building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news.nc in real-titso get you answers toy, cleared a keyoward fda aut. a state epidemiologist will be here to discuss that, so stick around. first, election day, we are diving into politics. in san francisco, the embattled district attorney is up for a recall. our media partners at the fs -- sf standard will join us.

statewide, vote is going to the post of this i do will advance to the general election in november. joining us now is political reporter jeremy b. white. thank you for being here. let's talk about today's election. a lot to get to. we will try to get through all of it. this morning i saw he saw on cnn a headline that read california is about to experience a political earthquake. do you agree? jeremy: i am not sure i would constitute it as up a little or -- political earthquake, but we are going to see course adjustment by voters in san francisco, where we could see the district attorney getting recalled. in los angeles, we are going to see how much of the about republican turned independent turned independent businessman running on crime and homelessness, rick caruso, is going to get. and there are incumbent house

republicans who are frontline members facing strong challenges from the right and may end up not getting out of the primary. karina looking at the fall, a republican hasn't won a statewide election since 2006. do you see that? jeremy: best shot for that to change is probably the republican-controlled candidate lonnie chan. he looks like he has a good shot of making it the november in a race that is more about fiscal. he may make inroads there. we have been closely watching the attorney general's race to see which candidate is going to face bob bonta in the fall. the conservative candidate with the best chance would be sacrament district attorney edward schubert, now an independent. polling shows he is likely to finish find a couple republicans

running for that seat. so it would be rob bonta against the republican. given how democratic california is, you have to think he remains the favorite to win the seat. but with concerns about public safety, i think that race is going to be more competitive than you might have figured. karina: there is one bay area congressional race getting a lot of attention, congressman jackie speier retiring and the district 15 c is open. who do you see -- district 15 seat is open. who do you see coming out on top? jeremy: there are multiple democrats, the question is which two democrats will head to the runoff for a very blue sea. there is a lot of potential for vote splitting, assembly member kevin mullin was endorsed by speier. you have the san mateo county supervisor david kanepa, and a san francisco city councilwoman, so there are several candidates who could have a shot.

it is a matter how democrats slice and dice the vote. karina: let's talk about democrats and republicans, what are they hoping for from voters? top of mind for many californians are homelessness, gas prices, crime, what are they banking on? jeremy: republicans are banking on what you just talked about, the realization of what we have seen in polls, that voters are concerned about inflation, crying and -- crime and almost missed which republicans hope they can use to make fraud against. democrats are looking for signs that they will hold the line, whether that is how well democrats do in primaries before general election runoff, defendant some incumbents, perhaps. and also, some chances that you might see a couple republican incumbents get frozen out of the primary, which probably makes

things look easier for democrats in november. karina: let's get out of the bay area and talk about los angeles, why should we the watching what is happening there in this primary? jeremy: los angeles is the biggest city in california. in a lot of ways, given size and diversity, it functions as a microcosm. when that race began and congresswoman karen bass got in there, i think there was prevailing belief that she was probably going to have a fairly smooth after winning. i don't think people saw a billionaire former republican-light businessman becoming so competitive in this race. the fact he has been able to is a testament to voters feeling pretty pessimistic about the status quo. if that is true in los angeles, it is certainly want to be true in other places. karina: i know a lot of people

watching what is happening here and in los angeles and california on a national level. california governor gavin newsom is up for reelection in the fall. can you talk about possible challengers in the general election? jeremy: certainly. after the governor overwhelmingly defeated a recall last year, there was not a huge appetite among republican candidates or donors, for that matter, to sign up for a second round. state senator brian dolly is the leading republican in that race. given how democratic california is, the result of the recall in the mismatch, you would think he faces tough uphill fight if he were to be facing governor newsom. a lot of people are intrigued by michael schonberg are, democrat turned independent, prominent critic of homelessness -- michael schoenberger,

democrat turned independent, prominent critic of homelessness. again, that shows party affiliations still matter. democrats vastly outnumber republicans. i think michael shownberger -- michael shoenberger would have a chance, but i don't think people are giving brian dolly a shot, and independent. i think it could make things interesting. karina: speaking of interesting, is there any surprise you anticipate tonight? anything you are thinking, hm mm, this might happen? jeremy: if i were to anticipate it, it wouldn't be a surprise. but if results that might not have been expected before could qualify as unusual outcomes. the two republicans i

