>> building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. ♪ kristen: hello. you are watching "getting answers." we ask experts your questions every day at 3:00 p.m. to get answers for you in real time. today we are talking about disneyland world. nighttime entertainment is coming back and there's a new attraction and so much more. we will be talking to the best-selling author of "disneyland's secrets." we also have a local doctor who will discuss the baby formula shortage and what families should do right now. first we will talk about the latest covid news. california reached 90,000 covid deaths. the u.s. reached one million

deaths this week. there's also big news with the moderna vaccine for kids. our special correspondent joins us to talk about all that in the baby formula shortage we mentioned a little later. dr. patel thanks for joining us. let's start with two truths and a lie. folks on facebook, get ready. >> we are going to read three. you are going to tell us which is not true. is it a, moderna's efficacy vaccines data for kids relies on comparing antibody levels. this is called immuno gap analysis. scientists estimate b12121 is more contagious than ba2 which is not more contagious than ba1, or c, introduction of allergenic foods to babies may prevent future food allergies. i threw that one and because it is food awareness month. kristen: you are getting very tricky. >> you are too good at this game. i'm sorry. reporter: all right --

kristen: all right. i'm not feeling very confident. if you are watching on facebook live, to help me out. i am allergic to bees. i'm going to rule out b. c, i remember when i was having babies, we want targets to avoid all these things like peanuts, but now i feel like the thinking has changed, you might want to introduce some of those allergenic foods. so i'm going to say that is true as well. let's just go with a, by the process of elimination. daniel supports me with a. daniel is very on top of it. a is the law. >> you are on top of it. -- a is the lie. >> you are on top of it. a is actually the lie. not only will the fda and cdc and review committees will be looking at this, but in the data moderna is submitting for kids, they are looking at an antibody level that is comparative to what was on adults.

adults actually had that efficacy data. by comparing it to another group who had that data, this is called immuno bridging, at immuno gap analysis, i made that term but that is an important concept. nb is true. -- and b is true. some scientists think it is as contagious as the measles. the reproductive number of the variance could be potentially 15 to 20. in other words, when in fact a person can infect over a dozen others, who are not protected, or who are vulnerable. i'm glad we have seen here that is so incredibly important. especially during food allergy awareness week. that all babies and parents starting solid foods, diet diversity is really important. introducing allergenic foods early is great for babies' gut immunity and preventing any future food allergies. really ground breaking research for the last five years. i hope people here that. kristen: definitely.

can i just also congratulate sandy and carol for also getting our question right? let's get back to the moderna vaccine and a little bit. i want to ask you this. a breaking news story today. bay area public officials issued a joint statement urging everyone to mask up in indoor public places, but no mandate. do you agree it is time to mask up again for everybody? not just a small subset of more vulnerable people? >> i don't worry as much about the bay area. i do agree that for anyone out there, if they look at their own individual risk, and they do not want to risk catching covid, they should be masking up. i don't want to pass on covid to vulnerable individuals, such as my daughter who is not vaccinated. but i don't want to be out of work. i can't be out of work. i can't get the symptoms. people out there might be saying, you have been telling us for over a year that vaccines prevent illness and hospitalizations -- they do buy on large, but i still hear about

people who are fully vaccinated getting sick. and they still don't feel great for three to five days. do you want that? or would you rather wear a mask? i don't think we will get back to a mandate unless something catastrophic happens, which fingers crossed, we are not going to get there. but this is the time when we have to pay close attention to what could potentially happen in the future rho variant -- and the future of variants. definitely wearing a mask on planes, that is not changing. kristen: i will say for a while, experts have been saying, cases are going up, but hospitalizations are not, but it seems like they are now, as of today about 400 people in the b area are hospitalized for covid related illnesses. that's a 70% increase from a month ago. is that our reason to be concerned or not? >> it is a reason to be concerned if you are an individual that is high-risk or vulnerable or if you have not yet gotten a vaccine. if we look at previous searchs, the trajectory -- surges, the

trajectory is different. in the northeast, if we start to really get an increase in cases, even if a smaller percentage of people unzipping hospitalized, hospitalizations are still going to go up. without any mitigation measures at all, including no new congressional funding for people who need it, the model projects we could see 100 million infections by the small. which inevitably will translate into more hospitalizations. 1 p.m. -- one thing we are worried about is the strain on the health care system. we saw a major supply issue when it comes to hospitals. so definitely something we are keep an eye on. kristen: you mentioned potentially 100 million new cases. the white house coordinator on this mentioned that possibility in the forecast. he also mentioned we will be very vulnerable in the u.s. if we don't have a new generation of shots. what's he talking about? what new generation of vaccines? >> i didn't hear his specific quote. a lot of the chatter right now is what is going to be decided in june.

