the federal government has a monitor that oversees the project. in the most recent report the monitor was concerned about leaks, concerned that the signaling system was not finished, and concerned they were not be able to get certain equipment for the overhead power system. so the monitor had the specific concerns, and in that context said it was unlikely that they be able to make the current projected, september 9 launch date they currently have out there. luz: what is interesting, late

last year it was appearing they work nearing completion in its entirety. we saw a video of the mayor taking a test drive. how close to completion wasn't at that point or was a pr stunt? >> the testing of the system take a long time. you testing you find problems come you test some more defined or problems. this is not a case where you are testing just to verify that everything is working correctly. the testing is actually, integral to the completion of the system. luz: sfmta commented on these new delays, the have a said when they expect it will be open? >> they did not comment yesterday when we ask them --asked them. they came back today with a comment and said they were still on target for a 'fall launch'.

they did not say the september 9 day was still operative, but they insisted they were still on track for the fall. i think we are talking late fall. luz: i hear a little skepticism in your voice. do you think late fall is realistic at this point? >> the experts that we talk to for the story thought december or january were more realistic. we will see. luz: when it finally does open, who was still benefit? it has been very disruptive for the last 10 plus years. >> it certainly has, whether things that raises emotions about this project, a lot of people feel it was not a necessary project. people who live, especially the southern and eastern parts of the city that might be commuting to work in chinatown, it will be more convenient to them than the current bus alternative. .

that is the primary constituency for. the bus connect those two areas right now, tortiously crowded and slow bus line. the studies show the central subway is now much faster. we will see what kind of ridership it ultimately gets. luz: absolutely, jonathan weber from the san francisco standard. we have the links to their other original reporting on our website. you can watch more abc 7 segments featuring their city focused journalism on the streaming tv app and -- and scroll down

luz: thank you so much for joining us on this interactive show "news getting answers", we tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. what russia is now saying about ukraine and the capital of kyiv. here at home, the tornado threat as we come on the air. the dangerous storms hitting tonight and tomorrow. and then moving east. we're tracking it all right now. first, the war in ukraine. president biden responding late today to thisnews from russia. this potential change in strategy, suggesting they will move you a way from kyiv. what president biden said today and what the pentagon is now saying tonight. how they see this. this all comes amid reports of russia shelling residential areas near the capital. and president zelenskyy moments ago responding to russia. james longman standing by in kyiv tonight. here at home, two major headlines involving the pandemic. the omicron subvariant is now the dominant strain h