mentioned, young kim and david valid dale, if either of those incumbents don't get out of their primary, it changes both parties' lands for the fall. and a race in the bay area, state assembly member alex lee in the bay area is facing stiff challenges from a couple of democrats who take -- you want to take his seat. a lot of money going into the race, housing interests spending company to knock out alex and the. that it -- alex lee. i am curious to see if a well-funded backlash against a progressive manages to take out and incumbent not that long after he won the seat. karina: talking about voter turnout, it is fairly low, it usually is for the primaries, how do you feel about this year's primary when it comes to voter turnout? jeremy: early indications are indeed that turnout is not going

to be very high. and it is all most always the case that low overall turnout tends to benefit more conservative candidates. you get older, more conservative voters who are more likely to be regular, loyal voters than the democratic coalition. so, y to the extent that -- so, to the extent that is true this election, it may help republicans like rick caruso in los angeles and may influence other statewide races, and turnout is always a determinative question. karina: we are seeing that a lot of the people that have voted our 65 and older. jeremy b. white with politico, thank you. stay with abc 7 news for

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we are continuing our coverage of your voice, your vote this election day. in san francisco, some have called the election of the district attorney a democratic civil war. he says he has delivered on promises to end cash bail and create diversion programs. critics say he created a more chaotic city. our media partners at the san francisco standard are following this race closely. joining us now to talk about it is the standard's senior

reporter, thank you for joining us, josh. let's get up to speed on the recall for district attorney jason bodine. how did we get here? josh: it has been a lot of things that have gotten us to this point. d.a.e,inod the recall started about a year after he took office, by the opposition started on most immediately after he was sworn in. he came in on a wave o calls for criminal justice reform. that time, times have changed. our priorities as a nation have changed because of the pandemic. we have seen certain crimes arise, others fall, but in many ways, d.a. bodine has been judged by all the crises san francisco faces and that is why he is being recalled. karina: tonight, we are going to

know his faith. when it comes to pli it looking? josh: pulling has not been in his favor. "the san francisco standard" did our own poll about a month ago ended found a majority of voters, 57%, were in favor of the recall. about 21% were undecided. those numbers did not look good for him. other polling also didn't look good. we are seeing that right now, turnout is going to be lower than usual for a midterm election. and usually, that means conservative voters will have a louder voice. karina: if he is recalled, what does that process look like? john: a series of deadlines and dot -- josh: a series of deadlines and dominoes after fall. but after tonight's election, the department of elections has 30 days to certify results. once those are results, the

supervisors need to call them meeting and declare the results. mayor london breed would then have to wait at least 10 days after the declaration to make an appointment. and then, the appointment process is a political decision up to her. but i spoke with john at the department of elections auntie assured me that there would be another election for a permanent d.a. this november. karina: so, 10 days after that 30-day period is the soonest mayor breed can appoint an interim district attorney? josh: that is right. early july's when an appointment would be expected if the recall succeeds. karina: you think san francisco will see a big difference with a different d.a. in terms of crime , homelessness, the drug problem, all those issues jason bodine has been criticized for? josh: you are going to see differences in the way certain cases are charged and the way that das office -- the way the

das office recommends sentencing on punishments, if the recall succeeds. but when we talk about the crisis san francisco is facing, these are long problems, homelessness, drug addiction, our housing crisis. crime by and large has been falling for decades in san francisco. but there has been a spike in hate crimes targeting the asian-american and pacific islander community and those concerns are real. so, with a new d.a., there could be policies that could change pre-but if anyone is expecting that a recalled d.a. bodine is going to create a panacea in san francisco where our problems go away, that is fools gold. karina: this has been watched on a national scale, wise that? josh: san francisco is an international city. we are considered one of the most progressive places in the world so no doubt we tend to

make headlines when things happen here. however, d.a. jason bodine is a unique individual. his life story, parents being incarcerated for a deadly robbery, the fact he has very progressive policies and spent time going to venezuela and working for a late president there, and the policies he has pushed has made him a unique individual that has garnered a lot of vitriol from the right. that has very much fueled this. but san francisco is interesting, so i guess that is why we get all the attention. karina: josh kahne, thank you for your time. we will have the results of that important race tonight after the polls close at 8:00, so make sure you tune in for that. thank you, josh.