when the fda meets multiple times. the independent review committee. about variant-specific vaccines. immunity can wane and there's a speculation right now about which maxine is going to be needed if any this upcoming fall. is it going to be a booster that is directed towards omicron? are we going to have something a little bit more focused? are we going to get something annually? that is something on the table and something we cannot ignore. if this does turn into shot that we are going to need seasona lly, when it to make sure americans are on board and there's transparency in the vaccine. kristen: absolutely. i want to get back to the moderna vaccine for kids. they did finish submitting data to the government for the kids' shot. in the trials, researchers from the vaccine was 51% effective, amongst kids six months to under 12, only 37% effective among kids two to six years old. is that good or disappointing? >> it depends on how we look

at this data. it is disappointing if we compare that to the over 90% we saw in the first clinical trials with adults and the pfizer vaccine. this is a two dose vaccine. that was mostly done during the omicron phase. what scientists speculate is that if we had run the first vaccines, two doses, during omicron, we also would've seen a pretty low efficacy, somewhere around 30%. . but i personally have heard from -- 30 to 60%. but i personally have heard from parents saying they will take the 30th of 60% -- they will take the 30% to 50%. if it is anything we have seen previously, it will be very high. which is still a good thing especially with are scared frankly going into summer and fall. reggie: what's the latest on one kids vaccines might be approved? give us the dosage.

>> this is a lot of speculation here. based on what we know right now, the fda has three meetings set up in june. from the process of submitting all the data, it could be somewhere around four to five weeks. everything goes according to plan, we could see an approved vaccine for young kids under the age of five. sometime at the end of june. pfizer is supposedly submitting data, the first few shots plus a booster, so three shots. moderna is submitting for two. we just have to wait and see what comes out of that. the extreme important part that has to be here is talking to parents about their concerns with the vaccine. making sure there's uptake. a lot of parents are not going to get the shot. we see the pfizer vaccine is already available for kids ages five to 11 and only 30% of the country's kids have gotten it. i don't know if it will be different for kids under the age of five. but hearing parents' concerns, whatever, we have to make sure the dialogue is open. kristen: dr. patel, don't go

away. when we come back, we will talk about the baby formula shortage about the baby formula shortage and alternatives her parents. when that car hit my motorcycle, about the baby formula shortage and alternatives her parents. insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm, it was the best call i could've made. call the barnes firm now, and find out what your case could be worth. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million

shout out to him. kristen: we are back with abc7 news special correspondent dr. patel this friday. stores have had a hard time stocking baby formula for months. now it is at a crisis point because of a major recall, supply chain problems, inflation -- so i want to ask you, we are in a crisis level because i think i'm reading formula is out of stock levels, 43% in the first week of may. the white house is doing something, suggesting it may use a defense production act to force the manufacturing of baby formula. do we see that with -- did we see that with masks and would that be effective? >> we did see this in the past

with masks to ramp up the supply of something. what we also saw with masks that we may unfortunately see with baby formula is a product will not arrive for a couple of months. so what do those parents out there who have infants at risk of running out of formula, especially those who are high risk and require specialty formula supposed to do for the next two months? i think what is terrible as we actually got to the situation -- and it is a trifecta of the fact that we are reliant on three manufacturers for 90% of our baby formula. abbott, gerber, johnson. the fda's strict about allowing imports. there's a formula stigma, but we do have enough policy in place to support breast feeding mothers also. but there is a national necessary conversation happening right now. kristen: i think the bite suggested they might relax some roles with importations. but that does take time. i want to put this out for folks. because it is any resource. health and human services department today launched a website and hotline that parents can use to get help finding

