>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. kristen: hello, you're watching "getting answers." we always ask experts your questions every day at 3:00 to get your answers in real time. today, look at how this commemoration came to be. will share the amazing work of the apa heritage foundation and a big event this wednesday. how would you like health care coverage to include fertility treatments? and east state lawmaker has introduced a bill to make that a bill to make that abroad reality here in california. first, covid come back, ba.2, actually make that be a four nba five, or causing concerns

globally. new york city returns to a higher risk tier and the challenges of getting your hands on the cover treatments that are supposed to be easy to get and plentiful. joining us to discuss the latest news is dr. patel. great to have you on. >> good to be here, happy monday. what is happening in new york city? we heard about moving to the medium alert risk level. >> i'm happy that we're discussing the increased risk level without discussing the increased in hospitalizations. i have not seen any changes in mandates regarding vaccines or masks, but there is a discussion that people in new york city should still be wearing a mask

while indoors. at the lease when we start talking about moving forward, it's important we keep stressing to people that the pandemic is here, cases arising, and we give out those recommendations to protect ourselves, which is important that were having this conversation earlier. kristen: i think they're also saying hospitalizations and covid related icu beds are also up. people say what is going on, because i thought the virus was now just causing mild cases. dr. patel: it is, by and large, causing mild cases. the reality is there are at least 40,000 reported positive cases per day, even if the percentage of those that are severe and getting hospitalized are lower, in a place as dense as new york city, is not surprising there seeing an increase in hospitalizations. we're expecting that texans from the vaccines could wane after 4-6-month for vulnerable

populations, along with more transmissible variance and is not as high of a booster number as we would want. all this together is the reason this conversation is happening in new york city and why someone like dr. birx issued a warning moving forward because were not out of the pandemic yet and the risk is still all around us. kristen: could it happen here in the bay area? dr. patel: it could happen here. people here tend to be very responsible when it comes to wearing mass, being vaccinated, and taking care of one another. we definitely have the potential for the risk here, but we have a lot more adherence to these measures. one thing that happened in new york city is, the mayor also said there is no intention to shut businesses down and that's an important talking point because of so many people were against pandemic restrictions,

accusing officials of wanting to lock everything down. that is not the goal. kristen: not going to shut down, didn't even say they would bring the mask mandate back, they are opening up a discussion with the recognition that cases are going up. i know that as you look at social media, sometimes some tweets get to you and you feel the need to correct them because you don't want people to get the wrong idea. what should we call them, terrifying tweets? dr. patel: these are just tweets i want to use as talking points, not necessarily terrible tweets. talk about tweets, beautiful. kristen: we got them, let's roll. dr. patel: this is a reality check from dr. lori garrett.

i'm surrounded by totally vaccinated friends who are coming down with covid. i think the important thing that this highlights is that there are new subvariants suspected to be causing a rise in cases in hospitalizations in south africa. south africa had a high amount of natural immunity from the omicron surge and scientists are worried that natural immunity is not going to cut it when it comes to these new variants. we cannot rest on the fact that national immunity is for some populations. i just flew to phoenix this past weekend and well more than half the flight was not wearing a mask, including people who were coughing and sneezing. not cool. kristen: i talked to a friend who currently has covid and she is thinking that the fact that she was wearing a mask on the

plane when she probably already had covid probably prevented her from giving it to people around her. people often think about it as i need protection or i don't need protection, but really, you might need protection from the guy next to you and you might want to thank him for wearing his mask. dr. patel: absolutely, it's a community mindset. when we wear well fitting mask with high filtration around a patient who is not wearing a mask who may have an airborne virus such as measles or tuberculosis, it keeps us protected. kristen: do you have anymore tweets to share before we move on? dr. patel: here is an important one, going viral for good reason. no one should have to navigate this kind of maze to get paxlovid or any other early therapeutic.

look at the steps she had to go through to get her high risk teenager paxlovid, including going to multiple drugstores. she recognizes she is privileged and has knowledge that others may not have the time and resources and a -- knowledge to unpack and get for yourself. kristen: i was going to ask you about paxlovid. the whole test to treat means you go to the pharmacy, you test positive, the pharmacist right there gives you paxlovid or another antiviral, but that is not actually what is happening. not only can some people not get it at all from the pharmacy, some cannot get their doctor to prescribe it to them at a time when the biden administration is saying we want more doctors to prescribe it and we have the supply. why are these things not aligning? dr. patel: there is a big disconnect between the promises and availability of paxlovid. this needs to be addressed.