we have links to the "san francisco standard" original reporting on our website, za and check out our bay area streaming app. stay with us,

karina: welcome back. the big headline on covid-19 is that an fda panel has recommended the novavax vaccine to be the fourth vaccine allowed for use in the u.s. that is the first hurdle toward getting fda authorization. joining us is california state epidemiologist erica pan. thank you for being here. let's talk about the big news for another covid vaccine. fda advisers recommended the

covid shots by novavax. can you talk about what that would mean for the general public if fully approved? >> it means we have another vexing tool, which is exciting. and it is a different platform than our current, mrna vaccines and the johnson & johnson vaccine. that is exciting to have another vaccine. and this vaccine platform is similar to many other vaccines we have used over several decades, so excited to have another tool and waiting to hear when we will have the supply if it gets authorized, to be able to administer. karina: i have to ask because you see stories of covid vaccines being wasted, not used. how does this impact that? >> i don't know that this will impact that. we have heard anecdotally that some people might be waiting for this people -- for this vaccine because they are more comfortable with this vaccine,

or hoping the less people who have not yet been vaccinated will go ahead and get vaccinated with this series. we are wanting to make sure we get as many vaccines into people as possible. and a reminder to people to get boosted if you are eligible for boosters. karina: i walked -- how long will the process be before we see novavax shots in arms? >> that is a good question i have entered any information about. karina: what are your recommendations for people considering getting another booster. we had fever questions on facebook about this. let's go over that, what are recommendations right now, what do you recommend? dr. pan: anyone five years of age or older, it it -- if it has been five months or longer since you have been vaccinated, your immunity can wane. it is a good idea to get boosted.

karina: the vaccine for kids age five could be available in june, according to what i am saying. should parents be making appointments for their kids to get the vaccine right now? dr. pan: i strongly encourage parents as soon as it is available to do that and get prepared. very exciting news. as a parent and as a doctor, it is great we finally have this opportunity for kids under age five to get vaccinated i am nicer clinics yet have apartments available, but jack if you're -- but check with your health care provider. and on our healthca..gov website will have updates as we learn more. karina: do you anticipate the covid vaccine is going to be annual, similar to the flu shot, when our immunity goes away, five months after that last shot? is this something might want to do annually?

dr. pan: great question. there is definitely a possibility, seeing as how our immunity does wane with our current vaccine aries. on the other hand, some vaccine series, after the first doses, then we have strong immunity. our vaccines right now are definitely reducing hospitalizations and death, which is the most important outcome. more to come, so stay tuned as more recommendations come out. karina: let's talk about overall covid numbers. the cdc reports app of the u.s. population is living in a county with a high or medium covid risk level. where do we stand in the bay area? dr. pan: statewide as of last week, 16% of our population was in that cdc high-level. i don't have numbers in front of me, how much in the bay area, we have seen high levels around the bay area. we have seen early times that there might be a plateau and are encouraged, but most

importantly, our hospitalization levels have remained very low. there have been some increases recently, so keeping a close eye on that, but nothing like hospitalization levels in ryerson is. karina: we want to talk about month -- levels in prior surges. karina: we want to talk about monkeypox, cdc recommending enhanced cautions as people travel. a lot of people traveling, school ramping up, parents making plans whether a short trip, or fly internationally, how concerned should people be? dr. pan: it is important to understand that monkeypox is transmitted in a very different way than covid-19. to contrast, covid-19 is airborne, very, very confectioners -- very, very infectious. you could walk into a room where someone was an hour before and if they were very infectious, you could get infected.

with monkeypox, skin to skin contact, close physical contact with infected legions -- lesions where there is a lot of virus. that is the most common way this is spread. it also has a longer incubation time. it is closer contact and is not airborne the same as covid-19. and we have years of experience with monkeypox, as opposed to covid-19 being a new virus. karina: we have of your question from robert. how many boosters should we be getting? i am sure you are going to say it depends on how old you are, your this level and depending on if you got johnson & johnson, for example. any general advice to answer robert's question? : advictheandr p. is, if it haserasn tee b dose and you have not gotten a second booster, you should get a first or second booster. it is especially important for people who, the older you are, the more at risk you are for hospitalization or serious illness.

if you have underlying medical conditions or problems with your immune system, even more important. in general, our vaccines are keeping people out of the hospital, and less severity. but we can see waning immunity, so it is go-ahead -- it is important to go ahead and get boosted. karina: dr. erica pant, thank you for talking to us. -- dr. erica pan, thank you for talking to us. a reminder, abc 7 is the only place to watch the warriors in the final. in threes tomorrow, our coverage at 5:00 p.m., the nba countdown at 5:30 endgame three tips ghatt 6

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night,s. hewhat he saidtoy. also tonight, the abc news exclusive. the teacher who survived. amy robach's powerful interview. the fourth grade teacher who was shot. every student in his classroom shot, as well. what we had not heard. his description of the gunman in his room. the police on the other side of the wall. and his message tonight to law enforcement who waited well more than an hour before charging into the room to get the gunman. amy robach is here tonight. also tonight, that impassioned plea at the white house. a very rare moment. the actor from uvalde, matthew mcconaughey, and his very personal plea. rachel scott live in washington. and if there's not enough support in the senate f