particular brands and types of formula. hhs.gov/formula. let's talk about that. finding particular brands and types. all formula is not interchangeable, is it? different kids have different needs. >> they do. for the majority of infants taking a formula, it is perfectly safe to try an if your child is taking similac, you can try infamil or others, you can speak to your provider about what a good alternative would be. but many kids out there has specific food allergies or digestivertis wher an infanmay requira babies.lorie forretu s siion wher can't ifou look at how many specialty formulas are, talk to your pediatrician. they can contact the local

representative. there are ways to get a supply of the specialty formula. this is a critical population that i personally am worried about. i'm also worried about all the families out there who may not have the money or resources to drive across state lines or by formula from a third-party vendor for a 3-4 times markup. kristen: we are hearing bots are snapping up formula as well, worsening the crisis, making a profit. it is terrible. is soymilk and alternative -- an alternative? >> so i make -- >> soymilk formula or soymilk? if your child doesn't have an allergy or an immersion to switch between those two. but regarding milk alternatives, you don't want to give your kid formula at all or breastmilk -- it is not safe to give kids under the age of six months e-mail alternative. -- a milk alternative. definitely not goat's milk.

they don't have the same nutritional content for kids. they could be outright dangerous. they could have not enough iron, too much sugar. i would not give any milk alternatives to young kids. about six months, it could be safe to give you get a little bit of cow's milk. but those kids, six months, you can also talk about getting solid -- giving solids to your kids as well to supplement calories. we talked about diet diversity. that is extremely important to talk about and introduce was to your child. -- talk about it and introduce foods to your child. kristen: is there a way to restart the factory so to speak? >> it depends on the individual. when we hear people out there, especially on twitter saying, just breast-feed, that's not a simple solution for a lot of families out there. young babies, if their mothers and parents are like, let's try breast-feeding and you are having trouble, you can talk to a professional, like a lactation consultant, to try to get your supply back up.

but it's not reality for a lot of people out there. especially people with medical conditions. or people who don't have paid maternity leave and cannot actually take the time to breast-feed. this is such an important topic that cannot die after the formula shortage. kristen: there's also breastmilk banks, as an alternative, you can perhaps see if you can get some. here's my question. if a baby has been on formula for a while, is it safe and ok for them to go back to breastmilk, if they were able to get some from a bank? >> it is safe. it depends on the baby. some babies may not tolerate it, they may not like it. but it's perfectly safe to try it. you can chat with the doctor about it to make sure it is safe. regarding donor breastmilk, great option for people. if it is accessible to you. donor breastmilk, unless it is a pure donation, is not cheap. sometimes you need a prescription to actually get it. for anyone out there saying, i'm going to go online and buy some, it is a lot safer to get one from an actual milk bank,

because the milk is screened. kristen: ok. i want to move on. i want to talk about something we talked about on the 4:00 news. big news today. study has identified potential biomarkers -- or one biomarker for sudden infant death syndrome. something that has perplexed us for so long. tell us about that. >> this was groundbreaking because of how long this has been a mystery. it is a small study. in about 67 infants that passed away suddenly from sids, scientists found a lower level of an enzyme called bche, in comparison to 600 infants in a controlled group. this specific biomarker we are talking about is thought to be involved in brain arousal. ensure young infants are breathing. doing all those autonomic nervous system tasks. is it possible that a lower level of this is associated with sids? that's where the paper is going. in the future, we may see a more definitive result. perhaps more information we can know about.

who's at risk for a lower level of this. in the acute phase, i hope if we find an answer, this gives a little bit of relief to a lot of parents out there who have lost an infant to sids, who may be blaming themselves. who may be saying, is there something i did? we have heard from two parents were waiting for an answer who have less years in the past from sids. kristen: dr. patel, we have time for maybe one less question. i want to talk about baby food. fda recently shone a spotlight on the safety of baby food. what did they find? >> they are looking at levels of heavy metals in certain foods. we are talking about arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury. these exist everywhere, in the soil, and the earth's crust. but in race-based foods, we can see an unhealthy label of arsenic. that is with the focus is on. what parents out there can do is first of all understand that zero is not really realistic. you're going to run into some heavy metals. but avoid race-based foods --

race-based foods -- rice based foods. when it comes to vegetables, some can have heavy metals as well. all these healthy greens -- washing all the healthy greens can reduce your risk of heavy metals. kristen: thank you. >> thank you. happy friday. kristen: speaking of happy friday, a popular disneyland show that was paused at the start of the pandemic is about to make its big ret