we're hearing anecdotally that a lot of pharmacies may be closing early, pharmacist ib saying they cannot fill a prescription without a doctor's note. there is a disconnect. the urgent care the person went to, they were told a doctor was unable to prescribe paxlovid. when she pushed and got the appointment, the doctor said yes, i can prescribe it. so there is so much miscommunication that needs to be cleared up. kristen: because you should ideally take it within the first five days of symptoms. is there any evidence that it could help prevent lung covid or get rid of long covid symptoms? dr. patel: i haven't read that it will prevent lung covid. i can make an educated guess and sadist possible to reduce that viral load, it makes sense to me -- say that it is possible. in the same way that vaccination

works at reducing the ability for covid to replicate and infect your body, it's important thing to follow. long covid is very real was study saying it's affecting between 10%-30% of people, even those who may have an asymptomatic or mild initial infection. kristen: i'm hearing that some people on paxlovid improve while they are on it, but after they are done with the five days course, they get worse again. is there any explanation for this? dr. patel: as of right now i have not seen a clear expert nation. based on anecdotal reports, the average is about 2%. it is still being taken seriously even if it's rare. there will be new research on if there is that changing guidelines for those who are high risk.

it is being taken seriously even if it is rare. it does not mean that people out there -- paxlovid is still very effective at preventing severe hospitalizations. we just have to look at that 2% and what it means for that population. kristen: given these recommendations from some cities and companies and universities to mask in indoor settings, what are you currently doing? have you made any changes? dr. patel: i personally am still masking in an indoor setting. there is no question if it is a crowded setting, if i'm going to the grocery store or the airport, i am wearing a mask. it is not only because i don't want to get long covid, i do not want to pass it on to alora who

is still not eligible for a vaccine. parents, i feel your frustration. that's why i continue to mask. kristen: june for kids under five, right? dr. patel: that is when the independent advisory committee is going to meet. if all the data looks good, hopefully it will be shortly after that. now it has been pushed to june. a lot of parents are saying, what about us? kristen: thank you so much, always great talking with you. coming up next, may is asian-american and pacific islander heritage month.

kristen: may is asian-american and pacific islander heritage month. abc 7 is proud to celebrate with our community partner, the apa air to foundation. we are excited to have the president of the organization on the show. thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. kristen: how did api heritage month come about? >> in the mid-1970's a number of national organizations were lobbying congress to pass a resolution to celebrate the history and the contributions of asian americans in the country, that they were inspired by at the time. the black history month celebration. a number of organizations put

together a national campaign and trying to get that past. actually the aapi month this federal legislation signed into law by the president of the united states. kristen: an expanded into a whole month, which is fantastic. api heritage foundation, your group, how was that founded and what is its mission? >> back in 2005, it occurred to me that with the demographics of asian americans in san francisco, that somehow we did not have a coordinated citywide celebration, so i brought that to the attention of then mayor gavin newsom, who said it's a great idea, let's do that. so that's how it got started, so the apa heritage foundation is a nonprofit that was established in 2009, every year to fund

raise and identify resources to keep this community celebration going. kristen: so you're celebration is this wednesday, can you tell us a little about it, the significance? >> wednesday, may 4, is our signature event, it's the apa heritage awards. we take this opportunity to recognize role models in our community. the theme this year is forging community bonds. we hope that through the whole ntthe programs we can create opportunities for communities to get to know each other. i think the idea of the bonding is very important, especially at the time, at this time, because of what we went through the last two years with the pandemic, with anti-asian hate, and is not just for the api community, it's

just really including everybody in san francisco. we really want to have an opportunity to create programs that welcome everybody to be part of it. kristen: your official celebration god's online and we invite everybody to check it out, lots of great events. you point out an important issue, which is, we've been through a lot collectively, but certainly the asian-american community with the hate that you mention. is this a difficult, challenging time to be asian-american, or is it also promising time? are there rays of light? >> is challenging, because we are seeing history repeating itself. the history of communities being excluded, feeling they are not treated equitably and fairly. i think that's a challenge we've

been having, that history is repeating itself. but i think that through the challenges, there are opportunities. many people have observed a silver lining, that communities are coming together, communities are speaking up, and we really make a concerted effort to not only within the diverse api community, but to get to know and bring in all the communities of color together. in order for this to work, i think we all need to basically support each other. kristen: that is a great point, claudine chang, president of the apa heritage foundation. i know you are always looking for volunteers, whether your interested in attending this wednesday or just finding out how you can help, go online for

more. take care. coming next, there's a huge lack of insurance coverage for fertility services in the u.s., fertility services in the u.s., after my car accident, fertility services in the u.s., i wondered what my case was worth. so i called the barnes firm. when that car hit my motorcycle, insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, our r inry a attneysys wk hahard i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, to get you the best result possible. call us now and find out what your case could be worth. you u mit bebe sprisised ♪ the barnes firm injury attorneys ♪ ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪

kristen: according to the cdc, infertility is a common struggle. about one in five couples in which the woman is in her 30's have trouble conceiving. a bill to expand insurance coverage of fertility treatments is making its way through sacramento now. its author is east bay assemblywoman buffy wicks, who is here now to talk to us about a be 2029. thank you so much for joining us today. your bill would require that any health plan or disability insurance that covers hospital, medical or surgical its fences also cover in vitro fertilization. i didn't realize that was normal when you talk about coverage of fertility treatments. >> is not a requirement.

some insurance is due provided but it's not normal for the state of california. higher income earners have the ability for ivf infertility treatment but low income folks don't. it's an equity issue in terms of lgbtq couples who often are not covered as well. my bill would seek to level the playing field here. kristen: who is eligible? are there any limits based on sex, gender, marital status, etc.? >> right now often lgbt two couples are not covered in this bill would require that they are covered. we've had opposition on this bill in years past because of the cost. what we know is that if you spread the cost across everyone, it's actually a very small amount of money to ensure this equity issue is fundamentally

addressed. we know this is a recognized medical condition and there are widely accepted standards for diagnosis and treatment. unfortunately insurance plans in california are not are to cover fertility services and often they discriminate against lgbtq couples. kristen: how much does the cute -- how much does the treatment cost these days? >> it depends on what you're seeking to do, but ivf can cost anywhere from $24,000-30 eight dollars -- $38,000 per cycle. for some it can mean multiple cycles. others are around $5,000. it depends on what they need is. i am a mom of two young girls. my second daughter is a product of ivf, so for me this issue is personal. i had the resources to those medical treatments. kristen: you were one of the

lucky ones and you want to make sure others also have that. does your bill include exemptions to any organizations? >> there are no exemptions. it is important for us that everyone have access. often you hear from the opposition that the cost is so expensive to the employer. kristen: let's say the employer is a religious organization, that doesn't have an exemption? >> there are no exemptions, correct. kristen: has in analysis been done in terms of how much -- what is the aggregate cost in terms of total premiums paid by private employers or insurance? >> we expect it to be very minimal every month, maybe a dollar or two across the board. so we think it is very reasonable cost. 2021 mercer did a survey that

found only 97% of employers offer infertility coverage so any kind of increased militant -- medical costs. think the cost is very manageable. 14 states outside california have already done this, so we are actually behind the times. on this issue, we need to catch up. kristen: the insurance industry, obviously many of them are opposed as well, talking about how the cost cannot be absorbed or perhaps employers would have to raise their employee contributions or maybe they wouldn't be able to cover something else. are those concerns that you have? >> we have limited to three cycles of ivf, but we view it as a true equity issue. think low to middle income folks should be afforded the opportunity to have children and lgbtq couples should have the opportunity to have children.

we think the cost is absorbed across such a wide number people that it is a doable cost for folks. kristen: congratulations on the bill passing out of assembly last week. what is the next step? >> it will go through the appropriations committee to the floor of the assembly in the next two months or so and then over to the senate for votes there as well. kristen: that is really good to know. one more thing about the bill, who have you consulted with in writing this? what are the doctors telling you? >> we consulted with a number of health care organizations, health care providers, organizations that work within the fertility treatments space who have all consulted on this bill. we've also talked to the

opposition, i want to create thoughtful policy and i'm always happy to take up amendments that work with the opposition as well. kristen: thank you so much for talking with us today about your bill to cover fertility treatments for everyone here who needs it. thank

kristen: thank you so much for joining us on this interactive show, "getting answers." today we talk with dr. patel about how paxlovid is still too hard for covid patients to get their hands on, weeks board genesis of asian pacific islander heritage month in may, and a new state bill to make ivf covered here in california for more people in california.

world news tonight with david muir tonight, breaking news from ukraine, just hours after the dramatic escape from that steel plant in mariupol. now, the raging fire there. video circulating online showing brutal russian attacks igniting that massive fire at the plant in mariupol. it comes after those images, video from a group of ukraine g yan fighters, showing civilians emerging from that plant, climbing over the rubble. many seeing daylight for the first time in weeks. now, the scene unfolding at that plant and ian pannell from ukraine here tonight. back here at home, the severe weather threat as we come on the air. tornado watches up right now, after that ef-3 tornado, winds up to 155 miles per hour. ginger zee timing this out. the urgent search tonight for a murder suspect and now an arrest warrant for the woman, the cor