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big tobacco's cigarette butts filter practically nothing and are made of microplastic fibers that are toxic and cunning. they may seep into water and food, and air, too. and the smaller microplastics get, the more damage they do. could they end up in you, your bodies, their prey? new studies indicate possible links to mutations in dna. an evil lie with a future's worth of harm. to the world, now you know. so sound the alarm. kristen: welcome back. just in time for the summer, disney theme parks are rolling out new features and bringing back favorites that have been put on pause for over two years. the founder of mickey visit.com and disneydose.com and the author of "disneyland secrets" joins us today with the latest scoop. welcome back. >> great to be back. you saying that gives me chills. it's been two years.

so many and credible shows and entertainment back in the parks. it is a great summer to get to disneyland. kristen: we should mention disney as a parent company of abc7. what is back is a very popular show. celebrating a major anniversary. tell us about that. >> that's right. phantasmic returns this month. it is 30 years old as of today. incredible experience. they renewed it over the years. but in the -- broad and the best technology. it is returning in addition to shows that already returned the end of last month. world of color, disneyland forever fireworks, the parade, a brand-new float. a ton of fun come all this entertainment ruling that. kristen: is that the new flow? -- new float? the new characters? >> that is fantasmic, i think it was a -- -- was

in 2017 when they brought that back. kristen: there are new characters, right? >> former president obama -- -- -- >> coco, mulan, princess and the frog. kristen: speaking of in condo, we have reported on this, but i think it is good to remind people they managed to incorporate that into an old favorite, "it is a small world." what did they do their? >> -- do there? >> everyone knows about "we don't talk about bruno," it brought that into a fund projection experience on the facade of it is a small world throughout the night. kristen: all right. how are the crowds right now, though? >> that leads well into the next thing i want to talk about, which is disney's answer to fast pass -- it is a new paid version that lets guests make reservations for attractions directly from their smartphone. both visit disneyland and

walt disney world. as people are excited to get back to the parks, there's an easy way to navigate and work through the parks and have a great experience if you follow the strategy. kristen: it's $20, right? >> yes. kristen: what do you get for that? >> with $20, if you are a park hopper, you have 19 attractions across the two parks you can take advantage of the distinct fast pass, working through the disneyland app to reserve a time, so you don't have to run around and get a paper ticket anymore, it is $20 per person per day on top of your ticket. kristen: how do you get the most out of your day? even if you spend the $20, there are so many rides, your time is limited, so help us get the most out of it. >> you and i text back and forth when we're are talking about disneyland i think. talk about morning strategies. that's a big part of what we do at mickey visit dot com,

we help people save money and experience the most is what we are all about. we have a morning strategy for disneyland and is in california adventure. you can find those at mickey visit dot com slash links, that talks through how to get to the parks, how to utilize the app. to help you have the best possible experience. kristen: give me the 32nd summary of best strategies -- 30 second summary of the best strategies. >> get into the park. most importantly, it is not when you go to disneyland but what time. get to the park early. you want to be their 45 minutes or 30 minutes before the park opening. because the gates will open and people are brought in and they line up before the park opens. we have varying strategies depending on your goals for the day. if you are a thrillseeker, maybe you will go straight to space mountain.

then move on from there. there's a whole strategy outlined, all based on what your goals are. kristen: what if you want to do star wars rise of the resistance, or webs lingers at california adventure, without paying? >> you are alluding to the a la carte option to skip the line and pay extra. i actually recommend for rise of the resistance not going there first. some people say i was there, front of the line. even if you do that, you are utilizing the first 25 minutes of your day. kristen:

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kristen: thank you. kristen: thank you so much for joining us on this interactive show, "getting answers."

we will be here every weekday at 3:00 on air and on livestream, answering your questions. "world news tonight" with david muir is coming up next. tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the biden administration rushing to solve the nationwide baby formula crisis. also, the urgent manhunt for a killer. a community warned tonight. and new signs of putin's challenges. what happened to the russians while trying to cross a key river in ukraine. first tonight, the baby formula supply crisis. the fda reporting the supply of formula is stabilizing, but many families are asking why, then, the empty shelves. reports more than 40% of formula out of stock. what several major companies are now saying. mary bruce live at the white house tonight. >> that massive manhunt under way for a dangerous. the inmate allegedly slipping his restraints, breaking through the metal cage